radio⸻

[andnevermore]

I need help.

[ It's not the kind of comment one might normally expect out of Blake; usually so independant, and reluctant to rely on others for help. But there's a barely restrained panic in her voice that she's only mostly keeping under control as she tries to be clinical and informative about what she's facing. ]

My friend, Yang... some of you will know her. Lots of blonde hair, prosthetic, yellow muscle car. Likes to make dumb puns.

She-- she fell asleep and won't wake up again. I think she's turning into a Husk. There's a layer of metal on her skin and hair.

[ A pause as Blake audibly draws breath to compose herself. ]

Do we know anything about how to reverse the process?

Comments

[andnevermore]

[ Huh. Why doesn't she know that it happened to SecUnit? Blake feels kind of guilty, now, that she didn't know. It keeps to itself so much, though, that it probably just didn't tell most people. ]

How long did it take you to break out, do you know?

[serialmurderbot]

[It's still not sure how anyone found out, and how it didn't end up abandoned on the side of the road when the others decided not to risk a Husk in their space. But talking about that is uncomfortable for a whole lot of reasons.

More importantly, Blake has understandable questions - and at least this it can answer. It heard the way she started that. It doesn't have a read on her heart rate to know for sure, but between its work and its shows it has a comparative sample of humans people trying to keep it together, and her tone matches up in the 96% range.]

Approximately two weeks local time. I wasn't aware until after. It was like being in shutdown. [It pauses, then amends,] Being asleep, I guess.

[andnevermore]

[ Blake lets out a breath, some of the tension easing out of her. She's not going to relax until Yang is up and talking again, but... SecUnit's experience isn't the nightmare she was imagining.

She was imagining Yang being stuck and conscious and unable to move. Or trapped in nightmares. Or something equally awful. If she's just sleeping, that's so much better. ]

Okay, good. That's... good. I was worried-- well, there were worse options.

But you're okay now though, right?

[serialmurderbot]

[Well that's an awkward question to answer truthfully. Performance reliability is at a solid 80%, so. Not great. But;]

It didn't leave any lasting damage, as far as I could tell.

[Then it pauses, a full 3.4 seconds, before saying the part it's pretty sure most people won't like. It still has to say it.]

You shouldn't keep the husk close.

[andnevermore]

[ Nope, Blake doesn't like that at all. Her eyes narrow dubiously as she casts a protective glance back at Yang, kept safely in the back of her van. ]

Why? The only danger I've seen of Husks is when they emerge as monsters, and if we just have to wait until Yang wakes up again, she won't go full monster, right?

[serialmurderbot]

An exception isn't a pattern. We don't know why or how I was different than the ones out there.

[Sure, there are theories, but there's no guarantee. And...]

Others have just gone missing. There's a possibility, but the probability is low until we know more. Safety should be the first priority.

[andnevermore]

Safety is my first priority.

[ Blake cuts short a sigh, making herself lower her hackles. SecUnit is just looking out for her, and it's not like it's not raising valid concerns. They do know that monsters hatch from Husks. There's every possibility that could happen here.

So, she relents, and adds: ]

Her uncle, her teammates and I are taking shifts to watch over her. It's for her protection, and... also for everybody else's protection, in case she emerges as a monster, so we can keep her contained.

[serialmurderbot]

[It notes that 'contained.' Weighs the potential of arguing that they might need to do more than contain her, that they might actually have to kill her.

Remembers ART and its crew - the way it's 94% certain the ship had excised the logic chain involving its dead crew from its decision tree to keep functioning at all. And it decides against saying anything.]

... Tell them to put out a call if you need assistance.

[And then it... doesn't hang up. Because it's trying to figure out how to offer spare media.]

And make sure you're taking rest periods.

[andnevermore]

[ Blake's tone softens, mollified. ]

We will. There's a chance that Yang might burst out of there as a full-fledged werewolf, and I don't really know how strong she is like that. I've only seen her like that a couple of times, and never fought her.

[ SecUnit's suggestion to rest has Blake smiling despite herself. Is it... telling her to take care of herself? That's sweet. ]

I will. I'm sleeping during the day now, actually. The typical vampire allergy to sunlight kicked in, so now I'm a night-owl.