A’s work pattern is very regular. They work as an engineer in the morning and afternoon shifts, and they leave work in the evening. When on duty, they take either the morning or afternoon shift or the evening shift, and they rest at dawn.
Despite finding it hard to wake up early in the morning recently due to their hobby of watching dramas, A has never had any issues with their work thanks to Siera who always wakes them up.
Many people think that A would do their job however they please because they seem relaxed when working in the hangar, but A is only sensitive about certain things; their work itself has always been consistent, and this remained true even when on duty.
“Reporting for duty at the Combat Information Room of the 54th Air Wing, I am A.”
When the holographic monitor appeared in front of A after receiving communication, they explained in detail what the caller was looking for.
After the communication ended, a female worker from the Combat Information Room approached.
“A. Could you check this programming array? It keeps showing errors and won’t verify.”
It was common for someone to ask A questions related to programming since they were adept at handling various programs. A looked over the programming array transferred via the holographic monitor.
“There’s a command error in the 37th row.”
Not long after identifying the problem, A kindly explained everything from one to ten to the woman. Upon understanding A’s explanation, the woman smiled and thanked him.
“Thank you. Now I’ve solved another issue.”
“It’s nothing.”
After the woman returned to her seat, A, who was sitting quietly, was observed by Klugger, who was also on duty.
“Why?”
Turning towards the gaze coming from the side, A met eyes with Klugger, who shook his head and sighed lightly.
“What?”
“I wish you had been half as considerate during my time in the hangar.”
“What do you mean?”
Unaware of the difference between when A worked in the hangar and when they were on duty with Klugger, A frowned as if expressing dissatisfaction.
“You need to think about how you were before and after working in the hangar.”
After pondering Klugger’s words for a moment, A nodded in understanding and looked back at Klugger.
“Hey, the hangar can be dangerous. There are always people who lose their minds there, so you have to stay alert.”
“But why do you carry and throw wrenches around if you’re not using them?”
“Because people who lose their minds don’t notice what’s going on around them unless there’s a loud noise.”
A’s words weren’t completely incomprehensible. Klugger, being an engineer himself, understood well the many dangers involved in working in the hangar.
Sometimes A’s actions made sense, but Klugger still wished A would tone down his aggressive behavior, which often led to misunderstandings.
“How could you be more sensitive than when on soldier duty?”
“When on soldier duty, you just have to be careful during operations, and as long as you take care of yourself, it’s fine.”
The two had been fellow soldiers since their days in basic training. They started performing operations together as infantry, and even after numerous position changes, they often moved together.
Since Sierra was also with them during these times, Klugger knew better than anyone else about the relationship between A and Sierra.
“If the engine gets tampered with and explodes, the hangar will go up in flames. It’s natural for people to become more sensitive.”
“That’s true.”
Klugger didn’t see A’s aggressive reaction as problematic; rather, he felt it was appropriate given that A was trying to prevent accidents. So, he nodded in agreement.
“I bet the hangar is busy right now?”
“Probably. It’s the day the bio-roids arrive.”
Today was the day the learning-purpose bio-roids, which A had been hearing about for weeks, arrived at the air wing. Although A wasn’t sure why their ship, specifically the air wing hangar engineering team, was chosen for this, it was inevitable that A would be responsible for the incoming bio-roids.
“I almost cracked the records officer’s skull, but I guess they don’t hold grudges.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since then. They check equipment when I’m not around.”
A had a terrible first encounter with the records officer, Balutor. Since then, they hadn’t met once. Balutor intentionally avoided A, and A only heard that the new robot’s condition was checked when A wasn’t around.
“Still, being off duty today is a relief. I bet A is causing trouble in the hangar right now.”
With the arrival of new bio-roids, many superiors gathered in the hangar. A and Klugger were grateful they were off duty on such a busy day.
At that moment, a communication came through for Klugger. After the exchange of greetings, Klugger received the message.
Klugger simply replied “Yes.” or “Understood.” The communication ended, and A wondered what had happened and looked at him.
“The escort squadron has arrived.”
“Then Sierra must have arrived too. Please, let there be no issues with the combat aircraft.”
Sierra, who works in the same hangar as a pilot, returning meant all the combat aircraft that went out on escort missions had returned. A, who wasn’t interested in the bio-roids, hoped there were no issues with the returning combat aircraft.
A moment later, a communication came through.
“Reporting for duty at the Combat Information Room of the 54th Air Wing, I am A… Yes, sir.”
The person calling A was none other than Commander Esmeralda, who was currently welcoming the new bio-roid at the hangar. Listening to her voice over the communication, A quietly repeated his response.
The communication ended, and now it was Klugger’s turn to wonder what had happened and look at A.
“What did she want?”
“Huh?”
“She wants me to come to the hangar.”
“On duty?”
“Yeah… Damn. What could be happening?”
A, assuming something was wrong with the combat aircraft, frowned and cursed under his breath.
“Let’s go and see. She called for me, so what else can I do?”
“That’s right. Keep reporting.”
“Okay.”
Leaving Klugger behind at the Combat Information Room, A stood up and headed to the hangar. The distance between the Combat Information Room and the hangar was quite far, so A worried about what might have happened along the way.
After a while, A arrived at the hangar, swiped their access badge, and entered. Inside, contrary to expectations, there were only a few high-ranking individuals.
There were Commander Esmeralda, Records Officer Balutor, Theo who worked in the hangar, and Roy, who shouldn’t be there at this time.
“Commander!”
Calling out to Esmeralda from afar, A quickly approached her. Seeing A running towards her, she gave a light hand gesture.
“You’re early.”
“Yes. I hurried here upon your sudden call.”
“Senior. Senior.”
As A tried to converse with Esmeralda, Roy, who had approached, perked up his ears and curiously poked A with his finger.
“Why?”
“Look at this.”
Pointing with his finger, Roy indicated a large transport ship that A had never seen before in the hangar. Many people were already exiting the ship and dispersing. A wondered what was happening and looked at Esmeralda.
“Oh, it’s the bio-roid transport ship. All the necessary information has already been conveyed.”
This meant the official welcoming ceremony for the bio-roid was over. Then why was A called? Was it because of an issue with the combat aircraft? Just as A thought this, Sierra, dressed in pilot attire, approached and saluted to Esmeralda.
“Commander. All 12 escort aircraft are accounted for. There are no issues.”
“Good job.”
Before the engineers’ inspection, the pilots had first checked the status of the combat aircraft, and Sierra reported that everything was in order.
‘Then why did they call me?’
A couldn’t understand why they called him while on duty, especially when there were no issues with the combat aircraft. While waiting, A noticed a black-haired girl approaching from afar.
“Project Section 3 (Three) 3117 number 86-7. Reporting for duty.”
Seeing the girl salute sharply, A immediately recognized her as the bio-roid he would be handling.
“Yes. Nice to meet you. I am Commander Esmeralda of the 54th Air Wing. And this is the engineer team leader, A, who will be your supervisor.”
“Greetings… Wait, what?”
Interrupted mid-salute by Esmeralda’s introduction, A was speechless. When Esmeralda asked him a question, she merely smiled.
“As expected. A, I’d like you to oversee the education of section 3’s 86-7.”
“…I’ve never heard of this before?”
“Of course, I’m telling you now.”
While A was stunned, the girl turned towards A and saluted.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Um, um…”
Unable to refuse a superior’s order but finding the situation incomprehensible, A stared at the girl saluting him.
Behind him, Roy, who was showing interest in the new bio-roid, was standing.
“Who is that person behind you?”
Turning his head to where Roy pointed, A found him and noticed Roy pointing at himself as if asking for an introduction.
“This is a pet dog.”
“Yes, a pet dog.”
“Senior?!”
Roy’s tone rose sharply, feeling insulted. Watching this, Esmeralda held back a laugh and patted A’s shoulder.
“For now, I’ll leave it to you. I’ll tell the subordinates to pass on the necessary information quickly.”
“Understood.”
Esmeralda left the hangar after the greeting, and Balutor, who had been looking at A discontentedly, also left shortly after.
“Then, A, take care.”
Theo, who was no longer responsible for the bio-roids, returned to his work with a smile. In the gathering, only A, Roy, Sierra, and the new bio-roid girl remained.
“How should I address you, Supervisor?”
“Me? Just…”
“This is Senior A. They were my supervisor when I was a bio-roid.”
Interrupting A, Roy added, causing A to recall the old days when he supervised Roy. Despite his chaotic personality, Roy wasn’t much different as a bio-roid and often caused trouble.
“So I should call you Senior A?”
“No, we’re both soldiers, so just call me A.”
“Yes, Senior A.”
“Alright, do as you wish.”
Despite correcting her, A gave up on further corrections seeing the girl call him Senior. Roy continued to tease her from the side.
“Senior. Me, me.”
“What?”
“You should call me Bio-Roid Senior!”
“…This is Roy. He’s a military dog protecting the air wing.”
“Yes! Military dog Roy.”
Roy, who was immediately recognized as a military dog by the new bio-roid, froze in shock. Sierra watched his reaction and approached.
“Sierra, are the combat aircraft okay?”
“Yeah, but why did the Commander assign me the bio-roid duty?”
“How would I know? Since I was in charge of Roy before, they probably assigned it to me again.”
In the end, A couldn’t understand why they assigned him the new bio-roid.
“Oh, this is…”
“Sierra.”
“Huh?”
Just as A was about to introduce Sierra, the girl mentioned Sierra’s name.
However, she wasn’t confirming her identity but rather saying it as a matter of recognition. Her words were brief.
“Not that we have the same rank, but Sierra is also a soldier… with the same unit number…”
“Sierra.”
Although they shared a horizontal structure in terms of rank, it was uncommon to use informal language from the start. Seeing the bio-roid girl point at Sierra and accurately mention her name, A sighed.
Sierra, who was surprised by the sudden informal language, showed her annoyance through a forced smile and an arrogant attitude, revealing her frustration.
“This new bio-roid is incredibly rude.”
“The name bio-roid isn’t mine. I am Project Section 3 (Three) 3117 number 86-7.”
Upon hearing the rude remark, Sierra’s attitude towards the bio-roid changed to informal, and A sighed again.
‘I feel uneasy.’
It was clear that taking on the responsibility of bio-roid education wouldn’t be smooth.
