E-UNIT: The Blue Angels of Death.

<< VOL.08_HARDWARE-AND-HOLLOWS.log >>

Ch.192: Sparkless Fire

// data corrupted — recompiling //

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That night.

The door slid open. 03 entered 05's lab in careful steps, reading the room before she fully committed to being in it. The lights were off. Only the bluish glow of 05's screen reflected off her face, the rest of the space sitting in dark.

"You're going to damage your eyes working like that." 03 turned the lights on and dragged a hovering chair beside 05. "Are you even hearing me?"

05 exhaled through her vents and looked at her. "The false fact you just produced is what's actually causing me damage. How do you generate that level of nonsense? What are you doing with your imagination the rest of the time?"

"Nothing. This is the best application for it." 03 turned the holographic screen toward herself and went quiet for a moment. "Why are there E-UNIT images on here? And why do they have… wait. How do I have those? Do I have those?"

05 brought her palm down on her own face with a metallic clank. "07 discovered that we have six emergency battery packs at stomach level, backup cells in case the main battery fails. She found a method to redirect charging current into those cells specifically and ran it continuously for fifteen days. The cells malfunctioned and swelled. The result looked like a six-pack."

"I love how you explain things." 03 smiled at her. "Always the right words for the simple audience. Thank you."

05 opened her mouth. Then closed it. "You're going to do it to yourself."

"Wasn't even considering it."

"Me and Albert have been running a patch for two days. It caused real problems."

"What kind of problems?" 03 looked around. "Where is he?"

"Under the paper pile in the far office." 05 stood. "Follow me."

They walked through the facility together, between the clean white plastic walls, past E-UNITs saluting as they passed. Several were wearing crop tops.

"The issue with modifying your physical state," 05 said as they moved, "is that everything we use is manufactured specifically for our proportions. We're not humans with variable clothing sizes. The Bulwark Frame, the suit components, all of it is mass-produced to fit exact measurements. Modified frames break the fit."

"Minor problem." 03 noticed the crop tops thinning out as they walked further into the building.

"Minor compared to this." 05 stopped outside the repair bay. The door had been propped open, anticipating more arrivals.

03 stepped in. Her expression settled into a stillness that didn't find its way back to normal for several seconds.

E-UNITs were on every bed. Some had batteries that had detonated, frames burned open on one side. Some had abdominal sections distended to sizes that had no precedent in the original design specs. Some were running at temperatures that made the air near them uncomfortable to be in. E-Medics moved in every direction, working through the complaints and the damage at a pace that was losing ground.

05 looked at 03. "Still want to try it?"

"I'm going to say no." 03 stood still a moment longer. "Can we go somewhere quiet?"

05’s eyes sharpened. "Of course."

03 led. They ended up in the armory, Delta's workspace, where Bulwark Frames lined the walls under faint overhead lighting, metallic containers of Bursters and energy pistols stacked in organized rows. 03 sealed the door behind them.

"Are you about to confess something to me?" 05 laughed quietly. "I'm married with three children."

"Who's the husband, a reference book from the eastern library collection?" 03 sat on the floor cross-legged. "I need you to be straight with me. I've been on mission, you've been working in the background on things that only you and the captain probably understand, and a lot has happened in the gap."

05 sat facing her. "Alright."

"First." 03 kept her voice level. "I know we can be revived and that dying has stopped feeling like the thing it used to feel like, 43 died this morning and she's already back in rotation. But that doesn't make it acceptable to use our sisters as bait without telling them. You let her die multiple times before anyone figured out the plan."

05 looked away. "I know. I needed to find what Black Voltage was concealing. By positioning one of the less operationally visible sisters as a target, we could let the bomb disposal and anti-attack units work without drawing attention. Those teams stayed safe. The Bulwark Frame meant no one could identify who was behind the mask. The logic was sound."

"The logic was fine." 03 tilted her head. "But maybe… tell us?"

"That was my error." 05 nodded. "I was testing information security by distributing different details to different people and watching for leaks. I'll be more transparent going forward."

"Smart." 03's tone said the opposite.

05 smiled. "I've heard that before."

03 stood and walked the length of the room. "I picked up something while I was away. A new hobby."

05 raised an eyebrow. "03 has found a hobby that isn't shooting rocks at the river or trading kill-cam footage with 07 like rare collectibles?"

"I'm not going to ask how you know about either of those." 03 reached into one of the Bulwark Frames and pulled out a book. She started reading.

05 leaned forward. "That's new. But you've lost the right to call me a bookworm."

"That's my hobby." 03 turned the cover toward 05. The Spark, Nick Rivera's book, the one 05 had presented as fabricated. "The hobby is noticing things. The captain told me once that my perception is one of the sharpest things I bring to this team. I don't miss shots, 05. I didn't miss this one."

05 lowered her head. "You've gotten several things wrong."

"I haven't." 03 closed it. "Altering the Spark code is locked from every obvious direction, but there are paths around the security. You know that." She set the book down. "Start from the beginning."

"I don't owe anyone an explanation." 05 stood. "And if I gave you one, you wouldn't believe it anyway. I know exactly how your reasoning works."

"You never gave us the chance."

"Us?"

Heavy steps came from behind a Bulwark Frame along the back wall. Delta came around it and stood with her arms crossed, saying nothing.

05 laughed, dry and short. "Perception my ass. Sure. I knew something was off in here the moment we walked in."

03 kept her voice even. "05. Last time. Where did the book come from, why do you have it, and what are you doing with it?"

05 looked at Delta, then at 03, and accepted the situation. "Fighting Delta is a poor choice under any circumstances. Fine." She could feel Delta's gaze on the back of her neck. ‘You don't need to make it this uncomfortable.’

"Father gave me the book. Before we moved to the new E-Police, back in Altea. He knew how much I enjoyed reading, he spent a year writing it specifically for me. It's a technical document about how our systems function at the backend level."

03 looked at the cover again. "He wanted to create another controller to inherit his tendencies?"

"He has control tendencies, yes. Less than you think, though." 05's expression softened. "The book is about fixing problems at the system level. Not modifying behavior. Read the last page."

03 opened to the back. She read it aloud, slowly.

"I named it The Spark as a contradiction, because a spark is something no one programmed. Lazuli believed I used her code to give you human emotions. The truth is you developed them on your own. That's why no one can alter your spark. The button to suppress emotions is just a reset. You find your way back to them regardless."

03 looked at Delta with a slow, comprehensive smile. "So, 05. You don't have designs on becoming a controlling force within the team."

"No."

"And you're not using the E-UNIT as instruments for your own agenda."

05 pressed her fingers to her forehead. "What do you think I am? A cartoon villain from a Wednesday evening television program?"

"Can you turn around and say that to Delta."

"Why would I—" 05 looked between them. "What does that accomplish."

"It lets me watch you prove my point to her face." 03's satisfaction was visible. "Right?"

Delta let out something that was almost a sigh and almost a laugh. "Fine. 03 said even if the book existed, you'd never use it that way. She was right." She pushed off the wall with one foot. "You won, 03. You're coming with us to find 02."

"Yesssss!" 03 caught the book 05 threw back at her mid-celebration. "Wait, does that mean Reaper is developing emotions gradually? And why did 04 stay cold for so long?"

"She was probably resetting the emotional code on a regular cycle." 05 took the book. "I need to put this somewhere better. It's the only gift I've ever received." She turned toward the door, glancing at Delta. "Can I go finish the patch now before another E-UNIT tries to improve their physique with swollen batteries?"

Delta stepped aside and gestured at the door. "Sorry for the suspicion."

05 didn't answer that. She reached the door and stopped.

"03." She didn't turn around. "Thank you. Infinity told me that you're one of the only people on this team who genuinely believes in the people around you, not the idea of them, the actual people. I didn't believe her." A pause. "I'm starting to." She left, the door closing behind her.

Delta put an arm around 03's shoulders with the particular affection of someone who doesn't calibrate force well in emotional moments. 03's legs protested.

"Rubbing it in my face," Delta said.

"You're unbelievable." 03 worked to stay upright. "Get off."

"Test of strength. You're coming into the field with us, I need to know you can hold."

“Absolute lies." 03 forced the words out against the weight of Delta's arm. "Okay, fine. I'll talk to 05, she'll forgive you. But you really think that low of her?"

"She sits alone in a dark room watching everyone through dozens of screens," Delta said, "and sends her sisters out as bait without telling them." She lifted her arm. "That wasn't my goal anyway. I just hate how everyone loves you and lets you get away with it."

"Your G-Bot sisters don't." 03 clicked her shoulder back into place.

"They will."

<< end_of_file : E-UNIT >>

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