Chapter 11
When Azriel and the group eventually made it to the building's door, they were greeted by a row of different androids standing straight before them. Leading them was Commander White herself. When she saw Azriel and co made it to the entrance, she instantly saluted prompting the androids behind her to do the same. Behind Azriel, 2B and 9S came to a stop and followed suit.
"Welcome back, Sir," greeted Commander White with a smile adorning her face.
Azriel struggled to control his emotions for a moment as he was overwhelmed by the grand welcoming as it has been a while since he saw something similar. Finally, he smiled and replied,
"Thank you, it's good to be back,"
The metal vault door was already removed by the androids that were building the base for easy access inside the facility and for Azriel's exit. The base, which was comprised of metal, was built around the ramp that leads to the underground facility. Inside the base, several tents were set up for a variety of uses such as a maintenance tent, a communication tent, barracks and etc. (pic in the paragraph comment)
"You must be exhausted, let me lead you to your quarters, Sir Azriel," continued Commander White while bowing gently. Azriel turned back to say farewell to 2B and 9S before following Commander White.
"I'll see you guys later, lead the way, White," (Azriel)
"This way sir," The androids behind Commander White split up in the center and stood on each side, still saluting, as she turned around. They were all wearing the standard YoRHa outfits similar to 2B and 9S while Commander White was wearing something similar to a white cheongsam with a gold accent.
Commander White and Azriel made their way through the androids and up the ramp towards a fairly large tent on the left side of the ramp. Two androids stood on either side of the entrance of the tent. Upon seeing Azriel and Commander White they stood up straight and saluted. Azriel nodded back at them and entered the tent, inside, he could see that it was luxuriously decorated.
The floor was covered with red carpet making Azriel wonder if he should take off his shoes or in his case, biomass shoes. Though he doesn't have to worry about dust or mud sticking onto him as the virus passively rejects or blocks any inanimate objects unless it was taken in voluntarily by Azriel like storing an object inside his body.
There was also a queen-sized bed with fluffy white pillows and a mattress, a study table with built-in light on one corner, a white sofa on the other and other few nicks nacks making the tent comfy.
"Is the accommodation to your liking, Sir? If not, please let me know and I'll make the necessary changes," asked White with a smile while folding her hands in front of her and on her stomach.
"It is more than satisfactory, I would've been fine with just a small bed and a table, you didn't need to do all this," replied Azriel as he looked around the tent.
"It is only natural that we do all that we can to serve you, sir, after all, that is our purpose," replied White.
"I see," Azriel stopped looking around and replied while looking at White. They both stared at each other for a while until White broke the silence.
"Is there anything that I can do for you, sir?" asked White as she was confused why Azriel was just staring at her.
"Hm, tell me something White, why haven't this so-called Council of Humanity contacted me yet? Why is it that so far, the only high-ranking person I've seen is you? From what I've heard from 2B and 9S, those guys seem to like to throw their weight around. They would've been in my face ordering me to surrender in the name of justice or for the greater good and whatnot since you guys clearly know who I am and why I am contained in this facility. What are you hiding White," asked Azriel seriously as he readied himself to pounce at White at a moment's notice.
Panic flashed across White's face as she tried her best to calm down Azriel.
"S..Sir, this.....please calm down, I...we mean you no harm sir! Please! I'll explain everything," (White)
The two androids outside rushed inside hearing the commotion in the tent, weapons at the ready.
"Sir Azriel, are you alright?!" asked one of the androids as she approached Azriel.
"Commander, what is the meaning of this?" asked the other as she stepped in front of Azriel and drew her sword towards Commander White.
"10A, 11A, stand down, I'll never hurt Sir Azriel, and if I had to, I would rather die," commanded White.
10A and 11A stood still, not knowing what to do. They had thought their commander was trying to attack Azriel but hearing her say that she would rather die than hurt him, started to think they might have misunderstood the situation.
"It's alright girls, stand down, it was just a misunderstanding, thank you for your quick response," Azriel decided to end this confrontation as he finished testing White. Seeing the androids' reactions and their willingness to protect him at all cost, to the point of even opposing their commander, told him that they were not his enemies.
"I..It's our duty sir! We are not worthy of your gratitude!" replied 10A who was beside Azriel. 11A nodded in agreement as well.
'Not worthy of my gratitude? What the hell?' thought Azriel.
"Nonsense, seeing your quick reactions, I feel safer knowing that you will be protecting me when I am unaware. So thank you and good work. Now, would you girls please give me and White some time alone? I would like to discuss a few things with her," continued Azriel.
10A and 11A were beaming with joy hearing his praise as they replied "Yes, Sir!" vigorously and went back to their post.
"Sorry, I wanted to see your reaction when I confronted you about the Council of Humanity. I wanted to see if I can trust you all or not. Also, I wanted to get things going. I mean like, if I am going to get tortured and experimented on, I wanted to get straight to it, I don't want to be treated nicely like this now only to later be put into hell. I sure as hell am not strong enough to beat you all so yeah. Again, I am sorry," Azriel apologized as he bowed his head towards White.
"Ah, no, you don't have to apologize, Sir Azriel, it's my fault, I should've explained things earlier instead," replied White as she moved closer to Azriel. She wanted to stop him from bowing but stopped herself as she doesn't know if Azriel would like it if she touched him. So she was awkwardly moving her hands towards him and then moving back and then moving towards and then back and finally settled on putting her hand between her bosoms.
"No, it's my fault. If I hadn't been impatient and waited to hear your explanation, I wouldn't have done what I did," replied Azriel. White wanted to continue and put the blame on her but Azriel stopped her when he saw what she was going to say.
"Ok, stop, it was my fault, let's leave it that way. So, are you going to tell me what is up with the people on the moon?" (Azriel)
White reluctantly conceded and took a deep breath to prepare herself before delivering the horrible truth.
"As you wish, Sir, the Council....." she was interrupted by 11A before she could complete her sentence.
"Sir Azriel, Commander, the supply team has arrived," reported 11A.
"Supply team?" asked Azriel.
"They were responsible for bringing necessary supplies for your survival Sir, such as food and water," replied White.
"How do they know about what humans need when the rest of the androids don't? Are they sent from the moon?" asked Azriel as he proceeded to exit the tent asking 11A to lead the way. He was quite hungry after all.
"No, they are not, they are from the resistance base far east from here. They do not know what humans need as well. The supplies were ordered by me personally," replied White as she followed Azriel.
Azriel looked at White with a raised eyebrow and said "Well I guess explanations will have to wait, I am starving."
"As you command, Sir," replied White.
When Azriel and White finally reached the entrance of the base, they saw crates and barrels being unloaded from a levitating wagon of some sort.
"The crates contain various vegetables and meat while the barrels contain purified mineral water. Although I have knowledge that humans need such things, I'm unsure how to process them into a curry. I deeply apologize for my lack of knowledge, Sir," apologized White.
After a while of not receiving a reply from Azriel, she looked up from her bow to see him staring in a trance at two androids unloading the cargo.
"They are still alive?" muttered Azriel in disbelief as he stared at two red-haired androids working together moving a large crate off the wagon.