The Commander's Gaslighting
"Hey, you tin can bitch."
The hangar reeked of a cold, metallic scent of blood.
Sherpa reflexively shuddered and looked up.
Standing before her was a young man looking down at her with eyes full of contempt.
It was Lin Ao, the son of the most powerful person in Ark 86, and a platoon leader who was practically the Grim Reaper to the ECHOs.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."
Sherpa instinctively bowed her head. She desperately racked her brain.
What had she done wrong?
Was it because she sat down for a moment while moving luggage?
Or because she had already eaten all of her low-grade Concentrated Nutrients, which were distributed once a week, today?
The reason didn't matter. If she didn't grovel immediately, a barrage of indiscriminate beatings was certain to follow.
"Sorry? Is that all? Where does a piece of scrap metal get off talking back to me?"
Thwack—!
"Ugh!"
A heavy military boot struck Sherpa's abdomen with all his might.
Whenever she was being disciplined by a human, she was required to turn on her pain sensors.
Because of this, Sherpa felt her breath hitch as a twisting pain tore through her internals, and she rolled across the cold floor.
"I w-was... I was wrong. It hurts... it hurts..."
"It hurts? I'm hitting you so that it hurts. Stupid scrap machines like you only wake up when they're beaten."
Lin Ao roughly grabbed Sherpa by the hair and yanked her up from the floor.
His hand rose into the air once more. At the moment the unavoidable violence loomed before her eyes—
"Gasp—!"
With a final cry that sounded almost like a scream, Sherpa snapped her eyes open.
"Ah, aaah..."
Her vision swam, dizzied and disoriented.
Cold sweat drenched her entire body, leaving her t-shirt damp.
"Ah..."
Sherpa gasped for air and looked around.
There was no cold metal floor, nor the vomit-inducing smell of crude oil.
The feeling of a soft, warm bed against her back.
And the cozy, comforting air brushing against the tip of her nose.
This was not the hellish Ark 86. This was the dormitory of Hongwei-7, the forward base of Ark 69.
"It... it was a dream. Ha... haha... hahahaha..."
Sherpa clutched her chest with trembling hands. Her Core was vibrating frantically.
But the relief was short-lived; soon, a larger, heavier fear surged in.
Now that she had tasted the warmth and kindness of this place, the reality that she would one day have to return to that hell felt far more horrific than before.
"I don't want to go back..."
Fleet Commander Lin Xiaolin, who was at least rational, was reasonable.
She was someone who did not punish ECHOs without reason.
However, the other members of the Lin family, especially people like Lin Ao, frequently treated ECHOs as emotional punching bags to vent their anger on.
If she returned there, the nightmare that tormented her would surely become reality again.
"Hic..."
Just as Sherpa was about to curl up and hug her knees in despair.
Knock. Knock.
Breaking the silence, a quiet knocking sound echoed through the room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[I w-was... I was wrong. It hurts... it hurts...]
"..."
With my arms crossed, I listened to the faint sobbing sounds leaking through the wall.
I never imagined an ECHO would be sleep talking.
Unfortunately, the content of that sleep talking was enough to make any listener feel melancholy.
I knew this world was a mess where discrimination and violence against ECHOs were rampant...
But I didn't think it was serious enough to instill such deep trauma.
Since I had only seen it as text in the game, I had just thought, Sigh, damn these unhinged devs, and moved on, but facing it in reality like this felt strange.
Well, not that I'm some kind of saint or anything of the sort.
The reason I was nice to the ECHOs was that they were the only military force that could protect me in this world, and above all, they were beautiful and attractive heroines.
The reason I was approaching Sherpa and trying to be kind to her was also clear.
I intended to use her to gather information on Ark 86 and this world, and also to do something with her timid, soft-looking body.
"Whew."
I sensed movement inside; she must have woken up.
I managed my expression with a short deep breath and then knocked on the door.
"Sherpa."
[Yes, yes—! C-Commander!]
A loud clattering sound, as if someone had tripped over something, came from inside.
So, without waiting for an answer, I opened the door first.
The room was shrouded in darkness.
A small shadow had tumbled off the bed as I entered.
It was Sherpa, having landed on her backside with her clothes disheveled.
"Ah... I-I'm sorry. I, I tripped while trying to get down quickly..."
"No, forget the apology. More importantly, are you okay?"
"Huh? Yes! Of course. I'm a sturdy ECHO, after all."
Sherpa jumped up, answering as if she were spirited.
Watching her, I scratched the back of my head, pretending not to notice. For someone acting like that, her sleep-talking was incredibly realistic...
Regardless, Sherpa's appearance was highly provocative.
Because of the cold sweat she had shed during the nightmare, the thin T-shirt she was wearing was soaked and clung tightly to her body.
The lines of her underwear and the curves of her breasts were revealed vividly.
The body of a new ECHO... it was a far more stimulating sight than I had expected.
"You must have had a nightmare. You're drenched in sweat."
"Ah—!"
When I approached and placed my hand on her damp forehead, Sherpa's pupils shook as if they were hit with an earthquake.
"..."
It was understandable.
According to the common sense of this damn world, physical contact between humans and ECHOs was practically a taboo.
But I wasn't a human of this world.
To me, ECHOs weren't dirty scrap metal, but attractive heroines I wanted to hug and touch.
I then picked up a dry towel from the table.
And, as if treating a girlfriend, I began to meticulously and gently wipe the sweat from Sherpa's forehead, jawline, and the nape of her neck.
"C-Commander...?"
Sherpa flinched every time my hand touched her, but perhaps thanks to three days of effort?
She wasn't trying to avoid my touch.
Rather, as if she were moved, her expression began to soften and grow hazy.
...ECHOs are set to be naturally starved for human affection, after all.
Even so, ECHOs from other Arks weren't as soft as Sherpa.
That was especially true when thinking about Compass.
It just seemed that the girl in front of me was an ECHO who had reached a psychological dead end and was even more thirsty for affection.
"Let's head to the bed. If you're tired, you can just lie down."
"Yes, yes?"
"There are a few things I want to talk about. It might take a while."
At my words, Sherpa lowered her head and quietly climbed onto the bed.
I naturally sat down right next to her.
And while pretending to wipe the line of her collarbone with the towel, I subtly let my fingers graze over the upper part of Sherpa's breasts.
Hmm... as expected of an ECHO, she seemed unfazed.
"Lin Ao. Who is that guy?"
"...Yes?"
"You were begging for forgiveness in your sleep."
"Ah, aaah... I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
At my words, Sherpa turned pale and bowed her head.
What on earth was she sorry for?
Did she think I was going to report to Lin Ao that she had been talking in her sleep to a commander from another Ark?
"You don't need to apologize to me like that. I know nothing about this Lin Ao guy who bullied you. Rather, I want to know what kind of person he is."
I gently massaged Sherpa's shoulder as if comforting her while searching my memory.
The character Lin Ao from Echoes of Humanity — ECHO that I knew was the person in charge of the Ark who, 30 years later, betrayed the Pathfinder Squad and was crushed during the Omega Howl event as a result.
Could it be that Lin Ao?
Regardless, I wanted to know what kind of rotten brat he was to exercise such violence against a sweet ECHO like Sherpa.
While pretending to wipe her sweat, I toyed with the area around her shoulder blades, and she quietly spoke.
"Platoon Leader Lin Ao is... the commander of the ECHO Squad in our Ark."
"Is he the platoon leader in charge of Pathfinder?"
"Ah—! It's not like that. The commander and the squad change with every operation."
"...Why?"
Isn't the coordination and bond between a commander and an ECHO the core of combat power?
And yet they change every time?
In military terms, it was like changing the platoon leader for every single operation. There was no way it could be efficient.
"Huh...? I-Isn't that natural?"
Seeing Sherpa answer as if there was nothing strange about it, I swallowed a hollow laugh.
I could tell how rotten the system of the Ark was, viewing ECHOs strictly as tools.
I glanced down at Sherpa's defenseless back. The marks of her bra straps were clear through the sweat-soaked T-shirt.
"Your back is all chafed."
"Huh? Ah, hng! C-Commander...?"
When I slid my hand behind her back and gently rubbed the area where the straps touched, Sherpa twisted her, perhaps due to feeling ticklish or something.
"Let's just take this off. You can just put it back on after I wipe the sweat."
"Ah, th-thank you."
With practiced movements, I unhooked the bra and naturally slid my hand inside the T-shirt.
Sherpa flinched at my touch, but she wasn't surprised that I was groping her body.
In my previous world, this would have been an immediate call to 112… (EN: 112 is basically the 911 of South Korea)
Rather, she seemed more surprised that a normal human's hand was touching her body.
"It seems he's the type to lay hands on ECHOs?"
"Uh... most people in our Ark... are like that. Hng!"
As my finger pressed between her shoulder blades, the end of Sherpa's sentence trailed off with a trembling echo.
"Except for Fleet Commander Lin Xiaolin."
"I've heard of her. They say she's very scary and cold-hearted?"
"Uh... yes. But she's v-very rational. And although she's scary, she doesn't hit us..."
Is she the only human with a normal thinking capability?
I nodded and slowly slid my hand toward her side.
"Then what about Lin Ao? His name is similar to the Fleet Commander's... is he her brother?"
"Ah, no. I only know him to be a distant relative of the fleet commander. Our Ark 86 is a place ruled by the Lin family."
"...Ah, I remember that too."
In truth, I had no idea.
But I nodded as if I knew and moved the hand that had been gripping her side a bit further forward.
Holding Sherpa like that, I continued the conversation while toyed with her lower abdomen.
Every time I poked her, an answer flowed out immediately. It seemed she didn't even realize that the information she was giving was close to being classified.
Well... there's almost no reason for Arks to fight each other in this world.
Interrogating ECHOs for information?
Considering the common sense of this world, she surely wouldn't have even thought of it.
At most, only the Central AI would have security measures related to this.
Regardless, the strength of Ark 86, which had held out for over five years against the Astral named Harvester, was far superior to what I had thought.
The Original ECHO Squad consists of seven squads, including the Pathfinder...
In the mobile game, this was a level of squad composition that could be achieved in a month, but this wasn't a game.
Besides this, there were over 200 mass-produced combat units, and over 40 armed vehicles.
Since this was all thanks to Lin Xiaolin's resourcefulness, she certainly seemed to be a commander of great ability.
That made it even more puzzling.
Because in the future story, the existence of Ark 86 wasn't even mentioned.
Meanwhile, my hand had already moved to grip Sherpa's breast, pressing and rubbing her small nipple.
"So, because that Harvester is targeting you, your Ark has moved as well."
"Yes, yes... Hng! If the Harvester absorbs the Hachishakusama... our Ark will also b-ah, nng... be in danger... so..."
Sherpa's words gradually stretched into something closer to moans.
But far from pushing me away, she was twisting her waist in response to my touch. Her affection-starved body was enjoying my touch.
"If Zero and Bait left... around when will they arrive?"
"About... a week. If they form a unit there and come here, it should take about fifteen days..."
"Fifteen days..."
I kneaded Sherpa's breast, which fit perfectly in my hand, as if squeezing it.
"Hah-ut?!"
Sherpa's head tilted back.
Taking advantage of that gap, I gently laid her down on the bed.
Looking at Sherpa, who stared up at me with startled rabbit eyes, I gave her a short, light kiss on the lips.
"C-Commander...?"
"You're just too cute, Sherpa. I couldn't hold back."
"Ah... cute... Am I... cute?"
"Of course."
With that answer, I naturally climbed on top of her like a bad boy.