Read Syndicate's Pawns for Free Online

to be greeted by Chord. “Salutations to you, Phaël Farook Nem’Ador.”
    Phaël delicately felt the stitches behind her. They were all still intact. Itching, but intact. “Healthy greetings to you, Machina Chord.”
    â€œHow are you finding your recuperation?”
    She twisted her face in a grimace as she arched her back as far as she could. “Slow, painful, frustrating.”
    â€œThat would appear to be the standard for biological creatures.” Chord observed her intently. “May this unit be of assistance?”
    â€œI am fine.” Phaël sat herself back down in her cross-­legged posture and stretched herself forward, letting out a soft grunt as she did. “What brings you down here?”
    Chord sat itself down in front of Phaël in perfect mimicry of her. “This unit had a moment of free time and decided it would come and see how you were doing.”
    â€œVery sweet of you. If such a word can even apply.” Phaël would normally never have given a Machina any consideration. However, the truth was that during their last mission Chord had saved her life, and she did not know how to express her conflicting thoughts on the matter.
    As if reading this, Chord spoke. “There is a saying that the wolf is responsible for the cub it saves. Up until it had volunteered to serve on the Jinxed Thirteenth , this unit had never had that responsibility.”
    Phaël let out a quick sharp laugh when she heard this. “You’re responsible for me now? Feeling like a Mama-­Machina?”
    â€œThis unit is aware that you are capable of taking care of yourself. It also knows that you were forced to go against your beliefs to survive the mission on Moria Three.” Chord paused, and for the first time since they had met, Phaël thought she could see hesitation playing itself on its polymorphic artificial face.
    â€œJust say what you have to say, Machina.”
    â€œThis unit has observed that Jessie Madison does not trust it due to the events in her past. It therefore wonders if Phaël trusts it or not.”
    â€œWell, to be true, Machina Chord, my beliefs and thoughts on this matter are in conflict.” Phaël looked up from her stretch and considered her next words carefully. It was something she was not in the practice of doing. Her old masters would have most likely been proud of this.
    â€œWhen I was a little girl, my home of Ador was in the midst of the bloodiest war in its history.”
    Chord nodded in recognition. “This unit was aware that you, Private Lunient Tor, and Morrigan Brent were all former members of the Adoran Liberation Forces.”
    â€œYes, but what you don’t know, couldn’t have known for that matter, Machina, was the reason why I was even fighting in the first place.” Phaël paused again and pointed to her right ear. The tip of it was missing and appeared to have been cut off in a perfectly even straight line.
    â€œI was a little pup living in Denhaven, a wooded village of Wolvers dedicated to the Living Green. I had a ma, a pa and a Seft. One day the war came to our forest. What hope did we have against men and women armed with the newest technology offered by the Pax Humanis?” Phaël paused for a moment. Unlike a Humanis, who would have used this moment of silence to say something or interrupt, Chord waited for her to carry on.
    â€œWhen my mother was trying to hide me, a silver metal ball was thrown into our hut. It bleeped and sprang into the air, firing out long red tendrils. They sliced through my mother like she was made out of air and she fell to the ground in pieces. One of those tendrils sliced through my right ear.” Phaël pointed to her flattened ear.
    â€œThe canister was a mono-­film wire grenade. It had the insignia of the Pax Humanis emblazoned on it. My entire Seft was killed by men who wielded those weapons, sold to them by the Pax Humanis to help put