~ @Stern Algorithm ~
"The other thing is that this is what they know. Death is inevitable so they have to seriously weigh what they consider to be a life worth living. For many of them, living and dying for a greater purpose allows them to not have regrets. Perhaps I can introduce you to human literature. Since they evolved sentience, they have told tales of heroism. In a way, to have people tell stories of your bravery for generations to come was, to them, a form of immortality, perhaps the only form of immortality they can attain. You can think of it like vicarious memory preservation."
"..." Camille was silent. You see that she was visibly struggling to grasp the logic you laid out. After a sigh, she gave up. "...I don't think I'll ever understand them." She finished.
------
The caravan resumed its trip to Guillian and was without further incident, arriving at dusk. The setting sun colored the sky orange as light slowly dissipated to make way for the darkness of night.
Upon reaching the destination, Hospitaller Gordian thanked you and Camille for helping on this job and wired some monetary compensation to your accounts. After saying farewells, you and Camille were now out here in the city of Guillian. The orange robot reminded you that you promised to join her in repairing her broken minigun-club and so, the two of you went out into the city in search of a mechanic or repairman.
"With the money from the job, maybe I'll add in a few upgrades to my weapon. Perhaps a few spikes here and there so it'll be better in melee." Camille mused. She seemed happier and less shy than she was previously in the caravan. Was the presence of humans truly have that effect on her? Or perhaps she just got to know you better. "But I know someone from Sanginum who's already worked on my weapon. Maybe we should just head back there, but then I won't have a weapon until then. What do you think, Hyouka?"
Night had already settled and the streetlights and buildings of Guillian lit up to illuminate the city. Something else also lit up, you see Camille twitch her eyes away from you. "Hey Hyouka, did we really fight a small, green robot with a cape?" She suddenly asked. "A... friend of mine says he's someone famous."
~ @Crowvette ~
A single shot to the head was enough to finally take down the alien on Dia. The remaining alien, looking like it was going to join the fight, did something else entirely.
It sat on the cockpit and used its multiple arms to take control of the craft. It was, effectively, the pilot of the VTOL. How was it able to do that? How was an alien creature that never knew a vehicle in its life able to pilot aircraft? Dia quickly moved in after the brief sense of wonder passed. At least attempted to, she was too damaged to move any further. "Visalz, you need to kill it... and take back control..." She muttered.
It took little effort to take back control. The alien was too busy stabilizing the VTOL to notice you taking aim at its head and blowing it to bits.
The craft was successfully taken back. You were in control of the VTOL now, or what was left of it anyway. The scuffle earlier had damaged the craft's controls and the heat coming in from the shattered windshield threatened what integrity the VTOL had left. In fact, sitting on the cockpit meant you had to face the scorching temperatures yourself.
"The VTOL's not gonna last long." Dia remarked, sitting hapless in the back. "Do you think it can still be repaired... or is it a lost cause."
~ @Genon ~
It was a particularly snowy season this time around in Wizdom, snowflakes dropping from the sky for several days straight. It was expected a blizzard might hit in a couple of weeks but the cities of Wizdom were no stranger to snowstorms. Still, outside temperatures were below zero but that only hindered the daily activities a little, the humans and robots of Wizdom simply putting an extra layer of clothing until it was warm enough.
You were summoned to a military base in the outskirts of Wizdom's capital city, Corax, located in the middle of the planet. Upon arriving there, you found that the base was active with personnel but you were welcomed inside and were told to go to a specific hangar inside. Most of the hangars in the base were closed and inactive save for the one you were going into. The hangar was busy, with military robots moving and building and inspecting. A familiar robot, a petite one with pink hair and pink clothes barked orders to the robots. Whatever the operation was, Icey lead it. The leader of Wizdom herself.
Upon seeing you, she waved you over. "Over here! Come here!" Icey then began. "I hope you don't mind being called here from your home but you have been pretty idle for a long time. I decided to get your gears a little bit running with this op." She then began the briefing. "You see, we've received reports that a particular group of robot pirates are growing pretty powerful. Maybe powerful enough to threaten a city. Their presence is intimidating settlers from expanding and so they will need to be terminated with extreme prejudice."
"But before we deal with this menace, we must first learn the actual strength of this pirate group so we can formulate a battle plan that will minimize, or maybe eliminate, the losses we will incur once we fight them." Icey concluded. "That is why you are here. You and two more others, will go to the pirates' predicted base of operations and scout them out. Learn as much as you can, how many there are, who's leading them, that sort of thing."
"So, are you up for the job?"
