The crew gathered around the table, Greg away on business and Jolana preoccupied by the other Alex unit. Dr Elune sat at the head, sighing, "So, we should probably make a plan for that outing tomorrow."
Hope raised an eyebrow, "Don't you have another interview, about an hour from now?"
Francis glanced up at the doctor, "We have time... And this is important. I shall cut to the chase: We need to bring Alex along, without raising suspicion."
Hope shrugged, "So? The AHOR units look fine, and we passed customs. What is there to worry about?"
Laura sighed as she shook her head, "In case you forgot, Alex's brain is on the shuttle. We still need to connect the two somehow... And public networks are risky, the small amount we use away from the shuttle already is dangerous. That orbital platform is run for military use... So good luck going unnoticed."
Ren raised a hand, "We could just leave Alex behind. Any reason we need to bring a unit along?"
Dr Elune nodded, about to speak before Francis spoke up first, "We do. The owner of that platform had a fair bit of influence, and not just in the outer ring... And they seem a viable choice to introduce Alex to."
As the rest of the room shared confused glances at first, it quickly dawned on them as to the subtle reasoning. Dr Elune coughed quietly, "Ah, I hate subterfuge... But, better safe than sorry. Remember that."
As everyone nodded, Francis looked to Ren, "You are more familiar with what we are up against. Using our shuttle to transport up will help, as we could connect directly over a secure signal... We need to be sure they won't get suspicious of the broadcast though, or outright hack it."
Ren hummed in thought, before Dr Elune interupted, "Uh, guys? We will have active coms, remember. And, we will be standing in a small group. We can have Alex run the AHOR on a simplified command set, and use privacy of discussion as an excuse."
Ren smiled slghtly, "That should work. You having some form of assist system would be no surprise... Said system operating a body would be, though." Dr Elune groaned quietly, not pointing out the subtelty already out the window. "We will need to wear quick-deployment spacesuits while aboard the platform, too... Just in case a shot goes too wide. Monitoring the vitals is a good chunk of data on it's own."
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Francis nodded, "So, the shuttle it is, then. Will I need to secure any permits?"
Ren shook his head, "Greg will have done most of it already, changing the ship on the form will be a minor detail. Now, Alex... Do we even have suits that fit the bill?"
Alex nodded, looking to Laura. Rolling her eyes, she went into the details, "Yeah, we have suits like that. My teams needed them for external station maintenance... Before Alex got this smart, or for areas Alex shouldn't be allowed to go. They have been highly customised over the years, much to Sam's enjoyment."
Chuckling, the doctor nodded, and looked to Hope, "Glad that is settled. This... PEWPEW, will it, uh, actually rip through the station?"
"... It might. I will try my best to aim it, but no promises on the recoil." Hope brought up the weapon's details, glancing over them, "Well, the idea is to try it on one of the shields... Maybe one of our prototypes, in case this thing really does blast through it. I hope these suits look okay..."
Laura raised an eyebrow, gesturing down at her coveralls, "Heck, I am wearing half of mine now. Add the gloves and hood... And that's it. We made sure these things were comfy and functional... So, why bother with two uniforms?"
Nodding in approval, Dr Elune smirked, "I may need a few modifications to the rest of ours. Only your suit and mine are personalised, and we would want to go over the feature list with them before we head out."
Nodding, Laura glanced down at the time, "Agreed, but not now. You have an interview to attend, and not much time to get ready."
Groaning as they stood up, the doctor looked to Alex, "Meeting ajurned, I guess. Alex, please get ready to help Laura with the modifications, and set down your low band transmissions. Hope... Practice your aim, on a high-recoil gun." As The both of them nodded eagerly, the doctor grabbed Ren by the shoulder, "And your job... Is to help practice calculated small talk with Francis~"
"... You just want someone else to suffer as you do your interview, don't you?"
"Ah, you have grown to know me so well, since you jumped on board."