9

Play: the Ark

Andersen stared at the pen embedded into the wall of his office. As he did, he chuckled. "...He really is similar to me. How nostalgic."

The words of that uppity commander came to Andersen's mind.

*If anything happens to them, the Ark dies. I don't need a Nikke to defeat everyone here.*

A command disguised as a negotiation. A promise illustrated with force and tied with a bow of violence.

If it was any one else, Andersen would have laughed it off.

But he had seen that commander's file. Paired with his actions, his appearance, and the way his Nikke revolved around him...

"I never did confirm what exactly the VTC did with my samples." Andersen rubbed his stubbled chin. "...Wouldn't put it past them to try and make another 'me.'"

He had been so busy dealing with the fallout that quite a few things slipped through the cracks.

Chief among them being the follow-up on exactly why they kept him in a coma for so long.

"Hm... It'll be fine."

Andersen plucked the pen from the wall and set it down in his desk drawer, along with some old photos. One with a group of Nikke from the distant past.

"...If he's like me, the only thing that will happen is the Ark being cleaned up a bit."

There were things Andersen could no longer do because of his body. And there were more he couldn't do because of his title.

But those didn't apply to the commander who called himself 'Hoopa.'

"Heh. I wonder if that's an acronym for something. A name like that wouldn't be chosen randomly. Considering he called his squad 'Brave' it probably means something interesting. H is for 'hero' that's for sure. The rest though... Hero of? Hero of what though... Well. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually."

Andersen chuckled and then looked at the paperwork on his desk that promoted Hoopa to a Special Commando that only reported to Deputy Chiefs. And specifically only to him. "It's not much... but I suppose we'll see soon enough. That kid seemed to have an even shorter temper than I did, so I guess this should be fun."

===

"...And so, we're now a special unit." I summarized the situation with Andersen to my squad.

Silence met my words.

Then Anis laughed. "So let me get this right. You threatened the Deputy Chief and said you'd destroy the Ark, chucked a pen at him that he barely dodged, stabbed it into the wall, and his response was... yes, let's promote this guy and make sure he only reports back to me?"

"Yep." I nodded. "Honestly, smart move. Pretty sure if anyone else tried pulling rank, I legitimately would murder them, if not maim them."

Marian sighed. "...Commander. That is not a rational thing to do..."

Rapi nodded. "That's right, Commander. You can't-"

Marian continued and said, "You should at least hold them hostage for ransom credits."

"..." Rapi sighed.

Neon adjusted her glasses. "Fascinating. So Commander is a hero, but he's a natural at being a villain as well..."

Anis rubbed her face. "This explains SO much and SO little at the same time. Like how Commander knew exactly what words to say to stop Marian's corruption..."

I laughed. "Anyway. Let's go to sleep. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted."

Play: Here Comes Trouble

Marian nodded. "Yes, Commander. Let's go to sleep." After that, she wrapped herself around my arm and got up.

I blinked. "Mari?"

"What?" Marian blinked. "I'm yours, Commander. You said so."

Anis stammered. "H-Hold on! Mari! You can't- I mean, you CAN. But... Seriously?!"

Marian smiled. "Commander saved my life. And he made me choose. I chose him. So it's fine. Right? Unless... you want to sleep with him too?"

"Y-NO!" Anis blushed. "Absolutely not!"

Neon chuckled, adjusting her glasses. "I heard the yes~"

"DID NOT!"

Rapi sighed and looked at me. "Commander. At least keep it quiet. Sound carries in this empty place..."

"RAPI! You are NOT seriously encouraging them right now!" Anis blushed.

Rapi's ears turned red. "...It's not like we can stop them, Anis. Also... stress relief is essential as a part of proper morale management." She eyed Marian and quietly said, "And at this rate, that one might jump Commander on the field..."

Marian turned a beet red but didn't deny it.

"Woohoo~" Neon laughed. "True love~"

"That's not love, Neon! It's just sex- Wait, no. I mean, Commander clearly adores Mari, and Mari likes him. So I guess it's making love... but- Wait, why am I even talking about this?!" Anis jumped out of her chair. "Agh! I'm going to bed! With earplugs!"

With those words, Anis vanished.

Neon chuckled and waved at me and Marian. "Good night~ Enjoy it!"

After that, she left too.

Rapi sighed. "...Sleep well."

Then she left towards the dormitories.

That left just me and Marian.

Marian leaned against my arm and said, "...Shall we then, my commander?"

"...What kind of man would I be if I turned you down at this point, Marian?" I kissed her neck. "I have my private office. Let's go there."

Marian giggled and said, "Lead the way, my commander..."

===

Play: Meditation

In the dormitories of the Outpost, Rapi and Anis sat across from each other at a makeshift table to talk.

Neon had gone to her own room ahead of time, no doubt to tinker with more things.

"So." After a while, Anis spoke up and looked at Rapi. "...Do you really think he's gonna do it? With Mari?"

"Fifty Fifty." Rapi crossed her arms, thinking. "Commander clearly sees us as human. And he's also clearly affectionate towards Marian. As for whether he does more... Who's to say."

"Ugh. This has been SO weird..." Anis crossed her arms too. "Honestly. Treating us like people, saying he'd go against the entire Ark for us..." She was quiet for a bit and said, "Hey, Rapi. Do you think he means it?"

Rapi didn't respond at first, mulling over what she thought about their new commander. Then she said, "I don't know. I want to say yes. And we've seen how he acts around us in combat..."

"Right?" Anis nodded. "He's CLEARLY got a few screws loose!"

"...But it's dangerous."

"Huh?" Anis blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Anis." Rapi turned to look at Anis. "...Have you noticed? Our commander... for the most part, he acts like he knows things. No, he clearly understands the nature of the Ark. And of Nikke as well. But he's lacking the 'common sense.'"

"Well, yeah." Anis nodded. "Anybody with half a brain could tell that. So what if he has a few screws loose-"

"No, Anis. I'm not talking about that." Rapi was quiet. Then she said, "Do you remember what he called the CombiLink?"

Anis paused. Then she furrowed her brows, thinking. When she finished, her eyes widened and she said, "...He called it a USB port."

"That's right." Rapi nodded. "...No one has called it that since the Ark's creation."

Anis was quiet. "...What are you saying?"

"You said it was odd, right? That our commander managed to survive the transport crash without any injuries? And moreover, you said he kept pulling off ridiculous things..." Rapi tapped her finger on her arm. "...Do you remember what he said when we asked him about Marian's corruption?"

"Uh... not really?"

Rapi looked at Anis and said, "Commander Hoopa mentioned that he thought someone wanted to get rid of him. He also mentioned that his memory was fuzzy and that his paperwork all mentioned him as 'Commander' but not by name. While it has all been updated, it was post-hoc."

"...So what?" Anis gripped the edge of her sleeve. "You trying to tell me that our Commander is like, some ancient lab experiment from before the Ark or something?"

"...No." Rapi shook her head. "He clearly belongs here. Despite everything, he is familiar with the Ark, Nikke, and even the workings of upper command. You saw it, yes? How he wasn't surprised at Ingrid being the CEO of Elysion? Or how he naturally stated it?"

"...I did think that was weird. And earlier, he talked about Tetra being known for entertainment... but nothing else. Like, Tetra Line does daily necessities too."

Rapi nodded. "Correct. It's almost like a composite knowledge base."

Anis froze. Then she looked at Rapi and slowly said, "You think that someone 'uploaded' memories into him."

"...It's just a hypothesis." Rapi shifted her gaze towards the Commander's Office in the distance. "He said it, right? You are not your body, you are not your mind. You are the will that chooses."

Anis's eyes widened. "...Wait. I didn't think about it, but... that's... like, not something a normal human should say. Or WOULD say. Most people think they're the body or the mind, right? That's why Nikkes have Mind Switches. The mental dissonance, isn't it?"

"It is."

"And Commander acted as if this was all normal. Like, having a non-standard human body wouldn't phase him..."

"He did."

Anis looked at Rapi. Then she said, "...What is he, Rapi? You clearly have an idea."

Rapi was quiet. Then she said, "I have ideas, yes. None as certain as the other. But... does it matter?"

"I'd say so!" Anis leaned forward. "If our commander isn't human-"

"The will to choose, and the decision to live. But more than that, the decision to respect each other's choices rather than snuffing them out." Rapi looked at Anis, a soft smile on her face. "...That's what he defined humanity as."

Anis froze. "...Dammit." Anis leaned back in her chair and sighed. "...So that's it, huh? That's why he treats us differently. In his eyes, we're all humans because we 'chose' this. And he's respecting that choice."

Rapi nodded. "Indeed."

"...Even though he knows we're not the same?"

"In his eyes, there's no difference. If anything..." Rapi shifted her gaze to the Central Government offices. "...He would probably see those people as less than human."

Anis was quiet. "...And I'd agree. But, huh." Anis stared at the ceiling. "...An ex popstar Nikke, a formerly mass-produced Nikke, a reformed corrupted Nikke, and an amnesiac fresh off the rack Nikke." Anis chuckled and said, "All of them under a Commander who may or may not be some kind of superhuman experiment that took the best memories of various people and uploaded into a fleshy body. Some group we are."

Rapi smiled. "Well. Isn't that par for the course for a Hero's party?"

Anis snorted. "I hate that you're right. I hate that all of this is amazing but ridiculous at the same time."

"Get used to it. This appears to be our life now."

"Yeah, yeah..." Anis got up to stretch. "Well... we should get some sleep then."

Rapi nodded. "Sleep... does sound nice. And it's been a while."

"Night, Rapi." Anis waved. "Don't stay up too late."

"Good night, Anis."

===

Play: Good Day Commander

I woke up early the next day, cuddled up against Marian.

For a moment, I was confused about where I was and why I had a beautiful woman naked in bed with me. Then the memories came back.

"...Right. This is my life now."

A quick look around showed me the commander's office- No. 'My' commander's office.

Stacks of boxes still unpacked, a desk, a bathroom with a working shower... and right now, a bedroom with a closet containing spare uniforms.

It wasn't a dream. I was actually here.

"...Well damn." I glanced down at Marian, snuggled beside me and quietly breathing. I chuckled and caressed her cheek, smiling softly. "At least I saved you, Marian."

"Mm...?" Marian slowly blinked. Then she looked at me and blushed. "C-Commander?"

I smiled and said, "Good morning, Mari. Sleep well?"

"I... that is..." Marian turned a bright red and covered her face.

I laughed and got up to shower. "I'll get ready first, then I'll give you some privacy."

"I-I appreciate it, Commander."

Now, to grab a quick cold shower and check in with the others.