BFDI Prequels | A BFDI Fanfic

XVI

"Transport Vehicle number Bravo Foxtrot Delta India 2763 requesting permission to dock," he encoded.

The lines went quiet for a moment, before giving a reply in the same robotic voice. Soon, a small mechanical arm approached the craft, dragging it into the massive spaceship. When the movement stopped, the sounds of flight crews approached. Then, it went dark.

<=======>

He awakened in the familiar surroundings of the captain's quarters, which was more like a closet than an actual room. A janky charging port was lined up against the wall, next to a series of panels and assorted electronics. Some pulsating wires had connected themselves to his body, pumping him full of verdant liquid. 

"Your battery died," the captain explained, sensing his reboot.

The sharp words jarred him, as he specifically remembered recharging last night. Even if he was running all his components at full power, the cells would still last at least three days.

"But sir, it's highly unlikely that my power would drain off that soon," he replied.

The captain rotated to face a small porthole, looking down on Earth.  Their impartial, stern nature was unnerving.

"Under normal conditions, yes," they clarified, "though this planet is far from normal. To stay grounded, a massive amount of energy is required. Our scientists are currently figuring out a possible solution."

They turned back around, catching him in a steely stare.

"The test subject you brought back, tell me about him."

"Right, yes." He coughed, regaining his focus. "We found a suitable subject who identified themselves as Cheese Orb. The funny thing is-"

He was cut off by the buzzing of the PA system, alerting all high-ranking officials to go to the laboratories for the first specimen tests.

"That would be me," the captain realized. "I invite you to come with."

At that moment, about 1338 things flared up synchronously. He knew how much of an honour it was to even talk to the greatest speaker box their race had created, let alone being welcomed to join them on such an important occasion. Still, his robotic processors had no way of communicating such intense emotion, and he found himself trailing the captain toward the labs.

 It was abnormally calm in the station corridors. On a typical day, hundreds of speaker boxes would be scurrying around; performing their tasks, transferring cargo, going to recharge, or whatever people in a space fortress did. 

They went through a small door that he didn't recognize, and soon a sprawling research center opened up. The entire space had a pearly finish, from the mirror-like floor to the spotless ceiling. Ahead, he could see a sign reading "Holding Cells" with an arrow pointing to the right. A fairly large group containing all the officers had already gathered near the sign, chatting among each other.

Upon noticing the captain's arrival, the talking immediately stopped. Everyone shuffled to the side, creating a passageway for the captain to walk through. Despite this, he noticed some boxes eyeing him, most likely wondering why he (a lowly scout) was with the leader.

"Right this way, sir," a scientist said and began to lead the captain through the crowd.

Trying to stay inconspicuous, he snuck into the ranks of officers who were more focused on their commander than him. Fortunately, nobody seemed to regard him. When the captain passed, the rest of the observers began to funnel into the facility.