Captain Kria has a fear of robots, and starting up the SAM unit has her running to some friendly arms.
“Oh, lookit here.” Kria squatted down, taking a contraption off the shelf to look it over in her hands. She held it up for Max and Parvati to inspect. “An acid steeper.”
Parvati took it and looked it over, humming in appreciation. “It’s in good condition. With this, we can get that old SAM unit up an’ runnin’ in no time.”
Kria let out a nervous chuckle that drew Max’s attention. “Aha… yeah. Thank the gods I saw that then.” Max watched as their captain pulled herself to her feet and started picking through the rest of the room, far slower than usual as if she were holding off on returning to the town. Eventually though, with precious little left to ransack from the storage facility, they were forced to return and collect their reward, and thus their business around Rosewood was complete.
Far from loquacious, Max might not have thought much of Kria’s silence if not for the way her brow had ceased to unfurl even once as they made their way back to the ship. He’d intended to speak to her once they were inside and able to have some privacy, but she beelined straight for the cockpit to speak with Ada. A little dejected if still concerned, Max retreated to his cabin for the night.
Parvati had come and gone with an invitation to play cards down in the cargo bay, but he’d declined, too focused on his work. It was some time later, an hour, perhaps two when he noticed the captain passing his door. He jumped up to catch her, called a hurried, “Captain!” but by the time he poked his head out into the hall, she’d gone. With a heavy sigh, he sat back in his chair and stared down at the journal he’d been trying (in vain) to read, too frustrated to even try anymore.
A new voice echoed to him from down the hall, followed promptly by a shrill shriek that gripped his heart in fear. “Kria?” he yelled, throwing himself from his chair. A frosted-haired mass threw itself at him, hands gripping his arm as her slight frame tucked itself behind him. She dragged him a few steps back into the room and slammed the button to shut the door, breathing heavily. Max glanced through the peephole before turning to her, his hands going to her shoulders. “Kria, are you hurt? What’s going on? What happened?”
Breath was not coming easily to her. It shook and shuddered with the fear that was reflected in her rich blue eyes. “I—” Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she shook her head, pressing into him, her arms going about his waist, her face pressing into his neck.
Blinking, Max faltered for a moment, confused and hesitant, but he gently acquiesced and wrapped himself around her. “I’m here.” He moved to brush her hair gently, soothingly. “What happened?”
Her hands fisted the back of his shirt. It took her a moment to find the words. “It’s stupid,” she whispered at last.
“Oh, I highly doubt that. Something has obviously got you spooked.”
She swallowed hard and pulled back a bit. “I… W… Oh for fuck’s sake.” She slipped behind him again and pressed the button for the door. It opened with a whoosh, and Max ducked his head out to take a look.
“I don’t see anything.”
“It… Left.” She moved a little to his side, her hands moving to clutch his arm.
Cautiously, Max moved on down the hall, Kria tucked right against his side. She stiffened upon seeing the green light of the final room spilling out into the hall and swallowed hard. Max glanced at her. “The robot?”
Nodding, she bit at the scar against her lip. “Mm.”
“You activated it?”
“Mm.” Her eyes remained trained on the door, wide with fright and unblinking.
“And… it attacked you?”
Her cheeks darkened. “N… Not exactly. I… Well…”
Max looked into the room. The SAM unit was sitting there, new lights blinking on its body. “Greetings, Customer!”
Kria flinched and hid her face behind Max’s shoulders. Max glanced back at her, a brow raised. “This is what has you so scared?”
“I’m…” She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’m afraid of robots,” she admitted quietly.
Realization dawned on him. “Oh. I see.” Patting her hand gently, he smiled reassuringly at her. “Well, I won’t let it hurt you, hm?” She looked up at him, fresh tears welling within her eyes. A shaky smile crossed her lips, and she glanced at the unit. Max turned to it and cleared his throat. “Cleaning unit.”
“Greetings, Customer!” it repeated. “This SAM unit is unable to locate your registered information. Would you like to register your SAM?”
Max smiled slightly at Kria and pulled her forward a step. “If you register it, it will never harm you.”
“You’re sure?” she hissed.
He chuckled and patted her hand. “I’m sure.”
Kria nodded slightly. “Alright then. Yes, I’d like to register.”
“Registering new owner: Captain!”
“O-Ok, alright…”
The unit stood and took two fast steps out, startling another shriek from Kria. Max stepped back with her, an arm held out to shield her from the unit as it started off down the hall. When he turned back to her, she was disappearing around the corner towards her quarters, and he hurried after her. “Kria!” He found her in the corner, squeezed between her storage locker and the wall, squatted down with her face in her hands. Max went back to shut and lock the door behind him then made his way back over to her. He knelt down in front of her, his hands carefully settling on her arms. “Hey, hey, it’s alright.”
She moved quickly, practically lunging into him, clutching at him like a life preserver. She wept against him for several minutes before, his legs growing tired, Max scooped her up in his arms and carried her to her bed. He sat down and settled her beside him, looking out at the world spinning below, content to let her work it out. She quieted rather quickly but did not loosen her grip on him, and he said nothing, content to simply be there with her. Finally, after an age, her hand moved down his arm to slip into his, her fingers entwining in his. “Thank you, Max.”
“Mm?”
She looked up at him, eyes rimmed with red, and smiled slightly. “Thank you for putting up with all that. I know it’s pretty ridiculous, someone being so afraid of robots in this day and age.”
He smiled softly and shook his head. “Not at all. I am rather surprised you activated it, though, given how scared you are.”
She snorted slightly and looked out the window. “Beats having to do the cleaning myself,” she mumbled.
Max blinked at that and laughed, a deep belly-shaking laugh that had her following quickly after. They sat together for a while longer before Max sighed, checking the clock on her wall. “I should get back to work.”
“…Oh.” She brushed a hand through her hair and straightened up with a fake smile. “Yeah, me too.”
He regarded her for a moment, studied the haphazardly covered disappointment upon her face, but she stood. It did not escape his notice how her fingers lingered in his for a touch longer than necessary before she pulled her hand away, and his heart fluttered a bit. He stood, too, and she walked with him over to the door and opened it. They stood there for a long moment, neither of them sure what to say, neither of them looking at the other. Finally, she whispered a quiet, “Thank you again,” and he smiled gently.
“Of course, Kria. I am more than happy to comfort you whenever you might need.” He reached up and combed back a short tuft of hair that had strayed to the wrong side. As he dropped his hand, she looked up at him, cheeks dark, and the breath was stolen from his lungs.
A little breathless herself, she whispered an almost shaky, “I think I might need some more… comforting, Vicar…”
Suddenly lightheaded, he nodded slightly and cleared his throat. “Of course, Kria.”
It was quick, the way her hand slapped the button to shut the door, her other hand fisting in his shirt as she lunged forward. His own arms wrapped around her, puling her into him as their lips met, and they groaned into one another. Lifting her easily, he carried her back towards her bed, all worries about the robot long forgotten.
Full name: Unknown. Just “Kria” listed on the manifest.
Age: 27
Height: 5′10
Eyes: Dark pruple
Hair: Dark silver
Former scientist’s assistant
High intelligence and charisma skills, moderately proficient with stealth, preferred weapons include the grenade launcher, tactical shotgun, light machine gun, and impact hammer.
Leans towards diplomacy and kindness but not afraid to make hard decisions.
