Chapter 7 - The Campsite Life 1

/_\

"...remember that urge to commit murder?" Amora asked, seconds after having taken in the dire news Roman had revealed to her about the real reason he was here. Roman didn't even get the chance to answer before his friend continued, "It has now become a burning desire to end every one of those bastards!"

Yeah, that's understandable.

"If I could I would gladly line every single one of them up for you and let you have at it." Roman replied, watching his friend silently fume to herself.

A fair reaction, all things considered.

Roman honestly expected most people to react like Amora did as opposed to his own muted, silence response to hearing the news. He'd been crushed, sure, but Roman could handle bad, even traumatic, news better than most.

Outwardly, anyway. It still stung to hear it, and likely would every time he was reminded of it.

"So we're on a time limit, great!" Amora sucked in a breath and slowly released it, "Fine, whatever," She turned to Roman, "So do you have any sort of plan going forward? How are you going to sneak out to do your super secret soldier shit?"

Roman winced slightly, something Amora noticed.

"Winging it, huh?" Amora offered, to which she huffed a laugh. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Look," Roman responded, "I doubt any sort of plan I have is going to work, I have no idea what the fucking I'm going to walk into in any of these facilities. Whatever fresh hell waits for me in there is dangerous enough to have killed many other soldiers like me long before either of us had been awoken."

Cid had said many had died in pursuit of this cure, and whilst they had failed to ultimately retrieve it they had gotten humanity as a whole a step closer to salvation each time. Their sacrifices got them to where they were today.

That, though, did not bode well for him.

There was a very high chance Roman wouldn't live to see the mission to its end, not that it would make much difference if he didn't. If Roman did die then he would simply be replaced with another soldier. He was merely a designation, SO-312, there would be more to come after him like he had come after so many others before.

"A plan helps numbnuts," Amora scolded him, "You should, at the very least, have an idea on how to escape the camp undetected, right?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...fuck sake Roman." Amora sighed.

"In my defense I've been very busy actually running the camp before you all arrived," Roman defended himself, "Not like I could move an inch without a hundred million androids taking notice now could I?"

"...fair." Amora conceded, reluctantly.

Roman could have merely fucking sighed and the androids would have bent over backwards to find out what was wrong. It was helpful, if a bit creepy with how overzealous they could be with it.

That Glory to Mankind thing was freaky to see when you were the only human surrounded by hundreds of androids though. It was something straight out of a sci-fi horror movie where the androids revolt against the humans.

"I really need to talk to White about that motto…" Roman idly thought to himself momentarily before speaking, "Maybe I should have given this some more thought," He ignored his partners ya think, "But I was rather busy with my first mission, establishing our camp and making contact with YoRHa. Doing anything beyond that would have been a waste, I needed to know what I was up against first before I plan my escape."

"Yeah, well, your lack of a plan even now speaks for itself." Amora countered, to which Roman had no response to. The facts were the facts after all. "Screw it, since I'm involved now let's make a game plan. Where should we start?"

"The camp," Roman offered, "We should see what the camp entails fully, its security and all that." He gestured with a roll of his hand.

Amora nodded in agreement, "Right, let's go with that." The young woman turned and began walking toward the exit, "Come on, the sooner we get this done the better."

With that the two partners left their joint command tent.

/_\

Roman and Amora went about their roles, giving out orders, coordinating with Devola and Popola to make sure every aspect of the camp was running well. The partners went around the camp making sure everything was up to a certain standard, solving whatever problems that popped up, listening to the complaints of both humans and androids.

Whilst in the background, the duo were silently prepping for Romans' departure. Watching guard rotations, watching how androids came and went from the camp, mapping out the routes often traveled between the Human Camp and the Resistance Camp to better avoid high-traffic areas, and even take note of the best way to avoid detection by a flight unit above by passing through buildings and undergrowth.

One key aspect the pair thought of was how best to distract the androids, his guards, and when would be the best time to sneak out of the camp's perimeter. It was imperative the androids be distracted long enough to not notice his absence otherwise hell could well be raised.

The two partners quickly surmised the best way to distract the androids would be to get them working with other humans, aiding them in their tasks and missions which Roman or Amora could assign.

Amora could assign the humans the tasks whilst Roman assigned androids to aid them, and tighten security around those people.

Nothing suspicious about those kinds of orders, that was literally their job so nobody would think to question them on it and androids focusing on helping humans on whatever task was required was also important.

Popola and Devola might be a problem since they were directly under his command, something Amora gave him a look about which he attempted to ignore, but if Roman ordered the sisters to report to Amora for a time then she could distract the twins and keep them from asking too many questions. They might question the fact he hadn't been seen for some time, or that they needed to speak to him directly for whatever reason, but Amora could just lie and say she had seen him around the camp and that she could relay any messages they had for him.

It was far from an ideal plan, but what else could they really do?

Amora and Roman were literally two people trying to outwit a colony of humans, YoRHa, and other androids of the resistance all at the same time. No plan was going to work perfectly with so many variables involved.

The final piece of the plan was a small cover story, something to explain Roman's absence if it was discovered he was missing to specific, noteworthy individuals. It would be smart to have a back-up plan for that inevitability.

Now all they had to do was wait for that… golden opportunity.

/_\

"...where could he be?" 9S thought to himself as he walked around the camp. The scanner model continued his search for his person of interest.

Much to his surprise 9S had received a task, through Devola from the Commander, as many began calling him which only confused people even more, to speak with a certain individual about the city and its surrounding areas.

Apparently Commander White, the human one, and Administer Amora had begun assigning missions to certain individuals in the camp. Mainly people, humans, who held specific roles such as Hunter and Agriculturist, who needed to leave the camps premises to do their assigned jobs. Whilst androids had been assigned as protection details and or assistants for these individuals.

But 9S had been assigned to work with someone with another kind of job, one that honestly excited him.

Seekers.

Funnily enough, 9S had noted that Seekers weren't all that different from Scanner models like himself. It was their job to scout the lands, seek knowledge, and preserve it for humanity.

Commander White, the human one, had figured 9S was the man for the job when it came to helping out Seekers. It was his area of expertise. Something 9S was proud of, much more now knowing Roman saw it in him too.

His first human friend recognized his talents and trusted him enough to aid another human with their mission and assignment, that was something to be proud of!

Now all he had to do was find this person.

Aurel Burxtrez.

The first Seeker to join the camp, thus making him the de facto lead of the rather small group, code-named SK-091.

Having no idea what Mr Burxtrez looked like, 9S wandered around the area he was supposed to be at until he decided to ask a person, a human, for assistance.

"Excuse me," 9S politely interrupted, the human, a woman, in question turned to the android having looked up from a clipboard.

"Yes?" She replied with a raised eyebrow, "Can I help you?" Her tone soft, polite, and her small smile genuine. The woman didn't seem upset at being interrupted.

"Yes Ma'am," He began, remembering he had to be… strict with what he called the humans. "I'm looking for someone, Aurel Burxtrez, SK-091." 9S explained with a small nod as he spoke, "I've been assigned to assist them by the Commander for their mission." He decided to differentiate which one he meant, he was sure people were going to get annoyed by the naming thing in time so there was no need to add fuel to that fire.

"Ah," The woman responded, she turned her head and pointed in a direction with her pencil, "He should be down that way looming over one of the maps in the room furthest to the left."

9S momentarily glanced in the direction she pointed before turning back to the woman, "Thanks for your help, Ma'am."

The woman merely smiled slightly, nodded in acknowledgement, before turning back to her work. 9S wasted no more time, moving straight toward the last room at the end.

When 9S reached the door he found it partially ajar. The scanner peered in to find someone with their back to the door. Aurel seemed to be a young man, 9S found it hard to discern how young though. But that shouldn't have been a surprise, every human 9S had seen thus far was on the younger side.

His outfit was similar enough to what many others were wearing, somewhat. The young man wore a plain, beige tank top, a blue-ish carrier vest, black combat boots with a silver lining to them, and dark green, army camo combat pants. Other articles of clothing he had were a cloak on his shoulders, and a gas mask attached to his hip. The human also had unkempt ash-blonde hair, held up in a ponytail just about shoulder length.

Oddly enough a lot of people wore combat gear, including Roman. But for Romans' case it made sense, he'd said he was a soldier and soldiers wore that kind of thing apparently.

Anyway, 9S knocked on the door to announce his presence just as he spoke, "Sir?"

The human, which 9S was betting was Mr Burxtrez, turned to the entrance. The scanner android noted the way his hair slightly covered his left eye, and how he had a toothpick in his mouth. Green eyes briefly ran up and down the scanner model before he spoke.

"Ahh, yeah?" The man spoke, "Do you need something?"

"Yes Sir," 9S confirmed, stepping into the room, "Would it be safe to assume you're Aurel Burxtrez?"

"Yeah," Aurel confirmed, nodding at the scanner, "That's me."

Good.

Found him!

"I'm 9S," The android gestured to himself in introduction, "I'm a scanner model android, Commander White assigned me to assist you with your mission. I believe he said my skills would help you, as a Seeker."

"Help?" Aurel questioned with a raised brow, "I mean sure, you can help." The Seeker glanced back at the map on the table, rubbing the back of his neck for a second before turning back to the android. "Would you happen to know a lot about the area? I'm planning some expeditions into the city, looking for specific items of interest, and I need someone with knowledge of the area." The human's green eyes met the androids blindfold, awkwardly. "Think you can help?"

9S smiled, "Yeah, us scanner models are quite in the know. We often do recon in areas ahead of assault teams. I've had some experiences in this region so if you need to know anything I'll answer as best I can." 9S walked over to Aurel as the pair turned back to the map on the table. "If it helps I can also join your expedition for some field support as well." It went without saying that any human who left the camp had to be accompanied by a platoon of YoRHa androids, similar to when the Commander, Roman, had been when exploring the city.

"I think I would need to request that from the Commander," Probably the human one. "But if he agrees then sure, the more the support the better." Aurel agreed.

That shouldn't be a problem. If 9S asked he was sure he could convince Roman to let him go, he was quite chill about that kind of thing.

"Alright," Aurel began, leaning over the map to point at a specific point, "What can you tell me about this location?"

"That would be a castle…"

/_\

Devola entered Roman and Amoras' joint command tent, finding it empty save for the maps, documents, and written reports spread across the main table in the center of the space. The redhead glanced around the tent for a moment, taking in some of the paperwork on the table.

Mission reports, supply lists, and more. Things she and her sister had discussed with Roman and Amora earlier, and planned around together. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Seeing as Roman wasn't here, Devola took the opportunity to rest a moment.

The redhead took a moment to think about her current circumstances. How her life had changed so much in such little time, days. A lot of her old duties had been passed onto other androids since she and her sister took up their new roles.

It was honestly… refreshing, amazing even!

Never did she, nor her sister, think they'd ever be given the chance they had now. It was like life had been breathed into them again. It was hard work, sure, but Devola was honestly so excited to be working on something of great importance. Hell, it was perhaps the most important task that could be given to them! Any android really.

Working as Commander Whites right-hand aides.

The human one… not the…

Nevermind.

But to be given such a task, despite their previous… failures, was an honor and joy for her. It made her feel something again, it was a new purpose in life instead of their meager existence within the resistance camp.

It made her feel alive again.

And Devola was certain her sister felt the same way.

Devola glided through the tent, her hand brushing along the table as she thought about her time in the human camp. It might have been rude to say it, but she didn't care if it was, she vastly preferred her time here than the resistance camp.

Here she was appreciated, helpful, felt as though she had a purpose and goal, as if some long-since suppressed codes and protocols within had reactivated again. Despite the guilt she carried from her failures, she felt happy. Welcomed by the humans.

A faint blush crept onto the androids face as she thought back to a certain situation a day prior, and person.

Despite their promotion to being Roman's aides, that didn't mean all the hate and anger from the other androids disappeared overnight. Devola wasn't blind to the subtle, and not so subtle, glares she had received around the camp as she went about her duties and orders.

One android, in particular, hadn't been happy with the fact she had relayed orders as if they were her own when she and her sister went about the camp together attempting to prepare it for full-time inhabitation. The android actually became quite vocal, calling them out and reminding them that they were still outcasts and they shouldn't get used to their positions, one mistake compiled with their previous ones would see them removed, and likely exiled, if they weren't careful.

The android in question even going as far as to say that if they, the resistance androids, wanted to they could petition to have her and her sister removed.

It frustrated Devola that she actually froze up at the threat, along with her sister, unsure what they should do despite their best efforts. Normally she would have been willing to fire back, unafraid to tell him to shove it and leave them alone.

But now she had her new position to think about.

She couldn't afford to start arguments unless she wanted to give others more reason to remove her, and likely her sister along with her.

But thankfully someone came to their aid.

Roman White.

Roman had apparently overheard the yelling and decided to find out what the problem was. Devola almost panicked when he had decided to get involved, it wasn't a part of his duties to look after them. They were supposed to aid him, but he decided to show up and deal with the problem himself.

But he hadn't been mad or upset by it.

The android that had been yelling seemed to have been cowed significantly by his mere presence, which wasn't surprising but very satisfying even if she would never admit it. Roman came up, listened to what the android had to say, albeit with less shouting and aggression from the android.

And what did he do next?

Immediately defend the twin sisters.

Much to the surprise of… well… everyone.

Roman had explained to the android, and everyone else who chose to eavesdrop, which included other resistance androids and other YoRHa androids, that Devola and her sister were going to be instrumental when it came to running the camp.

He praised the work the twins had done, which she had to admit made her feel bashful, going on to say that they were fitting into the roles they'd been given with ease. The human went further by adding that they were essentially an extension of him since they relayed his orders, not their own, and that if there was ever an issue with what either of the twins said they should come to him to straighten things out instead of arguing over it.

But not to merely listen to a complaint, but to clean up any misunderstandings.

And after that Roman had turned to the two twins and reassured them they were doing a great job, telling them to keep doing what they were doing since things were running so perfectly already.

His praise made her chest feel warm, and her face heated up slightly as well.

It felt… amazing… to have someone side with them.

But it also made her feel guilty, more so now having realized that Roman might not have known of their previous failures and was complimenting them without knowing the full picture. It was painful to think his opinion of them would change if… or when… he learned of the truth.

She silently hoped he never would.

Devola was grateful the warmth she felt overpowered the guilt and left her feeling great for some time after. Her sister had been the same, Devola had noticed the faintest of pink on her twins cheeks when Roman was defending and praising them.

Roman was… very kind.

Not just with them but with others. He'd been observed to help androids with their tasks when making rounds of the camp, answering questions as they came up with no issue, and generally being very open with them. He wasn't afraid to work with anyone, willing to help anyone.

A human mixing with androids in such a manner was something nobody expected.

And when more humans had arrived Devola quickly noted how he treated them.

No differently.

Roman didn't treat androids and humans differently.

It was fascinating to think about, not just the human part but specifically Roman himself.

Her thoughts going back to Roman, the first human to arrive back on earth, the soldier, her boss, her hand drifted above her chest in a small fist. The warmth from earlier returned slightly.

If this is what it felt like to be important, wanted, to be recognized, to have purpose again, Devola hoped she would never have to lose it.

/_\

"Humans…" A2 mumbled to herself, having repeated that word several times now, "Humans on the surface…"

It was still hard to believe, it should have been impossible.

"Did White lie about this too?" A2 muttered to herself as she sat atop her perch overlooking the human camp. She hadn't been able to close the distance to the camp, no way for her to get her answers from a direct source, unable to gain anything from the human camp itself.

Anemone had been unavailable, she had been absent from the resistance camp when A2 had visited. Annoyingly, it was much harder to move about the android camp with so many YoRHa units on the ground. One wrong step, she would be outed and within seconds she'd have an army of YoRHa androids on her ass.

Thankfully, she'd overheard androids coming and going, one had mentioned how they'd discovered the first human, a Roman something, wandering the surface on his own.

This Roman person had been alone on the surface for an unknown amount of time, before any of the other humans that now inhabited the camp had been. From what A2 had overheard, this human had been given a mission from the council to scout the surface personally.

Which was obviously bullshit.

And she believed he knew that too.

If A2 were to get her answers from anyone, it would be this Roman person. She needed to find answers, everything within her demanded it. A whirlwind of emotion had been bouncing around inside A2 for a while now, ever since she'd learned humans were alive again.

Anger, joy, sorrow, concern, and even hope. It was frustrating not being able to wrangle control of herself, her programming was still active within when it came to Humans. It was her purpose she thought was lost, but apparently it wasn't.

After so long of telling herself it was all a lie, her world shattered before her. It was understandable why. If A2 wanted to calm her emotions, her mind, she needed her answers.

Now all the assault android had to do was figure out a way to confront this specific human to find them.

C7: End.

Another short chapter, mainly filler camp fun, but at least you get to see some of the going-ons of the camp, and some interactions between some humans and androids.

It's these kinds of chapters where OCs sent in to me will be shown, to help bring the camp to life and so on. Every so often I plan to have cut-back chapters to show how the camp is doing and scenes like above will be sprinkled about, the more OCs I have the more scenes I can make in those chapters (as short as they are). It's to show that despite Roman being away, life still goes on within the camp, and that problems can arise and be solved whilst he's away. The world doesn't revolve around Roman, even if the story mainly follows him.

And yes, it's kinda backwards that A2 knows about the dead humans but it's for later in the story. Trust me.

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Review Response(s):

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: With her introduction done, we should be moving to the other main plots of the story hopefully soon. We just need Roman to escape the camp to kick things off.

Gwynx: Thanks for reading!

Wellingtonlucas282: Thank you my friend!

2663919: A good idea, I must admit. I could have made it work but keeping Project Salvation a secret is actually a plot point which will be explored later on. I wouldn't say it's a key plot point but it is a point brought up several times. Not that it will remain a secret forever, lol.

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So that's the (short) chapter wrapped up, till next time I wish you all the best! We'll see how long until the next chapter comes out though.

See you then!

AlcatrazDGold - Peace!