Chapter 14 Tour

After we finished eating, I stepped outside alongside Aria, leaving the dim light of the room behind. The moment we crossed the threshold, the cool breeze we’d enjoyed indoors was replaced by the oppressive heat of the outside world.

As we stepped into the open, an immediate hush fell over the androids around us. Their activities came to a sudden halt, replaced by curious glances directed at us. It was as if we had entered a spotlight, drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

"It's Sir Jack and Lady Aria!" a voice rang out, catching our attention.

"It feels like we're truly alive, seeing our own creators among us!" another android murmured with a sense of awe.

"I wonder if they would allow me to witness the nuances of human interaction firsthand..."

Ignoring the androids' soft whispers, I glanced over at Aria, who walked beside me.

"So, do you have any plans after this?" I asked.

She shrugged lightly. "Not really. Since you showed up, it's been the most excitement I've had in a while. The androids handle all the heavy work, and even when I offer to help, they politely refuse. Guess they think I'm a bit too fragile for it." She chuckled, but there was a hint of restlessness in her voice.

"If you don't have anything lined up, how about showing me around? You probably know this place inside out by now."

Aria's face brightened slightly. "Sure! It's been a while since I got to do something."

"Should I call Captain Rose?"

Startled, I turned to see Sera, the maid, standing quietly behind me, her hands clasped neatly in front of her.

"Jesus Christ, Sera! Don't sneak up on me like that," I said, catching my breath.

"My apologies, sir," she replied with a small bow. "But I couldn't help overhearing that you're interested in a tour around the camp?"

“Yeah, I was hoping to take some time to walk around since I just woke up. Want to join us?” I asked, glancing at Sera

Sera considered my offer for a moment. “I will join you on your tour, as it’s my purpose to serve both of you. However, before we begin, may I suggest calling Captain Rose to assist in showing you around?”

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “I thought being the leader here would keep her too busy?”

“It does, but I’m sure she can spare a few minutes for you. I believe she’d be pleased to personally guide you,” Sera assured me, her tone confident.

I glanced at Aria, who gave me a nod of encouragement. With a sigh, I nodded back and turned to Sera. "Alright, Sera, go ahead and call Captain Rose. Let's see if she's up for it."

"As you wish, sir," Sera replied, a hint of a smile on her lips as she hurried off.

Once she was out of earshot, Aria grinned. "Looks like you're getting the same VIP treatment as me already."

"I can see that."

After a few minutes, Sera returned with Captain Rose in tow, and we began our tour around the camp.

Captain Rose begins to explain "Before the camp was nothing special, and only bare minimum like training facility, parking spot, defense structure and production center were built around this part of the camp. And we use as little space as possible to avoid machines from noticing this camp, and limiting the amount of space being used we reduce resources needed to construct defense around the space in case the machine attack."

"Using the bare minimum sounds practical," I said, looking around at the box of metal scatter around the floor, "but doesn't it limit your operations?"

"It does, Sir Jack—" she began, then caught herself as I raised a hand, cutting her off.

"For the love of god, please, just call me Jack."

"I… uh, sorry, Jack." She cleared her throat, momentarily thrown off. "Now, where was I?"

"Something about limited operations?" I prompted with a small smile.

"Right." She regained her composure. "The amount of action we do is indeed limited, but there is nothing we can do about it since the amount of resourse we have also are limited. So we are often force to scavange resourse around the city, and even using the machine leftover just to barely meet the minimum need for us to survive."

"And even with all that, it's still not enough?" I asked, hearing the weariness in her voice.

She shook her head slowly. “There’s never enough. We can only scavenge so much from the city, and the resources sent by the Moon Base are nearly…” Her eyes widened as she realized her words, and she looked quickly at Aria and me. “I-I didn’t mean to imply blame on both of you. You both know how dangerous the machines are"

I waved off her concern. "It's fine, really. Right, Aria?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah, can't exactly complain when I've been living here on Captain Rose's hospitality."

Rose exhaled, visibly relieved. “Thank you. But, honestly, it hasn’t been all bad news. Ever since Aria arrived, High Command has sent more supplies our way—vehicles, weapons, and even some experimental tech that hasn’t been mass-produced yet.”

“That’s promising,” I said, feeling a bit more optimistic. “It sounds like they’re taking things seriously.”

I decided to press a bit further. “Say… what’s your opinion on High Command?” 

"Say... what's your opinion on high command?" I said

Rose raised an eyebrow. “High Command? That’s a bit random if you don’t mind me saying, sir. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, just curious about how you androids view them.”

Other than information regarding High Command from the memory bank from the android head I have back at the base. There was no other information regarding them, so this is the best time to fish out information while I have the chance.

She thought for a moment before replying. “Other than being the highest part of the command, rumor says each member of High Command has lived for almost 10,000 years, but beyond that, there’s not much we really know.”

Jesus Christ 10.000 years? They are even more old than most empires that manage to exist.

“So, androids can actually live that long?” Aria asked, her curiosity piqued.

“In theory, yes. As long as you keep up with regular maintenance on your body,” Rose replied.

“In theory?” Aria raised an eyebrow.

"Lady Aria, forgive me but I have never lived for that long or found an android that can manage to live that long. The oldest android I have ever met was only 337 years old."

“Hm… now that you mention it, how old are you again, Rose?” I asked, intrigued.

“According to my calculations, I’m 257 years old,” she answered a hint of pride in her voice.

“That’s impressive,” I said, genuinely amazed. 

Rose smiled softly. “Hehe… t-thanks,” she replied, a hint of bashfulness creeping into her tone.

As our conversation came to a halt, we arrived at a small open field with numerous 

"This here is our training facility," Captain Rose explained, gesturing to the open field ahead. "We regularly train our troops in marksmanship and close-quarters combat, though we try to avoid close-range fighting as much as possible."

I nodded, understanding the logic. Fighting machines up close was practically suicide especially since most seemed to favor melee combat over ranged tactics, making close combat a last resort.

"I thought you androids could just download combat skills and be ready to go," I remarked

"There's some truth to that," she admitted. "But there's a saying among androids: you can have thousands of combat simulations in your memory banks, but experience in real situations is what truly sharpens you. No amount of data can replace that firsthand edge."

Her words made sense, and I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I get it."

It reminded me of the Legion Wars. Even back then, schools and academies were still running but it was for the most demanding job that was desperately needed like engineer and scientist in a specific field.

However, it still allows people to learn so that they can do better and contribute to the war effort. But no matter how much you studied, those with real field experience always had the edge.

We were about to continue our conversation when heard a commotion.

We glanced over, noticing a group approaching, carefully carrying someone in their arms.

As they drew near, they pulled back the mantle covering the person’s face, revealing the girl who’d previously aimed her gun at me.

Among the crowd of androids, one stepped forward—clearly the leader of the group, his expression tense. “Captain Rose!” he called.

“What is it?” Rose replied, irritation flashing across her face. “Can’t you see I’m currently giving Sir Jack a tour?”

“My apologies for the interruption to Sir Jack,” the guard began, glancing at me before turning back to Rose. “But… this girl just confessed that she pointed her rifle at Sir Jack,” he said, his tone dark.

Rose’s eyes widened as she turned to the girl, her face now pale with fear. “Lily… is this true?” she asked, her voice taut with disbelief.

Before Lily could respond, the crowd’s anger surged.

“We suggest an immediate execution for treason!” one android shouted.

“Yes, execute her!”

“How dare she point a weapon at our creator!” another voice cried out.

The crowd grew louder, their agitation mounting into a frenzy. Rose was trying to calm them down, while Aria shifted uneasily beside me, clearly distressed by the sudden outrage. Feeling the tension radiating from every direction, I pressed my fingers to my forehead, already feeling a headache.

Dammit, can't I live for a single day without peace?