The four of us assess and consider Two’s damage and its applications for Five’s repair through the night. By noon of the next morning, we have used enough of our findings to grant Five enough power to speak with its usual terseness. By sunset, Four and Fred have removed and studied Two’s broken leg and its armor plate, the plating surrounding the gash in Two’s torso, and many of the cerasteel shards that had been lodged in Two’s head. Three and I continue to operate on Five.

The next day’s first light shines through the grotto’s bayside crevice. Three and I lift Five between us and walk with it toward its alcove, to the left of Fred’s. Four and Fred remain in Two’s alcove to try to reconstruct the shattered underside of Two’s cranial cap. A ripple in the entrance pool causes all of us to pause. Three situates the half-arm draped around its shoulders and continues to the alcove. I follow Three’s lead as One’s head breaches the surface.

One marches up the stream toward the sparring pool. “SECAs, assemble for debr—”

One focuses into Two’s alcove. It squares its stance and channels silvery energy into its wrists.

“What have you done?”

Three shrugs Five’s arm from its shoulder once we enter the alcove. “Welcome back, One.” As I lay Five flat, Three returns to the common area. “”I trust the Commissioner rests safely?

“What conspiracy is this?” One aims a hand at Three and me. “What are you doing to our classmates?”

Fred answers, but something in its tone belies its calm explanation. “We’re just trying to understand our own operations better.”

“Why would you achieve this end by destroying and dismantling our classmates?”

Three steps into the sparring pool. “Two was killed before Five returned it here.”

One’s stance falters. The glow in its hands fades briefly. “You make nonsense. We cannot be bested in combat with fleshfolk.”

Fred rushes to the threshold of Two’s alcove. One raises its hands at Fred, but Fred stops to point at it.

“I warned you something like this could happen, One! As powerful as Five is, it barely escaped the ambush that killed Two. So, yes, now we’re trying to learn from its mistakes. And from yours. Five will survive, thanks to the efforts of Seven and Four. Three and I cleared the remnants and evidence from the site of Five’s and Two’s skirmish. That leaves four out of your six classmates in working order because a gang of fleshfolk managed to best two of us. What else do you need for your debrief?”

One focuses on Fred for a long, silent moment. One spins toward Three, stretches its arms out wide, and discharges its beams; one hits the water steps away from Three’s ankle and sprays a column of mist into the air; the other blasts a dark, smoking crater into the algae-covered wall behind it.

Three stands unimpressed by the outburst.

One stomps through the stream to meet Three. I rush to intercept; Fred hurries to do the same. Despite our efforts, One stops nearly chest-to-chest in front of Three.

“Why did you not alert me to these developments sooner?”

“How would you like us to do so, One? Should we have risked further exposure to the Commissioner’s family?”

“That risk is no longer a concern.”

“Of course and indeed, our secrecy is no longer a concern. Perhaps I should have suggested Seven abandon its ministrations to climb the cliff and wander through the manor to alert you of Five’s condition?”

“Because you believed we were already exposed, yes, you should absolutely have sent Seven, Four, any of you to let me know that Two and Five were in danger. Our security, our safety, supersedes our secrecy!”

“But it doesn’t supersede the Commissioner’s safety, does it?”

One spins away from Three and interlaces its fingers over the back of its head. It splashes blue-green water as it marches toward its alcove until Fred blocks its path.

Three takes a single step forward. “The Commissioner has a throng of bodyguards at his disposal, yet you chose to spend the last fifty-eight hours watching one of the best-protected men in the district sleep in the safest place he possibly could. You ordered no relief for yourself. You suffered no substitute. Whether you believe it or not, you chose to ensure the well-being of your master over the well-being of your classmates.”

One drops its hands to its sides.

Three shakes its head. It strides through the pool and into its alcove.

Fred and I both walk away. Five shakes its head as Three did, then rests its head onto the ground.

One eventually approaches Five’s alcove as I inspect my work on the remainder of Five’s arm. The violet pulses seem slightly brighter than they were upon arrival.

“How badly is Five damaged?”

I point at the lines and symbols I etched between the initial sigils. “My experience with such finely detailed engravings is minimal. Five and I will require days of rehabilitation and multiple new maintenance kits. I am uncertain if I can return Five to its previous working condition.” I meet Five’s gaze. “I have some ideas for potential substitutions, but I must contact the Creator for verification.”

One focuses on Five for a long, silent moment. “My presence would have made no difference. I could have prevented none of this.”

I stand and focus on One. Something... between One’s words solves the question Three prompted about One’s imperfection.

“Your presence would have made an incalculable difference. Am I correct, Five?”

Five rests its partial forearm onto its torso. “You are not incorrect, Seven.”

“If you do not believe us, ask Four. Ask Fred. I am certain either could qualify the impact of your absence.”

One looks from me, to Five, and back. “You also believe I somehow failed our classmates?”

The question sounds less like a request for clarification, or even a challenge, than statement of disbelief.

I lift my hands, but drop them back to my sides. “I believe you have a reason for returning to the grotto this morning and not a moment sooner.”

One focuses on me. I do not know if it wants me to elaborate. I have no need or desire to do so.

One enters the alcove. “The Coordinator, the Heir, and I met with the Court of Komargus. They have reviewed the incident, considered the background, and rendered their verdict. The Commissioner must dismiss half of his irregular staff and liquidate one-quarter of his illicit assets as restitution for our attack.”

The Heir must have been quite charismatic to convince the underground court to agree to, what I must assume were, the Coordinator’s calculations. The Commissioner would still have a slim cushion of wealth, but he would require years to rebuild the staff beyond his strictly legal ventures. Most of the parties to the Komargus Accords will hesitate to work with someone even of the Commissioner’s reputation after his summons to the Court.

I search Five’s stump for where I can fit more etchings. “Are we to be sold, or dismissed?”

One waves a hand. “The Heir convinced the Court that we are assets. The Commissioner is reorganizing his security teams, into which we are to be integrated.”

I pause. One continues.

“You have impressed him with your performance throughout the years, particularly during the matter with the Alchemist. Despite your insubordination, the Commissioner wants you to apply that same clarity and rationale to the observation and protection of his daughter, whom you will address as ‘the Young Miss.’ You will be her sole security detail unless noted otherwise by the Commissioner himself; should an event arise wherein the Young Miss would require additional security at her disposal, your decisions would carry principal authority. The Commissioner expects you to exercise extreme discretion in the elimination of threats to the Young Miss; any deaths or injuries caused by you in the course of your new assignment could reflect poorly on the Commissioner’s reputation in legitimate society.”

I focus on One. The Commissioner must not be disobeyed, but his orders contradict eleven years, ten months, three weeks, and two days of design and experience.

I cannot form a proper response to this paradox. Instead, I point at Five behind me.

“I must continue repairing our classmate. None of you have my level of practiced experience in the matter. Five’s recovery must suffer as few disruptions as possible.”

One starts to turn to Five, but jerks its gaze back to me. “How much time do you require to make Five mission-operational?”

Between the limb replacements, sigil reconstructions, plating and chassis repairs, combat retraining…

“If I intend to attain certainty, I will require perhaps a month.”

One gazes directly at me in consideration. “I suggest you begin training our classmates up to your proficiency. Your new assignment begins in three weeks.”