2B and 9S (NieR: Automata)

"2B, we're approaching the target now." A young man's voice could barely be heard over the mechanical hum of a motor. A flight unit carried both the speaker and the passenger he was talking to. He himself was protected in the cockpit of a humanoid apparatus like an enormous suit of high-tech armor, more than twice his size. The flight unit moved through the sky at a leisurely pace; despite the jet transformation and accompanying propulsion available to it, the pilot was choosing to use turbine-enabled hovering for the comfort of his passenger.

His passenger didn't respond. The flight unit was gripping her hand with its own matching appendage, and her body dangled from it, dwarfed in size. By appearances, she was a slender young woman, possibly around twenty. Still, there was no expression of pain or even effort on her doll-like face, unless it was hidden by the black blindfold she wore. Her outfit further suggested a frailty that belied her purpose as a combat android: a black turtleneck dress, leather-textured, with a low hem and a dynamic cut up each leg, puffed at the shoulders, with sleeves terminating mid-forearm and a back opening to show her shoulder blades. Her white bob of hair flapped wildly in the breeze at high altitude, as did the hem of her dress. At this altitude, she was unbothered by the idea of anyone getting a look at the white leotard she wore beneath, nor taking glances at her shapely legs, clad in tall garter stockings and heeled leather boots.

The pilot cleared his throat and tried again, using the short range communication channel available to them instead of speaking directly. In spite of using a more formal channel, his tone became less formal, as if he were speaking to a friend and not a coworker. "Ahem hm... YoRHa No.2 Type B! This is YoRHa No.9 Type S. Are you asleep? Respond if you hear me...!"

"I'm not asleep, of course," 2B replied on the channel without moving her lips. "I can see the tower coming up. Chatting with you is unnecessary. Focus on the mission."

"Yeah, yeah," 9S replied, closing the comms channel. They still had a few minutes before they touched down, so focus on the mission he would. The spotter-type android was designed to support 2B, after all, so it wouldn't do for him to be more distracted than her. The two of them had picked up a distress signal from this location, a type that seemed to match a YoRHa android signature. The reading went fuzzy almost as soon as it had appeared, but the two could hardly afford to ignore it. It shouldn't be possible for the machines the androids were at war with to forge a YoRHa ID, after all. Either someone needed their help, or a new enemy development needed looking into.

9S somehow wasn't surprised that 2B had quickly taken up the mission on that reasoning. If both of them were strictly following the rules of command, of course, they would ignore it. There were no identifiable machine lifeform traces here. It could be said that this detour had no guaranteed benefit to winning the war. However, these two were granted some degree of autonomy to act independently so long as it was in accordance with their programming... And, more importantly, as they'd begun heading towards the tower in the flight unit 9S had managed to commandeer, contact with the orbital YoRHa command Bunker had been cut off. An emotional soldier might have panicked, but 2B and 9S were no human soldiers. They were androids, created to win a war for the glory of humanity. For them, emotions were prohibited, as was prioritizing their own safety over the completion of the mission... also, this sort of interference wasn't uncommon for the two of them.

Still, it was rare for them to proceed without at least trying to turn around and see if they could get a word through to command. This was a case where 2B and 9S formed a tacit and silent acknowledgement to simply not bring up that option. 9S figured he'd be the one who ended up apologizing to command later-

"Report: Structure of unidentifiable origin detected ahead, containing multiple unidentified organic signatures. Due to interference, communications with and aid from Bunker will be impossible. Proposal: return to previous area of operations to report to command outside the interference area."

The clinical female voice of his support Pod 153 made 9s's core skip a beat, with a guilty feeling like it had read his mind. "Pod 153, we're prioritizing investigation of a potential machine or android presence here. Cease warning functions related to reports until more intelligence is available."

"Affirmative."

Of course, as always, his Pod's recommendations were firmly rooted in logic, which drove home for 9S that his decisions were not. Compared to other androids, he tended to have a harder time enforcing the rules against emotions; he was a newer, cutting edge spotter-model, equipped with a more sophisticated array of expressions. Right now, the thing that was really driving him was his own curiosity. There was information available to him that he hadn't yet shared, even with 2B. The signature he'd picked up earlier didn't feel generic: it had felt like 2B's own. 9S supposed that was why she had picked up on it, even before he did. Obviously, there shouldn't be another Type B combat unit deployed to this area. Still, there could be any number of explanations, and 9S's mind raced as he considered them. Was it a similar, experimental model that command was keeping secret from the two of them? Or was it a trap? Was the enemy using 2B's signature because they knew it would successfully lure her? That would imply a level of information about YoRHa's inner workings that was terrifying to consider.

More interesting to 9S, however, were the organic signatures. Naturally, if he told 2B there were "unidentified organic signatures" and nothing else, she'd come to the conclusion he was talking about some form of beast that simply wasn't important to identify. That wasn't what 9S meant at all. What he was detecting almost matched the signatures of humans from historical records.

If he could confirm the presence of surviving humanity on this planet, it would be an unprecedented discovery. One that could change everything.

9S shook that thought from his head. Thinking about what the confirmation would mean could come after he'd actually confirmed it.

"We're close," 2B's voice came over comms again. "Release grip and I'll touch down. I can explore alone. I recommend you remain airborne for support and retrieval, if necessary. There are no hostile readings. This shouldn't take long." A gleaming white katana was suspended in a ring of light behind her back. There was no reason to doubt her ability to hold her own in combat.

9S released the flight unit's grip and allowed 2B to descend gracefully from a height that would kill an ordinary human. He didn't comply with her request to stay airborne, however. He lowered his unit to the clearing just outside the tower that was their target and departed from the unit. Free of the hulking equipment, he could be seen to be a young man with neat, shockingly white hair, similar to 2B in his pale skin, hidden eyes, and black outfit. His own was a large-cuffed trench coat split at the sides, shorts, and knee high socks. A choker, gloves, and a fanny pack completed his look, but what most set the slightly shorter young man apart from his coworker was his resting smile, compared to her own passive frown. "Negative, 2B. Scans from outside the tower are fuzzy at best. Frankly, we're lacking intelligence, so I'll be accompanying you for close-range support. Depending on what we find inside, my hacking function might come in handy, too."

"I just said there's no reading of machine lifeforms. Hacking won't be necessary. It's more tactically sound for you to remain outside. This won't be anything but a quick detour. In and out."

"Hmm... No evidence of machine lifeforms," 9S repeated after her, beginning to walk towards the tower entrance despite her words and placing a thoughtful hand to his chin. "But there is evidence of some kind of lifeforms, wouldn't you say? You can't tell me you're not curious."

"And you shouldn't tell me you are," 2B reminded him.

"Fair!" 9S admitted, although he didn't stop.

As the two androids walked ahead, the Pods which served as their support units remained slightly behind. 2B's male Pod 042 and 9S's female Pod 153 took the form of two small, floating rectangular boxes with stubby manipulating arms: 042 was white primary and orange secondary, while 153 was black primary and red secondary. They showed slight hesitation in advancing, although the androids ahead didn't realize it. 153 was the first to speak. "Report: The presence of several unknown factors in this unauthorized mission is noted. Their collective should amount to what humans referred to as 'a bad feeling.' Proposal: Pod 042 should advise greater caution to Unit 2B, who will consequently rein in Unit 9S."

"... Report," Pod 042's similar but masculine voice returned in response. "This unit has made several such suggestions to 2B over private channels in flight. Theory: Unit 2B is as determined to proceed in this manner as 9S. Proposal: Pods will continue support to prevent any disruption of function to assigned units."

"Affirmative." The two Pods floated after their masters.

The two androids, burdened with a futile mission, their own secrets, and unnecessary emotions... Was their arrival at this tower a curse, or some kind of punishment?