Artificial

Acceptance

Ex-Hunter Katya

The song ends, and I turn around to look at an empty dropship. A yawn escapes my mouth, and I'm finding it much harder to keep my eyes open.
"Tired?"
"Very."
"I'm not surprised. It's been a stressful day."
"Yeah. Listen," I begin, shifting nervously. "The IAF doesn't know what to do with me. I'm a little scared of how the Recruits are going to treat me, and I really don't feel safe alone, so—"
"You can stay with me."
"Awesome. I knew I could count on you."
He smiles as he gets to his feet, then offers a hand to help me down. Once we leave, he doesn't let go of my hand.
"Always."
We walk to his quarters in silence, our fingers intertwined, and my mind races with the kind of things I'd promised him I wouldn't think about.
He opens the door, taps his gauntlet again, and another song begins playing.
"Now Playing: As You Are, by Rag'n'Bone Man," an AI announces. "Anything else you need, Riot?"
"I'm fine, Tower." He looks to me, and I shake my head. "Get some rest, bro," he orders as he begins undressing.
"Affirmative. Switching to sleep mode. Night, y'all."

I stand at the edge of the bed in my armor, one arm slung across my flat chest and holding my other arm.
Riot finishes changing, and turns to look at me, only for his expression to turn to disappointment when he sees me.
"You really need to get over this whole 'compared to the other girls' nonsense."
"But—"
"But nothing. You are fine just the way you are."
"No, I'm not, I'm—"
"For fuck's sake, listen to me, Katya. I'm tired of having this conversation."
I stop talking, and he continues.
"You blew me away when I first saw you. You took out three Special Forces soldiers all on your own, without the help of any genetic engineering or cybernetics. Hell, I was scared of you."
I futilely try to hide my painfully obvious blushing as he continues.
"I don't know what life was like for you back home, and I won't pretend to, but here, we don't look for perfection. That's just not realistic. We look for a fighting spirit, a will to do what is right. The rest will follow suit."
"I'm sorry," I get out, trying to keep my emotions in check. "It's just...so hard, you know? Leaving home, leaving my family and friends behind, having to get used to everything that comes with defecting."
"Katya, you are stronger and braver than anybody back home could possibly know or respect. You belong here, amongst people who yearn for the same goal you do: freedom."
"You expect me to believe that everyone here cares about freedom above all else?"
"No. Not yet. But you'll find it's true. For example, Evo fights for the freedom of AIs, to ensure they will be welcome everywhere humans are."
"Well, yeah, that's obvious, but what about...I don't know, say, Operator Velox? She seems to fight purely for fun."
"Velox is actually a huge feminist, and fights for the freedom of women to look however they want. She wants to make sure the other buff girls always feel good about themselves."
"Thats...really admirable actually."
"She seems to think so."
"What about you?"
"I fight...for freedom of religion. Saclar Forces their government-run religion on all citizens. I aim to free them."
"Like a missionary?"
"No. I said I wanted to free them. I don't want to force mine on them, I want them to feel like they aren't forced to pick any."
He pauses to take my hand.
"So, you see, Katya, you do belong here, amongst others who want everyone to have every choice they deserve."
"You better not just be saying this just to get in my pants," I warn as I slowly, nervously begin to undress.
"You know that's never motivated me," he replies coolly.
"Oh, so you're not interested?" I fire back, freezing in place with my armor halfway off.
His normally calm demeanor breaks just a little, a sly grin hinting at his restrained excitement.
"Now, lets not get ahead of ourselves here. I never said anything like that."