(no subject)
Video. The camera is focused on York, fully armored, and a soothing voice speaks to him from somewhere offscreen.
“Please, make yourself comfortable. I want to have your honest opinion on this...situation,” says the unfamiliar voice.
“Yeah? What situation's that? We did fine on the mission, didn't we?” York sounds a little irritated and maybe slightly confused, but he's still acting quite civil.
“That is what we would like to discuss, Agent York-may I call you Agent York?”
York nods. “Yeah, that's fine. What do you need to know?”
“We would like to know if you believe Agent Carolina is prepared for implantation yet.”
York visibly starts at that. “Carolina? But she hasn't even been here that long-I mean, yeah, I think she's a lot farther along than anyone else in her group, but I thought the next round wasn't supposed to start until-”
The voice interrupts him. “The Project has been escalated, Agent York. As you know, many of the test results have been...less than satisfactory. We believe that it would be best to rate the current candidates for implantation as soon as possible.”
At this point, York is silent and Delta flickers on, beginning to speak to the other voice. “Excuse me, Councilor, but I believe our opinions toward Agent Carolina exhibit a significant positive bias due to our tandem training operations. Although we believe she is as qualified as she is likely to become without practical experience, you must know that such an opinion on our behalf is not strictly objective.”
“Thank you, Delta. We are aware of this. Would it still be your recommendation that Agent Carolina be in an upcoming candidate pool?”
York and Delta look at each other and, almost simultaneously, nod slightly. York speaks for both of them. “Yeah. She's the best of them.”
“Thank you. We will make a final decision within the week. Until then, please keep this conversation confidential, Agent York. We would not want her to be...disqualified due to your indiscretion.”
Delta flickers off as York nods his assent. “Yes, sir. That be all?”
Apparently it is, because the video fades to black and the next clip is of two figures, one in tan armor and one in gold. York, in the tan armor, is holding up the other figure, who looks injured.
“Fuck, you gotta be more careful, Carolina. Just because I can take a hit like that doesn't mean you can.”
A hesitant female voice answers him. “I-I know. I'm sorry, it's just-it's confusing. I can't-when they're both running like that, I can't even tell what's there anymore, what's there and what's only in here, I can't.”
He gathers her closer. “Shh. It's okay. Me and D are here to cover you if something goes wrong, remember? They're still young. It took us a good three or four real fights before we really clicked.”
The gold one nods, sounding miserable. “I-I remember that. You told me. But you were okay after that, r-right?”
Again, Delta flashes on. “Correct. York and I have worked together well since then.”
The woman's voice drops to a whisper. “They're fighting again.”
York clenches his arm around her tighter, tension evident in his voice. “Let's get you back to the medic, okay? And then we'll sit down and have a talk with them. All right?”
She nods again. “Thanks, York.”
The scene shifts abruptly to what looks like a hospital bed. A dark-haired woman is lying unconscious on it with a white bandage wrapped around her forehead. York, in his tan armor but sans helmet or gloves, is kneeling at the side of the bed and holding her hand. Delta is hovering near him.
“The removal may have damaged her.”
“Having two fucking AIs in her head might've damaged her, D. Why'd they even-it was hard for us, and there's only one of you. Fuck!” He tugs on her arm a little. “Come on, girl. I know you're in there somewhere. Wake up, Carolina.”
He doesn't look like he believes his own words. Once again the video fades to black.
Again the hospital room is shown, but some time has passed. The woman's bandage is gone, but she looks shrunken and sickly and once again her eyes are not open. York sets his helmet on a nearby stand and leans down to kiss her once, gently. There are still no signs of consciousness from her, and he brushes one gloved hand across her cheek before wiping his eyes and putting his helmet back on.
“You know what to do, D,” he says in a muffled voice as he turns to walk out the door.
Although there's no visible indication that Delta does anything, the life support machines appear to cease functioning. No alarms or signals are set off as the lone armored figure walks out of the room and the video ends.