“I’m your huckleberry,” he replied in a bad southern accent.  He practically skipped over to stand on the pad.  Allistor moved to the pedestal next to it, reaching out to touch it.  The moment his hand got close, a holo-display appeared.    There was a message asking for biometric confirmation of his identity, which he gave permission for.  Then he had to choose authorized users.  He chose himself, his three advisors there at the Citadel, Fuzzy, Sam, Meg, Luther, George, and Amanda.  And he authorized each of them to add more people to the list.

Once that was complete, a menu popped up.  It showed one sentient being on the platform and a choice of destinations.   Turning to Andrea, he said, “Hey, maybe call the Silo and warn them we’re transporting a man over?   Ask them to tell us if Goodrich shows up in one piece?  Or, you know… a pile of quivering meat, or something.”  He grinned at his guinea pig, who suddenly looked less enthusiastic.   Andrea laughed and used her handheld to call the Silo.

While they waited for a response, Allistor mumbled to himself, “The alert message said something about improved communications too.  I need to figure out what that was about.  Maybe we won’t need the radios?”

“That is correct, Lord Allistor.” A voice echoed out of nowhere. It had a monotone voice with no accent and scared the bejeezus out of everyone within earshot.  Fuzzy growled and picked Fibble back up, looking around suspiciously.

“Uhm, and who are you?” Allistor asked, suspecting he knew, but still looking around with his hand on his sidearm.

“I am sorry if I alarmed you, Lord Allistor.  I am your Citadel’s interface.  Your link to the operations of this facility.  I can also answer basic questions about the System’s operations.  You should find details about me in your Citadel Operations information.”

“Typical.  He hasn’t bothered to read the directions for this place yet!” Helen smirked at him as the others tried not to smile.  Allistor grinned back.

“Alright, thank you… uhm, do you have a name?”

“I am called Interface or Link by most users within the System.  However, you may assign a different moniker at your discretion, Lord Allistor. Though, if I may, I would prefer you not assign me ‘Sweetie’.  This has been a recent trend among noble ladies after a popular Queen chose that moniker, and I find it… off-putting.”

This time Allistor did laugh.  “I promise not to call you sweetie.  We’ll figure out a name later.  For now, what can you tell me about communications?”

Goodrich, realizing he wasn’t about to get teleported, took a seat on the platform and acted casual.

“Communication between facilities owned by a Lord such as yourself is one of my simplest functions.  I can facilitate private conversations between individuals or facility-wide broadcasts, or anything in between.  At the moment, only audio communications are possible.  But with some upgrades, I can provide visual and even three-dimensional holographic connections.