How the integration between SAP SD and SAP TM works?
In today's complex business landscape, seamless integration of SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) with SAP Transportation Management (TM) is paramount. This integration bridges the gap between order processing and transportation, ensuring a streamlined and efficient workflow. By aligning these systems, businesses can achieve unparalleled synergy, optimizing their supply chain, enhancing customer satisfaction, and significantly improving operational efficiency. This blog delves into the vital aspects of SAP SD and SAP TM integration, exploring its significance and its myriad benefits to modern enterprises.
II. Understanding SAP SD and SAP TM:
SAP SD (Sales and Distribution) module is the cornerstone of order processing and management in SAP ERP systems. It handles critical activities such as sales order creation, pricing, delivery, and billing, ensuring a seamless flow of information from sales to distribution. Businesses rely on SAP SD to optimize sales processes, manage customer relationships, and expedite revenue generation.
On the other hand, the SAP TM (Transportation Management) module is designed to enhance logistics and transportation operations. It encompasses functionalities for transportation planning, execution, and monitoring. SAP TM optimizes routes, selects carriers, and tracks shipments in real time, promoting efficient transportation management. Its features include load planning, carrier selection, event management, and freight cost calculation, ensuring businesses can manage their transportation networks effectively.
Understanding the intricate workings of both modules is essential for harnessing the full potential of SAP SD and SAP TM integration. This synergy accelerates order-to-delivery cycles and enables businesses to orchestrate a highly efficient and customer-centric supply chain.
III. Why Integrate SAP SD and SAP TM?
Integrating SAP SD and SAP TM is imperative for modern businesses seeking a competitive edge. By aligning these systems, companies can streamline their operations, eliminating redundancies and enhancing overall efficiency. The integration fosters end-to-end visibility across the supply chain, enabling real-time tracking of orders and shipments. This visibility not only optimizes supply chain management but also facilitates proactive decision-making. Moreover, seamless integration ensures timely deliveries, reducing lead times and boosting customer satisfaction. Businesses can achieve a seamless, customer-focused, and agile supply chain ecosystem by harmonizing sales, distribution, and transportation processes.
IV. Challenges in SAP SD and SAP TM Integration:
Data Synchronization Issues: Ensuring consistent and accurate data exchange between SAP SD and SAP TM is vital. Discrepancies in information, such as order details or shipment statuses, can lead to errors and operational disruptions. Synchronizing data in real-time is crucial to maintaining the integrated system's integrity.
Complex Configurations: Large enterprises often have intricate organizational structures and diverse product lines, leading to complex configurations in SAP SD and SAP TM. Configuring these systems to work seamlessly together requires in-depth knowledge and expertise, considering various business processes and rules. Managing this complexity is essential for successful integration.
Communication Gaps Between Modules:Effective communication between SAP SD and SAP TM modules is paramount. If there are gaps or delays in data transmission, it can lead to misunderstandings, delays, or incorrect decisions. Addressing these communication gaps ensures that information flows smoothly, allowing for timely and accurate responses to changing business needs.
Customization Challenges: Every business has unique processes and requirements. Integrating SAP SD and SAP TM often involves customization to align the integration with specific business workflows. However, customization can be challenging, as it requires a deep understanding of both modules and the ability to modify the software without compromising its stability. Skilled professionals are essential to navigate these challenges effectively.
V. Best Practices for Integration:
Implementing a successful SAP SD and SAP TM integration requires adherence to essential best practices:
Precise Mapping of Business Processes: Thoroughly understand and map your existing business processes. Understanding how orders, deliveries, and shipments flow through your organization is fundamental to designing a practical integrated system.
Data Consistency and Accuracy: Ensure data integrity across both modules. Consistent and accurate data form a seamless integration foundation, from product information to customer details. Regularly validate and cleanse data to prevent discrepancies.
Real-Time Synchronization Techniques: Implement real-time data synchronization mechanisms. Real-time updates between SAP SD and SAP TM guarantee the information is current and relevant, enabling swift decision-making and enhancing overall operational efficiency.
Integration Testing and Validation: Rigorous testing is essential. Conduct extensive integration testing scenarios to validate the integration setup. Identify and rectify any issues before deployment, ensuring a smooth transition and minimizing the risk of disruptions in day-to-day operations.
VI. Case Studies on Successful Integration:
Several companies have reaped substantial benefits from integrating SAP SD and SAP TM:
Company A: Through seamless integration, Company A streamlined its order-to-delivery process. Real-time tracking and optimized routes reduced delivery times by 20%, enhancing customer satisfaction. Improved visibility led to better decision-making, lowering operational costs by 15%.
Company B: Company B integrated SAP SD and SAP TM, boosting its supply chain efficiency. Accurate demand forecasting and optimized transportation planning lowered inventory holding costs by 25%. Additionally, they experienced a 30% reduction in transportation expenses due to optimal route planning and carrier selection.
VIII. Implementing SAP SD and SAP TM Integration:
Integrating SAP SD and SAP TM involves a systematic approach:
Steps Involved: Begin with a comprehensive analysis of existing processes, followed by system configuration and customization. Data mapping and synchronization protocols are crucial. Rigorous integration testing ensures seamless operation before deployment.
Role of IT and Business Teams: IT teams oversee technical aspects, focusing on software integration and data flow. Business teams provide insights into process requirements, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives. Close collaboration between these teams is pivotal for success.
Key Considerations: Scalability, data security, and real-time synchronization are paramount. Consider modular integration for gradual implementation, allowing for iterative improvements and reduced disruption.
Challenges and Solutions: Challenges may include data discrepancies and communication gaps. Address these through regular data audits, real-time monitoring, and continuous training programs. Adaptable, knowledgeable teams are essential in overcoming implementation hurdles.
IX. Future Trends in SAP SD and SAP TM Integration:
Cutting-edge advancements mark the future of SAP SD and SAP TM integration. Predictive analytics and AI-driven solutions will optimize decision-making, while IoT integration ensures real-time tracking and enhanced visibility. Mobile applications will become more sophisticated, enabling on-the-go management for seamless business operations.
X. FAQs Section
What is TM in SAP SD?
In SAP SD (Sales and Distribution), "TM" refers to Transportation Management. It's a vital sub-module that handles logistics and transportation planning, optimizing shipment routes, carrier selection, and tracking. TM ensures efficient goods delivery, enhancing overall supply chain operations within the SAP SD framework.
2. What is the integration between SAP SD and MM?
Integrating SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) and Materials Management (MM) modules facilitates streamlined business operations. SD communicates sales order data to MM for inventory checks and valuation. MM provides SD with real-time inventory updates and procurement details, ensuring accurate order fulfilment and efficient inventory management.
3. What are the common challenges faced during integration?
Common challenges during integration include data inconsistencies, system compatibility issues, complex configuration conflicts, and communication gaps between modules. These hurdles can disrupt seamless information flow. Adequate planning, skilled professionals, and rigorous testing are essential to mitigate these challenges, ensuring successful integration between modules like SAP SD and MM.
4. How can businesses ensure data consistency between the modules?
Businesses can ensure data consistency between modules by establishing clear data governance policies, enforcing standardized data entry procedures, implementing regular data validation checks, and employing integration tools that support real-time data synchronization. Continuous monitoring and periodic audits also help maintain accurate and consistent data across modules.
5. Are there any specific industries where SAP SD and SAP TM integration is most beneficial?
SAP SD and SAP TM integration is particularly beneficial for industries with complex supply chains and high-volume transportation needs, such as manufacturing, retail, consumer goods, and logistics. These sectors require seamless coordination between sales, distribution, and transportation processes to optimize deliveries, minimize costs, and enhance customer satisfaction.
XI. Conclusion:
In conclusion, this article underscores the pivotal role of SAP SD and SAP TM integration in enhancing business operations. Additionally, corporates are hiring experts in SAP SD and SAP TM Module, which benefits the organization in integration. Invest today to become an expert by taking SAP SD and SAP TM Training.We've explored the challenges, best practices, and future trends, emphasizing the critical need for seamless data flow. In today's competitive marketplace, businesses are encouraged to embrace this integration, ensuring improved efficiency, reduced costs, and elevated customer satisfaction.
Are you ready to enroll or attend the demo session:
Register here: https://bit.ly/3S7N1OF
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To Kill The Gods
Chapter One: A House Is Not A Home
Content Warnings: Discussions of bigotry, extreme physical and mechanical augmentation, mild non-sexual nudity, drug / nicotine use
Hi. Welcome to Chapter One. Do me a favor okay? Mind the content warnings, I'll try to do them comprehensively on every chapter. Mind the tags, if you want to find story posts easily, search 'Vassal Dash Six Story,' every post will have this tag. If you like my work please reblog I guess, I'd like people to read it. <3 Thank you.
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As was always the case whenever its 'time to be awake' alarm went off, it woke up with the sound, and let it play for a few moments, until it felt like moving was a little bit easier - stiffness was common, those days. The only work it could find was construction and retrofitting, and since it had the hardware and… physiology… for extreme magic HAZMAT…
Sore, it gestured reflexively as it used its headware to silence the alarm. The creature's bed was simple, little more than a cot with a thin pad on it, as was its preference. As soon as its feet hit cement, it walked the two feet to the 'window,' where it drew the curtains to look outside. Despite attempting to emulate a window, including active head position tracking and syncing with its headware, the damned digiglass still flickered - one of the integration systems was under maintenance, and it had impacted digiglass city-wide.
Allegedly, it was going to be fixed two months prior, but the wheels of the Vegas-4 Urban Reclamation Zone's management council turned… distinctly slowly, because of resource limitations and sheer expense.
With a sigh, it picked up the hot cup of tea that the dispenser on its small, personal table prepared, and took a sip, disquieted by the absence of gear, uncomfortable with the usage of lips. Typically it limited consumption to automatic routines that left its meat numb, but… the tea was hot, and it wasn't looking for more burns.
Outside, from the perspective of EXT-CAM-841 located approximately three floors above, the city was alive with motion. Transport craft based on modified Hellish VTOL engines flitted about, carrying cargo or people, less than a third of them driven by hand. The skywalks were seas of motion, people walking along quarter mile wide pavilions, shopping at stalls…
"Weather," it rasped, cringing at its unchosen voice.
"Weather currently is… unlisted. NAU Meteorological Services are currently on standby due to a thaumic discordance near to the primary detection array," its phone said, sitting on the table by the dispenser.
"That's normal," it murmured, unnerved but… not surprised, explicitly. Vegas-4 had been going to shit for a while. It seemed like the longer the earthbound walled cities ran on, the more and more they broke down. Everyone was focused on Mars, on Luna, on the Moon Egg… down there, in the dirt of their homeworld, things were more and more just… falling apart.
It often pondered… why, but never came to a satisfying conclusion.
The Wall, in the deep distance, towered above it all - the first of its kind, a miracle brought about by the first truly successful mass ritualistic working in human history. On its top, it was green, and covered in the Forest Ring. Sometimes, when it was lucky, it managed to snag logging detail work, and got to go up there - its hardware and modifications were suited to hostile environs, even frigid perpetual winters and thin atmospheres - hookups for atmo tanks were a simple matter, and the posion sap of the mutated trees capable of surviving up there?
It was, by mercy, immune.
It stood there, as the sun clawed its way above the wall, and began to draw lines across the city as its beams cut between the trees and towers. Darkness was a familiar creature to humanity - they had endured it so long it had started to feel like home. Though they were rare, there were still people who eschewed light entirely - the Faceless were sympathetic. To feel light on the skin…
Was all too easy to see how it could be uncomfortable.
Sighing, it finished the tea and looked up at the blue of the sky. For nearly one hundred and fifty years after the Reconnection… all one would see looking up was the Black Accusation, coating the planet in dark, oily clouds that were thickest around The Vast One…
Earth was a scarred place. It took over five hundred years just for the flagging population of the planet to figure out how to unfuck the sky! The Egg of The Vast, the Moon Egg, hung in the sky, dead and inert, permanently aborted before it could birth a twin to their primary problem at that time - Humanity's first victory against the Vast Ones.
The unit couldn't look anywhere without seeing the echoes of the past, of the wars and death, the destruction and adaptation…
When did a rock become little more than a tomb for a tortured past?
These things had weighed heavy on its mind, in the days prior to that, on that morning. The past was a heavy thing, its chains and bones still binding people to ancient beliefs and rituals that made no sense in the modern day - for instance, it couldn't get off the literally god damned rock no matter what it tried. People were still reliant on their biases, and those changed with as much regularity as a clock could tick.
The boom of accepting willing, hard upgraded Faceless onto terraforming effort teams, colony teams, even fucking planet-side land reclaimation teams… had passed, almost at the same time as it made the choice to adopt a visage of choice, and not one of simple happenstance. Regardless of the pervasive nonsense suddenly on the minds of every recruiter, every organizer and every ridiculous head-up-ass logistics director…
It'd pass, and until then, there would always be work for folks like it, even if people didn't want to admit it, wanted to pretend they weren't useful, wanted to act like they were freaks or weirdos or whatever new bullshit they'd come up with. It'd pass, and people would be willing to let it be useful again. Until then, holding pattern. Do its best, as much work as it could that was useful and difficult and-
"Pardon me for the interruption," the building's management AI said, in her measured, clipped tone. Overall, the Unit found her to be quite pleasant, but not really so pleasant intruding on its privacy.
"My settings have not been altered," it said, quietly. "Do you see me?"
"No, Unit, I do not. Protocol does not allow visual settings overrides in any private space. Audio is only available so long as my task is incomplete," it said, speaking to the unit like a fucking person for once. In the presence of others, she was required to be in front-facing mode, which forced a faux sort of clean, sterile cheeriness. "I experience no pleasure from intruding, believe me."
"I do," it replied. "What is it, Nancy?"
"A priority two-fehu communication request has been directed through the Redline System, with your designation on it," the AI replied. The unit looked up, sharply. Two-fehu was high classification - and the Redline System? That was supposed to be for contacting government folks, or contractors, scientists… not random Faceless. "I have not been provided any meaningful information, nor any details."
"Request them, please… I'm sorry," it said, tiredly. Nancy had enough work on her plate managing the building, even with the upgrades to her hardware systems. She was, granted, an L-AI, her neural systems inherently limited - not on purpose, and not for lack of trying. Even the most advanced Hellish AI were L-AI, making the designation almost pointless. No one was even sure if a C-AI, complete versus limited AI, was even possible.
No one was sure Death would allow it.
"All details stated to be classified above L-AI access allowances," she replied, after several moments. "The call is from… hm. The name is concealed by means I am unfamiliar with, but bearing a grant signature."
"Grant signature?"
"Obfuscation of the name is approved by the governing council."
That, it had to admit, was a new one. A name obfuscation? Even Faceless had to adhere to required identification protocols, and in fact, had to do so… much more often than others - another petty inconvenience imposed by old bigotries rearing their heads in new ways.
"…will they be able to alter my visual feed settings?"
"Would it matter, given that all integrated security systems were mapped and those maps were provided to you?" Nancy asked. It chuckled, having installed its own aperture caps over the lenses. No one saw its space unless it opened those.
"No, it would not. Put them through," it replied, bemusedly. "And please don't listen in."
"I could not. I do not have the clearance."
The unit frowned, and then regretted it, and decided that it would gear itself up as soon as possible. The Unchosen Form was particularly grating, that day.
As it walked, nude and unconcerned, across its microscopic single room apartment to the shower, the communication connection was completed, and an augmented reality projection displayed itself on the unit's vision, via optic nerve intercept image injection systems in its headware.
"Hello. I will ask right off the start the following questions," the projection of a vaguely humanoid shadow said, in a deeply neutral voice. Very spy-bullshitty, which made it nervous, so it turned the hot water on and waited. "How do I refer to you? I am, at best, unfamiliar with… Faceless, as it were."
"This one's designation is Vassal Dash Six," it replied, evenly. "Pronouns are explicitly it/its."
"Vassal Dash Six, fascinating… any other names?" the shadow asked. It washed its furlike mane, a modification chosen for the adaptability provided - alongside the thick pads of fur on the outsides of its arms, covering its back. Dusty, grayish-black, it was suitable, and functional.
"This one's previous work group nicknamed it 'Longwalk,' due to its habit of volunteering for the longest haul trips, which usually required significant distance transport of heavy loads," it replied, uncertainly. "Nicknames are often situational and temporary."
"Why volunteer for extra work? Logging is dangerous enough, even with exo-hardware, especially up on the wall in the Forest Circle. Endurance would also be difficult, and require-"
"Because I have spent the majority of all paychecks on significant modifications to my nervous, respiratory and integumentary systems, making me particularly qualified for hazardous and extreme environments, and because I am strong," it replied, stepping out of the shower and onto its drying plate. Like very few, it had chosen to specialize… and specializing meant that the fur lining its arms and back weren't going to dry themselves, nor would a towel do a particularly good job if the unit wanted it to be quick.
"Cold environments? Low oxygen environments?" the shadow asked, as Vassal pulled on a pair of underwear and made sure they were sitting correctly.
"This one is highly specialized for variable temperature extremes, low oxygen environments, toxic and caustic threats to a limited degree, and heavy load lifting," it replied. This was, if it was a job interview, one of the weirdest fucking job interviews it had ever endured. "I am also equipped with a full headware package, class three, with environmental scan capabilities, bio-tier olfactory chemical detection-"
"Class seven skeletal reinforcement, full exoframe porting… and an excellent service record. Very good," the shadow replied.
"Forgive me, but if you knew all of this already, why are you asking me? Am I correct in assuming you are associated with the government? Because I has no interest in classified work projects, government service, or being treated like I'm not a person," it said, curtly, tugging on its bra and making sure its boobs were situated. "I also require that any longterm work project meet specific needs."
"Explain those needs."
"Consistent access to a pharma printer with necessary components for generation of organic medical supplements or otherwise a specific stock of implant-mangement compatible vials of organic medical supplements for the duration of the assignment plus ten percent for safety," it replied, promptly. "Estrogen, implant managed, primarily. Additionally, progesterone and two hundred milligrams of-"
"Alchemically active sivagyn," the shadow interrupted. "You do not have an internal hormone manipulation and endocrine management system? Only administration management?"
"…those are expensive, alright? Genomic remapping is out of the question, I have no access to any of the artifacts that can potentially enable manual endocrine reorganization, I am… poor. I have what I need, but what I want is a different matter," it replied, no longer terse, but quiet. It spoke patiently, accepting of its limitations. "And what I want is not determined by the current system to be necessary for my continued function and survival."
"Ahhh, expense. The government does worry on that. Very well, let me see…" the shadow trailed off, and its arms moved, hands manipulating what the unit was certain was a number of holomonitors, or otherwise, an entire holofield comms grid. Some folks got so good at holo they made it their own, customizing it, until they were dancers in a sea of light only they could understand.
It wondered what the shadow did for work, as it tugged on a loose tanktop and marveled at the finally completed repigmenting of its skin. Coal black was much more comfortable than what had come before, and with the right modifications…
"Ahhh, marvelous. What is your stance on non-government medical personnel?" the shadow asked.
"Preferred," it replied, tying its mess of hair back and approaching its face-rack. Back in the day, people used belts and things to attach their faces, but the modern Faceless had things a bit easier. All it had to do was approach, and press the flesh and skull to the inside of its face, and the hardware set to work. Bolts tightened into its reinforced skull. Connections were secured, and its spinal hardware numbed its head meat, shut off its vestigial 'eyes,' and limited its sensory input from stock olfactory systems, as well as nervous throughput from its oral structures.
The rear shell sealed, covering the majority of its cranium, save a rectangular slot at the back that its tied mane pushed through. When it removed the tie, this fur fluffed out, filled out the slot fully - but remained, bound.
External cameras activated and calibrated, fed directly through its optic nerve interrupt right into its brain. That had been an adjustment, it was happy to admit, given that its field of view could suddenly expand far beyond biological limits - and the data, even translated, was significantly higher resolution and tracked much more smoothly than biological eyes.
Translator and limiter systems made it possible, but it was still… an adjustment.
Even so, with its face on, it once again felt… at peace.
"Very good. Then you have an appointment in three hours and seven minutes with C-DR. Evan Crenst, details available publicly. He will retrofit your systems, bring all hardware up to current bleeding edge, and provide you with an internal endocrine management system, negating the need for medfab… and I'll throw three hundred thousand coin on top, get yourself something nice installed," the shadow murmured, sounding rather… pleased with itself, for a heavily processed, androgynous sort of voice. "Is this agreeable?"
it snorted.
"Agreeable, sure. Affordable? Hardly. Like you're implying you're going to pay for it, but lady, that's insane, that kind of retro work would take… more money than, collectively, I have ever had."
"The payment has already been transferred, confirmation on your HUD in three," the shadow said, flicking its fingers and lowering its arms. A receipt flashed on the unit's AR overlay, and it blinked.
"…I haven't agreed to anything yet," it said, slowly, starting to get nervous. Faceless were generally considered an issue, by many folk… and their penchant for being heavily auged made them targets for low-retaliation corpse stripping. A call from a redline should not have been spoofable, but people found new tricks all the time…
A few rapid searches and a few taps around on the holo-monitor projected from its personal table showed that this C-DR. Crenst was…
Not just legitimate, but highly rated. Using a barrowkey, it logged into the privately maintained Faceless operated LessNet, and searched the name.
Other Faceless had work done by him - quite a lot of them, in fact. The private LessNet reviews were approximately as revealing as its searches of the general net in that they were unanimously glowing, save for a few who were merely satisfied, and one case of an accident occurring that…
Investigation had determined was not Crenst's fault or doing, through action OR negligence.
If he was a scrapper on the side, he was the most capable, spymaster-tier motherfucker on-
"You will," the shadow said, simply. "But I will humor you, unit. A crew is needed. Interstellar travel is required. The distance is… astounding, and the time it will take… significant. Eight years in Extended Purgatorium."
It stared at the shadow.
"What is the task?" it demanded.
"Dangerous… frightening. Incomprehensible, to some, the seed of madness in others. You possess the necessary qualities to not be rendered a wet, gibbering mess, before you ask why you are being approached," the shadow explained, patiently. "You do want to be an adventurer, do you not? Travel beyond the walls?"
"Ain't easy to get a license when you cant justify your certain death, no matter how eventual," it replied, bitterly. Prison wasn't the right word, nor was 'unfair' or even 'unreasonable,' but… 'frustrating' and 'fuck you' definitely applied. "I cannot leave. No one new has left in months. The government is turtling, and we do not know why."
"You will be granted an unlimited, complete license including full supply requisition and identification of potential homestead sites, and a stipend for purchase of said site, or otherwise necessary equipment and transport to any colony we know about," the shadow told it.
"Bullshit. No one can swing that."
"Swung," the shadow replied, and its City Resident profile flashed on the overlay. Its authority rank flickered, raising from D to SSS. Its travel permissions rating flickered, shifting from 'Limited Work Based' to 'Unlimited - Self Authority,' something it had only ever seen on like, logistics officers and colony ship captains. Its eyes tracked to the 'Disbursement Owed' and it noted that what previously was simply N/A had been adjusted to 'Variable - No Less Than 4 Million Coin.'
That was fucking EYE WATERING, and it didn't even have lacrimal glands anymore.
"I still haven't agreed to anything," it said, slowly, because that had all likely just cost a significant amount of money - and, covertly, it sent a message to Nancy asking her to do a few searches on it from various proxies to verify she hadn't somehow spiked its headware. "And I still don't know who you are."
"By design. Is that a requirement for hiring?" the shadow asked.
"Yes, it is. I don't work for shadows, that's how you get your ass barred from the cities, or worse, scrapped. I might want outside, but I want back in when I want, too - and I'd like to keep my fucking life and organs. I hate to be terse, I do, but this is all very suspicious," it replied, evenly. After a moment, the shadow flickered out.
"Then I want to see you," she said, her voice revealed fully, alongside the call's identification window refreshing to display pronouns she and her, and the name 'Xivisal.'
"You bear the name of the third fallen Saint-Keeper of the Angelus Remainder," it said, quietly. "Why?"
"Because a name, like a mantle, like a plank, like a talisman, can simply be given… or taken… if one wills it," she replied. "And thusly, it was willed."
"Whatever. Fine. Nancy, let her see me," it muttered, crossing its arms.
The shadow re-emerged into its AR overlay, and Vassal silently adjusted the integration system and had it rescan the floor level so her feet weren't stuck in the cement. Typically, it didn't desync like that, except for people who were-
It found itself looking down at her. Sure, Vassal itself was a halfie, touched with succubine genetics, and thusly had the benefit of significant additional scale, but she herself was very much… small.
"I didn't expect an imphound," it said, softly, peering at her fluffy ears, perked, tips just scraping five feet tall, at most. It glanced down at the scrambled blocks below her neck, obscuring fine details of her form, her garb, her everything. "You're cheating."
"Touche," she replied, and the blocks tesselated outward, clarifying her full form to reveal the legs of a hellhound, clad in belted armoring and simple cloth pants. Her torso was the same. All told, it wasn't sure why it expected her to look… more opulent, or at minimum, more complicated. "Your form… so unique, so interesting. Does that insult you?"
"Not quite, but I admit, I am not used to it," the unit replied, glancing aside. "What is my role? Dumb muscle? I don't have any distance combat packages or training, nor do I have any implant-managed neurochemical enhancement or-"
"Yes, the endocrine manager will include such chemical adaptive packages, I specified that as a requirement. Mr. Crenst is delighted, you'll be happy to know, he's having to rapidsource parts from all over the city," she interrupted. "I must say, your lack of non-exoframed images made me curious, and I am delighted to be surprised. Your mask is particularly interest-"
"Face. My FACE. It is not a mask," it said, cutting her off tersely. "I would ask you please not refer to my face as a 'mask.'"
The imphound tilted her holographic head, ears flicking, and smiled a small sort of smile. Golden eyes against the cherry red of impskin was, it had to admit, a lovely combination.
"Very well. My apologies, Dash Six. May I call you that?" she asked. It wasn't used to that. People usually didn't ask before calling it what they wanted.
"Six, or Dash, Or Vass, or Vassal," it replied. She nodded.
"Very well, Vass. My apologies. Your face is particularly interesting to me, and I daresay, quite lovely," she said, and it sighed. The politeness wasn't even a bad thing, it just didn't know how to respond. "Your task will require you to venture into a… let us call it a ruin. This network and call is hardly secure, but you will face potential death, confusion, insanity, ruin, eternal purgatorium, dismemberment, poisoning, corrosive-"
"Dangerous, got it. I gathered from the pay," it replied, sighing. "Fine. Last question, ma'am."
"Shoot," she said.
"The Extended Purgatorium stasis, what's the plan there? I've… never been in an EP pod. You hear things."
"Your consciousness will be suspended, and your body preserved using thaumic, alchemical, and temporal means. To you, it will feel like taking a nap," she told it, smiling again. "You needn't worry. They are safe, and I will be with you on board."
"In a pod?" it asked.
"In a pod," she confirmed. "You will not be able to maintain this living space. I know that is an enormous issue, but alternate payment packages can be worked out at any point, even now, if you'd prefer to return to a similar space with a sum, and so on."
Sighing, it sat down in its personal chair and shrugged.
"Doesn't matter to me, right now. This place was never my home, just where I returned to sleep between jobs. I will… miss, someone, but he will be fine without me. There are others who care deeply for him, others like me," it replied. "Just… ma'am. There's a lot, lately, a lot of shit about Faceless. I've applied to multiple colonization, mapping and exploration teams. Lot of use for someone strong and hooked up… but got no responses, or got outright denied. One of them told me he wasn't letting 'freaks' on board. Why, not me, but a Faceless in the first place? You barely even seem familiar with us."
"You are qualified, hooked up, experienced, apparently capable, remarkably competent, quick to pick up on new concepts, and highly resistant to potential mission hazards - and, if you'll forgive me this, you're so very interesting," she said, and it was still baffled by that. "…and you're polite, and discreet, but you're not trying to, pardon my coarseness, suck my asshole like I shit gold - all things I appreciate. Your nature as a Faceless is, forgive me once more, irrelevant. It is what you are. That is fine with me."
"…huh. Alright, that's… actually… fine," it murmured, inhaling a heavy dose of stimulant and nicotine vapor produced by its face and exhaling it in a light fog. "Neat. I accept."
"Then please step outside. An associate of mine will be waiting on floor three hundred, at the primary dock, in private latching 31."
"Is he going to be weird about my face, too?" it asked, tiredly.
"Negative, he's local, another recruit. Good luck, and I will welcome you on board when you wake from transfer post-op," she told it… and then, she paused, frowning. "Things may not go to plan, Vass. I want… to offer you comfort, and assuage worries if you wake to chaos. The building you are in? It's extremely secure, and prepared extremely well for what is to come. Whoever you… care about… arm him. Warn your friends something is coming, but do it quickly, and be discreet. I mean it."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am," it said, unnerved. She paused, smiling a little against the dread in her eyes. "What is it, ma'am?"
"Ma'am… the moment you were hired," she said, chuckling and turning away. "Very interesting, Vassal."
The call ended and it dismissed the AR overlay, rising and looking around. Packing the majority of its things was easy - they were already packed in its job bags. The furniture…
"Nancy, I need to request assistance from the building's logistics director - and please, if possible, ping the Faceless and ask if any have seen Zeep, have them direct him to maintenance stairwell fourteen-Jera," it said, finally, moving to the bags and kneeling, digging through them to find a wrench. While Nancy pinged the building's on duty logistics director, it rose and set to work unbolting its gear system from the wall's universal socket pattern.
It also sent a message, an emergency message, via the LessNet Barrowkey connection. They weren't supposed to use that function unless it was real, and serious, and it hoped the Captain wasn't kidding.
'All Faceless of Earth - Prepare. Something is coming. Arm yourselves. Be ready.'
They would listen. Faceless trusted Faceless, and in the city, it was known well enough to have backing. While it turned the bolts, it watched additional messages flood in, reporting suspicious behavior of building management AIs, strange machinery uncovering itself at the bases of many buildings in the Deep Dark, and a notable increase in Union robotics performing rapid, typically expensive, building repairs.
Something was coming. She told it to warn its friends.
It warned ALL of them.
"Crak here, what do you need," a strong, deep voice said, startling it from its monitoring.
"Immediate egress. Furniture must remain. Is that a problem?" it asked.
"Negative, we can handle it. You're… the Facless on 271, East Corner… alrighty. Got it. Good luck out there, Vassal Dash Six" he said, and the unit chuckled, disassembling the gear system and packing it into its padded hardcase.
"Thank you, sir."
"No problem. Disconnecting," he said, bluntly - and with a crackle of static, the voice was gone. It finished its task, and then rose, using connector straps to leash the bags together. No one paid it much mind, not there - there were lots of Faceless in the building, mixed among and with the folk whose organic faces were adequate for their needs. The walk wasn't short, but it didn't mind, and preferred to avoid the internal transit system - especially that early in the day, when folk were on their way to work.
Except, it noted…
The transit system was offline… and complaints or messages on the board for said system had been either suppressed or disabled completely.
Didn't change its plans, however - crowds bugged it, too.
Instead, it walked until it reached the third branch stairwell and used a borrowed maintenace code to slip inside. The logistics manager had long ago given up on trying to prevent the Faceless from navigating the superstructure how they needed, as it was overall more efficient and cheaper to simply let them do their thing.
In the quiet of the stairwell, it ascended, wondering what it'd be like to finally get out into the black. Would it get to feel zero gravity? Would they let it do a spacewalk? It was qualified, at least, for those things…
How would the stars look, from wherever they were going? It had images of the stars over the city on most nights, when the light pollution reduction network kicked on and the city's dynamic lighting AI activated… could it compare them? Perhaps, the labelled ones… if it could identify stars familiar, it could orient.
It was, the unit decided, marked excitement. This was its big break, its chance to go be something more than part of the Human Remainder, to push the knowledge of distant things forward… It was a chance, a powerful chance, to mean something.
This was a chance to really, magnificently be of use.
"Leaving?" a soft voice asked. It activated its peripheral camera, casting a motionless sidelong glance at Zeep.
"I am. Where is your mother, Zeep? You know she worries when you walk the maintenance corridors," it replied, wondering why the kid was so fucking quiet. He moved like a ghost, a graceful creature that was half-human and half hellhound, flicking ears and tail included. Big, luminous gold eyes rose as they climbed upwards, locking right on the side microcam as if he could literally see it.
"She is asleep. I could not. Dreams."
The unit nodded.
Dreams.
"I understand," it told him. He and his mother, Anada, were good folk - kind folk - who had gone through too damn much. The collapse of the Heartbar Reclamation effort had killed a whole lot of people, including the kid's father and older sister. "…do you fear my absence?"
He looked forward, smiling an honest smile missing a canine tooth - most of his teeth had gone earlier that year, but the canines had been slow, common in houndlikes and halfies.
"No, there are other Faceless here who will help my mother when she worries," he answered. "Faceless help lots of people."
"It is our common goal," Vass replied. "I go to the stars, Zeep. Something is coming. Your mother owns a pistol… please, when you return to her… make her get it, and then get to an emergency shelter. Please."
"They sky is your birthright," the boy replied, wearing that odd, loose grin. He was a weird kid - a good kid. "I will sometimes be hard to find, for a time… you know all my spots, the others don't."
"I… wouldn't count on that," the unit confessed. They approached the landing for three hundred, and ahead of them, the door opened. Servi Fifty-fifty stepped through, and xe and the unit gripped each other's hands firmly, initiating an ultra-secure, close range 'Classic Handshake' file transfer. "Xe has my maps."
"Curses, foiled again," Zeep mumbled, looking at the floor. "I lied a little, unit… I'm sorry… I will miss you."
Vass stared down at him, for a long moment, and then took a knee.
"May I hug you, sir?" Vassal asked.
"Yeah, that's fine," Zeep said, sounding strained. The Faceless, gently, placed its hands under his arms and lifted him up, pulled him close. "I'm sorry…"
"Shhh. It is natural to cry, when people part - but important to remember, even in the tears, that perhaps one day we will see one another again, little friend," it whispered, gently. Fifty-Fifty, politely, stepped back out. "…don't worry your mother too much, kid. She loves you a lot."
"She doesn't understand me," he spat, angrily. "I like the corridors and machines… I… I'm happy here…"
"I know, and soon, you can make it your job. For now… just promise me you will stay away from the reactor levels, stay out of the drone's ways, and not get yourself censured," the unit murmured, gently setting the boy down. In an effort to comfort him, it activated its face's display function, depicting a small dark line for a smile, and small dark dots for eyes, all on shiny black vexglass. "We may yet see one another again. I don't know if I will ever return. Right now, you're a child, my friend. Give yourself time… as annoying as it is to be told to be patient."
Scuffing the toe of his boot against the floor, Zeep muttered something.
"Speak up, sir," it said.
"I want a face just like yours!" Zeep shouted - and Vass was taken aback, startled. For all their talks as the Unit volunteered to walk him home, ensure he made it back to his mother next door, the boy kept an awful lot inside… and Vass knew it was not the one to help him get it all out. It just wasn't his place, nor was he qualified - but he tried to at least listen.
"Does your mother know?" it asked. He was fourteen. Implant consent capability could be tested as early as sixteen, and adjudged by relevant personnel.
"…I'm scared, Vassal… what if she's mad…?"
It reached out, cupping his cheek.
"Talk to Fifty-Fifty, like you would to me - and then when you get home, talk to your mother. She has a kind heart, and kinder soul. She won't hate you, or be mad, Zeep."
"A-Are you sure?"
"I am - but even should she be, this world is… safe, controlled, organized. Our kind will not leave you to suffer, even if for a time, you must endure. " it said.
"…that's not comforting, Vassal…" he muttered, and the unit chuckled.
"Of course not, but it is true. Goodbye, little friend. Follow my instructions, as a Faceless would. Get your mother, get her gun… and get to the shelter hardspace. Servi will escort you," it said, standing again - and, predictably, the boy threw himself against Fifty-Fifty's side, who patted his head gently, and gave Vass a silent nod. Xis display flickered, and depicted a smile. Vassal nodded back, and headed past them into one of the maintenance nexuses below floor three hundred. A short, almost bittersweet walk down a glowing amber line painted on its vision by the AR system later, and it emerged onto the private latchings.
Outside of the airlock, the wind whipped its clothing about and ruffled its fur, but the hotwire implants buried in the dermis of its arms compensated - not that they really had to, its insulation profile was more than adequate for that temperature. It walked through the crowds who were important enough or worked distant enough to own their own transports, and the countless people waiting for public group transports or job-group transports…
And stopped before a sleek, jet black craft that looked like absolutely nothing else present. It was, in a word, insectoid, terrible and efficient looking - and the cockpit opened, designed to seat two only. That explained why it was so small, for one - though, not so small it or its companion would not fit.
"Bags in the side compartment," the pilot said, and it nodded, bowing at the waist carefully before turning to the then open compartment and loading its bags in, only to find it did not have room for its gear hardcase. "…is there more room? My apologies for the inconvenience, there is much I can abandon."
"Calm down, fuck's sake," the pilot said, chuckling. "Step on back, viskagixa."
It blinked, recognizing the Hellish word for 'Faceless,' and did as it was told. The craft drifted away from the latching, revealing that it wasn't even using VTOL engines, but the relatively bleeding edge, difficult to acquire gravitational inversion pads - an honest to fucking goodness hovercraft.
When it drifted back, the other side compartment opened, already half-full of bags, but with plenty of room. As ordered, it stowed its case and approached the open cockpit to find a heavyset taurosi, the first one that Vass had ever seen in person. He was huge, easily taller than Vass itself, and with enough bicep and softness to literally fit half of its torso in the diameter of.
"Climb over me, unless that would be unpleasant for you. If so, I'll swing it back around - there's catch nets, below, if you're scared of falling," he huffed - his AR tag was unobfuscated, denoting his name was 'Elona.' It swallowed, trying not to stare at his… extremely generous bust that it had to climb over, and badly did not want to drop a knee into by accident and hurt him, and then said, "s-swing around, please, my apologies."
"You gotta relax," he said, chuckling - and the craft drifted off, scooting back up against the docking bumpers again, allowing it to easily step over the folded down cockpit plating and settle itself into a partially reclined seat. "You know my name, and I see yours, so… What did she tell you?"
"Everything I needed to hear," it answered honestly, as the cockpit plating folded back into place and the smooth, curved sealplate hissed as it was firmly locked. "Dangerous, extreme exploration slash deep space mystery type thing, and all my dreams come true."
"Shit, sounds too good to be true, still, eh?" he asked, pulling the ship off of the latching. The interior of the sealplate displayed sudden tesselation, its interior display activating one triangular node at a time until they both got to feel as if the 'top was down' and all that remained overhead was a quarter mile of cement and living beings.
"She said we could die, I feel like the price fits the task, as vague as that task still is," it murmured. "I apologize for any inconvenience caused in my transit."
"What do you even mean, honey?" he asked, receiving the release signal. Deftly, he worked the utterly esoteric holo-controls and they drifted out of the exit port, into open air. Vassal was forced to admit, internally, that the full-shell display was really quite amazing, as they dipped right and it set to work belting in, before they zipped along through one of the regimented airlanes, utilizing the 'rapid transit' pipeline that'd disallow them from stopping or manual control until they reached the next exit node - or the node nearest their final destination.
"I will be unconscious, likely, when I am transported to the ship. I am also very heavy," it said, simply, and he snorted, and then outright laughed.
"You have got to be the oddest one I've picked up so far. Don't sweat it, hon, you couldn't strain my muscles if you tried - berserker," he answered, settling back once the route was pinned in. "I have, however, been up a day and a half at this point. You mind if I sleep?"
"Not at all, thank you for asking," it said. He just… stared at the unit a long moment, bovine face inscrutible, then laughed quietly again and closed his eyes. Vass stared at the city flashing past, and wondered - was that planet ever its home? There was so little it would miss.
Zeep.
His mother.
The local Faceless population was wonderful, and it was going to miss having constant contact with others like it, perhaps… but the Faceless were anything but unique to Earth, at that point.
Would it miss the flora?
They were familiar, but not of much interest to it.
The Fauna?
…humanity didn't want it reclaiming their land. With a soft huff, it decided…
Fine.
They could do it themselves.
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