Ghost Signals, Episode 5: Part 3.3
AC SECOND CLASS DEZ-LEI (placing it on her side) You finally believe me now? I was half expecting you were going to reveal it was something your Doctor brought on from Capitol.
STEGGY You've been around Raiven for long enough- she really strike you as a peep who keeps pets?
AC SECOND CLASS DEZ-LEI Fair point...
A beat later, she squats down closer to the creature's eye level to address it properly. The two of them soon lock eyes and Dez waves awkwardly at it. In response, the creature tilts its head to the side in confusion at the act.
STEGGY Let me form in. See if I can't reach this little cutie...
Steggy appears in holographic form alongside the AC Second Class.
AC SECOND CLASS DEZ-LEI Isn't it more effective to interact with tech shapeless? At least that's my understanding of CGAIs.
STEGGY Technically, yes. But I've never seen the engine guts of a Cruiser before. Wanted to catch a peek for my ownsie. Now, get gunning already.
The soldier, after a brief moment's pause, sets off to grab the vial and head off to the fuel distrib lines. Steggy is seen with the creature, sitting down next to it and coming up with ways to communicate with it.
STEGGY Ajoh--lla, little cutie....not sure you understand Pfengish. Or for that matter, if Pfengish is even a lingual concept this far out into space.
The creature looks at Steggy for a moment with the same level of confusion it gave Mz. de Caar.
STEGGY 'Kay. You definitely don't understand Pfengish. Hmm... let's dip into the TA lingolog.
She then goes through three different linguistic styles- Titan (a blend of Spanish and Gaelic), Adob3OS (an alpha-numeric hybrid language that's home of JA3IE=7 BOW'EX), and Sonas (a rhythmic language whose words end with -ar).
It's at this last language that we see the creature start to react positively to the attempt, moving a few steps closer to the CGAI.
STEGGY Found a winner, eh? Okay then... (in the language) What's your name, little cutie?
The creature responds in a brief couple of second long blurb, ending with Kaylar.
STEGGY Kaylar, huh? I'm Steggy- or Ste-gar as you understand it. (in the language) What brings you on to my ship, Kaylar? Did you sneak onboard, get lost off that comet that whizzed past us maybe...?
A split second later, the Kaylar disappears in a puff of gray and red smoke, catching Steggy by surprise. She turns around 180 degrees and finds it rematerialized ten feet away.
STEGGY Okay I was wrong. That's-- definitely not a Sonaran.
The CGAI stands up and slowly walks toward the creature as she speaks.
STEGGY (Cont.) Truth told, you're not like anything I've ever spied or read about. (bends down to the Kaylar) I should bring ya to Raiven's attention. She always loves a good mental tease.
CUT TO:
INT. RAIVEN'S LABORATORY
The good Doctor, as this all goes on, working on the main terminal for her HV; the 4-in-1 wires connecting both it and the secret hidden object she retrieved from the Abeona. She mutters nonverbally to herself for a few moments, finishing the wiring before grabbing the terminal and turning it on.
She waits for a few agonizingly long moments, watching the screen crackle and struggle to attain some type of form.
RAIVEN (willing it on) C'mon...c'mon! Everything's connected as it should be. No way thirty-five minuyats of work was all for shi--!
After a couple of extra moments in the same state as before, the screen stabilizes on a vertical box that you'd find from someone filming from a smartphone. Off-screen, you can hear the sound of a conversation going on for a moment.
RAIVEN Holy hells, it's--the lingual setup is like the other Signals. But it's much more slice of life than what I've seen before. This opens so much ground research wise I can use.
DR. ABEL (Off-Screen) Love you too, Andie. I'll see you tonight.
RAIVEN My first genuine sight of what these...originators, for lack of a better word, were like.
A second later, you can hear the sound of a phone line clicking off followed by a series of footsteps as DR. KAREN ABEL emerges into the center of the shot. She's a short red haired, green eyed woman with a pear shaped body; her face weary, but still with a degree of youthfulness amidst the natural age.
DR. ABEL Hello, my name is Dr. Karen Abel. To whatever lifeform's watching this- I am the unanimously chosen representative of Earth. I'm here to talk about what my planet was like to those watching.
RAIVEN (as she speaks) Eyy-arth, huh? Punier name than I thought it'd be.
DR. ABEL ...To help you go through the reams of data we tacked on to the greater Abeone...
In the middle of the statement, Dr. O'Ozahl is confused by the mention of data.
RAIVEN (scavenging through the image data over Abel's speaking) I didn't notice much other data streams. Maybe it froze up in the annals of space, or subatomic bugs chomped some bits up as it was going through somewhere. (to herself) Gods, I'm not eager finding if that turns out true.