A white glare obstructs her vision. It slowly fades away and she can make up the lamps on the ceilings. She blinks repeatedly to readjust her sight. She is still alive, only drenched in fatigue. She expects Fort has queued up orders while she was out. But there’s no notification. A perfect timing. She feels like another hours of calibration. She mentally demands it. She sees herself entitled to it after constant exposure to wearisome encounter within the past couple of days.

So, she shut her eyes again and turns to the left. She repositions her head until she hits that comfortable spot. That’s when she notices someone beside the mattress she is lying on. A maid with long and pale-blonde hair sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. There’s a guitar on her lap. She is fiddling with its tunings.

“Charlotte.”

“Oh, hello Caitlyn.” Charlotte replies.

Caitlyn sighs. Now that Charlotte is here, she doesn’t feel like leaving her out for calibration. She sits up and stretches her arms. She has a new leg now. She can twist it around and flex its toes. It fits her nicely. The labor usually leaves a mark. Alezia has one after an arm replacement. Her replacement leg looks like it’s always there since manufacture.

“Do you like it?” Charlotte asks, noticing her zoning out when she gazes at her leg.

“You stitched it?”

Charlotte chuckles and puts up a confident looks on her face. “I had experiences.” She shrugs. “Geny helped too.”

“You both killed it.”

“Anything for a friend. That’s what she said.”

“Genesis?”

Charlotte nods.

Caitlyn looks around. She is in a three-meter squared space enclosed by cloth on three sides and a tent wall behind her. She feels like she is going to run out of air with Charlotte beside her. Not that she needs them to function. She just notices how stuffed they are, even with a ventilation hole behind her. The Chord’s cabin is tighter, but it’s breezier. She wonders how did the development team manage that out.

There are chatters all around. Probably the Maids doing their medical duty. The infirmary is split between male and females. But female medics are allowed to enter the male infirmary because there are usually more of them. And there are just more injured males than females.

Caitlyn wags her collar. “I think I really owe you both.”

“But we’re not coming to collect it anytime soon.” Charlotte says while plucking the guitar strings. “At ease, yes?”

Caitlyn rubs her temple.

“By the way, Genesis told me that you took a Thorn down. Fantastic merit you did there.”

“Are you saying it just to make me feel better?”

“Are you feeling better?” Charlotte asks.

“I think so.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I mean you worked on my leg too, so…”

Charlotte lifts her guitar and shoves its butt to Caitlyn’s left leg. Caitlyn doesn’t have the energy to quickly withdraw her leg, so she just let it hit.

“Ow…” She says while maintaining a straight glare at Charlotte.

“You have to be a wimp for that to hurt.” Charlotte comments.

Caitlyn gestures to her face. “Do I flinch though?” She smirks.

Charlotte pulls out her sidearm. And in that instant, Caitlyn pulls her left leg closer.

“Now you do.” Charlotte smirks back.

“That doesn’t count.”

Caitlyn reclines again as soon as Charlotte holsters her sidearm. “Any orders from Captain Fort?”

“We’ve suffered quite some losses. Especially during that armor push that you led. Command pull us back to recuperate for a day.”

“Losses indeed.” Caitlyn says, thinking of Alezia. “So, we’re idling now?”

“Unless you decide to jump straight back to your duty.”

Caitlyn covers her eyes with her arms. “No thanks.” She says. “Maybe in a couple of hours.”

“I guess you failed to destroy that Thorns’ nest.”

“It doesn’t exist.”

“Pardon me?”

“Some telve Guards told me that they only have one operational Thorn at the time, the one that we took down.”

“Hmm…” Charlotte pouts. Caitlyn catches a glimpse of her expression. She appears more beautiful that way. “Petty games by the higher ups?”

That possibility upsets her. It implies that someone up there has sacrificed Alezia for their own gains. A sickening thought. If it’s really true, Caitlyn can only wish that they got the proper consequences. Sanctions, judgements, or anything better than letting them get away with it.

“Caitlyn?”

“Hmm?” Caitlyn doesn’t move one bit.

“No remarks?”

“For what?”

Charlotte shrugs. “You lost your friend there, right? Alezia isn’t it? Doesn’t that make you hate Command with passion? Don’t you feel like…setting yourself on a quest to make whoever responsible pay for it?”

Caitlyn rest her hands on her stomach. That last bit sounds like what Gloria had done to her. And she did it because she could. What resources do Caitlyn have to prove her superior guilty of sabotage? She takes a deep breath.

“Well…” Caitlyn shrugs. “Things happened. At least Alezia passed away in peace. I’m contend with that.”

“My condolences.”

Caitlyn glances at the maid. She looks even more attractive when she grieves. Caitlyn finds it amusing.

“Thank you.” Caitlyn smiles.

Charlotte smiles in return. “Do you want to grab Miss Ploshchad for a threesome?” She points her thumb over her shoulder.

Caitlyn strikes a disgusted look toward the maid.

“Figuratively speaking.”

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere.” Charlotte casts her guitar aside. “Actually,” She picks up a cloth and drops it on Caitlyn’s face. “I insist that you come with us.”

Caitlyn lifts the cloth as she sits up again. It’s the army-issued cargo pants. Hers has been torn along with her previous leg by that anti-tank rifle.

“Five minutes or I’m dating her myself.” Charlotte says as she stands up.

Hearing that, Caitlyn pull down the blanket and put her feet on the floor one by one. She gently stomps her left foot repeatedly before deciding to stand. Never before she lost a limb nor damage one critically that it has to be replaced. To think that a different leg feels like her own is surreal. What if it develops a brain of its own?

Caitlyn switches her pants for the new one. She then catches up to Charlotte as soon as she has her boots and other protection gears strapped.

The skies are clear. A gradient between dark blue and reddish hue in the horizon. She was out when the sun rises and returns when it’s setting. There are groupings of Proxies around the tent. The whole base doesn’t seem like they are expecting any onslaught. Caitlyn eavesdrops a group of four men sitting around a cut barrel; their rifles are leaning against them.

“Been tough round here.”

“Wish I could go home soon.”

The state allows their soldiers a leave after at least a year in the field. They happen during rotations. The state will prepare railway transports to bring the soldiers home. The rotations occur three times a year. Everyone can sign up for a leave. The system will assign them priorities due to the limited quota in the transports. Those who have relatives back home and haven’t take any leave for more than two years will definitely make it. Meanwhile those who has just returned will be shoved to the bottom of the list. Everything is set so they get a fair share of time at home.

“Do you think you could snatch the ticket this time?”

“Probably not.”

Still, one year wait for the leave express is still common among the Proxies. Caitlyn knows that she wouldn’t have to. The state even actively urges her to go home. Caitlyn invests her thought into it this time. The hiraeth that she feels for Maya’s Sorrow is beyond words. She longs for its mountains to freshen her sight. She yearns for its delicate breeze on her skin. And most importantly, she wants to be with Gvozdika and Ilya one more time.

“Sweetheart!” Someone cries out.

Caitlyn turns her attention. There’s a group of six men across them. The one that shouted is the shortest of the group. Caitlyn is about to wonder his motive when she realizes that it’s probably has something to do with Charlotte.

Charlotte only waves her hand at him and winks.

The men immediately burst in joy. He leaps back to his other five friends as if he just scored a goal for his team. His friends hit him in the back repeatedly as well as raising their fists to the sky. Their jarring celebration is caught across the premises. They sound like they just single-handedly ended the war.

Caitlyn looks at the maid intriguingly. “You really are objectively beautiful.”

“I appreciate the compliment, Caitlyn.”

These men are stressed by all the fighting. Maintaining their morale is also the tasks for the Maids Section. Everything is fine as they don’t touch her without her consent. They might seem like a bunch of scallywags who can’t keep it in their pants. But they are actually as disciplined as they are during firefight.

“Would you share your beauty tips?” Caitlyn asks.

“Why not?” Charlotte gestures. “But later after we’re done with Miss Ploshchad.” She gives a thumbs up.

Caitlyn responds in the same manner.

They stumble upon two Chords parked on the left side of the base’s road. There’s a Creeper in between them. Since they are bigger than the Chords, Caitlyn can spot it from the distance.

“Darling-commander!” The Creeper cheers to her.

Caitlyn waves at her. “Hi again, KP.”

“So, this is the Caitlyn you’re talking about?” The Chord to KP’s left asks.

“That’s my girl indeed.”

“First Sergeant Grauwelle Caitlyn, huh?”

Caitlyn turns her attention to the Chord closest to her. “Yes?”

“I heard you took down a Thorn.”

“Ah…” Caitlyn scratches her head while putting an embarrassed smile. She’s not used with recognitions even this small. “I was just lucky. My tank is a good shot.”

“Serving since the beginning of the war has to be something, yeah?” KP comments.

Caitlyn smiles at that. The same could be said for KP as well who have served since the First Great Liberation War.

“Damn…” The left Chord says, awe-struck.

“I wish you are my commander, first sergeant.” The right Chord adds.

“I believe your tank commander is equally competent.” Caitlyn replies to him.

“I’m a new guy here. Wish me luck.”

Caitlyn nods.

“Alright gentlemen,” Charlotte says as she places her guitar at the space in the back of the crew’s seat. “I’m about to take your woman here for a drive with the first sergeant.” She then assumes driving position before activating the engine. “I hope you both don’t mind.”

“Safe trip.”

“I still want some stories.”

“I do.” KP protests.

“You have no saying in this.” Charlotte says.

“This is vehicular discrimination! Without me, these two won’t be in good shape right now.”

Charlotte pops her head out of the window. “Hop in, Caitlyn.”

“Hey!” KP cries. “Boys, help me!”

Caitlyn chuckles before hustling into the Creeper’s seat. She takes a glance at Charlotte who pulls the gear. The maid returns her glances and flashes her eyebrow. She has her usual confident smile on her face. Caitlyn hopes that it’s not fading anytime soon. The three set off.

Charlotte takes the main road leading to Patih Tread. The sky grows darker. The grass plains and forests to their flanks become inappreciable without night-vision filter. They occasionally come across columns of vehicles going to the opposite direction. Mostly the Turanggas. The front most vehicle always flicker their headlights in a pattern as soon as they see KP. The Creeper responds in a similar manner. The attitude is a friendly identifier in the pitch-black battlements.

“I really wish we don’t come across those cloakers.”

“Like those people who interrogated you?”

“You were there too?”

Charlotte smirks. “Seems like I was doing a better job than them.”

“Well…you were far enough to be spotted by anyone.”

“You still couldn’t see me, right?”

Caitlyn crosses her arms.

“What? That doesn’t count either?”

Caitlyn rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”

“Are you two done bickering?” KP says. “I’d like a calm chilling night drive for my resting period, please.”

“Shut up, miss.” Charlotte smacks the dashboard.

“Where’s PT by the way?” Caitlyn asks.

“He’s being repaired at Patih Tread.”

“They are not scrapping him, are they?”

“You won’t be the only one to object, Caitlyn. Fort will. It’s our only tank for now and we likely won’t be reinforced soon.”

“Seems likely.”

Charlotte takes the south-eastern road leading to Patih Tread. Caitlyn went down the same road when she is taking position to support the assault on Patih Thread. The road leads to an unoccupied hamlet with houses countable by hands. The place is dimly lit by small lighting installments scattered across the place. It’s a miracle that they’re still functional. There is a mound next to the tiny settlement just to its south. Charlotte takes a small road that climbs it. KP just barely fits. The climb reminds Caitlyn when she had to escort her three days ago. The pace is similar.

She takes a deep breath. It has only been three days since Caitlyn is officially assigned to PT. So much has happened that she thought it was longer. She made friends and lose one. She lost another detachment under her and a leg. She defeated a Thorn and got interrogated. Most importantly, she broke free of the voices that has been haunting her for a decade.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

…Die…

She hears them again but they are merely insignificant whispers now. Sadly, there’s no medal for all of that. She can only pretend that there is one. And she is giving it to herself. There is no crowd cheering for her other than herself. But it shouldn’t hurt thinking that Alezia is among them too. Perhaps PT is on the back raising his gun. Or even Genesis, Charlotte, and KP.

Charlotte snaps her finger in front of her face. “We are here.” She says.

Caitlyn looks around. They are in the middle of a grassy-plains that offer a view of Patih Tread. The town is about one and a half kilometers from their position. It doesn’t give as much as the ridge to the southwest. Caitlyn can only see a line of buildings instead of the whole town. She supposes that it’s not the reason Charlotte took her there.

She is surprised to see PT and Genesis on the spot.

“You said he is being repaired.” Caitlyn says to KP.

“Sorry, darling. I misspelled was.”

Genesis waves at her as Caitlyn hops down.

“What are you two doing here?” Caitlyn asks.

“Don’t know, KT. Blonde wants me to accompany her.”

“I meant what I said, didn’t I?” Genesis crosses her arms.

Charlotte walks up to them gracefully and smiles.

Caitlyn points at Charlotte. “She said she is taking me for a date with her and KP. She didn’t mention both of you.”

“Guess what? We’re here, nevertheless. What’s your plan now, blonde?”

Genesis puts a finger on her chin and glances upward. “Didn’t think I’d make it this far.”

“What?” Caitlyn tilts her head.

“Hey, Geny.” Charlotte suddenly snatches Genesis hand. “Don’t you remember that we have to discuss about that?”

Genesis briefly frowns at Charlotte. “Oh…” She exclaims, seemingly realizing something. “You’re right.”

Charlotte jerks her head at KP’s direction.

“This is an important matter here, Caitlyn. Have fun with PT for a while now.” Genesis says before Charlotte yanks her.

“What’s that all about?” Caitlyn asks as she curiously observes the maids hustling toward KP.

“Wish I know. Those two are the most absurd Maids I’ve ever worked with.”

Caitlyn chuckles. “Even you call them absurd.”

“Because they are.”

Caitlyn leans against PT. “What now?”

“I heard you lost a leg.”

“Charlotte did a neat job.” Caitlyn stomps her left foot again.

“It must be painful.”

Caitlyn chuckles. “I wished it kills me, you know?” She shyly smiles to PT.

“Be more specific please.”

She can say that she felt a sharp pain few seconds after her leg is torn, a pain like her leg is stabbed with bayonets from all sides at the same time. And someone happened to heat those bayonets before shoving it into her. PT still won’t understand regardless. He doesn’t know how being stabbed by a bayonet feels like.

“I would PT. But only if you could feel this.” Caitlyn punches his armor. She flinches before waggling the hand that she used for it. “Can you at least imagine how it feels?”

“Hmm, my friend was good at this. For some reason.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s dead.”

Caitlyn sighs. “My condolences. What’s his name?”

“Zolotovich.”

Caitlyn gasps and steps away. “No way…” Caitlyn stares at PT. “Were you…in Maya’s Sorrow, ten years ago?”

“That’s actually how I know you.” PT chuckles. “You look totally different from back then.”

“PT…”

PT sighs and de-elevate his barrel.

“And I’d like to apologize.” He says. Caitlyn catches an unusual gloom in his voice. “Remember when I said that your gear could grind all day long even though you’re crying hard? Was talking about myself there. I lost him three years ago, and I’m still crying to this day.”

“And your point?”

“I was insufferable when we first met, wasn’t I? That’s how he and I traded banter back in the days.”

“You were looking for someone to replace him.”

He elevates his barrel and de-elevates it again, performing what looks like a nodding.

“Would you be honest to me? Some things I said to you within the past couple of days must have hurt, haven’t they?”

“Those times when you boast that you are a better gunner.” Caitlyn sighs. “You are but, well…”

“And that’s apology worthy.”

“Come on, PT.” Caitlyn smiles. “You’re my tank. And that’s already in the past.”

“Some people hated me for it, KT. I have seen countless crew changes for that particular reason.”

“PT…” Caitlyn approaches him and strokes his hull. She feels the cold of his reactive armor seeping in to her palm. “You were carrying out his spirit, didn’t you?”

PT is silent. He told her that before. He tried to get along with anyone he met so that he could carry their spirit in case they fall before him.

“Tell me you do.”

It is an odd statement at first. Their days through hell together should have turned them into more than just brothers-in-arms. Caitlyn imagines him grieving the loss of Zolotovich the way she did with Alezia. But the phrase ‘carrying out his spirit’ make him seem to be in denial of his friend’s demise. He is pretending that Zolotovich is still alive by interacting with anyone the same way he did with him. That way, his image remains.

“I think so…I actually don’t know.”

“Remember what Genesis said.”

The maid made it more specific.

“Carry their merit?”

Caitlyn nods. “I suppose you and Zolotovich are inseparable.”

“Couldn’t pass a day without him around.”

Caitlyn points at him. “Think of what Genesis said instead. You both always shared good times when together. You know it’s a solace in this merciless war. His demise must have hurt you a lot. But in your loneliness, you understand how painful it is. Hence, you open your arms. You were reaching for everyone so that they don’t fall to that dark and miserable pit. Because Zolotovich once gave you that solace. And you were merely offering it to everyone else.”

Caitlyn clasps her hand in front of her chest. “If there’s anything I excel the most, it’s probably knowing that pit.” She glances away. “I appreciate that you tried to pull me out of it too. That’s why I engage more in conversations with you lately.” She turns her smile to him again. “Turns out you were just as lonely as me.”

“You…you didn’t say that just to make me feel better, did you?”

Caitlyn pouts. She kicks his tread as hard as she can. The maids turn to them as they are alarmed by the noise.

“Oh, oh…okay, okay. Sorry, sorry.” PT says. “I don’t mean it.”

Caitlyn crosses her arms and turns around. “You better don’t.” She grunts.

“Are you…actually mad at me now?”

Caitlyn relaxes herself.

No, I don’t…

She turns around again and looks at him indifferently.

“I appreciate the thought, by the way.” He adds. “Never before someone told me genuine things such as those. You really are something, KT.”

Caitlyn chuckles. “Right now, maybe.”

“Zolotovich would love to see you again.”

“If he’s actually inside you, please send my regard.” Caitlyn nods.

PT is silent again. Caitlyn keeps her smile at him as time passes. She waits for him to start another topic. Thirty seconds pass and he is still silent. Caitlyn starts to feel awkward with her smile. It’s odd for him to be this quiet. Did she just activate a reboot protocol or something?

“PT?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you quiet?”

“No idea. What do you want me to say?”

“Anything.” Caitlyn gestures. “Go ahead.”

“Uh…so I carry out his merit instead, huh?”

“Yes. Yes, you do.”

“Okay…” PT slowly says. “Do you think I did a good job at it?”

“That’s for you to answer, PT. But I believe Zolotovich would be proud.”

“Hmm…”

The tank unusually looks dashing tonight. The mesmerizing view of him sitting on an open ground under the moonlight, she can’t get enough of it. Her awkward gaze quickly turns into one that wishes for him to be in her dream. She wishes it lull her to deep calibration.

“By the way, you look cute when you pout.”

Caitlyn’s eyes widen hearing that. “R-really?” She blushes and looks away. “T-thank you.”

Distant flashes. Caitlyn quickly gazes at the night sky. Ear-blistering explosions follow. Bright white sparks descend in the dozens. They leave blazing trails as they fall, garnishing the sky as more of them spawn. It’s a pleasing sight. As if the stars are falling. A heavenly shower. A stellar showdown.

“Whoa…” Caitlyn gazes in awe. Her eyes have never been this wide before.

“There they are!” Genesis shouts. Caitlyn is surprised to find the maid suddenly beside her. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen them before, Caitlyn.” She adds.

Caitlyn is too busy sightseeing to respond. She had seen those incendiary shells in action before. But never in night-time. A shower of fiery death. She never thought that they together make up a mesmerizing sight.

“The maple is curly, the maple is green…” She catches PT sings.

She briefly glances at him. “Where my heart lies, you bloom therein.”

“The green maple is all curly and carved. Truly curly and carved.” Genesis follows.

“You know it too?” Caitlyn asks.

“Of course. It still slaps to this day.”

“Everything slaps to you, Geny.”

“Shut up.”

Caitlyn chuckles at the maids’ banter.

“KT, I want to say something.”

Caitlyn turns to glance him. “And what is it?”

“I really like you, ever since that time I saw you at the intersection.”

Caitlyn skips a blink. “Huh?” She raises her head. Her gaze is accompanied by an open mouth. “Are you…hitting on me?”

“It’s been on my head since then. Now that I know you better, I take my shot.”

Charlotte takes a deep breath. “Love is in the air.” She then collapses to KP’s right hatch, putting her left arm on her forehead and moans. “Oh, KP. How I adored you ever since the first time we met.” She says lasciviously, stroking the Creeper with her right hand. “Our fate has intertwined. Let us be together for the rest of our lif-ah!”

KP shoves Charlotte away with her hatch. The force is strong enough to toss her to Genesis, who then has to catch her.

“Not happening.”

“You’re rude KP.” Charlotte says.

“Take your titillated bottom somewhere else.”

“That sounded weird, doesn’t it KT?” PT get Caitlyn’s attention. “Felt like venting that thought out since I can die anytime.”

“It just…sounds unusual for it to come out of you.”

“I told you I have feelings, right? So, what do you say? Are you uh…is it alright for you? Or uh…I don’t know. Anything?”

Caitlyn locks her hands and fidget her fingers. How is it possible that a tank can see the good in her better than herself? Moreover, he was hooked only by a single glimpse of her during the days when her self-esteem is down the abyss. Alezia had pointed Caitlyn’s qualities out to her but Caitlyn was still in doubt. There are two people acknowledging them now. Maybe she actually has them, her own charm that enchants people. She just refused to see them all these years.

Caitlyn sighs as she approaches the tank. She puts her hand on his cold reactive armor again. It is still hard to believe that they’ve went through a lot within a relatively short time. She remembers keeping a tank alive for three months. It’s her record. Yet nothing is shared between those time span. She can’t remember anything of her. Nor she bother to try to remember something of that tank.

And here PT aced it in just three days. He even dared to declare that he is attached to her. Caitlyn doesn’t see how to return his affection. But she admits that he deserves it, after all they have been through. They both lost their dearest friend. They are two souls adrift amidst the sea of cartridges that finally found each other. At least they can be a soothing company for the remainder of their lives. Who knows what tomorrow has in store? Most likely another bunch of two-hundred-three-millimeter guns aiming at them, but at least they’re together for tonight.

“You didn’t get me when we first met. Now you do.”

“Oh,” PT exclaims. He never sounds more excited. “Is that a yes? Can I call you sweetheart?”

“Be my guest.”

“By the Primus, yes!” PT follows it up with a shot coming through his barrel. “Don’t worry, that was empty.”

The two maids cheer and clap.

“Congratulations, you two.” Genesis says.

“Lovely indeed.’ Charlotte comments.

“Did you know that these two had been scheming to get you here?” KP says.

“Miss Ploshchad,” Genesis puts her hands on her waist. “They don’t need to hear that.”

“I say what I want to say.”

Caitlyn glances at PT with an unusual joy. The incendiary shelling is still ongoing. She can’t believe it. The timing can’t get any better. The tank is now her romantic partner. She officially decides that. PT is fond of her. And it makes her fond of him. Together they confessed under what can be considered as a firework show. This is her first romantic engagement. It’s going to be once in a lifetime experience. She might see a second one with an actual person, but she believes that it’s not going to be as powerful as this one.

“The maple is curly, the maple is green…” Caitlyn sings the chorus of that song again.

“Towards you, forever I would lean.” PT sings in return.

“By the way,” Genesis wraps her arms around Caitlyn. She drags Charlotte along in her other arm. “What say you if we yell something for a toast?” She asks. “You know, while no-one would notice given the fireworks?” She winks.

PT turns his gun at Genesis. “You’ll get a HE straight to your face if you say something inappropriate, blonde.”

“Trust me I won’t.” Genesis says. “What do you say, Caitlyn?”

Caitlyn takes interest in the idea. “As long as you take the lead.”

Genesis let them go. “Leave it to me.” She puffs her chest and clasps her right hand on it.

The maid steps forward and puts her hands on the left and right end of her mouth. She takes a deep breath.

“Scientia!” She yells loud and long as if she is shouting to an entire army.

“Victrix! Victrix! Victrix!” The rest follows in unison. Caitlyn and Charlotte both raise their fist to the sky.

The five shares a laugh. Caitlyn feels like she just gave her all in that gesture. She doesn’t usually do it, it’s just not in her. She never tastes this much joy. And with friends like Genesis on her side, she can’t help it. They do it for the second time. Then the third. Caitlyn does it willingly as if she’s proud of what she is right now. Her sadness, fear, and anxieties, all suddenly vanish; gone with her voice that she never thought could be that loud into the depth of the void, never to be found.

“Ura!”

“Ura!”

Caitlyn and the two maids breathe heavily after that, giggling and chuckling as they glance at each other.

“How about some extra hours in my quarter?”

“Isn’t that going to bother you?” Genesis asks.

Caitlyn chuckles. “It’ll be fine. I’d like to have more time with you both.”

“Interesting.” Charlotte says.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Sorry, PT. The room won’t fit.”

“Not talking about that. I have something for you here. Check out your seat.”

Caitlyn is about to approach him when Genesis suddenly grabs and shove her into PT’s armor. She gives a brief bitter look toward the maid before climbing up to her seat. She finds a small casket about the size of her palm as she opens the hatch.

“Huh?”

“I lost that bet, didn’t I? Here’s your prize.”

Caitlyn reaches it from the hatch. “How did you get this?”

“Doesn’t matter, sweetheart.”

Caitlyn gives a weird look toward PT’s optics. She hopes he doesn’t rob someone for it. Inside the casket are two gold necklaces. Heart-shaped pendants are hanging on them. She grabs one of them and pressed her finger on a protrusion that appears to be out of place. The pendant clicks open, revealing a picture of a Chord.

“Is this you?” She asks. There’s a word etched on the edges of the pendant that says Protivotankovyy. But she is still not convinced. It can be any Chord.

“Yeah it’s me.”

Caitlyn raises an eyebrow.

“Come on, you still don’t trust me?”

“It’s him. I took that picture.” Genesis says.

Caitlyn glances at Genesis. All Androids have photo function. They only need to look at things to capture it.

“When?”

“Three days ago, when you found us.”

The distant tree-line in the background seems legit. Androids aren’t built with picture-manipulation software.

Caitlyn sighs. “Okay.”

Caitlyn then wears the necklace. She looks down at the pendant as it hangs on her neck.

“How do I look?” Caitlyn asks PT. She locks her hands in front of her while tilting her head with a smile.

“B-bloody hell…” PT stutters. “A little bit shiny there.”

Genesis kicks his tread. “That’s not how you compliment a girl with that new jewelry you just gave.”

“It’s okay, PT.” Caitlyn strokes his hull. “This is our first time anyway.”

Genesis sighs. “Guess you really are fit for each other.”

Caitlyn grabs the second necklace and finds her picture inside its pendant. Her name is etched along its edge.

“Would be great if you figure out how to put it on me.”

Caitlyn rubs her head before coming up with an idea. She opens the driver hatch and finds Genesis’ carbine sitting beside the seat. She pulls it out. Its strap is hanging loose. Caitlyn unclips the strap and wrap it around PT’s barrel. She slips the necklace there. The pendant just hangs in front of PT’s optic. Caitlyn opens it.

“There we go.” She taps on his barrel two times.

“Oh…” PT says in awe. “Very nice.”

“Let us be together, PT.” Caitlyn says, clasping her left hand on his barrel.

“I’ve lived for ten years. I’m going to live forever.” PT confidently says.

Caitlyn chuckles. “That would be great.”