Oh gosh, I have neglected this fanfic for too long! I'm so sorry DX Anyways, here's the next chapter. Hopefully, this makes up for the wait.
To LadySindrak: Awww thank you! ^_^ I love TYP-E too. Actually, I love all the robots, heehee! Thanks for your feedback and correction! I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own WALL-E or any characters associated with it. It belongs to Pixar.
Chapter 1
AUTO rested above the Axiom Computer, as composed as ever, his wheel shifting ever so slightly as he piloted the spacecraft. Below, Captain Thompson snoozed on, lost in his sea of dreams, unaware of the day's significance. All the better.
A soft ping, followed by the voice of the main computer, resonated softly through the bridge, notifying the autopilot of the Axiom Return Vehicles's arrival. Pensive, the bot stared out into the mass of stars before spinning his wheel, redirecting the Axiom deeper into space and farther from Earth, Directive A113 coursing through his code.
The Computer's signal reached two Stewards, booting them out of sleep mode. They rolled out of their stations just as GO-4 slid down and out of the chute between them. "Fall in," the red and white leader commanded without a glance, his low, normally well composed voice carrying a hint of irritation. The Stewards promptly fell into position, following the red and white construct as he sped off along the red line.
Static fizzled around them as tension settled between the three bots. Every Steward knew how seriously their leader took his directive. While GO-4's leadership and ability to keep a level head in difficult situations were well appreciated within the team, the small bot had a tendency to be unreasonable when provoked.
And GO-4 had always been more unreasonable than usual during the days when the EVE Probes made their yearly trip.
The bot had been rather irritable for the past few days. Instead of calmly issuing them orders, as the leader usually would, GO-4 had snapped commands at every Steward, often chastising them for events and consequences the Stewards had no control over. The two security bots watched warily as GO-4 scanned each probe. As much respect as the Stewards have the little construct, it was times like these that made the head of security absolutely unbearable.
"Steward unit 133. Steward unit 134. Come with me," GO-4 barked when he finished processing the last scan. The Stewards barely finished replying "Yes, sir," when the small bot sped off, and the two hurried to escort him.
The day was still early, 6:26 Earth-hours in the morning to be exact. It wasn't a surprise to find so few humans stirring at this time of the day. Most other constructs were still in sleep mode. An occasional Steward can be seen patrolling the halls, but GO-4 paid no mind, much to the escorting bots' confusion. Their suspicions were confirmed when GO-4 dismissed them, sounding distracted as he slid off and towards TYP-E's site. While their leader's preoccupied state of mind puzzled the Stewards, the two Stewards were happy to push it away and return to their stations, relieved to be free from the prickly GO-4.
GO-4 slipped into the bridge and looked around for the autopilot. He found AUTO hanging in front of a window gazing out at space, his wheel spinning slowly. The autopilot, in deep thought, had not noticed his assistant's arrival. GO-4 gazed at the the wheel of the Axiom, the only construct he truly respected, admiration flooded his circuits.
Snapping himself out of it, GO-4 called out, "AUTO, sir."
The autopilot wheeled around. "Report," the superior commanded in code.
GO-4 saluted. "EVE Probes returned negative, sir." Satisfied, AUTO turned to rest above the main computer, this time overlooking the Lido Deck.
GO-4 hesitated. A query was burning in his mind, yet he was unsure whether he should voice it. He knew all about Directive A113, and he was as devoted to it as AUTO was. However…. GO-4 shifted uneasily. The head of security was no fool. With each passing year, the possibility of a probe returning positive increased. He decided to go through with his thoughts. "Sir?" the smaller bot cautiously called out.
"Yes, GO-4."
"Should the EVE Probes return positive—"
AUTO spun around to face the assistant, his red eye darkening. "Dispose of specimen." The autopilot's tone had a dark edge to it that left no room for question. GO-4 attempted to stand his ground despite AUTO's imposing stature and forbidding mood. "Must follow Directive A113."
"Understood, sir. However—"
"Must follow our directive," the autopilot pushed. There was that statement, the sentence that GO-4 had heard time and again from his superior. "Survival of humans is essential."
"Ah, GO-4. Nice to see you here." A new voice spoke up and the two constructs looked up from each other to notice that Captain Thompson had woken up, completely unaware of the conversation between the two bots. AUTO greeted the captain and GO-4 saluted. "Bring me a cup of coffee, would ya?" the captain asked as he set to work checking the starfleet's status.
Despite his indignation that he was given such a task, the small robot saluted again, returning with the requested drink just as Thompson finished up the status checks.
"Sir," AUTO addressed the captain as GO-4 deposited the cup in the captain's hand before floating back to AUTO's side. "The EVE Probes have returned from their yearly investigation."
Thompson's eyes widened. "Already? Well, what are the results?"
"EVE Probes returned negative."
Thompson slumped, but pressed on. "Negative? Are you sure?"
GO-4, standing at attention, stiffened in offense. The gears behind AUTO's faceplate turned and his wheel twitched the slightest bit. As little emotion as the wheel's vocal voice allowed, irritation still managed to show. "Affirmative, captain."
The captain sighed, defeated. "I'm sorry. It's wrong of me to doubt you. It's just that…" Thompson paused. "…It's been over four hundred years. When will we ever return home?"
"That is indeterminate," came the autopilot's reply. Despite the depressing news, the captain fought a smile in response to the wheel's answer to his rhetorical question.
The brief moment of humor passed, Thompson sighed again, feeling his age. "It's almost time for me to step down as captain. Over another hundred years have passed, yet still no specimen." Silence rang through the bridge for a moment, neither human or robot saying a word. AUTO returned to his usual spot, opening up the Lido Deck for the day. Below, serving robots started to boot up, and the early-rising humans, however few there were nowadays, started to wander through the decks. The captain spoke again. "AUTO."
"Sir?"
"If the EVE Probes ever come back positive after my days as a captain, make sure that all the humans make it back home safely. Watch over them, AUTO."
GO-4 fixed his sight ahead as he stood at attention, betraying nothing of the unease he felt as the autopilot answered affirmatively. All the previous captains had made similar requests. GO-4 reached into his files and reviewed a part of his directives: Carry out orders of captain and autopilot of spacefleet.
Directive A113 ensured day where the two orders would clash. Directive against directive. Who should he obey then? GO-4 tried again with the autopilot. "Sir, the directives—"
AUTO retorted strongly in code. "Must follow our directive," he repeated sternly.
"Sir —"
"This discussion has proven pointless," AUTO replied, eye dark with suppressed frustration. "You are dismissed."
"Yes sir," GO-4 quickly replied, snapping off a salute before bolting from the room, no less uneasy than when he first arrived, and now fearful of AUTO's temper. The captain watched the little exchange, before chuckling and shaking his head, assuming a much less conflicted conversation between the two constructs.
AUTO turned toward Thompson. "Captain?" the wheel questioned, not sure what to make of the laughing.
"It's nothing, AUTO." Thompson reassured, taking a sip of his coffee.
GO-4, why are you so hard to write!? Well, hopefully I got AUTO's and GO-4's characters down. By the way, this fanfic will consist of several time jumps, since I'm trying to portray how the characters might have changed over time. Hopefully, this does not bother anyone. I'm not sure when I'll update again, but hopefully it's soon! Please leave a review and feel free to provide constructive criticism or point out any errors. As always, I hope you enjoyed that! Thank's for reading!