戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/Things To Remember - Revision history

Spaz: Text replacement - "tommorow" to "tomorrow"

2019-10-23T22:04:39Z

Text replacement - "tommorow" to "tomorrow"

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:04, 23 October 2019
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	"Yes, Ma'am!" Ayako snappily answered, chuckling immediately afterwards.		"Yes, Ma'am!" Ayako snappily answered, chuckling immediately afterwards.

	"Glad to hear you're looking forward to the fun ~~tommorow~~. See ya!" the voice		"Glad to hear you're looking forward to the fun tomorrow. See ya!" the voice
	wished her goodbye.		wished her goodbye.

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	After a while of thoughtless tinkering with her flowers, she remembered about		After a while of thoughtless tinkering with her flowers, she remembered about
	what Deunan had interrupted her at: the appointment ~~tommorow~~, she should bring a		what Deunan had interrupted her at: the appointment tomorrow, she should bring a
	colleague! Ayako picked up her mobile phone and pressed a speed dial.		colleague! Ayako picked up her mobile phone and pressed a speed dial.

Darkbutflashy: /* Along the story */

2015-07-12T09:37:30Z

Along the story

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:37, 12 July 2015
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	<div style="float: left;">[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/First Encounter of another Kind\|First Encounter of another Kind]]</div>		<div style="float: left;">[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/First Encounter of another Kind\|First Encounter of another Kind]]</div>
	<div style="float: right;">[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/Interlude\|Chapter 3 - Interlude]]</div>		<div style="float: right;">[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/Interlude\|Chapter 3 - Interlude]]</div>
	<div style="margin-left: 40em; margin-right: 40em;">[[~~Stories~~\|~~Back to the story archive~~]]</div>		<div style="margin-left: 40em; margin-right: 40em; white-space: nowrap;">[[戦闘機械_綾子_-_Battlemachine_Ayako#The_Story_thus_far\|Chapter Index]]</div>

	[[Category:Darkbutflashy]]		[[Category:Darkbutflashy]]
	[[Category:Stories]]		[[Category:Stories]]
	[[Category:Transformation]]		[[Category:Transformation]]

Darkbutflashy: Reformatted.

2014-11-22T20:08:23Z

Reformatted.

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Rdaneel: Corrections at Dark's request. Finished first half of the chapter

2014-06-26T05:56:25Z

Corrections at Dark's request. Finished first half of the chapter

Show changes

Rdaneel: Fixed a couple of misses

2014-05-04T08:07:41Z

Fixed a couple of misses

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:07, 4 May 2014
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	"Wait, I . . ." Ayako wanted to interrupt but the woman on the other end had already hung up.		"Wait, I . . ." Ayako wanted to interrupt but the woman on the other end had already hung up.

	She wasn't sure whether she wanted to go through ~~whit~~ this. She had been uneasy about		She wasn't sure whether she wanted to go through with this. She had been uneasy about
	the outcome of the performance review already, too nervous to speak before a		the outcome of the performance review already, too nervous to speak before a
	group of people. If ESWAT was going to be dumped, all her efforts to become a		group of people. If ESWAT was going to be dumped, all her efforts to become a
	reputable policewoman would turn to nil. Frightened about the idea that it would be		reputable policewoman would turn to nil. Frightened about the idea that it would be
	mainly her fault if it came to that, she found herself muttering, "No. . . .		mainly her fault if it came to that, she found herself muttering, "No. . . .
	NO. . . . Don't think like that!" But it was her fault, at least partly. She ~~didn~~'t		NO. . . . Don't think like that!" But it was her fault, at least partly. She hadn't
	~~act~~ professional. It was rage at best, more likely rampage.		acted professional. It was rage at best, more likely rampage.

	Needing some distraction from those bad feelings, Ayako turned on the TV. More		Needing some distraction from those bad feelings, Ayako turned on the TV. More

Rdaneel: Corrections at Dark's request. Finished first quarter of the chapter

2014-05-04T08:00:10Z

Corrections at Dark's request. Finished first quarter of the chapter

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Darkbutflashy: some speech formatting

2014-03-08T13:25:33Z

some speech formatting

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Darkbutflashy: /* 2 Things to remember */

2014-02-18T14:25:40Z

2 Things to remember

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:25, 18 February 2014
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	<div style="width: 10px; height: 10px; background: #101000; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></div>		<div style="width: 10px; height: 10px; background: #101000; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></div>
	<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border: 100px solid transparent; border-bottom: 20px solid #101000; position: relative; top: -100px~~; left: -2px~~; float: left;"></div><div style="position: relative; left: -200px; top: 10px; width: 0; height: 0; border: 100px solid transparent; border-top: 20px solid #101000; float: left;"></div>		<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border: 100px solid transparent; border-bottom: 20px solid #101000; position: relative; top: -100px; float: left;"></div><div style="position: relative; left: -200px; top: 10px; width: 0; height: 0; border: 100px solid transparent; border-top: 20px solid #101000; float: left;"></div>
	<div style="position: relative; left: -200px; width: 10px; height: 10px; background: #101000; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></div>		<div style="position: relative; left: -200px; width: 10px; height: 10px; background: #101000; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></div>
	<div style="position: relative; left: -200px; width: 10px; height: 10px; background: #101000; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></div>		<div style="position: relative; left: -200px; width: 10px; height: 10px; background: #101000; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></div>
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	</div>		</div>

	==Along the story==		==Along the story==
	<div style="float: left;">[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/First Encounter of another Kind\|First Encounter of another Kind]]</div>		<div style="float: left;">[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/First Encounter of another Kind\|First Encounter of another Kind]]</div>

Darkbutflashy: formatting

2014-02-18T14:03:33Z

formatting

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Darkbutflashy: New page: /-------------->-----> | 戦闘機械　綾子 | Sentō Kikai Ayako | Battlemachine Ayako +--------------<-----------< | Written by darkbutflashy | Originally released on Fembotwik...

2014-01-11T19:25:31Z

New page

/-------------->----->
| 戦闘機械　綾子
| Sentō Kikai Ayako
| Battlemachine Ayako
+--------------<-----------<
| Written by darkbutflashy
| Originally released on Fembotwiki
\---------------<-----------<-------<------<

==2 Things to remember==

"Do you really think it's a good idea?" Ayako spoke into her cell phone
doubtfully. "No worries, just be there!" the woman on the other end assured her.
"Well, ok, ... I will come along." - "Thanks! Oh, and bring a colleague with
you. It's easier when you aren't in the focus of their attention all the time,"
her inviter advised her. "Understood!" Ayako answered. The way she said it
challenged the woman on the phone to banter her in return: "Oh, now you really
sound like a tough policewoman. Do it again!" - "Yes, Ma'am!" Ayako snappily
answered, chuckling immediately afterwards. - "Glad to hear you're looking
forward for the fun tommorow. See ya!" the voice wished her goodbye. "Wait,
I...", Ayako wanted to interrupt but the woman on the other end had hung up
already.

She wasn't sure whether she wanted to go through this. She had been uneasy about
the outcome of the performance review already, too nervous to speak before a
group of people. If ESWAT was going to be dumped, all her efforts to become a
reputable policewoman would turn into nil. Frightened about the idea it was
mainly her fault if it would come to this, she found herself muttering "No...
NO... don't think like that!". But it was her fault, at least partly. She hadn't
been acting professional. It was a rage at best, more likely a rampage.

Needing some distraction from those bad feelings, Ayako turned on the TV. More
bored than really interested she zapped through the channels to find something
she liked, something funny or at least nice. Her sight quickly left the screen
and wandered through the room without a real aim, resting on the plants, the
wooden furniture, the fine white drapes, the window. The scenery outside. She
got up and went on the balcony to see the last glimpse of sunset. The horizon
was a bright blue-yellowish stripe, the sky already dark and the city below her
the usual sea of lights. Yes, she had a fairly nice place to live in, though it
only was a council flat in 22nd floor of a large residential compound. Not in
one of the three arcologies of course, no policeman could afford one of these
luxury apartments. However, sight on the city was great from her flat, too, and
it wasn't noisy at all.

The wind dried the tears on her face quickly and she felt the burn from it. It
was better to go back inside. Ayako headed for the bathroom to wash it off, but
just before the door she hesitated to step inside. "It" was inside. "It", that
was a wall-to-wall mirror. When she originally looked for a place to live the
bathroom mirror was what made the final decision. It was so big and the light so
soft she felt like some model in a studio when she had been doing her hair and
her make-up. But now, every view into that mirror gave her a shiver.

For the outside viewer, Ayako was a pretty young woman. From the eyes in her
perfect round face one could have assumed she had been of asian origin, but her
long brunette hair and the long, pointed nose told another story. She had only
very mild make-up. Too bad she had not smiled at that moment; it would had been
one of those faces you cannot forget.

But there was no use to avoid it. Thanks to the distance to the door, the mirror
had a clear view on her. In the doorframe stood a young woman in some sort of
armor, closely but not entirely resembling a biker's dress: her belly, her hips,
her arms, even her neck were covered in some black enameled rubber-like
material. Her thighs and knees were black, too, but there were some hard shell
plates attached to them, protectors presumably. The shinpads covering her lower
legs were gray, same with the epaulettes on her shoulders. Right down at the
bottom she wore hard, spiky boots, black of course, with ridiculously high
heels. Coming to the more dubious parts of the outfit, her breasts were covered
by a something which could had counted as a bra worn outside if it wouldn't had
been made of the same hard, shiny and gray material the other protectors were
made from. A name plate below that piece announced the name of the freak:

<div style="font-size: 200%; font-weight: bolder; font-family: monospace; text-align: center; border: 2pt solid #808080; padding: 1ex 1em; width: 5em;">Ayako</div>

Mirrors do not betray. They just reflect what anyone could easily see. A freak.
But that wasn't what Ayako actually wanted to see others in her. A considerate
person. Someone to call for help. A policewoman.

She began to cry again and rushed into the room, ripped the faucet open and bent
down into the washstand to squirt water on her face. A lot of water. She was
frozen almost an eternity, and when she finally raised, she obviously avoided to
look at the mirror. Trying to shield herself from the reflection, she raised her
hands and rested her head in them. Ayako couldn't avoid to peek through the
finger gaps. Small drops of water glared like diamonds on the hands. Shiny,
black hands. Slowly, she bent the fingers and the fingertips were sliding over
her eyes. She could feel their sleekness, the coldness of their touch. And she
could feel the texture of her skin sliding beneath through them. These
fingertips were hers.

Thinking about it may had have again turned her down but the ringing of the
doorbell freed Ayako from her agony. She took a towel and sketchily dryed her
face. "Deunan!" the voice on the entry phone bellowed. Ayako followed the
implied command and pressed the buzzer. "Damn, forgot to give her instructions
how to find the apartment on the floor," she thought, "I better go catch her at
the lift."

Rattling and swinging like a fun ride, the lift approached its destination in
22nd floor. At least it was fast. "Phew, what a worn-out building," Deunan
mumbled, "I thought she could afford a more decent place." When the lift had
halted, the rumble from the air conditioning immediately took its place in the
orchestra, at only slightly lower volume. Deunan left the cabin and, like
expected, she wasn't prepared for a labyrinth. 22nd floor was a maze of tiny
little passages all alike. Numerous narrow corridors lead to flats, from outside
all alike, too. There was no chance for a first-time visitor to find the correct
flat without an extensive search.

Deunan decided for an arbitrary corridor, as they all looked the same anyway.
After some bends, the lighting was broken. "Now it gets creepy," she cheered.
Deunan sure wasn't the kind of woman which could be frightened easily. To her
amusement she could hear a slow clicking from behind. It even stopped when she
had stopped to listen carefully. At a junction she hid behind the corner to wait
for her follower, who obviously hadn't noticed her dodging move in the dim
light. Deunan grabbed the person as soon it had reached the intersection. "So,
what a stupid game is this?" she shouted with a gleeful voice. The woman
skrieked loudly. Deunan let her go immediately, realizing it wasn't Ayako as she
had expected. "I'm sorry, I haven't meant to..." she tried to explain. "Who are
you, assaulting people in the half-light? This isn't the 'house of horrors', do
you understand?" the woman shouted. "I'm sorry Ma'am," Deunan tried to
apologize. It was odd as the woman was clearly younger than her. But she was
right, one shouldn't make such teenager jokes with strangers.

Trying to get away from the awful situation, Deunan turned around. "UWAAAAHHH!"
This time it was herself who was shrieking. Centimeters before her a bulky black
figure had hoicked her arms trying to grab for *her*. Only a second later, when
Deunan found out it was Ayako, her pulse got back to normal. "Hi, Mrs. Janicki",
Ayako greeted her neighbor, waving waggishly. "Hello, Ms. Boer," the woman
greeted back seriously, "could you please tell your friend? colleague? to grow
up!" - "Oh, she's not my colleague but my..." - "Ssshhhh," Deunan stopped her.
"Yeah, what?" Mrs. Janicki harped on it. "Girlfriend," Deunan blasted,
"Problem?" - Mrs. Janicki squinted, eyeballing Deunan. Then she spoke to Ayako.
"I had no idea you're into older *women*. Have fun!" she cheered and left the
scene for her apartment, which was just two doors away.

The two "girlfriends" used the other passage to go to Ayako's place. It was
narrow so Deunan followed her subordinate. "Was this neccessary? Now she thinks
I'm a lesbian," Ayako complained. "Problem?" Deunan smiled spitefully, "Look, if
you hadn't stopped me, I would have got away without that trick." - "Look who's
talking," Ayako replied. Deunan tried to apologize: "I just wanted her not to
drill any further so I had to make up something which is more intriguing than a
police chief assaulting people in her spare time... ...and I only had one
second." - "Ok, ok, excuse accepted," Ayako answered. She wondered why her boss
had even showed up at her home. She had expected Deunan to chew her out at the
office for her misconduct. Was it that bad she brings the pink slip by herself
to make it less awkward? Walking a straight line wasn't easy thinking of this.

Deunan noticed Ayako's insecure steps. "Something wrong?" she asked. - "No, it's
nothing," was the reply. "You walk like a drunk," Deunan insisted. "I'm a little
stressed, okay?" Ayako fluttered. "Well, we all are," Deunan ended this
fruitless topic, "by the way, isn't it a bit flashy to go out like this in
public?" - Ayako was speechless when she realized she had left her flat without
covering herself into a coat. Damn hurry! And the boss had noticed. "What's with
Mrs. Janicki? She doesn't seem to be astounded?" Deunan drilled deeper, "So your
cover-up is a fuck-up, too?" - "No, no, Mrs. Janicki is thinking I'm into biker
clothes," Ayako tried to excuse it. "So first it's wearing funky biker clothes
at home, then dating older women... now she *must* think you're a real freak!
Sorry," Deunan snickered. Unseen by her, Ayako had to swallow another burst of
tears.

The two arrived at the flat a second later, when Deunan noticed her subordinate
was near collapsing. Ayako barely managed to type the doorlock code, then let
Deunan and herself in. "I'm... I'm sorry," Deunan tried to calm her. "No it's
nothing boss, just take a seat", Ayako mumbled, and turned off the TV quietly.
The biggest blow was yet to come anyway.

Deunan had to break the ice somehow and looked around the living room. "You have
a nice home," she complimented her, "what's these flowers, they are beautiful!"
- "Cyclamen," Akayo willingly took the chance for smalltalk, "I like them
because they don't need much care. Just a cool, bright place and some water.
Same with the Fuchsia over there." - "Oh, yes, these are pretty, too," Deunan
took their smell, "and they have a nice scent. But only pretty mild." - "That's
mostly because I'm not heating much, only about eighteen degrees. You know, I'm
heating...," Ayako explained hastily, "...if I had known you would come over, I
had..." - "No, it's ok," Deunan interrupted her, "I just keep my jacket on.
Anything to make you comfortable." When she aimed to flop on a leather armchair
nonchalantly, Ayako tried to hold her back: "Ah, not there," but it was too
late. "Ouch!" Deunan squealed quietly when the chair striked her rear. "Sorry,
should have told you to take seat on the sofa," Ayako advised her boss, "I had
the chair reinforced. Something to drink? Green tea?" - "Oh thanks, green tea is
fine, but not too much trouble," Deunan took the offer and Ayako left for the
kitchen. Time for Deunan to examine the armchair. "No trouble, I have it always
prepared," she shouted from the kitchen and came back immediately with a teapot
and mugs in her hands. Caught red-handed, Deunan explained her interest in it:
"a stylish chair, like all your furniture. Our sofas and chairs all look pretty
ratty once Briareos had sat in them for a while." - "Yeah, I had that problem,
too," Ayako sat down on her chair slowly, and took a sip of tea: "when it was
nearly worn out I didn't want to scrap it, so I took it to a carpenter and he
added a metal frame along the wood. And of course, he had removed all the
springs and had put a thin gel cushion on the seating instead." - "So now one
need REAL buns of steel to sit in it?" Deunan joked. Ayako blushed, and Deunan
noticed she made her subordinate uneasy again. "Sorry, I meant... ," she wanted
to apologize, but Ayako was already yelling: "I know what you meant!" - "I...
I'm sorry, Ma'am," she continued, daunted by her own emotional release. Deunan
hadn't expected such an reaction and spluttered an excuse herself: "I'm sorry,
I'd been sometimes said to have 'buns of steel' myself, yet I failed your chair.
It was a bad joke. Sorry." She took an endless number of small sips from her tea
mug to drown out the following silence.

"To bring us back to topic," Deunan neglected her fruitless attempt of chatting,
"I think you already know why I'm here." - Silence took the room again, and
Deunan noticed her subordinate was still feeling discomposed. "Kicking my butt,"
Ayako replied in a hushed tone. Even knowing Ayako's insecurity for a while,
Deunan was still perplexed by the whole difference between her apperance and her
character. It was surreal to see this bulky, metal-clad, power-boosted woman in
such a depressed mood. "Well, yes, I have serious business with you," Deunan
continued, discarding the setting, "we have this performance review running, and
your performance was..." - "Bad", Ayako sniveled. "No!" Deunan exclaimed, "Not
bad, but what you've said to that hostagetaker will get us into trouble," she
continued. "Lance suggested I should talk to you beforehand." - "Beforehand?"
Ayako was puzzled. "There will be an official hearing about the performance
review and your 'great monologue' is in the files. Lance thinks the committee
will be nitpicking on this. At least the whole idea of this performance review
was to dump ESWAT, we think." - "I, ... I don't even remember what I've said
then," Ayako trembled. Deunan refreshed her memory: "it was along the lines of
'I certainly had choked you to death if you have had killed the boy.' Certainly
nothing a policeman should ever do. Neither say."

Ayako bursted into tears again. "I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to...," she
hesitated to say, "...I'm not really a policeman...," and sobbed again, "...I'm
just a ki..ll..er...," she cried out loud. Deunan had to stop this nonsense.
Immediately. "Constable Boer. No. Constable Ontemba, spring to attention!"
she commanded. ESWAT wasn't exactly trained like military drill, but Ayako
vaguely knew what she was expected to do. She leaped to her feet, took a
straight posture, put her hands on her side and ... finally tried to hold back
her tears. Deunan was relieved she found a cure against the continous
blubbering. No way to talk in plain language with such a person.

"Okay, constable Ontemba, the reason I'm here is to prepare you for the coming
hearing on the performance review. Understood?" Deunan reasoned. Ayako was still
in shock about the command. "Understood?" Deunan repeated. "Understood," Ayako
replied quietly. "Louder, I cannot hear you!" Deunan commanded. "UNDERSTOOD!"
she replied. "Good. The most time of the hearing your attendance is not
required. You will only be called as a witness when the committee decides it
needs you. Understood?" - "UNDERSTOOD!" Ayako replied again. Deunan continued:
"You will tell the truth, no strings attached. Understood?" - "UNDERSTOOD!" -
"Good. And you won't collapse and talk gibberish about being a killer or similar
nonsense. Understood?" Deunan commanded. Ayako trembled again. "Constable
Ontemba, have you understood?" Deunan asked again. No answer, Ayako looked as
she was turned into stone. If there were not the tears in her eyes.

It was hard for Deunan to keep her nerves. She touched Ayako's left
shoulderplate where she had the ESWAT coat of arms embossed into: "Ayako, you
know what this sign on you represents?" - "It represents the Olympus ESWAT
police force. To serve and protect the people," Ayako replied calmly but
irritated. "Yes. But that's only the half of what it means," Deunan explained.
Ayako still hadn't understood. - "This sign ON YOU represents YOU being a member
of the Olympus ESWAT police force. YOU serve and protect the people," Deunan
exclaimed. "I still don't understand", Ayako pled, "I know this is my duty.
Which I failed." Finally Deunan became angry: "THE HELL, GIRL, YOU HAVEN'T
FAILED! ENOUGH OF THIS BULLSHIT!" She grabbed Ayako by her shoulders to shake
her back and forth; no use, Deunan could have tried with a pillar instead. "You
cannot fail," Deunan continued much more calmly, "you cannot fail as long as you
pledge yourself to protect and serve the people. Your intent is what counts,"
she continued further, "Just learn from the mistakes you've made. You won't
become better from grieving. Do you understand this?" - Ayako was really moved
by her boss encouraging her so much. "Yes, Ma'am, I understood," she
acknowledged. "Well, then: WHO serves and protects the people?" Deunan prompted.
"I do," Ayako replied. "Good. Why do you use force?" was the next question. "To
protect people," Ayako replied. "That's fine for me," Deunan comforted her, "and
what's the difference between force and violence?" - "The intent," was Ayako's
reply. "So you remember police academy well, I see," Deunan stated and took a
deep breath, "So now for the final quiz, it should be easy for you to take: why
do you have choked that man?" - Ayako gulped. "To protect the children from his
death threat." - "Ah," Deunan patronized her, "wasn't there a less violent way
to stop him?" - Ayako reflected: "I've used force, not violence." - "Hmm. Then:
was there no way to stop him with less force?" - "No. There wasn't," Ayako
insisted. Deunan was delighted and asked the final, most agitating question:
"Why do you have threatened the man with death?". It was hard for Ayako to stay
calm. After some seconds she came up with an answer: "I haven't threatened him.
I said he's lucky because I *won't* choke him to death because he had shot me
instead of the boy."

Deunan was astounded about this last answer: "Huh, some cold-blooded fish you
are. I've expected you to apologize." - "Sorry, if I'm meant to apologize I do
so," Ayako nodded. "No, no, not at all," Deunan calmed her, "if you apologize
before the committee, you admit you have done something wrong. So they have to
punish you but *may* only reprimand you because of your apology. With your
answer, they have to resolve on what you said was really intended as a threat.
And I don't think all the committee members are decided on that."

Still astonished, Deunan wondered loudly: "I don't get it. When I came here you
could barely stand on your own feet, and now you're talking yourself out of
trouble without even blinking an eye. Why all the crying? Why all this nonsense
talk?" - "I... I don't know..." Ayako struggled for an answer. "No-no-no-no-no,
it's just this insecurity which makes you break down," Deunan interpreted
Ayako's former reactions, "and we'll have to fix this." She caught at her
subordinate's shoulders and gazed right into her eyes, "You feel insecure, why?
Because I'm here?" - "Ye...Yes, Ma'am," Ayako shuddered. "But you stopped
feeling insecure when I told you what to do?" Deunan wondered. "I... I haven't
thought about it," Ayako tried to avoid eye contact. Deunan realized the
conversation wound up in circles again. "Constable Ontemba," she calmly said
while strengthening the grip on Ayako's shoulders, "I'm here to prepare you for
a challenging situation. See it as a personal briefing. This is a good thing. Do
you understand?" - "Yes, Ma'am," Ayako still avoided eye contact with her boss.
- "Hey, look at me when you are talking to me," Deunan angrily responded. She
concerned her: "I want you to be grateful for my assistance, let alone waiting
for an apology for all this drivel." At last, and still shuddering, Ayako did
what her boss expected from her, "Sorry for my misconduct. Thank you for
briefing me." - "Very good, that's how I like you to be. Just you have to THINK
this way, not only play it, understood?" - "UNDERSTOOD, MA'AM," Ayako replied
loudly.

"I think we are done. But remember to behave this way at the hearing, too. Or
best, ALL THE TIME! The hearing is end of next week, I call you later for the
appointed time." Deunan let go of Ayako and headed for the door. "One last thing
before I go," she continued, "I orginally had the idea to suspend you from
service until the hearing to show how concerned we are, but now with your savvy
answering this doesn't seem right anymore. Anyway, the vacation schedule has
been changed already, so please take some days off until end of next week." -
"And I thought you would fire me...," Ayako mumbled - "Ksshsssh, don't you dare
to start it over again," Deunan stopped her, "Even if whole ESWAT should be
dumped, you gave a pledge to the people. This pledge is good for life." That
sounded pathetic, but maybe it was needed to keep the girl on track. "I hope I
can go now and leave you alone. I, ...no, WE count on you." Deunan said goodbye
and left, without waiting for an answer; Ayako would be alright.

The sudden escape of her boss left Ayako confused. She waved after her, but
Deunan had already vanished into the darkness of the corridor. Ayako closed then
door and went back to her armchair. What exactly had happened? Her boss wanted
her to be prepared, she insisted on that more than enough. But she left in the
midst of action in Ayako's view. So what was her turn now? Her thoughts revolved
around what just happened and became more and more loose with each
recapitulation.

After a while of thoughtless tinkering with her flowers, she remembered about
what Deunan had interrupted her at: the appointment tommorow, she should bring a
colleague! Ayako picked up her mobile phone and pressed a speed dial. "Boyd," a
male voice on the other end of the line announced. "Hi Thomas, it's Ayako," she
answered. "Hi Ayako, what's up?" Thomas greeted back shortly, "anything
wrong with you?" - "No," Ayako replied, "...why do you think it's something
wrong with me when I call you?" Thomas was stumped: "Uhgnnn. Usual..ly... ," he
started stuttering, but Ayako already lost her temper: "I'm fine, forget
it!" she closed the call and hung up.

"Fff, that girl got some nerves," Thomas said aloud. He could be sure the
plastic shards around him would keep their mouth shut. Same for the nuts and
bolts, metal rods and broken circuit boards on the desk. Only a small spot on
the huge workbench was more or less clean. A tiny mechanism mounted on top of a
small support was laying there, various wires running to a circuit on a
prototyping board and further to some power supplies and measuring equipment
buried in the heap. Thomas turned his chair around to another desk and placed
the phone on a free spot between two of the flatscreens. All this was his
personal realm.

Quietly, he continued his work on the miniature servo when the phone bugged him
again. "AWW, SHIT," Thomas exclaimed as soon he had recognized the ring tone.
The girl again. Would this ever stop? "Hi Ayako," he started, "so I heard you
are fine. How may I be at your service then?" - "I'm sorry," a soft female voice
replied, "you are right I only call you when I need your help." - "So
something's broken after all?" Thomas asked, but Ayako denied immediately: "No,
I'm fine. Still I need your help." - "Hmmnn, now it gets interesting," Thomas
spoke into the phone while he was fiddeling with the servo again. "You remember
the children I'd saved from that robber last week?" she continued. "I only heard
you'd saved some children by hammering the wall into that guy," Thomas answered
her while he was watching the servo moving. It flipped over and a small spring
hurtled off. "NOO, NOT AGAIN!" he yelled, starteling Ayako on the other end of
the line: "Thomas, are you even listening to me?" she asked, upset again. "Sorry
Ayako," he excused himself, "I'm working on a delicate mechanism right now,
still I take time to answer your call." - Ayako was pissed: "IF YOU DECIDE TO
PICK UP MY CALL, WOULD YOU PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR FULL ATTENTION?" "Please?" she
added quickly, in a much softer tone. Being fussy on talking clear words
himself, Thomas couldn't refuse that request: "Okay, bring it on. What do you
want?" - "To make it short: I want you to attend me when I go to these
children's school class tomorrow," she explained. "Whoa, that's... ," Thomas
struggled for words, so she continued: "Some show-and-tell piece. Their teacher
heard they had been saved by a policewoman and she wanted the whole class to
meet that policewoman in person. To work against gender bias or something like
that, I think." - "And she knows you... ," Thomas inquired. - "No. Dunno. At
least she was pushy enough to have our dopey PR department give her my private
phone number," Ayako continued. - "Aww, that's really stupid," Thomas agreed,
"and why I should be with you? To give you some rest?" - "I think so," she went
on, "maybe you could tell about what a police technician does. So it's not all
about sneaking into a good position and waiting for the strike to make." -
"Yeah, I don't think that's suitable for school kids," Thomas concluded. "Hey,
don't steal my thunder!" Ayako giggled, but he quickly assured her: "Won't
happen! Not possible, I think."

"Oh, and you have to pick me up!" Ayako added, "tomorrow at 0800. Okay?" -
"Okay," Thomas confirmed, "0800 at your place. Better go to bed soon." - "Yeah,
thanks for remembering me. You are the one who's always playing around past
midnight," she answered, but Thomas wasn't as sheepish she had thought:
"Working! And you'd be in luck more than once because of that." - "Whatever,
bye," she ended the call quickly. He silently put back the phone on its
cradle and turned back to his work

"C'mon, little springy, where are you?" he chanted while digging into the pile
on his workbench. That could be a long haul.
-----

[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako|Back to the story preface/chapter overview]]

[[戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/Interlude|Chapter 3 - Interlude]]

[[Stories|Back to the story archive]]

[[Category:Darkbutflashy]]
[[Category:Stories]]
[[Category:Transformation]]

戦闘機械 綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/Things To Remember - Revision history

Spaz: Text replacement - "tommorow" to "tomorrow"

Darkbutflashy: /* Along the story */

Darkbutflashy: Reformatted.

Rdaneel: Corrections at Dark's request. Finished first half of the chapter

Rdaneel: Fixed a couple of misses

Rdaneel: Corrections at Dark's request. Finished first quarter of the chapter

Darkbutflashy: some speech formatting

Darkbutflashy: /* 2 Things to remember */

Darkbutflashy: formatting

Darkbutflashy: New page: /-------------->-----> | 戦闘機械 綾子 | Sentō Kikai Ayako | Battlemachine Ayako +--------------<-----------< | Written by darkbutflashy | Originally released on Fembotwik...

戦闘機械綾子 - Battlemachine Ayako/Things To Remember - Revision history

Darkbutflashy: New page: /-------------->-----> | 戦闘機械　綾子 | Sentō Kikai Ayako | Battlemachine Ayako +--------------<-----------< | Written by darkbutflashy | Originally released on Fembotwik...