Artemis Files (0.5)

Chapter 1

Late 2267 - The Institute

"And today's date?" The woman in the lab coat asked the fresh face before her. A somewhat pretty synth with pale skin, making the freckles on her face stand out, blue gray eyes that gave the slightest hint of mischief but were otherwise kind, and wavy red hair that ended just below her breasts in an almost teasing way, recently made by one of the newer doctors in this part of the Institute, having just transferred from their facilities out west a couple of weeks ago. The recently cleaned plain white synth uniform of the Institute having just been fitted to her not an hour and a half before.

"December 21, 2267 ma'am," the synth said in a sweet voice and though she looked like a Celtic woman, her voice held the faint purr of a Greek, or maybe Persian accent. The scientist nodded and asked a few more questions to test the synth's cognitive capabilities. Once satisfied she called to another synth.

"J6-95," she called. A synth, olive skin tone, black hair and chocolate brown eyes came forward and said the customary, "here ma'am," before waiting patiently for instructions. "This is S9-43, she was just created a couple of hours ago. Can you please take her and show her around?"

J6 would nod at the scientist and say, "of course ma'am," before turning to S9 and reaching out her hand. "Hello S9, I'm J6. I was created just a couple of years ago but I'm here to be your guide and to answer all your questions."

S9 couldn't help but let the small smile curling the corner of her lips as she reached for the woman's hand and shook in kind. She's a sweetheart, S9 thought.

"We'll start here," J6 said, pulling away and turning around facing the large room behind them. In the center was a small red pool. Surrounding it were large machines. One was assembling a human skeleton which was in turn taken to the next couple of stations where veins, organs, eyes, and muscle were knitted together, making sure to get the synth component in the center of the brain before too much work was done, where it would then be taken and given a jolt that started the heart and breathing of the lungs however the synth wasn't quite aware yet as if he was asleep or otherwise unconscious but alive.

Finally the body was taken and dunked into the red pool in the center where he emerged with light skin, brown hair and brown almost puppy dogs eyes and his bottom lip came to a natural pout. She watched, intrigued at the fact this was her not long ago. The synth would stop and look around for a while, naked as a newborn, and just getting his bearings just as she had when she came to awareness upon stepping out of the pool until a scientist came and got him.

"This way M7-97," the scientist said. "It's time to get you fitted with a uniform and get you checked by one of our doctors." S9 would watch as the scientist guided the newly created synth, still with a dazed look in his eye, along through the door her and J6 had just come out of.

"This is robotics," J6 suddenly said and S9 would jump. J6 would smile at her. "Sorry. Anyway this is where all synths are created. All the way back to when they were making Gen 1 synths. The scientists that all work here have a red symbol with blood cells." Already, S9 had seen a few of the skeletal robots walking around, many of them old and rusty and they jerked as if they were on their last legs. "The division head is Alan Binet," J6 continued and for a moment a look in her eye briefly flashed as if there was something she wished she could say but didn't. "He's...very kind towards synths," she would say. S9 was wanting to ask more about what was on her mind but they began moving on.

The tour would go on as J6 showed S9 the living quarters and then the other divisions besides Robotics consisting of Bioscience and Advanced Systems. It was when they got to the last one that J6 got noticeably nervous. Before S9 could question, J6 would go ahead and explain in a clear tone. "This is the SRB. They train all the Coursers around here who act as guards and are a sort of police. You shouldn't have to worry about them too much, as long as you follow orders and obey the rules that have been placed for us." S9 would wonder why the other synth seemed so nervous. While the tour had been going on they'd come in contact with a couple of Coursers, one called X6-88 who really seemed to get J6 nervous.

They seemed cold but nothing to worry about as long as the rules were obeyed and S9 didn't plan on doing that. It seemed nice to be here. After showing her around, J6 would take S9 to a sort of corner room that was a little out of the way and filled with bunks. "This is where all synths sleep. You can have the bunk next to mine, it's been empty for a while," J6 pointed to two identical bunks. S9 nodded towards her.

"Thank you for showing me around today," she said and J6 seemed genuinely surprised by the gratitude but took it anyway.

"Of course," S9 said in return. "Since I'm the one that showed you around well probably be assigned to a lot of the same tasks at least for the foreseeable future." S9 nodded, glad she would be working with a familiar face for now. "Your sleep clothes should be in that footlocker," J6 guided. S9 thanked her once again, changed and laid on the bunk next to her new friend. For a while she thought about everything. What an eventful first day of life, and for the briefest if moments she wondered what it was like on the surface before falling deeply to sleep.

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Present Day (2287) - The Prydwen

J6 sat in the Mess Hall with everyone else. Her fingers wrapped around those of another escaped synth as she listened to Artemis' account of her first day of life. How ignorant and curious she'd been back then. How J6 had lead her around the Institute showing her the different departments and introducing her. The day that would change her life forever whether she knew it at the time or not.

It took her a moment to notice that there were eyes on J6 and she realizes they're waiting for her side of things. She looks towards her oldest friend at the front of the room who motions for her to come up and join her. Recently, the local chapter had begun to accept her as well as Artemis regardless of whether they were synths or not. She'd never bee none for public speaking but because of these recent developments, she swallowed the lump that attempted to form in her throat and got up and walked toward the front of the room.

She sat by Artemis' side once she got up to the front. The man Artemis loved the most sat in the front as close as he could without giving their relationship away. Only a few people knew their true relationship since something like that was against the rules. J6 knew Artemis didn't care but the man did so her friend kept quiet about it out of respect and love for him. Artemis had another friend in a similar position and knew she kept quiet on that front to protect her friend and the man she was with. It took a long time to convince people not to hate him for being a synth and some even now were unsure about him.

Finally, the woman spoke despite all the eyes on her making her nervous. "I suppose you could say I didn't really have friends before Artemis came along," J6 explained, her voice adorably shaky. Before she knew it she felt a hand on hers and looked to see it was Artemis. The woman squeezed, giving her friend the confidence she needed to keep speaking. "Okay I definitely didn't have any friends before Artemis, then S9-43 was created. But even on that first day there was something different about her you know? Only a few hours old technically yet she was the most curious synth I ever got to show around. And there was a strength there. Even if neither of us fully recognized it just yet."

This got a chuckle out of several soldiers the room, most notably from those she was closest to. By now Artemis was well known as someone that tested, pushed, and even broke the limits. It was often a joke among those that got to work with and became close to her though in all seriousness she only ever did so when the rules got in the way of helping people. Artemis' position allowed her to do so without reprimand as long as it was within reason.

J6 couldn't help but laugh alongside everyone else seeing the humor in the truth she just spoke. Even Artemis had to laugh silently at her oldest friends words. "I'm lucky," Artemis finally says after her own laughter is finished, though there's still a bit of a giggle. "Lucky that you were one of the first faces I got to see when I came out of that red pool in the center of the Robotics lab. Lucky that you were assigned as my guide and were the one I was most often paired with on jobs around the Institute."

J6 was touched at Artemis' words. When J6 had first escaped she wasn't sure where she was going to go. When she first saw Artemis she was afraid. Afraid that her old friend had changed too much in a bad direction. Afraid that she'd forgotten everything about her and their past. When it became clear that she had changed but for the better, J6 had been relieved to have her friend back after all the time they spent apart. "And I am lucky too," J6 said, trying too keep back the tears as these thoughts flooded her mind. "Lucky to have found you of all people. Honestly I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't." Without another word the women squeezed hands