anothercontinuity | Red vs Blue Voicetesting Thread

[ Locus nods once, eyes falling shut. He hopes those thanks are warranted. That he's done the right thing. It's always so very unclear to him, even on the best of days. ]

You should rest. I'll keep watch.

[ Just in case. He isn't completely convinced yet, but York seems happy enough with the results. ]

Good idea.

[ He's compromised. They're both compromised and of the three of them (fuck that'll take getting some adjustment) Locus is the most solid, most settled. Taylor contemplates moving to the bunk they'd rigged out of one side of the shuttle but mostly? Contents himself with tucking that much closer and dozing.

It's a long flight back to the ship, it'll be fine. ]

[ As soon as he's out, Locus bends further, tucks his arms beneath the sleeping Freelancer -- glad that he's no longer in the armor -- and carrying him to the bunk to lie down. He won't bother with the sheets, but it'll give him somewhere comfortable to rest, and that will be enough.

For the time being, at least. He can sit nearby, keep an eye on him.

Wait for them to get back. ]

[ For half an hour, all is still, York shifting and curling on his side and otherwise sleeping peacefully. Soon a little green light flickers and flares, that same suited figure hovering over York's head. ]

Good evening.

[ Locus's eyes dart towards the figure. It's much more polite, clipped tones than he recalls from the other AI, the one Carolina carried. Odd, but not unexpected. York had mentioned some of his idiosyncrasies before now. ]

So. You are Delta.

[ It feels like it should be an occasion, shouldn't it? One partner meeting another. Instead all he feels is a curling sense of resentment, of possessiveness, though he's not letting it get any farther than where it's currently knotted in his gut. ]

And you are Samuel Ortez.

[ A beat, a flicker, a faint tilt of Delta's head. ]

Locus. Allow me to express my gratitude for returning me to York.

Taylor. He doesn't use that name anymore.

[ Thanks, from an AI? He still thinks of them mostly as computer code, as machines, not people, so it's odd to think of one being grateful for him for anything.

Then again, Taylor would probably want him to humor Delta rather than insult it. ]

...it seemed like the logical thing to do.

Considering the consequences of the project I am not surprised by this. It will take some adjustment. I think you have a saying about old habits being hard to break.

[ And it is a habit all but burned into his code, those years on the run with no one but each other to depend on. York and Delta-

Now Taylor and Locus...and Delta. He will have to adjust to more than a simple change of name. ]

And yet not without risk, particularly regarding your current arrangement.

What do you mean?

[ It had been a minor risk to the mission, and a greater risk to Taylor himself. But to their arrangement? Is Delta admitting he's a threat to their partnership?

His fingers curl and uncurl tensely at his sides. ]

I have observed an exponential increase in competitive and envious behavior in humans that work in this field when an AI is introduced to the equation. York- Taylor's distress surrounding conflict caused by these behaviors and desire to avoid the same may upset the balance of your working relationship.

[ What more beyond that, they have not yet covered. But it is something that deserves consideration. ]

I have no desire to compete against anyone. Much less an AI.

[ Locus cocks his head briefly, eyes flickering over the tiny green figure. Funny, how it just puts it all out there, barely any inflection. Just stating the facts.

And the fact was he might come between them after all. He guards his expression all the same. ]

You've helped him before. I have no reason to believe you would not be of benefit now. Do you think that might change?

That is correct. I have helped him.

[ And his loyalty is without question. As compatible as they might have been at the beginning, subletting a part of York's mind for so long has bound them together tighter than all save perhaps Sigma and Maine. ]

So long as this partnership remains beneficial for Taylor, I see no reason for anything to change.

[ The threat is there, between the lines. If this partnership doesn't remain beneficial to Taylor, things will change. If your partnership doesn't remain beneficial to us, things will change.

It shifts, echoes, until his fingers curled and stay curled. ]

I trust Taylor to be the judge of that.

If you have known him long you realize he is not always the ideal judge of what is and is not in his best interest.

[ The clipped, even tone takes on something akin to exasperation as Delta looks down upon York's sleeping body. ]

It is all about the process, as he might say, not the end result. But on more than one occasion the process has been...detrimental to him.

It remains his choice to make.

[ Taylor can be an idiot sometimes, but too often people find excuses to take control, to override, to give well-meaning advice and nudge and prod and influence. He won't be that person, he refuses to be that person.

Even if whatever this is ends up lost to older, fonder partnerships. ]

Regardless of the potential outcome?

[ Curious. Most do not relent so easily or trust so deeply. Perhaps there is more at play than Delta realizes. More variables to consider. ]

There is no guarantee or our continued combat efficiency. The armor's protocol that dictated my deletion damaged the implantation system, the results of which you have seen. Until we have found an acceptable means of correcting this I trust you will continue to guard his left in the field.

Regardless.

[ But here was hoping it didn't come to that. And, from the sound of it, Delta really did have Taylor's best interests at heart.

That made two of them, then. Locus had no intention of changing anything, carrying on as they had for months now. Though that would certainly make some of their activities a little more awkward to start with. ]

We're partners. That's what we do.

That is what Taylor said as well. I wanted to be certain.

[ It is a delicate thing to navigate, the further he digs and flicks through memories of York's time with Locus. The-

Less professional aspects of their partnership are strange to him. ]

Shortly before falling unconscious he expressed a desire for us to 'chat it up' and 'become friendly'. [ A logic driven AI and a stoic not known for small talk. York, why? ] I understand such conversations often involve a discussion of hobbies, the weather, and preferred items of fictional media.

Perhaps for the average person. I don't think either of us would get much satisfaction out of such a conversation. Do you?

[ It's a strange, rocky road they've been on. From the beginning of 'the job' to the initial revelations, the time on Podunk, their first sparring match. Everything that's unraveled since then. Now it's something else entirely, something he can't explain save in that one word.

Partners. That's all that needs to be said, really. ]

Agreed. There is one topic that does hold my interest- or rather my curiosity.

[ Flicking through to the more recent sexual endeavors (skimming rather than immersing himself as such things do not prompt more tan the same curiosity that he holds for most of humanity's idiosyncrasies) the dynamic is strange and not one he was privy to while living with York before. ]

The power dynamics of your sexual relationship with Taylor- what in that appeals to you? I do not understand the desire to sacrifice personal autonomy in what is already an intensely vulnerable situation.

[ Again, the oddity of the conversation does not escape him. Discussing his sex life with AI, one that doesn't even hold interest in such things, save perhaps the psychology of it. It has all the clinical tone of talking to a shrink, and Locus hates that, more than most things.

It's a personal question. But then, Delta is already living in Taylor's head. He'll see it all, or as much as he cares to. ]

Trust.

[ It all boils down to that, doesn't it? One big, sexually satisfying trust exercise. He sighs quietly. ]

Knowing what we can do, what we're capable of, and being able to trust that the other person will always do what you want. Failing that, what you need.

[ Delta nods, more than satisfied with the overall answer- though the particulars are still somewhat fascinating. ]

And this extends to an inappropriate use of equipment and sidearms?

[ Taylor's current dream is...risque to say the least and not likely something he would remember enough of to bring up at a later date.

Call this being his 'wingman'. ]

[ That...earns a raised eyebrow. ]

We've never...

[ The suits, maybe, but he's never pushed for more. Not that he thinks Taylor would necessarily say no, but it's a strange thing to pull out of nowhere.

As just demonstrated. ]

The nuances of human sexuality and Taylor's needs are something we never truly discussed in depth in the past. He isolated himself entirely in an effort to keep us both safe. I am...pleased to know he has found someone compatible and understanding.

[ A clarification for this line of questioning as non-sequiturs are, apparently, rude. ]

So it is a hypothetical situation rather than a memory he is visiting.

[ Curious. ]

It must be.

[ Which is interesting in its own right. ]

He'd...like that, then?

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