Eventually, Viktor could no longer ignore the protests of his hungry body. He had been working in a furor, hardly taking the time to eat or sleep and definitely not checking the time. All those things seemed negligible in the face of his new drone's field test. He recorded every detail of the device's effects on the body with clinical detail and had begun a page of notes filled with ideas for improving the design. The only thing that had delayed him was the repairs he had to make to himself after the skirmish. But now, he was forced to take a break.
He wrote a final line, "further tests required", and left his work for the day. His human muscles ached as he stood while his machine parts gave no protest. Food would satiate the needy half of him, so to the kitchen he descended. As he approached, the aroma wafting from the kitchen surprised him. Even with his mask filtering the air he breathed, a savory smell, the likes of which had never come from that room before, reached him. He pushed open the door to find Ren busy at work over the stove.
A large pot was simmering before the young man. Fragrant steam was rising over the rim and the faint noise of bubbles popping could occasionally be heard. A mess of scraps from the chopped vegetables was piled next to a cutting board, and Viktor could make out the bright oranges and greens of carrot skins and celery leaves mixed in among the dull browns of potato skins and onion hairs.
Ren turned with a start at Viktor's intrusion, startled out of his cooking peace, but quickly regained his calm.
"And he finally shows himself," Ren ribbed, "I was starting to think you had abandoned me or your batteries ran out or something like that."
At the moment, Viktor was less concerned with Ren's foolish chatter than he was with the large amount of food that was suddenly in his kitchen.
"N-12, where did this all come from?"
"You could at least add 'chef' before N-12," responded Ren, "but you don't need to worry, I didn't steal it. I bought it with my own money."
"Money. You had none when I brought you here," a realization hit Viktor, "you went outside."
"I know you're probably upset," Ren cut in quickly, "but again, I didn't steal the money, I earned it in a totally legal way. Secondly, I know I wasn't followed back. I was wicked careful. Nobody was going to pay attention to a sumpsnipe like me. Thirdly, I wanted us to have a decent meal."
Viktor stood silently, processing what he had just heard.
My subject, deceitful. Hunger driven. Unacceptable. Actions were not malicious, though. Subject did return of own free will. Should still have repercussions.
It was time for answers.
"Why did you leave without permission? Did you think that this was acceptable behavior?"
"I'm sorry," Ren said, "I knew you would be cross, but I've been here for almost two months. I was getting cabin fever. I probably should have asked you first."
"Indeed you should have," Viktor's tone remained harsh, "next question, where have you been?"
"At the Victuals Plaza. I wanted to get us something nice to eat."
"Another question. Why would you allocate your funds and your time on something as frivolous as this?"
"It's cabbage stew, not exactly what I would call a frivolous meal, but if you must know why I put all this effort in, it was because I wanted to do something nice for you. I know I would be dead without you and I don't think my first gift to you was a big hit, so I thought I would try this. It's healthy, don't need to worry about nutrition, and it's a soup so you won't have to worry about frivolous fork or knives. Think of it like the dinner you made for me but way better because it's not from a can."
Viktor paused.
Not motivated by gluttony. Another example of generosity.
His tone softened slightly for his next question.
"Where did you acquire the funds for this?"
A smile crossed Ren's face.
"Well, some people like my art enough to pay for it."
Viktor had heard enough.
Ren gave the stew a final swirl, filling the air with the scent of the bay leaf and onion anew. He filled two bowls to the brim and set them on the table with spoons and glasses of water. It wasn't a handsome meal, but Ren beamed with pride at the setting before him.
"It's ready," he announced as he took his place at the table and looked expectantly at Viktor. "We should eat it while it's hot. Relax, enjoy the food. Please?"
Much to Ren's delight, Viktor sat down.
Why do I feel I owe him this? Odd.
Viktor removed his mask and the scent of the stew filled his nostrils unfiltered. The prominent notes of the bay leave and onion mingled happily with the savor tones of the ground pepper and thyme that had been mixed in with the fatty sausage. The color of the stew was as ruddy as Ren's cheeks were and was far less oily than the canned soup had been. Beans, carrots, and cabbage made the stew thick and hearty. Viktor could not remember if he had ever cooked himself as meal as rich as this.
Ren was already enjoying his meal with gusto, but he completely froze when he saw Viktor take his first bite. He studied Viktor's face with such a fascinating intensity that the scientist could not help but briefly wonder if that was how others perceived his gaze.
"So," Ren asked in an uncharacteristically nervous voice, "how is it?"
"It is serviceable," Viktor answered.
"Serviceable? That's it?"
"That was a compliment, N-12. The food is nutritious, as you said, and the flavor does not offend me. It is serviceable."
Viktor noticed Ren's expression sinking and added a few more words to what he already considered was a glowing review.
"You do display an understanding for how flavors mix with each other and have demonstrated proficiency with food preparation. Nothing is overdone or underdone. In conclusion, your cooking is of a higher quality than the canned soup."
Ren chuckled.
"Crystal. Feedback isn't your strongest skill, but still, it's nice to know you enjoy my cooking more than my illustrations, but that might change. Keep eating, but also look at this."
Ren pulled out the blueprint he had copied and laid it on the table.
"I near perfect match," he continued, "and it's from memory. I've almost got the base arm memorized as well, oh, and I did this one for fun."
He placed down a smaller drawing showing the construction of Shelly's hand.
"I didn't want to take her apart, so I had to guess on some of the inner workings, but like I said, that was for fun. I want to know your thoughts on how the leg is and please, don't say serviceable again."
Ren was not exaggerating when he said it was a near perfect copy. His practiced hands were well adapted at drawing the mechanical limb and smaller illustrations of the nuts and bolts that held it together.
"Your work is adequate."
"Oh, adequate, that's almost the same thing."
"Adequate is not a bad thing, N-12."
Ren looked up in shock.
"Are those words of encouragement or did I imagine that?"
Viktor took another spoonful of his stew rather than directly answer that question.
"Adequate," he continued, "means that I am satisfied with your progress. Your markings for scale still need improvement. This should excite you. You can still improve and I expect you to."
Ren's felt warmth in his cheeks.
"Woah, I didn't imagine that at all. Now I feel kinda bad about what I'm about to say but I would feel worse keeping it a secret from you."
Now it was Viktor's turn to look up from his meal, though he wore a face of stern concern rather than shock.
"What do you need to tell me?"
Ren stuck out his leg and rolled up his pants to reveal his custom paint job. The bright flames stood out vibrantly against the dark metal.
"More tacky flames," Viktor commented.
There was no anger in his voice but without his mask on Ren could see the disapproval on his face.
"For the record, I wanted to show you this before the blueprint so that you would have something to feel good about after. Please, just know that I used good quality paint. It won't rust or run."
"It still adds excess weight."
"All my effort," Ren grumbled.
Viktor looked down into the stew and pondered for a moment.
Effort. That is the most applicable term for subject N-12. Subject puts effort into everything. Recovery, training, studying, illustrations, cooking, even showing gratitude. Has made teaching him easy. This trait is not present in all humans. Should encourage it. Still cannot allow excess weight throwing off my calculations though. Compromise.
"If you desire your tacky designs you may keep them," Viktor said, "but only if you are willing to put in the effort to. You will remove that paint completely and then you will be allowed to apply new designs with the paint I approve of."
Ren's face lit up as though an electric shock surged through it.
"Yes! Thanks, Doc!"
Viktor couldn't tell if Ren was aware of what he just called him.
Casual. Subject has become comfortable with my presence. Too comfortable?
Viktor did not allow this to agitate him, though. He knew tomorrow was going to allow him to vent some of his pent up agitation.
"N-12," Viktor said, "tomorrow we will intensify your training."
Ren pulled his attention from his leg and back to Viktor.
"Tomorrow you will spar me."
