𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐑 ᵐᵘˡᵗⁱ-ᶠᵃⁿᵈᵒᵐˢ

Phantom Code [2/?]

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⭒❃.✮:▹ Traveler ◃:✮.❃⭒

Alien: Romulus
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a/n: Just a heads-up! This mini-series was originally a one-shot but ended up longer than expected. So once I post the final chapter (when Andy chases Navarro and Bjorn after the facehugger incident), that will be the end of the Phantom Code series. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!

ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

After that night, your parents reluctantly agreed to help Mr. Carradine.

Your mother, with her skills in engineering and maintenance, took it upon herself to make sure he stayed functioning.

She would spend hours reading over schematics; surveying the company's scrap yards, marking down the locations of parts that could be used to keep him working.

Your father also played a part in keeping Andy safe.

He and Mr. Carradine would go out at night, scavenging for the parts your mother had identified, risking everything to ensure that Andy stayed hidden.

It was a dangerous game, but they played it for the sake of family.

You ended up spending a lot of time with the synthetic, learning everything you could from your parents.

They taught you about his systems, his coding-everything they knew-so that you could if they were no longer around.

Soon you became proficient, able to handle most of the routine maintenance on your own.

As for the crush you had on him, it faded as all childhood infatuations do. You grew older, wiser, and understood that Andy was a synthetic being-an android, not a human.

But that didn't erase the fondness you felt for the android. You found yourself flushing at the small, thoughtful gestures he made, even if they were merely a result of his programming.

Life at the moment was getting better...

...until it wasn't.

It was a bitter winter, the cold seeped into every corner of the colony.

Pneumonia claimed your mother and the Carradines; leaving behind you, your father, and the Carradines' daughter-Rain.

As for her, she had become more distant after that, retreating into herself.

The reminders of what she had lost were too much for her to bear, and the bond between your families began to unravel with each passing day.

Your father did his best to fill the void left by your mother's absence, but it was clear that he was struggling. He became a sort of pseudo-guardian to Rain, checking in on her when he could, trying to keep the connection alive.

But Rain wasn't interested in the connection. The only thing that kept her tethered to you at all was Andy.

After your mother's death, you inherited her role of maintaining.

You would visit Rain's home, check up on his functioning and giving her the occasional lesson in how to care for him herself.

These visits were often brief, filled with awkward silences and the ghost of what had once been.