Chapter 15
Let's see if I can speedrun this.
Spoiler warning if you haven't got up to chapter 12 in Nikke story campaign some stuff is going to be revealed early.
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Normally, the information would be reviewed, and that would be the end of it. But this time, Enikk couldn't help themselves. They were stretching the limits of their programming. They knew it. But they also knew that the odds of this happening ever again was, fractional. One in a billion on a good day, one in trillions in all other cases. So, with considerable internal debate, they made their choice.
And when they had, it became clear about why so many anomalies surrounded this one mass-produced Nikke. Something had gone wrong. NIMPH was functional yet, non-commutative. Each instance was self-contained, unable to communicate with the rest of the NIMPH inside the 08 model's brain. It was fascinating as it was concerning.
And it would go far to explain.
"You know, I'm getting exhausted of people around her violating the sanctity of my mind," a voice spoke, breaking Enikk from their thoughts. The face was that of a woman's, floating in the mindspace, something that concerned Enikk all on it's own. "Maybe you should ask what you want, instead of poking around in my head."
Enikk took note of the woman's appearance. It wasn't the same, but she could see some similarities, given how the model had cut their hair. The short silver hair had gone to a sandy blonde, with sea green eyes. Their torso remained unchanged, or if there was a change it was not one easily observed. They seemed slightly shorter than the 08 model, but that was hard to gage as well.
Then their form flickered. Short blonde hair became a flowing black curtain carried by an unseen breeze, her eyes an abnormal gold, with faint flicks of, alarmingly, red. But the image faded as quickly as it appeared, restoring what Enikk had originally seen.
"So, I'm going to ask what exactly do you want here?" The figure glared at Enikk, even though Enikk knew there was nothing that they could do to hurt them.
"You are the mental model of the 08 model 313N, correct?" Einkk felt the need to ask. Just to be sure that was who they were talking to. Or even if they were entirely aware of what was going on. Combat reports indicated that 313N had taken a blow for the Commander that was part of the illegal operation from Chatterbox, being rendered unconscious due to the blow.
"You people know I have a name, right?" The woman snapped back, glaring at Enikk intensely, as if that would throw them out of her mind.
"I'm not a person. I am an AI," Enikk responded calmly, keeping their voice even. To Enikk's surprise, the woman blinked, before muttering something under her breath. Though Enikk did not need further answer, as the outburst was enough to confirm the 313N was, at least, somewhat mentally aware. "I am here due to, accusations, leveled against the Commander on the most recent operation you'd been sent on. Syuen has leveraged several charges against the Commander that he claims to be innocent of. However, it is a CEO against him. Though I do wish to get to the truth of the matter."
It wasn't entirely a lie, but it was close.
"Syuen, you say? Well, whatever the charges are, she's more than likely lying out her ass," the woman's voice took a hostile turn. "I mean, I assume she's neglecting to mention that she ordered a Nikke to turn their abilities against a human, how she attempted to blackmail the Commander with falsified documents, and that's not even getting started on the fact she wants to bring Chatterbox into the Ark for experimenting. Something I really do doubt is legal by any stretch of the term."
If Enikk had a heart, it would have stopped beating for a moment. Chatterbox? Inside the Ark? 313N was right to bring up the legal ramifications, of course, but they were the last thing on Enikk's electronic mind. A Tyrant class Rapture in the Ark would cause untold damage, in both infrastructure and lose of human life. The latter was the primary concern.
The second-largest concern would be the impact on the deal. Because yes, the deal would be heavily impacted by capturing the one that Enikk had made it with. The odds of Wardress doing so was, insignificant, but even a slight chance needed to be taken seriously in this case. Bringing Chatterbox or any other Tyrant class Rapture into the Ark would cost considerable amounts of human life, as well as looses of Nikke's, from both combat and corruption. Chatterbox specifically could ruin the accord, costing humanities existence in the process.
Normally, Enikk would loath to move against one of the CEO's. They were necessary in keeping humanity alive, and thus were given considerable leeway accordingly. One could argue too much leeway, but up until now, nobody had been willing to do anything that could be potentially that devastating.
"I'm guessing that you have proof of your claims?" Enikk frowned. That was the true crux of matters. It sounded as if 313N already did not like Syuen all that much in the first place. It would be a farce to take her words at face value. Nor would a Nikke's word be near enough to even come close to being considered sufficient evidence.
"We found something in your headquarters on the Outpost. Military plans to carry out a terrorist attack on the Ark. It has your signature and everything. Capture Chatterbox and I'll be willing to ignore what I saw. Return empty-handed? And you and the Scrap Metal are done for."
If Enikk could have blinked, they would have. The voice was unmistakably Syuen's. It sounded somewhat grainy, but it was very clearly the voice of Missilis's CEO.
"Syuen says we aren't supposed to share incriminating evidence, or backups of incriminating evidence," the smirk on the woman's face was clear. "But she never said anything about a backup of a recording of a recording!"
That made sense. It would go far to explain why they had gotten so little out of the rest of Wardress. It also showed why 313N was a problematic anomaly. Even as a mass-produced model, she found the willpower, and the creativity, to obey the letter, but not the spirit.
"And that's far from the only thing that I can pull up that's incriminating for Syuen," 313N's face continued to smirk. "However, I'm going to want some assurances."
This time, Enikk was almost certain they did blink, despite such a thing being impossible in most of their models. The idea that they were willing to withhold information given the situation was abnormal. Then again, Enikk could already guess exactly what those assurances would be.
"Very well," Enikk spoke. The recording by itself was damning enough. If there was anything else that 313N had, it would be best to have it on hand.
"Firstly, I want to no longer be under Syuen's employ," 313N said, the smirk on their face becoming a scowl. "I don't want her to have any more power over me, or the ability to control my actions. After all, Syuen can be stupid, but she's going to know who spilled the beans. It's for my own safety that I'm kept out of her reach. Don't want her to do something against a witness, after all."
This was, understandable. One that was not a stretch for Enikk to grant, though not without cost. Allowing a model like 313N to roam free was unacceptable. Syuen, according to Enikk's records, had tried to keep 313N on a tight leash, and yet, here they were, willing to sell Syuen out. It wasn't exactly hard to track 313N's activities with Anderson, either, so they knew this wasn't the only way they were working counter to Syuen's interests.
Though unless they mentioned that, then Enikk could easily keep quiet about how it would likely be a transfer, rather than wholesale freedom. For 313N's benefit, of course. Their choice on the matter was obvious as well. Transferring 313N to Counters would be the smartest play. It would confine 313N to an area Enikk already knew that Anderson was observing, limiting her movement on the board.
"Next would be a restraining order, if the concept has managed to make its way down here," 313N continued. "I'd extend it to all of Wardress if I could, but at the end of the day I'm not going to be picky."
The concept of a restraining order was very much known. It was not exactly one Enikk preferred unless it proved necessary to preserve human life, which in this case, it would not be.
But the wording is what gave them pause. Make its way down here? Was, 313N from the surface? No, that was not possible. Raptures killed any human they came across. Human life on the surface was extinct. There might be some scattered pockets that still clung to life, but they likely lived primitive and short existences. If they lived in the first place. Certainly none close enough that their brain would somehow contribute to a Nikke, mass-produced or not. Nor would such hypothetical societies have a concept of a restraining order, either, or if they did, they wouldn't put it in such terms.
Enikk began to run through their data banks, trying to uncover any information they could find about the human that went into creating 313N. It only took a few nanoseconds, not even enough time for the human to even be partway through blinking before Enikk uncovered the knowledge they sought.
The brain that had gone into 313N was donated by one Annette Thompson, barely a legal adult by the time they had been struck by a vehicle. Nearly dead at the scene of the event, their legal documentation showed that they were willing to have their body converted into a Nikke in the event of such an accident. Pulling up a picture revealed a vague resemblance between 313N's current projection and her old body, though it only looked as if they were related, rather than being the same person.
Based on the reports, the brain had nearly died as well, before it had been handed over to Missilis. All in all, it was a fairly standard event for the creation of a Nikke.
Which explained nothing about how, or why, 313N would use the combination of the words to make its way down here. Even if 313N remembered their previous existence, that was a previous existence that had been spent in the Ark. Such language would not be in use for someone who grew up in the Ark. That was the language of an outsider. Of someone on the surface. Who had grown up on the surface.
It was impossible. One could not have grown up in the Ark, and the on surface at the same time.
Unless the Nikke they were talking to did not have access to fragments of Annette's memory. Enikk swiftly double-checked 313N's mind, scanning it for anything they may have initially missed. And again, nothing that Enikk would consider abnormal by 313N's standards. The seed of corruption was there, exactly where Enikk had left it before 313N's first mission. There was a smaller, secondary node, almost unnoticeable near where the spine would normally connect, but Enikk couldn't interact with it or get any more or less off of it than they could from the initial seed. All they could tell was that it was from a different source, the code being outright ancient in comparison.
But with it being smaller than the seed they implanted, then there was nothing they could tell.
They might as well have been talking with a spontaneously developed personality. Or perhaps the act of injecting NIMPH had been enough to cause a mind switch all on its own. Either reason was as good as the other.
Well, either reason was reasonable, rather than any other explanation.
"Is there anything else?" Enikk asked.
"Besides Wardress not being punished for Syuen's actions?" 313N said. "That should just about cover it."
Enikk paused. Every indication said that 313N did not particularly like her teammates, likely due to being forced onto the squad in the first place. They figured that they would very much enjoy watching the pair get punished for their actions. It was a traditional punishment as well.
"Why?"
"Because everything they did, they did under Syuen's orders. I don't like Yuni and Mihara and would like to see them punished for their real wrongdoings, but this mess falls squarely on Syuen's shoulders," 313N scowled at them. "Never mind that Syuen doesn't give a damn about Nikke's period. Trying to punish her through them is completely useless."
Three demands. The first was reasonable, and could easily be spun to their benefit. The second was a stretch, but it was possible to use to their benefit as well. Tipping that 313N had information that others would want to get their hands on would prove to be a test of character.
The third?
That was harder to spin. Yes, Syuen would need to be investigated. Going as far as to blackmail a Commander of any stripe was worth looking into, especially as this could be a case with repeated behavior. Especially falsifying orders and records. If 313N had proof that Syuen had intentions of bringing a Rapture onto the Ark, even for research purposes, it would be worthy of even more investigation. It wouldn't be entirely enough to punish on its own, but it would be enough to lean on others to start looking around into Missilis's business.
But targeting Nikke's in the employ of those like Syuen was a common practice. It was a slap on the hand at times, Enikk would admit that much. But it was sometimes more than enough to convince a CEO that the erasure of memories of their most valuable assets wasn't worth the effective loss of those assets and the skills they had built up over time.
"That will depend on the information you are willing to provide about Syuen and Missilis's activities," Enikk said finally. The grin that crept onto 313N's face almost caused them to shutter.
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"That didn't go as I expected," Mihara wore a notable frown on her face.
"You and me both."
Seriously, what the hell, Enikk? I said free from Syuen, not hucked off to someone else. At least that person seemed like they had a heart. Or could fake it for long enough to make me think that they did. And she more or less said that I was the one with the information about stuff that Missilis and Syuen wanted to keep hidden? Several Commanders were idiots, but even they could read through lines that thick.
Still, watching Syuen struggle to not go for the bomb switch right then and there was great. Shame I wasn't going to get to see her reaction to said bomb no longer being in my body. I'd be able to frame that shit.
Correction. I would frame that. Mount it on my wall like my grandfather mounted hunting trophies. Because that expression would be a thing of glory that would need to be preserved for the ages.
However, that was swiftly becoming the least of my concerns as I watched Yuni celebrating. I'm not exactly sure where or how she got a hold of that champagne, but she was drinking it like it was whiskey. This better not be how I find out if Nikke's could get drunk or not.
Not that I really cared. We both hated each other, and if it wasn't for the fact I was being moved around like a piece of property, I'd be celebrating too. Both of the biggest pains of my life were gone, and that was something that Enikk using exact words could only put a damper on, not crush completely.
"I didn't think you had it in you, honestly," Mihara gave me a look. "You do know Syuen is going to kill you for this, right?"
"Oh, she's certainly going to try," I grin. "Try and get a picture if you don't mind. I'd love to see it."
Mihara paused before her eyes widened for a moment.
"We did not keep a good enough eye on you, did we?"
"Nope."
The noise that came from Mihara's mouth made it abundantly clear that she wanted a damn drink after that response. I was almost insulted that she seemed to buy the rumors that had been spreading around about what I was doing in my spare time. I could think of far better methods of coping with this shitty situation.
"You're leaving us with a Syuen who's going to be pissed," she groaned, rubbing her forehead.
"She's going to be pissed at me, to be fair," I countered. Which, yes, was going to make it everyone else's problem, but Syuen was going to be covering her ass from both the board and the rest of the Government I wasn't too worried about such things. Knowing her, she'd double down. To her own determent, at that. Safe to say, she would be out of my hair for at least a while. Everyone else was going to be the least of Syuen's many, many concerns. What a shame. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.
"You say that like it's going to matter," Mihara sighed, finally composing herself. "Still, I know you hated things here, so good on you for running away from it all, even if you took the opportunity to screw Syuen over in the process."
She, extended her hand.
I wasn't sure how to take that. Frankly, I'd been an ass. Not exactly without good justification, mind, but given everything, she was just willing to let things so?
Was I willing to let things go?
Yeah, no, I wasn't willing to do that. Not even by a long shot.
But I shook her hand anyway.
"Just try and keep an eye on the Khornite. I don't trust her in the slightest," I said with a frown. Exia may have done some digging that put Exotic on a bit more of a leash, but the current situation wouldn't exactly make me surprised if Syuen took her eye off that particular bomb.
"You should keep an eye on your own business. I think he realized that you didn't exactly consent to being transferred" Mihara gave me a smug look.
Well. Shit.
Spoiler warning if you haven't got up to chapter 12 in Nikke story campaign some stuff is going to be revealed early.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Normally, the information would be reviewed, and that would be the end of it. But this time, Enikk couldn't help themselves. They were stretching the limits of their programming. They knew it. But they also knew that the odds of this happening ever again was, fractional. One in a billion on a good day, one in trillions in all other cases. So, with considerable internal debate, they made their choice.
And when they had, it became clear about why so many anomalies surrounded this one mass-produced Nikke. Something had gone wrong. NIMPH was functional yet, non-commutative. Each instance was self-contained, unable to communicate with the rest of the NIMPH inside the 08 model's brain. It was fascinating as it was concerning.
And it would go far to explain.
"You know, I'm getting exhausted of people around her violating the sanctity of my mind," a voice spoke, breaking Enikk from their thoughts. The face was that of a woman's, floating in the mindspace, something that concerned Enikk all on it's own. "Maybe you should ask what you want, instead of poking around in my head."
Enikk took note of the woman's appearance. It wasn't the same, but she could see some similarities, given how the model had cut their hair. The short silver hair had gone to a sandy blonde, with sea green eyes. Their torso remained unchanged, or if there was a change it was not one easily observed. They seemed slightly shorter than the 08 model, but that was hard to gage as well.
Then their form flickered. Short blonde hair became a flowing black curtain carried by an unseen breeze, her eyes an abnormal gold, with faint flicks of, alarmingly, red. But the image faded as quickly as it appeared, restoring what Enikk had originally seen.
"So, I'm going to ask what exactly do you want here?" The figure glared at Enikk, even though Enikk knew there was nothing that they could do to hurt them.
"You are the mental model of the 08 model 313N, correct?" Einkk felt the need to ask. Just to be sure that was who they were talking to. Or even if they were entirely aware of what was going on. Combat reports indicated that 313N had taken a blow for the Commander that was part of the illegal operation from Chatterbox, being rendered unconscious due to the blow.
"You people know I have a name, right?" The woman snapped back, glaring at Enikk intensely, as if that would throw them out of her mind.
"I'm not a person. I am an AI," Enikk responded calmly, keeping their voice even. To Enikk's surprise, the woman blinked, before muttering something under her breath. Though Enikk did not need further answer, as the outburst was enough to confirm the 313N was, at least, somewhat mentally aware. "I am here due to, accusations, leveled against the Commander on the most recent operation you'd been sent on. Syuen has leveraged several charges against the Commander that he claims to be innocent of. However, it is a CEO against him. Though I do wish to get to the truth of the matter."
It wasn't entirely a lie, but it was close.
"Syuen, you say? Well, whatever the charges are, she's more than likely lying out her ass," the woman's voice took a hostile turn. "I mean, I assume she's neglecting to mention that she ordered a Nikke to turn their abilities against a human, how she attempted to blackmail the Commander with falsified documents, and that's not even getting started on the fact she wants to bring Chatterbox into the Ark for experimenting. Something I really do doubt is legal by any stretch of the term."
If Enikk had a heart, it would have stopped beating for a moment. Chatterbox? Inside the Ark? 313N was right to bring up the legal ramifications, of course, but they were the last thing on Enikk's electronic mind. A Tyrant class Rapture in the Ark would cause untold damage, in both infrastructure and lose of human life. The latter was the primary concern.
The second-largest concern would be the impact on the deal. Because yes, the deal would be heavily impacted by capturing the one that Enikk had made it with. The odds of Wardress doing so was, insignificant, but even a slight chance needed to be taken seriously in this case. Bringing Chatterbox or any other Tyrant class Rapture into the Ark would cost considerable amounts of human life, as well as looses of Nikke's, from both combat and corruption. Chatterbox specifically could ruin the accord, costing humanities existence in the process.
Normally, Enikk would loath to move against one of the CEO's. They were necessary in keeping humanity alive, and thus were given considerable leeway accordingly. One could argue too much leeway, but up until now, nobody had been willing to do anything that could be potentially that devastating.
"I'm guessing that you have proof of your claims?" Enikk frowned. That was the true crux of matters. It sounded as if 313N already did not like Syuen all that much in the first place. It would be a farce to take her words at face value. Nor would a Nikke's word be near enough to even come close to being considered sufficient evidence.
"We found something in your headquarters on the Outpost. Military plans to carry out a terrorist attack on the Ark. It has your signature and everything. Capture Chatterbox and I'll be willing to ignore what I saw. Return empty-handed? And you and the Scrap Metal are done for."
If Enikk could have blinked, they would have. The voice was unmistakably Syuen's. It sounded somewhat grainy, but it was very clearly the voice of Missilis's CEO.
"Syuen says we aren't supposed to share incriminating evidence, or backups of incriminating evidence," the smirk on the woman's face was clear. "But she never said anything about a backup of a recording of a recording!"
That made sense. It would go far to explain why they had gotten so little out of the rest of Wardress. It also showed why 313N was a problematic anomaly. Even as a mass-produced model, she found the willpower, and the creativity, to obey the letter, but not the spirit.
"And that's far from the only thing that I can pull up that's incriminating for Syuen," 313N's face continued to smirk. "However, I'm going to want some assurances."
This time, Enikk was almost certain they did blink, despite such a thing being impossible in most of their models. The idea that they were willing to withhold information given the situation was abnormal. Then again, Enikk could already guess exactly what those assurances would be.
"Very well," Enikk spoke. The recording by itself was damning enough. If there was anything else that 313N had, it would be best to have it on hand.
"Firstly, I want to no longer be under Syuen's employ," 313N said, the smirk on their face becoming a scowl. "I don't want her to have any more power over me, or the ability to control my actions. After all, Syuen can be stupid, but she's going to know who spilled the beans. It's for my own safety that I'm kept out of her reach. Don't want her to do something against a witness, after all."
This was, understandable. One that was not a stretch for Enikk to grant, though not without cost. Allowing a model like 313N to roam free was unacceptable. Syuen, according to Enikk's records, had tried to keep 313N on a tight leash, and yet, here they were, willing to sell Syuen out. It wasn't exactly hard to track 313N's activities with Anderson, either, so they knew this wasn't the only way they were working counter to Syuen's interests.
Though unless they mentioned that, then Enikk could easily keep quiet about how it would likely be a transfer, rather than wholesale freedom. For 313N's benefit, of course. Their choice on the matter was obvious as well. Transferring 313N to Counters would be the smartest play. It would confine 313N to an area Enikk already knew that Anderson was observing, limiting her movement on the board.
"Next would be a restraining order, if the concept has managed to make its way down here," 313N continued. "I'd extend it to all of Wardress if I could, but at the end of the day I'm not going to be picky."
The concept of a restraining order was very much known. It was not exactly one Enikk preferred unless it proved necessary to preserve human life, which in this case, it would not be.
But the wording is what gave them pause. Make its way down here? Was, 313N from the surface? No, that was not possible. Raptures killed any human they came across. Human life on the surface was extinct. There might be some scattered pockets that still clung to life, but they likely lived primitive and short existences. If they lived in the first place. Certainly none close enough that their brain would somehow contribute to a Nikke, mass-produced or not. Nor would such hypothetical societies have a concept of a restraining order, either, or if they did, they wouldn't put it in such terms.
Enikk began to run through their data banks, trying to uncover any information they could find about the human that went into creating 313N. It only took a few nanoseconds, not even enough time for the human to even be partway through blinking before Enikk uncovered the knowledge they sought.
The brain that had gone into 313N was donated by one Annette Thompson, barely a legal adult by the time they had been struck by a vehicle. Nearly dead at the scene of the event, their legal documentation showed that they were willing to have their body converted into a Nikke in the event of such an accident. Pulling up a picture revealed a vague resemblance between 313N's current projection and her old body, though it only looked as if they were related, rather than being the same person.
Based on the reports, the brain had nearly died as well, before it had been handed over to Missilis. All in all, it was a fairly standard event for the creation of a Nikke.
Which explained nothing about how, or why, 313N would use the combination of the words to make its way down here. Even if 313N remembered their previous existence, that was a previous existence that had been spent in the Ark. Such language would not be in use for someone who grew up in the Ark. That was the language of an outsider. Of someone on the surface. Who had grown up on the surface.
It was impossible. One could not have grown up in the Ark, and the on surface at the same time.
Unless the Nikke they were talking to did not have access to fragments of Annette's memory. Enikk swiftly double-checked 313N's mind, scanning it for anything they may have initially missed. And again, nothing that Enikk would consider abnormal by 313N's standards. The seed of corruption was there, exactly where Enikk had left it before 313N's first mission. There was a smaller, secondary node, almost unnoticeable near where the spine would normally connect, but Enikk couldn't interact with it or get any more or less off of it than they could from the initial seed. All they could tell was that it was from a different source, the code being outright ancient in comparison.
But with it being smaller than the seed they implanted, then there was nothing they could tell.
They might as well have been talking with a spontaneously developed personality. Or perhaps the act of injecting NIMPH had been enough to cause a mind switch all on its own. Either reason was as good as the other.
Well, either reason was reasonable, rather than any other explanation.
"Is there anything else?" Enikk asked.
"Besides Wardress not being punished for Syuen's actions?" 313N said. "That should just about cover it."
Enikk paused. Every indication said that 313N did not particularly like her teammates, likely due to being forced onto the squad in the first place. They figured that they would very much enjoy watching the pair get punished for their actions. It was a traditional punishment as well.
"Why?"
"Because everything they did, they did under Syuen's orders. I don't like Yuni and Mihara and would like to see them punished for their real wrongdoings, but this mess falls squarely on Syuen's shoulders," 313N scowled at them. "Never mind that Syuen doesn't give a damn about Nikke's period. Trying to punish her through them is completely useless."
Three demands. The first was reasonable, and could easily be spun to their benefit. The second was a stretch, but it was possible to use to their benefit as well. Tipping that 313N had information that others would want to get their hands on would prove to be a test of character.
The third?
That was harder to spin. Yes, Syuen would need to be investigated. Going as far as to blackmail a Commander of any stripe was worth looking into, especially as this could be a case with repeated behavior. Especially falsifying orders and records. If 313N had proof that Syuen had intentions of bringing a Rapture onto the Ark, even for research purposes, it would be worthy of even more investigation. It wouldn't be entirely enough to punish on its own, but it would be enough to lean on others to start looking around into Missilis's business.
But targeting Nikke's in the employ of those like Syuen was a common practice. It was a slap on the hand at times, Enikk would admit that much. But it was sometimes more than enough to convince a CEO that the erasure of memories of their most valuable assets wasn't worth the effective loss of those assets and the skills they had built up over time.
"That will depend on the information you are willing to provide about Syuen and Missilis's activities," Enikk said finally. The grin that crept onto 313N's face almost caused them to shutter.
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"That didn't go as I expected," Mihara wore a notable frown on her face.
"You and me both."
Seriously, what the hell, Enikk? I said free from Syuen, not hucked off to someone else. At least that person seemed like they had a heart. Or could fake it for long enough to make me think that they did. And she more or less said that I was the one with the information about stuff that Missilis and Syuen wanted to keep hidden? Several Commanders were idiots, but even they could read through lines that thick.
Still, watching Syuen struggle to not go for the bomb switch right then and there was great. Shame I wasn't going to get to see her reaction to said bomb no longer being in my body. I'd be able to frame that shit.
Correction. I would frame that. Mount it on my wall like my grandfather mounted hunting trophies. Because that expression would be a thing of glory that would need to be preserved for the ages.
However, that was swiftly becoming the least of my concerns as I watched Yuni celebrating. I'm not exactly sure where or how she got a hold of that champagne, but she was drinking it like it was whiskey. This better not be how I find out if Nikke's could get drunk or not.
Not that I really cared. We both hated each other, and if it wasn't for the fact I was being moved around like a piece of property, I'd be celebrating too. Both of the biggest pains of my life were gone, and that was something that Enikk using exact words could only put a damper on, not crush completely.
"I didn't think you had it in you, honestly," Mihara gave me a look. "You do know Syuen is going to kill you for this, right?"
"Oh, she's certainly going to try," I grin. "Try and get a picture if you don't mind. I'd love to see it."
Mihara paused before her eyes widened for a moment.
"We did not keep a good enough eye on you, did we?"
"Nope."
The noise that came from Mihara's mouth made it abundantly clear that she wanted a damn drink after that response. I was almost insulted that she seemed to buy the rumors that had been spreading around about what I was doing in my spare time. I could think of far better methods of coping with this shitty situation.
"You're leaving us with a Syuen who's going to be pissed," she groaned, rubbing her forehead.
"She's going to be pissed at me, to be fair," I countered. Which, yes, was going to make it everyone else's problem, but Syuen was going to be covering her ass from both the board and the rest of the Government I wasn't too worried about such things. Knowing her, she'd double down. To her own determent, at that. Safe to say, she would be out of my hair for at least a while. Everyone else was going to be the least of Syuen's many, many concerns. What a shame. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.
"You say that like it's going to matter," Mihara sighed, finally composing herself. "Still, I know you hated things here, so good on you for running away from it all, even if you took the opportunity to screw Syuen over in the process."
She, extended her hand.
I wasn't sure how to take that. Frankly, I'd been an ass. Not exactly without good justification, mind, but given everything, she was just willing to let things so?
Was I willing to let things go?
Yeah, no, I wasn't willing to do that. Not even by a long shot.
But I shook her hand anyway.
"Just try and keep an eye on the Khornite. I don't trust her in the slightest," I said with a frown. Exia may have done some digging that put Exotic on a bit more of a leash, but the current situation wouldn't exactly make me surprised if Syuen took her eye off that particular bomb.
"You should keep an eye on your own business. I think he realized that you didn't exactly consent to being transferred" Mihara gave me a smug look.
Well. Shit.
