trillbulations | 1st Session

[The voice on the journal may be attempting to sound authoritative and in control; it does not manage do do so by any stretch of the imagination.]

Is there a signal? Can anyone hear me?

You're talking to a book, Ezri. Made of paper. Do you really want it to answer?

Umm. I mean, I am Ensign Ezri Dax. I'm with Starfleet. Uh. Starfleet. Right. [A sudden rush of words.] I'm a little turned around, because I really have no idea how I got here. Which seems to be the running theme in this book which I am talking to because I have nothing else to try.

Just find some reeds, a bit of sulfur, and make a flare. At least then you'd be doing something. Equally inane, but better than sitting around talking to a book. Because that's crazy.

[She lets out a sharp breath.]

Okay. Assuming that, somehow, this book is some manner of communication device, I could use a little help finding the village. Which is in the book. And populated by people kidnapped and given wings. Like the ones I have. Out of nowhere. Because wings were exactly what I needed to make everything come together. Wings. Described in a talking book. With a camera. A camera in an old paper book. A book that keeps rewriting itself. All this while wearing a sundress in a forest. Therapeutic. Yeah, that's what we'll call it. Therapeutic.

At least I didn't call myself Curzon. Baby steps, Ezri. Otherwise, you'll miss losing your mind. I'm sure it'll be interesting.

[She groans, and there is something of a pause. At this point, she doesn't seem to think she is still broadcasting (if she ever actually did).]

Calm down. You've been trained for this, Ensign. See if they talk about any peaks on that map that will tell you how far down the range you are. After that, all you have to do is pick a direction. There's a river, or stream, into the town, coming down out of the mountains, and the forest seems to be mostly south of that. So mountains to the right, and walk. And ignore the bugs. You'll be fine.

Okay. Fine. Not like I'm going to run into a palukoo, so I'm fine. Besides, if I do, I can always eat it. There goes the food problem. Okay. Up, let's go! Let's move, Ensign!

[The sound ends here, likely as she closes the Journal.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Her head tilts to the side and she frowns, even pursing her lips as she squints to get a better look.]

Did you build it here? Tobin was never that well studied in advanced robotics. It's fascinating, though. What kind of processing does it have? And what kind of sensors come equipped?

[She blinks and shakes her head.]

Um. I mean, does it have any manner of bearing on where I might be?

[R2's dome whirls and he whistles again.]

No, I didn't build him. He's from home, and as for those other questions, well. Short and long range, and the CPU's of a make you'll never have heard of.

[He grins and starts to move, carrying the journal with him.]

And I think he does. Come on Artoo, let's go greet the nice Ensign and help her find her way to town.

[Right now, she just tucks all of that away; don't think she is going to forget it, however.]

Oh, you don't have to do that, Sir. Really, I'll be fine.

I think.

It's the I think that means I really shouldn't. It's no trouble.

And my name's Luke.

[A weary, but grateful, sigh escapes her.]

Thank you, Luke.

Don't mention it. Just sit tight.

[Luke shuts down the feed and lets Artoo take the lead. It's not a hard trek, but it takes him a good twenty, thirty minutes, mostly because the terrain isn't good for the little droid.

Eventually he does make it, and he calls out when he's told they're near.]

Ensign Ezri Dax?

[She's sitting on the ground, arms around her knees, back to a tree. When he calls, she hurries to stand up, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning a little.]

I'm over here.

[She begins to walk towards the voice.]

Luke, right?

[Luke waits for her to get closer, one hand resting on Artoo's dome.]

That's right. You're holding up alright, I hope?

Well, you know, as well as possible, kidnapped and stranded on an unknown planet. Not like it's the first time, right?

[She gives a nervous chuckle, and then turns her attention to R2.]

And this is your...droid? I've never seen anything quite like it.

[She squats in front of him, head tilting to the side as she looks over the exterior plating.]

What kind of functionality is it designed for?

I guess not, it's like that for everyone at first.

[Artoo bleeps and whistles for a moment before extending his grabber hand to her.]

It is. This is R2-D2, and he's an astromech droid. He's a mechanic, a code slicer, and an astronavigation computer. And he's got quite a personality.

[He looks down as the droid whistles again.]

Yes, that's right Artoo, this is the young lady we were looking for.

I meant for me. Dax. It can't be as bad as Chula, right?

[She taps a plate with her finger.]

Fully self-aware, functional AI? Or does...he...have limited independence? I've never worked with a sentient AI, but I am familiar with one. Worf spoke well of him, and Julian wouldn't stop talking about him for weeks after...

[She trails off, flushing.]

Sorry.

He's self-aware, sentient as anything else, though there are subroutines to keep him from becoming, say, an assassin droid or something.

[He waves a hand.]

It's fine.

1st Session | Voice

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