I watch from a spot high in the ceiling as Tinu tries to get Franc and Rubi to practice. I know none of them can see me. I'm glad. I need a place where I can feel like I'm above my problems, even if it's just an illusion. Heights have always been comforting to me.
Rubi shouts something, loud enough for me to hear though still too quiet for me to make out the words. Whatever she said, Franc seems to share the sentiment with a wave of his hands. Tinu's saying something, swaying from one foot to the other in a calming fashion. Rubi shouts again and throws away the stunner she'd been training with.
Rubi hunches forward, shoulders shaking. I hate the fact that I've heard her cry enough times to imagine the sound, even if I can't hear it now. Franc immediately hugs her, and Tinu tries to lend comfort as well. I watch the scene for a few more seconds before climbing down, sneaking out where they can't see me.
Part of me wishes I would have stayed, but the rest is relieved to be out of there. Rubi hasn't spoken to me since what happened, and Franc hasn't even waved. I know they don't blame me; they're just upset. Still, I don't know if I can face them yet.
I walk slowly through the halls, trying to familiarize myself with the new base. I vaguely remember where everything is; I helped decide which rooms would serve what purposes when we first arrived. I don't seem to remember much from those few days, though. Rhodi claims it's because I was operating under some form of shock. All I know is that I've been having a difficult time finding my way around lately.
After a while I hear voices somewhere around the corner. I smile, relieved that I'm at least in a populated section of the base again. When I round the corner I see Carolina, arms folded and still wearing armor, staring down a very determined looking Yttrium.
"I only need it for a few hours," Yttrium says.
"I already said no," Carolina counters.
"I just want to see how it works," the mechanic insists.
"I'm not letting you dissect pieces of my armor."
"What's going on?" I ask, stepping up next to them.
"She has a healing unit," Yttri says accusingly.
"And she's upset that I'm not sharing," Carolina adds.
"I might be able to recreate it if I can study it," Yttri explains, hoping to change the former freelancer's mind. "We could get Nick back on his feet faster."
"I've spent months hunting down people who stole this technology," Carolina says. "I'm not just going to give it to you so you can make more."
"But we need it," Yttri argues.
"No," Carolina insists. "I'm not going to risk Freelancer technology getting into the wrong hands."
"It's not like I'm asking for your armor," Yttri says, scowling. "I just want to study-"
"Yttri," I say, stopping her. The brunette finally looks at me, eyes still narrowed from glaring at Carolina. "She gave you your answer," I continue. "It's her decision."
Yttri looks like she might argue for a moment before finally nodding. "Fine," she says, still sounding unhappy about the situation.
I look back at Carolina. "I know you don't want us recreating Freelancer tech," I say calmly. "But we really could use that to help Nick."
"What's wrong with him?" she asks, sounding much less defensive.
"He lost his arm," I explain, trying to focus on speaking instead of the memories. "He's still recovering."
Carolina tilts her head to the side, face still obscured by the helmet, before responding. "I'll think about it," she finally says. Yttri opens her mouth to protest, but Carolina beats her to it. "I want to help, really. But I've seen people do bad things with this technology. The guy I stole it from was using it to keep prisoners alive so he could torture them longer. I want to be careful."
I grimace slightly at the described use. I wouldn't have imagined using something designed to heal like that, but it certainly explains her caution. "I understand," I say. "You don't really know us yet. Still, if you'd be willing to let us use it under your supervision, I think it would help."
"Long term use requires an AI to regulate the unit," Carolina says. "But I suppose I could spend an hour or so a day in the infirmary." I suspect she's smiling. "For a price, of course," she adds, and something about the voice lets me know, without a doubt, that her helmet hides a grin.
"What kind of price?" Yttri asks suspiciously, crossing her arms.
Carolina pulls off her helmet, confirming my suspicions. "Someone killed my HUD," she explains, showing Yttri the damaged section. "Think you can fix it?"
Yttri snorts. "Do you know how often she messes up her armor?" she asks, waving a hand at me. "I have enough practice I could fix this with my eyes closed."
Carolina just nods before walking toward the infirmary. I find it both amusing and annoying that she seems to know where she's going already.
Simmons paces outside the door to Yttri's workroom. "You can do this," he tells himself, holding the chocolate in his robot hand so it won't melt and the wrapper won't get sweaty. "Just go in there, hand her this, and apologize. Just two words, Simmons. 'I'm sorry'. You can do that." Having psyched himself as much as he's able, Simmons opens the door.
Yttri's standing there, like always, facing away from him, attention fully aimed at whatever's on the table in front of her. She turns when she hears the door open.
"There you are, Cyborge" the mechanic says, holding a teal helmet. "I've been waiting all day for you; started to think you wouldn't show up." She turns back to her work, waving over her shoulder for him to join her.
Simmons enters the room nervously, shuffling to her side. He spends half a moment too long staring at her; watching the way her hair falls into her eyes and the concentrated look she gets when she works. It's just long enough for him to think that she's beautiful, which of course causes him to lose all capacity for coherent speech. "Um… I- uh," he sputters for a moment.
"What's up?" Yttri asks, spinning to face him.
Simmons jumps and holds out his hand. He doesn't trust himself to speak yet, and hopes he can buy time with the offering.
"What is this?" Yttri asks, poking at the object clutched in his fingers.
"I, uh, wanted to apologize for…" Simmons stutters, dropping the chocolate bar into her hand.
Yttri stares down at it, face hidden under a curtain of hair. "You got this for me?"
"Y-yes," Simmons says.
She looks up at him, smiling mischievously. "Has Rhodi ever told you about how the manipulation of our genes has given some of us weird allergies?" Yttri asks, sounding amused.
Simmons nods quickly, not at all liking where he thinks this is going.
"Do you want to guess what one substance in the entire universe I'm allergic to?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Chocolate?" Simmons squeaks, feeling the floor drop out from underneath him.
"Chocolate," Yttri confirms, nodding. A wide grin spreads across her face as she tries not to laugh. "So how about you take this," she says, handing back the candy bar, "and get it out of here before something bad happens?"
Simmons nods numbly, grabbing the chocolate and quickly turning and walking to the door.
"Hey, Cyborge," Yttri calls, stopping him in his tracks. Simmons turns to look back at her. "Take this with you," she says, tossing him a small scanning device. "It's a 3D modeler. I need a scan of Nick's arm, as well as the wound on his shoulder. I can't do any more planning until I know what we're dealing with."
"Okay," Simmons says.
"And be careful with that," Yttri adds, pointing to the scanner. "It's one of a kind."
"Are you sure you want me using this?" Simmons asks, afraid that she'll say no.
"Of course," Yttri says. "I trust you. Just don't… drop it or anything."
Simmons nods enthusiastically. "I'll be careful, I promise," he says, smiling as he leaves.
"Uh, Rho?" Church calls out, looking around. He knows that, technically, Rho being plugged into the base's computers means she's everywhere at once, including here with him. Still, he has no way of knowing if she's paying attention to this specific room right now. "Are you there?"
After a few moments of silence, he flashes into another empty room. "This is bullshit," he mutters. "Yesterday I couldn't get her to leave me alone, but now that I'm looking for her, she's nowhere to be found."
"Maybe I'm just avoiding you," Rho says, popping up behind him. "Since, y'know, it was pretty obvious that you didn't want me following you around."
"Err, yeah," Church says awkwardly. "Look, sorry about that, I'm just kind of…"
"An asshole?" Rho guesses.
"Well, if you believe popular opinion, yeah," Church admits. "I was gonna say I'm not great with people."
"It's partially my fault anyway," Rho says, sounding embarrassed. "I should have reacted better when I met you. I just got excited."
Church doesn't argue the point. "Listen, Silver wanted me to talk to you…"
"I know," Rho says, interrupting him. "I overheard you two talking."
"You were spying on us?" Church asks incredulously.
"I heard someone mention my name," Rho says defensively. "I thought I had every right to hear what you were saying about me."
"And?" Church prompts.
"I don't think I'm broken," Rho says, sounding hurt. "But… I don't understand how I work. I don't think I'll try to take over again, but I can't be sure. I don't want to hurt anyone. I… I guess I'm just scared."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't think you're broken either," Church says. "It sounds like you weren't put together properly in the first place."
"Can you fix it?" Rho asks hopefully.
"I think so," he says. "But it's risky. I'd literally have to rearrange some of your brain."
"Oh… that sounds…"
"Yeah," Church agrees.
After a long moment of silence, Rho says "do it."
"What?" Church asks, surprised, having fully expected the younger AI to refuse the offer.
"Silver can't trust me to go on missions until she knows I'm safe," Rho explains. "But she needs me. I can't leave her to go alone. So do what you have to do. Make me safe again."
"You're sure?" Church asks. "I mean, I know what I'm doing, but I've never actually done this before."
"I trust you," Rho says, sounding only slightly nervous. "You're my brother, right?"
"More or less, yeah," Church shrugs uncertainly. When Rho doesn't make any further comment, he sighs. "Alright, let's get started."