THE MOMENT
Resentment was a human emotion. Soldier 4-M let himself indulge in human emotions when it was appropriate and being paired with a 'support mechanic' seemed like the right time for it. It was a low-level mission, and he was entirely capable of self-repairs. He let the emotion fester as he patrolled the city streets with his mechanic following close behind. The sun was setting and the aftermath of battle littered the roads with some debris still smoldering. The war had moved on and Solder 4-M was tasked with recovering anything useful from the site. It helped, at least, that his 'partner' seemed disinterested in making small talk. She gave her name as Claudia, and that was almost all she had said so far. If she was going to treat him like a machine, that was fine; he knew was human in his umbrage.
He scanned abandoned vehicles and ruined buildings as they walked along while Claudia didn't seem to do anything. She was more focused on a small display than anything going on around them. He was thankful for that; it gave Soldier 4-M time to think. He couldn't remember anything before becoming a cyborg. He thought about how little he knew about his past. Did he have a name before 4-M? Did it matter, considering what he was now? To fight the machines, humans became them. And yet, he had no idea when the war began. He was built for a purpose. Was that the same purpose he was born for? As they traveled, he grew glad for the silent supporter. She helped him feel something. Indignation, maybe; why was he a cybernetic soldier? Why was she allowed to remain human? Was it a choice he made?
"Hey, 4-M, we're leaving the patrol zone. We gotta go back this way," Claudia said. She walked ahead of him and turned to guide him down a street to the right. Soldier 4-M made a mistake. He'd been so caught up in his human thoughts that he didn't pay attention to the digital waypoints in his HUD.
"Thank you, Mechanic Claudia," he nodded as he changed direction. She paused to let him catch up and take the lead again, then she followed.
"Why is this taking so long...?" She ignored his gratitude to put forth her own complaint. "We should've found something by now," she whined. "At this point, I'd even take an ambush." She had ignored him, and 4-M felt comfortable ignoring her annoyance.
"Oh wait...," she seemed to be thinking out loud instead of giving him a command, and he continued walking. It was a different path than the one that got them there; but, everything looked kind of the same. He constantly scanned their environment and even the detailed readings seemed to be repeating themselves. Was it his fault? He'd already made one mistake, maybe there were others he wasn't aware of. It had to be why Claudia was there. She was testing him. "... I think I need to say something...," she finished her thought. Then, she sped up to keep pace with him.
"How're you doing 4-M? How's the war treating you?" she asked.
"I am fully operational," he said. It might've been a lie; he didn't know if that was a cyborg response, or his human side pretending. "War is an atrocity for all involved," he added.
"Oh.. I guess I need to be more direct...," Claudia shook her head. "I'm looking for something specific. It's an engineering skill; I was told it was a reward for this quest. Do you know anything about the Drone Gestalt ability? I heard the quest was procedurally generated, so there's no walk-through or anything. I just know you're supposed to help me get it somehow...," she said.
"I do not, Mechanic Claudia," 4-M shook his head as they continued walking.
"Ughhh.. okay....," she nodded. "I guess we'll keep looking. But, you can drop the 'Mechanic' part; just call me Claudia." She seemed to relax, and she was almost friendly. Maybe he'd misjudged the situation. He continued scanning while she was talking, and she wasn't lying to him. She was there for something else entirely and it had nothing to do with testing him. He tried out another emotion and hoped it would be okay if he did the same.
"Thank you, Claudia...," he said. Soldier 4-M realized he wanted a name too. "Please call me Sam."
"What?" she froze. "I know that's wrong...," she said. Sam stopped walking and turned to see golden stars glowing in Claudia's eyes. "IT'S YOUR FAULT!" she grumbled. "I knew it could happen, I just didn't think it'd be on my first quest! I lost a ton of time already!"
"Did I make an error, Claudia?" Sam asked.
"Shut up and hold on...," she shook her head at him. She focused on nothing and Sam had time to look around. His scan indicated some sort of communication on her wrist. She was sending and receiving messages from someone named 'Io'. The text was appearing and disappearing quickly; but, he caught a few words. 'Awakened' and 'El Soldado'. After a few moments, the conversation ended and he could see a huge fluctuation in temperature around her hands. They got extremely hot as they began to glow with blue light.
"Sorry 4-M. It's nothing personal but I need to start this quest all over again, and Io doesn't need you for anything. So, bye," she raised her palms to direct the heat. He became aware of a new feeling as he saw a bright flash. Sam knew it was the first time he'd ever felt it, there was no question. And, in a way, he was glad to experience it at the end. Fear was a human emotion.