v2 sat heavily on the bed that had been supplied to him about this, the largest gummie ship he had ever seen, and experienced something new. Up until now there had always been something to do. The heartless were a never ending source of conflict. When they were on the ebb he was expected to do various public appearances, television interviews, hospital visits, schools, honoring heroes and mourning victims where people could see him do it. Making himself visible. There was also the occasional human or robot crime to stop, which he did with as much forced relish and showboating as his battles with the heartless. He tried not to get involved in tense police situations for that reason, but sometimes that was unavoidable. He hated it. It was an embarrassment, like he was a cartoon character suddenly thrust into the real world, but they loved it and congratulated him all the same. When he wasn't doing any of those things, he was out looking for them. v2 always had a job to do.

Except now. Now he was alone, no one had given him any directives, and he was free to pursue whatever he wanted until the mission resumed. v2 was experiencing first the first time ever the concept of "down time."

It took him about a minute to decide that:
A). He hated it.
B). He never wanted to experience it again.
C). There must be something productive he could be doing on this ship!

He threw open the door to the pointless, pointless, [i]pointless[/i] room and strode very quickly down the hallway, searching. Luckily, He spotted it almost immediately. The Princess was just coming out of her room. Alone. Unprotected. That, he decided, was unacceptable. Setting his own objective he quickened his pace to catch her at the end of the hall and bowed.

"[Good afternoon.]," he said in French. "[You may call be v2. I will be your personal guard for the duration of our time on this ship. Please go about your day as though I am not here.]" 

[hr]

For the next week v2 was Adelle's shadow whether she liked it or not. The Seekers of Darkness were still out there, able to teleport with ease, and he could never shake the disquieting impression that they had retreated to easily. They hadn't seemed to have taken significant damage, and while it would be extremely foolish to attempt to take the Princess on this vessel he considered them fools and so it was not outside the realm of possibility. 

He followed her everywhere. When she perused the library he was looking up to make sure no heavy book fell on her head. If she was in the infirmary he made sure none of the needles were planning anything suspicious. In the hallways he was always a step behind on the off chance that she should trip and fall. At night he stood post outside her door only because he was afraid that if he stood in there that would be the slight that made her go complain about this. v2 was pretty sure the only reason he was getting away with this was because all concerned parties just assumed he'd been assigned to it. So he made sure to be as accommodating as possible, within reason, so as to minimize the chance of someone bringing the hammer down.

Perhaps someone had noted his behavior, however. He was now, after all, being assigned to recruitment of another Princess on this war ravaged world. It was interesting to think about this war. In was within, for, this conflict that his forebears were first constructed. He wondered whether his world was unique, if there wasn't some analogue to the great steel giants that walked before hidden away on a secret off shore island somewhere in this worlds Japan. However, that was irrelevant unless they were going to Japan. Which they were not.

"I do not suppose we are meant to keep a low profile when recruiting the princess?" He asked, an actual relevant question.