“I just wish they’d test us already!” TO groaned as they left the simulation room the next day. “It can’t be worse than the waiting. I think I might lose my mind just because it’s taking so long!”
“I know!” DH said as they rubbed at their temples while they walked. Apparently DH had gotten blinded by bright lights in their last simulation and that had given them a headache. “The moment the simulation starts I’m holding my breath to see if it’s going to be an examination and when it’s not I have just a split second of relief before I have to get into the simulation and then I start worrying all over again!” they gasped for breath as they finished, having talked far too fast and long.
“Maybe the waiting is part of the testing?” GiDi said as their ears flicked in contemplation, “Testing how patient we can be, and seeing how we work under extended pressure.”
“Well, I hate it.” DH snapped once they had caught their breath. They reached for their water bottle but realized as soon as they put it to their lips that it was empty. They sighed and put their bottle back in it’s holder at their hip. “It’s awful.”
“It is.” TO agreed. They felt the same way as DH; that their only relief was that brief moment as a simulation started and when they had to put their heads into the scenario that they had any peace. The only different was that TO kept worrying after combat training and into the next day.
GiDi gave a heavy sigh.
“What is it?” DH asked.
“I was going to give DH my water bottle, but I left it back in the simulation room.” GiDi grumbled. They stopped and turned around, “I’ll go get it.”
“DH, you should go with them.” TO urged, “Help them in case they can’t find it.”
“I’m sure I can find my water bottle on my own.” GiDI insisted.
“It’s fine.” DH said. They glanced at TO, “You go with them; I meet you on ahead.”
TO felt their stomach sink, though of course they knew that DH just had a headache, and that they had to keep an eye on GiDi anyway. That was the same reason they told DH to go with GiDi.
GiDi glanced from DH to TO, their ears flicking quickly as they considered what was just said. It occurred to TO that GiDi was probably trying to get some time to themself. They had tried a few times to dig into the galactic news the previous day before bed, and TO and DH had stopped them. Maybe GiDi wanted a few minutes to look through the news.
“Alright.” they finally said as they stepped towards TO, “lets go.”
DH nodded, their ears flicking down as they did, “Fine. Yeah, that’s good.” they said, turning to head down towards the showers, “I’ll catch up with you two.”
“Alright… I hope the shower helps.” TO said to DH’s back. DH waved at them as they walked off.
TO gave a small sigh as they walked down the hallway with GiDi.
“Are you alright?” GiDi asked.
“yes.” TO said, “DH just seemed... Well I suppose they have a bit of a headache.”
“They do.” GiDi muttered, “You don’t think anything else is bothering them?”
TO shrugged as they turned a corner, “I suppose the stress of the examination.” they said, “What else could it…” They trailed off as they neared the simulation room as they could hear voices coming from nearby. TO couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they sounded like someone was angry.
“Who’s that?” GiDi muttered as they walked closer.
“GiDi! Wait, no!” TO reached out and took GiDi by the sleeve, “Come on,we can get your water bottle another time.”
GiDi glanced back at TO, frowning as they saw how TO’s ears were flicked back with worry.
“What's wrong?” GiDi whispered.
“Last time I walked in on anyone chattering to themselves, I heard things or saw things I wasn’t supposed to see!” TO insisted. They had seen Snout and PQ03, Then C12 and Snout
“Well… Come on, it's not a problem now.” GiDi said, “You’re not anywhere you’re not supposed to be. Besides, it sounds like people synths fighting; What if it’s Avery?”
“It’s not.” TO insisted, but they let GiDi pull them closer anyway until they could hear what was being said.
TO recognized both voices as they drew closer; C12 and the Commander. TO wanted to run; they had only caused problems or gotten in trouble from overhearing things that higher ranking synths said. “It’s C12 and the Commander.” they whispered, but GiDi held a finger to their lips, their ears rotating as they listened carefully.
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“-And I frankly find the amount of trainees that have been corrected from this batch to be far too much of an anomaly to judge as mere probability.” The Commander said, “Even the amount that needed to be repurposed straight from the tank was frankly a troublesome percentage of overall synths. We’ll be short on the number of synths we’re expected to produce this cycle.”
“You’ve seen my training methods, Commander.” C12 said in a voice that TO was not used to hearing. C12 always spoke in such a relaxed, almost casual tone. This tone was so differential, so subdued. “It hasn’t changed, and I can hardly be held responsible for synths that were repurposed before I started training them.”
GiDi frowned and pulled TO forward to the corner. TO pulled back only briefly before they thought of how C12 said that the Commander didn’t like them, and how the Commander always tried to demean then.
They let GiDi pull them forward. TO didn’t know what they could do if the Commander actually said something particularly nasty to C12, and they knew that C12 could take care of themself if it came to it, but TO felt like they wanted to be there to help. They knew that was a stupid idea, but they were being pulled forward anyway.
“You are absolutely correct.” The Commander said, “You can’t be held responsible for what happens before your training, and your training hasn’t changed! Something else must have changed.”
“I agree.” C12 said, “But if I may, do you not find that the scores overall are higher, despite your concerns?”
“If we ignore the synths we had to dispose of, then yes.”
“There’s a lot more highly exceptional synths.”
“Also a lot more abnormal synths; hence why there are more synths being corrected. Clearly it’s an issue on a production level.”
TO and GiDi got to the corner and managed to peek around to watch. C12 stood against a wall with their wings hugging their arms. Despite that, their ears were pinned back. They weren't snarling though. The Commander, on the other hand, slowly paced before C12 with their wings draped limply over their shoulders and their ears flicking slightly. Despite how casual the Commander looked and how they moved so easily back and forth, they never took their eyes off C12. TO felt like they were watching some deadly predatory animal circle it’s prey.
“Of course, you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” The Commander asked
“How would I know anything about it”? C12 asked, “I don’t work in laboratories, and I don’t know about synth production. My skills have been more combat related.”
“I suppose your companion was the one with the greater intelligence.” The Commander mused, “They worked in Synth Production, did they not?” TO felt their ears flick back as they really noticed this time how the Commander drew out the word ‘companion.’ They understood why C12 didn’t like to hear it; they somehow made it sound so vile with just their tone and the flicking of their ears.
“Yes, Commander; They did.”
“Would they know anything about all the oddly strange synths we have in this batch?”
“Given that they’ve presumably been taken by the insurgents and are now deceased, I’m afraid we won’t know.”
“There’s another odd thing.” The Commander continued as they paced, “There’s always abnormal synths. Odd defects in development or conditioning. Sometimes for the best, sometimes, well...” they let their eyes flick over C12, “Not so much.”
“Yes, Commander.” C12 muttered. TO wanted to shout that C12 was a Retiree, and deserved respect! Clearly though, the commander was granted more respect.
“Now, normally we see the number of abnormal synths stretched out over all the development labs. Most labs end up with between a 5-10% rate of abnormal synths, do you know how many the lab that your companion worked in had in this last batch?”
“I do not; I would not be privy to such information.”
“70%” The Commander said. They stopped in their tracks and faced C12 directly, “That’s far too high to be considered a normal mistake.”
“I would have to take your word for it, Commander.” C12 said, their wings tightening around them, “I don’t know much about the way a synth is created.”
“It’s especially odd if you take into account that that lab happened to have one of the strangest, oddest, most abnormal synths to ever have passed training. Well, by my account, anyway.”
“I suppose you would have to trust your judgement.”
The Command’s eyes narrowed and their eyes pinned back slightly, but there was no change in the rest of their posture; even their wings hung over their shoulders in an almost lazy fashion.
“What did they do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your friend, your companion. What did they do to the synths made in that lab?”
“I would imagine they did their job.” C12 said, keeping their tone as level as they could. The Commander took a single step forward. C12 tried to step back, but of course they had their back against the wall.
“Don’t. Play. With. Me.” The Commander hissed, “What did they do.”
“Why do you think they've told me what they did. It was their job and I wouldn’t have understood anything regardless.”
“And I suppose even if they did something, you’d have told them not to tell you.” The Commander said, “Because you like to pretend to be so clever. You’ve succeeded so far; you’re still here. You even got to the rank of Retiree.” their ears flicked back, “Did they send you messages regarding the synths?”
“No.”
“Did they show you anything?”
“No. I never set foot in their laboratory.”
“Did they discuss the synths at all with you?”
A moment of silence, “They shared various observations.” C12 finally said, their voice slow and careful, “That’s all. They told me about their work; they liked to share the events of their day.”
“Yes yes.” The Commander hissed, their ears flicking back with disgust, “They shared their day, their food, their bed. Everything. I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in what they told you.”
“I don’t understand why.”
The Commander gave a sigh as they took a step away, “You realize that this doesn’t go anywhere for you.” they said, “You can either tell me what I need, or I’ll make you tell me. If I have to make you tell me, you’ll be considered a liability to King Decon, and you’ll be dealt with.”
C12 stifled a chuckle, “I’m a little beyond being repurposed at this point… Commander.”
“Oh.” The Commander took another step forward, “If I believe you to be a danger to the operations of this center, then there’s still steps that I, as the Commander, can take.”
“What, like send me to Arkane?” C12 snapped. Their ears suddenly flicked down as they realized that they had just snapped at the Commander.
The Commander didn’t seem to care that they snapped. They gave a slight grin, “Please.” They said, “That would be a reward, wouldn’t it? No, I assure you that if I need to put you in your place, I can. You know that; I’ve done it before.”
“That was a long, long time ago.”
“You should have been corrected.” The Commander snapped, “I should have made sure you were corrected then. Do you know how much I regret that I didn’t? That I allowed you to survive this long!” They snarled, “If you cause me problems, then it’s only because of my own stupid mistakes. I will not allow a moment of weakness as a trainee to harm King Decon now. I should have reported you. I don’t know why I didn’t.”
“You didn’t because you never really wanted to hurt anyone.” C12 hissed, glancing away, “Well... 79H89 didn’t.”
79H89. TO had heard that number before.
The Commander’s wings puffed out and their lips pulled back in a snarl that showed their teeth. They took a step forward and slapped C12 in the face hard enough to send them reeling. With only one good leg to support themselves with, C12 fell to the ground with a cry of pain that echoed through the hall.
They were lucky it echoed; otherwise C12 and the Commander would have heard TO’s screech of rage. GiDi had their hand over TO’s mouth and an arm around their waist as they slowly pulled TO away, their ears flicking rapidly.
“Commander.” The Commander said, “I am your Commander. You will address me as such. You will also tell me what your former companion told you regarding the synths in that lab.”
They were almost out of hearing distance when TO heard C12 answer, “They sequenced the DNA. They believed they knew how King Decon made the synths.”
It took all of GiDi’s strength to keep pulling TO, and even then they only succeeded because of TO’s memory of all the times hearing a conversation by accident had caused trouble.