Reboot, Recharge, Relax | Pathos

She let out a heavy sigh at the diagnostics report. The damage was worse than expected, and her patch-jobs didn’t begin to scratch the surface. There was also the oddity of the redacted information, but that was a mystery for later; all it did was confirm that this cyborg was tampered with or customized. Fortunately the powered-on state and detailed report let her find the next parts to focus on. Caroline put a mini-flashlight between her lips, holding it still between her teeth as she leaned in to take a peek inside Pathos’s auditory canal.

“Easy, easy,” she said as Pathos started to stand. As expected, she wasn’t able to on her own. She zoomed in her vision after grabbing a small pair of tools from the box. “Hold on here…” There was a loose wire and some minor damage to the auditory sensors; nothing out of the ordinary for cyborgs in combat. After a few seconds of adjustments, it seemed to all be in line once more. “There, how’s that? Better, I hope.”

She took the flashlight from her mouth and reexamined the damage report that was shared on her HUD. “Actually, I have some idea,” she said. “I was after those hunters to begin with; before I found you and Umbrage, I engaged her hunter companions. They weren’t in any state to follow the kids after that. Without that danger, they had the time to find their way home.”

Caroline smirked. “Hah, well you’re not that heavy, but you’re right; I’m a cyborg. Hosted, specifically,” she said. She examined Pathos’s left arm next, with the severed wires. She’d have to pop open the casing on that and examine the interior. At least she didn’t seem to be in any sort of intense simulated pain; the constant questions were proof of that. She had the right to be curious. “Fair enough. Call me Caroline. I’m just a woman living in the woods, making life hard for hunters. It’s something of a hobby.”

Caroline joked a lot more often now that she was spending so much time with Lelianna. She popped open the casing on Pathos’s arm and spotted some obvious spots where the wires disconnected. Time to get spare wire and a soldering iron…

“As for why I saved you, besides just wanting to make sure you were okay, it’s for the same reason I don’t mind telling you what I just did; you’re clearly not a hunter, and you have some connection to Haven, if what I heard was correct.” If there was any shock or suspicion, Caroline would hold her hand up. “Easy. I’ve been to Haven myself, I don’t need to pull it from your head.”

She leaned in close as she started patching up some of the wiring, a faint smile on her face. “It’s no trouble; sorry I had to put some shots through you to scare off Umbrage. Tried to do it without resorting to that, but she’s a quick little bastard. Let me know if this feels uncomfortable, alright?” She started with the obvious wiring gaps, hoping that nothing more sensitive was damaged. “Sounds like your memory’s intact. You remember what happened, then? How about your name?”

“Glad to hear it,” she said after confirming the repairs took. “I've done more delicate fixing of my own body during a gunfight, but I suppose you're right to worry about a stranger rooting around in your parts; might be too much to ask for you to trust me right now, but I'm not going to try to do anything that might hurt you worse; I'm no mechanic. I'm just trying to stabilize you before I can get you to one.”

She scoffed lightly at the assessment that the kids owed her; she couldn't hide a smile at the thought, even as she shook her head. “Just doing what any good person would do. The Magi don't owe me anything; in fact, it's the other way around.”

She wouldn't elaborate unless asked. Truth was, if it weren't for Tori, Luca, and Lelianna, she'd never have gotten her life back. And saving magi was repaying an endless debt, one that Caroline racked up during those awful years.

“Try to move it,” she said. She frowned at the light twitch of her pinky, then took a closer look at her work. She tried to connect a few more wires, hoping for some additional motor function. There was only so much she could do, though, and ended up shaking her head. “Best I can do with what I have, sorry.”

She nodded along to Pathos' recollection, which served a hidden purpose; yes, she wanted to see if her memory was intact, but also the old agent in her wanted to do some investigating. It worked like a charm.

“So you are from Haven after all,” Caroline said as casually as one would mention the weather. “It was only a hunch from what I heard you two talking about, as well as how close you were to the city. Glad Umbrage didn't get to have her way with you.”

Other information was freely volunteered. She wasn't a combat model (though a look at her chassis was enough of an indicator of that), but she was tasked with protecting magi. She hummed as she moved around to the front of the android, now seeing what she could do about fixing some additional holes in the chassis. In a word, she was bothered by these revelations. A non-combat model with information about Haven was... dangerous. If Umbrage was able to get information, the entire city could have been compromised. Even if not, she didn't like the idea of an android self-terminating.

Before she could patch up one of the minor punctures, she froze.

Do you know Umbrage?

After a few moments, she relaxed and resumed her welding work. It seemed while she was setting up Pathos for answers, she let her guard down enough for Pathos to learn some things about her. Honestly, she could respect that, even if she hated the subject matter.

“Unfortunately, I do,” she said. “Enough to know what she's capable of. Everything she was saying... well, that was all true. Hunters would have taken your databanks and likely repurposed you. When she called herself a weapon, she was right; that's what the hunters view cyborgs and androids as, and nothing more. Though I suppose what's most disturbing is that she seems to embrace the role.” She sat back and looked at the one hole she patched. Satisfied, she moved to another. “Sorry if this is uncomfortable; you lost a lot of coolant, and your internals are damaged- I have to make sure you're stable and I can only do that when you're active.”

As a show of good faith, and perhaps as an apology for halfway tricking Pathos into volunteering information, she decided to share a bit, too; it was safer now that she was sure the android was indeed from Haven.

“I also saw the fire, and I had a lead that hunters were prowling about the area; wasn't hard to put two and two together, so that's how I ended up nearby. Didn't expect to find anyone that needed saving, but glad it worked out that way. Mm, try to move your legs again?” She backed up and watched, shaking her head. “Damn, I can't do anything about that. Well, I brought you back here, near where I call home. It's safe, I have my tools, and when I'm sure I can get you to Haven without you falling to pieces, I'll need Leli to guide me there. We're not that far off.”

“I suppose that’s true,” she said, not entirely on board with Pathos’ logic. Yeah, it’s true, but she couldn’t help but see other cyborgs, even androids, as equals. And she wouldn’t be ripping out organs because they ‘could be replaced.’ Far be it from her to tell Pathos how to view herself, though. “Lucky you have those inhibitors, otherwise even being conscious would be painful. Trust me.”

Yeah, she didn’t get those when they made her body. She had to be aware of her body’s senses, and hosted humans who didn’t experience typical ‘human’ feelings tended to suffer from mental distress and disconnect. Unfortunately, that included pain.

She hummed and inspected the hydraulic casing, acknowledging her assessment with a defeated nod. “Money’s just money,” she said. “Better than you being permanently disabled or captured. If it will really put a strain on whoever you stay with, I can help with the costs. I should restock my supplies anyway.” Caroline had… quite a bit of savings on her person. She never had a need to spend much money in her old life, so it piled up. Once she bailed, she took it all; almost a decade of a high-paying job’s salary was stashed among her belongings. And now that she lived in the woods, where everything was provided for her by nature, she still had no means to spend it. She found herself giving it to magi she saved more often than not.

She didn’t expect philosophy on androids when she booted up Pathos, but found it interesting all the same. She… hadn’t really spoken to many outside of her job, and none since she left. Being built to serve… that struck a negative cord with her, due to past experiences. But she seemed happy enough. “Hm, well, I can’t argue with that. I don’t know that anyone programmed her to ‘enjoy’ her duties, though.” That was all she really had to say; it wasn’t the time to get into an in-depth discussion on android free will.

She moved around to Pathos’ back. “Yeah, figured as much, but it was worth a shot. Going to pop your back open, just to have a look here.” With her consent, she did. Immediately she winced at the sight of her damaged internals. Loose coolant, crushed metal… it was a miracle she could even reboot. “Damn she did a number on you. Nothing an expert can’t repair; I’ve seen worse.” Firsthand, no less.

She couldn’t contain her short burst of laugh and smile as she closed Pathos’ chassis back up. “Ha, you know, I’m not surprised. Seems she knows everyone who spends time in the woods.” She started to put away a few of her tools. Metal clinked and clanked as she fished around looking for some other ones. “Oh there was no chance she wouldn’t help us,” she said with another laugh. “She trusts me. We are dating, after all.”

“No need to repay anything,” Caroline reaffirmed. “You’re from Haven, you help Magi, and I’ve got an endless debt to them. Don’t think anything of it. Not much I need as far as work or care, but the offer is appreciated. Just keep doing good for Haven, and I’ll consider us even.”

There was no way she would take anything from the Magi, not after how much she took already. Knowing she stopped a hunt was good enough for her, though the fact that Pathos knew of Haven was bothering her now; if she DID get captured… that could be the end for the Magi. Whoever her ‘master’ was, Caroline would have to try and have a word with them.

She put some tools away, then gave Pathos’ body a once-over look, while keeping an eye on her HUD for diagnostic changes. “Can’t argue that; hunters are a heartless bunch. Anyone, human or cyborg, would pick up on those habits if they spent time at the guild.” That, to Carlone, was why she could see androids as people; they could learn, they could feel emotions, they had a sense of individuality… they were people. The only difference between her and them was that her cpu was organic. Hell, it got hacked just as easily as a computer would. “Not a fan of people being destined for a lifetime of killing. Call it an acquired distaste from personal experience.”

That was putting it lightly.

She shared the laugh. “Not today, I’m afraid.” During her examination, she noted one puncture wound that was missed. A quick hit with the welder would fix that. As she leaned in, she rolled her eye at Pathos. Really, that’s what they programmed her to think?

Unless, as a cyborg, you possess an augmentation that is the facilitation of procreation

Caroline jumped in surprised, heat flooding her cheeks as she fumbled to grab the welder that was tossed up in the air. Somehow, she managed to catch it without singeing herself or Pathos, though it was pretty iffy for a few desperate moments. Good GODS. She was surprised her own hair wasn’t turning red like Leli’s would have; good thing she wasn’t here to share in the awkward moment.

“Uh, n-no,” Caroline managed to stutter out. “Nothing… nothing like that. I’m not, er, we’re not, ah… That’s… not…” Use your words, Caro. She took a breath; it was unnecessary for her to function, but her brain still felt the calming effects of the motion. “I think you need to update your database, Pathos,” she said. “That’s not the only purpose of dating. It’s what people do when they feel love or affection for one another; “procreation-“ Her cheeks flushed at the word. Gods, that act wasn’t even something she had considered before! “It’s… not always the end goal or purpose of relationships. Women date each other, men date each other, cyborgs date humans and androids date Magi; it’s... people have their own reasons. Leli and I have no plans for … children.”

Calmer now, she patched up the puncture wound, glad to be able to focus on another task for a few precious moments. Gods, was she really explaining relationships to someone? Her? The most clueless cyborg this side of Arecia?

She put her tools down and closed the lids of her respective containers. “That’s about all I can do for repairs. Should keep you together long enough to get to Haven. I’ll carry you since your legs aren’t working, whenever you’re ready to go.”

She made a sound halfway between a drawn-out “uhhh” and a hum. “I don’t know that that’s actually all there is to love, Pathos,” she offered. “No, you didn’t upset me. Just… caught me by surprise, was all.” Tools were put away at a renewed pace as Caroline tried frantically to avoid the subject. She left their wires connected so she could view Pathos’ diagnostics in her own HUD during the journey to Haven. Pathos may be fine now, but that didn’t mean her patch-jobs would hold during trip.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured Pathos. “I carried you the whole way here without trouble. I’m stronger than I look. Up we go!”

True to her word, she hefted Pathos up as if she was made of plastic. She opted for a fireman carry, with Pathos horizontally over her shoulders; piggyback wouldn’t be good with Pathos having one functioning arm, and bridal-style wasn’t really suited for long travel. Plus she didn’t have to look at her face if she chose to ask more questions on love.

Which there was, of course.

“Err, well… uh…” She started confidently. “Love… Well… I can’t say that I’m an expert, or anything; I just know what my experiences are, and what people tell me about theirs. It’s… a connection. I guess that’s the best way to put it.”
Thank goodness they weren’t far from Lelianna’s cabin. Hopefully she could save her.

“Leli and I… we’re dating because of a bond we developed over a long time. There are countless reasons I love her, but none of them have to do with… reproduction.” A vague heat formed on her cheeks. “It’s more… the feeling we get being around each other. I guess I’m no good at explaining it… but there are lots of different kinds of love, you know. Like the love between a father and daughter, or brother and sister, or cousins… familial love. Friendship is also a type of love, I suppose.”

How long had they been walking? Two minutes? It felt like two years. Unless Pathos asked follow-up questions (which she no doubt would), that was all Caroline had to say. After all, they were getting close to Leli’s cabin. Hopefully she was around instead of tending to a far border of her garden.

“Maybe it would help to ask around in Haven for people to share their experiences,” she offered. “If you’re looking to research, it’s best to collect from as many sources as you can.”