SS-I087 (An Academy Fanfiction)

Chapter Four: Of Past and Present

Hey guys! I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but things haven't been going the way I really want them to lately so I've been putting off doing any real writing. But now, here's the chapter you've all been waiting for!

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Chapter Four

Of Past and Present

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Owen disliked being in space sometimes. Not because of the lack of reason to wear a suit or the fact he couldn't access his stocks at any given moment. No, it was because of the lack of sunshine.

It wasn't as if Owen Blackbourne spent a lot of time out doors. He often went camping and hiking with her brothers when they were on Earth, but he didn't exactly like spending time outside with no purpose. The fact was, Owen Blackbourne liked to wake up to clear, blue morning light streaming through his curtains.

He liked waking up early enough to sit and watch the sun rise over the treeline from his office window. He liked sitting out on the porch of his home drinking his first cup of coffee and listening to the wind blow.

In space, he experienced none of that. But other than a quick thought of it when he was just waking up- in that miserable place right between sleep and awake- Mr. Blackbourne hadn't thought of his days back on Earth at all. Because, even though he didn't see the sun rise much anymore, he did like a lot of the days he spent on the Introductions, too.

But the reason he was thinking of life back on Earth was because of the girl. SS of the I-087, Sang Sorenson.

It had been a simple question on Silas's part. He had come down to the medical bay after leaving North on the controls, informing the captain they were on a course set for the nearest space station, but he hadn't left after doing so. He sat on the cot closest to SS's and smiled at the doc as he hurried around the space doing everything he could to keep himself busy while Kota worked on understanding the file that Sprinkles- an Intelligent animal robotics, for Christ's' sake- had given them.

But as the silence continued, Sprinkles had taken to pawing at SS's motionless hand in a playful manner- like the I-Mate was just waiting for her to move them so he could give chase. It was sad, watching Sprinkles do so as he let out small, barely audible whimpers from time to time.

Silas, silent but so caring, had let the noises get to him. "What is she like?" He asked.

Sprinkles, pausing his hopeful pawing, sat up to sit facing Silas. "Sang?" He asked with a tilt of his head. "She is kind. I am her first project, and though I am not complete yet, she has never given up on me." It was slightly odd to hear a voice without seeing a mouth move even though Owen knew it was functioning properly. Even if the AI of his ship spoke, it wasn't the same. Sprinkles actually had a personality. "Sang likes music." He said after a moment's pause. "Winter by Vivaldi is her favorite. But she also likes rock music, and music from the places she can speak the language."

"She's smart," Kota put in. He paused his reading to give Sprinkles a small smile. "Very smart."

"Yes! Sang is smart!" The skunk seemed to grin with pride. "Sang helps people! She is in space so she can help people. She likes to play with me too, even when she's working." He wiggled as he sat. "She gives me pens to play with. And throws them for me. I like her laugh-" And then he paused, a flash of the screen above her bed surprising them all as Sang's face popped up.

"You're awake!" A smaller version of SS smiled largely at what Owen would guess was Sprinkles, as the recording shook as black paws came into view. A small, tinkling laugh of pure joy left her mouth. "Let's run a diagnostic before testing out your mobility." The video paused and Sprinkles started wiggling again. It must have been his first implanted memory of his owner.

"I like her humming." Sprinkles changed the video feed again, this time to a slightly older- maybe thirteen year old- Sang laying on her stomach with a pillow pressed under her chin. She wiggled her fingers on the light green blanket, humming a happy tune in time with the quiet one in the background as she watched Sprinkles attack his wiggling pray. But what caught Owen's attention was the dark bruise on her cheek bone- she also had a split lip, but it looked clean and half healed.

Sean wondered closer to the bed as he, too, spotted the wounds.

"Oh," Sprinkles wiggled happily again, barely able to keep himself sitting. "And I like it when she lets me cuddle on her chest. She's so warm."

Another video feed popped up, this one of SS at the age she was now. Sprinkles sat on her chest, head laying low and only a half view of her face in sight. He rose and fell with the motion of her breathing. "I miss seeing the sunrise." Her voice was small, quiet, like she wanted no one to hear. It reminded Owen of his own sleepy thoughts early in the morning. "Do you remember what the wind feels like?"

"Yes," Sprinkles replied in the video. "It feels like water. But it doesn't make my fur heavy."

SS laughed, lifting Sprinkles above her to look at his face. She was obviously lying in a sleeping pod and didn't have much room to move around, because the feed got too close her face to see much more than it and a halo of golden hair. "It smells like flowers and home."

"122 Sunnyvale Court smells nothing like flowers." Sprinkles replied, catching the boys off guard. Owen stepped closer to the screen as Sang shook her head and smiled.

"No, the house smells like paint and leather." She set Sprinkles back down on her chest and again he started falling to the beat of her breaths. "Home smells... better."

The screen went dark. Mr. Blackbourne snapped his head towards Sprinkles with a hard expressed. "Sang Sorenson lived on Sunnyvale Court in Charleston South Carolina?" He had read the small file the Academy had on her, and though it had mentioned Charleston, Owen was shocked to learn she had been so close to them ten years ago.

But of course, they were only children at the time. Probably hadn't even heard of the Academy when she was still on Earth. But it was a surprise.

Having someone so close that could have helped Kota or Nathan sooner- Owen forcibly stopped that train of thought. He had just seen SS with a cut on her lip and a bruise. He knew most of the recruits he had met had suffered the same as he and his brothers had. He should never judge.

Silas let out a chuckle that made the cot tap against the small metal table next to it, the resulting 'tap, tap, tap' echoing dully through the room. "She sounds very nice."

Sprinkles wiggled again. "Yes, yes. Sang is nice." He set a paw on her hand, like he needed to be in contact with her. "She is so nice. You are nice too."

"Thank you." Silas grinned. "Do you think Sang would like us? My brothers and I, I mean."

Sprinkles turned bright brown eyes to Silas, then Doctor Green and Mr. Blackbourne. His head tilted to the side as light dimmed and sparked back to life in the I-Mate's eyes. "You are Academy..." He said slowly. "And are trying hard to wake her up. I think she will like you for that very fact. If not for your kindness."

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Sorry it's so short. This one was meant to be a beginning to the original chapter four, but I decided to cut it here so it wouldn't be so confusing. Plus, I kinda wanted to work on writing Mr. Blackbourne's POV. I make him out to be an asshole in just about everything I write, but I really don't mean to.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

SINDER-CHAR out~!