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“What is it for?” SecUnit asked, examining the schematics Gurathin had forwarded. One of its drones did a slow loop around his naked torso. There wasn’t much to see, externally. “It’s a…medical augment?”
“Originally, yeah. It was installed to help correct a spine curvature disorder.” Gurathin raised one arm and tapped at the skin over his ribs, showing the drone where to focus. Under the arms, where he had the least fat and muscle between skin and bone, the outline of the corset could be very faintly seen even when it wasn’t active.
The drone hovered, camera focused intently. “And it’s still there?”
“Easier – and cheaper – to leave it in,” Gurathin said. “It was deactivated, but they left the structure in place.”
“And then you re-activated it,” SecUnit said. “Why?”
Gurathin snorted. “You know why.” He forwarded something else: the codes to access the corset when he enabled it. Then he flipped the switch. “It’s because I like to be cho–”
“Cherished,” SecUnit finished for him.
“What?” Gurathin said.
SecUnit looked horrified. “Redacted.”
Gurathin rolled his eyes, switching the corset back off. “You can’t just say ‘redacted’ whenever you want to avoid something.”
“I can do whatever I want,” SecUnit said. “I could just leave right now, even.”
“Cherished? Really?”
“You know my language modules are shit. I probably meant something else. Uh… Held?” SecUnit didn’t actually squirm, but it looked like it wanted to. “Kept. Maybe...valued?”
“I think I just like the physical sensation,” Gurathin said. But he wasn’t sure, suddenly. Maybe he did want to be cherished, maybe being held down and deprived of oxygen made him feel desired and valued. Maybe–
“Hey,” SecUnit said, interrupting his thoughts. “Did you know I can collapse my ribcage? Check this out.”
It was a day of many surprises.