At the very edge of the spaceport was an old drainage pipe, large enough for a person to walk through it. The metal mesh that covered it had held but was on its final legs. The ice that blasted through it was the final straw, sending the object flying away.

Flow was nearly blinded as she emerged from the darkness with Blinky and the woman. The sun had risen in the sky during her time in the dark. Exhausted from the entire night's events, Flow let the woman drop from her shoulders before she herself collapsed on the ground. Blinky floated towards her, beeping with concern.

“I’m fine…” Flow gasped. “Just…. Lemme catch my breath.”

Blinky brushed against her cheek. Flow smiled at her little partner as he flew back into the air. Flow sat back up, undoing the straps on her sling letting both the rifle and sword fall to the grass. She looked back over to the woman. She was still laying on the ground motionless. She wasn’t breathing as far as she could tell, but she was still very warm and had the strange whirling noise in her chest. She wasn’t sure if she was dead or not.

“Keep an eye on her buddy.” Flow said. “I’ll get the speeder.”

Fortunately, the speeder was right where she left it, parked up top the hill overlooking the spaceport. Kicking the ignition peddle, Flow drove it towards the drainage pipe where Blinky and the woman were. Once there she clipped her weapons and the sword back on her person before moving the woman onto the speeder. With her hunched over, Flow began the long journey back, her mind racing over what had happened. If there was a new alien threat encroaching on what was left of the colony, it wouldn’t matter if they did relocate. Then there were the soldiers she found. Humans, actual, uninflected people, were on Helos. But what for?

All the answers seemed to lie in the unconscious woman right behind her.

*****

Flow reached the Farm as fast as she could, zooming past the perimeter eager to tell everyone what she saw. Passing through the gates, she was greeted by everyone coming out the door led Mom. Flow stopped the zoomer close to the crowd gathered to meet her and Blinky, and certainly not all of them happy about her recent incursion.

“I know what you’re gonna say.” Flow immediately addressed Mom as she jumped off her speeder. “But hear me out first-”

“You went to the spaceport, didn’t you?” Mom said in her sweet motherly tone which sounded even more disturbing as it was not the tone appropriate for the situation.

“Y-yeah but-”

“Knowing full well how dangerous it is.”

“O-okay, yes I knew it was dangerous and it was. But what I saw-”

“By the creators, just look at the state of you!” Doc said hovering close to her.

“I’m fine. J-just a few cuts and bruises. Anyway-”

“What happened to your armor? I saw the heavy armor was missing from the armory so I assumed you took it with you.” Clive said, alarmed, joined by whistles from the maintenance bots.

“Uh…”

“And where in the Kronos gate is your weapons soldier? Those don’t look like our weapons. And what’s that slung on your back? Those don’t look like standard equipment soldier.” Sarge intervened, noting Flow’s new equipment.

“I lost them and found this stuff. So-”

“YOU LOST THEM! What do you mean lost?! Do you have any idea how hard it was to requisition that equipment for you?!”

“Yes. I was the one who found them. Now-”

“We must do a medical examination at once. Who knows what kind of injuries you sustained,” Doc said.

“How could you have done something so unreasonably dangerous?” Mom said. “You are not to venture into the colony for a long time, do you understand young lady?”

“WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP AND LET ME SPEAK!!” Flow finally exploded. She waited until not a single beep could be heard from her family. “Okay, yes I went to the spaceport and was nearly killed, but not by zombies. I-I was attacked by- nonononono!” Flow suddenly dashed in front of the converging Brawn and Bouncer who both had their guns trained on her speeder. “She’s okay! She’s okay!”

“.... Flow?” Mom muttered as all the bots gathered around the speeder. “Who’s this?”

Without explaining, Flow rushed to the speeder. “Doc.” With all her strength, she hauled the woman off, holding her by her shoulders. “Could you look at her first?”

****

“Owowow,” Flow gritted her teeth as she applied medigel Doc provided her on her body. It was only after removing her underclothing that she saw how badly bruised and cut she was, with some claw marks left behind by the creatures that had attacked her. Both Blinky and Dustcan beeped jointly with concern, the former particularly having experienced the horror she had.

“These… creatures,” Clive began. “Are you sure they weren't Zombies? Perhaps a new variety.”

“You saw what Blinky showed you, right?” Flow gestured to her companion. She was glad he recorded the battle in the vault and transmitted the data to the other bots. It saved a lengthy explanation. “There’s no way those were zombies. They were too…. organized.” She put down the medigel on the table to allow what she said to sink in. Blinky, who was with her during the battle beeped with concern. Flow smiled at him, tapping his shell to assure him she was okay.

“But if not zombies, then what?” Clive said. Flow certainly had no idea what they were. She remembered the alarm saying things like fiends, ghouls and matriarch, but none of that meant anything to her outside of the names of known hostile aliens that shouldn’t be on Helos.

“Perhaps we should consider evacuating the farm.” Mom suggested as Flow expected she would. For once, she didn’t find the idea out of the question having fought the monsters herself. However…

“I don’t know how much good that will do. The beasts are one thing, but we always know where they show up. These things just…. Appeared out of thin air. In Blinky’s footage, you saw them materialize inside the vault. And there were so many…”

Blinky once again hummed with concern for his partner.

“You are very lucky you made it out alive.”

“….. I know,” Flow didn’t have the energy to argue with Mom.

“That vault… I must say I’m quite shocked by the footage,” Clive said, changing the subject.

“Do you know what it is?”

“No. None of us has ever seen anything like it. Its architecture and technology appeared to be highly advanced. I can assure you no such structure in the colony even compares to it.”

“And it was under the spaceport?” Mom asked.

Flow nodded. “It was kinda dumb luck I found it. By the looks of it, no one had ever set foot there… Well, except for those soldiers we found dead.”

“Yes, that was shocking to see,” Chief said hovering beside Clive. “To think humans- real humans- have come to Helos after so long. Do you think they’re here to rescue Flow?”

“…. I think they were after that vault,” Flow said grimly. As much as she wanted to believe a rescue had come for her at long last, it was clear they were looking for whatever was in the vault. She brought out the pen she took from one of the soldiers. As expected, none of the farm knew what it was either.

“Not sure what it was they were after, but I can say they have some mighty fine equipment.” Sarge barged in, carrying both the assault rifle and the hand cannon Flow had brought back. “As a military droid, it’s amazing to see how much technology has advanced in our long years of exile on this creator forsaken rock. Almost makes me want to cry if I can.” He placed the weapons back on the table and picked up the sword from the vault. “This though I have no idea. I believe swords were considered outdated by the federation armed forces, but this one looks like the most advanced weapon I’ve ever seen. Pity about the ID lock on it.”

It was after Flow showed it to Sarge that she realized she couldn’t draw it again. According to the military droid, the weapon had an ID lock on it that prevented just anyone from using it. He theorized that the vault's AI gave Flow temporary authorization to use it.

“Sucks… I really wanted to use it again,” She chuckled, tapping Blinky’s shell. “…. Say Sarge, those soldiers all had badges on them saying SFSR. Does that mean anything?”

“Solar Federation Space Recon. Special forces.” Sarge replied as he placed the weapon down carefully. “It’s one of the elite branches of the Solar military trained and equipped for any mission no matter how dangerous.”

“Special forces?” Flow repeated. “What’re special forces doing here?”

Clive hummed. “It would rule out potentially rescuing you. I doubt they would send highly trained special forces to a zombie-infested world just to evacuate one survivor.”

“You bet your ass. Just a regular militia could do that. It’s way too excessive to deploy them just to save one human. N-not that we would say no to that. Just sayin it’s highly unusual.”

“Perhaps they were after something in the colony.” Mom said. “But what?”

Flow twirled the pen around in her hand, thinking about what it could be they were after. It all came back to one thing; or one person that the vault seemed to have existed for. “…. I think our answers are in the next room.”

*****

Once Flow was able to move without her body stinging from her bruises and medigel, her first destination was the infirmary where Doc was examining the new addition to the farm. Along with him were Spanner, Bolt and Wrench, likely eager to see the first human besides Flow to be brought to the farm.

“Yo,”

“By the creators Flow!” Doc zoomed up to her. “You really must be resting after the ordeal!”

“I’m fine, really,” Flow dismissed as the other bots filed into the infirmary. The maintenance trio were all thrilled to see Flow again, with Bolt flying circles around Flow competing with Blinky. Flow chuckled before walking up to the table. “More importantly, how is she?”

The woman was exactly how she left her, still wearing the black bodysuit. Seeing her lying, Flow got the impression she was looking at a life-size doll. Despite being in better condition, she seemed to be in deep slumber. “She’s… She’s dead, isn’t she?” She had a suspicion given that she couldn’t hear a heartbeat or breathing when she was moving her. It still hurt, having been on the planet for so long without any non-infected humans about, it was thrilling to finally meet someone who wasn’t, even if briefly.

“No…” Doc said carefully, “Well… not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

Doc zoomed back to the woman. Flow could see he was activating his medical scanner on the woman while Flow, Blinky, Mom and Clive approached the table.

“She… Isn’t human.”

“What?” Flow looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly that,”

“But… look at her! Sure our skin and hair's different but-”

“She appeared human, yes. But what little we could get with the medical scan shows no organic material. Her entire internal systems are mechanical.”

Flow was starting to get confused. “H-hold on… are you saying she’s… a robot?”

Doc nodded his round head. “Specifically, an android. A machine created to resemble our human creators nearly perfectly.”

Astonished, Flow leaned over the woman once more. It seemed hard to believe that she was looking at a machine as the resemblance to a human being was uncanny. Running a finger over the exposed skin felt natural, as did the locks of purple hair.

“That’s incredible,” Clive said looking over at her. “I was not aware of any such creation manufactured by our human creators.”

“I’m not that versed in mechanical knowledge, but according to the three here,” Doc gestured to the maintenance droids, “the technology used in her creation is beyond anything seen in the colony.”

“As was that vault where you found her,” Mom said looking at Blinky. “From the footage, it seems she’s some kind of combat droid.”

“But… Why make her look human?” Flow asked out loud, folding her arms. Whatever the answer, it seemed the soldiers and those monsters were after her. The real question was why? What was so special about a combat robot that resembled a human being? “Could you work out anything about her? Like, what tech does she use?”

Doc shook his head. “For some reason, we cannot do a deep scan of her. All we could do is determine she is mechanical.”

“… Blinky couldn’t scan her either,” Flow said. Blinky beeped in acknowledgment. It was strange. As an analytical droid, his scanning abilities were the best out of all the droids in the farm and most of the colony. The fact she couldn’t scan her was strange.

“Guess we should just ask her.” She started prodding around her bodysuit. “Now… how do we turn you on?”

“Flow!” Mom said. “We don’t know anything about her! She could be dangerous!”

“She’s a combat droid like you said.” Flow said loudly. “And she saved my life. And Blinky.”

Blinky beeped as he floated beside Flow.

“In an area you should not have been in the first place.” Mom said sternly. Flow frowned at her. She had a feeling Mom would bring that fact up.

“I-I’m afraid I must agree,” Clive chided. “From what we’ve seen of the footage, that vault must have been used to seal her. Not only that; both the soldiers and the aliens you encountered killed themselves trying to break into that vault. I fear she could be a dangerous weapon,”

“..... There’s one way to find out.” Flow’s eyes were drawn to the glowing triangle on her chest. It seemed to be the core with how it shimmed.

“Flow!”

“We won’t know until we try.” Flow tapped on the core. She hoped pressing it may make her wake up, yet nothing happened.

“If I may make a suggestion,” Doc hovered over the core. “If we administer a quick shock to the core, it might force her systems to reboot.”

“Doc!” Mom snapped.

“I agree it’s dangerous. But I have to side with Flow. If we’re to know about those aliens, I feel this android will have some answers. Besides which, she is a technological marvel and it would be against our best interest to destroy her.”

Both Mom and Clive didn’t seem too convinced. However, Flow knew the signs of when the two overly cautious robots relent.

“... I’ll get Bouncer and Brawn in. Just to be on the safe side,” Clive said.

“Right. And Sarge.” Flow nodded. “Wrench, get the energy crystals from the workshop.”

*****

……………………jionweionwaosiomjioneok!!£[email protected]£@!

……………

……………

EXTERNAL ENERGY SOURCE ISOLATED. DAMAGE MINIMUM.

SCANNING……… CODE SCARLET IN EFFECT.

MISSION: DESTROY THE FIENDS.

……………

COMMENCING REBOOT.

SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC

……………… ERROR! FAULTS DETECTED.

INITIATING DIAGNOSTIC.

………………

FAULT FOUND.

MEMORY DATA. 93.84% CORRUPTED.

PERSONALITY DATA. 99.6% CORRUPTED.

PURGING AFFECTED AREAS.

…………

NANOMACHINES OPERABLE. DAMAGE FROM PREVIOUS BATTLE REPAIRED.

COMBAT SYSTEMS OPERABLE.

………… AIGES LINK ESTABLISHED.

RECOMMENDATIONS: RESTORE CORRUPTED DATA. LOCATE AIGES NO°9. MAKE CONTACT WITH ALLIANCE HQ.

COMMENCING HARDWARE REBOOT.

RESTORING MOTOR FUNCTIONS.

RESTORING AUDIO SENSORS.

“-ey! I saw her move!”

RESTORING VISUAL SENSORS.

****

The android opened her eyes. Flow leaped back in surprise, nearly tripping over Wrench. The android slowly sat up, looking down at her chest where two jump cables were clamped onto the core. The woman reached and ripped the wires off, nearly pulling Wrench with it if Flow hadn’t grabbed ahold of the droid.

“Easy.” She waved her hand at Sarge, Bouncer and Brawn, all of whom had weapons aimed directly at the android who was moving each finger around. “Easy…” Flow urged them again, taking a step back from the android as she moved to sit upon the table. She locked eyes with Flow.

“Can you hear me?” She spoke in a soft, yet emotionless voice.

“Y-Yes. I can hear you.”

“Vocal systems operational.” The android jumped off the table and took a few steps away from the table. Red sparks suddenly burst from her arms. The two blades Flow saw before materialized instantly.

“Easy! Easy!” Flow rushed to block the sentry bot's aim. All the other bots moved back from the android. Only Blinky was in front, although cowering behind Flow’s head.

“Nanomachines operational.” The android then swung her swords in three fast swings, the weapons singing in the air with each slash. “Combat parameters operational.” The android said before both weapons vanished as fast as they appeared. She then looked back at Flow. “You were in the vault during the fiends attack.”

“Y-Yes… I was there,” Flow nodded nervously. “It sure was a close-”

The woman materialized one blade and pointed the type directly at Flow.

“Wha-?!” Flow immediately flew up her arms in shock.

“FLOW!” Mom, Clive and all the sentry bots moved forwards to protect Flow while the others panicked. Flow threw out her hand to keep the machines back, keeping her eyes on the blade pointed inches from her throat.

“You have violated several Alliance laws in trespassing on a top-secret installation. Please state your name, rank and division so you may be reported to your immediate supervisor.”

“Wh-wh-what do you mean?!” Flow stuttered. She wasn’t sure which she was more nervous for; the android threatening her or her family attacking in her defense. “I-I just found it! By accident!”

“….. You are a civilian?”

“Uh… s-sure, I guess.”

The android then withdrew her weapon which vanished. “How did you gain access to the vault?”

“I don’t know,” Flow kept her hands in sight, hoping to show the android she wasn’t a threat. “I-I was chased by those things and just… found it.”

The android kept her eyes on Flow. It was unnerving, looking deep into her unblinking red eyes. While she seemed human on the outside, her manner of speech as well as some of her movements were certainly robotic.

“Under normal circumstances, you would be terminated for trespassing on a top-secret alliance facility. However, you do not appear to be lying. What’s more; you were fighting the fiends until my reactivation so you appear to be an ally.”

“Uh… thanks?”

“Still, I must report this incident to alliance HQ where it will be decided upon the proper punishment.”

“H-Hold on, I’m still not following any of this?” Flow said. “Alliance? Fiends? A-are they what attacked me?”

The android either didn’t hear or decided to ignore her as she made her way to the door to the infirmary.

“H-hey wait?” Flow rushed after the android, reaching her as she wrenched open the doors and exited the room. “… She’s something,”

Blinky whirled up to her, letting out a small moan.

“Any idea what she was talking about?” She asked the robots. Each gave a collective sign that none knew what the android was saying.

“Could it be the federation she’s referring to?” Clive asked.

“Donno, but I sure as hell never heard of the Solar Federation being called an Alliance, assuming she is Federation military,” Sarge said.

“Whatever the case, she seems very confused.” Mom said. “I do not think it was wise to reactivate her,”

“Well, we did. And she doesn’t seem all that bad.” Flow said. “Besides. She did save me from those things…Uh, fiends she called them.”

“She said she would terminate you for stumbling on some kind of secret.” Mom reminded her sternly.

Flow pouted. “I’m gonna go talk to her. I can at least find out about the vault and those things.”

Without waiting for any word of objection from Mom, Flow went into the kitchen where the android had walked through, accompanied only by Blinky. She wasn’t there, but the door to the yard was wide open. The android was in the center of the yard, looking around.

“What is my current location?” She asked without turning to look at Flow.

“Oh, you’re on planet Helos. It’s a federation colony,” Flow pointed at the ruined colony off in the distance. “Or what’s left of it. There was a zombie outbreak fifty years back that turned everyone into zombies. Now it’s just a ghost town.”

“I see. And you are a survivor?”

“Do I look fifty to you?”

The android stared blankly at her.

“No, I'm not a survivor. I’m not even from this colony.”

“So you are a scavenger?”

“No. Wh-well I do salvage stuff so…” Flow scratched the back of her head while Blinky let out a slow whine meaning he agreed with the android. The android however was gazing back at the colony.

“It appears this colony was significantly built when the outbreak occurred. Why didn’t the Alliance forces purge the city of the infestation? I assume this is a human city, therefore, Alliance protocols dictate that all corrupted settlements be purged. If recovery is not feasible then the structures must become subject to a nuclear attack or glassing of the surface. None seem to have occurred here.” She asked.

“… Couldn’t tell you,” Flow shook her head, partially glad such an event didn’t happen. “Still don’t know what this Alliance is?”

“It is the alliance of Humans, Elves and Dwarfs to counter the invasion of the fiends. I was created by them as an anti-fiend weapon,”

“Humans, Elves and Dwarfs?” Flow repeatedly puzzled. She knew about the other sentient races in the galaxy through her holovids, most of them dramas and documentaries. From them she gathered that the three races weren’t exactly friends. Even Blinky gave a whistle, puzzled by the news.

“You have never heard of the Alliance?”

“Sorry. Truth is, all my knowledge of the galaxy comes from whatever I can find in the colony. I’ve never been off this planet, or at least for what I can remember. I know about the Solar federation who built the colony but that’s about it.”

The android seemed lost as she looked back at the colony, standing as still as a statue before finally speaking. “I see now. It appears I’ve been dormant for a significant amount of time.”

“You mean in your Vault? How long has it been since you were… active?”

“Precisely 1002 galactic years, 10 months, 27 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes and 17.2 seconds.”

Flow’s jaw dropped. “A-A thousand… Years?”

“1002 galactic years, 10 months, 27 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes and 23.1 seconds ago.” The android repeated. “This greatly complicates matters.”

“Hold on! Hold on!” Flow blustered. “That would mean you pre-date this colony! Even the whole Federation!”

“Yes. That would be correct.”

“But you look- you’re a machine so… B-but that vault! It looked brand new! A-and you’re way more advanced than anything found here!”

“The Technology used in my creation was a combination of all alliance races so I would certainly be unique compared to other machines present.”

Blinky let out a series of beeps and whistles, clearly taking issue with what was said.

“That’s…. That’s incredible. So what exactly are you made of? Like, most machines around here would begin to show wear and tear long before a millennium.”

“I cannot give you my specifications. For security reasons that information was kept from me should I happen to be captured by the fiends.”

“The fiends?” Flow remembered back to her last stand in the vault, the ghastly monstrosities that swarmed her. “That’s… that's the aliens that attacked me, right?”

The android nodded.

“.... What are they?”

“Interdimensional invaders that broke through the rift known as the Kronos gate, laying waste to planet after planet, killing approximately 173 billion sentient life forms in the galaxy.”

Flow couldn’t help but go silent, swallowing before asking the most burning question on her mind. “Th-they’re not gonna attack this place, right?” If they did, even with the android Flow wasn’t confident they could fight them all off.

The android simply shook her head. “It seemed that there was a scouting force sent by one of the leaders to find me. A force like that is maintained by a single matriarch. Before my systems were shut down I detected the matriarch's signal vanishing. I assume that was your doing?”

“Uh, Y-yeah. I stabbed that thing through the chest and it vanished along with all the others.”

“Then the fiend's presence should be ended for the immediate future. If it was an invasion we would see the ships above us or corruption spreading on the ground. Alternatively, if it was a vanguard to said invasion they would not all disintegrate following the loss of a single matriarch.” The android explained. “You need not worry. There is no immediate risk to this location from the fiends.

“That’s a relief…” Flow couldn’t help but let out a loud sigh as the tension and fear of such an event were now no more. “If they attack I don’t think we’ll be able to hold them off.”

“For a lone human you did well to hold them back,” The android continued. “Most would have perished under such an assault.”

“Honestly, It was mostly luck and those turrets.” Flow said. “If not for my ice I don’t think I would have survived.”

“Your ice?”

Flow put her hands together, channeling her power through her hands. A white mist seeped from her palm. Slowly, Flow pulled her hands apart, showing off a small lump of ice that slowly warped into a spiky tree fixed on her left hand.

“It’s something I’ve always seemed to do.” The android didn’t look any different, it was hard to gauge whether she was impressed or not. “I don’t quite get it myself-”

“It appears you’re a phyren.”

“A… I'm what?”

“A phyren. It is a designation for humans who exhibit extraordinary abilities beyond human biology.”

“Wait…” Flow shook her hands, letting the statue break apart. “You mean there are others like me?!”

“Yes. I do believe I have-” The android suddenly stopped mid-sentence. “Odd.”

“What is?” Flow asked, frustrated at the tension added.

“It appears my memory data has been erased. I cannot seem to recall the information.”

“You lost your memory?”

“Yes. It seems a majority of my memory data was corrupted due to an incident I cannot recall. During the reboot process, my system detected the fault and had it purged.” The android said, truly sounding like a machine. “It appears my personality data was also corrupted and purged.”

“Oh… that does explain how you speak,” Flow chuckled along with Blinky’s whines. “So what do you remember?”

“Information critical to my mission: To destroy the fiends. I have a small recollection of Code Scarlet but nothing substantial.” The android looked back out to the colony. “You said this colony was fifty years old?”

“Yeah. Maybe a century according to the others.”

“Then Code Scarlet seems to have been a partial success. However, with the continued incursions of the fiends, there is still work to do.”

“What is Code Scarlet?”

“That is classified alliance information.”

“Oh come on. I’m sure the Alliance doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Nonetheless, I cannot needlessly disclose that information freely for security matters. The fate of the Alliance does not change that.”

“Okay okay,” Flow nodded, realizing the android was not budging on the issue. “So what now?”

“......... I do not know,” The android said after some thought. “My first priority is to make contact with Alliance HQ but as you stated, it is highly likely the Alliance does not exist anymore. You could say I am stranded for the time being.”

“Well… why don’t I give you a tour of the farm while you think it over. You could stay here if you want. Beats going into the colony and getting ripped to pieces by zombies and beasts.” Flow said.

“Thank you.” The android nodded.

“Oh right, introductions,” Flow realized she hadn't said anyone's name. “I’m Flow. That’s… pretty much all I know. This here’s Blinky; an analytical droid.” Blinky gave a few beeps in response.

“Blinky does not sound like his serial number or ID number.”

“It’s just a name I gave him. And he seems to like it.”

Blinky rubbed against Flow’s cheek, letting out a whistle. Flow chuckled, patting Blinky’s outer shell before he floated away from her. “So what’s your name?”

The android once more thought on the question before responding. “I am Alliance Anti-fiend Assult type android number 9.”

“.... Ooookay,” Flow rubbed the back of her head. “Got a…. Shorter name?”

“Yes.” The android nodded. “But I cannot recall it. Therefore I can only introduce myself as Alliance Anti-fiend Assult type android number 9.”

“.... Why don’t I give you a nickname.” Flow folded her arms below her chest. “Can’t really go around calling you anti-fiend assault android… 9.”

“Alliance Anti-fiend Assult type android number 9.” The android corrected.

Flow frowned as she tried to think of a name. However, all that seemed to come to her was what the computer voice in the vault said, as well as the number that was on the coffin. “How about… Nine? Like, your number.”

“It is acceptable.”

“Alright,” Flow extended her hand. “Nice to meet you Nine.”

The android, Nine, gazed blankly at her hand. It became clear she didn’t know what to do in the situation. Flow then took her right hand and shook.

“Like that.”

“I see.” Nine nodded as Flow let go. “Nice to make your acquaintance Flow.”

“You too, Nine.”