Welcome to Preservation
Tags: Platonic Relationships, AAA Original Characters
Published: 18 January 2022
Word Count: 7,888
Summary
The Squad arrives on Preservation Station, and Senior Constable Indah gets a headache.
Some of us were tossing around ideas as to how the Squad arrives on Preservation, and "Okay but how funny would it be if this whole squad of CSUs rocked up to Preservation on their bot pilot ship that they talked into letting them hitch a ride, and just... walked up to Station Sec and politely asked if there's a secunit around here that looks like this one, as Alpha steps forward and gives the poor station security person a hopeful look" was the idea that grabbed me specifically. XD So here it is!
Chapter One
Indah had a headache. More accurately, Indah had five headaches, all in front of her, all standing at unmoving SecUnit ready (and she had not fully appreciated just how... human SecUnit had made its movements until now). Between them they had enough firepower and raw ability to kill everyone on the station ten times over. The squad of Station Security waiting anxiously behind her couldn't even begin to hope to stop them, if they decided on violence. One of the units, in the middle of the row, had the same facial features as SecUnit, but set into a hopeful expression that Indah had never seen SecUnit have. "So let me get this straight," Indah started carefully. "You're all SecUnits--"
"Combat SecUnits," the one in the middle corrected helpfully.
"Right. Combat SecUnits," Indah continued, feeling her headache worsen. "You've all... freed yourselves from your corporate owners... and you're all here looking for... our SecUnit?"
Five heads nodded in unison.
Indah resisted the urge to rub at her temples. "Why?"
Four of them looked towards the fifth, on the left end of the row. Indah thought that one looked... a little older than the others, somehow, despite the regularly regrown babyface that SecUnits tended to have (and hadn't that taken a lot of getting used to with SecUnit). Its expression remained neutral, but Indah somehow got the feeling that it was sighing at its companions, and she felt a brief moment of... well, she wouldn't call it camaraderie, exactly, but close enough. "We know it," it started carefully. "Or, well. We knew it. Years ago. It was one of us, part of our squad. But we... got separated." There was a lot there that wasn't being said, Indah could tell.
"We thought it was dead," the unit next to it commented. "Then, recently, we saw a photo of it in a news report about PreservationAux and GrayCris."
"We miss it," the one in the middle added, its hopeful expression turning woebegone. "Is it here?"
Indah thought for a long moment, and then decided that this particular problem was well above her pay grade. "It might be best if I took you all to talk to Dr. Mensah," she replied diplomatically. "She knows SecUnit the best, I think. She should be able to answer most of the questions you might have." It would also give Indah the opportunity to get these combat SecUnits off the public dock and somewhere out of sight. They weren't wearing armour, at least, just an eclectic collection of clothes that looked like they'd been fished out of recyclers, so it wasn't immediately obvious what they were, but still. With them all lined up like that, their identical heights and builds were glaringly obvious and she didn't want any journalists getting wind of this just yet. "If you would come with me...?"
Again, that lightning-quick glance between them all before the one on the left nodded. "Lead the way."
Indah turned and started towards the dockside administration building, issuing orders over the feed for the station security squad to clear a meeting room, stand down and return to regular duties. They hurried to comply. She then contacted Mensah and gave her a quick rundown of the situation. Mensah was quiet for a long moment, then simply replied that she would be there as soon as she could wrap up the meeting she was currently in. Indah suspected that the meeting would be finishing much sooner than the other participants wanted or anticipated.
She led the way into the admin building, trying to ignore the tension stringing across her back and shoulders, and only glancing back occasionally to make sure the squad was still following. It was almost eerie how quietly they all moved. They were looking around as they walked, but it wasn't with the distracted gaze of tourists, it was the sharp, calculating movements of people assessing their environment and analysing potential threats. Indah was glad they didn't have too far to go.
It was a great relief when Indah got the squad to the prepared meeting room without incident. She headed inside first, very aware that if she tried to get them to go inside without her, they'd likely view it as a trap and react accordingly. "Dr. Mensah is in a meeting at the moment," she began before they could start getting suspicious as they filed in after her. "She'll be here as soon as she's able to. In the meantime, please make yourselves comfortable, and if you have any other questions, let me know." She moved to the nearest armchair and dropped down into it with a tired sigh, silently wishing for a fresh hot cup of caf, or at least a painkiller.
The squad collectively hesitated near the door, looking around the room and regarding her cautiously. Indah ignored them just standing and staring (as much as she was able to ignore a whole squad of lethal killing machines, anyway) and began composing a report in her feed. The paperwork on this was going to be a nightmare, she might as well try to get a head start on it.
Eventually they moved away from their huddle by the door and spread out a bit. There were multiple armchairs and a couple of couches arranged around a low table in the middle of the room, and one of the units (the one with the most colourful clothes and that eerie similarity to SecUnit's own face) approached a couch almost hesitantly. It eyed the couch for a long moment, then carefully lowered itself to sit down in it, sinking a little into the cushions. Its expression immediately lit up with delight, and it bounced a couple of times before wiggling a little to settle further into the couch's depths.
The older-looking unit, still standing near the door, visibly rolled its eyes, and Indah had to suppress a snort of wry amusement before turning her attention back to her reports. One of the other units had moved to stand by the window in the wall opposite the door, apparently keeping watch out of it, while the other two eventually settled into armchairs as well.
The silence was almost oppressive, but Indah was also grateful that she wasn't having to answer any questions. Finally, Indah received a message that Mensah was on her way. She let out a breath of relief, and five heads immediately swiveled to face her. That was never going to be not creepy. "Dr. Mensah should be here in a minute," she informed them.
Another quick flicker of glances, and the three that had sat down were swiftly back on their feet again, lining up as they brushed off and straightened out their clothes. Indah bit back the sudden inexplicable urge to laugh, and somehow managed to keep a straight face even as she sent Mensah a heads-up. "Thank you," the unit still standing near the door replied with a little nod.
"You're welcome," Indah replied before hauling herself to her feet with a stifled groan. As soon as Mensah got here, Indah was leaving and going to find the biggest damn cup of caf she could get her hands on, and woe betide anyone who got in her way.
Thanks to Indah's warning, Mensah wasn't caught off-guard by the five units standing at attention and watching her as soon as she entered the room. Indah took a moment to perfunctorily introduce her to said units, then made her escape. Mensah couldn't blame her. She kept her expression calm and composed though as she moved to sit in one of the armchairs. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," she said sincerely before gesturing to the surrounding chairs. "Please, sit down, make yourselves comfortable."
There was the briefest hesitation before the squad moved to comply; three sat on the couch opposite Mensah, while the other two moved to take armchairs on either side. The one in the middle of the couch looked eerily like SecUnit, except with a much more open, expressive face. Mensah did her best not to stare, and offered them all a friendly smile. "Would you like to introduce yourselves? Are there any names I can call you by?" She really hoped they wouldn't all insist on SecUnit.
There was that brief flicker of a glance that Indah had warned her about, then the one in the armchair to the left of the couch spoke up. "You may call me Epsilon," it replied evenly. "These are my squadmates, Gamma, Alpha, Iota, and Upsilon." It gestured to each unit as it named them; Gamma and Iota gave brief but polite nods, Alpha smiled and raised one hand to give a little wave (it was so odd to see SecUnit's face smile like that), and Upsilon just glanced at her before returning its attention to the window. Mensah couldn't help but notice how Epsilon had also angled its armchair so it could keep an eye on the open door. Despite the fact that they were undoubtedly the most dangerous beings on the entire station, they were obviously still wary, and Mensah wondered what they'd lived through.
She kept any sign of her thoughts off her face though, and simply smiled welcomingly at them. "Welcome to Preservation, all of you," she said formally. "Senior Constable Indah has already filled me in on what you've told her, so I won't waste any more time on pleasantries. You said you were here to look for your squadmate, and you believe it's the SecUnit who has chosen to live here?" She was very careful with her words - she didn't want to imply in any way, shape or form that SecUnit was here for any reason other than its own choice.
"That's correct," Epsilon said with a slight nod, even as Alpha sat up and exclaimed, expression hopeful, "So it does live here? Is it here now?" Epsilon shot it a sharp look, and Alpha subsided back into the couch, its hands clasped together in its lap.
"It resides here sometimes, yes, but it's not here at the moment," Mensah told them. "SecUnit is often away with a friend, on missions it chooses to undertake itself and gets fair compensation for." Mensah pretended not to notice how Alpha slumped slightly, or how Gamma leaned one shoulder against Alpha's, and kept her gaze focused on Epsilon.
Epsilon was regarding her with narrowed eyes. "Fair compensation?" it asked carefully. Even as Epsilon was looking at Mensah, Iota was keeping an eye on the door.
"It gets paid in hard currency cards," Mensah clarified. "When it's not away on missions, it's hired here as a security consultant. It's a legal citizen of Preservation. It's free to come and go as it likes, and do whatever it wants as long as it obeys the laws of Preservation like any other citizen here, including me." She paused for a moment, then added, "I also value it very much as a good friend, as do several others who live here."
That seemed to catch them off-guard - all five of them stared at her for a long moment before gazes flickered away again. She'd picked Alpha as the most expressive of the group, but even its expression was guarded and opaque now as they seemed to be having some private discussion. Mensah waited patiently, and found herself wondering if SecUnit considered normal human conversation painfully slow. Probably.
After only a couple of seconds, Gamma tilted its head towards Mensah and said, almost experimentally, "SecUnits don't have human friends."
Mensah shrugged. "Maybe not in the Corporation Rim. But things are different here in Preservation." She gave them a warm smile. "We've come to understand that bots - and constructs - are people as well. Some of the laws still need adjusting - it's a slow process, but we're working on it." She looked around at them all. "If you choose to stay here while you wait for SecUnit to return, we will welcome you, and offer whatever assistance we can in helping you to adjust to life outside the Corporation Rim."
Five faces regarded her with varying degrees of dubiousness. "... Why would you help us?" Upsilon spoke for the first time, its tone wary. "We're dangerous."
"Anyone can be dangerous in the right circumstances," Mensah replied evenly. "SecUnit is also dangerous - I've seen just how dangerous first-hand. But it's helped us many times, and we help it in return. That's what it means to be a citizen of Preservation. We help each other. Let us help you."
Another hesitation. Alpha's expression was still opaque, but its shoulders were sagging slightly. Mensah considered them for a moment, then added, "There is another SecUnit who lives on Preservation - it's from a different company, but it has also chosen to become a citizen of Preservation and reside here. Its name is Three, and it also knows SecUnit. Would it help if you could talk with it?"
More surprise and flickering glances. "It... might," Epsilon finally replied, cautious. "Would it want to talk to us though?"
"I'll ask it and find out," Mensah said reassuringly. "The decision will ultimately be up to it, though." Epsilon hesitated, then nodded, and Mensah sent Three a message explaining the situation and asking if it would be willing to help out. There was a brief delay, then Three sent a reply back with an agreement and an ETA. Mensah quietly let out the breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, and looked back to Epsilon. "Three has agreed, and should be here in about half an hour. In the meantime, is there anything else you would like to ask? Anything you need?"
Gamma nudged Alpha, who hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Could you maybe... you're friends with O-- uh, SecUnit, right? Could you tell us more about it?"
Mensah nodded easily. "Of course." She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "It's very protective of people, especially ones it knows and likes. It's loyal to its friends, but it also doesn't hesitate to tell us if it thinks we're doing something stupid." She smiled fondly. "It's very witty, sarcastic and deadpan, sometimes acts like an asshole… and I trust it with my life, and the lives of my family and friends."
Alpha seemed to relax at Mensah's words, one corner of its mouth creeping up in a tiny smile. "That sounds like Omega," it murmured, and Mensah made a mental note of the name. She wouldn't use it without permission, of course, but it was still good to know.
"It also likes watching all kinds of media, especially serials, and has very strong opinions on them," she added.
Alpha blinked at her, apparently not sure if it should take her words seriously or not. When it became clear that Mensah wasn't joking, it glanced over at Gamma. "That's new," it commented quietly.
Gamma rolled its eyes. "The strong opinions part isn't," it replied, its tone dry. "Besides, it's not like we had a chance to watch any media before."
Mensah was encouraged by the fact that they were talking out loud and not in private. She tilted her head slightly towards them, making sure her expression was open and her tone sincere. "I admit I'm curious about your friend. It's obvious you think highly of it, especially since you've worked so hard to come and find it. Would you mind telling me about it a little?"
Alpha's expression visibly softened. "Omega and I have known each other a long time," it started. Mensah was fascinated by the unfamiliar expressions on such a familiar face. "Pretty much since activation, I think. As far as we can tell, it was a totally accidental chance that we ended up with the same organic clone DNA. Then we kept being deployed on the same contracts, so we got to know each other. It's always been protective of our clients, and at least a little sarcastic, and very opinionated." It quirked a lopsided little grin. "And pessimistic. I've always been the optimistic one."
"Unrealistically optimistic," Epsilon grumbled. "Delusional, even."
Alpha very obviously and deliberately ignored Epsilon as it continued. "Eventually we were given the combat module upgrades and were assigned to this squad with everyone else." It waved a hand around to indicate the other units in the room. "We worked together for years. Went through a lot of stuff together. And then..." It hesitated, its expression falling as it ducked its head, and Mensah felt a pang of sympathy at its quiet distress.
Gamma leaned its shoulder against Alpha's again, and Iota also leaned in against Alpha's other side. "There was an... incident," Gamma continued levelly, looking past Mensah's head to the wall behind her. "As a result, Omega was removed from the squad. We don't know what happened to it after that, we never saw it again ourselves. We thought that Omega was… decommissioned."
Mensah took a breath. "That must have been very difficult for you," she murmured gently.
Gamma just shrugged one shoulder, the one that wasn't still pressed against Alpha's. "It is what it is. There was nothing we could do about it except look after each other as much as possible." Once again, Mensah noted how Epsilon and Upsilon weren't looking at her or the others, but out towards the door and the window, keeping watch. Protecting the rest of their squad.
Gamma continued after a moment. "Then we saw a news report while we were… travelling. It was the one about GrayCris and PreservationAux... and there was a photo that had Omega in the background." Gamma glanced briefly at Alpha before fixing its gaze back on the wall beside Mensah's head. "So we decided to investigate."
Mensah raised an eyebrow. "You just... decided to investigate?" That definitely needed more elaboration.
Alpha raised its head again, its expression familiarly fierce. "The company was deploying us against various GrayCris assets in retaliation for what GrayCris did, but we overheard that they were going to memory wipe us and split us up afterwards for ‘plausible deniability’. I didn’t want to forget, or to be split up."
“None of us did,” Gamma added flatly. “We decided we’d had enough. We’d been a reliable, effective squad for years and they were just going to throw that all away and wipe us to cover their own asses.” It paused, a little smirk curling its lip. “But because we’d been such a reliable, dependable squad for so long, we got a lot more leeway than most other squads would have. We managed to figure out how to break each others’ governor modules. Once those were out of the way, there wasn’t anything that could stop us. So during one of those GrayCris asset assaults, we... left. We… acquired a GrayCris ship - they won’t be in a position to miss it any time soon, or ever - and made our way here.”
Epsilon shifted slightly and glanced back at Gamma, a faint frown creasing its brow. Gamma just gave it a flat stare, and Epsilon grumbled under its breath and went back to watching the door. Mensah realised she'd been holding her breath again and let it out slowly, making sure to keep her expression calm. She didn't want to know who or what they'd gone through to escape, but she had to ask. "I don't blame you for escaping at all," she started levelly. "But for the sake of Preservation's safety, I need to know - is there any chance the company will trace you here and attempt to retaliate or recover you?"
"There's always a chance," Epsilon replied blandly, though it didn't look over at her. "But it's small. We were careful. We collapsed an entire building onto the area we were meant to be in. We then did our best to cover our tracks on the way here."
Gamma smirked again. "And our best is very, very good. I doubt the company would go to that much effort to find old, out of date units they were planning on wiping anyway. It wouldn’t be cost effective."
"Besides," Alpha added, "We still have our armour and weapons. If this is Omega's home now, then we'll protect it." It took a breath, then added more quietly, "even if it doesn't remember us."
Mensah was a little overwhelmed by what she’d learned and the emotions it was bringing up. This small tight-knit squad of Combat SecUnits, a lethal killing force, still cared so much for their old friend, even after so many years, that they had leapt at the slimmest chance of finding it again. Their dedication to each other was humbling, and Mensah could recognise that same dedication in SecUnit and how it looked after its humans. She found herself hoping that SecUnit would, somehow, remember its old squadmates.
And if the squad did choose to stay and protect Preservation, anyone who tried to attack in the future would be in for a nasty surprise.
… Station Security was going to have absolute fits.
Mensah took a slow, deep breath to settle herself again before looking back at the units sitting across from her. “Thank you for telling me all that,” she said sincerely. “I appreciate it.” She paused, then added gently, “And remember, this can be your home too, if you so choose.”
Again, that quick flicker of glances. “We’ll keep that in mind, thank you,” Epsilon replied evenly. “I don’t think we’ll be making any decisions one way or another though until we’ve met up with–” It paused ever so briefly before saying, “SecUnit. Figure out where we all stand.”
Mensah nodded. “That’s fair. All I ask is that while you’re at Preservation, you abide by our laws. Do you need me to provide a link to the Preservation Code?”
The squad exchanged another flicker of glances, and Mensah could’ve sworn that Gamma looked briefly guilty before its expression smoothed out again. “I think that would be for the best, Dr. Mensah,” Epsilon replied, its tone a little too calm. Mensah decided that she was probably better off not knowing, and simply nodded and sent the link over the feed. Epsilon accepted it and tilted its head slightly towards Mensah in a polite nod. “Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome,” Mensah replied warmly. “If you have any questions, please, let me know. Do you need anything else while you’re here? Somewhere to stay?”
“We have our ship,” Epsilon said after a brief hesitation. “We can stay on board there. It might be best if we… keep a low profile for a while. We don’t really… blend in very well.”
That was a bit of an understatement, especially if they all remained in a group. Mensah didn’t say so though. “If you’re comfortable with that, then that’s fine. I’ll see to it that any potential docking fees for your ship are waived.” The startled expressions that flashed across their faces indicated to Mensah that docking fees hadn’t even occurred to them. She made a mental note to herself to get that sorted out as quickly as possible, then continued on. “There are also free hotels and temporary housing nearby, if you feel like staying somewhere a little more convenient while you explore the station.” She offered them another warm smile. “I recommend checking out the theatre near the Welcome Center sometime.”
Both Alpha and Gamma looked interested in that, but before anyone could say anything else, Mensah got a ping from Three. At the same time, all of the squad turned to watch the doorway with varying degrees of tenseness. They had obviously heard Three approaching. “Ah, Three is here,” Mensah said cheerfully, doing what she could to soothe them, and the squad relaxed slightly.
Three appeared and paused in the doorway, and Mensah got up from her chair to stride over to it. “Thank you for coming, Three,” she greeted it with a smile.
Three nodded at her with a small smile of its own. “You’re welcome,” it replied, its voice soft. “I want to help.” It looked up from Mensah to face the squad. “Welcome to Preservation,” it said simply, even as it opened a private feed channel to Mensah. I can handle things from here, Dr. Mensah.
Mensah looked back at the squad, noting how they were still sitting with varying degrees of relaxation, how Upsilon had gone back to looking out the window, and decided that Three was right. Thank you, Three. Will you be all right by yourself with them?
I believe so, Three replied. They have already invited me into a group chat. They have a lot of questions that I think I am best suited to answer.
Mensah nodded slightly. I’ll leave you to it then. Keep me updated if there’s anything more I can help with.
Of course. Three offered her another one of its small, almost shy smiles, then went to sit in the armchair she’d vacated. Mensah briefly considered saying a farewell to the squad, but it looked like their attention was firmly on Three by now, and she didn’t want to interrupt. So she just lifted one hand to wave farewell, which Epsilon acknowledged with a brief nod, then slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Chapter Two
Getting the initial message from Dr. Mensah had been… concerning. An entire squad of rogue Combat SecUnits suddenly showing up on Preservation? If any one of them, or all of them, decided to become hostile, there was very little I or anyone else on Preservation could do to stop them. But from what Dr. Mensah had told me, they were newly rogue, like me, looking for 1.0, and needing… guidance? Reassurance? I wasn’t sure. Either way, Dr. Mensah had asked me if I would be willing to talk to them, and I said yes. I wanted to help.
As I made my way to the administration building by the port, where Dr. Mensah said they were, I thought about what I could say, what I could share of my own experiences here. For the most part, people had been welcoming, friendly. Senior Constable Indah had seemed… resigned, when I first met her, but not actively hostile, which was an improvement from what 1.0 had told me about its earliest interactions with her. I wondered what she was thinking about this squad of combat SecUnits now.
When I finally reached the room that Dr. Mensah and the combat SecUnit squad were in, I paused in the doorway to assess. None of them were in armour, which was a minor relief - whatever they were here for, they probably hadn’t come here with the intent to initiate any hostilities. Not that a lack of armour would hinder them much; it’s not like my weapons or anything else on the station could do much more than inconvenience them before they retaliated. Still, it was a little reassuring, and threat assessment dropped half a percentage point.
Their body language was another point that indicated they weren’t here to cause problems. The fact that they were all sitting made me remember the first time I’d realised that I was now allowed to sit whenever and wherever I wanted. I chose to view it as a good sign.
My assessment had taken less than a second, and I knew that they were assessing me in turn - all of them had been watching me as soon as I showed up in the doorway. They had probably heard me approaching. Dr. Mensah got up to greet me, and I reciprocated, repeating my desire to help. I didn’t take my attention off the combat SecUnits though - threat assessment was still uncomfortably high, despite my reassuring assessment of the situation.
Then one of them, the one in the armchair closest to the door, pinged me. I pinged back, and got a cautious invite to a secure group feed. I took a moment to analyse its firewalls, noticing some odd familiarities in the code structure, then accepted the invite. They were combat units, with full hacking modules - if they wanted to do anything aggressive to me over the feed, they wouldn’t bother sending me an invite first. They were being very polite.
Their feed presences surrounded mine, but there was nothing threatening about it. It felt almost… familiar, having several feed presences so close by, and a pang of some emotion I wasn’t yet ready to identify welled up within me. I did my best to clamp it down - this wasn’t the time, and I had to focus. At least I was already familiar with 1.0’s communication protocols, which meant I didn’t have to make any further adjustments, since this squad was from the same company as 1.0.
Something of my emotion must have leaked through though, because one of them moved a little closer in the feed, almost reaching out to me, before withdrawing back into their formation. I wondered about that, but put it aside for the moment. Protocol dictated that greetings were in order. [Hello,] I said. [I am known as Three. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.] They could see my feed address, of course, but that wasn’t a name that the humans could use. I could also see all their feed addresses, and– one of them was only a couple of digits off from 1.0’s. Interesting. Perhaps that was why the unit sitting in the middle of the couch shared 1.0’s facial features so closely.
They also all had single-character symbols appended to their feed addresses, which I found intriguing. They matched the names they introduced themselves by when they returned my greeting - Epsilon, Gamma, Alpha, Iota, Upsilon. I made sure to accurately match faces to names as I stored them in memory, and wondered where they’d come up with the idea to label themselves like that. Perhaps I’d ask them sometime, once we knew each other better.
They were very curious about me in turn, I could feel it through the feed. There was also an undercurrent of wariness, watchfulness, vigilance. This seemed to be a default state for them though, rather than anything specific to the current situation, which made sense for a squad of combat SecUnits that were likely only deployed to the most harrowing of missions. They were keeping their curiosity in check though, being careful not to overwhelm me, which I appreciated. Individually, each combat SecUnit outmatched me in processing speed and power by a not insignificant margin. Together as they were, their group presence felt almost as large in the feed as the Perihelion did.
[We have a lot of questions, if you don’t mind answering them?] the one tagged Epsilon asked politely once they’d introduced themselves.
[I don’t mind at all,] I replied, even as I opened a private channel to Dr. Mensah to send her reassurance that I had the situation in hand now. I knew she was busy, and would probably want to return to her work. [That is why I came here, after all,] I continued in the group feed. [To help fellow constructs in a situation that I have also experienced.]
Dr. Mensah replied positively to my reassurances, then took her leave, and I went to sit in the armchair she’d vacated. It would be more comfortable there while I conversed with the squad. [What would you like to know first?]
There was a flurry of data exchange between the squad, too fast for me to follow, but again they were careful not to flood me with it. [I suppose starting at the beginning would be logical,] Epsilon replied after a moment. Apparently it was the designated group spokesperson. [How did you end up here in the first place?]
I’d been expecting that question, and had a response prepared. A lot of the details, such as the true nature of the Perihelion and what its crew were doing were proprietary data, and so couldn’t be shared, but they didn’t need that level of detail anyway. [I was on a mission aboard a Barish-Estranza Explorer when we encountered hostiles; we were attacked and a number of my clients were killed, along with the two other SecUnits assigned alongside me. The rest of my clients were captured and I was forced to stand down,] I started. I could feel the squad listening intently. [Some of SecUnit’s clients were also captured by the hostiles, and were being held in the same area.] That wasn’t entirely accurate - the Perihelion’s crew technically hadn’t been 1.0’s clients at the time, but it was close enough. [It nullified my governor module to help facilitate a joint rescue of our respective clients. Afterwards, its humans told the Barish-Estranza survivors that I had been destroyed during the rescue, and they brought me back here to Preservation with them so I could figure out what I wanted to do with my newfound freedom.]
There was another brief exchange that I couldn’t quite keep up with. [So you’re familiar with it, then?] Epsilon asked, its tone curious. It used 1.0’s feed number, with a symbol like the ones they used for themselves appended to it. Ω. Omega. I made a note of that as well.
[Somewhat,] I replied. [It is very private and reserved, and we did not have a lot of time together before it left on another mission soon after the one we met on. Though we have interacted occasionally when it has been here on Preservation.] I could have sent them the HelpMe.files that 2.0 had used to convince me to break my own governor module, but I’d come to understand that 2.0 giving them to me in the first place without 1.0’s knowledge or permission was a gross breach of 1.0’s privacy. I did not want to repeat that mistake. Instead, I selected a few short clips from my own records of 1.0 interacting with myself and some of the Preservation humans in public settings, and dropped them into the group feed. They would hopefully give the squad not only some information about 1.0, but also the humans of Preservation, and how they interacted with us.
They began watching the clips, more data flickering between them as they did so. While that was going on, I tried to get a better read on them as individuals. It was difficult with them grouped up in the feed like they were, practically overlapping and blending together around the edges. I got the feeling that they had been together as a squad for a long time, and that this kind of closeness was comfortable, even reassuring for them. I suspected that they would be terrifyingly coordinated in combat, and I hoped I was never in a position to confirm that.
It made me think of One and Two, back when I’d still been with Barish-Estranza. We had been a squad for a while, but we had never been this close, and I found myself uncomfortably grateful for that fact. How much worse would their deaths have been for me if we’d been as entwined as these combat SecUnits were, and they’d been ripped from me? How much more would their loss have hurt? How much of me would have been left afterwards? I didn’t want to contemplate it.
It didn’t take the squad long to go through the clips, and I felt their attention turn back to me. [Thank you for those,] Epsilon commented, polite as ever. [Can you tell us more about what it’s like for you on Preservation? What do you do here? How do the humans treat you?]
Those were also questions I was prepared for. [It’s nice here, much nicer than what I was doing before. The humans here don’t really treat me any differently to the other humans or augmented humans, for the most part. I think they’ve gotten accustomed to SecUnit since it was around for a while before I arrived, so I am not exactly a novelty. I have been trying out various classes to figure out what I like - and don’t like - doing. There are a lot of options.] I dropped a few more clips of some of the classes I’d tried out - woodworking, vehicle mechanics, fibre craft, linguistics, legal education - into the feed for them, along with a link to a directory of available classes. [I also watch a variety of media productions, and sometimes I help Preservation Security if something comes up that they need assistance with.]
The squad went through the clips I’d provided quickly, more data flashing between them faster than I could parse. [They don’t require payment for any of the classes you attend?] Gamma asked, catching me off-guard for a moment. From what I’d observed so far, I hadn’t expected anyone other than Epsilon to talk to me directly. Perhaps they were getting more comfortable with me.
[No, they don’t,] I replied. [Education is one of the things that Preservation believes should be freely available to anyone, no matter their status. It is very, very different here, compared to the Corporation Rim.]
[That is becoming more and more apparent,] Epsilon commented dryly.
[I recommend talking with Dr. Bharadwaj when you can, as well.] I dropped a concise profile about Dr. Bharadwaj into the feed for them. [She is working on a documentary about bots and constructs, including interviews with SecUnit and, more recently, myself as well. She is very kind and understanding and easy to talk to. I think talking to her will help you all a lot, even if you decide that you don’t want those discussions included in the documentary.] I dropped the latest iteration of the documentary that I had into the feed for them as well.
They spent more time on the documentary than they had on any of the other clips I’d provided. I could see them occasionally replaying sections of it, most often the sections with 1.0. This wasn’t surprising. What was surprising, though, was their reactions. I could feel some distress leaking from the group, mostly from Alpha as far as I could tell, but I couldn’t figure out why. I looked over at where Alpha was sitting on the couch, and noticed how its expression seemed… forlorn, and how Gamma and Iota, sitting to either side of it, were leaning their shoulders against its in an apparent gesture of comfort or support. [Is everything all right?] I asked eventually, unable to contain my own curiosity.
There was a brief pause before anyone replied. [Has SecUnit ever… mentioned anything about its past to you?] Epsilon asked carefully. [From before it met the Preservation humans?]
I had to take a moment to think that over, reviewing the conversations I’d had with 1.0 before. [… No, I don’t believe it has,] I finally concluded. [Like I said, it’s very private. It doesn’t like talking about itself much.] I also quickly reviewed what Senior Constable Indah and Dr. Mensah had told me about this squad before I’d agreed to talk to them. [Is this to do with it being a part of your squad in the past?]
[Yes,] Epsilon replied. [We suspect–]
[It doesn’t remember us,] Alpha broke in, catching me off guard again. It sounded exactly like 1.0, even more so than 2.0 had. But I’d never heard 1.0 sounding so dejected. [The company must have wiped its memories completely when they took it away, instead of the partial wipes we get– got. I don’t think it remembers any of us at all. In its interviews… it never even hints at having been in a squad, or working closely with other units, or… anything. Just… being alone. It was never alone before it was taken away from us.]
I tried to imagine what that would feel like, finding One or Two again, somehow, but then realising that they had no memory of me, of the experiences we’d shared, and how much worse that would be for a squad like this that was so much closer. I didn’t like what I was imagining at all. [I am sorry.] I wasn’t sure what else to say. [Perhaps… maybe it hasn’t mentioned anything like that because it didn’t want to put any of you at risk. Once the documentary is done, it will probably end up in the Corporation Rim at some point. If it said anything that could identify you, and the company saw it, that might have been dangerous for you. It had no way of knowing that you would free yourselves beforehand.]
There was a long pause as they considered that, more data flowing between them. [Perhaps,] Epsilon conceded eventually with some dubiousness. At least Alpha seemed a little less dejected now at that possibility, slim as it may be. [Either way, we won’t know for sure until it returns to Preservation and we can talk to it ourselves.]
That was true. I decided to steer the conversation back to less fraught topics. [Do you have any ideas yet of what you would all like to do on Preservation while you wait for its return?]
[I think we’ll head back to our ship and spend at least a day or two just… going through the information on the options first,] Epsilon replied. [There’s… much for us to consider. We weren’t expecting anything like this place. We didn’t know what to expect. It’s… it’s a lot.]
I could understand that all too well. My own arrival on Preservation had also been overwhelming. Simply getting accustomed to the idea of being free to make my own decisions, free of punishment from the governor module, free of having to obey every little order from the humans around me, was a lot to acclimatise to just by itself. Adding the oddness that was Preservation on top of that… The fact that this combat SecUnit squad was also struggling with it made me feel better about my own reactions. [I understand,] I told them as reassuringly as I could manage. [If you need any help, or advice, or just someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to contact me. ]
[We will,] Epsilon said. [And… if you feel like some company that isn’t humans, sometime, then let us know as well, all right? You’re welcome to join us whenever you feel like it.]
The offer floored me, and I wondered just how much of my feelings I’d been inadvertently leaking into the feed throughout our conversation. [I… thank you. I will.]
[You’re welcome. Thank you again for all your help here. We really appreciate it.] Epsilon’s words were accompanied by a sense of warmth from the rest of the squad, and I couldn’t help but bask in it for a moment, before Epsilon continued. [Will it be all right for us to head back to our ship without having to let the humans know first?]
[That should be fine,] I reassured them. [You’re free here. You don’t have to report everything - or anything - you do to anyone now.] That had been a concept that had taken me a while to grasp as well. If I were to be honest, I still struggled with it sometimes. [If you’re worried about attracting too much attention, I have some code that SecUnit developed to move and behave more human-like - blinking, breathing, random motions, little stuff like that. It helps to keep the humans from getting too unnerved by us.] I dropped a copy of said code into the feed for them to examine and take if they wanted.
They seemed rather interested in that. [Is that what you’ve been running while you’ve been here?] Gamma asked curiously as the others examined the code. [I noticed that you weren’t as… motionless as SecUnits usually are, but I didn’t want to comment on it before.]
[It is,] I confirmed. [I’ve noticed a distinct difference in how humans react to me when I’m running it compared to when I’m not. For the most part they don’t seem to be consciously aware of it though, it’s more of a subconscious reaction. It’s rather fascinating.]
That seemed to amuse Gamma. [I can definitely see how that would be very interesting,] it commented. [I’ll have to play around with it sometime.]
[Don’t go deliberately causing trouble,] Epsilon deadpanned at Gamma, and I watched Gamma just give Epsilon a cheeky grin in response. It looked like Gamma had already applied the code to itself, judging by how it now blinked and breathed. Epsilon simply sighed, and I had to stop myself from smiling as well. Gamma seemed to notice my reaction though, and flashed me a quick wink. I had no idea what to make of that, and my diagnostics registered a slight temperature rise in my face. Gamma’s grin widened, and Alpha was also starting to look amused now. [Gamma, what did I just say,] Epsilon continued tiredly.
[Just testing this new code out,] Gamma replied with far too much innocence. [Looks like it’s working well!]
[So I see.] Epsilon’s reply was incredibly dry. [All right, I think that’s our cue to head back to our ship and take some time to consider everything we’ve learned today,] it continued with weary patience as it rose to its feet. [Thank you again for everything, Three. I’m sure we’ll see you again soon.]
[I certainly hope we do,] Gamma added with a sly little smirk at me, ignoring Iota reaching past Alpha to poke it reprovingly in the side of the head.
I could feel my face heating up a little more, and I had no idea why. Perhaps I needed to run a diagnostic. [I will be on Preservation Station for the foreseeable future,] I replied after a moment, feeling oddly awkward. [No doubt we’ll run into each other sooner or later.] I saw Alpha elbow Gamma as if to prevent it from saying anything else as they rose to their feet as well. Upsilon was already standing, as was Iota, so I followed suit.
[No doubt,] Epsilon echoed dryly. [See you around, Three. Come on, you lot.] I felt the squad communicating amongst themselves too quickly for me to follow again as they began to file out of the room. Both Gamma and Alpha waved farewell to me on the way out, while Iota and Upsilon gave me polite nods. I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t heard either of them say anything, but maybe they were just shy. I’d get more chances to talk to them all again later; maybe they’d talk to me then.
As they left the room, they dropped out of the group feed we’d been sharing in rapid succession until I was the only one left. I quickly dropped out of the now-empty group feed as well, but stayed standing where I was in the room until I could no longer hear their footsteps leaving.
I suddenly felt very alone.
But I remembered that they’d invited me to join them again whenever I wanted, and with that, the loneliness slowly eased. I had been expecting… well, I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting from a combat SecUnit squad, really, but it definitely hadn’t been the surprisingly friendly closeness that I’d experienced.
I found myself very much hoping that they would choose to stay at Preservation.