Technical Upgrades

Mercury had been keeping herself quite busy in this guild of hers. She had hoped the place would prove useful when she joined it, and so far she had not been disappointed. Sure, Earthland had so far proven to be a bit behind the technological game, at least in comparison to where she came from, but there were plenty of things here that didn’t exist where she’d been raised. More than enough to keep her occupied in her studies.

She’d met a number of interesting people, as well. Theo and Aspen were mismatched but pleasant company, and the guild master Leona was pretty straightforward and open minded. In fact, many of her guildmates were of similar minds as she, social comrades that enjoyed delving into a mystery or expanding their knowledge in the ways of science and magic. The people here had actually taught her a great deal about magic itself, including her own. Overall it had been a very educational and engaging environment for her that she greatly appreciated.

It wasn’t even just the members of her guild that she’d found delight in, either. In taking on jobs, she’d met individuals from other guilds and even gotten exposure to a number of new experiences and places. She was really impressed with the level of diversity in this world. There were deserts and oceans, forests and mountains, glaciers and islands. There were seemingly infinite towns and villages jam packed with people from all sorts of heritages, not all of them human.

Yet despite all their differences, they all seemed to live in relative harmony, which was odd to her. No one knew much of anything about Mercury, even in the guild, except that she’d shown up one day to join and had brought a bunch of advanced, foreign technology with her. She was a woman that was used to a much harsher, cut throat way of life than what was found on the average day to day here. Not that Earthland and its various countries was without their own dangers, of course, but she felt much safer and at ease here than she ever had back home.

She had been lounging in her room at Silver Wolf, tinkering with her pistol, when there was a knock at her door. Standing up from the little work bench she’d set up for herself, she opened the door to find what appeared to be a young woman standing there. The appearance was exceptionally convincing to the eyes, though Mercury’s connection with metal told her that the woman wasn’t actually flesh and blood. At least, not entirely. Mercury assumed the woman was some kind of artificial intelligence, which wouldn’t exactly be anything out of the ordinary around here. Even if the technology in this world wasn’t as advanced as on her own, it was still impressive in its own right and quite common to find.

Mercury smiled politely. “Hello there. What can I do for you?” she asked. The blue haired android was someone she had seen around the guildhall before, but never personally met. Usually she was with another Silver Wolf member, a man with white hair that she’d also never been introduced to.

Assuming the android stated her purpose for seeking her out, confirming Mercury’s assumption about her origins by inquiring as to whether or not she could help improve the woman’s systems, Mercury’s eyebrows would raise in interest. Did she already have that much of a reputation here that guildmembers she didn’t know yet were seeking her help with such things? That was something. Still, she was touched by the invitation. “Absolutely, I would love to,” Mercury told Poppi. “Let me get my tools together and we’ll meet in one of the work rooms. There’s more space there than in my room.”

If that sounded agreeable, Mercury would let Poppi return to her companion to relay the message and gathered up her equipment. In only a few minutes, she wandered into one of the available work spaces where there was a clear table they could work at. Setting her toolbox down, she waited until they arrived and then offered them both a handshake. “My name is Mercury, though I suppose you already knew that. It’s a pleasure to meet you. What kind of issues are you having?”