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((Okay... Dangerous Businesswoman, we are kind of in the middle of something, and what you posted makes no sense in this situation. Care to explain?))

Well, at least YOU think that went well... Drean chuckled. Hold on, I'll try decreasing the gravity in here so that it's easier to carry some of this stuff. His face narrowed itself as he focused, and the screen began to flicker on the wall. After a few seconds, Katrina's body began to feel lighter and lighter until even the largest items would be light enough to carry. When the screen finally returned to its normal state, Drean was flushed and out of breath. I need to get better at this... I'm used to just living in here, not trying to control the hardware...

Drean kept the low-gravity field moving with her, grinning as she became excited. So, Katrina... I'm sorry about.. well, always dying...

There was a small amount of static as the intercom was shut off. On the screen, Drean was trying to look as if nothing had happened, though the mixed expression on his face made it obvious that he had been the one to do so. I'm sorry, Katrina... What were you saying? Because I believe that the same thing may have been on my mind...

Drean tried to hide his disappointment behind a look of concern at the nanites. Give it just a few... more... seconds... The screen flashed to black, then Tardis blue, and finally the same red of the nanites.

PROGRAM INITIATED!

There was a flash of light, and a set of patterns rolled across the screen. The red blob seeping through the door came to a stop. A now-smug Drean reappeared on the screen as the nanites retreated again. Thank you, thank you! I'll be here for all of time, ladies and gentlemen! Don't forget to tip your waitresses!

Rolling her eyes, the Tardis Matrix's avatar came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Very nicely done, Drean, most of all the theatrics at the end. But, you can't take ALL of the credit.

Of course not, but you have no flair for show biz! Drean laughed.

Show biz? You sounded like a two-bit comedian performing in a bar! The Tardis Matrix laughed as well, then turned to Katrina and the Doctor. The nanites should go out and reprogram the others...

Drean's smile stopped for a moment, but he quickly recovered with a slightly more forced one. Right... Body. Give me a few minutes, I'll be right back... Drean seemed to walk away from them, leaving the Tardis Matrix alone on the screen.

After a few minutes, a familiar arrhythmic thudding of a metal leg came from down the hallway. Drean emerged, back to his "old self." If the nanites had been working while his body was dormant, it didn't seem that obvious. The biggest changes were that his veins were now silver, like wires, and his knee didn't make the sound of a pneumatic joint.

Well, looks like I'm back online...

Drean blushed as Katrina hugged him, his face turning darker, and gently hugged her back. Well, if it's going to be like this, I guess that's better than being inside the Tardis... He muttered with a smile as his once-again-blue eyes glowed a little brighter.

Drean, we have another hull breach by the nanites!

What? Drean's question was more out of practiced reaction, however, as red liquid began to seep in under the front doors quickly and easily, forming first a puddle, then a large blob. Without a sound, a single tendril shot forward, aiming for the only complete human in the room, Katrina.

Hey! Not so fast! Drean spun Katrina behind him, and met the tendril fist-first with his cyber-arm. There was a momentary pause as Drean's hand and lower arm became completely engrossed in the blob. With a smug grin, he turned his wrist and opened his hand. An adaptive programing system created from the optimized neural patterns of all of the humans that you absorbed... Able to render our first program useless. Clever, but a simulated brain is no match for a real one... Especially one augmented with cyber-processors.

As Drean stood frozen in place, the nanites around his hand began to turn a bright blue. The new coloration spread through the blob and eventually to the tendril attacking Katrina. The blue blob quickly retreated back through the doors.

And fix that damage on your way out! Drean shouted with a smile.

Well, that was fun! Combating an artificial intelligence with a true intelligence. Programming vs programmer...

Well, I figured out what's going on, here.. The nanites were programmed to save the human race. Unfortunately, they're saving them... and STORING them, one atom at a time. Drean shook his head. I couldn't figure out what it is that they were supposed to save humanity from, though. He shook his head as he realized that he was already sinking back into machine-like calculation. So, we either need to examine a sample for a few days to break and reconstruct the programming entirely to render a description of the foe... or find someone who already knows.