The Assessor drummed his fingers against the table, staring into Hope’s eyes as he probed the link between them.

“According to your report, you tried to check for vitals,” he said. “Your sensory implants would make it a simple process. And yet you took your time before calling in.”

“Like I said in my report, sir. I’d taken damage, my head–” she said, looking down at her hands.

She flexed her fingers like they’d feel a little more human.

“Eye contact, Officer,” the Assessor ordered, making another note as she glared back at him.

“My senses were still coming back online. I-I wanted to be sure, sir.”

“Understood,” he hummed, typing away, his eyes locked on hers. “Now then, Officer. At the start, you asked me to call you by the name your Director gave you - Hope, correct?”

“...yes.”

His eyes clicked as he stared at her, “Why?”

Why?

“I-” Hope tried to ease the tension out of her shoulders, quiet her mind. “-don’t understand, sir.”

“You have never made this request in your prior assessments.”

“I–”

“What makes this assessment so distinct from the others?” he said, riding the associations through her synapses and circuits.

“There isn’t–There’s no distinction.”

“Do you wish to feel separate from your fellow models?”

“I-I don’t know,” she said, pushing back against the intrusion.

Calm down. She had to calm down.

“And yet you asked,” the Assessor said, tracing along the discomfort in her mind. “Do you want to stand apart from other androids? Distance yourself from them?”

“I… Maybe, I don’t–”

“Eye contact.”

When had she looked away?

She closed her eyes, clutching her hands together to keep them from shaking.

“Sir, I…” she trailed off, trying to get her voice under control. “I just need a moment.”

“Denied, Officer 107,” he was somehow even louder with her eyes closed, her control on her senses slipping.

She clenched her jaw, taking a shaky breath, and looked up at him.

“Thank you,” the Assessor said, his approval dripping on her thoughts like oil. “You had to fight an android with your genetic template. No one would blame you for wanting to distinguish yourself. It is only human.”

Human.

“I’m not.”

“Hmm?” he paused in his typing, tracing along her thoughts.

“I’m. Not. Human,” Hope said, the words bitter on her tongue. “I’m made for fighting sir. I’m made to chase down my quarry and bring them in. I did my job.”

Hope took a breath and slowly let her hands relax on the table.

She did what she was made for…

Hope clenched her jaw as she kept her gaze on the floor of the Director’s office.

“There doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage,” the Assessor said beside her. “However, downtime is recommended. Give her time to process the incident, allow her construct to stabilize.”

“Thank you.” the Director rose from her desk, her tone growing sharp. “Now, get out.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

Hope tensed as she listened to every step the Director made as she dragged a chair in front of Hope.

She heard the clattering of glass, the pour of a drink. No, not a drink. There were two, every sound almost deafening.

“Hope,” the Director’s voice was soft, calm as she handed her a glass.

“I–Thank you, ma’am…”

“You did good today-” she grunted as she sat down, rolling the stiffness out of her shoulders from the long day. “-I want you to remember that.”

“I…” Hope trailed off, her thoughts winding back to the sight of them just lying there on that cold floor. The way those eyes stared at nothing. “How can I be sure?”

“You did your job,” she said, taking a sip from her glass. “And you did as well as you could. That’s the best we can hope for.”

Hope stared down into her glass, swirling the drink while she mulled her thoughts. Finally - letting out a breath she hadn’t noticed she’d been holding - she took a sip.

“I-I guess so…” she bit her cheek before downing the rest of her drink, “Thank you, Director. I should be heading back to the dorm…”

The Director nodded as she finished her glass, waving to the door, “Go on, dismissed.”

Hope kept her movements slow, steady, as she went for the door.

“And Hope,” the Director called as she sat down at her desk. “You were against a heavy infantry unit, and you came out on top. I’m proud of that.”

Pride and dread twisted up in her gut, fighting for which would win.

She nodded - it was all she could do - and headed off for the android dorms.

The day had been too damn long…

Everything ached as Hope slid open the door and stepped into the dorm. She about jumped out of her skin as her squad mates broke out into applause in the dorm’s common room.

“And there’s the girl of the hour!” Five laughed, practically tangled with Nine as the two of them laid on the couch.

Nine shoved Five’s face away from her, “C’mon, don’t tease.”

Eight shook her head, chuckling to herself, “Listen to the lady, Nine.”

Hope just stared at the three of them, fists clenched in her pockets, “What…?”

“Word came out you took down a Heavy,” Eight said as she practically hung off the side of her chair. “Congrats.”

“Bet the Director was happy,” Five said with a playful grin.

“The Director was-” Hope trailed off, almost unsure. She straightened up, standing tall as she spoke, “-proud.”

Eight let out a low whistle, flashing Hope an approving smile.

Five laughed as she practically melted into Nine, “Praise from the boss and leave. Lucky.”

“Oh, hush!” Nine swatted at her with an exasperated sigh before kissing her cheek.

“Aw, come on,” she hummed, a playful smile on her face as she took Nine’s hand in hers.

Hope huffed as she looked away, “God, do that in your quarters you two…”

Nine eyed the discomfort on Hope’s face with a grin.

“Well…” she dragged on the syllable, “what do you think, Five?”

Five lazily kicked her legs in thought, meeting Hope’s gaze as she kissed Nine’s hand, “Nah.”

Hope shook her head, face twisted into an uncomfortable frown, “I don’t even–We’re identical, what’s the point?”

“Oh, not completely,” Five laughed low in her throat, lacing her fingers together with Nine’s. The lights of their eyes flickered as the two linked together, “Thinking what I’m thinking?”

Nine gave her hand a gentle squeeze and Hope clenched her hands all the tighter.

What did she care?

It wasn’t like she needed to link with anyone. There wasn’t any point.

Nine’s smile was playful as she spoke, “You wanna go out.”

“You read my mind,” Five said as she broke into a grin.

“Of course I did,” she breathed, arching up into a heated kiss.

Eight practically fell out of her chair, “Get a room you two! Damn!”

“Fuck off, Eight,” Nine mused.

Nine only pulled away long enough to give the other two a smoldering look. Five gasped above her as her thumb trailed the metal edge of Five’s neural port.

Hope shook her head, exhaustion heavy on her shoulders as she spoke, “I’m just… I’m gonna turn in for tonight. It’s been a long day…”

She ran a hand over the port in the back of her neck, kneading along the muscles around it as she went.

“Hey,” Eight called out, laying a gentle hand on Hope’s shoulder. “Take it easy, okay? You look like hell.”

She shook her off with a soft, tired grunt, “I’m fine, Eight…”

Hope almost sagged against her door when it finally shut.

She was fine, dammit…

She winced as she hung up her coat, ragged muscles and polymered cuts complaining as she went. She dumped her boots at the corner of the bed, fumbling with the straps of the guard plates on her arms and legs. And with a slow huff, she fell back onto her bed.

Hope stared up at the ceiling, tuning down her ears till even her breathing faded out. She bit her cheek in thought, pulling the golden yellow bandanna from her pocket. It felt soft against her palm as she held it. Her thumb brushed along the familiar pattern woven in the fabric. And recognition twisted away in her chest.

They had liked lotuses too…

She slowly sat up, wringing the fabric in her hands like it could give her answers.

But no answers came. It was just a scrap of cloth-

With a sigh, she folded it up and tucked it away in the drawer beside her bed.

-that smelled like burnt metal…