Chapter Text
It was Ratthi's idea to go on vacation together.
Apparently he had been talking to Arada and Overse about getting away from work and relaxing, and he suggested that all of my humans and me go away for two weeks, no obligations, as a team bonding thing. The humans all thought this was a great idea. I did not.
SecUnits do not go on vacations the way humans do. If we're not actively working, we're on standby, on call, or in deployment centres awaiting assignment. The closest thing I have ever had to a vacation is wormhole trips with ART watching media on cargo runs where I don't have to worry about protecting any humans (and because that is technically work for both of us anyway, it doesn't count). And anyway, the idea of deliberately spending that amount of time in close quarters with humans, even if they were my humans, was the exact opposite of relaxing for me. It was basically work but I wasn't getting paid to do it (a luxury I had gotten accustomed to and often had to remind myself not to take for granted).
What made it worse was that they were planning to go to a mountainous region on the neighbouring planet, where it was cold and snowy and very hazardous. My risk assessment had a lot of things to say about that particular decision, none of them particularly reassuring, but I already knew that I was not going to be able to sway them on this. They had decided to go on this very ill-advised trip and they wanted me there too, and I absolutely was not going to leave them alone to be seriously injured or killed. So I agreed to go too as their security.
Once I confirmed my attendance they immediately and gleefully started planning various activities to do. Apparently everyone who was going (the entirety of the original PresAux survey team including Volescu, myself, Amena and Thiago) got a pick, but some of them wanted to do the same things so they were sharing requests. This meant I got a pick of an activity too. I don't think anybody was shocked when I suggested 'one full day spent in the accomodation watching media while nobody bothers me and nobody needs my help', which was not strictly speaking an activity (it was more of a not-activity) but that was what I wanted so they allowed it. Other suggestions included skiing (Overse's idea), a trip to an art musuem (Gurathin and Arada's joint proposal), a hike up a snowy mountain (Volescu, for some fucking reason. I thought he was the sensible one) and a trip to the famous hot springs of the region (pretty much everyone wanted this, but Mensah was the one to make the official request).
We all had to contribute towards getting the accomodation- because of Preservation's weird barter system for residents, this meant a transfer of skills and knowledge rather than currency. Because we were trying to get an actually nice cabin, I compressed my files on astronomical analysis and star maps that ART had given me and I had never read. Humans like that sort of knowledge and it had a lot of insights they didn't, making it very valuable. We secured the cabin, finalised all the arrangements, agreed a date, and then it was a matter of waiting.
The region we were going to was a popular vacation spot among Preservationers, at least according to the humans. This particular mountain range is connected to some underground geothermic activity and the hot springs are naturally occuring bodies of water heated by that activity. For a long time the settlers believed that they held healing abilities and would flock there to be cured of ailments and get extended lifespans or whatever. Now they know that it is just hot water with no magical healing powers, but the area remains popular and there's a whole town built into the mountainside as well as several rental properties for vacations like ours.
The fact that the town had been standing for nearly two hundred years and there were extensive travel networks and safety measures in place did comfort me somewhat, because it meant that we at least had feed connectivity and access to escape routes if shit went sideways. But as you may have noticed, I'm paranoid, and I was still apprehensive about this whole thing. Mountains are inherently hazardous. They're cold, icy, and prone to collapse at any moment, all of which are bad for humans. I also couldn't take my drones with me because they weren't able to withstand that sort of cold climate for very long, so I was already on edge about all the security being solely up to me.
But I had promised, so I dutifully packed my belongings into a large carry bag and went to the private docks on Preservation Station to catch the shuttle we'd booked. Most of my humans were already gathered there talking to each other and dressed in warm clothing. Ratthi saw me and waved me over with a large smile.
"SecUnit! There you are!"
I didn't answer verbally, just tapped his feed in acknowledgment. Pin-Lee, who had been talking to Bharadwaj, spotted me approaching. She said, "I half-expected you to bail, SecUnit."
"And leave you to die alone? Absolutely fucking not." I did a brief visual scan and headcount, seeing that we were missing Volescu and Gurathin. "Where are the others?"
"They're getting some last-minute snacks for the shuttle ride," Arada said. Her gaze shifted past my shoulder. "Oh, there they are. Right on time."
I turned to see Volescu and Gurathin walking towards our group, holding various items of food and bottles of water. Volescu perked up when he recognised me. "SecUnit! Good to see you again!"
"Yeah. Hi, you too." I gave a small nod to Gurathin, which he returned, and then we walked into the shuttle that would take us to the planet.
Yay.
The trip took a little over two hours. The humans mostly talked or entertained themselves in the feed. I watched Sanctuary Moon and ignored their conversations.
We docked in the port built into the side of one of the larger mountains and disembarked onto the transit ring. There were a few brief security checks, making sure we were who we said we were and scanning for weapons (obviously they alerted on me, but they knew about me so it wasn't a problem), and then we had to take a specially built tram to the surface.
It took us directly to the area we would be staying in, nestled in the bottom of a valley between two snow-capped mountains. We were higher up in the range so there was a lot more snow here than I'd seen on the ride up, which was mildly concerning, and I could see a frozen lake several hundred metres below the sheer cliff edges. There were railings and air barriers but threat assessment still spiked at the sight.
Our vehicle for the duration of the trip was large and had specially designed tyres with spikes and extra grip. I insisted on checking it over and scanning it before I let my humans board, then Mensah ordered the bot driving it to take us to our cabin (it said its name was SnowPiercer, and it had an annoyingly cheery disposition. Low level bots tend to be overly agreeable).
Ten minutes later we arrived. SnowPiercer pulled into one of three designated parking spots for ground vehicles and happily chirped at us to let us know we were here. I clambered out first, immediately feeling my boots sinking into deep snow. I did a quick scan for threats and visually cleared the surroundings, then told them it was safe (yes, I know, the idea of sabotage in a place like Preservation was laughable, but I still needed to be seen to be doing my job. Plus it made me feel a little better). The humans exited the vehicle, talking excitedly as they grabbed their belongings and headed for the cabin.
It was three storeys tall, with plenty of bedrooms, a large living space and kitchen, and several bathrooms, including en suites. I claimed one of the bedrooms with an attached en suite, because I needed my own space and my own shower. The humans bickered over the rest.
Once we'd all settled in, everyone started doing their own thing. Volescu and Mensah headed for the kitchen to start making food for the others, Ratthi helped Gurathin and Thiago unpack, and Arada, Overse, Pin-Lee and Bharadwaj talked to each other. I settled in on one of the large couches and started playing the episode of Sanctuary Moon I'd been watching on the large display surface above the fireplace.
I didn't react when Amena sat nearby, close enough so I knew she was there but not so close as to be in my personal space. We watched the show together for thirty minutes in silence before she finally spoke. "You know we're really glad you came with us, right, SecUnit?"
It was so unexpected I blinked and turned my head to look at her. "Of course I did. It's my job to protect you."
She frowned. "No, I mean... it's really nice that you're here. I like having you around. I know Second Mom feels better for it, and so do I. Not just because you'll protect us, I know that, but because you're our friend and we want you to feel included in things."
Well, what was I supposed to say to that? I searched my archives for an appropiate non-emotional response that wouldn't hurt her feelings. Eventually I decided on, "You're my friends, too, I wouldn't come if I didn't want to be around you."
Amena relaxed slightly and smiled. "That's good to hear." She turned her attention back to the display surface so I let the conversation lapse and focused on the show.
Okay, maybe this wouldn't be all bad after all.