A thousand excuses, each more pathetic than the last, filtered through TO’s head as they tried to come up with an excuse to avoid this call. They were under no delusions why Ark-1 was calling, of course; while DH was right, and it was unlikely for them to filter through the cultural news of Arkane, something like the escape of over twenty insurgents from a holding facility was going to draw their attention.
They, of course, wanted an update, and while TO had their report mostly done, the exhaustion and sickness that had overcome kept them from finishing it.
Perhaps it was this exhaustion that was keeping them from coming up with a good reason to ignore the call. Ark-1 would demand answers and TO didn’t want to have to answer for ignoring an officer. They pushed themself up in bed, rubbed their eyes to make the throbbing pain behind them go away, then answered the call on their chip. The hologram of Ark-1 hovered in the air before them; their ears were pinned back, their eyes narrowed.
They were angry already.
“Greetings, Ark-1.” TO said as they tried their best to sit upright. “I was not expecting a call-”
“I’m sure you weren’t,” they said, “Though, I was expecting a report by now about the mess that’s occurred on Arkane. Twenty-three insurgents escaped, a holding facility half-destroyed, and you’ve yet to contact me about what happened.”
“Apologies.” They said, their ears dipping back, “I wished to go over my report once more before sending it to you. There're some complications to the situation, something that seems wrong to me and I wished to give further consideration to before I completed my report.” That was all correct. TO hoped that once their head was clearer, they might look over the data they had and see some clue that they didn’t see before.
“Very well.” They said, though their ears stayed pinned back, “Please, give me a quick run-down of your investigation.”
TO nodded, and told them about the obviously planned attack, the infiltration of the networks by ‘Joe Mamma’ and the cooperation, blackmail, and ultimate demise of Vince.
“It seems odd to me that the insurgents would have planned the escape so well, but failed to consider their exit route. That is what I wished to look into more.” TO said, “There're particularities to the remains found which I wish to consider further.”
“I see.” Ark-1 said, “But you’ve not told me of the attack itself.”
TO felt their ears quirk forward in confusion, “Pardon?”
“The attack itself. The insurgents called for your help, did they not?”
“The insurgent hacker took down their communications.” TO said.
“As you’ve already said.” Ark-1 said, “What time did you arrive on scene? Were you there in time to witness any of the attacks?”
“We were not.” TO said, “It was midmorning the next day when we arrived on scene-”
“Which I find odd.” Ark-1 said as they gestured before them. A screen came up on a different projection, showing logs of messages to and from TO. There were messages and time stamps attached to messages from Avery, calls to the various places they had gone to for their date, basic civilian news alerts that came nearly every day, and the emergency alerts that they had received that night while they were talking with DH in that room at the bar, too inebriated to do anything if they had read the message.
“Although the communications were down, a message got to you during the attack. I assume the civilians had some kind of emergency communication system that took a little longer for the insurgents to take down.” Their ears still pinned back, they gave TO a hard look. “Do you wish to explain why you got the message that night, but did not respond until the next day?”
What could they possibly say that wouldn’t be an outright lie, which Ark-1 would see clearly in their ears?
“We were busy with other matters that evening.” TO said; that was true. “And pressing matters had our attention at the moment. News alerts come every day from the civilians; useless things, like missing pets, civilian sports news, and academic competitions. I suppose the excess of useless information irritated me, and ignored it while I was busy.” Their ears dipping down, “I will not be doing that again.”
“I imagine not.” Ark-1 said, “But what were you occupied with?”
That question took TO a little by surprise, and it suddenly worried them. Why was Ark-1 prying so much? Why were they asking so many questions?
“By your silence, perhaps you’ve forgotten.” They said, and they gestured again, “Perhaps I can provide a reminder, and you can further explain.”
Another hologram appeared and TO’s stomach clenched in icy terror. The image before them was of them and DH, though it wasn’t of them in the theater as they had worried about. The image showed them before the carriage, dressed in their finery. Both had their ears down in that way that showed such longing and passion, the same way that C12 and Snout had looked at one another. It was clearly some kind of social media post, as there was a caption underneath that read, “Nobody is this romantic anymore! Wish my partner did this for me!”
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It seemed to have gone viral overnight, spreading over the Arkane social network like fire. Apparently, it was an impressive romantic display.
I can still fix this. They thought to themself. C12 said that other synths, normal synths, couldn’t really read that emotion in their ears. If Ark-1 didn’t see that, then they might be.They’d give a little truth, and it’d be fine. Hadn’t they and DH already planned for this?
“We were acting as civilians.” They said, hoping their nervousness wasn’t showing, “We have described ourselves as romantic partners to explain why we’re always together. This is how civilians in such a relationship act, according to our research. The idea of such a relationship throws others off and puts them at ease. I did not realize that it would attract so much attention.”
“I would believe that.” Ark-1 said, “I truly would; your training records are immaculate, and impressive, and your actions in dealing with the issues at the portal were exemplary.”
“Thank you, Ark-1”
“But I did not find this image.” They said, “I have more pressing things to do. No, Hur-13 gave this image to Hur-1, along with some interesting context. They thought it would be prudent that they inform me.“
TO’s ears fell back, and their breathing stopped. They felt like they were going to be sick again. “Hur-13?” They said weakly.
“Indeed.” Ark-1 said, “They’ve been monitoring both their news and yours since the events on Arkane affect them as well. They came across this image because of its popularity, and upon hearing of the escape on Arkane, they felt they had to contact Hur-1. Apparently, they witnessed something grotesque and disgusting when aboard your ship. Of course, they should have reported it immediately, but they felt that despite your perversions, you were still the best one to work on Arkane. With this incident, however, they feared your… Preoccupation with one another was affecting your work, and I am inclined to agree.”
Shame and guilt fought TO in their head. Not only was this their fault for getting that damnable carriage, but they had gotten angry at DH for being careless!
It was their own carelessness that led to this, their own actions, their own fault. Now Ark-1 knew, and now they were going to be separated.
The idea of running once more flickered through their head. Could they run? Where would they run? How would they survive? Could they even run from King Decon? King Decon, their creator. If they ran, they were just a waste of resources; worse than being reprocessed because at least a reprocessed synth can serve King Decon’s will.
“I want a straightforward answer; yes or no.” Ark-1 said, “Are you in a romantic relationship with Ark-88.”
“... Yes.” There was no point lying; their ears would give it away. Trying to dodge the question or staying silent would be as bad as lying at this point.
“That is disappointing; I had great hopes for you.”
TO dipped their head down, and struggled not to cry; that would only make things worse. They worked as hard as they could to still their breathing and keep calm.
“Here is what is going to happen.” Ark-1 said after long moments of tortuous silence, “You will stay on Arkane. Despite this, I believe that your particular skills make you uniquely qualified to deal with the situation there. However, I cannot allow you to be distracted, nor can I allow this… disgusting relationship to continue and distract you from serving King Decon. We will reassign Ark-88 will.”
“No.” The word slipped out before TO could stop it, “Please-”
“Do not make me rethink this decision.” Ark-1 said, “Ideally, I’d recall you both and have you both disciplined for your crimes against King Decon, but I am weighing the good you can do on Arkane against this. If you deal with the insurgency as planned, then you may in fact avoid further punishments; same for Ark-88 if they perform well.”
Further punishments. What would they do to them? Reprocess them? No, likely not. Exile? Being sent into the dark zones of the galaxy to scan for portals or planets? They’d never send them together now.
Maybe they would both go into exile alone, in the darkness of space until the end of their natural life; unable to even be reprocessed.
“Hur-13 and Hur-14’s have nearly finished the repairs to their ship.” Ark-1 said, “Once they finish, they will leave their posting, and connect with you on Arkane for ‘meeting’ regarding issues between the two planets. Afterwards, we will reassign Ark-88 as Hur-15, and Hur-13 will become Ark-89. You will continue your assignments from there.”
DH would go back with Avery. Kei would stay with them. Despite everything, they felt relieved that at least DH wouldn’t have to work with Kei. It was such a slight relief, but it was something they could cling to.
“I promise, this is unnecessary.” TO said, “This will not occur again-”
“I cannot take that chance.” Ark-1 said, “Arkane is the heart of insurgent activity, and the peace of the galaxy depends on your performance. I cannot allow a carnal relationship between you and another synth to effect.” Their ears pinned, “You’ve already made it clear to Hur-13 that you cannot keep from rutting like animals. If you have so little self-restraint around one another, then I have no choice but to separate you. Once more, it is only your commendable performance up to this point in other areas that keeps you both from being brought back immediately for corrective action.”
“... I understand.” TO said. They didn’t know what else they could say to this. “... How long until Hur-13 and Hur-14 arrive here?”
“The ship should take only three or four Arkanian days of work, and less than a full Arkanian day of travel after that.” Ark-1 said, “Continue your work as expected for now; we cannot let the insurgents or civilians sense that anything is wrong, or that there're any issue or weaknesses in our ranks.” They leaned forward, “Make no mistake, if I have any reason to believe that you’re putting King Decon’s will behind your own carnal desires, my punishment will be swift and severe. If I have any clue of less than perfect performance from you both, I have you both sent into combat at separate ends of the galaxy.”
Not exile, but a painful, violent death apart from one another. At least that would be quicker. “… Understood, Ark-1”
“Send me your reports immediately on the escape.” Ark-1 said, and without any further conversation, they cut the call.
no
TO sat in the bed, still as a statue for a long time. They felt the tears that they had been holding back fall over their cheeks. They wanted to sob, but they couldn’t bring themself to do that.
They had been stupid and careless. Going planetside hadn’t given them freedom. It made them sloppy. Excelling in their tasks wouldn’t allow them to keep DH close, but it would keep them from worse punishment.
It wasn’t much comfort.
They stayed like that until DH came out of the shower, drying off with a towel. “I feel almost normal again.” They said, their voice light, “A meal now, and-” They stopped as they saw TO sitting up and crying. In moments, they were at their side, holding them.
“TO? What’s wrong?!”
TO held onto DH, wondering how many more times they’d get to do that. How many more times they’d see them, hear their voice, and smell the lavender off their skin.
They pressed their face into DH’s chest, and wept.