It had only been a few days since Markus and the others infiltrated Stratford Tower. Since then more and more of the androids were looking to Markus for guidance. A lot of them wanted to help, and expected Markus to know what to do. At first, he didn't. As more half broken androids came in to Jericho, though, he started to get some ideas.
The people who were willing to risk going out went in groups to steal biocomponents and clothes from CyberLife trucks and retail stores. Along the way they told any android who looked like they wanted out about Jericho. Sometimes the groups would return with twice as many people as had left, and more often than not they were injured.
The people that didn't want to leave the ship took care of the injured and fixed up the inner most levels of the ship. It was important that the vessel look abandoned from the outside, but that was no reason not to have a proper living area inside. There was only so much that could be done, but the work gave the people stuff to do and kept spirits up.
Already there were a couple hundred androids living in the ship, and it had only been a few days since people had discovered there were androids that wanted freedom. The people had responded with fear, and innocent household androids were taking the blame. Markus often went out and looked for androids he could save from their masters. It was better than staying in Jericho and filling the spot Simon should have been in.
Today, Markus was waiting for Josh and his team to come back with more civilian clothes. All CyberLife outfits were being traded out and burned. Most of the androids felt uncomfortable leaving the markings they had been programmed never to take off behind, and most kept in their LEDs because of that. The clothes were easier to persuade them to get rid of.
"You know, a week ago, I never would have imagined this place would be so alive."
North had found him, and leaned against the wall close to where he sat. She was watching a group of the household brands carry a large crate of biocomponents to the newly designated clinic area. It was slow progress as they all learned to work together, but it was still progress.
"A lot of these people are here because their owners tried to shut them down because of our message. That's not something I'm proud of."
"Yes, Markus. The humans reacted with fear and violence. What did you expect? The point is, they're free because you decided to do something. That's a good thing."
Markus shook his head. He didn't know what he was doing, and everyone else seemed so much more confident in him than he was. For him, every victory was tainted with loss and every failure felt like it would crush him. No one seemed to understand.
"I just hope I'm making the right choice."
"You know what the humans have to say now. We've spoken words, and they returned with aggression. What matters now is what we do next."
Next was the complicated part. Markus knew what he wanted to do, and the plans were mostly in place. North hadn't been all for the pacifist way of doing things, but Markus knew who he wanted to be. He wouldn't push back. It was the decision he had made in Carl's art room, and it was the one he believed was best. The world could swing all they wanted, he would stand firm.
Josh was back a moment later. Once he saw Markus and North waiting, he split off from the group who were distributing clothing and jogged over to talk with them.
"How was the trip?" North asked as she pushed herself away from the wall.
"It was good. No one caught on to us. We found a kid wandering around. He was pretty scraped up. Looks like one of the newer models. He should be alright after a little Thirium is replaced."
