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Chapter 4: Start Up
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After the revelations at the cryogenics facility the group had retreated back to Relic City and Emil's home. He eagerly invited the androids and human baby into his residence, stating how nice it was to have guests.
It had been a day since their return, and they were busy making the ruined place fit for habitation. 2B and A2 did most of the heavy lifting, being designed for such roles, which left Emil and 9S to do more precise patch work and take care of the baby.
The latter of which being surprisingly more difficult than expected.
"I swear, I only took my eyes off of him for five seconds! You can check my visual data for confirmation!"
"Calm down, 9S, and help me get him off of there!" Emil shouted over the panicking android.
Meanwhile a cute infant clapped his hands happily as he watched the strange box and the funny boy scramble about trying to get him down from his perch atop a Terminal.
POD 153! Fetch the baby!" 9S commanded after trying to reach for the child resulted in failure.
"Affirmative," the drone announced and it flew up towards the baby.
"Who is a cutie. Who is a cutie. It is you. It is you. Come to me now that praise has been delivered," 153 said in his robotic deadpan. It seemed to amuse the baby though and he crawled over to the POD who scooped him up in its manipulator limbs.
"That was not pleasant. Who knew human infants could crawl and climb so fast?" 9S gasped in relief as the baby was deposited in his waiting arms.
"I have a new-found respect for mothers if this is what they had to deal with all the time," Emil agreed. The baby giggled and blew spit bubbles at the skull-faced machine.
In the past few days the last human had become accustomed to seeing Emil's unusual appearance. He tolerated his presence, and didn't burst into tears when he saw him. Of course, the baby refused to be held by Emil and fought and squealed fiercely to avoid it.
Which made the skull-boy more than a little depressed.
Soon after the pair of gynoids returned, dirty and with a strange pink lubricant coating their shoes and pants.
"Coolant system sprung a leak while we were installing it," 2B explained the two males saw their stained get-ups.
Emil sighed in annoyance. "I just finished patching it last week! Alright, give me a bit, I'll go fix it up."
He rolled out, toolbox in hand, and retreated to the rear of the beat-up manor he had repurposed for himself. With four extra people living inside it though it required major updates and changes, not to mention a degree of baby-proofing and cleaning.
9S just pointed to the showers.
"I fixed up the water heater. You should be able to use it now."
"Thanks, Nines," 2B said fondly, and even A2 had a tiny smile in appreciation of a hot bath. 9S looked down, a blush on his face.
"It's no problem!"
"Ma! Ma!" the baby whimpered, holding its arms out towards A2.
"Shhh, it's alright, I'm here," the senior android cooed, taking the baby from the Scout model and being careful to avoid getting him dirty.
"Has he been fed?" she inquired as she rocked him gently. 9S shook his head.
"Not yet. And that's something I needed to speak to you about." 9S's tone was grim. The other androids perked up at that and listened carefully.
"We're running out of sterile powdered milk and baby formula. And Emil can only do so much to purify the contaminated stuff. Not to mention Spring is almost over, which means no more nursing moose or boar, and thus no more fresh animal milk."
He sighed. "We have, at best, enough for two, maybe three weeks. The fresh milk we can now store thanks to the rebuilt fridge, but that only extends the deadline by another week or so."
The androids' expressions turned serious.
"What can we do?" A2 asked, worried.
"Thankfully, the baby is about a year old, based on what Emil said," 9S continued. "So, it can start being weaned onto solids. We could start now, in fact. That is, if we had a few things."
He gestured towards the outside. "Fruits, vegetables and other such foods are widely available, but what we need first and fore most is a sterilizer designed for consumables, and a few medicinal additives for said food that will help boost the baby's immune system and allow him to even eat the stuff without becoming sick or worse."
"For the first item, we need a mechanic who can work with biological components. For the second, we need a biochemist who can synthesize a formula that has safe additives."
"Do you have any ideas about who we could use? You sound like you've given this some thought," 2B noted. 9S blushed again.
"Just doing what I'm best at; thinking and planning." He cleared his throat. "And yes, I have two ideas for possible individuals who could help us and keep the baby a secret."
"Who?" A2 inquired.
"Jackass for the role as biochemist…"
"Wait, her?" 2B asked, incredulous. "Isn't she dangerously unstable and a bit too bomb happy?"
"She's not the most stable android I admit," 9S stammered, seeing the death glare A2 was shooting him, "but she's a 'free spirit' as the humans would say, and also good at her job. She designed those synthetic emotion drugs did she not? And they work on both organic and biomechanical beings so she clearly knows her stuff."
"Plus, as you mentioned, she's eccentric. She could wander off from the Resistance every so often and meet up with us if need be, and no one would be any wiser."
"Would she talk?" A2 demanded.
"Not if we asked her not to," 9S asserted. "She's a scientist, and if we offer her the chance to study the last human alive, I think she'll promise us anything for the opportunity."
"What about the other person?" 2B asked as A2 thought over the first individual.
"Do you remember Hatchet?" 9S asked. At 2B's blank look he explained. "The Resistance member who went rogue because he stole a YoRHa android frame and rebuilt it because he wanted a family?"
"Oh, him," 2B nodded as memories came to her. "I was honestly impressed with his skills. He managed to repair an S-Model YoRHa android which had been slated for decommissioning due to severe damage. And, he gave it a personality as well."
This explanation was more for A2 and Emil's benefit since they'd been confused about what the pair had been talking about. The latter having returned from his repair work.
"He was a renegade, but now that YoRHa and the Resistance have new purposes, he might have rejoined them," 9S cautioned. "But he owes 2B and I for not turning him in when we found what he'd done. Plus, I believe he understands the value of family. He and his, um, 'son' I guess, won't tell anyone about the baby."
"Where do they live?" A2 inquired.
"The Crumbling Desert. Jackass was the Desert Zone's commander and answered directly to Anemone. And Hatchet had set up in the abandoned city in the desert."
"If that's the case, you'll need to be careful if you want to avoid detection," Emil spoke up. "Most of the machine life forms in the desert are still active and hostile, while the Resistance has spread throughout it. They've repurposed the oil well like I said, and are mining for resources now."
"I'll go," 2B declared. "They both know me, and I'll have an easier time venturing into the desert alone."
"Take 153 with you," 9S suggested. "We can stay in contact with you through his interface, and he'll watch your back."
"Very well," A2 said with a nod of confirmation. "Do what you can to bring us food and supplies for the baby. And make sure the two androids are willing to keep this a secret."
"We may need to show them the baby to convince them," 9S cautioned.
"If they make trouble I will cut them down," A2 vowed, 2B nodding along in agreement.
"Well, this sounds like a plan!" Emil said happily. "Should I prepare some snacks for guests if they come?"
"Sure, why not, Emil," 9S said in agreement. The skull-machine rolled off to the kitchens with the Scout following behind as 2B darted out the door, POD 153 floating at her shoulder.
A2 just glanced down at the baby and, once she was sure she was alone, began to tickle the baby's tummy and babble nonsense words at him. The baby loved it.
And 9S and Emil were wise enough not to mention how well sound carried through the building.