(I hate being identified like that. I had gone to a lot of effort to not be immediately identified as a SecUnit, and now it all felt like a waste.) (I grew longer hair and everything.)

I didn’t want to answer any reasonable questions.

I felt we had done a complete job, even with Gurathin distracting us by standing in the hatchway yelling at us to get out of the ship.

I was ready to settle in until it was time to think about what I was going to do when I got to my destination, something I intended to put off until the last possible moment.

Amena said, “Do you love my second mother? Thiago thinks so.” I should have known this was going to turn into an interrogation. I said, “Not the way he thinks.”

I was going to be paranoid until I figured out how ART had been attacked.

I could play it back to listen in on the whole conversation but I could also punch myself in the head with a sampling drill and I was not going to do that, either.

“Surely they won’t suspect anything,” Ratthi was saying to the others at the bulk dock. “Who runs around with a friendly rogue SecUnit? Besides us, I mean.”

That sounded just as sarcastic and mean as you think it did. Also possibly really threatening to the humans.

(On this station there was no separation between transient spaces and longterm station housing like on stations in the Corporation Rim, but that wasn’t even close to being the weirdest thing about Preservation.)

Compared to a lot of things that had happened to me, you’d think it wouldn’t matter. But here, now, for some reason, it mattered.

“Are you two talking?” “Yes.” I had to look at the wall now. Amena was still worried. “Are you fighting again or are you making up? Because it looks exactly the same from the outside.” We’re making up, ART told her.

Also, you may have noticed, I don’t care.

'It would be better if they could think of you as a person who is trying to help. Because that’s how I think of you.' My insides melted. That’s the only way I could describe it.

Organic neural tissue can be melded with inorganic systems (Example A: the squishy bits inside my skull)

I want you to know who targetControlSystem is fucking with right now.

Why does ART like adolescent humans? This was exhausting.

Ugh, emotions.

I’d had an idea earlier, now where was it? I checked my save-for-later. Oh right, that idea. I needed to talk to ART about it.

I felt we had done a complete job, even with Gurathin distracting us by standing in the hatchway yelling at us to get out of the ship.

(It was probably better to make it look like an accident.)

I said, You’re using the public feed, everyone can hear you. So are you, ART said. And you’re leaking on my deck.

I didn’t react visibly, because I’m used to clients making bad decisions, and I was getting a lot of practice at controlling my expression.

They looked so soft, with all the fluffy multicolored hair. And nervous, but not of me.

Farid cleared his throat. “So … you’re really a SecUnit?” Yeah, I get that a lot here.

There were groans and general complaining about having to pay high prices for shitty equipment. (I don’t take it personally.)

“Surely they won’t suspect anything,” Ratthi was saying to the others at the bulk dock. “Who runs around with a friendly rogue SecUnit? Besides us, I mean.”

One disadvantage in wearing the armor is that I get used to opaquing the faceplate. I’m out of practice at controlling my expression.

“Are you okay?” Amena asked. No, ART said. I hadn’t expected ART to admit it. Really hadn’t expected. Right, so, that isn’t good.

Indah said, “How would you dispose of a body so it wouldn’t be found?” I’m not the public library feed, Senior Officer, go do your own research. I said, “If I told you, then you might find all the bodies I’ve already disposed of.”