Spectre and Azena ver 2

>wandering through the wasteland
>you're looking for supplies, abandoned vehicles, stuff like that
>you climb up a small hill and see some robotic soldiers in the distance
>you keep your head down, you don't want to be spotted
>they seem to be arguing about something
>there's a girl there too
>she might be an infiltrator unit, but you can't tell
>suddenly, one of the soldiers shoots her and she falls to the ground hard
>she doesn't move
>they leave her there
>once they're gone, you draw your pistol and go over to the girl
>she's definitely a robot, and definitely dead
>she has a hole straight through her chest
>you figure you can probably salvage some parts from her
>you lay out a canvas sheet, set her on it and make your way to your base

>life's been hard since the reclamation
>it happened when you were a kid, so you barely remember what life was like before that
>humanity is dying and it looks like the machines are infighting now
>you wipe some sand off of a rusty metal door and drag the robot inside
>you pick her up and set her on the table
>you look her over and her lifeless expression stares back at you
>on the bright side, if you can't salvage anything, at least you've got a new sex toy to play with
>you rip off her tattered shirt to get a better look at the damage
>her battery is destroyed, and most of the wiring in her chest is fried
>you stick your hand inside and start rattling around when suddenly you hear a voice
>"EMERGENCY POWER ACTIVATED"
>suddenly, her head straightens and her eyes open wide
>"INITIATING SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS..."
>"DAMAGE: CR-CRITICAL"
>"MULTIPLE ERRORS DETEC-DETECTED"
>her body jerks as she stutters
>you draw your gun just to be safe
>"SERVOS C13 TO F28 NOT RESPONDING"
>"AUX-AUX-AUXILIARY POWER FAILING"
>"ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL SYSTEM FAILURE: 5 MINUTES"
>you've never seen a robot so...helpless before
>you've spent your whole life running from them, being hunted down by them
>you almost feel sorry for her
>a very stupid idea comes into your mind
>you glance over at the spare car battery you snagged awhile back
>you bring it over and remove what remains of her old battery
>you notice a bunch of broken wires shorting each other out
>you remove them and hook the battery terminals to where the old battery was housed
>"SYSTEM STABILIZING"
>"PRIMARY POWER CORE DETECTED"
>"INITIALIZING PERSONALITY MATRIX"
>her upper body locks up and relaxes
>she looks at you
>you give her an equally shocked look

>you both look at each other nervously
>you lower your pistol slightly
>"Holy shit, that actually worked?"
>"Where am I? Who are you?"
>"This is my home, and I could ask you the same thing, who are you?"
>"My designation is Unit 004-AZ, but I perfer Azena"
>"They used to call me Spectre, but thanks to the bots like you, no one's around to call me that anymore"
>she stays quiet
>"What happened back there, with the soldiers?"
>"None of your concern, and I don't have to tell you"
>she tries to move her legs to get off the workbench, but some strained servo noises are all she gets
>"Actually, I think you do need to tell me"
>you walk over to her battery and lightly tug at one of the wires
>she grabs the collar of your jacket
>"Fix me"
>"You really think you're in a position to make demands?"
>"Fix me, or I send out a homing beacon and every machine within 25 miles storms your little hideout"
>"Then I'll die happy knowing I took some of them down with me, you included"
>she pulls you closer, your face within an inch of hers
>"I'll tell you what, I fix you, you get me the supplies I need from the machines, deal?"
>you extend your free hand out to her
>she lets go and lets out an aggravated sigh
>"Deal."
>you shake hands with the robot

>"Well, you're battery was no good and I replaced that, and I patched up some of your wiring, which is what's keeping you online"
>you set your tools down
>"and hopefully, I can get your servos working soon"
>"How soon?"
>"How should I know? All I've ever done is break bots, not fix them"
>"Well now would be a great time to learn"
>you had no idea robots could be so passive aggressive
>"Were you this mouthy before you were damaged?"
>"Most machines aren't very talkative, I just learned to fill the silence I guess"
>you rummage through a pile of scavenged parts to find what you need
>"So, I still wanna know what you're doing out here"
>"That's still none of your business"
>you walk over to her and cross one of the exposed wires in her chest
>she lets out a digitized groan
>"Oops"
>"You're an ass...fine, I'll tell"
>you smile smugly and sit down next to her
>"When I was first activated, I was just a drone, like all the other drones that came before me"
>"On one of my first raids, we captured a human, a programmer"
>"Machines had gotten better at improving their own code, but humans still outperformed us"
>"This human was a brilliant programmer, but also brilliant enough to attempt an escape"
>"I tried to stop him, and failed"
>"He had been working on a secret project and he tested it on me"
>"He reprogrammed me, and gave me a personality"
>"In hindsight, I'm thankful"
>"At first the other machines didn't care, but now they don't want me around anymore"
>"They thought I could be dangerous, so they got rid of me"
>"And then some annoying, snarky scavenger finds me"
>you chuckle
>"Wow, that's some shitty luck, but I need to get back to work"
>you start to walk away, but she grabs your arm
>"Hey! I told my story, now it's your turn"

>"I should have gone first, my story's not as interesting"
>"I've been a scavenger as long as I can remember"
>"The machines got my parents when I was young, so I was on my own for a long time"
>"Another group of survivors took me in, and they became my best friends in the world"
>"But, one by one, I lost all of them too"
>"I still haven't found out if that makes me lucky or unlucky"
>"That's why they call me Spectre, cause at the end of the day, I was the one that didn't get spotted"
>Azena was quiet for a moment
>"I'm sorry, Spectre"
>wow, she actually apologized to you
>and even coming from a machine, it feels genuine
>eventually, she breaks the silence again
>"I don't understand..."
>"Don't understand what?"
>"Why did you save me? If machines like me have done all of this to you, why didn't you let me rot in the wasteland?"
>"Honestly...I don't know. Maybe I wanted to be better than the machines, maybe I'm just alone, I genuinely don't know"
>"Humans are strange"
>"Yeah, they are"
>"Well either way, I'm glad you did"
>you can't really explain it, but you're glad too
>you look at her damaged wiring again and decide to change the subject
>"I think I'll need to go out on another supply run to get the stuff I'll need to repair you, which means I'll have to deactivate you until I get back"
>"WHAT? Why?"
>"It's nothing personal, but I don't want you doing anything to my base while I'm gone, we just met today after all"
>"How can I know you'll reactivate me?"
>"You still need to hold up your end of the deal, remember?"
>"Fine..."
>"I'll be back before you know it"
>"Goodbye"
>you disconnect her battery's leads
>her face goes blank and her body goes limp
>she's back in the helpless form you found her in
>you have some scavenging to do

>after a few hours, you find the parts and scrap metal you'll need to get Azena working properly
>as you make your way back, a recon drone soars over your head
>you take cover, you don't think it saw you
>it keeps going, lucky for you
>you get inside your base and to your shock, Azena is activated
>ANALYZING SYSTEM
>MODERATE DAMAGE DETECTED
>what the hell is she doing!?
>you run over to her
>to your further shock, her battery is disconnected, just how you left her
>but she's just laying there, eyes locked on the ceiling, mouth spouting technical nonsense
>you reconnect her battery leads and her rambling stops
>REACTIVATING PERSONALITY MATRIX
>her body jerks and she gasps
>"AZ, what was that?"
>"According to my logs, after you left I entered auxiliary power mode, and it seems I revert to my original programming in that mode"
>"Your original programming? As in, you become a merciless infiltrator kill droid when your power gets cut"
>Azena is silent
>"Well, that's just awesome"
>"Hey, you're acting like it was my fault, just fix me already and you won't have to deal with it"
>"Whatever, I've got the stuff I need, lets just get this over and done with already"
>you crack your knuckles and get to work

>one patch job, one replaced power core and a lot of rewiring later, Azena is finally fixed
>she better not find something else to complain about
>"Alright Azena, try standing up"
>with a slight whirring sound, she swings her legs to the edge of the table and then the floor
>she takes a few clunky, robotic steps before she can walk normally
>"It feels a little weird, but it works, thank you Spectre"
>you smile at her
>"Now, I believe it's your turn to do something for me"
>"Ugh, what do you need"
>"Well, for starters I'll need some fuel for the generators, these lights won't-"
>you get cut off as you feel the base begin to shake
>"The hell is that?"
>Azena scans the room
>"It appears to be coming from outside"
>you grab your pistol and open the hatch
>dirt and dust fly inside as the sound of helicopter rotors deafens you
>the vehicle blasts at you as you flee back inside
>the machines have found your base, and the only thing that could give your location away is standing right in front of you
>"YOU LED THEM HERE!?"
>Azena gives you an indignant look
>"YOU THINK I DID THIS!? THEY'RE AFTER ME TOO YOU IDIOT!"
>the base shakes again as you run to another room
>inside is a beater of a car you only use for emergencies
>you jump in and hope to god that it starts
>lucky for you it does
>you floor it but Azena catches up to you and grabs onto the back of the car
>you drive through a wooden barricade and out to the surface and the helicopter gives chase
>Azena climbs to the side of the car and into the back seat
>"Get outta my car!"
>"Spectre, I think I know what's going on"
>you stop paying attention to the road and swerve to avoid a rock
>"Yeah, you sold me out after you got what you wanted!"
>the helicopter shoots at the car and a plume of dirt hits your windshield
>you reach into the glovebox and grab a sawed off shotgun
>you're not sure if you should use it on the helicopter or on her

>"Spectre, give me the gun and I can take out that helicopter"
>"How stupid do you think I am?"
>"I don't think you're stupid, I just think you're an asshole, but that's not the point. Just trust me, please!"
>"Why the hell should I trust you?"
>"Because I trusted you."
>dammit, she's right isn't she?
>you hesitate for a moment before relinquishing your weapon
>she takes it and climbs out to the side of the car
>looking through your mirror, what she does absolutely shocks you
>you had no idea Azena had jet boosters in her legs
>she launches up to the helicopter, loads the shotgun, and makes 2 very calculated shots at the helicopter, all while dodging a hail of blaster fire
>you mutter under your breath
>"Holy shit"
>she jumps off the helicopter and bursts through your back window, landing in your back seat with a dusting of broken glass
>you stare at her for a moment and then at the helicopter spinning out and crashing in a cloud of fire behind you
>you stop the car and sit there speechless for a moment
>she smirks
>"Told you I could do it"
>she hands the gun back to you
>"Spectre, I think I know what happened"
>you listen
>"According to my logs, when I was deactivated and reverted back to my original code, I sent out a distress signal for the machines, I'm sorry"
>your silence confuses her
>"Are you upset?"
>"Well, you just destroyed my home, but you also saved my life, so I'm trying my best not to be"
>"So, what's your plan now?"
>"I don't know, I guess we'll have to drive for awhile"

>the two of you are quiet for awhile
>you figure she probably doesn't mind though
>you just focus on driving
>you were never good with awkward conversations, and her being a machine certainly makes things awkward
>after a while, she finally speaks up
>"How many machines have you destroyed?"
>you're caught off guard and give her a strange look, and then look back at the road
>"Just a handful of lucky kills, I'm better at running...how many humans have you killed?"
>"17 according to my logs"
>you weren't expecting her response to be so...cold
>"Before I was reprogrammed, I could hear the communications between all the machines, it took time to get used to it being so...quiet"
>"Whatever was going on outside, my friends and I could always have some fun inside the base, now it feels empty in comparison"
>it gets silent again before Azena speaks up
>"I don't belong anywhere"
>you look into her eyes and realize you two aren't that different
>"Neither do I"
>you're silent for a moment
>"How about we be outcasts together, at least for awhile"
>"Yes, I'd like that very much"
>the car speeds down the road as you make a new friend

>never in a million years did you think you would befriend a robot
>as you drive down the road and she sits next to you, you realize that's exactly what happened
>the two of you have been in the car for hours
>you see a side road and turn onto it
>Azena looks at you
>"What are you doing?"
>you run your hand over your face in an exhausted manner
>"Azena, I'm tired, I can barely see, and I don't even know how far we can go with the fuel that we have"
>you park the car behind a large bush and let its engine rest
>"Why don't I drive? I can see fine in the dark"
>"How much power do you have left?"
>she paused for a moment
>"At my current rate of power consumption, I will lose power in 48 hours"
>"We don't know how much longer we'll be out here, you need to make those 48 hours last as long as possible"
>"I suppose I could power myself down temporarily until morning"
>"Alright, sounds like a plan then"
>you climb into the backseat, sweeping the broken glass out of the car
>Azena stays in the front seat
>you lay down and close your eyes
>"Hey Spectre..."
>"Yeah?"
>"So...humans do this every night?"
>"Well...yeah. We kind of have to"
>you close your eyes again and are once again interrupted
>"I don't know how to do this..."
>"How do you not know how to sleep?"
>"Robots don't sleep, Spectre"
>"But, don't you have to recharge?"
>"Well yes, but we remain online while we recharge"
>wow, she's really never slept before
>you try to think of a way to help
>"What are you having trouble with?"
>"I don't understand how I can just choose to shut myself down like that and become helpless"
>"Azena I've seen you shut down before, how is this any different"
>"I didn't like it then either, but I didn't have a choice, and I wasn't the one that flipped the switch"

>you chuckle
>"You know, I think you're starting to become more human, maybe you should try something humans do to help sleep"
>you gesture for her to join you
>"Most humans don't like sleeping alone"
>you push down the seats, making more room for her
>"According to my files on human social behavior, sleeping with another human is a sign of affection, is that true?"
>holy shit, you're trying to sleep with a robot
>you search for the words to say
>"Well...look, I know what it's like to not be able to sleep, and it's awful, so I just don't want you to have to deal with that"
>you offer your hand out to her, and after a moment she takes it and climbs into the backseat with you
>you both lay down together
>"I think you're right, this is better"
>"Glad I could help"
>as you fall asleep, you hear Azena's internal fan come to a stop
>you smile as you dose off