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It was a rather beautiful night on Copper-9. The usual storms had subsided for clear skies and a cold, but calm breeze. At this hour most Drones had retired into their homes for the night. Families spending time together and enjoying the peace their world had achieved in the last two centuries. But not everyone was at home. Two Drones walked on the lonely road, walking towards where the Old Colony used to be.
One of them – V, a former Disassembly Drone – noticed her companion had been quiet for a long time. Normally, she wouldn’t shut up. “Hey, you okay, Uzi?”
No answer. Uzi Doorman kept her gaze on the road, her expression in deep thought.
“Hey, Purple thing!” V smacked her cane against Uzi’s side, nearly making herself topple over. No matter how many repairs she underwent, her leg never did back to the way it was after she had survived the Sentinel attack, all those years ago. Small price to pay for peace …if she didn’t count all the rest as well.
Uzi snapped out her thoughts and gave V a sheepish grin. “Y-yeah, I’m fine…” she began. She let out a long, wistful sigh. “It’s just …you know?”
V smiled softly. “Yeah …I know.” She paused for a moment. “You still wanna do this?”
“You know I do, V.”
“Yeah, still wanted to ask for prosperity’s sake or something profound like that.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Neither do you most of the time, and I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“Bite me.”
“Later.”
The two giggled, soon falling back in a comfortable silence. This night marked the 200th year of the Absolute Solver’s defeat and the end of the horror Worker Drones endured under the constant threat of Murder Drones coming for their oil.
Yes, they had won that day …and lost just as much. N …hadn’t survived the fight. He had given his life, so that Uzi and all the Worker Drones of Copper-9 had a future. Uzi had hated him for that, as well as she loved him for it. Even 200 years later, it still stung, even if she had a happy life, despite it all.
Uzi and V soon reached their destination: a hill overlooking the Old Colony, where a grave stone was erected. N’s gravestone. Uzi knelt down in front of it, with V resting a hand on her shoulder to give her a comforting squeeze. Neither Drone uttered a word. No tears, no one-sided conversation, no flowers – not that they’d survive C9’s poison air – or anything else. After two centuries, there was nothing new to say …just the comfort the yearly routine brought them. Something to remember everyone they’d lost.
V and Uzi were probably the only Drones left of that generation. Their relationship always had a rocky start, but things escalated soon after the defeat of the Solver. When V was found a few days later after that, Uzi had been livid. N was gone, but V had somehow managed to get away from the Sentinels and only ended up with a busted leg? It didn’t seem fair to her and she had screamed it in the Disassembly Drone’s face.
Meanwhile, V blamed Uzi for essentially making her the last of her kind. Not only was N gone, but J …hadn’t taken the news that Tessa never was Tessa too well. In a fit of madness, the workaholic Drone had charged at the Solver, trying to hurt it for taking away her Tessa. She went out quick, but fighting.
They didn’t spoke to each other in weeks, but as time went on they couldn’t just keep ignoring each other. They both needed to mourn and no-one could better understand what the other was going through than …well, one another. So, they started small, with apologies and went on from there. Small talk become conversation and conversation eventually evolved into a true friendship.
But they would soon find out how much more their lives had changed. After they had defeated the Absolute Solver – and after they had given N a proper burial – the first change they noticed was the lack of hunger for oil. No longer did they needed liquid sustenance the Drones’ life blood provided. But it would be years before they’d notice the other, permanent change in both of them.
A worker Drone didn’t age in a traditional, but still their programming evolved with the years, in a way maturing as time went on. Their bodies also aged, that was just the natural way of Dronekind. Parts and component would wear out, repairs and regular maintenance would become less and less effective. Eventually …a Worker Drone would reach the end of its life and …die.
Not Uzi.
Not V.
They remained as they were, their bodies and programming frozen in the moment Uzi severed the connection between them and the Solver. Forever young, forever going. Uzi had tried to deny it, but as time went on she couldn’t ignore the signs. It all seemed to go so fast. Her dad got older, his memory started to fade and eventually came the day that she had to bury him. All of their friends – Lizzy, Thad and many others – graduated, got married, started families, got older and …well, it was just the natural way of life.
For them.
Not for Uzi. Not for V.
As time went on and more of their friends grew old while they remained young, it really started to feel like all they had was each other. And soon, friendship blossomed into something more and it wasn’t long before they shared their first kiss witch each other. It wasn’t until their last friend’s funeral that they decided to move away from the Colony. They found a little place, far away, to make their home together.
And time went on as always. With the humans extinct and no eldritch AI trying to destroy all sentient life in the universe, the Worker Drones of Copper-9 were ready to rebuild their civilization. Soon, ruins were rebuild and new cities rose from the ground. Drone life flourished on Copper-9. And soon, history became the stuff of myth and legends.
The present day Drones didn’t know about the Absolute Solver, JCJenson (In Spaaaace), Disassembly Drones and all the horrors of the past. It were scary stories to tell the dronelings before they went to bed, or something conspiracy theorists made poor-quality videos on Dronetube about.
All that was left of that era were two Ancient Worker Drones who hid in plain sight, and a gravestone hidden away.
V waited patiently as Uzi watched at N’s grave, her expression soft and sad. With a heavy sigh, Uzi eventually stood up, dusting off the dirt of her skirt. “Okay, I’m done. You, eh …want to say anything?”
V shook her head. What was there to say anymore? She missed him, as she did all their friends they had buried. But she was at peace and she knew he was too. She held out her hand. “Ready to go home?”
“One more thing….”Uzi said with a smile, taking hold of V’s hand. As she pulled herself towards her beloved, she raised herself on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Okay, now I’m ready.”
“Careful there, Zi.” V warned playfully, blushing. “You might make N jealous.”
Uzi chuckled, but her expression soon turned worried. “Hey, eh, do you think…”
V titled her head. “What?”
“Nothing, it’s dumb.”
“Tell me, Love.”
Uzi bit her lower lip. “Do you think …do you think that N would …approve of us?”
“You know my answer.” A soft smile tugged on V’s lips and she pulled Uzi into a gentle embrace. It wasn’t the first time she had asked that question. It was only natural, considering the history she had with N, despite never haven gotten the chance to become a couple themselves. The first time the question came up was not too long after they officially had become a couple. She had repeated the question a few times after that. Then it came up a few times a year. Once a year. Once every few years. Once a decade.
Every time, V’s answer was the same.
“Are you kidding me? That lovable idiot would have loved nothing more than seeing you and me get sappy lovey-dovey with each other.” She responded with a smirk.
“Tactful as always, V.”
“But seriously …” V stroked a strand of hair out of Uzi’s visor. “N wanted you to be happy. To find love and closure. With me, or anyone else.”
“It’s just …” Uzi took a deep breath. “I still miss him, so much. I still love him, and I don’t find it fair to you.”
This also wasn’t new to V.
“And I sometimes regret being too scared to be honest with my feelings for Lizzy and taking that next step with her.” V shrugged. She caressed Uzi’s cheek and held it between her hands, gazing lovingly into her visor. “But I never regret that I was honest with you about my feelings. I never regret making that first move.”
Uzi laughed. “Excuse me? I was the one that made the first move.”
“Nah, that’s just your memory core showing its age. Must be robo-dementia.”
“Oh, haha!” Uzi replied sarcastically. She wrapped her arms around V’s waist, burying her face in the latter’s chest. “I don’t regret us neither.”
“You better.” V replied softly, stroking Uzi’s hair. “I’m not letting you go, ever.”
“You better.” Uzi looked up from the embrace, giving V a soft smile. “I love you, V.”
“I love you too, Uzi.” V lifted her wife of the ground and kissed her passionately for a few moments, before both realized they weren’t really at an appropriate place for some PDA. After muttering a quick apology to the gravestone and saying their final goodbyes, they turned away to make their trek back from the Old Colony to New Colony City.
As they made their way through the silent and peaceful streets, they filled their time with small talk, sharing little stories they had told each other millions of time but always were eager to hear, their hands entwined.
“I think we’re far enough.” V announced as they reached the edge of the city. She brought Uzi’s hand to her lips and planted a kiss. “You ready, M’lady?”
Uzi giggled. “Always, you big sap.”
“Shut up.” V scooped up Uzi into her arms and deployed her wings, and with a powerful flap they both thrusted into the sky. Uzi really felt like screaming out in joy, but she didn’t want to risk waking up any inhabitants and draw attention to them. She instead opted by nuzzling against V’s chest, making herself comfortable as they went on their long flight back home.
She turned to give her old home a final look before she settled down in V’s arms. They had managed to keep attention away from them in this new era, hiding in plain sight for years. They needed to make new identities every now and then, reinvent who they were as persons, move away and start again. Afte two centuries, it had become their new normal.
If they had to face eternity, they at least could find peace that they had each other.
To find solace in each other’s embrace.
Now, and forever together.