Fields of Glory (NieR: Automata/Destiny)

You're roused from your sleep by the incessant chiming of your personal terminal. Cracking open one eye, you see a notification on the holographic screen. It helpfully informs you that you've received a priority message straight from YoRHa Command. Shaking off the last traces of your dream—more like a nightmare, as usual, but you don't want to linger upon those thoughts any longer than you absolutely have to—you push yourself up from your bed, and take a seat at your desk.

The message has a rather ominous title: "URGENT: IMMEDIATE SUMMONS FOR MISSION BRIEFING." It's followed by the sort of preamble that comes with every secure document that YoRHa releases to its members—that the information enclosed therein is classified with Privilege Level 4 protocols, YoRHa regulations make sharing or copying the document's contents in any way is a punishable offense, et cetera et cetera. It actually takes a few moments to open the message as your terminal, appropriated by YoRHa's cybersecurity protocols, makes absolutely sure that you can't do anything nefarious with the information therein.

The contents are, conversely, quite dull. It's almost a letdown. You receive a message encrypted to hell and back, and it holds nothing more than instructions to head to a briefing room on the other end of the station? Your future was already looking pretty dark, so it would've been nice if something interesting had come along with these ill omens.

With a sigh you stand up and put on a clean uniform, while stepping over the mess you've made out of your room. Books, dirty uniforms, datapads and who knows what else take up most of the available floor space—when you lucked out on getting your own room, you took full advantage of it, much to your squadmates' thinly-veiled disgust. They always nagged you about it, and you always agreed that you could be doing more… but it looks like spring cleaning would have to wait yet another day.

Luckily, there's enough time to follow routine and spend a moment by yourself outside the barracks. Unlike most of the Bunker, which is a series of cramped steel passageways and hissing airlocks—unfortunately a bit of a necessity when you're floating in space—the observation decks outside each habitation module are luxuriously large. It's got couches, hand-made throw rugs, a few public terminals with a respectable library of media (even a few video games that some Operator probably cooked up at her terminal while slacking off)… combine that with the best view of the Earth on the entire station, and it's no wonder that this place is popular. Even the Commander, icy as she is, allowed the R&D team to install a 'jukebox' they built after an android on the surface uploaded an interesting bit of data.

It's especially popular among off-duty Operators, who seem to be a permanent fixture whenever you find the time to visit. You return the greetings of a small group of the women with a quick nod, and move over to a vending machine on the other side of the room. For once, it's an actual vending machine rather than a transporter—though you're pretty sure the fabricator technology it uses isn't all that different from the ones that assemble android bodies. At your approach, a holographic menu pops into existence.

It's true that androids don't need to eat. A lot of the older ones weren't built the ability to taste things. Thanks to their black boxes, YoRHa troops don't even need to drink water to maintain their fusion reactors. However they were built to be even closer to humanity's image, so they came with all five human senses. When you once asked why, someone told you it was something about developing a more robust intelligence-gathering platform. You weren't really convinced by that explanation. With YoRHa's peculiarities in mind, the Commander allowed the installation of vending machines that would dispense 'food' in exchange for a little G.

While the food had basically no effect besides making an android feel nice for a little while, but it provided an excellent boost to morale across the board. And a morale boost—a little pleasant nothing to distract you from reality for a few minutes—is exactly what you need right now. The machine lets out a 'ping' a few seconds later and you pull out a small red cube that easily fits in your palm. You toss it into your mouth—despite the boasts from the R&D team, it tastes nothing like an apple… but it has its own charm. It's your favorite, after all.

With your 'hunger' sated you set a course for the briefing room. You go on autopilot, greeting comrades and saluting superiors as necessary. Thankfully no one stops you to chat when they see your urgent pace. The rest of your mind and your journey is then devoted to thinking about what Command is planning. What does Command need to hide from the rest of YoRHa if it requires invoking Privilege protocols?

Maybe the Council of Humanity's pushing for another offensive. That'd make this the start of the Sixteenth Machine War. And if that's true, it would mean you're going to participate in a mass orbital descent. It's not a pleasant thought, given how well the last one went… but that's doubtful. While things on the surface are getting turbulent again, it may be a little longer before the humans declare a new offensive, and through it the beginning of a new Machine War. There hasn't been enough buildup, on Earth or the satellite bases, and a distinct lack of rousing speeches from the Council of Humanity.

Whatever it will be, it won't be a springtime picnic. That much is obvious.

--

Every YoRHa android starts off with a base personality model that differentiates into a unique ego based on their unique subjective experiences. Which one was yours?

[ ] 3: Compassionate, soft-spoken, patient. Some people say you're too far nice to be a soldier on the front lines, but your comrades certainly appreciate your kindly nature.

[ ] 14: Easygoing, cocky, hedonistic. Sure, you're the best of the best, but nobody lives forever. Not even an android. So you've made it a point to have as much fun as you can, while you can.

[ ] 23: Stoic, resolute, disciplined. Everyone handles the stress of the Machine Wars in their own way. You, on the other hand, throw yourself into your duties with singleminded fervor.

And what android type were you assigned?

[ ] Attacker: When Resistance androids talk about YoRHa combat models, they're talking about you. Your place is on the front lines of any offensive operation, tearing through hordes of machine lifeforms. In a pinch, you can utilize 'B-Mode' and crank up your reactor's output to massively increase your offensive capabilities. However, a lack of ranged weapons or dedicated defensive gear can make you vulnerable without the support of a Pod or other YoRHa units. B-Mode's increased maintenance costs can also limit combat effectiveness when away from a dedicated supply line.

[ ] Gunner: You're a versatile unit whose enhanced sensor suite and fine-motor control allows you to better engage targets at extreme ranges. Your reduced weight and increased mobility systems make you nimble, perfect for evading hostiles or repositioning to get a better shot. Additionally, you're given more freedom than most androids when selecting and customizing your combat gear and subsystems, which makes you a favorite of the R&D teams, who constantly churn out new weapons and gear for you to test. However, you're fragile, and not nearly as strong as an A or even a D-type.

[ ] Defender: The backbone of any YoRHa unit, you shield your less durable comrades from harm. With a hardened endoskeleton and enhanced self-repair protocols, you can take twice as much harm as any other android and keep fighting. Then there's your array of hard-light projectors, which allows you to create and temporarily maintain barriers that can, in a pinch, be repurposed as blunt weaponry. As a result of your heavier frame, your mobility is rather limited, and intricate internals bars you from extensive personal customization without a full maintenance bay (and approval from Command.)

Reserved.

Reserved once more.

And reserved because I'm optimistic.

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