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DarkReconOut of Warranty
The Lilim stood in front of the door, idle, as people went on to comment as to why or how such a piece had found her way into Ritsu’s office. Definitely she was no one already known, but the possibility of it being a Cruxi spy or an intruder was so ludicrous it had been seldom considered. Stella looked left and right, then at the centre.
“Location reached. Ritsu Kaname, Lieutenant. Unit 456 has been delivered for a new assignment. Confidential information encoded. May this unit proceed to deliver and debrief?”
“Come in,” Ritsu responded through the door. As the Lilim entered, she saw the lieutenant’s office: a somewhat imposing place with shelves of documents and some Ii d of floor-mounted terminal for administration work, as well as the Galactic Federation symbol on the back wall. The lieutenant herself looked at her from across the room, sitting at her desk, with a look of confusion. She stood up promptly, her hands leaning on her desk.
“Wait…Are you the Steel Raven unit Lorenzo had enlisted for the project? But…How? You missed the shuttle you were scheduled to board, and there are no other ways for pilots to enter Solaire. Explain how you arrived here, Cadet.”
“Unit 456 is classified as high grade electronics component, Framewerk add on. Unit 456 was shipped under priority shielded package alongside unit Mother Goose. Unit 456 then proceeded to deploy and seek Ritsu Kaname, Liutenant.” She paused. “Unit 456 has also intervened in an emergency request from cadet Serah with regards to Griff, status unknown. Collateral material damage was unavoidable. Data server steel door hinges destroyed. Punishment of unknown Griff suspended due to proximity of critical components. Cadet Serah provided navigation data afterwards. Unit 456 suggests emergency adoption of cadet Serah.” The Lilim droned, without even blinking.
Ritsu blinked, and adjusted her glasses before sitting down, seemingly taken aback by the explanation. “I see…I didn’t realize we had such a major oversight in our security. I will take action to rectify this. Thank you for your…unofficial security testing,” she added. She then raised an eyebrow as Stella proceeded to request an adoption of a pilot in the squad.
“Emergency…adoption? Could you explain the reason for this request?” She asked with her arms resting on the desk and her hands clasped together.
“Cadet Serah was terrified of Griff individual. No next kin unknown. This unit programming can deal with childcare from ages 0 to -zzz- 80.” Stella added as she blinked ever so slightly.
Ritsu nodded, though she didn’t seem fully convinced. “I see. Cadet Gene is considered an adult by Galactic law, so she would need to consent to the adoption. I will arrange a meeting with the two of you to discuss this matter further.” She typed away on a holographic keyboard projected from her desktop computer while looking at a hologram of some kind of program, and then closed it.
“I sent the key related to your shift to the Framewerk squad directly to your address. You should now be able to access relevant project data such as maps, schedules, guides and so on from the Solaire cloud. Note that some data is classified, and unavailable to Cadets by order of Executive Officer Lorenzo. Are there any questions?”
Stella tilted her head, staring intently at Ritsu. Then her head reached and touched Ritsu’s crown, patting it gently. “You are doing a good job. You are a responsible girl, aren’t you? That’s great. Would you like something to eat?”
Ritsu opened her mouth with a sigh, as if about to object, when she blinked and remembered something.
“Actually…” She said as she put a hand to her chin, thinking. “Cadet Mema-Ka requested to eat dinner with me. Since you’re offering to help, could you help cook for us?” Having worked with Lilims before, Ritsu knew that fulfilling their main directive was a source of pride and joy for the sentient androids. And she had read from the report that Stella’s main directive as a nanny extended to all she perceived as children to take care of, including personnel she worked with. She was curious to see if that was the truth.
Stella stood still for a moment.”Ritsu has a friend! That is great! Unit 456 can provide any kind of festive meal rich in iron and protein. Would you like festive hats too?” She paused. “Can we extend invitation to Cadet Serah Gene?”
Ritsu shook her head. “Thank you for the offer, but this dinner doesn’t need hats. Also, this would be only for the two of us. However, I have thought about scheduling a separate meeting with Cadet Gene, as I would like to talk with her as well. That could also be held over dinner, I suppose.”
“Cadet Serah Gene is defined as a cutie patootie subtype of human and needs to have more friends.” Stella replied without blinking.”Very well, Ritsu Kaname, Lieutenant. Unit 456 will make dinner for you and your friend. Unit 456 shall procure the ingredients as soon as she is debriefed.”
Ritsu nodded, a kind smile on her. “Thank you, Cadet Stella. The dinner will be held at the Green Wing park. I will send you a message once I confirm the time for it to take place. Now then, do remember to also participate in the squad’s scheduled activities, as they take a higher priority. That is all. Dismissed,” she ended her words with a smiling salute.
“Appointment schedule registered.” Stella said, before doing a salute and turned sharply onto her heels, closing the door carefully as she left.
...
Ritsu leaned her head against her hand, the elbow resting on the desk. "I forgot to bring up the destroyed door..."
Gamer
Some time later...
Elora had come to the recreation room, or Rec room for short, to distract herself with one of her favorite hobbies: games. Fortunately for her, the entertainment facilities did include a hologame console, the Holocube. She activated it, sat down on the couch, and began playing the hottest new hologame, Definitive Daydream 53: a long running series of role-playing games. The setting this time was a city where young preteens formed contracts with magical cute critters and became Mahou, magic weapon-wielding heroes and heroines.
The shy pilot was fighting a boss battle against a dark Mahou girl with a mirror theme outside a gothic mansion in a dark dimension when she was startled by the door opening, causing her to get a game over. “Ah! Wh-Who’s there?” She asked, not recognizing Zel-Ghin and Mema-Ka.
Zel-Ghin's eyes immediately darted to Elora as he stepped into the room, his facial expression being one of surprise on hearing a voice, he took a few moments to look right into her eyes then to her face, her lips, then further down. His gaze then went back up to her face. He gave out a whistle in a manner that could only mean 'wow!'. 'A mission worthy to play. Highscore incoming.' He thought to himself.
"Heh. Caught you in a private moment?" Zel-ghin smirks gradually became a smile, then he tilted his head slightly. "Just kidding. The name's Zel-Ghin. Who might you be then, little kittycat?" The teal-green haired twin raised one of his hands into a lazy salute, the other took out a lollipop from his pocket, offering it to Elora "Sweet stuff can only get sweeter by adding more sugar." He gave a very obvious wink as he walked around to make his way to the couch, quickly sitting down in it and moving closer to Elora. "So... you like playing games? I like playing too." He said in a cheeky manner and bit his underlip slightly.
Mema-Ka pressed his boots together by the door. "Mema-Ka Ezqess Degadraz. Pilot of the framewerk Raptor. Zel-Ghin here is my twin brother and is a fellow pilot. I am glad that he has finally found a place to his liking and judging by his facial expression... the company to match." The older twin held his hand up in a proper salute, offering Elora a soft smile.
"Zel-Ghin, try to not scare off the young lady with your enthusiasm. Do forgive my brother, he has a tendency to show his emotions very openly and with little regard to whom may be present." Mema-Ka explained, and gradually lowered his salute and assumed a more laidback stance.
"Don't you have a date, brother? The lady with the borderline E's. Don't dally. Give me a break and let me have some fun too." Zel-Ghin closed his eyes momentarily and held up both his hands as he shrugged, tossing an amused smile to Elora. "Don't worry. I don't bite~." His corner tooth seemed to shimmer as he gave a sly smile to her.
Elora’s cheeks quickly gained a tomato-like complexion as the shorter twin began flirting with her. Fortunately, it seemed his brother had enough sense to warn him about being too forward, and she quickly stood up to return the salute out of respect, having missed the clue about who his date was.
“I-I’m Elora Liu’un, the pilot of Logic Diver. I think I read about your profiles in the documents,” she said as she sat down, one hand holding the game console while the other nervously held her knee. “I-Is it true your Framewerks have the Kattai system? I’ve only heard about its existence, but never seen it before. Can they really c-combine?” She asked.
Mema-Ka nodded his head politely to Elora. "Good to make your acquaintance, Elora. Logic Driver? Ahh.. the oval shaped one, yes? I am certain we shall have more time to bond with one another after the upcoming training session. As for the Kattai…" Mema-Ka started but his younger twin quickly interjected to answer in his stead.
"Oh yeah that's right! They can be made to fit together. The closer the bond the pilots have the more likely it will work I believe... I will show you how that works later~ Elora hm? Short but pleasant on the tongue… ever done any Kattai yourself?" Zel-Ghin licked his lip a bit, then tossed a glance to the screen and the game, still holding out the lollipop for Elora. "What kind of games do you like?" Zel-Ghin asked, motioning to Elora to sit down next to him, his arm held out at the back of the couch.
"I think my brother can answer your questions as well as I could. I wish you two a good day. Zel-Ghin. Gadra zentra. Miss Elora." Mema-Ka placed his hand on his chest, right at where his heart would be located, then gave a soft bowing motion as he excused himself from the room, the door closing behind him.
Elora shook her head as she was asked about the Kattai system, clearly not understanding the innuendo that was hinted at.
“No, like I said, I-I’ve never seen it myself. It’s apparently very rare among Framewerks, since it requires high levels of synchronic compatibility to function properly and perform the Kattai fusion. Otherwise it just attaches the Framewerk on the other like a powerup.”
She gave a little shy wave as Mema-Ka left, and then looked over at the lollipop. She puffed up her cheeks, as if in thought. “Uh…thanks,” she shyly spoke, and then took the lollipop, placing it on the couch next to her.
She once again focused on her game as the situation turned a bit too awkward, though she did answer: “I l-like all kinds of games: RPGs, adventure games, visual novels, action games…but not that interested in sports games.” She glanced over at Zel-Ghin again after yet another game over: she seemed to be getting worse as time went on, dying faster to the boss. “How about you…uh… Zelgin?”
Zel-Ghin smiled the more Elora spoke. She was definitely his type.
"Oh it's rare alright, like a shiny glowing thing in the monster collector games. But there's a secret path~ Not like a cheat code or anything… but a way to test and train your potential for the system." Zel-Ghin explained in a softer tone of voice, almost conspiratorially. Roleplaying… can be fun… what role do you like the best hm? If you are into visual novels.. then perhaps you like those about the heroine dating a mysterious assassin or magician. Heh.. life is an adventure game with alot of action if you know where to look for it. Better not blink or you'll miss out on it, Elora kittycat." He said and chuckled a bit, moving a bit closer to her on the sofa. "Before I show you what games I like. I will tell you a method to test your potential for kattai… you see it's like... kissing. Improve on your technique… and then you will find a rhythm with the other person. Match that… and then you are one step closer to learning that system. Ever tried kissing? Want to try it~?" He said in a teasing soft tone and leaned in a bit. "Mmm. As for what games I like." He took out five games from his pocket in miniature discs.
One was a beach volleyball fighting game with an all female cast, the second were a kissing simulator, the third was labeled "Break the Paladin", the fourth were a virtual novel about a guy having a harem with cute mecha pilot women clad in bikinis and the last were labeled "You are the monster. Humanity under alien attack.".
"Now these are all great examples of a good time." Zel-Ghin smiled and handed them to Elora so she could take a closer look whether she liked to or not.
Elora leaned away from Zel-Ghin, looking visibly put off by the overtly friendly pilot. “Uh…I like the traditional roles. Hero on a quest, space ranger, and so on…” She visibly cringed at being called a kittycat, and had half a mind to just walk out of there at that moment when he started suggesting kissing as a form of training for Kattai.
However, he then brought up some unusual games, causing her to blink as the handheld was placed in her hands, and she saw them. While the other entries caused her face to scrunch up in disgust, the last game did pique her attention…If only because of controversy.
“Monster Alien Mayhem…How do you have this? This game is banned by the Galactic Federation Entertainment Bureau.”
"Traditional roles~? Hmmm… Space ranger? Didn't take you for one who wanted to squeeze the trigger that much. Hah hah hah. Ahh.. but you are a very elusive one avoiding my questions…" Zel-Ghin said in a teasing tone, holding up a finger and wiggling it as if to say 'Ah ah ah'.
"Tell you what, I'll tell you how I got that game if you answer my question~ Ever kissed before? Fair trade no?" He gave an amused smirk. "That game is quite special to me." He added finally, a shimmer in his eye as he waited for Elora's reply.
Elora turned her face away, and looked down. “N-No…” She finally replied. “None of the other guys at the academy ever paid attention to me, which was just as well, I suppose…They probably would have bullied me if they did…Just like what you are doing,” she finally said, having decided to make her feelings known.
Zel-Ghin's facial expression changed on hearing her answer. He felt strange for a moment. As if she were somehow like himself and his brother. Outcasts in a world that felt foreign. The teal-green haired young man's teasing tone faded and then he reached out with both his hands to try and gently place a hand on each side of her face, trying to look directly into her eyes. "You are beautiful. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Elora. I am not bullying you. I like what I see and hear." He gave a wink and then fully withdrew his hands.
"Now it's my turn. I was given this game by my mother… well… the only mother I know. You see. Me and my brother were not born into this world in the same manner a lot of others were. We were… made. No emotion involved. No love. Nothing but ambition of the ones which made us. In a way you could say we are artificial humans... Some might even want to call us fake. But what decides what is real and fake, how you feel or how others feel about you hm?" He picked up the game he had gotten from the scientist he only knew as mother. She had saved them from being found and who had likely been killed. He owed everything. Every passing breath and moment to her. As for what he owed the rest of humanity or what remained of it. No doubt they would get to know that in time.
"So... if I were to offer you a kiss, would you say no?" He tilted his head a bit playfully.
Elora mildly resisted as Zel-Ghin touched her, her hand slowly closing into a fist, ready to act if he made the wrong move. But instead, she noticed frailty in the formerly confident pilot’s expression, as he complimented her looks and denied the teasing. “Oh…” However, Elora wasn’t quite convinced yet, and remained still as he withdrew, as if knowing he was close to ruining the moment.
She listened carefully as Zel-Ghin told of his story, of being created in a laboratory alongside his brother, causing her to frown. “I…I didn’t know…” she admitted, looking sad. He made a genuine point about the feelings people had for each other despite the people themselves: those were real.
…
But so were her own feelings, and they spoke a truth she no longer could deny.
“...I’m sorry.” Elora stood up from the couch and walked towards the door. She turned one last time, her expression a mixture of pity, and dislike. “It must be hard to feel like you’re fake. I’m sorry for you…But I can’t agree to that. Goodbye.” And with that, she left the rec room.
"The elusive kittycat~" He said in a somewhat chirpy and teasing tone on seeing her leave, his eyes following her every movement, giving her one last wink and a soft smile. Then his head turned to the couch. She had forgotten the lollipop he had given her. He had not even gotten to ask if she wanted to play any of the games.
'Even if a game is forbidden… sometimes we just cannot help ourselves to play it to see how it ends. Ahh… you forgot the sweet I brought for you." He thought as he reached out for the lollipop on the couch, twirling it a bit before putting it back into his pocket. He would have to hand it to her later. Zel-Ghin proceeded to pick up his games and stuff them into his pockets.
He had not gotten to ask her where she was from and other things. But his priorities had been on claiming a kiss from that cutie. Her reactions to every one of his moves had shown him some of her personality however. This was a chase for certain and he wasn't about to give up too easily.
