TO flew over the dim and dirty streets, looking for DH. They wanted to make sure that they were ok before they landed and removed their armor. DH seemed to be fine, sitting on the sidewalk, their shoes laying on the ground before them.
A breath of relief escaped TO; They hated leaving DH behind, and the whispering voice of anxiety had been bothering them since they got the bag back. What if the insurgents attacked them, or even other simple criminal civilians? This was a dangerous place, after all!
Well, it wasn’t like DH couldn’t defend themself.
TO landed in a darkened alleyway, deactivated their armor, and then rushed out to DH.
“Are you ok?” they asked as they drew close.
“I’m fine.” DH muttered, “My shoe broke, and look at this!” They shifted so that TO could see their right knee; it was bloody and dark blue, the dirty and uneven pavement tore a large patch of skin away and left behind wet blood that glistened in the streetlights.
Blood. Bones cracking. The smell of disinfectant. TO looked away, holding the bag out to them as they did.
“Sorry.” DH said as they took the bag. “Let me deal with this before we go.” They opened the bag and saw the drives nestled inside next to the first aid kit. “What’s this?”
“Something to examine later.” TO said, “clean yourself up and let’s get out of there.”
“What happened?” DH asked. TO heard them open the first aid kit and smelled the antiseptic. It made them sick to their stomach. “Robots aren’t shouldn’t be able to do that, are they?”
“No, they shouldn’t.” TO said, “I’ll tell you more when we get back home.”
“Ah… Alright.”
TO heard the bandages being opened and felt a sudden guilt. If TO had fallen, if they had hurt themself, then DH would be right there applying the bandages for them. TO wanted to do that too, but as soon as they thought about turning and helping, thought about the blood seeping from the wound, they felt sick and dizzy.
“How bad is it?” TO asked, still not able to look.
“Not bad; just irritating. It looks a lot worse than it is. I’m only fixing it now so it doesn’t get infected and so I don’t get blood on my dress.” They gave a long, heavy sigh, “Honestly, I’m more upset about my shoes.”
“Right... What happened to your shoes?.”
The first aid kit snapped shut as DH finished their work. “You can turn around now and look.” They said,
TO turned back to DH, checking their knee first; They had covered it in a wide bandage that wrapped around the back of the knee and stopped just at the top of the calf.
Though DH wasn’t that worried about it, somehow TO couldn’t help but feel it was their fault.
They looked at the shoe that DH held up. The raised heel had lifted off from the sole entirely and now flopped around, useless and inelegant. TO took it from DH and looked it over.
“We can probably fix this when we get back home.” TO said. “I guess they didn’t make it for all the walking we did-“
“Walking the stairs, carrying Lendulin, and the running.” They sighed, took off their other shoe, and got up. “All of it.”
It was their fault. If TO hadn’t volunteered them both to help Lendulin, then they wouldn’t have ended up in the Outer Ring, DH wouldn’t have damaged their shoes, and wouldn’t have fallen and hurt themself.
TO reached out and took DH’s arm to help them up, “I’m so sorry.” They whispered, their ears low.
“For what?”
TO looked aside, “For… well, for just saying that we’d help her without checking with you? For… for forgetting about the dinner.” They looked away, “We were having a good day… And I ruined-“
DH quickly pulled TO close, wrapping their arm around their waist, and gave them a kiss which while not as deep as they might have enjoyed in a more private setting, it was still long and lingering and sweet enough to make TO’s ears burn. “You ruined nothing.” They said, “Some bad stuff happened in the end, but it was still just..” They smiled, “It was a great day! I tried so many nice clothes , and I got to eat some fantastic food and-” They stopped as they noticed TO’s deep blue ears, “And now you’re all shy.”
Somehow, DH pointing out their embarrassment made their ears burn deeper. “We’re in public!”
“And I gave my mate a kiss; that’s allowed among civilians!”
Blushing furiously, TO changed the subject, “I thought you weren’t picky over lunch.”
“I mean the Cocopod.” DH said, grinning.
TO suddenly paled, and felt sick, “You ate one..” They said, and their mind produced an image of one still alive on a skewer, its legs writhing. “You ate one.. then kissed me-“
“You ate one too!”
“I didn’t eat it from the shell!”
“Well... well, I didn’t eat the legs or anything!” They protested. They stopped, their ears flicking out in amusement. “Would you really not want to kiss me if I had?”
Their stomach churned again, “Ugh.. I can’t even imagine you eating them-”
“But if I had, you wouldn’t kiss me?” They leaned forward, their ears twitching in amusement as they looked up at TO, “Not even if I asked nicely?”
Even though they couldn’t get the image of the awful insect out of their mind, they couldn’t help but chuckle at DH’s antics, “I don’t think I could bring myself to say no.” They finally said,
DH grinned, leaned forward, and kissed TO on the cheek, just next to their lips. “Home?” They asked.
TO gave a deep sigh and kissed them back.
“Home.”
======
Once they got back to the ship, TO set out to take care of the most important thing first. It took some research, some planning, and several phone calls before they could get what they needed done.
“Alright.” TO said as they disconnected from the last call, “It’s all done.”
“What is?” DH asked. They were poking through all the boxes and bags that they had brought home with them, setting everything out on their bed in a multicolored pile as they slowly picked through everything and set things into the hidden storage compartments in the walls.
“I got reservations for a fancy restaurant in the entertainment district for next week.”
“Next week… but won’t we go to another quadrant before then?”
That’s what TO had thought at first, but this was important to DH and they were determined to make this work. “A week here gives us more time to acclimate, and I can try to talk to Petra again.” They said.
“You think we can trust her?” DH asked as they placed a blue-green dress into storage. “Wouldn’t Pearla have told her about us?“
“Unsure.” TO said, “I doubt it, but I can find out if I talk to Petra.” They sighed and sat down in their chair, leaning back and relaxing for the first time that day. “Though… if I had to guess, I don’t think she’d tell them. If she’s involved with the insurgency-”
“Which we’re positive about already.”
“Then I think she’s hiding that from her friends.”
“What makes you think that?” DH asked, setting aside a light white dress.
“According to her records, she started acting odd a few months ago. We can probably assume that it’s about that time she got properly involved with the insurgency.”
“A fair assessment.”
“Right. Now, Petra and Lendulin said that she’s got a partner that she’s been hiding from them for a few months. and Pearla got really anxious when they said that.” TO turned to their screen, “Maybe there is no partner. Maybe she used that as an excuse for her strange actions. It would make sense to hide her involvement from her friends if she actually cares about them. The more they know, the more danger they’re in.”
“So what now?” DH asked. “We know she’s part of the insurgency; do we apprehend her -“
“Not yet.” TO said. “But we make a note of it. We can use her to find more valuable targets. In the meantime…” They turned on their computer, “I’m going to talk to Ark-1.”
They sent the request through the network to Ark-1. A quick check of the galactic time and they could tell that the officer would likely still be awake, so they just had to wait. Waiting was no problem; there were progress reports to write up, and research to do in the meantime.
It wasn’t long before the call from Ark-1 came through. TO accepted, and a hologram rose over the desk showing Ark-1’s hardened face.
“I’m assuming that this is important.” They said, their ears pinning back.
“It is.” TO said. “I have concerns about local governance, and updates on the insurgency.”
They ran through the events of the day, what Petra had said at the party, what Lendulin said about medical supplies, then finished with their concerns about Pearla and their encounter with the bot.
“I worry that the mismanagement of the local government fuels the insurgency.” TO said, “An insurgency that clearly has no issue with removing safeties from bots.”
“This Pearla; Did you apprehend her?” Ark-1 asked.
“We did not.”
“Why not?”
“We were disguised as civilians.” TO said, their ears flicking forward in confusion, “And I do see value in letting her go free for the moment; it may offer us an opportunity to find people with more influence in the insurgency. If she’s only gotten involved in the last few months, then she has limited information, and limited value.”
Ark-1’s ears twitched as they considered this. “Very well.” They said, “I trust your judgement in this. I expect to see some results. Monitor Pearla and forward her files to me. I would suggest not listing her as a confirmed insurgent at the moment if you wish to use her to find other insurgents; the local authorities will arrest her immediately if you do. That is; if she hasn’t already gone into hiding.”
“Understood.”
“As for the drives, examine them. I want you to send me copies of the drives themself as well as a summary of what you found.”
“Understood. How should we deal with the other issue?”
Ark-1’s ears twitched in confusion. “What other issue?”
TO blinked, surprised. Could Ark-1 have forgotten the biggest issue already? Well, they had given them a lot of information, so maybe it was understandable. “About the local governments? How they’re skirting King Decon’s laws?”
“Ah. That. Well, from what you say, they’re still following the laws, so I see no need to pursue that-“
“But… But it’s not right!” TO said, their voice raising, “Sure they’re technically following King Decon’s laws, but they’re finding and exploiting loopholes! That’s encouraging the insurgency and helping them get civilian support!”
“They are following the rules as much as they need to.” Ark-1 said, “We set the guidelines, and they’re following it.”
“But we can make them do more! Some of these laws are vague, and they’re taking advantage of that!”
Ark-1 fell silent, observing TO, the way their ears pinned back and their wings puffed out. “This is culture shock.” They said finally, “You’re used to being among synths; among others who wish to follow King Decon, to see peace over a unified galaxy. Civilians are different and have more selfish, personal needs. It’s necessary that we keep looking at the big picture, keep looking at the wellbeing of the galaxy itself and not the struggles of a few people on a single planet.”
“But they should follow King Decon properly!” TO Insisted, “They should be -“
“They should be, yes, I agree.” Ark-1 said, “And we could make them comply as we would, but think of the resources that would take. It would require more personnel and a closer eye on each planet’s political workings. We might have some planets that rally against that, creating another insurgency. We might have to spend further military power to do what we need, creating anxiety across the galaxy, spreading Kind Decon’s forces thing, and stoking hostility.” They tilted their head, “I understand you’re seeing some horrors of civilian selfishness at the moment, but please do not let that shadow your true purpose; you are not there to help them, you’re there to stop the insurgency, to learn, grow, and become better servants of King Decon in the future.”
“People could die though!” TO said, “People are going hungry if they have no work, and if they’re not getting the help they need-“
Ark-1’s ears pinned back, their lips pursed. “Tell me, how many civilian lives are worth the peace of the galaxy?”
TO’s ears twitched back, “What?”
“How many?” They titled their head, “How many planets would you place above the peace of the galaxy and of a unified empire?”
“None! But that’s-“
“That’s how this works.” Ark-1 said, “We do what we must so that the empire keeps growing. That’s one reason those laws are so vague; to placate some of the selfish civilians and keep them quiet. We made calculations and decided on the best, most efficient use of resources, and we take the best route to strengthen King Decon’s rule. We have so many resources right now because of this process and it’s those resources that allow us to continue to guide the galaxy. It’s the minor sacrifices that allow us, that allow King Decon, to keep the galaxy safe. Do you understand?”
TO did. They understood entirely, but it still made them sick. Ark-1 could apparently see that discomfort.
“You will be fine.” They said, their ears lifting a little, “It’s culture shock. You’re simply seeing the worst of civilians after spending your life around the best of Synths. This is just how they are; self-centered and greedy. They focus only on themselves and not the benefit that their sacrifices have on the rest of the galaxy.” Ark-1’s ears pinned back as they talked to civilian greed, their eyes narrowing slightly, “Some civilians should be happy to die in order to preserve the order of the galaxy; we are.”
“Yes, Ark-1, I understand.” TO said, their ears down, their voice flat. It was true; they understood. It was their inability to agree with what was apparently King Decon’s will that made their stomach twist.
