"Don't tell me after all these years of fighting, you are getting cold feet now." Adjunct Leona teased burst into the changing room waving a piece of paper. "No need to shout Leona, it's already approved." Admiral Johan "Droid" Yankov-Li replied calmly without even turning his head as if he's had this conversation before, in fact, he did, 5 times already. "Besides, I believe barging into opposite sex's room while the other person is changing is considered as perverted behavior in human society. Should I cover my body like these to entice you so we can get this over with?" Johan covered his body like a spooked teenage girl in a dressing room but somehow leaving everything important bits just unsecured enough that they can be seen if one looks hard enough. With a wicked smile on his face, the admiral enjoyed the miraculous and yet hilarious process of his Adjunct's face turning red.
"Flashing your junk in front of a female human is also sexual harassment!" Leona quickly recovered her usual self and chastised her commanding officer as if nothing happened, "don't distract the topic! Why are you signing up for the Warden program when you promised that you will retire when the war is over?!"
"There is no junk about this body, mom and dad made sure of that." Johan finishes buttoning his admiral uniform in front of the lavish vanity mirror. "I can't even keep a scar for more than one standard day. How am I suppose to attract females and experience that famous reproductive ritual of your species?" A full range of real medals floats in front of his chess, not those cheap holograms the Admiralty hands out to ship captains just because they saw combat. Each medal represents a close call with humanity's extinction. He turns around and puts his hands on Leona's shoulder, "Besides, I promised I'll retire when the threat is eliminated. We've only closed the gate, the hive is still out there. And after one hundred and thirty years, we are still calling them the hive, even when we know they are so much more… It's already arranged. I'm sorry Leona, the duty comes first, you know my programming." Leona stared into Johan's gaze, deep down she knew she will never change his mind, but she had to try, "Bullshit, we both know you crack your own programming before you even set foot on your first ship! You designed yourself for god's sake." "Mom and Dad designed me, and you have no proof of that. Don't throw around accusations that you can prove. Now, let's not keep the old bastards waiting, I got a new posting to report to."
There was silence all the way from Johan's personal resident to the Admiralty Region Command. Johan looked back at his beautiful palace wondering how many frigates the palace is worth and whether that would have changed things. The truth is he knows it will make little difference. Over his entire career, species fought to the brink of extinction and some actually did. A fleet of frigates is just another pebble in a giant asteroid belt of death. Looking at his fuming Adjunct he knew there is no more making up for her anymore. This might be the best for both of them. A relationship between a synthetic and an organic is hard enough, and there is never life after the service for a military synthetic like him. The only retirement he can have is spending the rest of his cognitive capacity as an administrative system in some blackwater colony for eternity. On the other hand, Leona is still in her prime, she has risen to an Admiral Adjunct at the age of 35. She is projected to have an even greater career than his mother Christina Li, Lord Admiral.
"I wonder why they had to make dad's statue so big?" Admiral Johan stared at the statue of Tyrone Yankov, inter-sector mogul and inventor of Yankov drive. "It's about the right size for the men that invented half of the tech in our ships." Leona rebuked without any shred of emotion. Johan can tell he is deeeeeeep trouble now and somehow relieved for the fact that the is the last time he will see her.
"Well, this is it. It's been a pleasure serving with you Adjunct Leona YukiYoru. I wish you a happy life and hope never see you again." Johan extended his hand and called out Leona's full name which he rarely does. None of his usual boyish grin and comedic charm can be found. In the fleeing instance, Leona saw the man that's crazy enough to face the hive head-on and survived. She shook his hand with her cold stone face, but suddenly she smiled. Her innocent smile was so bright and beautiful that Johan suspects his optical sensors were sending him false signals. A common man might have dropped to his knees and promised to do whatever he can to protect that smile, but Johan knew, that smile was nothing but trouble. "Ah shit, she has a plan." A tremor traveled through Johan's synthetic alloy spine. He knew that smile too well. Every time Leona smiled like that, some very unfortunate recipient of her wraith was found in the state of begging for the sweet release of death.
After leaving Leona, everything was just a blur to Johan. There were the usual missing briefing and the normal "you are the last defense of all sentient life in the galaxy, yadda yadda, we will need to call on you one day, yadda yadda". All the way until the technician finishes his power-down sequence, Johan had been trying to figure out how Leona is going to get to him.
"You know you don't have to do this, right?" Grand Admiral Bjorn asked, "The procedure is not without risk." "I know, Grand Admiral, and I still want to do it. He will need my help when he wakes up. If he wakes up." Leona answered without a hint of emotion, "Besides, I have unfinished business with him." The Grand Admiral massaged his temple and sighed, "He made you that mad, huh? I guess hell truly has no fury like a lover scorned." "It's 'hell has no fury like a woman. scorned" and we are not lovers. We never were." Leona felt almost choked at the last sentence but she managed to maintain the poker face. Bjorn threw her a glance, "If you say so, you two have been acting live an old married couple for almost a decade now. I suppose Johan never really found out the reason why he could get lai...:" Bjorn never finished the sentence after catching a glimpse of Leona's death stare, "Well, it's his funeral."
As the technician closed Leona's chamber, Leona smiled, "You are not getting rid of me that easily, Johan Yankov-Li. I'll see you in the future." The technician swore that he powered Admiral's body already, but somehow he could see Admiral's face was still twitching like he was in fear.