TO and DH listened to the faint static that distorted the relative silence of the quiet audio stream. At first TO worried that Kei wouldn’t bring it up, or that they wouldn’t talk to Avery about what they had seen. When Kei lingered around after all the chores were done they hardly ever spoke, so why would it be different with Avery?

 

The whoosh of the opening elevator door broke through the silence, and the static seemed to fade. They could hear footsteps as Kei walked around the room. They realized that they didn’t know how Kei and Avery acted around one another when they were on their own. TO assumed that they’d mostly just ignore one another. 

 

“You don’t look very happy.” Avery said. Surprisingly, they were speaking in Universal Common. 

 

“Why speak in that language?” In comparison to Avery’s Universal Common, Kei’s speech - their synth-speak- sounded so stilted and jarring since TO couldn’t see their ears. 

 

“I am practicing. I know we have helmets, but it might be good to practice for when we're ....” They cursed as the word left them. “Out among the civilians?”

 

“Socializing.” Kei said, switching to Common as well, “And with luck we will not need to worry about that; I doubt that there will be a need to go undercover among them.” 

 

“Better to prepare. I want to do better. What is wrong? You look… Irritated?”

 

Maybe it was a good idea for Avery to practice anyway; TO’s Common wasn’t as fluid at DH’s, but it was better than the simple, stilted sentences coming from Avery. Maybe because they watched so many movies which were often in Common they had developed an ear for the language without so much effort. 

 

“Do you know what Those two were doing?” Though Kei had a greater grasp on the word choice and grammar, their use of tone was lacking impaired to Avery’s. However, Common had a specific word for referring to people in a derisive manner. That, of course, was the word that Kei had used to refer to DH and TO. 

 

“What were those two doing?” Avery said. TO winced at the use of the same derisive word, but then realized Avery was likely just repeating the question back to Kei. 

 

“Fornicating.” Though there was no tone to Kei’s words, TO could only imagine how their ears must be pinned back, the utter contempt and disgust they must have been showing. 

 

“Really?” Avery sounded honestly surprised, “They were fornicating?” 

 

“I wish they’d stop saying that.” DH grumbled, their ears deeply blue. “We weren’t.”

 

“Not by the technical definition of the word, but they might as well have been. They were doing disgusting things together. It was unfit for Synths, for servants of King Decon.” There were several beasts of silence before Kei spoke again, “You don’t even seem surprised.” 

 

“I am not.” Avery said, “It was… I think the word is clear? Obvious? At any rate, It does not surprise me.”

 

“How can it ‘not surprise’ you.” Kei said, “They’re synths like us. To be acting in such a manner-“ 

 

“You know they are different than we are; you tell me that many times. You tell me that I am different as well.”

 

“I know, but for them to be doing that…” 

 

“Is it important?” Avery asked, “They are doing their work. They stopped the insurgents. Does it matter what else they are doing?”

 

“If they were not doing such things, they’d have more focus to use on improving themselves and better serving King Decon. They are functioning as necessary but they are squandering their potential; they are distracting themselves and wasting time fornicating. Moreover, such things can lead to distraction away from the will of King Decon.” More silence. TO could hear Someone walking across the room. “I should inform Hur-1” 

 

“… Hur-13, why do you need to do that?”

 

“Avery still calls Kei Hur-13?” DH commented. 

 

“I suppose they prefer it?” TO said, though it made them angry; Kei had been so derisive about their nicknames back in training and it wasn’t fair that Avery was going out of their way for Kei now. 

 

“Why? Because it’s a disgrace! It’s unfit. They are twisting the creations of King Decon and their superiors should know that-“ 

 

“Their superiors do not know?” 

 

Silence over the stream once more, this time dragging out for so long that TO worried the stream might have failed. 

 

“TO claims that their superiors do know.” Kei said. 

 

“TO lied?” 

 

“Not as far as I could see.” 

 

“That makes more sense.” there was a tone of relief in Avery’s voice. “If they could not hide it from you, I am sure at least one superior knew. I suspected for a long time-“ 

 

“And said nothing?” 

 

“I did not consider it my place. I suspected it, so it made sense that a superior or a synth as keen as you, would have known. In that case, I worried that reporting them might be wasteful or come off as questioning my superiors.” 

 

“And you see no reason for me to report them.” 

 

“What would that do?” 

 

“They would potentially be recalled. They would be brought back to our officers and dealt with. They would be replaced by synths who behave more appropriately, and who will focus on their task and serving King Decon instead of pursuing their own carnal interests.” 

 

“You wish them punished, then.”

 

“I wish them to be replaced with proper synths.” 

 

“If you reported them and they were recalled, what would happen?” They didn’t sound like they were questioning Kei, but more like they were genuinely curious. 

 

“They would be recalled, and be seperated. I would hope that Ark-… That Tio would be more effective without having ‘D.H’ around them all the time. As for ‘DH’, I find them to be far less effective and potentially unfit for such a position in the first place. They would likely be placed in a far more simple placement, unless our superiors thought it necessary to correct them.” 

 

“But… What about Arkane?” Avery asked. “If we have to go back to the training center, then we have to delay the placements to Arkane. Would the insurgents not take advantage of that time?” 

 

“The insurgents are vicious; they will take any advantage they can get.” 

 

“So the best choice then would be simply to redirect Tio and D.H, yes? To have the two of us go to Arkane instead.”

 

“… That would be one option. Potentially it would be the best option if they cannot be dealt with directly.” 

 

“They want to go to Arkane themself.” DH hissed from next to TO, “Since you said that our placement is better than theirs, Kei probably thinks they deserve it more.” 

 

TO gently shushed DH, trying to hear what was being said on the stream. 

 

“-and I’m sure you could do it, but I don’t know…” Avery said, “I do not know if I could perform on Arkane as well as Tio and D.H, despite the fact that they are fornicating.” They gave a low laugh, “They performed better than I in training, and they solved the issue of the insurgents at the portal when I could not find a solution. If you do report them, and you think you can serve King Decon best in their place, please ensure I still go to Heramu. I do not believe I am as adept as TO and DH, and would not do well with such a delicate assignment.” 

 

More silence. TO realized that DH was squeezing their hand, that their leg was shaking, and that their wings were wrapped tightly around them. Slowly, TO put an arm and wing around DH’s shoulders. They stiffened a moment, but slowly relaxed. 

 

“… they are strange. They fornicate. They are poor examples of what a synth should be.” Kei said. “…Despite that, do you believe they are the best option for Arkane? That they should be allowed to continue their deviance while working for King Decon?” 

 

“My opinion does not matter.” Avery said, “It is only the opinion of their superiors. “Their superiors know, So I would trust the superiors. Our superiors know better than we do, and would have their reasons to send Tio and DH alone together to Arkane despite their fornication. All I can do is trust in the decisions of our superiors. Though, if you think it’s necessary, then I will of course trust in your decision.” 

 

TO froze. What was Avery saying? No, they had to convince Kei not to say anything, not say that they’d be fine with it! 

 

“…I do not wish to see that again.” Kei said after a long silence. There was also a word that showed disdain for an object. In fact, there were words to be used for people, places, and things; a very derisive ‘that’. That man, That woman. That person. That place. That thing. “Though, for all I know they’ve simply continued with their perversions now, which is why I came here.” 

 

“So you’re not going to report to Hur-1?” 

 

Kei gave an irritated sigh “For now, since their own superiors are informed, then perhaps it is unnecessary.” Kei said, “Though I still think that they should not be allowed the privilege of their position. I fully believe that this will distract them from their duty, that they will fail, and that they will put their carnal desires before their duty to King Decon… But if our superiors already know about them, then I must assume that they have weighed the risks. Perhaps that is in fact why they were sent; either they will succeed, or the Insurgents will get rid of them. This could simply be another test to see if they are worthy of their existence as Synths.”

 

“I did not think of that.” Avery said, impressed “That is very likely! As for you not wishing to see that again… if you wish, I will go and inform them that they must keep their ‘activities’ to-“ 

 

“They should refrain from such things altogether.” Kei snapped, “They are still Synths, and they should have some respect for King Decon’s creations.” 

 

“… I will remind them.” Avery said, “So that you do not have to risk seeing such things again.” 

 

“I am perfectly capable of informing them myself-“ 

 

“Please pardon me; I did not mean to suggest you were not… I just want to help. I want to take this task from you so you do not risk walking in on them again before they are properly informed. “

 

A derisive grunt could be heard before Kei spoke again, “Very well; you do have more contact with them, to the point where you even spent time with them in the training center…. You are not like them, are you?” 

 

“I am not, I assure you. I have no such feelings. I do not understand such feelings.”

DH gave a deep sigh of relief, “At least Avery is the right one of us to ask that.” they said. 

 

“Good. And yes, if you wish to handle this on my behalf, I appreciate your efforts.” 

 

“I will go now then. After that-“ 

 

DH shut off the audio, and started typing furiously once more. “I’ll delete this.” They said, “Just in case anything might get uploaded to their ship once it’s on again.” They worked fast, their fingers flying over the keyboard as their pinned back ears stayed a vivid shade of blue.

 

TO released a deep breath and slumped over, their head in their hands, “We’re so lucky that C12 knew about me.” they muttered. “If they hadn’t then I couldn’t have told Kei that a superior knew, and they wouldn’t have mentioned that to Avery… It’s only because Kei assumed that Ark-1 knew that they’re not reporting us.”

 

“For now.” DH said, their voice shaking, “But what about after this? What if they end up talking to their superior about something else and just happen to mention us? If they assume that our superiors know, then they have no reason to keep it a secret. If they ever talk to Hur-1, and they talk about us, do you think that Kei won’t say something?” They stopped typing, and the files that showed on the screen before them disappeared. DH stared at the blank screen for several more minutes before they turned to TO, “They were quick enough to warn you about me; you think they might not warn others about us? Bring it up in conversation?'' They leaned forward, clutching at their head while their wings tightened around themself. “It’s only a matter of time. They know, and they will tell someone. We’re not retirees; we will be seperated. Thanks to you and Avery, we just won’t be separated right now. 

 

DH was right; the relief TO felt when it seemed like Kei wouldn’t report them drained as they realized that Kei knowing about them meant that they were on limited time; that eventually, others would know. 

 

They tightened their wing around DH and leaned against their shoulder. TO wanted to say something to make them feel better, but they didn’t know what they could say. 

 

There was nothing to say. Eventually, they would be seperated. They were found out and it was now only a matter of time. 

 

After a few minutes they heard the elevator hum to life Though TO was positive that it was just Avery they still pulled away from DH and sat before their own desk, acting as though they had just been working this whole time. 

 

The door opened. Avery stepped out, grabbed the closest chair from around the eating table, and sat down. 

 

“You heard all that?” They asked. 

 

“We did.’ DH said from the console.”We heard mostly everything.” 

 

“It’s over though.” TO said, “Maybe not right now, but when our placement is over-“ 

 

“Hopefully, when your placement is over you’ll be held in such high esteem that even King Decon himself wouldn’t care about what you’re doing.” 

 

“We hope to be retirees one day.” TO admitted, “ But… we can’t do that in just a single placement. C12 had to prove themself countless times before they were allowed to simply exist, and even then they were mocked and ridiculed.” 

 

Avery nodded. “I know…” They said, “And I’m not saying that you won’t have issues like that… but C12 was allowed to just exist, right? Others knew, potentially King Decon knew, but they had proven themself to the point where it didn’t matter, right?” 

TO remembered their placement in efficiency, remembered the synths who had been sent to be reprocessed. “And I’ve seen other synths who did amazing things, but still didn’t become retirees. They were treated just like normal synths until the end of their lifespan.”

“… At the very least, you don’t have a standard placement.” Avery said, “You’re to stay on Arkane until the issue is fixed. You have far more time than a single cycle to deal with the issue. Also, you’re on a planet where you can prove yourselves! You’re going to be working on the planet that acts as the hub of the insurgency and one where many synths before you have either died or gone missing.”

 

“… so we should draw it out more?” TO asked, thinking that it might at least be a way to keep them together for a little longer. 

 

“Or go missing.” DH muttered. 

 

“Actually, I’m thinking you should work harder, and make it take less time.” Avery said. “I’m thinking you should try to take down the entire insurgency in less time than they’ve been given before martial law is invoked. If you do that… well, you’d be valuable synths then, right? Halting an entire insurgency where so many others have failed in the past, that has to be worth something.”

 

 “.. that might be right.” TO said, “I mean… the insurgency has been a problem for a long time now, and many synths have died or gone missing trying to stop them, especially lately. Maybe if we do stop it ourselves, we might be alright.” They looked over at DH, who still had their head in their hands, “Maybe then it would be enough. Maybe we’d be retirees then, and they’d just leave us alone.” 

 

“Or more so, they’d not care if you were ‘fornicating.’ 

 

“ON that note!” DH said as they sat up, their ears down and blue, “We were not ‘fornicating’ we were just-“ 

 

“I know.” Avery said, holding a hand before them, “It’s all the same to Kei though, and our vocabulary for that kind of stuff in Universal Common is limited. 

 

“Still… Don’t say it like that.” DH said as they once more put their head in their hands. 

 

“Being romantic then.” Avery said. They sighed and leaned forward, “I don’t think you’ll be able to hide it much longer. If you perform well on Arkane, I doubt they’d call you back. If you fix the issue, you might have some leniency. I don’t know… But that’s the best I can think of.” 

 

TO looked at DH, but their friend - their mate- wasn’t looking at them. They still had their head in their hands, focused seemingly on their keyboard. 

 

“… it’s not fair.” TO whispered, “We… we thought it’d be fine once we got out of the training center. C12 even told me to wait, and -“ 

 

“C12 probably didn’t think you’d have extra synths in the ship with you.” Avery said. 

 

TO gave another deep sigh. They wished they could hold DH, could just go to bed now and hold them, and tell them that everything would be fine. TO wanted to tell them that they’d make it work; they’d find a way to make sure that they were together. They desperately wanted to say with the same certainty that they had back when they were in training that they would become retirees. That, of course, was always the plan… but the more TO learned the less likely it seemed. 

 

Work hard; become retirees. Now more than ever, that felt like the only way they’d be able to stay together.