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Description

The elevator doors opened onto a dark, spacious bridge, with the ship's wheel waiting for the trio. The wheel first pivoted and scanned E.v.e., the single red eye in the center of the wheel flashing A-113 as it returned to an upright position. The Wheel next scanned Wall.e, its eye flashing a curious shade of red as it did so. Finally, the wheel turned to GO-4, purring, [I assume that this Waste Allocation Load Lifter Unit: Earth Class unit managed to get here by stowing away on the Probe Ship. Is it correct that you found her in Docking Bay No.1?] GO-4 replied, [Affirmative. I initially mistook the "Wall.e" unit- as she calls herself- for a weird Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator Unit, and so assumed that she had come back negative. It was only when I got a good look at it that I realized it really is a Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class.] The wheel lazily rotated on its axis, its spokes extending and retracting slightly. The motion reminded Wall.e of a Monstrous Nightmare flexing its claws. GO-4 then asked the wheel, [Automatic Pilot, why do you suppose a Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class would stow away aboard a probe ship?] The automatic pilot rotated again, this time in the opposite direction. Its spokes again extended and retracted in a manner eerily similar to a Monstrous Nightmare's Claws. He (or at least Wall.e assumed it was a he) then replied, [Hypothetically, this particular unit developed a personality unique to it, much like how the Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluators preserve their personalities for human interfacing. If the personality developed enough, then it's likely that this unit developed human like emotions... again reminding me of an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator. Perhaps it stowed away for some emotional reason...] GO-4 then leaped off the cart, and hastily changed the subject, [Automatic Pilot, what should we do with the plant that Probe 1 supposedly found?] The Automatic Pilot turned away from GO-4, Wall.e, and E.v.e.. [GO-4, open Probe 1 up and check for a plant. If she actually has one, steal it, and get it off the ship when the possibility of a stealthy disposal arises. Leave the rest to me.] Wall.e stepped off the cart and started backing away from the Automatic Pilot. Aside from the seedling now being under threat, Wall.e now felt that something was off about this automatic pilot. Suddenly, the floor caved in below her, and she fell down with a scream. The Automatic Pilot poked through the hole in the ceiling shortly thereafter, stating "Captain, you are needed on the bridge", before retracting back upwards. The hole closed below him, and Wall.e was left in the dark just as an alarm went off. An arm suddenly appeared above Wall.e, and then dropped towards her...

The arm accidentally pushed the play button on Wall.e's music player, causing "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" to start playing. The Captain suddenly bolted upright, shouting, "ALL HANDS ON DECK!", clearly still half asleep. Wall.e picked herself up off the floor and looked around the Captain's Quarters, now that the windows had opened up and let in some light. A row of holographic portraits of previous captains sat behind this one, each one showing said captain's name and dates of service on a virtual plaque at the bottom. From his portrait, Wall.e learned that the current captain's name was Barbany McCrea, and that he'd started serving recently. Wall.e next noticed the beautician and the other companions hovering around the captain. She tried to play along with them, giving the captain's feet her best attempt at a massage. The Beautician Hobgobbler, whose designation Wall.e could now clearly read out as "PR.T", was busily trimming Captain McCrea's Hair, and making small talk despite McCrea not saying much. A new creature, a Light Fury with cyborg arms, was massaging the Captains Shoulders. Wall.e noticed that this dragon had the designation "HAN.S". A third dragon, a cyborg Flamewhipper, moved in as HAN.S stepped away, placing the captain's coat and cap on him. Wall.e noticed that the Flamewhipper ended up putting the coat on Captain McCrea in such a way that it hung off his shoulders like a cape, and put the cap loosely on his head. Wall.e shrugged and turned her music player off as the Captain's hoverchair rotated and his personal squadron of dragons collectively moved away. Wall.e ended up being pushed backwards into the elevator by the Captain's hoverchair.

She followed the Captain McCrea back out onto the bridge, where he clapped his hands and asked for coffee. GO-4 was now nowhere in sight, though the Autopilot was still hovering on its track. Wall.e noticed that the Autopilot looked vaguely like a spider... or perhaps a Silkspanner dangling off its web. Captain McCrea, waking up more now that he'd had his coffee, requested, "Computer, Status Report." His chair was whisked around to a console, where a series of holographic displays appeared. He stated, "Reactor Core temperature." The computer responded, "Unchanged." "Passenger Count." "Unchanged." "Regenerative Food Buffet." "Unchanged." "Ablative Hull Armor." "Unchanged." The Autopilot hovered just over the Captain's shoulder, saying, "Sir. The Annual." Captain McCrea responded, "Just a moment Auto- 12:30?!? Auto, why didn't you wake me for Morning Announcements?!?" He grabbed a knob on the console and turned it backwards. Wall.e looked out the window to watch as the vaguely umbrella looking Slitherwings below closed their frills, the sun moved backwards into a morning position, and the lunch dispensers started dispensing breakfast instead. Captain McCrea began his morning announcement, "Good Morning Everyone, and welcome to day number 255,642 aboard the Axiom. As always, weather is a balmy 72 degrees and Sunny, and... oh hey, I see the ship's log is indicating that today is our 700th anniversary of the original 5 year cruise. Well, I'm sure our forefathers would be proud to know that we are still doing the same things that they did... so, next mealtime, be sure to ask for your free Septuacentenial Cupcake In A Cup! Would you look at that! Also today we have... Auto, what's this flashing button?" As the transmission ended, Wall.e relocated E.v.e. and stepped closer to her. Then, Auto and Captain McCrea followed, Auto monotoning, "Sir. Probe 1 has returned positive." Auto then added, "A 'Wall.e' unit also showed up with the probe." Wall.e, mildly embarrassed to be introduced to Captain McCrea in this fashion, exclaimed, "Dup-Boop! Wall.e!", and offered her hand to the Captain, who awkwardly shook it. Behind Wall.e, E.v.e. woke up and stepped off the cart, having had a reactivation sequence punched into an invisible keypad by Auto.

At the mention of a probe returning positive, the windows suddenly shuttered themselves. A new display popped up, with a vaguely familiar looking person at the center of the image. Wall.e, E.v.e., Captain McCrea, and Auto all turned to watch as the man introduced himself as Shelby Forthright, the last known CEO of Buy N' Large, and recited that if Captain McCrea was seeing this, then this meant that one of his E.v.e. probes had come back positive and it was time to go home. Forthright then instructed Captain McCrea to follow the instructions provided by a manual, at the sound of which a glass case slid open and a knob on the manual's cover began to flash green. Wall.e picked it up and handed it to the Captain, recognising it as a book, and assuming that he knew how to use it. The Captain then ignored the rest of the video, and E.v.e. also turned away, still looking a little bit groggy after her sudden shut down and extended sleep. Wall.e stepped back to E.v.e., quietly saying "E.v.a." and offering her hand to her. E.v.e. pushed it aside, mumbling something about GO-4 and Auto stealing the plant. The Captain McCrea noticed neither, as he was now repeatedly telling the manual, "Manwell, relay instructions." Wall.e then noticed Auto trying to slink away, clearly having no intention of helping the Captain. She opened the cover for him, saying the proper pronunciation, "Manual!" Wall.e then pinched the corner of the page and turned it. Captain McCrea, appreciating her helpful attitude, queried, "Would You look at that?", pinching and lifting the corner of the next page in a manner similar to how Wall.e had turned the page. He then lowered the book into reading position, and read aloud, "Step 1: Confirm Acquisition." The computer repeated, "Confirm Aquisition", and the consoles and window shutters began to glow green, the walls and to a lesser extent the floor reflecting the illumination. A robotic scanner descended from the roof, located E.v.e., and retracted back into the roof, reappearing directly above her. Wall.e walked around E.v.e., and turned to watch just as two robotic arms pinned E.v.e. in place, and a third shot towards the Captain. "Voice Authorization Required." Captain McCrea could only say, "Uhh...", which the computer repeated back to him and accepted. A specimen tray appeared in front of E.v.e., and a third robotic arm punched a series of commands into the keypad on E.v.e.'s chest armor. Everyone held their breath as the chamber inside E.v.e.'s armor opened up to reveal... nothing. Wall.e leaned forwards, said, "GO-4!" to E.v.e., and then returned to a neutral standing position. E.v.e. tried to wave Wall.e off while reclosing the chamber, as if to say, "Not now Wall.e." Then her facial expression changed from a neutral one into a fearful one in the span of two seconds, and, she whirled around, almost shouting, "Wall.e!" This drew the attention of the Captain and the Autopilot back to the pair as E.v.e. yelled, [Wall.e, you shouldn't be here! Why the Bloody Hell are you here?!? Wall.e?!? Wall.e?!? Are you even listening to me?!?] Wall.e smiled back sheepishly, confusedly replying, [I love you too, E.v.e.?] Auto, now somehow looking put upon as E.v.e. briefly tried to search for the plant, lied, "Probe's Memory Is Faulty." The Captain, about as confused as E.v.e., queried, "Wait a minute, what does GO-4 have to do with this? I'm going to investigate, and in the mean time... Auto, have E.v.e. sent to the repair ward. I want them to run diagnostics just in case she does have some sort of glitch." He then noticed the dirt on his hand, and added, "... and Auto? Have them give Wall.e a thorough cleaning. I know it looks like they gave her a good cleaning recently, but I think they missed a few spots." Wall.e turned towards E.v.e., who now looked thoroughly fed up with Auto's lying... although it looked like she couldn't do anything about it. GO-4 reappeared, once again riding the front platform of the cart, and cheerfully chirped, [Ready to go? We'll return to the bridge once they're finished with you two lovebirds.] As Wall.e sat down on the main platform, she saw E.v.e. point her fingers at her own eyes, and then point them back at GO-4, who now looked mildly intimidated by E.v.e.. She then sat down on the cart with an annoyed "whuff", and shot Auto a death-glare as the cart rolled towards the elevator. Wall.e could swear she saw Auto briefly tremble, and fearfully glance between E.v.e. and the Captain just before the doors closed.

Description

The elevator doors opened onto a dark, spacious bridge, with the ship's wheel waiting for the trio. The wheel first pivoted and scanned E.v.e., the single red eye in the center of the wheel flashing A-113 as it returned to an upright position. The Wheel next scanned Wall.e, its eye flashing a curious shade of red as it did so. Finally, the wheel turned to GO-4, purring, [I assume that this Waste Allocation Load Lifter Unit: Earth Class unit managed to get here by stowing away on the Probe Ship. Is it correct that you found her in Docking Bay No.1?] GO-4 replied, [Affirmative. I initially mistook the "Wall.e" unit- as she calls herself- for a weird Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator Unit, and so assumed that she had come back negative. It was only when I got a good look at it that I realized it really is a Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class.] The wheel lazily rotated on its axis, its spokes extending and retracting slightly. The motion reminded Wall.e of a Monstrous Nightmare flexing its claws. GO-4 then asked the wheel, [Automatic Pilot, why do you suppose a Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class would stow away aboard a probe ship?] The automatic pilot rotated again, this time in the opposite direction. Its spokes again extended and retracted in a manner eerily similar to a Monstrous Nightmare's Claws. He (or at least Wall.e assumed it was a he) then replied, [Hypothetically, this particular unit developed a personality unique to it, much like how the Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluators preserve their personalities for human interfacing. If the personality developed enough, then it's likely that this unit developed human like emotions... again reminding me of an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator. Perhaps it stowed away for some emotional reason...] GO-4 then leaped off the cart, and hastily changed the subject, [Automatic Pilot, what should we do with the plant that Probe 1 supposedly found?] The Automatic Pilot turned away from GO-4, Wall.e, and E.v.e.. [GO-4, open Probe 1 up and check for a plant. If she actually has one, steal it, and get it off the ship when the possibility of a stealthy disposal arises. Leave the rest to me.] Wall.e stepped off the cart and started backing away from the Automatic Pilot. Aside from the seedling now being under threat, Wall.e now felt that something was off about this automatic pilot. Suddenly, the floor caved in below her, and she fell down with a scream. The Automatic Pilot poked through the hole in the ceiling shortly thereafter, stating "Captain, you are needed on the bridge", before retracting back upwards. The hole closed below him, and Wall.e was left in the dark just as an alarm went off. An arm suddenly appeared above Wall.e, and then dropped towards her...

The arm accidentally pushed the play button on Wall.e's music player, causing "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" to start playing. The Captain suddenly bolted upright, shouting, "ALL HANDS ON DECK!", clearly still half asleep. Wall.e picked herself up off the floor and looked around the Captain's Quarters, now that the windows had opened up and let in some light. A row of holographic portraits of previous captains sat behind this one, each one showing said captain's name and dates of service on a virtual plaque at the bottom. From his portrait, Wall.e learned that the current captain's name was Barbany McCrea, and that he'd started serving recently. Wall.e next noticed the beautician and the other companions hovering around the captain. She tried to play along with them, giving the captain's feet her best attempt at a massage. The Beautician Hobgobbler, whose designation Wall.e could now clearly read out as "PR.T", was busily trimming Captain McCrea's Hair, and making small talk despite McCrea not saying much. A new creature, a Light Fury with cyborg arms, was massaging the Captains Shoulders. Wall.e noticed that this dragon had the designation "HAN.S". A third dragon, a cyborg Flamewhipper, moved in as HAN.S stepped away, placing the captain's coat and cap on him. Wall.e noticed that the Flamewhipper ended up putting the coat on Captain McCrea in such a way that it hung off his shoulders like a cape, and put the cap loosely on his head. Wall.e shrugged and turned her music player off as the Captain's hoverchair rotated and his personal squadron of dragons collectively moved away. Wall.e ended up being pushed backwards into the elevator by the Captain's hoverchair.

She followed the Captain McCrea back out onto the bridge, where he clapped his hands and asked for coffee. GO-4 was now nowhere in sight, though the Autopilot was still hovering on its track. Wall.e noticed that the Autopilot looked vaguely like a spider... or perhaps a Silkspanner dangling off its web. Captain McCrea, waking up more now that he'd had his coffee, requested, "Computer, Status Report." His chair was whisked around to a console, where a series of holographic displays appeared. He stated, "Reactor Core temperature." The computer responded, "Unchanged." "Passenger Count." "Unchanged." "Regenerative Food Buffet." "Unchanged." "Ablative Hull Armor." "Unchanged." The Autopilot hovered just over the Captain's shoulder, saying, "Sir. The Annual." Captain McCrea responded, "Just a moment Auto- 12:30?!? Auto, why didn't you wake me for Morning Announcements?!?" He grabbed a knob on the console and turned it backwards. Wall.e looked out the window to watch as the vaguely umbrella looking Slitherwings below closed their frills, the sun moved backwards into a morning position, and the lunch dispensers started dispensing breakfast instead. Captain McCrea began his morning announcement, "Good Morning Everyone, and welcome to day number 255,642 aboard the Axiom. As always, weather is a balmy 72 degrees and Sunny, and... oh hey, I see the ship's log is indicating that today is our 700th anniversary of the original 5 year cruise. Well, I'm sure our forefathers would be proud to know that we are still doing the same things that they did... so, next mealtime, be sure to ask for your free Septuacentenial Cupcake In A Cup! Would you look at that! Also today we have... Auto, what's this flashing button?" As the transmission ended, Wall.e relocated E.v.e. and stepped closer to her. Then, Auto and Captain McCrea followed, Auto monotoning, "Sir. Probe 1 has returned positive." Auto then added, "A 'Wall.e' unit also showed up with the probe." Wall.e, mildly embarrassed to be introduced to Captain McCrea in this fashion, exclaimed, "Dup-Boop! Wall.e!", and offered her hand to the Captain, who awkwardly shook it. Behind Wall.e, E.v.e. woke up and stepped off the cart, having had a reactivation sequence punched into an invisible keypad by Auto.

At the mention of a probe returning positive, the windows suddenly shuttered themselves. A new display popped up, with a vaguely familiar looking person at the center of the image. Wall.e, E.v.e., Captain McCrea, and Auto all turned to watch as the man introduced himself as Shelby Forthright, the last known CEO of Buy N' Large, and recited that if Captain McCrea was seeing this, then this meant that one of his E.v.e. probes had come back positive and it was time to go home. Forthright then instructed Captain McCrea to follow the instructions provided by a manual, at the sound of which a glass case slid open and a knob on the manual's cover began to flash green. Wall.e picked it up and handed it to the Captain, recognising it as a book, and assuming that he knew how to use it. The Captain then ignored the rest of the video, and E.v.e. also turned away, still looking a little bit groggy after her sudden shut down and extended sleep. Wall.e stepped back to E.v.e., quietly saying "E.v.a." and offering her hand to her. E.v.e. pushed it aside, mumbling something about GO-4 and Auto stealing the plant. The Captain McCrea noticed neither, as he was now repeatedly telling the manual, "Manwell, relay instructions." Wall.e then noticed Auto trying to slink away, clearly having no intention of helping the Captain. She opened the cover for him, saying the proper pronunciation, "Manual!" Wall.e then pinched the corner of the page and turned it. Captain McCrea, appreciating her helpful attitude, queried, "Would You look at that?", pinching and lifting the corner of the next page in a manner similar to how Wall.e had turned the page. He then lowered the book into reading position, and read aloud, "Step 1: Confirm Acquisition." The computer repeated, "Confirm Aquisition", and the consoles and window shutters began to glow green, the walls and to a lesser extent the floor reflecting the illumination. A robotic scanner descended from the roof, located E.v.e., and retracted back into the roof, reappearing directly above her. Wall.e walked around E.v.e., and turned to watch just as two robotic arms pinned E.v.e. in place, and a third shot towards the Captain. "Voice Authorization Required." Captain McCrea could only say, "Uhh...", which the computer repeated back to him and accepted. A specimen tray appeared in front of E.v.e., and a third robotic arm punched a series of commands into the keypad on E.v.e.'s chest armor. Everyone held their breath as the chamber inside E.v.e.'s armor opened up to reveal... nothing. Wall.e leaned forwards, said, "GO-4!" to E.v.e., and then returned to a neutral standing position. E.v.e. tried to wave Wall.e off while reclosing the chamber, as if to say, "Not now Wall.e." Then her facial expression changed from a neutral one into a fearful one in the span of two seconds, and, she whirled around, almost shouting, "Wall.e!" This drew the attention of the Captain and the Autopilot back to the pair as E.v.e. yelled, [Wall.e, you shouldn't be here! Why the Bloody Hell are you here?!? Wall.e?!? Wall.e?!? Are you even listening to me?!?] Wall.e smiled back sheepishly, confusedly replying, [I love you too, E.v.e.?] Auto, now somehow looking put upon as E.v.e. briefly tried to search for the plant, lied, "Probe's Memory Is Faulty." The Captain, about as confused as E.v.e., queried, "Wait a minute, what does GO-4 have to do with this? I'm going to investigate, and in the mean time... Auto, have E.v.e. sent to the repair ward. I want them to run diagnostics just in case she does have some sort of glitch." He then noticed the dirt on his hand, and added, "... and Auto? Have them give Wall.e a thorough cleaning. I know it looks like they gave her a good cleaning recently, but I think they missed a few spots." Wall.e turned towards E.v.e., who now looked thoroughly fed up with Auto's lying... although it looked like she couldn't do anything about it. GO-4 reappeared, once again riding the front platform of the cart, and cheerfully chirped, [Ready to go? We'll return to the bridge once they're finished with you two lovebirds.] As Wall.e sat down on the main platform, she saw E.v.e. point her fingers at her own eyes, and then point them back at GO-4, who now looked mildly intimidated by E.v.e.. She then sat down on the cart with an annoyed "whuff", and shot Auto a death-glare as the cart rolled towards the elevator. Wall.e could swear she saw Auto briefly tremble, and fearfully glance between E.v.e. and the Captain just before the doors closed.