It was quite some time later when another door alert came through their communicators. TO, who had their arm in a sling that wrapped not only around their shoulder but around their chest as well, reached for their communicator from their spot on the couch. As they reached, DH pushed the communicator out of reach. 

 

“I can take care of it.” They said as they took out their own communicator, “you just sit and rest.” TO sighed and leaned back, sinking into the too soft couch.

 

“I’m injured, but I’m not bedridden! I’ve had worse.” TO wasn’t entirely sure if that was true; The injuries they had sustained during the breach at the training center left them with entirely different wounds and kept them from flying for periods. The damage to their wings back then had required stitches and had left TO with scars all over their wings. This injury involved no blood, just bad bruising so TO didn’t think it was so bad.

 

“You say that now.” DH said, “But wait until the painkillers wear off a little more; you’ll think it’s worse than. Besides, if you keep your arm still for now it’ll heal faster and better.” They looked at their communicator to see who was at the door. “It’s Avery and Hur-13?” They gave TO a grin, “I suppose we get to learn what they choose for a civilian name.”

 

“They probably choose a really common name for the area.” TO said, “Like Lucius or Maria.” DH grinned and pressed the button on the communicator. The door opened, and the two synths walked in, still wearing their armor. When the door closed behind them, they pressed at their wrists and let the armor dissolve away from around them. Hur-13 looked the same as they always did, save for the black clothing that they wore in place of the grey uniform that they always wore. Avery looked oddly more relaxed than normal. TO had expected to see them maybe more strained, more anxious after being around Hur-13 all the time, but clearly that wasn’t the case. They said they’d be fine, and they were.

TO didn’t understand it, but it was a relief to see them looking well.

“TO, DH!” Avery said, a hint of relief in their voice as they strode towards them. A smile broke over their face, and they stopped right before DH as though they were planning to embrace them.

“I am surprised they kept those nicknames.” Hur-13 said, though they hadn’t moved from where they were, “They no longer have the codes that they drew them from.”

“We’ve created our civilian names based on our old nicknames.” TO said, their voice cold and almost formal. “I chose Tio, which is pronounced exactly the same as my nickname. DH went simply with Dee, but it’s simpler to use DH and pretend as though they have some middle name that begins with H. Some civilians do that.”

“And you know I chose Avery.” Avery said. They turned back to Hur-13. “And we’re supposed to get used to calling one another by our civilian names so we don’t get confused when we’re under cover.”

“Very well.” Hur-13 said, their ears pinning back, “In that case, you may refer to me as Kei, if you wish.”

“Kei?” TO couldn’t repress the surprise in their voice. “What made you come up with that one?”

Hur-13, now Kei, looked at TO in confusion, “I used a random name generator that I found through the network, and simply selected parameters that would choose a name that wasn’t particularly uncommon for the area based on various influences of culture and language. The system gave me Kei, so I used it.”

Avery sat down on the couch next to TO, eying the sling that held their arm. “What happened, though! Why did you leave your ship! Why did you do that! They have killed you; they might have killed all of us.” DH sat on the other side of the chair, and Kei - TO still felt it would be odd to call them that- came forward, but didn’t sit.

“I wondered that as well.” Kei said, but their voice still had that odd monotone that they always had. “Your actions were not what I would consider being standard procedure; clearly you injured yourself in the process as well.”

“Dislocated shoulder and elbow.” DH said as they gave Kei a steady look, “They’ll recover.”

“Well, it worked in the end. Still, I have concerns about the reckless nature of your actions, and why you took such risks.”

“The insurgents got into the base because they had official Royal Identification.” TO said. “When they called us, they wanted to know our identification numbers; Our old ones. They also must have known about how our systems worked, and how our ship works.”

“They had far more information than a civilian should have had, then.” Kei said. 

 

“Yes. And given that some of us have gone missing on Arkane, and that Arkane is the center of insurgent activity. They might have kept some synths that are unaccounted for, and interrogated them.” 

 

There was a moment where Kei’s ears pinned back in a mix of disgust and anger, “No synth would fall to such tactics.” They said. 

 

“If they found out how to read our ears, then we wouldn’t lie to them.” Avery said, almost as though they were trying to calm Kei, “And… Well, there’s only so much a person -even a synth- can take.”

 

Kei frowned, “It’s torture then.” They said, “That's the only reason a synth would give into questioning from an insurgent. Even then, I assume it must be brutal to drive a synth who has passed all their training to turn on King Decon.

 

Torture. The thought of GiDi being subjected to such pain made TO’s vision blue, and made their ears pin back. TO would kill every insurgent who did it. Everyone who saw it happen, who allowed it to happen, who knows, who supported it…

 

Just every insurgent; they’d kill every last one if they had hurt GiDi.

 

“That still doesn’t tell me why you choose to break the shield that controls the gravitational force of a black hole.” Kei said, “I am highly fascinated to know your reasoning for that.” 

 

Why was Kei questioning them? Maybe it was the anger that was still vibrating within TO, but the questions, the almost accusative tone, set TO on edge. Kei wasn’t a superior to TO, they were equals! If anything, they ranked higher than Kei, right? Kei was going to Heramu, a farming colony. TO and DH were going to Arkane; the capital planet in that solar system. Didn’t that make TO Kei’s superior?

 

“We figured out that they were probably questioning synths.” DH said, “And they demanded that we surrender ourselves to them, so-”

“They did not ask that of us.” Kei said.

“Well, they asked us.” TO snapped, “I figured that if we could call Ark-1, then our orders would be to start a self-destruct sequence in order to keep vital information away from the insurgents. Once we realized that was the most likely case, I figured we might as well try something to stop the insurgents, cause less damage, and maybe avoid getting captured, tortured, and questioned.”

Kei was silent as they considered this. “It is still not how it’s done, and not how they would have instructed you to act-” 

“They chose us to go on this mission because we can come up with quick and clever plans, like the one that just worked.” TO hissed. “If we had followed procedure, then us, you, and all the civilians in this dock would be dead, and the damage caused would disconnect Arkane from the rest of the galaxy until the portal was repaired. But no, we were clever, and we came up with a better plan. Maybe that’s why we’re going to Arkane to deal with the insurgency, and you’re going to a mining colony to deal with minor political squabbles.”

 

Kei was silent for several moments as they stared down TO with cold eyes. When they finally spoke, it was with a careful, controlled voice. “I am certain that the officers who placed us know what they are doing, even if the logic escapes me; I only hope that if they are taking a gamble here that it pays off.” 

 

“Clearly it did in this case.” DH said. 

 

“Yes, this time.” Kei said with a glance to DH. They looked back to TO, “What is your plan here?” Kei asked. “Port authorities have informed us that our ship needs a period’s worth of repairs until it’s ready for transport due to damage caused; as such, myself and Avery would be the best option to stay and clean up this… mess.” 

 

This mess? TO let their ears pin back once more, their eyes narrowing. “My plan,” they said, “Is to get to Arkane as quickly as possible. That’s what they have ordered me to do, and that’s what I’ll do.” They stood up, simply not wanting to be looking up at Kei while talking now. “You’re so worried about things being done properly, but you want to stay here to fix things? You couldn’t even deal with the situation in the first place, and had to wait for DH and I to get here to fix things!” 

 

Kei’s ears flicked down- it was quick, but it happened. “I simply didn’t see the use of acting irrationally.” They said, “I wished to see what the insurgents would say before we acted-“ 

 

“So you were awaiting orders from the insurgents then, were you?” TO suddenly felt dizzy, and before they knew it DH was at their side, gently guiding them back to their seat. At first, TO wanted to shake them off, but then they looked up at Kei and saw- for the first time- the slightest hint of blue on their ears, which were slightly down in shame. 

 

“I was following orders.” Kei said, “I had no orders to follow in this situation.”

 

“Neither did I, but I made it work.” TO said. THe dizziness passed, and though they didn’t stand up again, they sat up a little straighter, “Here’s what’s going to happen; I will contact Ark-1, who will report this event to the necessary people. Once port authorities fix our ship, we will tow yours along with us, and request a meetup for you to bring you to Heramu. While we wait, DH and I will investigate the carrier ship, and what drones we can find. After that, we will continue to Arkane and deal with the insurgents there. We’re already stopped whatever they were planning here, so they should scramble to create new plans; they should be in a panic.”

 

“We do not need to be towed to Heramu.” Kei said, “Once our ship is -” 

 

“One period stuck here, and another period and a half to get you to Heramu; That’s a colossal waste of time, and a waste I am certain that won’t please your officers. We will tow you and ensure that you arrive where you need to be; am I clear?!” 

 

The lights overhead hummed with electricity. IN the corner, there was faint static coming from the speakers. TO could hear water in a pipe somewhere. In the silence that ensued, all these tiny sounds came to TO, and seemed so loud. They hadn’t realized they had been speaking so loudly, so forcefully. 

 

“... So long as both of our officers approve this plan, then I will go along with it.” Kei finally said. “We will return to our rooms, and I will make the reports.” 

 

“... I.. I’m actually going to stay here.” Avery said, “Unless you need me to help?” 

 

Kei turned away and pressed the button at their wrist to make their armor form around them once more. “I do not need your help.” they said, the monotone, almost robotic voice coming through the helmet as they left the room.