"What the hell was that, rook?" snapped Elma as she locked her guns to their holsters. The last cries of the indigen behind them died out.
Cross frowned, and simply said, "Sorry."
Elma shook her head in anger. Lin took a step back, surprised at Elma's reaction. The white haired BLADE lowered her voice, but kept the tone, "You've been distracted all day. And this time, you almost got Lin killed. Do you have an explanation for me, soldier?"
"Elma, it's fine. I'm—" Lin began.
"No. We deal with this now," Elma declared. She folded her arms, "I'm waiting, rook."
"I'm just tired," Cross evaded.
Colonel Elma didn't accept that. "I asked for an explanation, not a cop out. You don't want to talk about it? Fine, you're suspended from BLADE duty until I get my answer."
"What?" Cross protested, instantly becoming more alert.
"You heard me. Go home, Cross. Consider that the last order from me," growled Elma.
The BLADE hung his head and began to walk back to his skell. Lin tried to make eye contact, but her friend made no effort to meet her eyes.
Stepping into his skell, Cross left his two friends.
Lin immediately turned to Elma and shouted, "What was that for?"
"We can't have anyone distracted in battle," Elma said with certainty.
"Give the man a break!" Lin argued. "He found out yesterday that he isn't even a human! No one is comfortable with mims when they first hear about them."
Elma's words died on her lips. Lin, a thirteen year old girl, just proved that she knew Elma's recruit better than she did.
Dammit.
Cross parked his skell in the hanger. He didn't step out immediately.
Breathing deeply, he looked at his hand. Cross clenched it into a fist, and it obeyed. He didn't do it, the machine did.
He was a machine. A pretty fake.
He was no more human than a grex. Or a prone. Or even a ganglion.
Sighing, Cross exited the skell. He'd have to accept that death was now an option, something that shouldn't be feared.
But to do that…felt like betraying everything he was as a human.
Earth was gone, over nine billion humans were gone, and Cross was going against what it meant to be a human.
"Swell," he muttered.
Before he knew it, his feet took him to the Residential District. He had nothing to do, given his lack of duty.
Taking up a seat on the bench in the park, Cross closed his eyes.
Author Notes: Part one of two! The next half should be up tomorrow, if I can make it!
This is a response to a rather friendly rivalry that has begun between me and another person in this fandom (You know who you are). I look forward to your move once I upload the next chapter.