TO sat in their Overseers office, trying their best to be very careful with what they said. They had been worried about this meeting all period, and had had even more time to worry about things than normal; synths in their last period of training didn’t attend the normal vocation training. No, synths in their last period of training were being prepped for their journey away from the training center. The preparation It was tedious and involved a lot of self study that made TO feel restless. Still, it made sense; leaving the training center and going into the ‘real world’ was going to feel like going into an entirely different reality, and there were a lot of things they had to learn before they left.
At least they still had their combat training, and TO found aerial combat in space to be highly interesting in spite of the boring, unimaginative trainer that had taken over after C12 was gone.
Well, that didn’t matter now. All that mattered now was what was said in this meeting. Everything TO had worked towards for so long could be undone with the wrong words.
“I’m pleased to say that you outperformed even my expectations.” their Overseer said, “I expected you to come within the top ten percent of my synths in training, not within the top ten.” They glanced up, “Not enough to become a vanguard in the future mind, but quite well regardless.”
TO nodded and tried not to look too relieved; they didn't want to be a vanguard. Being a vanguard was a full time assignment; they would eat and sleep and train with their fellow vanguards. In fact, if they had been chosen as a vanguard then there was a good chance that they wouldn’t get to go out into the galaxy.
“In fact, if you hadn’t reacted –shall we say poorly?– To your examination then you might have been one of the best I’ve trained this cycle.” they flicked through the file they were reading, “Still, there were no major issues after that.”
“I am happy to have done well.” TO said in response, though there was the slightest flicker of anger that they tried to smother. Of course they had reacted poorly! They lost one of their best friends, their mentor, and thought that everything was over between them and DH! How could they have reacted well in response to that?
The Overseer glanced over their reports again, looking through notes that TO couldn’t read from their position. “Specifically, your quick thinking and problem solving has been praised, along with your ability to anticipate the actions of your opponents - be it AI or sentient.
“I hope I can put those skills to good use for King Decon.”
Their Overseers ears flicked, and they glanced to TO, “You might.” they said simply, “in fact, I am considering a… specific assignment for you.”
TO’s ears perked up, “What kind of assignment? Where?”
“It’s an assignment to an active insurgency zone.. But-” They shook their head, “It’s almost a shame to send you there. It would be a situation where you return when the job is done, and not simply after one universal cycle.” they glanced at TO, “But… you look almost excited at the prospect.”
TO was glad that that was how they interpreted the movement of their ears; more time out in the galaxy meant that it was more time for TO to prove that they were worthy of being made a retiree, and also more time for them to spend with DH.
If DH got assigned with them.
“I look forward to such an assignment.” TO said, “I do wonder who would be my partner in such an assignment?”
The Overseer’s ears twitched slightly as they looked over their notes, “I am going to assume that you wish to go with 70H67.”
TO felt their ears twitch back, but despite their anxiety they nodded, “Yes,” they said, “Myself and 70H67 work together quite well and compliment one another by compensating for each other’s weaknesses. Furthermore, we both possess different ways of thinking, which should-”
The Overseer raised a hand to stop TO, “That’s enough.” they said, “To be candid, I’d rather if you went with a more highly ranked synth. However, you do operate better when paired with 70H67 than you do with any other synth. While individually 70H67 is nothing special the two of you do perform extraordinarily well, and I suspect you could outperform any other pair together.” They went through their notes, scrolling down to the bottom where there were three colored lines, one in red, and two beneath that in blue.
“Hmm... Fascinating.”
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“Is there a problem?”
“Not necessarily.” The Overseer said, “There is a note here that shows concerns about a partnership between you and 70H67; notes about your familiarity with one other being a potential distraction. However, it was retracted after your examination when you proved that you could work against them.
TO felt their wings tighten around them. DH has understood why TO had attacked them so viciously in the simulation, and they didn’t hold any anger towards them for that. Still, the look on DH’s face back in the simulation when TO had opened fire was still present in some of their nightmares. The guilt that sprung from the pain they might have caused their friend still clawed at the stomach from time to time.
However...maybe it was for the best. If there had been concerns about a partnership between them due to how close they were, then they wouldn’t be sent on assignment. If that was the case, then their examination had fixed that issue.
If that was the case, then TO’s actions in that examination would allow them to go on their placement together.
“That’s not the most fascinating, nor the most convincing thing though.” The Overseer continued. They reached out and tapped at the longer blue note on TO’s file, “There is a comment here that specifically recommends you and 70H67 for a placement on the planet in question. There’s comments here that state that the two of you would be well suited to dealing with the issues there.”
“Oh?” TO frowned as they heard that, “Might I ask the planet?”
“Of course.” the Overseer said, “It’s Arkane.” They glanced up at TO, “And because I assume you’re curious, the one who recommended you was C12. It looks like the recommendation was done just shortly before they were reprocessed. They must have seen something that made them think you’d be well suited there. It is a good thing that they made these notes before they were repurposed.”
C12. Arkane. TO felt their ears quirk up.
“Well, you seem excited about it at any rate.” The Overseer said,
“I have had some interest in Arkane for a while.” TO said.
“I see.” The Overseer said, “It’s an odd planet, and it’s considered to be the base of operation for the insurgency… If they’re organized enough for that.” Their ears flicked back in disgust as they spoke of the insurgency.
“I suppose there is a call for more advanced synths there because of the recent increase in attacks?”
“You do pay attention.” The Overseer said, “Yes. King Decon wishes the issue to be resolved. You’ll be working with the administration there, leading the operation to end the insurgency. If that does not happen within three universal cycles, then provided that there’s no issues with your performance then you and 70H67 will be in charge of instating martial law.
“So… 70H67 will be going with me?”
“Yes. Given your performance together, and the recommendations on your file I believe that to be the best choice. I’d still like a higher ranked synth-”
“Is it possible to send three synths to Arkane then?” TO asked, “If it is such a vital position.”
If the Overseer noted TO’s worry in asking this, they didn't comment, “Unfortunately not.” they said, “Sometimes exceptions can be made for special circumstances, but… well, to put it simply we don't have enough synths for placements. More synths than normal have failed their training, and we’ve even had several synths place for specialized training for the Vanguard.
TO wondered 56F45, the synth they had been helping in their flight, had placed for that specialized training. They could ask when they saw them next. Even though 56F45 wasn’t strange in the same kind of ways that TO was, they were still someone they could ask questions of.
Still… This meant that Avery would be sent off without them. Avery would have to go with some unfamiliar synth.
“Well, I’ll put yourself and 70H67 down for Arkane.” the Overseer said, “It’ll be decided by the end of the day if that will actually be your placement.”
“I look forward to the news.”
“Very good. DIsmissed.”
TO got up and left quickly, hoping that the Overseer wouldn’t take note of how their ears were twitching with excitement.
Arkane.
If C12 had sent GiDi anywhere, it would be there. The fact that they had recommended DH and TO for their placement there only reinforced that fact.
Maybe they’d find their friend again...if they were still alive.
They had to be. TO refused to believe anything else.
======
TO rushed back to the Observation deck. They had been spending most of their spare time there between their meetings, along with DH. Avery was around more often than they had been before, but they always seemed to be somehow separate from TO and DH.
They assured TO that they preferred that; they were happy to just be around others. TO didn’t understand, but Avery had been making sure to spend more time around the two of them since GiDi had been taken away, and if they were content to just sit and read in their company then that was fine by TO.
Of course...This did cause some problems, especially since they knew about TO, and about their feelings towards DH.
Just thinking about it was enough to slow TO down. Avery knew! Avery had guessed and demanded the truth from TO. Avery knew that TO had romantic feelings towards DH. It was enough to make TO’s ears burn just thinking about it! How had they been so careless!
And worse… if Avery knew, how could DH still not know?
TO stopped, and took a long, deep breath. It was alright. They had a plan. It was the plan that had been weaving around in their head since To and DH had made up. so long as they had a plan then everything was going to be fine.
The first part of their plan was to finish their training. Well, that was basically done now. Sure, there had been worries about further testing and other tricks, but the higher ups had been satisfied with their work in their combat training test and all the training since then had been specialized training with ships and special weapons.
The second part was to ensure that they got placed with DH when they left the training center. well, that seemed like it was going to be the case. There was still a chance that it might not happen, but it seemed like that would be fine.
The final and hardest part was to tell DH how they felt. How they really felt. They wanted to! They really did! They were terrified, but if there was even the smallest chance that C12 had been right, then wouldn’t it be worth it?
And DH said that they could never hate them, no matter what. They had to trust DH. They had to trust that if they were wrong, that DH still wouldn’t hate them, and that they could still be friends even if DH didn’t feel the same way.
And they had to hope that they could actually tell them.