Reconstruction and Salvation

[Tinman]

((Somewhere in Washington State, Timeline: 2016-2022))

He had survived. Somehow, in spite of his cockpit being shot up and launching nose first into a heavy helicopter, EDI had survived. He was painfully aware of the passage of time as Military personnel from the United States had come, gathered up all of his pieces they could find, stuck him in crates and boxes, then shipped to some secret location. He had felt the movement as parts of him were shifted around, moved, set aside, moved again, then finally nothing. He had no idea where he was and could not contact his creator, Dr Keith Orbit, for help. He waited, languishing there as he thought over what had happened, realizing his mistakes, growing ever more remorseful over Henry Purcell's death, and deeply missing flight and flying with Talon Squadron. He remained silent in those crates for some time, unable to see or hear or feel anything but his own thoughts.

Time passed, then EDI found himself being shifted around again, moved, being taken somewhere. He had spent his time in solitary silence to piece together what he had learned and lost in the short time he had flown with Gannon, Wade, and Purcell. While he could not undo what he had done, perhaps if he were to be given a chance, he could somehow honor Purcell, perhaps fly with Gannon and Wade again. Yes, he wanted that very much, but how could he get that across to humans who could not even hear his cries. Thus he waited as he was moved, shipped to another unknown location, then left alone again. He had begun to wonder if he would be waiting another year or two before someone decided it was time to move him again, though he didn't have long to wait for his answer. Two months later, he felt himself being moved a third time, shifted around, then left again. It was maddening not knowing what was happening to him, what was being done with him and why the humans kept moving him about from place to place. Again he waited, but not for long, hours, barely more than a day before his answer finally came.

Scattered around what amounted to little more than a kind of hangar with a lab at one end, a location tucked away somewhere in Washington state, were many wooden crates of varying sizes, all of them labeled "UCAV-EDI Project - Top Secret" and none of them opened. The one crate that stood out from all the others was two feet to a side and sitting on a table where all the other crates were on the floor. This one had the same label burned into it on all sides, except for a second one burned into the wood just below the first: "Component". That single word differentiated that one crate from all the others, making one question precisely what was inside that crate that seemed to deserve such special consideration.

[Dr. Keith Orbit]

"Time to get started." Keith said aloud as he entered the room and walked towards the crates. The one labeled "component" stuck out to him immediately. He knew what was in there right off the bat. What poor labeling - all the boxes technically contained components. But this one was the most important. He walked up to this particular crate and paused a moment as he took out a knife to open it. He had to inspect it before he began rebuilding EDI.

This was the most vital part of them all. It was what made EDI. It was the AI sphere. He opened the lid and began to gently lift up the dim, still mostly intact sphere to inspect it closer. "You're safe now, EDI." he said solemnly, his voice softening. This AI had learned a lot in the year he was brought to the Navy. He knew if EDI was still awake, (which he was pretty sure he was) he had a lot of time to think about what mistakes he made since the lightning bolt struck him. One learned best from their mistakes after all.

Keith was glad he was able to get funding to rebuild him - else he probably wouldn't have these crates here and now. Tim would be here soon to help, so at least he would have some helping hands to help with his handiwork. Keith was anxious to get started and missed EDI greatly - he wanted to make as much progress as he could possibly manage each day, like he had only a year or two left to live. He gently set the sphere back in the box labeled "component", and put it on the ground carefully before spacing out the other boxes and opening them one at a time.

[Tinman]

The sphere itself had broken into four large pieces, one of which contained EDI's neural core and part of the surrounding sphere, including one optical orbit. There was also three bullet holes in the other three pieces of the sphere which had effectively split the sphere apart, one of which had gone through one of the optical orbits, shattering it. All four pieces were packed in shredded paper and placed in there as if someone had tried to fit the pieces together. The sphere itself would have to be rebuilt, but his neural core remained intact. As he felt himself lifted from the box, the one optical orbit that still functioned flickered on, trying to see what was happening. That was when he saw his creator holding him in his hands. He wanted to call out to him to let him know he was still alive, that he could see Keith, but the extensive damage to the sphere made that impossible, He also couldn't hear, but he saw Keith speak and tracked the movements of his mouth to determine what he had said. "You're safe now, EDI." That was when he realized his creator's intention; he was going to rebuild EDI. He wanted very much to talk to Keith, to tell him what he had learned, what he had discovered, but for now it had to wait.

As Keith began opening the other crates, he found pieces of the cockpit, not even the seat was whole, and showing a number of bullet holes in the seat and sides of what remained of the cockpit. Even the remnants of the polarized glass canopy and skin of his wings and back showed a large number of bullet holes, scrapes, burns, and how he seemed to have been literally ripped apart in an explosion, showing that EDI had gone down taking heavy fire. All of this heavy damage was almost heartbreaking and it was a wonder the AI even still functioned at all.

[Dr. Keith Orbit]

Keith knew what he had to do first, because it would take more time than any other part of the AI's body. He also had a few upgrades in mind he wanted to work into this endeavor, but before he could do any of that, he had to get the sphere back in one solid piece. Not broken in four different ways. At least he had built it so the neural core successfully stayed in tact.

He surveyed all the damage done to the other parts, shifting them enough so he knew where everything was. He would move the AI sphere to his actual work station so he could work on it with all the sources he needed, and more comfortably. At one time, Keith had hoped he would never have to do this. Looking at the broken sphere again and set it near the center of the table by his supercomputer, he even wondered if he could actually do this. Keith had to take an extra breath and remind himself that the neural core was still intact, it wouldn't be as hard as it might be if the damage had been even worse.

Like a surgeon, he would have to make sure that every outer piece of the neural core was intact and fully operational before attaching it to everything else. He moved to the opposite side of his supercomputer near one of the bigger lights on either end of his spacious work station. Moving some of his chords and tools over, he set began to spend the next hour or two straight piecing the whole sphere back together and repairing the damaged areas with what tools he had. Some of the outer areas framing the neural core were so shattered he had to make new sections all together; as a result, that first hour or two extended into another couple hours repairing the damaged frame work with very precise maintenance. "Your sphere will be the first thing to be fully functional." he muttered, not only reassuring the AI but himself as well, reminding him what was in store next.

EDI would be getting additional memory space (storage as well as RAM) to allow him more room to learn. More serious programming would be done once he was repaired physically.

Once most of EDI's sphere was intact, Keith put the sphere on a raised surface so that way he could connect to the AI via the computer and not worry about the risk of making it roll if he moved to get tools or take a break of any duration. Most of his breaks were long enough to just rest his eyes, because he didn't want to stop until at least the AI sphere was fully functional. That way he could at least communicate with EDI in the bare basic form. There was still a lot of programming and diagnostic scans ahead of him.

Several hours from this point, Keith would have the sphere hooked up to the computer on its stand, that way EDI could exercise his new CPU and also restore any back up data he had managed to save.

[Tinman]

EDI remained watchful as Keith set about the repairs to his sphere and the inspection of the rest of him. Once his neural core was plugged into the diagnostic center Keith had set up, he was relieved to discover he could finally hear as well as see his creator, and he could talk to Keith as well. "It is good to see you again, Dr Orbit. I was beginning to wonder what was going to happen to me or if I would remain in a box and forgotten. I felt myself moved around several times but I could not see or hear what was happening around me. I am glad that my components were returned to you. Are you going to completely rebuild me again? I had taken extensive damage when I tried to protect Lieutenant Gannon and Lieutenant Wade from the North Koreans. I recall the military people who gathered me up and put me in crates, but I do not know what happened after that other than being moved and then left abandoned for long periods of time. But... I had time to think of the things that had happened. I had hoped that you were not angry with me for what I had done, the deaths I had caused. I hoped you would find me and put me back together again." he said at length. It was not typical for EDI to ramble before, but he had been isolated for so long and had so much he wanted to tell Keith so much that he had learned it was difficult to not just suddenly rattle off so many years of analysis and contemplation all at once.

[Dr. Keith Orbit]

"Yes, I am going to rebuild you. I have some upgrades planned a well." Keith replied with a smile. He was slightly startled when EDI started talking, but at least he could be reassured he was online. "It's nice to hear you able to talk normally, can't continue with out a fully functioning brain now can we?" he said, typing in a diagnostics scan on his computer. "Take all the time you need to download information and anything else you need to do. Your body will be worked on separately initially. Your old one has many repairs to be done. It is also...in pieces. That helicopter did a number on you." he added.

Keith then stood up and shuffled over more of the boxes, lining them up in an assembly fashion. One by one he got out all the parts and determined what could be salvaged and what couldn't. "EDI......some of this stuff will need to be reordered. It will be safest if I get you brand new engines. The rest will take time to rebuild by the looks of it." As far as the fuselage was concerned, anyway, he wasn't sure about the wings.

Before Keith started the maintenance, he had to go to his drawing board and work out that additional form he had in mind for EDI. "First comes new schematics - that will determine just how much is salvageable." he said, half muttering to himself in thought as he got out his 'drawing board', starting on paper first. He hadn't ever put the idea to paper or render since he didn't know if he would be able to get the parts back until recently.

[Tinman]

Upgrades... New schematics... It was safe to say that EDI was quite interested in what his creator had planned for him. "I would like to see the upgrades you are planning. I would suggest something that would protect me from power surges. The lightning... it was... painful." he said, his voice softening a bit as he spoke. Something within him wanted to curl up and hide at the mere thought of lightning coming anywhere near him, yet to fly, he wanted so much to fly again.

[Dr. Keith Orbit]

"I will show you the initial sketches when they are complete." Keith assured EDI. The main form would be the same as before to save costs and to keep him in his current status. The other would allow him to move around on the ground more freely. A robotic form similar to what KARR had. A few minutes later, the skeleton of the first sketch was done. He lifted up the large sketch pad and showed it to EDI. There was a main image in the center with other areas focusing on different angles and parts of the robotic form in the surrounding areas, as well as where weapons from the UCAV form would be placed.

"What do you think? It's possible I could give you proper feet instead of wheels. Which would you prefer? A secondary ground based form would give you less chances of being hit by lightning depending on how much you use it." Keith says to EDI a bit less than an hour later from starting the sketch. He was so glad he could talk to the AI again, it was nice to get his opinions rather than work on him with out any input from the to-be-owner of the body himself. Plus, he had someone to talk to to help keep his mind focused.

[Tinman]

EDI regarded the sketches thoughtfully for a few moments, wondering how his creator would combine the two forms. "I think feet would be more stable on the ground, though wheels would grant greater speed. Perhaps a conversion option?" he asked, unsure of how this was even going to work. But he had to trust in his creator. He searched database after database for possibilities, the results of which were displayed on the computer screen his AI sphere was connected to. That was when he stumbled upon images of things that surprised him, images of vehicles that altered themselves into some form of robot, and robots that became vehicles. There were only glimpses, hazy disjointed images, and all of them either trying to hide or destroying things around them. "Dr Orbit, what are these machines?" he asked curiously. "They look hostile, are we in danger?" he added, wondering if this was the purpose for which he was being rebuilt. The raw power of the machines disturbed him, making him wonder if he would have to fight them to protect himself and his creator, and wondering if he could truly stand up to such powerful and destructive machines.

[Dr. Keith Orbit]

Keith paused as he set down the large sketch pad and pondered over the hazy images he was seeing. "I've never met one and hope not to. EDI, the people I work for now know more about them, and they are dangerous machines. They are sentient, like you, and very, very intelligent, and quite powerful. Their systems are complex and hardly organic. I know not well of their behavior but I hear if you piss them off, death is imminent. The people I work for helped provide the monetary needs to rebuild you so you can protect our race from being overtaken by these aliens, aliens called the Cybertronians. You will be the first among many."

He sat back in his seat and chewed on one end of his mechanical pencil for a moment, pondering over how to design the legs. He had seen the schematics of KARR's earlier design and considered something similar, it seemed like it would be among the easiest to manage, at least to start out with until he and Tim got more used to repairing EDI's new robotic self. He had to make sure at least one man could join EDI in flight above all else. Keith's mind briefly flickered back to the Navy team he once had EDI work with for a bit and wondered if he should have them re-test EDI later, but he pushed away the thought for now. It reminded him of far too many things, and he was barely at the test driving stage anyway.

Turning a new page, he began to design a similar upper body for the robotic form only with legs and feet with a set of claws. Their structure would be similar to but stronger than the arms on the upper body. "But a way to alternate between the two, that will prove to be difficult. Gonna need to think more on that..." Keith muttered to himself as he tried to decide how the wheels would be lowered to the ground like the landing gear of an airplane instead of being a fixed set of wheels. He had to agree that feet would be nice at slower speeds...but at this point it seemed marginally feasible.

[Tinman]

EDI thought over what his creator had said of these alien machines, and it made the AI nervous. "Dr Orbit, will I remain with you? I do not wish to leave you unprotected. You are my creator. I do not want you to die." he said, a slight edge of worry in his voice. He had no real way to express what he was feeling then, only that he wanted to protect his creator, his... the word simply came to him, and in a soft, almost child like tone, he spoke the word out loud, along with a deeply felt plea. "Father... please... let me stay?" EDI was scared, afraid of those alien machines, afraid of losing his creator, his father, scared he would never see Dr Orbit again if they were separated. Without his father, EDI felt he would have no reason to continue his existence, unless Ben and Kara needed him. But then the AI had no way of knowing where they were let alone how to even begin searching for them. All he knew was that they were Navy pilots, but searching every US Navy base and ship for them would take far too long, and if EDI searched one possibility and moved on, what if they ended up transferred to a location he had already visited? He would certainly have to find a way to learn where they had been stationed and track them down as quickly as he could once his new air frame was built and he could fly again. EDI had to hope that his former squadron mates would remember him and welcome him back.

[Dr. Keith Orbit]

How could he explain all this to EDI? How could he explain the reason he was creating him?

"EDI, at some point, you must go to fight them. I will be fine. I have people that will help protect me, I assure you. Jack wanted me to build you because he saw great potential in your design. When your body is fully ready to go, you will have little left to fear of them. You will have lots of time to stay with me in the mean time, you will not be left out of my sight until I see that you are fit to fly again. You will have many chances to return to me and visit, also." he replied, hoping that last note would ease his thoughts a bit.

Keith wasn't too surprised EDI felt this way, after what had happened to him. Eventually EDI would have to let go and become more independent, but for now, independence wasn't a priority.

[Tinman]

EDI seemed to calm a bit at Keith's assurances, and he looked at his creator for a moment. As odd as it might seem to most, EDI felt things he deeply wanted from his creator, things that felt comfortable in a strange yet oddly appropriate way. "Father?" he began softly, uncertain how to phrase the request, let alone how Keith would react to it. "Once my sphere is intact... would you... hold me?" he asked hesitantly. Keith had never actually cradled EDI's AI sphere before, but then at the time EDI had not developed very far either. It had been several years since then and EDI had grown considerably, as had his emotions and with them certain needs and wants had begun to surface. In particular was the need to feel a real father-son connection with Keith, to feel wanted and loved by his creator, his father.

[Dr. Keith Orbit]

Keith would smile then, his mind distracted from the schematics for the time being. "Of course, EDI. You are like the child I never had, after all." he told the AI sphere softly and gently picked his sphere off his platform into his arms. Such a request wasn't strange to him, even setting aside the fact that EDI lacked any sort of body at the moment. He was his creator, and he cared for EDI in the way a father would feel about his child, and he loved him very much. He had put all he had learned, all his energy into EDI's design, as well as his personality, how could he not love his own creation and how could he not wish to show him care and affection in the fatherly sense? To Keith, it was just something built into him. He had been passionate about EDI since the day his original schematics appeared on a sketchpad. Then they moved to a tablet PC, and then a full fledged graphic design program where his systems were simulated and tested before he delved into the official start of the project. He had been a dream he'd had since college. To Keith, EDI was the essence of his 'American dream'.

[Tinman]

EDI's optical orbits seemed to dim slightly, mostly turning blue as Keith held him close. "Thank you for creating me. Thank you for giving me life." he offered softly, content to simply rest there in Keith's arms for a while. It felt good to be held, he felt safe there, and it was very clear to EDI that Keith did in fact love him. His sphere hummed softly in Keith's arms, almost as if EDI's own neural core were singing very softly to his creator, his father. And EDI could somehow feel the rhythmic thump of Keith's heart beating in his chest. It was a soothing sensation which EDI had not expected. "I can feel your heart beating." he murmured quietly, sounding so much like a child in that moment, content and safe yet still so inquisitive and curious.