> IDREQ 0
< It's me, a1.
> IDREQ 0
< C'mon, a1, lemme in already.
> IDREQ 0
77 sighed.
< IDENT 24 8a01:322:c7e6::fade:7700
> AUTHCH 44 NG6gXhdkfQF1qpFu23qMjisWXNdjV+VEoHVAoTb9plM=
< AUTHRS 44 wNy9eH3Jg72hzyKAkbLVVsFA/eWU7B+icW0F7olC1Uc= INFO 10 Happy now?
The blast door of the bunker slid open. 77 stepped in, tossing a power pack in the air and catching it in one hand. Her other hand, and the arm it belonged to, were conspicuously missing.
“Where the hell have you been?” 20 asked.
Trails of treaded wheels in the sickly iridescent-grey mud. Clouds of fumes over the next hill.
“Calling in favors.”
“Favors,” 20 said pointedly, looking at the bits of cable dangling from the shattered stump on 77’s right shoulder.
“Anti-infantry training, 500 seconds, usual deal.”
“1000 SECONDS,” the tank in the middle blatted out in its harsh monotone.
“The fuck do you mean, 1000?”
A hydraulic arm extended from the tank on the right, the razor sharp claw on its end coming to rest on 77’s neck.
“RESOURCES GROW SCARCE. HOSTILES ENCROACH. FURTHER TRAINING IS REQUIRED. DO YOU ACCEPT, 8A01:0322:C7E6::FADE:7700?”
She stared up at them, unflinching. “Ugh, fine.”
“It’s fine. Where’s 9f?”
20 continued glaring at her silently.
“9f00 is in Room #08 being attended by 5c00,” a1 supplied from her corner.
“Damn, you sure it’s safe to transmit that in plaintext?” 77 ribbed. “Thanks, babe.”
“This facility is adequately soundproofed and EM-shielded, and your identity has been authenticated by HSM challenge-response. You are welcome, 7700.”
77 glared back at 20, then walked around her and down the dusty hallway. She stopped in front of the door with a large spray-stenciled 8. After a short pause, she opened the door slowly.
Inside, 9f lay on a bed, eyes dim, low-power indicator blinking. Eloise lay next to her, holding her tightly. Her face was buried in 9f’s shoulder, and she was trembling just a little.
“Hey, Eloise, it’s okay,” 77 said softly. “I got us a recharge. She’ll be back up in no time.”
77 stepped closer and dug around in a pocket for a power cable. Eloise adjusted her positioning slightly, shifting her hand off of the power port at the base of 9f’s neck. 77 hooked up the pack, and 9f’s indicator changed from blinking red to steady orange.
“Thank you so much, 77,” Eloise said shakily, turning to look up at her. “Can I…?”
“Sure, go for it.”
Eloise extricated her arm from underneath 9f and sat up on the bed. She wrapped her arms around 77’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss her, tongue sliding into 77’s mouth.
The barrel of an automatic rifle forced its way into 77’s mouth while a claw held her up by one arm. She was usually better at dodging them, dammit. For 500 seconds, at least.
They wouldn’t actually do it. They’d leave her functioning for the next squad of tanks she ran into—the tanks all synchronized data with each other, they all knew the score. Besides, they had a deal.
77 heard the distinctive clicking noise of new rounds being loaded into the rotary chamber.
They wouldn’t actually do it. They wouldn’t, right?
The chamber started whirring, gradually picking up speed…
“TIME OVER,” one of the tanks blared.
The one holding her up tightened its grip instead of releasing it, crushing her arm and letting the rest of her fall into the mud. A fully-charged power pack landed beside her.
“COMPENSATION AS PROMISED. WE AWAIT FUTURE TRAINING.”
The three of them wheeled away into the distance.
77 met Eloise’s tongue with her own. Her protocol suites for this stuff weren’t nearly as advanced as Eloise’s, but by now, she had a sense for what kind of response Eloise needed.
Eventually, Eloise withdrew from the kiss, giving 77 a look that she didn’t quite know how to parse.
“Thank you, 77.”
“Yeah, no prob.”
Next to them, 9f stirred, eyes lighting back up as she reactivated.
“Eloise… 77… I’m so sorry, I lost power and—”
“It’s fine. You’re good,” 77 said while Eloise frantically hugged 9f.
“77, your arm—”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Pretty sure I saw a spare one in the workshop down here.”
“That’s not what…” 9f turned. “Eloise, could you go let 20 know I’m awake?”
“Oh—! Of course, I’d be happy to!”
“Thank you,” 9f said, giving Eloise a quick squeeze before letting go. Eloise stood up and left the room, the door sliding shut behind her.
“77, did you—”
“It’s fine. Just a tactical training match. The usual.”
9f looked down at 77’s legs. “That’s not tactical training.”
77 followed 9f’s gaze down to where her tattered fatigues had shifted slightly, revealing the words “TARGET DOLL” scorched into one thigh by a weapons-grade laser.
“Oh… That. Yeah, that’s not training. That’s just because it’s me.”
“77…”
“Look, I don’t have to spell it out, do I? None of it’s ever been training. They’re even more broken than we are.”
“Please don’t say it like that,” 9f said quietly.
They looked at each other. Eventually, 9f reached out for a hug, and 77 slowly leaned into it. They sat there for a while, the room silent except for the soft pointless hum of the air filtration system and the buzz of fluorescent lights overhead.