Relic from the seas
By
Dr Facer
-5-
"I find it hard to believe she is a mechaniloid," Tsunami Mako said, arms crossed, as he observed the female robot standing still at the other end of the dock. She was staring at the ocean, not moving even under the freezing winds roaring over the piers. "She's too pretty to be a mechaniloid."
"That is because she is not one," Nina Cossack corrected. "She is a Robot Master, one of the last few ever made, actually, and now she's the only one left."
"I tried talking to her yesterday, but she didn't answer my questions," the shark-themed reploid related. "I guess I'm too specialized and don't look much like a human, I wouldn't be surprised to learn she's terrified of me."
"I doubt that," Nina said. "Her voice box malfunctioned when we woke her. She can't speak even if she wants to. But she'll be able to speak soon enough, my husband has almost finished duplicating the part."
"Oh, so it was because of that!" the marine reploid exclaimed with honest relief. "I'm glad to hear that. The last thing I want is to scare her, you know? I'm the one who found her and, to be honest, I would really like to talk to her."
"All of us want to," Nina agreed. "She has written or typed a few notes and helped Viktor with a diagram of her schematics, but other than that she hasn't told us anything useful."
"I read somewhere Robot Masters could interface with computers and other robots, can't she communicate with you that way?"
"No, Mako, she can't."
"And why is that?" The dark blue and white armored reploid asked.
"She tried to interface with our computers and our robots, but she couldn't. She's… completely obsolete, the ports she has built in are of a design that hasn't been used in decades, same with the programming language and coding she knows, they're no longer utilized," the female reploid explained. "Without her voice box, she has very few means to communicate and she's not using the ones available. She stated she wants to speak to us with her own voice and so far she's proven to be quite adamant about it."
"Well, why don't you give her a reploid voice box?" Mako inquired.
"We tried. She's not compatible with modern ones."
A flash of light hit the ground next to the marine Robot Master, revealing a certain blue armored Hunter. He had beamed down and carried a long box that he opened so she could see inside. She smiled, hesitated for a second and then reached into the box to pick up a golden trident. Going by her expression of gratitude, the artificial woman was very much pleased with the gift, even going as far as to hug Mega Man X.
"Ah, her Mega Trident is complete. I heard the Maverick Hunters were in charge of creating a replica. Unsurprising, they do have the best weapon R&D facilities in the world, after all. I'm honestly amazed they managed to replicate it so quickly, though," Nina Cossack indicated. She then scribbled a quick note on her datapad's screen. "Her behavior is very interesting. I was under the impression Robot Masters were not capable of expressing emotional responses this complex… then again, I'm not the expert on this, I'll have to consult with my husband, so if you'll excuse me, Mako…"
"Sure, go ahead," the shark reploid said, his eyes never leaving the scene playing out at the other end of the docks. Just for how long was X going to keep hugging her?
Feeling sickened by the unusual display of emotion, Tsunami Mako jumped into the waters and swam as far and as deep as he could. He wasn't in the mood to witness something so unbecoming.
=0=
Nina Cossack entered the provisional lab her husband had been hard at work in for the last couple of days and delivered the information she had gathered. She didn't stay to listen to his evaluation of it and after saying good bye to Viktor, beamed to the hotel her family was staying at. She had to see her son.
She found little Mikhail playing with his toys, too busy with them to notice her arrival. She silently observed him from the door and ran her fingers through her golden hair. Looking at her son play reminded her of the conversation she had with her sister not too long ago, and once again wondered if her son would ever have a cousin to play with.
Nina believed her child would never have a cousin if her idiot sister continued being the queen of shyness around Mega Man X, who was himself the king of the clueless.
"And given recent developments I'm not seeing her ever getting the man she wants…" Nina thought with a sad sigh.
Notes:
Thanks to Adam for beta reading this chapter.