"Query: Mistress, am I a failure?"
The question was so unexpected, so out-of-the-blue, that it very nearly caused Chao's hands to slip and sever the wiring she was inspecting. To prevent just such an accident, she removed her hands entirely from the opened casing, leaning back on the workbench and tilting her head to one side. What struck her as most odd about the question was the tone; anyone else posing it would sound utterly dejected, but it was delivered in a flat monotone, as though it were a mere engineering query.
"Of course not," the magitek prodigy answered. "You are my greatest success. Why would you think otherwise?"
"Answer: It is what the Garlean said to me before I extinguished him." There was a pause, and then she spoke in a perfect reproduction of the enemy agent's voice, "Yer nothin' but a lifeless doll, a plaything, destined to fail and be thrown away."
Chao's lips pressed into a thin line. "And yet he resorted to a suicide attack in an unsuccessful effort to destroy you, while you persevere."
"Interjection: That is a result of your superb craftsmanship, Mistress."
It still took Chao by surprise, how amazingly human she could be at times. Definitely a result of the mammet heart; time had yet to tell how her personality would develop.
"Be that as it may, you are still here, he is not. You are not a failure."
Until that moment, her head had been turned to watch Chao with one photoreceptor, but at those words, she turned her head, concealing her face behind her heat-dispersing hair fibers. "Objection: But, Mistress... I could not protect you from the enhanced Garlean."
Closing the access panel on Myu's back--she had completed her wiring diagnostics and found nothing out of order anyway--she reached her hand up and rubbed the robot girl's head soothingly. "None of us were prepared for him. But we will be, next time. You, my lovely, performed far beyond my highest expectations."
Standing up, Chao opened the bench she had been sitting on to return the tools to it, then lifted her gaze to Myu, who was now sitting up on the diagnostics table. "So by no means are you a failure. Purge any such notions in your processor."
The machine girl tilted her head, mimicking Chao's earlier gesture of confusion. "Query: Shall I delete the relevant data?"
Chuckling, Chao shook her head. "No, there's no need for that." She lifted a finger. "Also, store this key data note: Those who fight against you will always attempt to demoralize you. They'll lie, twist facts to their words, and do everything in their power to make you lose the will to fight."
"Statement: Datapoint noted." She paused for half a heartbeat. "Observation: I am a machine. I do not have a 'will' to fight. I merely fight."
"That isn't strictly true," Chao said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "You are much more than a machine, Myu. You are as alive as I am, even if you're made of Garlean steel and Allagan processing instead of flesh and blood. You're unique, an individual, and in time, you'll develop your own wishes and desires."
Myu was silent for several moments, flickering lights in her eyes indicating she was carefully considering that information. After a time, she hesitantly spoke, "Clarification: My desire is to protect you, Mistress."
Chao smiled and rubbed Myu's head again. "And I truly appreciate that. But as I said, as you learn and grow, as you become more 'you', you'll find things that you want for yourself." She cleared her throat. "The point in all that, however, is that enemies will say anything they can to try to make you hesitate in battle."
"Statement: I do not hesitate, Mistress. I determine a course of action and act."
So she still had a little bit of a ways to go when it came to being human. A bit too literal-minded. Clearing her throat, Chao turned to open the nearby armoire, looking at her savaged battlesuit hanging within. "Well, everything checks out. It's as if nothing ever happened. Satomi's repairs are quite good. We need to go to the Ironworks and see about repairing my battlesuit. Possibly get you set up with one as well. Then it's off to Thanalan."
"Query: Thanalan, Mistress?"
"Just by being here, I'm putting the Academy in danger. If Ifrit is truly after me, then I'd rather take the fight to him."
Myu stood up off the diagnostics table and lifted her hand, the covering sliding away from her palm laser for a moment. "Statement: I am your sword and shield, Mistress." The covering closed once more, and she clenched her hand into a fist. "I will show no mercy to any eikon."
The question was so unexpected, so out-of-the-blue, that it very nearly caused Chao's hands to slip and sever the wiring she was inspecting. To prevent just such an accident, she removed her hands entirely from the opened casing, leaning back on the workbench and tilting her head to one side. What struck her as most odd about the question was the tone; anyone else posing it would sound utterly dejected, but it was delivered in a flat monotone, as though it were a mere engineering query.
"Of course not," the magitek prodigy answered. "You are my greatest success. Why would you think otherwise?"
"Answer: It is what the Garlean said to me before I extinguished him." There was a pause, and then she spoke in a perfect reproduction of the enemy agent's voice, "Yer nothin' but a lifeless doll, a plaything, destined to fail and be thrown away."
Chao's lips pressed into a thin line. "And yet he resorted to a suicide attack in an unsuccessful effort to destroy you, while you persevere."
"Interjection: That is a result of your superb craftsmanship, Mistress."
It still took Chao by surprise, how amazingly human she could be at times. Definitely a result of the mammet heart; time had yet to tell how her personality would develop.
"Be that as it may, you are still here, he is not. You are not a failure."
Until that moment, her head had been turned to watch Chao with one photoreceptor, but at those words, she turned her head, concealing her face behind her heat-dispersing hair fibers. "Objection: But, Mistress... I could not protect you from the enhanced Garlean."
Closing the access panel on Myu's back--she had completed her wiring diagnostics and found nothing out of order anyway--she reached her hand up and rubbed the robot girl's head soothingly. "None of us were prepared for him. But we will be, next time. You, my lovely, performed far beyond my highest expectations."
Standing up, Chao opened the bench she had been sitting on to return the tools to it, then lifted her gaze to Myu, who was now sitting up on the diagnostics table. "So by no means are you a failure. Purge any such notions in your processor."
The machine girl tilted her head, mimicking Chao's earlier gesture of confusion. "Query: Shall I delete the relevant data?"
Chuckling, Chao shook her head. "No, there's no need for that." She lifted a finger. "Also, store this key data note: Those who fight against you will always attempt to demoralize you. They'll lie, twist facts to their words, and do everything in their power to make you lose the will to fight."
"Statement: Datapoint noted." She paused for half a heartbeat. "Observation: I am a machine. I do not have a 'will' to fight. I merely fight."
"That isn't strictly true," Chao said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "You are much more than a machine, Myu. You are as alive as I am, even if you're made of Garlean steel and Allagan processing instead of flesh and blood. You're unique, an individual, and in time, you'll develop your own wishes and desires."
Myu was silent for several moments, flickering lights in her eyes indicating she was carefully considering that information. After a time, she hesitantly spoke, "Clarification: My desire is to protect you, Mistress."
Chao smiled and rubbed Myu's head again. "And I truly appreciate that. But as I said, as you learn and grow, as you become more 'you', you'll find things that you want for yourself." She cleared her throat. "The point in all that, however, is that enemies will say anything they can to try to make you hesitate in battle."
"Statement: I do not hesitate, Mistress. I determine a course of action and act."
So she still had a little bit of a ways to go when it came to being human. A bit too literal-minded. Clearing her throat, Chao turned to open the nearby armoire, looking at her savaged battlesuit hanging within. "Well, everything checks out. It's as if nothing ever happened. Satomi's repairs are quite good. We need to go to the Ironworks and see about repairing my battlesuit. Possibly get you set up with one as well. Then it's off to Thanalan."
"Query: Thanalan, Mistress?"
"Just by being here, I'm putting the Academy in danger. If Ifrit is truly after me, then I'd rather take the fight to him."
Myu stood up off the diagnostics table and lifted her hand, the covering sliding away from her palm laser for a moment. "Statement: I am your sword and shield, Mistress." The covering closed once more, and she clenched her hand into a fist. "I will show no mercy to any eikon."
![[Image: 0uxkKgX.png]](http://i.imgur.com/0uxkKgX.png)
Chris Ganale | R'tahz Tia | Yuuna Akashi | Chao Lingshen | Seno Nakakami | L'dran Cresnoble | Garon Crayson
