Starr's Shuttle, Pegasus

I don't remember its name at the moment. Starr, feel free to edit the post title if you want lol

Nova nodded and smiled "Everywhere has risks, we can mitigate some, but not all."

Asher nodded. "Very true."
He looked out the window as they left Vestia to park somewhere else in the spaceport. "This must be weird for you, suddenly having to leave Vestia like this. I wish it hadn't been so rushed."

"It's not that weird for me. I am more used to being on my own than some of the others." Nova said as she landed in an open spot. "Here we are, our home until we move again."

Asher looked at Nova curiously. He knew so little about her, other than that Starr trusted her. And he kinda thought it would be rude to ask his bodyguard too much about herself, seeing as he was honorary prince of the star dragons and she was working for him. Power imbalances, and all that.
Politics. So complicated.
"I'm glad you're okay with the sudden change of plans, then," he told her with a smile.

Nova looked to him and settled against the wall a little. "It's the way things have to be right now, so it is what it is. I am glad to help you get your people free, they deserve freedom."

"Thank you," Asher said. "The alliance of our species is definitely something to be grateful for." He watched out the window as Vestia's doors closed. It looked like she was just about ready to leave.

Nova closed her eyes and dipped her head, probably saying a last goodbye to her people telepathically.

Asher watched as Vestia lifted off into the sky and vanished beyond the horizon, then he'd turn his attention to his messages. There was lots of stuff to check over, even if what they were doing next wasn't decided yet.

Maybe he'd start a blog while he was at it. The world could use some robot rights blogs, and there was nothing else on the schedule right now.

Nova blinked and looked over to him "What shall we do now?" She asked curiously.

Asher looked up from some new message that he'd been reading carefully. "It looks like they'd like us to go to Sydney. The Sapient Rights Coalition has decided to rent some space to shelter androids there, and of course it's the capital of the Terran empire, so it should be quite the center of activity."
He smiled slightly, "We can park in the land they rented, it looks like there's room for the shuttle." Which was probably safer than some public spaceport, he figured.

Nova nodded "We are heading there now?" She asked to be sure before going to the controls.

"Yes, let's head there now. I'll get you the coordinates so you can program them in or whatever you prefer to do when navigating, but for the moment, just head for the other side of the planet." Asher smiled, amused. He was glad to have a plan to follow now.

Nova smiled and nodded, taking off after getting clearance from the traffic control. "On our way." She said gently.

"Let's do this, " Asher said. He looked out the window as Ottawantreal shrank away below them, wishing he could be seeing this view with his family on one of Vestia's decks.
He'd chosen this path though, and it was too late to go back.

It was going to be a couple hours' flight. Asher would give Nova the coordinates, and let her choose what radio station to play if she wanted. She waa the pilot, and the pilot gets to choose the music.

Nova played some music to fill the quiet, though the songs were all new to her, switching stations and genres just to see what was playing. She would also read up on the laws of the city they were going to, making sure her permit for magic was good there too.

Nova's permit looked to be valid in most of the Terran Empire, except on some backwater planets with their own customs. She'd be fine in this city.

Asher started composing a blog post while they traveled, pausing sometimes to talk with Nova about the music, or their destination, or whatever.

It was early morning in Sydney when they arrived, the sun was barely starting to rise. Their destination was some distance outside the city, at a private airfield. Well, it had probably been private. There were a couple of police vehicles parked outside the property, a news helicopter was buzzing nearby, and a few people were watching from the side of the airfield.

"They said it was going to be busy, I didn't think it'd be that busy though," Asher said. "At least the police are staying outside." That was a good sign, no doubt they'd be hurrying in the moment they heard about a possible problem.

"Well, we have a welcome comity." Nova said, going in to land the shuttle as she looked at those who had come here. "Looks like we are famous already."

"It would seem so," Asher agreed. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got up. "I suppose we'd better go out there and see what's going on."
He paused, "Nova, what would you like to be called if anyone asks your name? You don't have to use your real one if you'd rather not." Asher had chosen to share his name and serial number with the world, having decided that protecting his identity was only going to give MegaBrain more ways to try to discredit him, but Nova was in a different situation here and could keep her name secret if she wanted.

"It'll be fine to call me Nova. Without a last name or telling what I am, I can hide well enough. It's not like it is such a unique name after all." Nova said with a shrug.

Asher smiled. "All right then. Let's go out there and see what's going on." He'd lead the way, if Nova didn't think of anything else they needed to discuss before going out there.

Nova followed him, looking around curiously for anyone that might try to harm them. As they left the shuttle, she made an invisible shield to keep them safe, though it wouldn't last long as it was.

Three Terrans came over to greet them. They were all dressed in nice suits, although the woman who led the way looked to be able sixty years old, and the other two looked younger, and followed behind. The younger two looked to be bodyguards, and if Nova could sense weapons, she'd probably notice that they had concealed guns.

None of the three seemed hostile though.

"Good morning," the older woman said, smiling at Asher and Nova. "You're Asher, I assume."

"Yes, that's me," Asher said, "And this is Nova, she's here as my bodyguard. You must be Dr. Martin," he added.

Dr. Martin nodded in confirmation. She'd shake Asher's hand. "Does Nova own your papers?" she asked, clearly trying to find a tasteful way to phrase the question, but not finding one.

Asher shook his head. "She's just here as my bodyguard, she has no control over me."

Dr. Martin hesitated, then offered to shake Nova's hand too. "It's a pleasure to meet both of you." She still looked slightly cautious, it seemed she was still a tiny bit concerned that Asher was being controlled by someone.

Nova shook her hand in return then chuckled softly. "Technically right now, he's my boss." She said with a shrug, returning to her position and watching their surroundings. It was true, it was up to Asher to choose where to go and when, she had to go where he went. The only time she had say over him was if he was in danger.

Asher smiled shyly. "Things I never thought would happen, but here we are."

Dr. Martin noticeably relaxed, apparently deciding Nova was an ally here. "All right. Well, I suppose you'll want to know the details of what's been happening here."

Asher nodded. "Yes please. From what I've heard, you guys have been busy."

Dr. Martin nodded, and gestured for them to come with her, heading toward an old-fashioned, large farm house. "Well, our primary goal with this facility is to protect androids in danger. We've made it clear to the general public that if they choose to rescue and android in danger and bring them here to us, we'll ensure that they have the best legal protection we can offer. So far only a few androids have been brought here, we're hoping more will be over the next few days.
"Our other major priority here is providing information to as many people as we can. We'll be opening the doors to reporters later today, letting them interview anyone who's able and willing. And we've been reaching out to the Terran government, trying to get a meeting with the council as soon as possible."

"Are the rescued androids in danger of being confiscated?" Asher asked.

Dr. Martin frowned, then shook her head. "In some danger, yes. The police are reluctant to act though, they don't want to become the bad guys in a major sapient rights case. It also helps that so far, the androids' legal owners would rather not have an android in their house, due to safety concerns."

"well, that's better than nothing," Asher said. "Can we see the androids who've been rescued?"

Dr. Martin nodded, and led them into the house. "That might be a good idea. The androids are, understandably, pretty nervous. They'd probably appreciate someone who isn't Terran visiting them."

Asher looked to Nova. Yeah, she looked pretty Terran, but she was his bodyguard. He was sure Kay and Starr would both be pissed if he immediately went off without his bodyguard and got killed. "Want to come along and meet some androids?" he asked.

Nova smiled softly and nodded "Yeah, I go where you go, plus it's good to meet new people." She said happily