Synth

The game that Flit found for them to play was a civilian one which TO had never played before. Flit hadn’t played it before either, so that’s why they both agreed on it. The game was some kind of combat simulation where they lead their troops instead of being directly involved in combat and was very much like some of the earlier games they played in training before they started doing simulations. The scenario took place in a strange, oddly beautiful alien terrain but the screen was obscured in places so that they couldn’t pass a rather limited distance. They didn't even have a full map of the setting, so all TO could see was the immediate area around where they started.

Their training took over. The aim was to take the enemy base by attacking it. They had resources; they had troops, and the ability to gather more resources and create better troops. Information was the prime objective in this early stage. They had to fill out their map and figure out the landscape, the location of enemies, and the placement of resources. Then, they had to build up their resources and their army and launch an attack.

TO figured that this boiled down to who found and gathered resources the quickest. The extra materials they had on hand allowed them to create some scouts, which would reveal the map as they traveled so TO quickly figured out the best way to cover the map in the least amount of time. They found resources and started the slow process of gathering them as they searched for the location of the enemy.

=You are under attack=

The alert came as a surprise to TO. They hadn’t been playing long, and they couldn’t imagine that Flit had already gotten the necessary supplies, so what was happening here? They went back to their base to see what was attacking them. Was there an enemy unrelated to either of the players which could attack them, a native beast from the wilds that would give them trouble?

No.

As they went back to their base, they saw not some alien enemy born of the strange planet they were on, nor did they see large soldiers and combat troops attacking their base and defensive units. They saw an enormous mass of the cheapest, least combat effective units available. Sure, they could do damage; all troops could, but they did such minor damage it wasn’t worth using them for combat. Well, that’s what TO thought. Early on and in such large numbers… Well, TO’s defensive units could kill them in a single shot, sure, but that still took precious seconds. By the time three of the enemy units were slain, TO's own defensive units were mulched by a wave of cheap, weak enemies all hitting at once for minuscule damage that added up.

TO quickly pulled their scouts back and did their best to defend their base and stop the attack, but it was too late. Having lost valuable troops already, the enemy surged over their base like a tidal wave.

An apt description, TO thought, an individual drop of water won’t hurt anything, but a wave can be devastating.

It wasn’t long before TO’s screen went black, and the word “Failure” flashed before them in glowing red letters.

“…You didn’t think before you started, did you?” Flit asked, leaning forward, lacing their fingers together and resting their chin on the back of their hands.

“I did!” TO said, “I read the rules, and I knew what I had to do-“

“You thought about the game; not about me.” They said, “You were trying to win the game, not beat me.”

“Isn’t that the same?” TO asked.

From the corner of the room where Snout was showing DH some kind of craft involving strands of repurposed clothing and long metal needles, the former production officer shook their head and sighed, “They do this.” They said, “It’s not enough to beat you, they have to rub your nose in it too.”

“I’m not rubbing their nose in it!” Flit insisted, “I’m teaching them. It’s what I do.”

“Then teach them, don’t drag the lesson out of them.” Snout said.

“It’s the best way to learn!.” Flit said. They looked back to TO, “Tell me, what’s the difference between beating the game, and beating me?”

TO blinked, “it’s the same?” They said, “TO beat you, I have to beat the game.”

“Alright then, tell me; why did you lose?”

TO frowned, “... I lost because you used non-combat troops in combat?” TO said.

“No, that’s how I won. How did you lose?”

TO’s ears flicked back in frustration. Wasn’t that the same thing? Despite their frustration, they pushed their mind to get an answer; they had to figure this out.

“… I lost because I didn’t think of using non-combat troops in combat?”

Flit chuckled, “Maybe.” They said, “Here, take this away for a little.” they pressed a button, on the screen, and a few moments later TO heard their communicator ding. When they looked, they saw Flit had sent them a video of the battle, but one where they could actually see both sides of the map. “Watch the recording, think about it, and see if you can figure out something and implement it for next time.”

“Ugh… They do that too.” Snout said. They carefully passed the craft to DH, who held the long metal sticks awkwardly in their hands as though they might bite, and slowly started working with the strands of old fabric. “TO, keep in mind that next time you play… They’re going to beat you harder than they did this time.”

TO’s ears pinned back again, “They won’t.” TO said, saving the video on their communicator, “Next time we play, I’m going to beat them harder than anyone has ever beaten them before!”

Snout chuckled, but TO wasn’t sure if they were chuckling at them or at the sudden mess that DH had made with the craft. “Well, do your best, and don’t feel too bad for losing against Flit.” They said, “They’re pretty smart.”

“TO is pretty smart too.” Flit said, “I have no doubt they’ll beat me… Eventually. And I’ll be very proud of them when they do.”

======

The first thing they had to do once they were done with their lunch was help get the ship packed and ready. Once they got to their ship, it took TO very little time to open up all the different areas that the others needed to access in order to pack up the supplies for the trip. They didn’t sit idly once that was done, of course; there was a lot to do, and the others were busy packing things up. They set up the chemical toilets and washing stations, just so that they would be ready as soon as they took off. Once they finished that, TO had to prepare the safety devices for takeoff. The force people experience in a ship as it leaves a planet is intense, and can cause serious, fatal issues. So, while smuggling people on board a ship to escape an unfriendly planet sounded fine, leaving a planet’s gravitational pull caused some real problems.

The solution the insurgency came up with was absolutely, stupidly simple. Ages ago, someone had made a series of straps which formed a harness, complete with electromagnets strong enough to secure a person to the floor. To protect a person's joints and their more vital and delicate bones, they had designed a set of oddly shaped pillows which would cradle and protect those areas. An egg-shaped capsule held anyone too small to be strapped. The capsule had padding designed for each person individually, measured to fit their form and keep them safe. Straps would hold the capsule in place once the person was inside.

It wasn’t just for babies and infants either. Vik would have to be in such a capsule for takeoff.

Again, it was stupidly simple, and those were often the solutions that TO liked but today it was this kind of solution that infuriated them. It that reminded them of Flit’s stupid simple solution of sending worker troops into combat and overwhelming them. The more TO thought about it the more they cursed themself for not thinking about it and the more they plotted to do better next time. That was what they were thinking about as they worked; their plan for next time.

They were nearly done with the tedious tasks when the elevator opened and let Tham out.

“Alright; We packed most everything up.” He said as he snaked his way over towards TO, “There’s still food that Lake and Avery are working on, but I think if we work in shifts of two or three, with the rate those two are packing stuff we should be able to keep up just fine.”

“Mm-hmm.” TO heard what they said, of course, but they weren’t paying attention; their mind was split between the harness they were setting up which had somehow twisted around and gotten kinked up in the fastenings, and their plan for the next game they played with flit.

It’s too easy to just do what they did with the workers, Flit will expect that. Of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t do it again.

“Now, there's an older person coming with us who has aches in all his joints, and another who has a medical condition where their joints are really fragile. We can try them with the straps, but I saw that the seats in the emergency ship look secure, so maybe they can work instead?”

“Mmm.” Was TO’s thoughtful response. I’ll have to put more energy into defending the base first. But, how many resources can I get with just the basic number of starting workers? I won’t find resources fast enough if I don’t scout.

A hand on TO’s shoulder made them jump and a mix between a squeak and a chirp escaped from their throat.

“What kind of noise was that?” Tham said with a chuckle.

“The startled kind!” TO said as their ears warmed, “What is it?”

“Are you even listening to me? The chairs in the emergency ship? Can we use them?”

They had in fact been listening to Tham; they had just put no thought into the words he was saying. “Absolutely not.” TO said, “The chairs in our living space can rotate to accommodate a vertical takeoff; the ones in the emergency ship can’t.” They went over a few possibilities in their head which might work. “Those two can use our chairs, and DH and I will strap down on the beds. We need to be in the living quarters, close to the console just in case there’s an issue.”

Tham nodded, “Good, thank you.” He said, “Though, even in your chairs I’m worried they might get hurt.”

“I’ll make sure DH is ready to help them once we’re in orbit.” TO said. Hopefully, they’d get into orbit without issues; their shields should be able to handle anything that’s fired at them while they’re escaping gravity, but once they were in orbit, that’s when they’d be more open to attack.

The elevator opened again, and when TO looked over they saw Marissa come carrying a box on her shoulders and looking around the weapons bay in a mix of fear and awe. “Is… is this all underground?” She asked, looking at the blackened windows.

“No, we’re above ground now.” TO said, “but I’ve set the windows to privacy mode out so the security drones around the ship can’t see us.”

“Ah. right.” She said, the red color to her face and tentacles darkening as she looked to the floor. TO noticed that her tentacles were also curling up around her, twisting into tight little spirals.

“Is everything ok, Marissa?” Tham asked, “What’s the box?”

“Oh! Uh, it’s supplies for the infants.” She said, “Your instructions said they came up here.”

TO nodded and gestured to a spot under the console where a small space remained. Wordless, she went over and put the box away.

“You can take a break now, Marissa.” Tham said, “We’re going on shifts for the rest of the evening to pack up the food. Go get some rest.”

Marissa nodded, but didn’t move from where she was. After a moment of silence, she cleared her throat.

“I was actually wondering if I could talk to TO for a moment?” She asked.

“Of course.” TO said, their ears perking up. Things had been easier among the civilians for them since Pearla helped them, but things were still a little more tense than they’d like. Besides, Marissa was the first civilian down here to seem comfortable around them; they’d made time for her.

“I… was wondering If I could talk to you alone?” She asked as she glanced at Tham, her color darkening further.”

“Sure, I’ll be by the entrance setting up the shifts for tonight.” He said as he headed to the elevator. Once he passed Marissa, he turned around and gave TO a meaningful look. Well, it was meaningful in that TO knew he was trying to to tell them something, but they had no idea what that might be.

The elevator closed, and he was alone with the young, red Cephaloid.