to boldly go...

[bravejemma]

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[bravejemma]

[She blushes -- she thinks she's blushing, anyway -- at his laughter.]

I'm a person, not a program. There's been a malfunction and I need to leave.

[projecthydra]

Yeah, that's a big no-can-do on that one.

[And then further conversation is cut off. The whiteness returns for a moment, but something else quickly floods in to fill it.


The music is a sassy piano routine, a welcoming tune to greet newcomers to a saloon from 1800s America. Will is settled behind the bar, in a white dress shirt with a red vest, suddenly sporting a handlebar mustache.

the bar is populated with a number of other types, Western-styled men and women chattering noisily. They're all in full view from Jemma's vantage point, as she seems to be settled onstage. Her own costume is a full saloon girl, down to an oversized feather in her hair.

And though she might be strong enough to fight it, she might experience the oddest compulsion to dance.]

[bravejemma]

[That music is pretty catchy, but what is she wearing, and no stop tapping this instant, foot. Those populating the saloon are kind of oddly formed, like an animated rendering of a real person from just this side of the uncanny valley.

Since this is a simulation of some kind, she has no problem what so ever calling to Will over the music.]

What the bloody hell are you doing?

[projecthydra]

[He looks up to her, speaking pleasantly with a deep Southern drawl.]

Tending my bar, Ma'am. 'Taint gonna do much good if I try to make people drink out of dirty glasses.

[He returns back to wiping down glassware, and the saloon's double doors open. The new entrants are wireframe figures, humanoid in movement but mostly featureless aside from their period-appropriate clothing.

and though it's impossible to tell who's here, they're definitely using technical lingo. One of them mentions the normal refresh rate for the projections, and another comments on the horribly outdated textures. Can't they just scrap the entire suite and get a less-broken model?]

[bravejemma]

[She's about to reply that his mustache looks ridiculous, because that is the best answer she has at the moment, but the interruption catches her attention. It only takes her seconds before she jumps off the stage and hurries over.]

Hello, this is science officer Jemma Simmons --

[They're not paying attention.]

Hello?

[Right. Of course they can't hear her. Because that would be easy.]

[projecthydra]

[
"And this one's not even running the program right." One of them grabs Jemma's shoulders and turns her back toward the stage. "I used to play this one all the time when I was a kid. The girl dances until the barfight--"

Two of the cowboys knock over a table then, shoving one another into the bar. The patrons gasp in unison, attention diverting to the action at hand.

"There it is. Maybe she's just running off-timer or something..."
]

[bravejemma]

Excuse me--

[Her indignation is short lived, as the two cowboys shove past them into the bar, and take about half of those questionably clean glasses down to the floor with a crash. But why did they think she was part of the simulation, let alone had been a part of it for what was clearly some time?]

Why do they think I'm part of the computer?

[projecthydra]

Later, Jem.

[Will speaks quickly, occupied with trying to pull the two men apart.

One of them reaches for his holster, and then there's a gunshot. Will gasps and slumps over the bar, a dark red patch staining the white of his shirt.

The same impulse that almost prompted Jemma to dance before snarls anew; she needs to scream, to cling to the User beside her and beg them to bring the outlaw to justice.]

[bravejemma]

[Despite the urge to play the faint-hearted damsel, Jemma does as she usually does, and does as she likes without a care as to what some stranger would like. Was that really their selected fantasy? Heroic gunslinger? People were strange.

With a little difficulty, she climbs over the bar and lowers Will to the dirty floor (with maybe a little bit of a thud, sorry, Will). The wound is bleeding -- or is it? -- and she casts a look around for something to hold against the wound. The bar rag is right out, and nothing else is in immediate view.]

Hold on -- Just put some pressure there, and I'll try to get a better look.

[projecthydra]

["Wow, all right. That's weird. There shouldn't be a medic until the second hour."

"Does the medic have a cute rack like that?"

"Dude. We're working. Might as well shut it down anyway. It's clear this thing is glitching out like crazy."

"You're right about that. It's creepy being in here after what happened. Like I'm just going to pop into a coma for no reason."

And while the engineers talk, Will lies in Jemma's arms, moaning pitifully. He doesn't raise a hand to help her save him from his wound, eyes already rolling up in his head.]

[bravejemma]

Oh bloody hell.

[Useless engineers. No wonder Fitz hated most of them.

But she can't help but listen to their conversation, first blushing at the reference to her... assets, which were on display thanks to the showgirl outfit. Then the reference to a coma got her thinking -- and worried. Did they refer to her? Had she somehow left her body behind?

She couldn't worry about that now, Will was -- a computer. Or part of the computer. He was only playing his part in the simulation. But there was probably nothing to do except play on, until things went black again. And on the off chance that she would lose the only personish thing that knew what was going on here...]

Will, stay with me. It might not even be all that bad.

[projecthydra]

I don't--think I can...

[without interruption, the chaos reignites. One of the patrons throws a punch at another, and then the brawling restarts.

One grabs one of the engineers by the lapel.

"This isn't normal this isn't normal--"

Someone throws an errant bottle, missing the intended target. It crashes and shatters against the side of Jemma's head instead. For an apparent simulation, it certainly feels real enough. And there's quite a bit of blood...]

[bravejemma]

[When the bottle hits, it feels real. And she can't argue with the wide gash now on the side of her head, and the blood flowing down her jaw and neck. In shock, she dropped back against the shelving.]

You have to --

[Wow that hurts a lot.]

This isn't real.

[projecthydra]

[There's no response from Will; his head lolls at an unnatural angle, eyes wide and lifeless.

The fighting continues around them, and the engineers continue not taking things well.

"I think the AI is compensating -- recalculating around the missing values."

"He's going to kill me shut it down already."

"Okay okay okay FINE. Computer, end simulation."

Gunshots, now. More AI characters topple over.

"Voice is down. Where's the panel for backdoor access?"

"I don't know -- just move they are shooting at us man."

[bravejemma]

[More people are getting hurt. Was it her fault? Because she didn't follow the instructions, the protocol? She squeezes her eyes shut.]

This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real--

[projecthydra]

[There's more chaos, more screaming --

And then nothing at all. The stillness returns, darkness that lingers even aftershe opens her eyes again.]

[bravejemma]

[When she does open her eyes again, she's not sure she's done any such thing. The blackness is so complete that she can't see her hand in front of her face. It's just her... and her breathing.

Nervous, she tries speaking, to the only thing (person?) that's spoken to her back. Her voice is very small, swallowed by the dark.]

Will?

[projecthydra]

[There's an audible clicking before he replies.]

You really do have damaged code. Don't you?

[bravejemma]

I'm not... I'm not damaged, I don't have code, I'm a human being.

[But she's not as confident as she had been. If the presence of the engineers had been any indication, they were something different from her, and if they were still people in their bodies, what did that make her?

And if she wasn't damaged, why did she feel like it? She sighs.]

Never mind.

[projecthydra]

You're pretty stuck on saying that. Is that why you didn't run the program when there was a simulation playing? There's an old one that got stuck?

[Medbay again. He's settled beside her, drawing her hands into his. She seemed comfortable there last time.]

[bravejemma]

[She's caught off guard by the familiar gesture, though not offended. His hands are warm (had she been expecting otherwise?] and dry, but not unpleasantly rough. She looks for the right words, though her supply is clearly dwindling. Nothing she's said has made it through yet.]

It's not a program. Because I'm not a computer, and I don't know why you think I am.

[projecthydra]

Why did you think you could save me after I got shot?

Users never try to save me in that scenario. They chase after the gunmen and the bulk of calculations moves to the exterior.

[bravejemma]

Maybe they should try.

[It seems selfish to her, but they get enough of that out on the job. She supposes she can't blame them for using the holosuite for its intended purpose.]

I'm a doctor. I had to help.

[Yeah okay she's not technically that kind of doctor, but she had her medic training and more often than not is the one addressing bumps, bruises, cuts, burns, what have you.]

[projecthydra]

It was kind. A little confusing as well. That scenario has difficulty modifying uncommon user behavior. The newer ones are more capable of advanced AI subroutines.

But I still don't understand... If you align yourself with them, then why were you inserted into a non-player character?

It's much more likely that you're working with faulty code yourself.

[bravejemma]

[She's given up entirely on the I wasn't running code response, he doesn't seem to recognize it as valid.]

I don't know why I was inserted as such.