You consider lying or clamming up for a moment. Basmen wasn’t being forceful, but he was very interested in what the Federation needed with that crashed transport so much. He was however holding 22 as a bargaining chip for that information. Basmen waits patiently for your response. If nothing else he knew trying to force you would just be counterproductive, so that was a point in his favor.

You shrug, there was no real harm in telling. “A black reinforced suitcase. Transport 2321 was carrying it back to the Federation when it was shot down.” You answered.

“I presume what was in it was valuable.” Basmen noted.

“I don’t know. Probably.” You admit. 

“You don’t know?” He sounded surprised.

“It was need to know, and I didn’t need to know.” You said. “My mission was to get to the transport and get the suitcase. My orders were to not open it myself under any circumstances.”

“What about survivors?” Basmen asked.

“Unlikely, and we were to leave them behind if we did find any.” That order was a strange one, but you were barely out of the academy and weren’t looking to question orders.

“I see…” Basmen sat back in his chair and considered you for a moment. “I believe you are telling me all that you know. Whether your superiors told you the truth is another matter entirely.” Basmen admits.

“I found the orders dubious myself, but ours is not to question…” You quote an old saying.

“It is to do.” Basmen finished. If nothing else, the two were both soldiers. Basmen sat there for a minute and then grunted. He pushed a button on his desk. “Amber, get back here.” He said into a com. “A deal is a deal. I’ll have the order sent to have your Valkyrie unit fixed. From what the techs say she’ll be ready to go by this time tomorrow. After that… I don’t know if I even should tell my superiors about this…” Basmen sounded disturbed. 

“Tell them about what Bossman?” Amber said as she came back in.

“Curse those ears of yours…” Basmen said. “Never mind that right now. The Lieutenant’s Valkyrie is to be fixed. Take him back to the med tent until it’s ready.” Basmen ordered and Amber followed it, wheeling you out. 

“Bossman has a s-e-c-r-e-t!” Amber sang as you left the command center. “So, what was it? You must have told him something he doesn’t want to get out.” Amber noted.

You sigh. “It’s need to know, and you don’t need to know.” You respond.

“Oh damn, you’re no fun.” Amber pouts.

“So… the ‘Angel without Mercy’ huh?” You said without thinking as you tried to make conversation. It now occurs to you that’s not the best of topics.

“Bossman told you about that? Yeah, ‘Angel without Mercy.’ There’s also Butcher of Redstone, Rain of Agony, Bringer of the Apocalypse…” Amber keeps listing off titles her enemies give her, she has over 3 dozen of them and she sounds prideful about it.

By the time she’s finished, you’re back at the med tent. “Um… Amber?” You had been working up the courage to speak ever since the Valkyrie started listing off names. “Could we go to the repair bay?” You asked. You wondered if maybe she had absolute obedience programming. If so, Amber would do whatever her superiors told her. 

“Why, that eager to see your girlfriend?” Amber asked.

Your cheeks burned, probably out of anger. Yeah, had to be out of anger. “I just want to get a look at her condition before I tuck in. That’ll keep my imagination from wrecking my sleep tonight.” You note.

“Right. Sleep.”  Amber says sounding unconvinced but shrugs. “Sure, why not?” To your relief, Amber turns around and starts heading to a large building with lots of vehicles around it.

You try to stay silent but it gets to you. “Amber?” You can’t keep quiet any longer.

“Uh huh?” She mumbles.

“Does it bother you? All the people you’ve killed?” You ask. Amber stops in her tracks.

“Yeah, every day. Those 3 humans I killed were more like suicides by Valkyrie to avoid capture but… it still bothers me.” You look back at her and see her frown seriously for the first time since you met her.

You take a moment to process what she said.

“Wait… you got a names like ‘Ravager of Battlefields’ from killing just 3 people?” You ask.

“Oh, that. I didn’t kill any people for those. Lots and lots and lots of Valkyries and Ennies though.” Amber said so nonchalantly that it scared you.

“Those… those are people.” You’d always hated how Humans looked at Valkyries like tools and then there’s a Valkyrie herself who wasn’t just doing that but killing them without caring or even recognizing them as people. 

“People? Are you serious?” Amber said flippantly and then gasped. “Oh no, you actually are!” You look back at her and swear you saw a blush on her cheeks that vanished as quickly as it appeared. “Don’t be silly, machines aren’t people.” Amber said. “People feel.”

You looked Amber in the eye, and you knew she wasn’t being honest there. “People fall in love. People roll in the dirt and make more people from it. People live and eat and take dumps on the side of the road and get drunk. People grow old and die. People care when other people die. People have souls.”

You continue to look at Amber and see a bit of something that she’s trying to hide. “When people don’t…” Amber stopped for a moment, cleared her throat despite not needing to, and then began again. “When people don’t want to do something, they can just say no, consequences be damned.” Amber stopped talking and just stood there for a moment. “Machines can’t do any of that.”

You didn’t know what to say. Soon Amber continued pushing you and you both stayed silent for the rest of the trip to the repair bay.