"C'mon, I think you might be interested in what I have to show you."
6O's offer was tempting, but you were in the middle of a tour. Of course, with Naravelia off dealing with Avicenna, she probably wouldn't notice for some time- and she did leave you behind, not vice-versa.
You turned to break the news to the H-types. "Yeah, it might be time to move on. 103H, thank you for showing all… this to me, and thank you both for making me feel welcome, but I believe it's time to move on to the next stop of the tour."
"But-" 103H stepped forward, but 71H quickly moved a hand to her shoulder.
"It's a tour, 103H, he's supposed to get a general feel about the camp. He'll be back," she looked over at you, "won't you?"
"Yeah, I'll try to be around from time to time." In the back of your mind, you mused, there'd be some benefit to visiting the hospital now and again- the cynical side of your mind thought of gaining public appeal by spending time with the injured. You'd try to avoid getting in Avicenna's way, although it seemed he didn't strictly have any issues with you.
103H looked relieved as she and 71H waved their good-byes. 6O was already 'pulling' you along, excited to be bringing you somewhere she wanted to go.
You passed back out into the main square and immediately, you felt as though something was… off. Not that you could really put your finger on what, however. The androids here just felt like they were barely acting differently. You thought you saw someone staring at you out of the corner of your eye, but you couldn't see who it was if you turned your head. You returned your attention ahead, trying to make whoever was looking at you drop their guard, but you didn't catch anyone else staring at you.
You followed 6O in an almost automatic manner as she led you to the back of the plaza, opposite to where you went with Cecil, Justa, and Ruffin. Another alley pushed further in here. In the alley, a long bed of dark, near-black flowers lay as a kind of meridian, dividing the space in two. A blond Scanner was kneeling with a screen hovering nearby, apparently focusing on the details of taking a picture.
"Theodore," 6O caught your attention, hovering up to your right, "have you been curious about this area? I'm looking at the map, and… I just realized it's right outside your window."
"Well, considering the topology of the camp, I figured."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it had to connect to the rest of the camp somehow. But as to whether I've been curious… I haven't really had the opportunity to. Having to worry about not being discovered took a little higher priority."
"…Ah, right, right."
You turned back to the alley, but found the Scanner nowhere to be seen. Strange, he seemed to be so into the activity, too.
Following 6O, the area slowly came into view. The rectangular area boasted a small bed of more black-ish flowers in the center. The right and far sides of the square were placed well in the shade from a number of cloth canopies strung overhead, and a number of irregular crates and benches lay clustered around the place, mostly in the shade.
The three groups of androids in the square all turned to glance at you, with several of them having to do a double-take. In the farthest group, you noticed an android holding someone else back, keeping her from (presumably) running up to you. You even spotted the Scanner from earlier, talking to a group in hushed tones.
"So here we are!" You turned around to look at 6O as she explained the situation. "This is the recreational area for YoRHa androids. There aren't as many YoRHa androids stationed here as Resistance androids, but it's still a nice place to hang out. It's a bit barebones, since command doesn't give us much more than the basics, but some androids really can get creative with what they scrounge up. I heard they're just about to finish something at Sigma - Kaon, but 2B hasn't told me what…"
6O continued rambling, but your attention was drawn by two androids approaching you. The familiar face of 50G was comforting, but you didn't recognize the android behind her. Given the similarities of her weapons with 50G's, you figured it safe to assume that she was a Gunner. She was giddily trailing behind 50G, like a child being led to an amusement pa-
Moving on.
Either due to a dyeing incident or deliberate 'fashion', her hair was colored half white and half black, split down the middle. As she pulled around 50G as she neared, you noticed with slight alarm that she was absentmindedly toying with a some kind of pistol. She suddenly noticed your worried gaze, and the weapon disappeared in a flash of light far faster than you've ever seen.
50G waved. "Theodore, nice to see you again. I've been," she glanced at the other android, "gently requested to introduce you to someone. Theodore, this is YoRHa Number 14 Type G. We trained with each other back when we were greenies. 14G, this is Theodore. As you've asked me to tell you five times already, I helped escort him to Kaon."
You stepped forward, offering a hand. "It's nice to me-"
14G snapped forward, making you briefly wonder if she's heard of the concept of personal space. Both of her hands had grabbed yours, and it didn't quite pass beneath your notice that one was pressed against the front of your wrist. Her hands were… quite warmer than you thought they'd be. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you! I-I've just never thought I'd have the opportunity to- r-really, it's such an honor!" Her grip wasn't letting up on your poor hand.
"Could you please ease up a little?" While you appreciated the gesture, extracting your hand from the death grip was probably priority number one. "I'd like to use this hand in the future."
"Sorry, sorry!" She let go as quickly as she latched on. "I'm just a little bit excited." You shared a dubious look with 50G. "What? Oh, come on, 50G. You can't tell me you weren't like this when you first met him."
"Maybe a little," 50G tried to defend herself, "but nowhere near that."
"It's probably for the best," you spoke up, "lower expectations, less disappointment."
"Disappointment‽" 14G almost sounded offended, "Why on Earth would I be disappointed?"
"I hate to be technical, but… you know, expectations not being met? If I may ask, what were you even expecting in the first place?" You don't think you've been outright told, but you've easily surmised that the androids, especially YoRHa, are… very eager to meet you.
14G seemed to almost be caught off-guard by this question. "Well, I mean, I… wasn't. Far as I know, it's unprecedented that anyone's come down from the Moon, so I can't say we really have anything to go on. There are the Council broadcasts, but we figured the humans making them were too important to send down. But still, I can't believe it! What's it like up in the colony? Are there a lot of androids up there, or-?"
"Calm it, 14G." A voice from behind you nearly made you jump. The adrenaline kept you from recognizing the Scanner completely, but you thought it was the same one you saw in the alley. "He's on a tour, that means he's still getting adjusted to what the camp's like. If he doesn't have an adequate point of reference, then you're not getting good answers."
"How on-‽" Your brain only managed to get two words out in all of its shock.
"Oh, come on, 24S," 14G fired back, "there's still quite a bit he could tell us. The artificial gravity generators in the Bunker are a relatively new thing. He could tell us if they've been installed. Or, generally, how many humans are up there." She turned back to you. "There's been this huge kick of getting photographs of different celestial bodies, do you have one of the Earth from the Moon?"
"14G, don't you think he's here for more important reasons than answering all of your questions?"
"Don't you think he's here for more than strictly business?"
"Well, perhaps," 24S stepped forward, in an apparent attempt to seem threatening, "but even if that were true, he's not just here for one android. No one should be able to monopolize him."
As the two continued to bicker, you turned to 50G with a frustrated look- as far as you could tell, this whole mess was her fault. She mouthed back a sincere 'sorry,' but shrugged, 'she's hard to control'.
"Both of you, stop it," a fourth android walked up. "Especially you," she pointed to the Scanner, "14G was just being introduced, but you thought that you had to barge in and and interrupt her. Honestly, if neither of you can be civil, maybe you shouldn't have the honor."
"Excuse you?" 24S bit back, "And what makes you think that you can butt in here?"
Exasperated, you looked away- at anything else but at this debacle. To your mild horror, you saw the rest of the YoRHa androids slowly making their way over, further entangling themselves in the conflict. You glanced at the android projected on 904's hologram, who had a rather difficult time looking in your direction. She had fully pulled a glove off to fidget with in her discomfort.
"This is your fault, 6O."
