Worried

Tags: Slice of Life, Angst, AAA Original Characters

Published: 14 January 2022

Word Count: 553

Summary

Stabby the Blood Roomba is worried.

Stabby was worried. Or at least, as worried as a simple cleaning bot with its limited processors could be.

Its job was normally pretty easy - keep the ready room for the squad of Combat SecUnits clean. It could go cycles without having to do anything, the CSUs resting still and silent in their cubicles. Sometimes they would be gone for a while, and Stabby would putter around at regular intervals, making sure no dust dared encroach in its territory. Then they'd return, go back into their cubicles, and Stabby would clean up little splatters of blood and fluid and soot left behind on the floor.

Today, however. Today was different. Today was bad.

The squad had been gone a long time, but they'd come back today. At first, Stabby was glad - it got lonely when they weren't around. They were always kind to it. But there had been something different today. The squad had staggered in, leaning against each other, supporting each other, the normally faint traces of blood, fluids and soot heavy and thick in the air that flowed in with them. Armour pieces that were usually stowed neatly away in their slots were instead discarded hastily onto the floor, forgotten. Stabby waited patiently in its recharge slot - it knew better than to get underfoot at this point.

One unit, barely conscious, only upright with the assistance of two of its squadmates, was helped into its cubicle. Then another retreated slowly, painfully, into its own cubicle, then two more. Two were left - Stabby watched them stand silently together for a long moment, the feed flickering between them. Then one's shoulders drooped in defeat, and the other helped it into its cubicle as well. The last unit began slowly picking up the largest chunks of discarded armour and feeding them into the recycler, its movements stiff and careful. It ignored the pieces that were small enough for Stabby to handle, and eventually deposited the final chunk before gingerly settling into its own cubicle at last. The door hissed closed, and the room was silent save for the hum of cubicles working hard.

Stabby came out and got to work. Blood and fluids weren't just spattered this time, they were puddled and smeared in wide streaks across the floor. Chunks of organic tissue, some burnt around the edges, rested in many of the larger puddles. Fragments of armour, chipped and shattered and scored by weaponsfire, were scattered where they'd flaked and fallen off the larger armour segments. Shreds of suit skin, soaked with various liquids, tangled with the armour fragments and stuck to the floor.

Stabby had to empty its collection bin into the recyclers three times before the floor was finally clear of debris and it could focus on cleaning up the remaining fluids. Its own wheels left sticky tracks behind it, adding to its task. It focused on one section at a time, getting each section spotless before moving on to the next. It had to empty its bin one more time before it could finish.

Finally, it was done. Stabby did one last sweep of the room to make sure it hadn't missed anything, then returned to its station, emptied its bin a final time, and settled in to recharge. The cubicles still hummed, deep and heavy.

Stabby waited, and worried.