Alex's Apartment

Astraea was roused from sleep mode by the sound of quickly moving feet coming from the bedroom and a light scrape of plastic on wood. She roused herself the rest of the way and checked the time to find it at the wee hours of morning. She decided tuned half-way in to listen to the whispered conversation between Alex's guest from the previous evening and the Navi who had (tried) to talk to her last night. They were searching for the rest of the lady's outfit and as they went among the articles of clothing haphazardly strewn across the room Astraea reached out and oh-so-helpfully turned off the alarm on the door. There was the sound of a door opening and closing and then a moment of silence as she listened to be sure. Satisfied that the guests had both left she flicked the alarm back on and settled herself back down to rest with the barest of smug smiles.

===

It was several hours later when yet another person emerged from the bedroom, footsteps thudding with more weight than the previous pair. Astraea considered the top of the coffee table where her PET had been carelessly tossed face down and listened once more. There was the tell-tale creak of the bathroom door opening then shutting, a long pause of several minutes, and then the shower turned on.

Satisfied that her NetOp was up and intended to stay up, Astraea turned back to the designs she had been considering and saved it to a file that got flipped to the queue waiting to be transferred to her workshop. She stretched, got the kinks mostly out of her shoulders and neck with some rolling and shrugging of joints. She checked her belt to ensure everything was in its place and in good working order and then sent herself hurtling down a tube to the Net itself.

-To NetSquare-
Alex sauntered back home with a satisfied grin. Today had been productive! New upgrades for Astraea had been acquired and had been a perfect excuse to get well acquainted with an..acquaintance.

..Look, he wasn't going to college for an English degree.

"So! Where are you thinking of testing those? Back to ACDC or to newer nets?" He asked. He flopped onto the couch in his living room, putting the heel of one foot on top. he grinned before offering some suggestions of his own. "I've heard Elec Net can be a shocking experience!"

Astraea stopped examining her machines long enough to face the outside of the PET properly. There was a slight frown on her face, and absolutely no reaction to the pun. It was as if she hadn't even registered it. "A return to ACDC Net would provide a more stable testing environment. In order to obtain the most accurate data it would be the obvious choice." She paused as her shoulders slumped. Alex shifted forward on the couch, his eyebrows lifting.

"I'm sensing a 'but' at the end of the sentence! Anyways, isn't it just numbers? The name of the Net might be different but there's still viruses to bust!" He said as he punctuated his statement with a fist in the air.

"I...do not wish to be confined to one Net but I do not yet feel ready to move on to other areas. I enjoyed the scenery of ACDC. It would provide the most accurate testing area, and I do not want to risk unknown areas with an untested arsenal." She said. Alex nodded along in agreement, his expression unusually serious.

"You're with me now, that means you won't be stuck in just one area! If you're feeling unsure we can go back to ACDC for a while though." He grinned and tapped the screen of the pet with his thumb. "I won't let you get out of going to new places, but I get that busting is new to you! So we'll take it slow and work our way up to the other areas." She stiffly nodded, her mouth easing into something that was less stressed and more neutral.

"I appreciate the consideration you've given my proposal."

"Psh, proposal-schmosal, if you want something ask for it! We don't have a strictly business relationship here." He reassured her while flapping a hand in the air. His attention focused on her again and he grinned at the little alien Navi. "Hope you're ready 'cause we're getting to it! First Stop: ACDC Net then the great unknowns! Astraea, Jack in!" He pointed the PET at the TV and watched as it blipped on and revealed the netscape around her.