Oversight and a big decision.
Time was moving forward as everyone were slowly preparing for what could be their final battle against the Resistance. At the Mother of Invention the Director and Counselor were discussing the results of their latest tests. Both had been quite busy recently, with everything that's been going on.
"Congratulations, Director. Another successful test" The Counselor said.
"Another fragment was harvested this morning, Counselor. Find it a match" The Director said.
The Counselor looked at him in surprise "This morning? That is ahead of schedule".
"Our time grows short, find it a match" The Director ordered.
Suddenly, Carolina walks in "Director, Wyoming reported in".
The Director looked at her "And?".
"You won't like what he found, sir" Carolina warned.
"Agent Carolina, information never displeases me. It's ignorance that I find unforgivable. Report" The Director ordered.
"It's like you said...CT is with them" Carolina said, her tone making it clear she wished the words she spoke were not true.
The Director narrowed his eyes behind his glasses "You know what to do. I do not need to remind you how valuable our technology is, Carolina".
"She doesn't have an AI, sir. And she wasn't exactly the best agent" Carolina reminded.
"C.T. will be an acceptable loss" The Director said, almost making Carolina glare at him "But her armor must not fall into the wrong hands".
"I understand. Will we be the only forces sent out on this mission, sir?" Carolina asked.
The Director Leans forward on the table as he raised his voice "Leave personnel decisions to me, agent. Just do your job! It's time to cut the head off the enemy once and for all!"
"Yes, sir" Carolina said, not remembering the last time her father ever raised his voice at her like this. She glances up at Tex's name on the top of the leaderboard before leaving.
In mess hall, Theta was showing North holographic fireworks "That's really great, Theta!".
"Thank you! I worked super hard on it!" Theta said as South walks by and sees the two of them.
"Ugh!" South scoffed then leaves. York and Delta sit down at the table in front of North.
"Hey Theta! You mind if I talk to North for a second?" York asked.
Theta looked at him "Uhh...okay".
"Need you to shut down while we chat, okay? Delta too. You know, it's the rules" York said and Delta shuts down,
"North?" Theta asked unsure.
"It'll be okay. I won't talk too long" North assured.
"Alright" Theta said before he walks in to North's hand and shuts down.
"What's up?" North asked.
"I need to ask you about something" York answered.
"Uh, okay. Shoot" North said.
"I need to ask you about the Alpha" York said.
Pyrrha who happened to walk by stopped when she heard this. She looked at South and held up one finger to tell her she would just be a moment.
North leans forward "Where did you hear that word?".
"Same place you heard it..." York said as he points to his head "Up here".
Wash shows up his voice slightly muffled while holding a beverage "What's an Alpha?".
"Wash...are you eating inside your helmet?" York asked.
"Maybe. Delta said they got the helmet waste disposal out of beta. That it would make my eating more efficient" Wash said.
"Haha, and you believed that? Maybe he is getting more personable" York said.
"What's this about an Alpha?" Pyrrha asked, causing the men to look up at her "Sorry. Mind if I join you for a bit?".
"By all means, take a seat" York offered.
Pyrrha took a seat next to him "Thank you. So who is an Alpha?".
"It's not an Alpha, kid, it's the Alpha. Theta thinks about him a lot. More than thinks, really. He's obsessed" North answered.
"Delta too. You know how all the units call each other brother? They call this one father. No...that's not right" York said as he thinks.
"Creator" North finished for him.
York nods "Yeah".
"I thought the Director would be their creator" Wash said, still with his mouth full.
"Haven't you been paying any attention in class? A.I.s aren't created; they're copies of someone" York explained.
"But our A.I.s are just fragments" North pointed out.
"Which begs the question...where's the original?" York asked.
"So this Alpha thing is what, creates the fragments?" Wash asked, still with his mouth full.
"Wash, do you have any table manners? Swallow!" Pyrrha ordered.
Wash swallows "It creates them?".
"Yeah, Theta isn't clear. It creates them...or something" North said.
"Yeah, it's the or something part that has me worried" York said.
"Why? You think something will happen to the AIs?" Pyrrha asked.
"I don't know. Hopefully it's nothing... but if it is something, I'd like to know what it is" York answered.
Pyrrha thinks for a moment "Maybe I should try getting an AI. Maybe then we can work together and find out what Alpha is, and what is happening".
"I'm sure you have a good chance at that Pyrrha. Just be careful, ok?" North said.
"Don't worry about me. Well, see you latter" Pyrrha said as she got up and headed to South.
"What was that about?" South asked.
"Just some AI talk" Pyrrha answered as she sat down.
South scoffed "Right. That's about the only thing people can talk about these days".
"Well I you don't want to talk about that. Maybe we can talk about that little thing you did" Pyrrha suggested.
"You mean the kiss?" South asked with a wink.
Pyrrha blushed "Yes... that".
"What about it? You didn't like it?" South asked.
"That's not it at all. It's just... you and me have been best friends for so long, and then you just kiss me out of the blue. It just left me really confused" Pyrrha explained. South was her best friend, and Pyrrha never had a reason to suspect South would do something like that. She looked around to make sure no one was listening "South... are you... well...".
"In love with you? What is I said yes?" South asked as she leans forward a little.
Pyrrha blushed again "Well... why?".
"You really don't know much about love, do you?" South asked.
"I know the basics. What I want to know is why you would be in love with me" Pyrrha said.
"Well, you are cute and a joy to be with. I'm sure I am not the only one who's had a crush on you. Though most other might not have made a move due to who you are" South explained.
"What do you mean by that?" Pyrrha asked.
South facepalms "Pyrrha... for being a genius when it comes to fighting, you are a complete moron in other areas".
"What?" Pyrrha asked, sounding offended.
"Pyrrha, you are at the very least the third best fighter in the whole project. I keep hearing you have the potential to be more skilled than even Carolina. And the only thing that kept you of the leaderboard was your passive nature of trying to avoid killing. Something you have overcome now. People will believe you are to good for them. That you are on a level they simply can't reach. In short, they believe they are unworthy of you" South explained.
Pyrrha let her words sink in before finally picking up some food "So what made you come forward?".
"Let's just say, I am a little bolder than those wimps. And I was not going to let them beat me to the punch" South said before she moved her foot from under the table and tapped Pyrrha's crotch with it.
Pyrrha gasped in surprise. But she had foot in her mouth and it ended up getting stuck in her throat. She quickly got out of her seat as she was starting to choke. South noticed her mistake and was about to get up to help her. But someone showed up behind her and gave her a hard pat on her back, causing the food to fly out of her mouth.
Pyrrha coughed a few times as she struggled to regain her breath "Th-thank you...".
"You're welcome" Came a familiar voice.
Pyrrha turned around and saw who it was "Tex? What are you doing here? Other than saving me?".
"Was just passing through, would be a shame if your promising career ended due to food" Tex said before walking away.
Pyrrha watched her leave and South spoke "Wow. The best freelancer is your guardian angel".
Pyrrha glared at her "What the hell was that!? I almost choked because of you!".
South held up her hands in surrender "Sorry sorry!".
Everyone in the mess hall had no idea what was going on. And that might be for the best.
Later Pyrrha was walking down the halls. She still had some time before the mission was going to start, so she decided to take the chance to speak to her father. She had made a big choice, but she would need her father's permission to go through with it. If he says no, then that's it. She stopped at the door that lead to the room her father was currently in. She took a deep breath before going inside, where she found her father and the Consular going over a few things.
"Sorry to disturb you sir" Pyrrha spoke, making the two men look up at her.
"Agent Greece, what is it? You are due to leave for your mission soon" The Director said.
Pyrrha really wish her father would use her real name instead of her code name, but that wasn't the issue right now "I... I need to ask something of you... something big".
The Director raised an eyebrow in curiosity "Oh? And what would that be?".
Pyrrha strengthened herself for a moment before looking up with as much determination she could muster "I want an A.I.".
Both men looked surprised by her request and The Consular was the one to speak "This is an unexpected development. May I ask why you suddenly want one? You never showed much interests in A.I.s before".
"Things have changed. I realize now if I want to be the best soldier I can be, I will need every advantage I can get. And after seeing what a major difference an A.I. can make, it's clear I will never reach my full potential without one. And last thing I want is to say back as everyone else leaves me behind" Pyrrha explained.
The Director was silent for a moment "Very well, Agent Greece. When we find an A.I. that is a good match for you, then you will be informed and prepped for the surgery".
"Thank you sir. I promisse you I will not fail" Pyrrha said in relief. She had no idea what she would've done if her father said no.
"I highly doubt you will fail, now that you've gotten over that naive weakness of yours. But just so you know, having an A.I. will come with many new responsibilities. And you better be prepared for them" The Director said.
"I will, Sir" Pyrrha said.
"Good. Now get moving. Your mission will begin soon" The Director ordered.
Pyrrha nods before leaving. Once she got outside she bumped in to Carolina, making her stop dead in her tracks.
"Oh, hello sis... did you, hear that?" Pyrrha asked.
"Every word. You sure about this Pyrrha? A.I.s are not like any equipment we normally use" Carolina said.
"I am aware. But there is no going back now. I made my decision, and I'm sticking to it" Pyrrha declared.
Carolina sighed "I hope you won't regret this decision. But we can talk more about it later. We need to leave for our mission, now".
Pyrrha nods and the two sisters walk away to begin their mission... Pyrrha knew what she had done, and how it might effect her going forward. She really hoped she made the right choice.
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You can thank Death Battle and Red Vs Blue Zero for this. The Death Battle was fun and the first episode of Zero was epic! So far so good, hope it keeps it up.
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Tell me what you think.
