The Lost

New Access

After they finished off the appetizers, the servers came back into the room and cleared the empty plates and refilled drinks that were running low or were completely empty.

Elder Samuel started the meeting back into motion once the servers had left again. "We have discussed her exploits, and through the first course appetizers of the meal we have been allowed to continue thinking about the situation, and I would like to commend Annabeth on her assessment on how she thought she would be treated upon her return of Marina had been kept in the spatial storage." He looked at her and gave her a smile. "It was a difficult decision you had to make, and you made the right one, I am afraid."

"Yes," he continued, "your directive was to return her safely, but you also had to think for yourself. You were thrown into a life or death scenario. In a place where you were not familiar, to infiltrate, retrieve, and escape with a person who did not mean anything to you. You also had to consider the merits of appearing to show up empty handed. And I must say, we did freeze your systems the very moment you arrived. So showing up with Marina visible to see was the best option you had. Otherwise we might be having a very different conversation."

He turned to Elder Rich. "I agree with your initial assessment, Elder Rich. I move to grant Annabeth access to another part of the facility."

Elder Engrid stood and slammed her hand onto the table, leaning over it. Looking between Elder Rich, and Elder Samuel. "You both conspired to have her at this meeting so that I would have no choice but to agree to this. But I don't. Not in the least. She is still too new. We know so little about how she will behave." She had a hand pointed right at Annabeth, so it was without much consequence that Annabeth stood, and bowed.

"May I speak?" She asked to the Elder, ignoring everyone else.

Elder Rich looked at her and nodded. "We recognize Annabeth as having the floor. Please state what you need to say." He looked at Elder Engrid, and she begrudgingly sat back down and tried to recompose herself, straightening out her uniform and trying to keep herself quiet.

:Annabeth nodded. "Thank you. It has been some time since I fist came to be amongst you. I have been limited to the company of Georgina, the system's AI, and to The Curator. Aside from being interrogated in the council chambers, I have been confined to my quarters or the lab. Yes, The Curator was allowed to grant me access to the training grounds, where my most recent injury took place."

She looked between everyone. Looking everyone in their eyes, trying to see if she could recognize empathy from a distance. She only saw that she had everyone's attention, so she continued. "This place.... Mannings, is it?" She looked at The Curator, who nodded an affirmative. "Is the first place I have been to outside of the facility and the training areas. I would much like to know what I could have access to, should the council agree on the matter."

she took a breath, and continued a moment later. "I know that it is difficult to treat an outsider with respect and trust like you would one that has spent their entire life in one area. But I am just that. I am an outsider. I have never been here outside of when I was pulled here from my home world, and it has been made apparent that until it is deemed I can be of no further use, that this will be my new home. Should you grant me access to another location, I would like to very much explore it. To get to know where it is that I am living. If it would please the matter of security with the council, I would not leave my quarters without an escort. And as I have not been trusted as of yet, my systems for cybernetics are disabled within the facility and the space station as to my understanding."

The Curator nodded, and a light shone in front of him on the table. "It is true,. Under the newcomer protocol, her systems are locked down while in the facility until she is about to go on a mission, at which they are unlocked at the time of her departure. Her human skills for strength and longevity at this point are miniscule to what she could do as long as her systems are offline, she poses the barest of threats."

The light went off and she gave a small bow to The Curator. "Thank you, Curator, for your words. They mean much to me to have you confirm this." She truly was grateful for the knowledge. For if she ever did try to make an escape, she knew what her time window would be. She faced the Elders again and continued. "I just wanted to say thank you, Elder Rich, for inviting me to this meeting. It has already been a very enlightening experience. If it becomes necessary, I would remove myself from the room if the council needs to discuss matters without my presence. I will understand and excuse myself when asked"

"I don't want to be rude, and I don't want to make any assumptions. I am simply trying to live the best way I can given my current circumstances. Please forgive me if my words are uncalled for, or how i represented them." She finished saying, and she sat down.

Elder Rich looked back at Elder Engrid. "Anything to say against what Anna has just spoken?" He asked, fingers entwines before him as he looked over his hands at Elder Engrid.

To her credit, she definitely did not back down from the obvious challenge he was directing at her. "Well I may not agree, I would first like to hear what you would give her access to before I can make a proper decision on the matter." She looked between Elder Rich and settled on Elder Samuel, since he had been the one to bring up the topic of something new to access in the presence of Annabeth.

The light in front of Elder Samuel turned on, and he nodded his acknowledgement. "I was thinking maybe she could have access to one of the Upper Gardens, or Solar farms. Somewhere green instead of only seeing walls the entire time she is here. And as she proposed, she could go under armed guard. I would also ask,:" he turned and looked at The Curator. "That Curator be with her. It is his responsibility whatever she does. He is the one responsible for her."

The Curator looked only a little nervous, and then after some thought, he spoke. "I would love to be able to show her more of the facility and the station, if the Elders would allow me to do so. While I do have many responsibilities and am often busy, I would try my best to make time to show Annabeth around, so that she may feel not so..." he spun his hand around in front of him, a gesture she recognized as someone trying to find the right word. "Trapped. Yes, so she doesn't feel so trapped." He finished, and looked at Elder Engrid with a smile.

She sighed, and looked like she might dismiss the matter and not discuss it. "Two armed guards, and The Curator will have to be her escort in order for me to agree to that." She stated.

"Agreed." Was the instant response the other two Elders came up with. They didn't even have to consider it, like they had planned for this eventuality, and had come to the decision long before bringing it up to Elder Engrid in front of her.

She looked like she tasted something foul for a moment, and then she shook herself, and her demeanor changed as a knock on the door interrupted them. It was the main course, and the servers all came in and placed a plate down in front of each of them before filing out again.

"Let us take another short recess from deliberations while the food is still hot." Said Elder Samuel, and they all concurred, and relaxed.