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[synthedick]

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[mismanagement]

[Maketh steps in, holding out a mug.] Better than expected, given--well.

[Circumstances are what they are.]

Is Rey here? I haven't seen her lately.

[synthedick]

Not at the moment.

[He takes the mug with a word of gratitude.]

She's been taking longer patrols lately. Isn't around as much these days.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh nods, sipping her own coffee. It has just enough cream to suit her.] Is that cause for concern?

[synthedick]

No, I suppose not.

[He just worries about her because he cares. He cares a lot.]

She might be picking up extra rounds to make up for the ones I'm not doing. I'm probably thinking too much on it.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh nods again. She's trying to approach everything from a detached, logical standpoint. This must be done and it must be done this way, therefore--

It's become harder, now that she cares for these people.]

I worry, sometimes, that she could push herself to exhaustion.

[It's admitted quietly. Maketh exhales slowly.]

Perhaps that's foolish. She's stronger than all of us.

[synthedick]

[He sighs in tandem, knowing Maketh's struggle.]

She's strong, but she's not invulnerable. None of us are.

[Nick and his reattached arm know that well enough.]

[mismanagement]

[That's the crux of it, unfortunately. Maketh exhales slowly.] No. That has been made clear.

[Dying has a way of clarifying things.

She hesitates for a moment.]

Are you...in pain?

[synthedick]

[He gives her a half-smile just because she even asked.]

The wiring is holding up, so I don't feel any pain from all my receptors going haywire. The bent shaft in my leg certainly isn't doing me any favors, though. But I can get around and I have both arms again, so I can't complain too much.

[mismanagement]

[That's one kindness, Maketh supposes. The androids from her world can feel pain, more or less, if they choose to interpret the data that way. It can be programmed out of them. But it's different with Nick. If he were in pain, Maketh doesn't know what she could do to stop it. She has a feeling traditional painkillers wouldn't have much effect.] That's good. Can anything be done to repair the damage? Or is it a matter of saving what can be saved?

[It's asked bluntly enough.]

[synthedick]

[His eyes flick away from her, guilt edging into his brow.]

I think a patch job will only be delaying the inevitable. My parts are old, and some more rusted than others.

[Which means he'll either have to put himself in debt to the gods to get a replacement, or Rey will do it for him; neither option sits well with Nick.]

[mismanagement]

[Replacements will be needed, then. Maketh considers this. Her understanding of mechanics and engineering is largely theoretical, and related more to weapons construction than anything like the system Nick operates with.] Is it possible to fabricate them? Henry has some skills as a blacksmith, and I--I'm no engineer, but I know a little...

[synthedick]

I'm no engineer either, unfortunately. Just an old synth with the mind of a cop shoved into the hardware between his ears.

[But he does appreciate the thought, so he gives Maketh a reassuring smile as he continues.]

But seeing if we could come up with a replacement isn't a bad idea. You might ask Rey for exactly what's needed. She knows more than I do about this.

[mismanagement]

I'll speak with her. [It's a good idea, really. Rey has some talent as an engineer, and Henry can probably fabricate anything if they give him a blueprint and the proper tools. Maketh nods, pleased to have a plan. Everything is better when broken into component pieces. Everything in its time.] Forgive me if this is prying, but I wonder--do you not know how to repair yourself?

[She clears her throat.]

I--I don't mean to be insensitive. And you needn't answer if you don't wish to. But such technology isn't unknown to my world, and it often comes with a self-repair protocol.

[synthedick]

[His smile turns somber, his brow creasing.]

I know enough to do some basic fixes, but like I said before, I'm no engineer. I can run self-diagnostics, but synths don't come with programming on how to fix themselves. Or at least I don't. I've always had to find a mechanic to do any major repairs.

That's one reason I'm lucky to have Rey around... though if she ever disappears, my days are probably numbered.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh sighs, though she doesn't try to argue the point. The people they have are skilled - that was never in question - but those skills themselves only stretch so far. Without Rey, they'll lack anyone with the least bit of engineering skills. Aside from Maketh herself and possibly Henry, if he can be tutored in some of the more modern concepts, no one else appears to have the expertise. And it is one that they need.] I hope it won't come to that. Truly.

[She considers the problem.] How thorough is the self-diagnostic?

[synthedick]

[He's hoping it doesn't come to that; he's hoping he's not the first one of the two of them gone, either. Rey has other people for support, but he's sure if he goes, she'll be in a bad sort of way. And when Rey gets like that, things get dangerous.]

Thorough enough that I can tell where the problem is and what systems it involves. Sometimes get it right down to what part is the troublemaker, too. It's all well and good until it starts working against me. Think I nearly gave Rey a heart attack when I shut down right in front of her.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh blinks.] It--works against you?

[synthedick]

[He sighs. He's not usually the type to gripe about his vulnerabilities as as a mechanical being, but he knows he can trust Maketh with this kind of information.]

It gets distracting when I'm in trouble. I was a mess trying to get home after I went toe-to-toe with that deathclaw. Messages going off in my head, beeping every few seconds. I was trying to tell Rey what was wrong, but I couldn't sort it out from all the errors going on in my head. They said I had a critical power failure, wanted to power me down every time I tried to get a word out. There's only so much I can ignore them before they start shutting me down forcibly.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh nods.] Information overload, or something like that?

[Probably. It can happen with certain pieces of technology, especially the ones with AIs. She sips her coffee for a moment, thinking.] The Empire had a problem with something like that when they were developing the prototypes for the TIE fighters - small air combat planes. The pilots were trained to ignore excess stimuli, of course, but it became an issue in combat. Whenever the TIEs took damage, the AI sent warnings to the pilots. It's standard protocol, of course, but many of the pilots had internal implants to help them with their flight calculations. The implants had a tendency to...well.

[Maketh grimaces. She heard stories in the Academy.]

It couldn't stand, of course. Eventually they upgraded the implants and the problem ceased, but before that point, the flight engineers developed something called a Survival Protocol. The system recognizes that an extreme situation is occurring and limits itself to releasing only relevant information. It allowed the pilots to utilize the full capabilities of their TIE up until the machinery finally gave out and ejected them manually. I wonder--could we engineer something like that with your system?

[synthedick]

Hm. Maybe. I can't say I'm not envious of anyone who has something like that.

[Of course, he'd have to keep a close eye on his parts when in a dangerous situation, but it'd be better than his entire body shutting down when he's trying to convey important information. Humans have adrenaline to keep them going; he can only go as far as his programming will let him.]

Dr. Gottlieb was interested in taking a look at what makes me tick. He's no engineer, but he's got a lot of, er... enthusiasm for robotics. I might see what he can do. Him, or Rhys.

[And he already has other reasons he wants to speak to them about accessing his main programming.]

[mismanagement]

The technology was--blunt, in those days. [Though, to be honest, it still has a tendency to go wrong. Maketh rubs her forehead briefly.] I'd trust Doctor Gottlieb over Rhys, though we can't ignore potential information. Just...be careful, all right?

[synthedick]

[To be fair, Nick would probably trust the eccentric Dr. Gottlieb over Rhys, too; however, the good doctor seems like he might have less know-how on what it'd take to crack into his hardware. Rhys, on the other hand, already has some of the proper equipment, and presumably enough knowledge to use it. He's definitely a character, but at least he might know what he's doing with that neural port.

Regardless of his lingering doubts, Nick offers her a wry grin.]

When am I not?

[Says the guy who had his arm ripped off by a deathclaw.]

[mismanagement]

[Maketh smiles over her coffee. Of all the people she knows, Nick is one of the more reasonable.


Though, to be fair, that's not exactly hard.] I worry. It's become a habit.

[synthedick]

[The competition for reasonable people in Hadriel isn't very steep.]

I know you do. Someone has to, given this place could go to pieces at any minute.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh snorts.] No, I suppose you're right. But--we're doing better than I could have hoped. Despite everything.