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Systems rebooting...cognitive functions online...error: file systems 1, 5, and 8 are corrupted...auditory systems online...
“Ami, are you still with us? Give me a sign if you can hear me,” a voice echoed into her auditory receptors.
Vocal systems online...error: voice chip not found...running diagnostic...voice chip damaged...optical systems online...
With her optics finally online, the world came into view all at once. She was on the bridge of a spaceship, but not one flying through space, rather one that had been firmly grounded. As her olfactory systems booted up, the smell of burnt wires and smoke filled her nostrils. In front of her was a familiar yet unfamiliar person, a medic holding a light to her eyes. The medic appeared older than herself, with long blonde hair that almost looked pink in certain light. A light, mechanical armor covered everything but the medic’s head, which was topped with a small nurse’s cap. Two angelic wings came out of the medic’s back; the wings surrounded the two girls like a small halo of protection.
“Voice chip is damaged. That’s not a surprise,” the nurse commented. “Come on, Ami, I can see your optics working. Blink twice if you can hear me.”
‘Ami,’ that was her name; it sounded right, at least. She tried to access her own file systems to double-check, but such personal data was stored in the corrupted file 1. Ami wanted to say something, but even as she moved her mouth, no sound came out aside from some static. The medic was right; her voice chip was damaged, but was it always like that? Any data confirming or denying that was also corrupted. With little else to do, Ami blinked twice as the medic had asked.
“That’s good. I was afraid that last explosion screwed something else up,” the medic sighed in relief. “You took a pretty nasty fall there. You avoided the brunt of the explosion, but the force of the blast threw you fairly hard, and you landed on your head.”
Ami didn’t remember what she was talking about. In fact, she didn’t remember much of today at all. Recent memories are stored in file 8, and all she could pull from the corrupted folder were fragments. Something about panicking, then an attack, and then she had to run away. She could remember scattered words, images without context, and emotions whose attached memories were lost. Her mind raced and raced but couldn’t understand.
“Okay, next check, how are your wings?” The medic inquired.
‘Wings, wings...my wings?’ Ami’s thoughts began to form again. That was right, she was the same as the medic. No, that was too broad, the medic was more advanced than she was, but they came from the same origin. Ami’s turned her attention to the pair of little wings on her back, which flapped unconsciously. Unlike the medic’s, which were large enough to surround the two, Ami’s wings were tiny. In all honesty, they shouldn’t have been able to support her weight in flight. That was fine, however, as she had other systems to support her flight. But, as a result, she could only hover around slowly.
“Excellent, it looks like they still work,” the medic patted her on the head. “You’re lucky they didn’t get incinerated.”
‘Lucky? Oh, that’s right,’ Ami’s memories began to clear up a little. That slow hover is what got her hurt in the first place. She was convinced she could move across that gap on her own. She didn’t want to wait for someone to help her across. Then there was an explosion and then darkness. But why was she flying across the gap again?
“Listen,” the medic stated, “I know you’re probably still all jumbled in the head, but we need to get out of here. It won’t be safe for much longer. We can’t use this ship to evacuate anymore, so we’ll have to-Oh, shit.” The medic grabbed Ami and threw her against the floor, shielding the smaller girl with her own body. A massive explosion rocked the ship’s hull. The sound of creaking metal assaulted their ears as the ship shuddered.
‘Explosions are not fun,’ Ami thought to herself. A frightful chill went up her spine as she relieved her recent experience.
“They’re closer than I thought,” the medic looked towards a nearby window. Ami couldn’t see out of it from on the floor, but she could hear something in the distance. Something violent, something dangerous, something scary. Not to mention the occasional far off explosion. “We need to leave, right now,” the medic stated seriously. “Come on, I’ll help you,” the blonde woman pulled Ami to her feet.
‘Why is she so concerned? Can’t we just hide here?’ Ami thought to herself. ‘It’s been safe her so far, so why do we need to go? We’ve already been her for...um...I don’t know.’
“No slouching, let’s go,” the medic threw Ami’s arm over her shoulder and started to lead her towards a hole in the ship’s hull.
‘I don’t know what’s happening anymore,’ Ami lamented, ‘I don’t like this.’ Another explosion slammed the ship as they left. Ami didn’t bother to look back, but she could hear the metal creek again before something collapsed. ‘I don’t want to run, I just want to...something...there’s something I need to do.’
“Oh, thank the creator,” the medic exclaimed, “that was far too close for comfort.”
‘I need to, I need to do something. Then, I need to do it again tomorrow, and the day after that and...’ Ami’s mind repeated the same phrase ad nauseam. Her file system was running a recovery program to restore her corrupted files. Piece by piece, her memory was restored.
“I’ve got one injured,” the medic yelled. Ami looked up to see more of her people. They wore mechanical armor like the medic and had the same large wings, but their armor was thicker, and they were most certainly not medics. One of them approached and helped the medic carry Ami back over to the others.
‘I remember now,’ Ami’s eyes lit up as her body was filled with a flood of positive emotions. ‘I need to clean up after work today, or the boss will yell at me. Tomorrow’s an important day.’
“Over here,” the other woman helped the medic move Ami, towards an armored vehicle with its back folded down into a ramp. “We have enough room for her.”
“Just in time,” the medic smiled.
‘Tomorrow is going to be so fun,’ Ami thought to herself, ‘I can wait for this scary day to be over.’
“I’m surprised you got her to go with you,” the other woman commented. “They normally never deviate from their programming unless ordered by a direct superior.”
“She was injured, hit her head real bad,” the medic explained. “She probably doesn’t even know what’s going on.”
‘I need to practice for tomorrow, practice my...uh...what was it that I did again?’ Ami struggled to remember.
“Even if she wasn’t injured, she wouldn’t know what’s going on,” the other woman shook her head. “How did you even find her? Most of them don’t leave their posts even if it collapses on their heads.”
“I was a regular at her workplace,” the medic explained, “I was there when they gave the evacuation order. I was directing them to one of the evacuation ships, but she was a little impatient and got caught in a blast. Thing is, that might have been what saved her.”
‘Was it juggling?...no...Oh wait, it was jokes, boss loves my jokes,’ Ami giggled to herself.
“This is going to be hard on her,” the other woman set Ami down on a bed in the armored vehicle. “Attacked on the day before a major holiday.” She looked down to see Ami giggling to herself. “Probably hasn’t realized everything will be canceled for tomorrow.”
“In her mind, this will all be over in a few hours,” the medic explains as she sat down next to Ami. “Thank you for your help.”
“Don’t mention it. You stay safe to okay?” The other woman nodded before leaving the vehicle, which closed up behind her.
‘Maybe I should start practicing now,’ Ami considered. ‘I’ll tell some to the nice lady. Oh wait, voice chip is damaged.’ The girl furrowed her brow.
“It’s okay, Ami, we’ll be safe soon,” the medic stroked the younger girl’s hair. “If we’re lucky, you’ll be back to work in a few months, and maybe we’ll see your...” The medic paused. ‘No, I shouldn’t give her that hope.’
‘What’s she so upset about? Tomorrow’s the best day of the year.’ Ami wondered. The mechanical girl wanted to sit up and ask her, but then she realized her legs weren’t moving. Ami looked down at her lower body; her right leg was a little banged up and very num, but her left leg...‘Where’d the rest of it go?’ She noticed her half missing leg, a trail of sparking wires dangling out of her knee.
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I'm excited for the next few stories, expect them to star more of these mechanical girls.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
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