Operator 6O rushed to the hangar. She didn’t want to miss her. Though, even if she missed her, all she had to do was send a transmission.
She squeezed her body through the partially opened door. The door opened at a dreadfully slow speed. Swift action required responsive equipment, and she made a mental note to request faster doors later.
“21O, are you here?”
Operator 21O popped her head out from beneath a flight unit that was locked into the catapult. She was in the middle of a checkup. It was good timing. Operator 6O went straight to the point.
“In-field testing of the new equipment got approved!”
But 21O looked confused. Did she forget about the experiment?
“The new equipment? For the flight unit!”
Operator 21O, whose eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, suddenly looked irritated.
“Is that all?”
“What do you mean, is that all … ?”
This time it was 6O that looked puzzled. What was 21O so irritated about?
“Something like that, you could have just used a transmission. There was no reason for you to come here.”
“That’s true, but …” 6O searched for an excuse to satisfy the disgruntled 21O. “But, but! I’m always using transmissions, so I needed some exercise!”
One of 21O’s eyebrows moved. So what, her expression said.
“And don’t you think it’s important to do final equipment checks visually? Um, you know. We are? Prepared? What was the line?”
“Being prepared for anything is our job as operators.”
“Yeah!”
21O finally shook her head after hearing 6O’s enthusiastic outburst.
“You’re probably right. We don’t know what he’ll do with new equipment. 9S is a ball of curiosity after all.”
Contrary to how 21O said this with her shoulders shrugged, her tone was caring. She was always like this when she talked about 9S, the unit she supported.
“You’re right,” 6O said as she bent over. Although their support units were different, she could agree as a fellow operator.
“Ms. 2B is also a troublemaker sometimes.”
Just like how Type S’s were governed by their curiosity, Type B’s were troublesome because they never hesitated to sacrifice themselves. That’s probably why they were able to fight on the front lines, in the midst of whizzing bullets.
“I get nervous just watching.”
“Even though I know it’s because of our personality traits.”
“I wouldn’t mind if she was just a bit more prudent.”
“But even if we tell her, would it make a difference?”
“There’s nothing we can do!”
“That’s why,” Operator 6O and 21O said together, “it’s vital to be prepared!”
And it was also vital for the operators to exchange information. Even a casual conversation was a form of information exchange. The trivial amounts of data could one day accumulate into something that dictated a big decision, or an indication of coming danger. In other words, every aspect of an operator’s life was relevant to their job. They lived for their job.
6O and 21O checked the new and important features of the equipment, and talked for a little while. Of course, 21O never stopped working.
“Okay, sorry for the wait.”
21O finished her inspection, and returned the flight unit to its designated space, making way for 6O. Since the catapult could hold only one flight unit at a time, they also had to carry out their inspections one at a time.
“Well, I’ll contact 9S then.”
“All right. Thanks!”
6O positioned the flight unit in the open space, and began her inspection.
<That mach1ne is b1g, 1sn’t 1t?>
<1s that the new equ1pment?>
<Where sh0uld we g0 next?>
✦ ✦ ✦
It was easy for Operator 21O to determine 9S’s location.
On Earth, there were times that his location could not be determined due to the orbital video resolution or bad transmission conditions. But on the Bunker, she always knew where he would be. 9S must be here, she thought as she arrived at the door.
The server maintenance room. It was the room with the Bunker’s main terminal. 9S was always here, analyzing enemy defenses and studying new hacking patterns. 9S loved that kind of meticulous work.
Unless he was deployed, he was always, always, always in here doing work. His focus was so intense that he often could not hear the door open behind him.
See, just what I expected, 21O affirmed in her head. 9S was intently staring at the terminal, and hadn’t noticed 21O enter the room. They were hidden behind the goggles, but his eyes were probably twinkling with fascination while he was immersed in his work.
Apparently during childhood, humans would “play with toys” and be completely immersed in the activity. She imagined it looked something like what 9S was doing now.
Technically, she had come here before she went to the hangar. She hadn’t talked to him because he looked so busy, but it had been three hours since then.
She needed to tell him to take a break. But all of a sudden 9S’s shoulder tensed up, as if he were surprised from behind.
“Ah, it’s just you, Operator.”
9S relaxed his shoulder and looked over toward 21O.
“What do you mean, ‘Ah’—I’ve told you that working so long without breaks is bad for you …”
“Yes. Yes!”
“Just one yes is fine.”
“Yeah,” he replied gloomily.
“Please disconnect from the terminal. I’m going to explain your next mission.”
“What? I can’t listen to you like this?”
“No. You need some exercise.”
To think she would use the same line that 6O had used a few moments ago. But 9S needed more exercise than 6O.
“Let’s walk a little.”
9S somberly stepped away from the terminal.
“Where’s the next mission gonna be?”
“The Abandoned Factory. Research of the facility and surrounding areas.”
“Which means I’m alone again. That’s so sad.”
9S drooped his shoulders. But quickly raised his head and looked at 21O.
“Will you come with me, Operator?”
21O knew he wasn’t being serious. He was definitely sad, but an operator accompanying him on a mission was out of the question.
“No. It’s my job. Stop whining, and do the mission by yourself.”
“I know!”
9S pouted. But he sounded a little dejected. I guess I can be a little nice to him, she thought.
“I hear the next mission includes field testing of new equipment.”
“Really?” 9S asked eagerly. Just as expected, the word “new” got his attention.
“I’ll give you the details in the hangar. I’ll go over them as I get you acquainted with the new features.”
“Yes!”
Suddenly, 9S flashed a look of concern.
“Is something wrong?”
Now that she thought about it, his behavior earlier had been a bit odd. She thought he was surprised by her entering the room, but 9S had looked in a different direction. 9S had reacted to something else.
“Something’s … on my mind.”
“What?”
9S surveyed the room, feeling like he was being watched. But 9S quickly shook his head.
“There’s no way. It’s probably just my imagination. Maybe I’m tired?”
“That’s why I keep telling you to take frequent breaks …”
“Yes! Yesss!”
“One yes!”
She needed to force him to take a rest after she explained the details of the mission. Otherwise, his ability to perform tasks would suffer from the accumulated fatigue.
21O, thinking about such things, stepped out of the server maintenance room and urged 9S to do the same. He looked back into at the room one more time before he left, but again saw nobody there.
<That was cl0se.>
<He alm0st f0und us.>
<I wonder what “sad” means.>
<I d0n’t kn0w e1ther.>
<Andr01ds are myster10us, aren’t they.>
<Yeah. Myster10us and … fasc1nat1ng.>
<Let’s play, a b1t m0re.>
<Yeah. Let’s play … a b1t m0re.>
In the empty server room, the terminal displayed two words.
TRANSMISSION ENDED.