Murder Drones: Brave Little P

Kitty Extraction

Metallic fingers tap incessantly on a busted console as V stares at her own reflection in a dangling monitor. To say she's simply grumpy would be an understatement. For what feels like the tenth time, she swivels to look at a big blanket-laden cardboard box. In retrospect, V really shouldn't care this much. Especially since she hangs out with that nobody, N all the time. P's just a coward who needs someone to baby her constantly. But, when she looks at that stupid box she loves so much, V half expects to see aluminum feathers just barely poking out the top, or watch her stinger bob back and forth in a steady rhythm. It's one of those things where you forget about it until it's gone, and it's bothering V more than it should. J put herself in sleep mode to conserve fuel, so V's left fuming by herself.

"What's taking those idiots so long, anyway?"

Growling, V decides it's time to get some air. She leaves the safety of the crashed ship, preferring to spelunk through the little graveyard surrounding it. She doesn't go far, aware of how dangerous it's getting outside. All it takes is a few steps forward for her to see a collapsed disassembly drone nearby. Visor blank, unresponsive. V jogs over to it, hoping it's the one she's looking for. The hat is a dead giveaway that he isn't P. It's N. She rolls her eyes, trying to wake him up by poking him with her foot. He springs back to life for a second, his voice broken and sloppy.

"Oh, hey, V! Thanks for waking me up. Gosh, I'm so embarrassed!"

Half of what he just said is barely intelligible. N stumbles to his knees from where he's flopped on the ground, V placing one of her hands on her hip. Her eyes wander the surrounding space before asking the first question that's on her mind.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you made it back, N. Where's P?"

V seems disinterested at first, but her brows start to furrow incredulously when N doesn't give her an immediate response. He won't look at her, shyly pressing his fingers together.

"Right, about Kitty. I'm kinda barely running right now, so she told me to go back to the ship. She stayed behind to get those worker... drones?"

With every new word coming out of N's mouth, V's losing her patience. By the end, V's eye starts twitching, her fists clenching. N shrivels up at the sight of it, anticipating the worst.

"You left her out there? By herself?!"

If there's anything V knows about P, it's that she isn't the best fighter. She'd rather run away than confront a worker drone, she's soft like that. By all accounts, V should hate her for it, but it's one of P's most endearing qualities. V doesn't quite understand why yet. Regardless, it's not like she'll ever admit that out loud, or anything. N's been trying to stand this whole time, but when V yells at him, he falls over on his metal behind. His coordination's shot by his condition.

"No, wait- I tried to stay, but she wouldn't let me! The only thing I could think of was to find you guys, I swear!"

He holds an arm up to shield himself from V's wrath, but it proves to be futile. She grabs that arm with a vice grip, causing N to blush for a second. When he's on his feet, she holds a bladed finger up to his neck. N gulps, that small action enough for the sharp edge to nick him with a cut.

"You're lucky, you know that? Because, if you weren't, I might've taken J's word for it and gutted you by now. But, of course, someone had to go and get attached to you! So I'm stuck with you."

She throws him back on the ground, irritated beyond belief that someone P trusts implicitly couldn't be there for her. Since he doesn't have the energy left to stay active for long, that insignificant impact is all it takes to knock N offline again.

"I'll deal with you later, N."

Is it risky to charge out into the storm? Yes, but V would rather face it head on than live with the painful constricting of her heart. It's something that she never gets used to feeling, it's such a strange sensation to her. Before she can rush into the fray, though, it looks like all the commotion wakes up her esteemed partner in crime.