The scavenger ship decelerates as it approaches a barren field near the forest. With a loud crash, it slams into the ground and skids across the plains, leaving a trail of dirt and debris. The ground was turned and destroyed along path they crashed. It was clearly not built for a smooth landing. The girl presses a button on the dash and the engine whirs to a halt.
She sighs in relief and exits the flight deck. The black figure waits for her at the side. It had removed all its armour revealing its sleek dark skin that shimmers with a hint of blue. The girl carefully traces her finger across its chest, then down to its abdomen. The letters “Alcove” glows briefly on its left arm. Its face cracks open with a soft click, lifting up to reveal some circuitry. She removes a small disc embedded in its head.
She heads to the back of the ship, where she has a special room for analysing artifacts. Various scraps and glowing relics are piled in a corner of the room. In the middle stands a large glowing table with a small circular slot on the edge. The girl places the disc she retrieved in the indentation. The table beeps and the surface starts distorting. A pair of glowing arms emerges from the surface and salutes before assuming a ready stance.
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“Analyse this” the girl carefully places the cube on the desk and leaves the room.
She heads towards the locker that has “Alitheia” scribbled on it, matching the scribble on her backpack. She peels off her goggles and helmet, letting her short strawberry blonde hair fall free. Her emerald eyes glisten in the dim light. She changes into a more comfortable t-shirt and cargo shorts. Before she returns to the research lab, she glances at the mirror. Her petite frame and modest curves give her a childish appearance, but her face has a mature expression.
Alitheia had been wandering for a long time searching for scrap and repairing equipment to earn a living. She travels in a self-made ship, the Gavotte. Her only companion is a black humanoid robot she calls Alcove. It was an old general-purpose unit that she salvaged and upgraded with her own intelligence module. It helps her with collecting and analysing artifacts in her onboard lab.