Hangar Space
Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, AAA Murderbot, Outside POV, Mensah POV, introspection
Published: 18 January 2023
Word Count: 4,732
Summary
Dr. Ayda Mensah is finally safely back at Preservation, and she considers all the ways her life has changed...
“So there really isn’t anything?” Ayda Mensah asks Pin-Lee with a mix of incredulity and something akin to relief.
They’re in Pin-Lee’s office on Preservation Station, amongst other offices in the section for the Planetary Council. Pin-Lee’s not a councillor herself, but as one of Preservation’s top lawyers, she’s often called upon by the various councillors for advice.
The chairs are comfortable, the walls a cool silver-blue, a window in the back wall looking out over a small plaza. Pin-Lee’s various degrees, neatly framed, hang upon the walls, a reminder of her expertise. There’s also a miniature habitat in a place of pride on a shelf; Ayda knows that Pin-Lee crafted the model herself, in meticulous (and regulation-abiding) detail.
There aren’t many other personal touches - Pin-Lee is not much of one for sentimentality, too razor focused on her profession - but the space is still familiar and comfortable. After everything that’s happened since they first left Preservation to embark upon their ill-fated survey, it’s a relief to be back here once more. Ayda lets herself relax a little further into her chair as she listens to Pin-Lee’s reply.
“There really isn’t,” Pin-Lee confirms, one hand absently tapping at her desk in a familiar rhythm.
This is something of a surprise to Ayda. “I thought they would need guardians?”
“I thought so too, before,” Pin-Lee replies, her nose wrinkling in self-recrimination. “But back then I was also going off the assumption that we would be using bot law as a framework. It’s blatantly obvious now that bot laws won’t fit in the slightest. They’re not bots, they’re fully independent free agents. And Preservation has no specific laws regarding constructs at all. As far as we are from the Corporation Rim, it’s simply never come up before. We have plenty of laws for humans, and almost as many for bots, but nothing for constructs.”
Ayda feels her brow furrowing thoughtfully. “That isn’t necessarily going to stop people from objecting to them being here if they find out what they are,” she muses. Not much is generally known about constructs all the way out here in Preservation, but people know enough to make assumptions, jump to conclusions.
She did just that herself, after all.
Her musing is interrupted as Pin-Lee grins a familiar, sharp little grin. “They can object all they like. Legally, they have nothing to stand on.” Ayda watches the grin fade to something more contemplative. “In the meantime… we can probably fit them in under refugee laws. They are trying to escape from the tyranny of the Corporation Rim, after all. I can work with that.”
“We should ask them if that’s something they even want, first,” Ayda reminds Pin-Lee gently. They’ve already made the mistake of assuming they knew what SecUnit wanted. She doesn’t want them making the same mistake again. “We don’t know if they even want to stay here long-term yet.”
Pin-Lee frowns, her fingers once again drumming against the edge of her desk. “True. Although I don’t know where else they could reasonably go. It’s safe for them here, at least.”
Ayda finds herself remembering SecUnit’s wary suspicion, the way it never seems to let its guard down, even once they arrived at Preservation. Especially once they arrived on the station. She’s seen how both SecUnit and Alpha keep close together in the unfamiliar surroundings, how they watch and scan everyone that comes near them, how uncomfortable they seem to be around humans in general, how eager they were to retreat to their ship and their fliers. “I don’t think either of them really know what it feels like to be somewhere that’s actually safe,” she comments quietly.
Pin-Lee’s expression twists in a wry grimace. “I think I’d have to agree with you there,” she mutters, then sighs. “Either way, even if they decide not to stay, I think we still need to get the process of amending the laws to include constructs started as soon as possible. They may be the first ones to arrive at Preservation, but I’m sure they won’t be the last, one way or another.”
That’s something Ayda can agree with, as well. “Has Bharadwaj mentioned her ideas about her documentary to you yet?” she asks.
Pin-Lee nods. “She has. I think it’s a good idea, though it’s risky. Educating the people of Preservation on the realities of constructs is going to be a large part of the whole process of suitably amending the laws here, but if it spreads too far and draws the attention of the corporations…”
She doesn’t need to continue. Ayda knows.
“Still, it’s a risk worth taking,” she replies once she’s managed to shake the chill from her thoughts.
“It is,” Pin-Lee agrees.
Ayda is once again on board the ship that they… ‘acquired’ from Port FreeCommerce and travelled back to Preservation on. The ship that is now named Debris and owned by one Security Consultant Rin, at least in its documentation.
She’s sitting in one of the arm chairs in the small but cosy lounge on board Debris. SecUnit is curled up in one of the other armchairs, while Alpha is sprawled along the couch, its feet hanging over the armrest. It’s encouraging to see Alpha so comfortable now - Ayda well remembers the cycles during the trip back to Preservation, where it had to be reassured that using the furniture meant for humans was perfectly fine and acceptable. That it wouldn’t be punished just for sitting.
SecUnit isn’t facing her, but Ayda is fairly sure it’s using the ship’s cameras to watch her. They’re both noticeably more relaxed here than she’s seen them be on the station; she wonders if it’s just the more familiar surroundings, or the lack of unknown humans, or something else entirely.
She has spent the past several minutes explaining the discussion Pin-Lee and her had about Preservation’s laws, and its lack of construct-specific laws; how this will affect the two constructs sitting across from her, and her plans to get the ball rolling on adjusting Preservation’s laws in the future. She informs them that if they choose to stay, Pin-Lee is confident that she can get the refugee laws to cover them in the meantime.
SecUnit frowns a little at that last part. “Would we have to pretend to be human?”
Ayda shakes her head. “No, not necessarily. Not if you don’t want to. If you do decide to stay long-term, Pin-Lee and I believe it would be best if Station Security and Station Medical at the very least were informed of the truth, just in case anything happens to either of you. It would probably be best if they’re not… surprised, in an emergency situation. But again, what information you both choose to reveal is up to you.”
SecUnit’s frown eases into something more contemplative. Alpha’s gaze flicks from Ayda to SecUnit and back again; Ayda wonders if the two constructs are talking over the feed, and if so, what they’re saying. That will have to remain a mystery to her, though. “If we do stay here,” Alpha starts hesitantly after a moment, “what would we… do?”
“Whatever you like, within reason,” Ayda replies with a reassuring smile. “There are a lot of options. The data you passed on from your earlier survey flight over the unterraformed section of the planet was well received, so once licensing is properly sorted out, that’s definitely something you could continue doing. There are also plenty of educational opportunities at Preservation. Or you could accompany other survey groups as security - I know Overse and Arada are planning another survey in the near future. I’m sure they would love to have either or both of you along - as properly paid security consultants, of course.”
SecUnit’s expression twists wryly. “They want to do another survey even after the shitshow that was the last survey?”
“This one won’t be in Corporation Rim territory,” Ayda replies with a wry little smile of her own. “So there shouldn’t be a repeat of any of the previous incident.”
SecUnit snorts dubiously, then asks, “Will you be going with them?”
Ayda shakes her head. “Not this time, no. I have too much to do here, and I want to spend more time with my family.” Which is all true - she is under no illusions about how easy or otherwise it will be to amend Preservation’s laws, and she wants to be here to contribute to that as much as she can. She also missed her family fiercely while she was away; she missed several of her childrens’ milestones, and the videos her spouses recorded are a poor stand-in for the real thing.
“At least one of you is sensible,” SecUnit mutters, and Ayda has to fight back a smile.
“Also,” Ayda continues once she’s reined in her brief burst of amusement, “I’ve been talking to Dr. Bharadwaj. She’s planning on making a documentary to help inform the population of Preservation about the realities of constructs, to counteract all the propaganda and help with the amendment of the laws here. She wanted me to ask you both to consider making your story public, as part of this documentary. She believes a full account of your situations, in your own words, could be a great contribution. Even if all you agreed to release were the parts relevant to the whole GrayCris incident, and perhaps what happened on Port FreeCommerce, it would help a lot. She would like to discuss it with both of you, if you feel like it’s something you could consider.”
SecUnit actually turns its head to look directly at her for a second or two before looking away again, its expression conflicted. Alpha blinks and looks over at SecUnit once more; this time Ayda is certain that they’re communicating privately, because Alpha’s expression quickly goes from confused to thoughtful.
“If a documentary like that gets out to the Corporation Rim, that could draw a lot of unwanted attention to Preservation,” SecUnit finally replies. “The corporations aren’t going to like it.”
Ayda lets out the breath she hasn’t been aware she’s holding. “That is something we’ve considered, yes,” she replies. “We’ll have to be careful, but we think it’s worth the risk. Even if neither of you decide to stay here, we still want Preservation to be somewhere safe for all constructs.”
She watches SecUnit’s expression do something complicated that she can’t quite figure out, before it abruptly unfolds itself from the depths of its armchair. “Be right back,” it says even as it strides out of the lounge.
Surprised, Ayda watches it disappear from view around the corner, then looks over to Alpha. It hasn’t moved, still sprawled on the couch. It spots her looking at it, and offers her a shy little smile.
She reflexively smiles back. “How are you finding Preservation so far?” she asks softly.
Alpha pauses to consider the question before answering. “It’s nice,” it replies finally. “Very, very different. Kind of scary, but… not in a bad way?” It frowns a little as it tries to find the right words. “It’s… weird, though. It’s difficult to see out there.”
Concern bubbles up through Ayda’s gut. “Are your eyes injured? Do you need to visit Medical?”
Alpha blinks at her, then quickly shakes its head. “Oh, no, no! Not like that.” It gestures to its face. “These eyes are fine, in perfect working condition. But… I can only see so much with them, you know? I can’t…” It gestures more broadly around itself. “When I’m out on the station, I can’t… see.”
Understanding finally dawns. “You mean cameras?” Ayda asks gently.
Alpha nods, its expression lightening in relief. “Yes! There are so few cameras on the station, and we don’t have any drones. It’s all right on board Debris, we can access the cameras in here, we can see everything on the ship. And when we’re in our fliers, they have extra sensors so we can see all around ourselves as well. You don’t want an enemy flier sneaking up on you in a blind spot, so we don’t have blind spots. But on the station, we don’t have any of that. And with everything being so unfamiliar, it’s… unpleasant.”
This new information goes a long way towards explaining why SecUnit and Alpha appear so uncomfortable on Preservation Station. Ayda tries to think of how to respond, but her thoughts are derailed when SecUnit abruptly strides back into the lounge, heading straight towards her. She sits up a little as it stops in front of her and holds a small object out for her to take. “Here,” it says, not quite meeting her eyes.
Curious, Ayda accepts the small object, and SecUnit immediately retreats back to its armchair, tossing another similar object to Alpha as it goes. Alpha catches it neatly and sits up from its sprawl to examine the object. “What is this?” it asks.
“Holographic display trinkets,” SecUnit replies, its shoulders hunching a little as it slouches into its armchair. “There’s a button on the bottom.”
Ayda turns her object over and finds the button. She activates it, then admires the holographic display of flowers that the device projects. “Oh, this is lovely,” she says, delighted. Alpha is also admiring the one it got; Ayda looks over and notes that it’s displaying a colourful nebula.
SecUnit shrugs, its shoulders almost up to its ears. “I had a few hours between transports on the way to Port FreeCommerce,” it starts awkwardly. “I figured buying some stuff would help me blend in better. And I remembered that you said you lived on a farm, so… flora.”
Ayda finds herself surprisingly touched. As much as SecUnit is obviously trying to play the gesture off as just another piece of its disguise, the fact that it had thought of her at all warms Ayda’s heart. “Thank you,” she says sincerely. “I really appreciate it.”
SecUnit doesn’t say anything, but she feels it tap her feed in acknowledgement.
Alpha looks up from its own device, its brow furrowing in puzzlement. “But… you didn’t know about me then,” it says. “Who did you get this one for?”
SecUnit shrugs again, looking like it wants to disappear into the depths of its jacket entirely. “Nobody, really. I just… it was there.”
“You got it for yourself,” Ayda says gently.
“No. That’s dumb,” SecUnit replies shortly. “Why would I do that? I don’t need souvenirs, and I didn’t have anywhere to put it. So. It’s yours now, Alpha.”
Alpha hesitates, then says, “Thank you,” very softly. It looks over at Ayda though, its expression uncertain.
“Perhaps you can set it up somewhere in the lounge here,” Ayda suggests after a moment’s thought. “Or up in the bridge. That way both of you can enjoy it.”
Alpha brightens at the suggestion and nods. “That’s a good idea, thank you!” it replies, much more cheerfully.
Ayda can’t help but smile at Alpha’s enthusiasm; it’s such a sharp contrast to SecUnit’s more taciturn nature. “What other kinds of holograms were there?” she asks curiously, hoping to get a little more insight into SecUnit’s experiences.
“More flora, some different types of fauna, a few other constellations,” it replies after a moment. “A lot of different characters from popular media. I got one for Vicky—“ It abruptly snaps its mouth closed, looking like it’s said more than it meant to.
“Vicky?” Alpha looks back up from the little holographic nebula. “You mean the ComfortUnit from RaviHyral?”
Ayda is caught off-guard by the intensity of the heated glare that SecUnit gives Alpha. Alpha also seems to be just as surprised, judging by its expression, which then quickly morphs into something more consternated and sheepish. Again, Ayda finds herself wondering just what they’re saying to each other over the feed. “You mentioned Vicky earlier,” Ayda says carefully, hoping to deflect SecUnit’s obvious annoyance. “Your colleague, correct?”
For a moment SecUnit continues to glare at Alpha, but then it lets out a breath and relaxes back into the depths of its armchair. “Yes,” it replies, sounding resigned. “Vicky’s a ComfortUnit I met at RaviHyral. We kind of helped each other. It’s a lot better at… going unnoticed. I was hoping it would… stay unnoticed.”
“Well, you can rest assured that I won’t be saying anything about it to anyone,” Ayda says reassuringly. “And I’m sure Alpha won’t let that slip again, right?”
“Right,” Alpha replies with a nod. “Proprietary information.”
SecUnit looks unconvinced - its demeanour reminds Ayda somewhat of a surly teenager. She has to stifle the smile of fond amusement that threatens to break free, disguising it by looking back down at the holographic projector still in her hands. “You purchased one of these for Vicky, right?” she asks after a moment. “Are you considering going to visit them?”
Its expression scrunches uncomfortably at Ayda’s words. “I don’t know,” it admits. “It’s a long way. It might not even be where I’m expecting it to be any more. And - I don’t want to draw attention to it. Vicky’s probably safer that way.”
“Perhaps you could just send it a message,” Ayda suggests. “Let it know how you are, and where you are. If you decide to stay, maybe Vicky will be able to come here, instead.”
“If we decide to stay,” SecUnit echoes blandly.
“You don’t have to decide right away, of course,” Ayda reassures it. “And you can always change your mind.”
It doesn’t reply, but it does glance over at Alpha. More passes between the two units that Ayda isn’t privy to; after a few seconds, Alpha nods slightly. SecUnit lets out a soft sigh, then shifts to look just past Ayda’s ear. “For now… I think we’ll stay.”
This time, Ayda lets herself smile without restraint.
Ayda is in the station hotel suite that she booked for the members of the survey team while they’re all reporting to the council. Pin-Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin are staying here with Arada and Overse, who are back on the station now after a trip down to the planet to visit their family. Volescu, who usually lives on the planet, has come up on the shuttle with them. Bharadwaj has her own quarters on the station, but she’s dropped in as well to join everyone else.
Now that everyone is finally safely back at Preservation Station, the survey needs to finish its reports so the council can decide if it’s worth pursuing their claim on the planet. Assuming that the entire planet doesn’t end up interdicted because of the presence of alien remnants, anyway.
None of them have to be here, really; they could all work together entirely on the feed, but after everything that’s happened, it’s comforting for them to all be together in the same room again, sitting on the couches and talking face to face. Floating display surfaces filled with their data and collated notes hover amongst them, casting their own pale illumination throughout the common room.
Both SecUnit and Alpha are here too - SecUnit is curled up in an armchair in the back corner of the room, while Alpha’s sitting in the end of one of the couches, with Ratthi leaning comfortably against its side. It’s good to have them both here, too. Arada, Overse, Bharadwaj and Volescu have accepted Alpha’s presence without question, since they’d already been filled in on everything that had happened during the escape from Port FreeCommerce. Alpha seems to be comfortable enough with them, as well; Ayda can only assume that SecUnit briefed Alpha on what it knew of the rest of the PreservationAux team at some point, too.
Ayda flicks between a few of the different displays, but her attention isn’t entirely on them. Across from her, Ratthi is trying to explain the finer points of small talk to a confused-looking Alpha. “— and if all else fails, you can just comment on the recent planetary weather,” Ratthi says earnestly.
She watches Alpha’s brow furrow. “Why would I do that?”
“It works, okay, just trust me,” Ratthi tries to reassure it.
“But what if I don’t know what the planetary weather actually is because I haven’t been there yet?” Alpha asks after a moment’s consideration. “Or if we’re on a station with no planet? Or on a transport?”
Ratthi blinks. “Uh.” He’s rarely been away from Preservation for long enough for that to matter.
Ayda hides her smile behind one of her display surfaces. Arada, her bare feet in Overse’s lap, leans towards them from her own couch and suggests, “Ask about their family! Everyone likes talking about their family!”
Gurathin lets out a small snort, and Arada says without missing a beat, “Most people like talking about their family!”
Ayda glances around and notes that she’s not the only one poorly concealing a smile.
“You could also ask what their favourite media is,” Bharadwaj says, briefly glancing back at SecUnit. SecUnit just rolls its eyes and doesn’t comment out loud, but judging by how Bharadwaj’s expression suddenly blossoms into a grin, it’s sent some snarky response to her over the feed.
Alpha’s expression brightens at Bharadwaj’s contribution. “Oh, I can definitely ask about media!” it says. “Or…” It hesitates thoughtfully, then asks, “Is it… weird to ask about someone’s clothes?”
“Only if you’re asking if their clothes would look better on your bedroom floor,” Ratthi says in a way that Ayda can just tell is automatic and not thought through at all. He then blinks and looks up from his display surface, wide-eyed. "Wait, no, disregard that, sorry, sorry!" Ratthi immediately adds now that his brain has caught up with his mouth.
She has no chance of hiding her smile this time, but that’s all right because most of the others have burst out into laughter. Gurathin is covering his eyes with one hand as he groans out a reproving “Ratthi…!” though, and SecUnit’s mouth has twisted in an eloquent grimace. Alpha just looks bemused.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ratthi hastily says, patting Alpha’s arm with one hand. “If you like what someone’s wearing, it’s usually all right to say so, and maybe ask where they got it. Okay?”
He’s saved from any further awkwardness by SecUnit shifting a little in its chair as it announces, “A newsburst from the CR has just arrived that you might all be interested in.” Ayda feels it tap their group feed before it drops the newsburst in for them to view.
The opening headline makes it immediately clear what the newsburst is about. Silence settles over the room as everyone watches and listens to the news report summarising the attack on Port FreeCommerce. It turns out that despite the ferocity of the attack, the company managed to hold firm long enough to finally drive the attackers off. The company has suffered losses, but not enough to significantly hurt it in the long run. At least, that’s the spin that the company’s representatives are putting on it. Whether or not that’s accurate is another matter entirely. The company can’t afford to show any weakness.
The report includes brief clips of footage from the station of the attack itself; Ayda feels her heart rate increase, her breath catching in her throat. With everything else that had happened during and after their escape from the station, it had been surprisingly easy to push the actual attack aside. But now, confronted by the footage, it’s sinking in.
They were there. Her, and Pin-Lee, and Ratthi, and Gurathin - they could have so easily been just more casualties of the attack. Especially since GrayCris had been involved, and had been searching for PreservationAux specifically.
She feels a tap in her feed, and takes a sharp breath. It’s SecUnit, on a private feed channel. [Are you all right, Dr. Mensah?] She glances over at it to see it watching her, its expression mostly neutral save for the slight furrow in its brow that gives away its concern.
It’s a good question. Is she all right? She taps SecUnit’s feed in acknowledgement, but doesn’t otherwise answer.
In the couch across from her, Alpha is looking at Ratthi with obvious concern of its own. “Dr. Ratthi?” it asks softly. “Are you okay? Your heart rate just spiked.”
Ayda looks around, checking on Pin-Lee and Gurathin. Pin-Lee is frowning, drumming the fingers of one hand against her arm rest. Gurathin is stony-faced, his arms crossed tightly over his midsection. The rest of the survey team are also watching them - and her - with concern.
Ratthi lets out a loud exhale that cuts through the silence and swipes the news report away from his feed display. “I’m— yeah. I’m all right,” he reassures Alpha, though his words are a little shaky. “Just… it’s just sinking in now, is all. We — we were there. We didn’t actually see much of it, but— we were there for it.”
It’s reassuring to hear Ratthi voicing her own thoughts.
There’s another short silence before Volescu says, very gently, “The trauma unit at Makeba Central Medical has an entire section for emotional support after traumatic experiences. I’ve been attending regularly.”
Bharadwaj nods and adds, “Station Medical has something similar. It’s not as extensive, but I’ve been going there, and it helps.”
“I might have to book a visit or two myself,” Ratthi comments, with forced cheer.
Gurathin’s expression hasn’t changed, and Pin-Lee’s frown has deepened. Ayda takes a breath, then says, “I think I’ll visit them soon as well.” As survey captain, it’s her job to set a good example for the rest of her team. And if Bharadwaj and Volescu both say it helps… she trusts their judgement.
Pin-Lee lets out a heavy sigh. “I’ll see if I can fit it into my schedule,” she finally concedes. “No promises, though.”
That’s good enough for Ayda. She gives Pin-Lee a warm smile, then looks over at Gurathin. He simply shrugs - Ayda knows not to expect much more of a response from him.
But then Gurathin looks pointedly at SecUnit. “What about you two?” he asks it, gesturing to both it and Alpha. “Ever thought of getting trauma treatments?”
SecUnit scowls in Gurathin’s general direction. “No,” it says shortly. “That’s a human thing. SecUnits don’t need trauma treatments.”
“Why would we be traumatised?” Alpha adds, both its voice and expression vaguely bemused.
Why wouldn’t you be traumatised? Ayda wants to ask them both, but she doesn’t. Their reaction is a stark reminder of the differences between her own life on Preservation, and their lives as SecUnits within the Corporation Rim. It just strengthens her resolve to make Preservation somewhere that is truly safe for constructs. Somewhere where they, perhaps, can come to realise that they deserve treatment just as much as any other human.
She’s shaken from her thoughts by SecUnit suddenly announcing, “The ship that was carrying that newsburst also transported some outsystem journalists to Preservation. They’re asking Station Security if any of you are available for interviews.”
Ratthi groans dramatically. “Uugggh. I got more than enough of that back on Port FreeCommerce. No, thank you.” The sentiment is echoed by everyone else, though Ayda knows that she and Pin-Lee will most likely have to give these outsystem reporters something so they won’t try to hunt down any of the others in their private lives.
“Alpha and I can probably discourage the reporters from coming anywhere near you,” SecUnit suggests after a moment.
“The thought is tempting,” Pin-Lee replies, then shakes her head. “But if they’re CR reporters, they might recognise what you are. It may be best if you both avoid them as much as you can.” SecUnit frowns, but nods in reluctant agreement.
A thought occurs to Ayda then, and she reaches out to tap SecUnit’s private feed channel with her. It taps back in acknowledgement, and she asks it, [Did you hack into Station Security?]
There’s a definite hesitation before it replies, [Maybe.]
She very carefully doesn’t sigh. It’s only logical for SecUnit to have done so. Its entire survival since the end of the survey has relied on it being able to hack security systems, after all. And she never asked it not to.
She really needs to get some new drones for both SecUnit and Alpha.
[Just be careful,] she replies. [Don’t get caught.]
SecUnit’s only response is to send an eye-roll emotion sigil. Of course it won’t get caught.
It’s made it this far, after all.