(Murder Drones is created by Liam Vickers)
(Yōjo Senki, The Saga of Tanya the Evil is written by Carlo Zen)

- The Corporate Chronicles of a Disassembly Drone -

Chapter Three
- Yum Yum -

Year: 3071
Unit: P/N: CYN-MYKX - S/N: N-0X0010010
Exoplanet of Unit Deployment: Copper-9

Upon reaching the floor where the disassembly workshop was located, N skilfully manoeuvred himself through a broken, full floor-to-ceiling window which led into a quaint but currently disused office space. Or, at least, N believed it was once an office space…? In all honesty, it was kinda hard to tell given all the weathered decay strewn about the place. The subtle crunch of freshly laid snow which could be felt beneath his feet as he landed only adding to this fact.

Looking down to the snow laden floor beneath him, and then back out the broken window he'd just entered through, N couldn't help but make an observation. "We really should get round to fixing that at some point…" - referring to the open entryway letting the elements in.

No matter how secure and weather proof the Tower theoretically was, water damage is still no joke… In fact, N recalled some small tidbit of information T had offhandedly mentioned at one point regarding the negative effects such damage might cause for them in the future if not properly seen to.

Whilst making a mental noting to clear out the snow and fix up this entry point when he next had some free time to spare, N paused for a brief moment - his CPU suddenly slowing down to a crawl as he started to comprehend something. After a few more seconds of contemplation, N steadily broke down into a small chuckling fit as he came to a realisation. "Water damage is snow joke~ Ah… that's a good one!"

N continued to chuckle to himself for a few more seconds after that; smiling cheerfully at the unintended pun he made, before finally making his way swiftly through the quaint little office space to his next destination.

Arriving at the large and robust door which would lead him further into the Tower, N couldn't help but subconsciously admire the sheer amount of effort put into installing it into the wall - despite how many times he'd gone through it in the past.

Made from a sturdy slab of thick steel plating, and braced by a large reinforced frame which spread out across the surrounding wall for bracing, it was obvious that the door in question had not been present during the building's heyday under JCJenson. Indeed, in actuality, the door, its frame, and the accompanying keypad activated security lock beside it were all fairly new additions.

Well… new as in "within" the last couple years, that is… N corrected a bit offhandedly.

Similar to the early warning beacons placed around their territory, J had also been busy occupying herself with other such projects she viewed as important. One of these other projects - as well as the most extensive of the bunch from which N was made aware of - saw a comprehensive and thorough beefing up of the Tower's internal security.

"Securing and defending vital areas of the Tower's infrastructure is the primary goal of this project." J had explained during one of their squad's usual review meetings, "Critical areas and entryways past floor sixty should be reinforced and protected against both environmental and none-environmental threats…"

"-The replacement of standard door or secondary entryways above or adjacent to floor sixty with reinforced alternatives-"

"-Installing cameras, motion tracers and heat sensors, alongside any other available surveillance systems to monitor all areas holding mission critical equipment-"

And-on-and-on J went… Detailing seemingly every facet of her planned security improvement proposal to them in a precise and professional manner, even to the point of answering the occasion question from V regarding curtain aspects such as time and availability of manpower given their other responsibilities in this sector.

From N's own perspective though, J had seemingly taken every possible avenue into account when it came to this project of hers. Plans had been drawn up in advance and shown to them throughout the meeting, alongside providing a detailed and extensive list of locations throughout the city where they could obtain the necessary materials and equipment for the instalment of her proposed security systems. She'd even come up with multiple timetables for the management and completion of the project depending on their usual nightly assignments as per some of V's inquiries.

Seemingly no stone had been left unturned by J in fashioning the Tower into a full blown fortress for them to use however they saw fit. Something which N could only find amazement in. Truly no matter his squad mate, they were all simply the best at what they did, to the point N kinda felt a bit inadequate in comparison…

But that was more than likely him just being negative towards himself again - N has to remind himself. So instead he chose to put such thoughts away for now and continue to move forward, just a T advised him to do.

After finishing up with her presentation, and answering any further questions V threw haphazardly her way, all that was left for J to do was to wait patiently for T's ultimate decision; who, to N's surprise at the time, had in actuality been rather silent throughout most of the meeting - likely in deep thought, considering everything that was been explained, if N had to guess. As the squad's leader, the final say regarding such projects was ultimately hers to make after all, so of course it would be a lot to consider. Especially given how extensive it seemed.

Still, despite N's own personal amazement at the grandness of what J was able to put together, there was something - right at the back of his CPU - which seemed to trouble him regarding the whole thing… Specifically, it was the reason as to why J thought such extensive measures were strictly necessary in the first place?

Of course, J had indeed clearly stated on multiple occasions throughout the meeting and later on during the installation of the countless new security systems that her proposal was merely just a precaution at the end of the day. A final line of defence, if you would. A necessary safeguard which would be able to protect all of them no matter the time alongside their mission critical equipment from any "malicious forces" - a sentiment which N did fully appreciate; especially from J.

It was just that… well…

Hmmm…

Thinking back on it… To understand what N was getting at, you'd have to go all the way back to when their squad first arrived on Copper 9. From the very first moment they flew out of their ship to commence their mission, they'd faced nearly no resistance from the worker drones on the planet whatsoever…

Of course N couldn't speak for the other disassembly drone units operating around the planet - their communications were still rather spotty, and really only either T or J were allowed to use the ship's radio given their overall authority within their squad. Still, from his own experiences, the worker drones in this particular sector of the planet genuinely seem none confrontational. Upon realising the threat their four drone squad prosed to their unsanctioned way of life, the workers he'd personally confronted had almost always chosen to either run and/or hide away instead of fighting back against them.

In fact, the only cases of true resistance N could actually recall off the top of his head counted only two - well… technically three now if you were to count whatever the drone he was still hauling around was doing, but that was neither here nor there for N's current discussion given it only just happened. The first of these incidents occurred a few nights after crash landing within the city, involving both T and himself, whilst the second happened a bit later on - about a year or so into their deployment, if N wasn't mistaken? - and involved only V.

Those early days were frankly a bit of a blur for N if he was being totally honest… A lot was going on without much time to truly comprehend everything efficiently. Besides killing anything that moved which wasn't one of your squad mates, and consuming oil whenever it was needed and/or available, nothing else really seemed to stick in his memories… That said, N could recall some segments of that first incident, but they were just bits and pieces; barely anything truly helpful.

The colour purple… The sensation of falling and crashing into something hard… The panic of loosing something… These were the only things N could personally remember from that night.

Fortunately though, T's had a much more clearer memory of that time and had graciously given N a much more concise picture of what had happened that night which shed a good deal of light on a fragments from his own memory. It was this kindness among many others he'd gone over previously which just continued to speak volumes of how much T truly cared for them deep down!

But, getting back on topic. To paraphrase T's own explanation of events, the two of them - whilst flying through the city, scouring the streets for any activity - had come across a roaming band of worker drones heading West through a partially debris filled side street.

Hoping to ambush the group unaware, T had instructed N that they should split up to better cover the available angles of escape which their prey would likely run for. Using the tops of the buildings as cover, T intended for them to suddenly dive down on the unsuspecting drone below on either side and ultimately trap them out in the open. Unfortunately however, the worker drones must've noticed them approaching or something, because as both T and himself dived down from their hiding places to engage and trap the collection of drones below, one of the workers immediately looked in the direction of N and proceeded to do… something?

Now, N wasn't too sure as to what that something ultimately was, because neither had T in all honesty… All his squad leader knew for certain was what she herself saw, alongside the end result.

One moment N had been diving down at full speed towards the group of worker drones, ready to kill them with practiced efficiency; the next there was a brief flash of something purple from both N's back and the hand of the drone who had spotted him before N's wings were suddenly sliced off. With gravity now taking full control of the situation, the downward momentum from his dive carried N as he fell uncontrollably out of the sky. Without his wings to catch him, it took only a couple seconds for N to crash hard into the roof of some wrecked out car which lay abandoned on the street alongside the now panicking and rapidly dispersing worker drones.

After N's violent grounding, T had immediately diverted her attention away from containing the main group of worker drones and instead focused solely on his attacker; in the end, allowing the group to freely escape into the surrounding buildings.

The fallowing engagements - if one could even call it that from the way T describes it - was as swift as it was one-sided. Within a moment of reaching the drone who had attacked N, T had proceed to bisect his assailant with one stroke of her sword arm before immediately letting loose an upward torrent of automatic machine gun fire into what was left of the drone's upper torso and head - killing it instantly.

In the end, what was left of the antagonistic worker drone fell to the snow and oil covered ground in pieces; well before his squad leader had even landed.

T then went onto finish her retelling of events off by explain how, after dealing with his attacker, she rapidly called for the immediate assistance of both J and V before proceeding to retrieved N's body from the car and falling back to a safe distance with him slung limply over her shoulder. From T's own assessment at the time, his upper body, arms and head had been so badly damaged by his high speed impact into the car that she felt it prudent to focus on evacuating him to a much more secure position until he was able to fully regenerate himself back to normal than anything else - a decision N couldn't have been more grateful for, especially given the circumstances.

Truthfully though… From knowing the bare minimum to being told all that, well… it was definitely a lot to take in, especially with how relatively unstable their situation was back then compared to how they operated nowadays…

To think a worker drone had the capability to do something like that to them with such ease…? Honestly, even now, it boggled N's CPU just thinking about it - especially Considering how the drone even managed to do what it did to him in the first place. Fortunately however, the worker drones they went up against after that encounter turned back into the same-old none-confrontational prey they'd gotten accustomed to…

And indeed, that trend continued to be the norm for them until a second incident occurred around a year or so later. This time with V at its centre instead of T and himself…

From what N was able to gather regarding this particular incident - which really wasn't all that much if he was being completely honest - V had come across a couple drones randomly whilst on one of her usual patrols. This in of itself wasn't all that odd as worker drones would occasionally try to test their luck out in the open at night every now and then. No… The difference here was that upon making contact with the worker drones in question, instead of them running away, one - or possibly even both of them - had apparently attempted to attack V.

To what extent? Well regrettably to this day N didn't know the answer to that question… In fact, it was only after V had come back with a single heavily damaged worker drone corpse and debriefed with J regarding how her patrol went that N even discovered something had happened.

Of course, naturally, N had immediately went off to ask V if she was okay; to which his crush casually brushed off his concern with her usual lofty charm. Stating brazenly, "Ha! I'm more than okay! Honestly, it's about time these dumb drones showed some spine. Things were starting to get way too boring around here for my tastes, so I'm glad for the change of pace. I'm just bummed I couldn't get both of them." before heading off to the workshop to deposit her kill; muttering under her breath, "But oh, I'll find and kill ushanka wearing asshole if it's the last thing I do… Mark my words."

Obviously, N still didn't know what had actually happened, with neither V nor J giving him anything concrete no matter how much he ask them. That said, given V had coming back recently with a dead worker drone, wearing a ushanka atop her head and a satisfying smile on her face, N could at least hazard a guess that she kept her word; with V finally managing to finding and killing the drone that had ultimately gotten away from her.

Must have been at least somewhat personal? N pondered almost mindlessly, After all, V still has that hat and hasn't thrown it away…

Still, V's trophy taking and personal vendettas aside, all-in-all, as N had alluded previously, these events were - at the end of the day - just minority cases. Most of the time worker drones did indeed just prefer to not outright to confront them in any meaningful way… which, in turn, just so happens to bring N back to his original inquiry.

"If the worker's were - for the most part - relatively harmless and none confrontational, then why did J believe they need such a deep rooted security network for the Tower?"

What was J seemingly preparing them for?

Sure, the drone he was currently carrying had invaded their personal territory to a previously unfounded degree, taken pictures of them whilst unaware and gotten past most of their perimeter beacons without any of them being triggered… Alongside another drone showing the potential to easily cripple one of them severely if caught by surprise…

But still… Ummm…

…

Ah…! Well…

…

"Oh… who am I kidding… I'm probably just overthinking things again." N spoke with a defeated sigh. Such silly speculations on his part were truthful just that after all… silly speculations. He should really just let the whole thing go…

When push came to shove, it was the thought that counted in the end after all, and J's efforts did indeed make N feel secure upon entering the protective walls of the Tower - like she'd stated was one of the intended goal of her project originally. Plus, if the body and head he was currently carrying told them anything, maybe overblowing their security was indeed the correct way forward…? I mean, it definitely won T's approval after all… N confirmed, So that's something…

Naturally after thinking things through thoroughly, T had indeed chosen to graciously accepted J's proposal and commence with the early stages preparations for the instalment of the Tower's newly approved security overhaul. A fact which might've seemed obviously at first, especially given the security door currently blocking N's path forward, but like N had also stated previously, J did have several other important projects she was busying herself with whenever she wasn't either spending her free time with T or out on patrol. So, it wasn't wholly impossible then that the door in front of N now was just apart of one of those smaller projects of J's, even though such wasn't in the end actuality true.

"And besides," N commented then, regaining some of his prior positivity as a new thought came to him in no small past to one of his prior thoughts, "If there was actually something wrong, J would've immediately told T about it. J tells T everything!" And, in turn, T would then distribute that information to the rest of them - ie. V and himself. They were a close nit team after all, and as T had stated on multiple occasion, within such a small working dynamic, keeping everyone constantly up-to-day and in the loop regarding any new developments was key to the groups overall success!

So, realistically, what was there to worry about? It wasn't as if J of all drones could wilfully keep a secret from T, much less lie to her about anything important. The two of them were as close as… Well… They were close.

But anyways… Enough about that. N was getting ahead of himself once again and there was no need to go off on another mental tangent when he had a clear job to do, not to mention he'd already waisted enough time as is.

So, giving the large, steel-plated door in front of him one final once over as a sign of his utmost solidarity, N ready himself for the challenge which inherently now faced him. Moving his gaze down to the keypad which would allowed him entry through said door, N furrowed his digital brow and narrowed his eyes at the security device as if he was looking at an age old adversary. With a swiftness like no other - outside of perhaps the majority of his squad mates - N brought forth his tail so that it was now parallel to the buttons of the keypad. N's hope being to use the needle of his stinger to safely punch in the door's access code, seeing as his hands were a bit preoccupied at the moment.

Okay… N assured himself carefully; with a focused expression, It's as easy as flying. Just don't accidentally melt the keypad like last time… or the two other times before that…

Honestly, by this point, replacement keypads were starting to become a bit of very rare commodity these days, and not simply because of the occasional accident. Given J's previously stated proposal calling for a lot of them to suitably lockdown the most important areas of the Tower, they had to scrounge up nearly every last working keypads and security lock they could realistically find within their squad's allocated sector - a feat which was just as hard as it likely sounded…

Not that N was complaining, mind you - after all he was always happy to be of some use no matter what the job might be - he just thought it best to be at least somewhat open regarding these sorts of things. Clarity was key at the end of the day.

Now, getting back to the topic at hand however, could N have simply placed down either part of deceased worker drone he was currently carrying so as to safety use the keypad with one of his hands? Yes… N could've done that…

That said, N was also in a bit of a hurry. Not wanting to waste any more of T valuable time than he'd already done so far by doing meaningless laps around the Tower, he'd be forgiven for not taking the most optimal or logical path forward in the hopes of potentially saving some time.

Control… That's all that's needed… Control… N went on to advise himself as he steadied his tail, Just stay in control and don't accidentally stab the keypad and you've got it…

Fortunately for N, as he carefully tapped each button with the business end of his tail's stinger - 0-3-0-5-2-0-1-3 - nothing ultimately regrettable occurred. Tapping the enter key to input the finish code into the system, a small chime was heard; fallowed swiftly by a few click as the door's locks automatically unlatched themselves.

With a smile at this small victory of his, N let out a thankful sigh before proceeded to wrap the length of his tail around the handle of the door. With a slight twist and tug, the slab of reinforced steel opened outwards with a small, barely audible, hiss; allowing N to then carefully manoeuvred himself through the newly opened entryway - making sure not to bang anything important he was carrying against the door's frame as he did so.

Close the door behind him with a flick of his tail once he was firmly on the other side - getting another chime and several click in return as it re-locked itself - N now found himself within what was once a much more "spacious" interior room.

Originally, when their squad had first come across this section of the building during their initial sweep, the prevailing theory amongst both T and J specifically was that this room, as well as the whole floor in general, had been some kind of department dedicated to middle management personnel. Specially, given the open layout of the room, coupled with how spacious it seemed, it was likely a communal workplace for the aids to higher ups on the floors directly above. Now however… Where cubicles and miscellaneous office equipment once lay, only several lanes of large, uniform, metal tanks remained. At least fifty or so all-in-all if N wasn't mistaken; each connected to one another via multiple neatly laid out pipes and control valves.

Of course there had been other alterations made to the room which continued to make it unrecognisable from what it had originally been. For starters, the floor, walls and ceiling were all lined with a protective - none-flammable - white covering, giving the space more of a clinically feel than anything remotely office-like, added only by the white panel lights buzzing vibrantly overhead. Additional steel plates had also been installed here and there throughout the room for additional protection as well, and given what was stored within the tanks, such protective measures were completely fair in N's own personal opinion, if not entirely necessary.

When T had originally decided to conversion of this room into what it was alongside constructing the disassembly workshop next door, protection of the tanks and pipes connecting them together were of the utmost importance. Yet still, at the end of the day, it was indeed those said tanks which garnered the most attention given the sheer number of them throughout the room. The pipes which connected them all together were equally as attention grabbing in their own way, though ultimately not as important theoretical. Still, protected with the same none-flammable white wrappings which covered every surface of the room in large, they did stand out a fair bit against the flat surfaces of the which they were surrounded by.

Back to reality however, the pipes ran up and across the length of the ceiling - another eyesore in of themselves with how they looped around each other in an almost chaotic harmony - before suddenly cutting off through the opposite wall for where N was currently situated. Similarly, further down that same wall, lay another steel plated security door comparable to the one N had just entered through which was slightly concealed away behind the several rows of tanks. If you weren't as well versed in the Tower's interior layout, you may not have even noticed it was even there at first… Fortunately for N however, he was, in fact, very well versed in the Tower's interior layout - for the most part. Even more so, N knew specifically that that door in particular would lead him directly into the disassembly workshop.

So it was with this knowledge in mind that N proceeded to gingerly walk around and past the rows upon rows of tank; in the direction of this door.

On the way there however, N couldn't help but express a sense of marvel as he walked past the tanks - the culmination of all of the work they've done to secure an easier existence. The sheer stockpile they'd managed to amass over the past few years - that hadn't either been used or consumed already that is - was truly an inspiring achievement in of itself. For within each tank N pasts lay the life-blood of both worker drones and disassembly drones alike - all be it viewed in two vastly different ways by both parties.

Oil… The warm and delicious black nectar which disassemble drones - such as N - constantly needed to consume so as not to overheat and, well… die.

And yet… to the humble worker drone, oil was something far more simpler. It was quite literally their life-blood - a substance which continuously flowed through their artificial bodies and made them function… smoothly…? Effectively…?

Huh… N stopped for a moment, Come to think of it, what done oil do in a worker drones body?

Assumedly it acted as blood would for a human, but what did that actually mean? Blood and oil were two vastly different liquids after all, with equally as differing properties…

Truthfully, N wasn't all that knowledgeable when it came to many of the internal components and mechanisms which made up the worker drones, much less how they all worked in tandem with one another. The best N could manage was simply the basics… Enough to do his job as was expected of him, but not much else besides that…

Such inherent technical knowledge was more so T's field of expertise than his if he was being completely honest with himself, and in fairness, N was fine with that. Best to leave the complicated stuff to those who knew what they were doing…

Still, as N continued to walk down and past the rows of oil storage tanks, he couldn't help but mildly recalled something which T had stated privately whilst in his company early on during their deployment. Something about how "flawlessly efficient" it all was in an "apathetic sort of way"…

Of course, this was more so in relation to the almost symbolic relationship between worker drones and disassembly drones than how the former used oil to operated, but still… with everything N was pondering, the memory kinda just came to mind.

Continuing on, T had remarked how insightful it all was that disassembly drones such as themselves were specifically chosen to clean up a planet full of rogue worker drones. Not to mention said drones just so happened to run on the same crucial oil their own systems constantly required to operate. In effect, their own survive depended solely on them doing their job and kill as many worker drones as possible, and theoretically, as quickly as possible.

"The perfect self cleaning, cleanup scheme…" T had lamented specifically at the time; without much note.

Of course, N wasn't completely sure as to what T strictly meant by that last statement, but he had to agree that the principle used by the company was indeed rather expertly orchestrated. Their need for oil kept them on their toes, as it were, which then drove them to work as hard as possible to fulfil their primary mission! It was simply genius.

That said though… it was also a lot of pressure to put onto their shoulders, not to mention with the worker drones preference for hiding themselves away, there was a very real possibility that they could all die through no fault of their own simply because they couldn't find their only source of oil for cooling their bodies down. Which is why N couldn't help but continue to give T praise for her brilliance and ingenuity! For it was her - alongside J - who had come through for them in the end with the genius of this floor and what it provided for them in the long run!

Reaching the door which would lead him into the disassembly workshop, N calmly repeated what he'd accomplished last time with thankfully the same results. So with another chime, a few click and a small hiss, N opened the door with his tail once again and walked gingerly through; arriving at his final destination.

Unlike the previous room which has assumedly been a communal office space during the building's heyday under JCJenson, the disassembly workshop was in contrast likely a lobby or foyer of some kind for anyone wanting to meet the higher ups if N recalled T's past assignment of the room correctly. And without question, once upon a time N could've seen it being a beautiful and well decorated space if how they'd originally found it was any indication… In fact, many of the immaculately crafted marble columns which lined each side of the room going down to the elevators at the end, alongside the tasteful mezzanine overlooking the central aisle, were still there, and in rather good condition all things considered.

But similarly with the previous room, this one had as well seen a rather radically makeover. Stripped away were many of the luxurious commodities of human wealth, leaving behind an almost unrecognisably blank canvas in which T could set out to construct the basis for her plan.

Observing the room now from where he stood, the floor and walls around N were covered in that none-flammable white material from earlier. Shelves as high as the ceiling lined the two opposing walls which the columns rested closest to, holding miscellaneous trays of parts and worker drones components alongside other complex and strange pieces of equipment. Racks holding pristine and bare worker drones shells hung limply in rows of three from each of the marble columns lining the edges of room; facing out openly over the central aisle. All neatly arranged; in some ways appearing like a strange mortuary, or perhaps maybe even a butchery given the context of what was in fact going on within said room.

On the wall besides the door; under the shadow of the mezzanine about, lay several old looking operating tables - each one holding more deceased worker drones at a slight upright slant, just shy ten degrees or so backwards if N had to hazard a guess. Their bodies were stripped bare like the ones hanging from the racks, though unlike them, these ones showed more signs of damage, with the occasional claw mark or a missing limb being the most noticeable wounds alongside general wear and tear. That said, most of the visible wounds were by and large covered by these black suction nozzle connections to clear plastic pipes which ran haphazardly across each drone and up to multiple machines connected to the back wall behind them.

This was what T's ultimate plan, or idea, essentially boiled down to. With N passively watched the oil be siphoning from the dead worker drones and up towards the collection of pipes which had come through from the oil storage room next door, he still couldn't help but repeat how amazed he was; especially by the sheer simplicity of it all.

It was the reason why they always made an effort to collect the bodies of the worker drones they kill whilst out on patrol, so that they could take them back to the Tower and be properly siphoned of all the oil they had so nothing was wasted. All in the name of a more calmer, less stressful, existence.

But of course, siphoning oil wasn't the only reason behind all of this. No… For if there was one thing T didn't like, it was wastefulness in its entirety. Also, communism… and religion… as well as a multitude of other thing which didn't fit her primarily economic mindset, but those weren't important to what N was getting at…

No… T was also preserving the worker drone bodies alongside their oil, and if not their whole bodies, then their parts, because - via her logical reasoning - why should the company spend more recourses making new drones and send them over to continue mining this planet when you could instead recycle and repurpose the old ones or their parts to do the exact same job for a fraction of the cost? This planet was still ripe with resources after all, and T naturally figured JCJenson would likely want to continue its operations here after all of the rough drone were dealt with. If they weren't, then why send them specifically all the way out here in the first place?

Pettiness maybe? Well, T didn't seem to believe so. At least, N didn't believe she did from how she spoke about her plans to them. No… To her, JCJenson wanted what was on this planet, and they wanted to get it as cleanly and as efficiently as possible - like any self respecting company would. So, with this in mind… why not set things up so as to make it even more easy for them in the long run? It was only logical.

But nevertheless…

Walking out from behind one of the columns, past the hanging shells, N momentarily moved down the row of operating tables before wandering into the centre of the reception area turned workshop. From this angle - looking out over everything situated around him - maybe mortuary or butchery weren't the most accurate to describe the feel this room was giving off? No, to N, it kinda felt almost divine in an odd sort of way - similar to an old cathedral or church… Which, given T's distaste towards anything remotely religious, was definitely odd give she chose to put the workshop here.

Maybe it just me…? N pondered as he approached a row of five modern looking autopsy tables. Come to thing of it… looking around the room once more, Where is-

"N?"

"AH!"

Almost jumping out of his casing in surprise, N violently pivoted toward the direction of his name being called out-… only to find T of all drones casually strolling out from behind one of the columns with a clear, plastic apron folded neatly over her left forearm.

T herself, outside of giving N a questioning stare for yelping out of seemingly nowhere upon hearing her call out his name, looked the same as she usually did.

Though… N did note offhandedly that T's silvery hair - which she usually tended to tie back into a messy but manageable high ponytail with a lengthy strip of black ribbon - was done up rather neatly tonight, with even the ribbon she usually used being done up into a nice - all be it, limp looking - bow. Similarly, T's ahoge, which tended to bounce and sway about freely atop her head, seemed more controlled than usual…

All this pointed N to the fairly obvious conclusion - at least to N himself, given past knowledge - that J had more than likely comb and tied back T's hair after the two of them had woken up together earlier that evening. After all, both of them did have a habit of sleeping within the same vicinity to one another on occasion, and J does tend to take more care of her own hair than T herself usually seemed to… Plus, it wasn't like the two helping each other with they early evening routines was anything new. In fact, from what N was personally aware of, it happened fairly often whenever the two of them were working on something important - be it mission related, or something more private.

T's attire meanwhile was the same as it usually was, with it generally being rather similar to J's own formal attire for the most part outside of a few select differences here and there. For one their shirts and ties were colour swapped, with T's being black - with yellow collar tabs - and yellow respectively, whilst of J wore yellow and black. T's coat was also double breasted and included yellow lined epaulettes and lapels whereas J wore a more traditional and fully black single breasted design - with both possessing the same belt which wrapped around over their midriffs. Additionally T chose to wear knee-length shorts - similar to both V and himself, though her's hugged her body form similar to V's - whereas J preferred a simple pencil skirt.

But outside of her hair and wardrobe, T looked as stunning as any other female disassembly drone N had the pleasure of meeting - which still only counted three in total…

Beginning to feel T questioning gaze harden on him even more however, N decided to move things promptly along. He has all the time to ponder about such things as looks and how physically attractive his squad mates were later - all be it, for the record, N still only had his eyes on V. Though equally as beautiful in her own right, N just personally felt that J would - without question - throttle him within an inch of his life if he ever tried to seduce T in any meaningful way.

Nevertheless…

"Ah… Sorry T, uhh… Right! Serial Designation N reporting as requested!" N stated finally, though with his hands currently full, he was instead forced to awkwardly use his tail to give a makeshift salute, "Apologies again for being late."

After a brief moment of T continuing to blankly scrutinise him, she hesitantly removed her gaze away from N with a low, jaded sigh. "It fine N." she spoke with a calm, though stern, understanding, "Now if you wouldn't mind?"

Motioning to one of the operating tables closest to where he was standing, it took a second for N to understand what T was asking him to do. "Oh? Oh, yeah. Absolutely! Just a moment."

Moving closer to the table pointed out to him, N gently laid out both the head and body of the deceased worker drone he'd been lugging around this whole time. Once done, and with his hands now finally free, N made to remove the worker's satchel he was still carrying from his body next. Looking around for a place to safely leave it, N found a free side table he just now noticed was also present - likely place there by T in preparation for his arrival if N had to guess - and gingerly laid the satchel down atop it.

With everything now set, N looked back to T who had just finish putting on the apron she'd been carrying and was now making her way to the opposite site of the table from where N stood.

"Now then." With a clap of her hands and a small yet satisfied smile on her face, T turned her head up to meet N's gaze once more, "Let's finally get down to business, shall we?"

On this instalment of: Exposition with N, we get J being strangely proactive (?), a better look at the Tower's interior and development history, as well as more examples of T's influence effecting how the disassembly drones now operate! Make sure to join us next time where we'll hopefully find the actual plot of this story and maybe more!

… In all honesty though, I would kinda like to move on from these exposition segments. As helpful as they are for establishing the overall mood and what's different with Tanya now leading the disassembly drones, it's probably time I get the ball rolling - especially given my current upload schedule. Right?

Anyway, I appreciate all the additional likes, fallows and reviews you've been giving this story. Keeps me motivated to know people like reading this and want to know more.

Best of luck to you all!

Till Next.