Beatrice refused to work with Area 51, she didn't trust the government either because of typical politicians, so she worked for a non-government agency. One that worked with a department of Area 51 but could perform certain activities without the actual government AND public civilians noticing. Pretty convenient from her perspective.
Waking up, and feeling as if the fictional Sandman was working on her, she yawned. After a shower and picking an outfit for the day, she made herself the usual milk-added coffee beverage.
There was an irritatingly loud honking from the intercom, which meant that she was needed. Swallowing the last bit of caffeine, she walked out of her chambers and headed to the laboratory.
As she walked past a few lieutenant soldiers, Beatrice could not help but feel their eyes being glued to her. It may be that she was the only one in nonmilitary uniform, it may be because she was walking unladylike. Or it could be because of her biographic file. This uneasy feeling was frustrating. Why is it hard for her to act confident?
As she walked to the lab, a woman came and called her. "Miss Butteroil? Can I have a moment of your time?"
Some soldiers snickered at the call of her last name, and Beatrice tried to ignore them. "Yes, Miss Pendle?" That was said in a squeaking tone, so she cleared her throat. "Does the task force wish to see me?"
"Yes, they would like you to present your…project to selected recruits next week".
"That…seems a bit too soon. We've just started training examinations. It would be more reasonable if we had a little more time".
"I know, I've been trying to say that to Joel but he is pretty stubborn", Miss Pendle confessed. Then she stared Beatrice in the eye, eye contact with the Task Force Assistant always made her heart beat rapidly.
"Megan, I—"
"Butteroil! The general is waiting for you! We don't have all day!" Sergeant Collin yelled. One short scowl formed on the scientist's face but then she gave one smile to Megan Pendle.
Walking with Sergeants was a bit awkward. Stereotypes from television were half right, not the kind of people trained to be friendly. Still, she had to get used to this as she would spend a lot of time with military employees and soldiers. "So…I have been thinking if Delacacie will have to be tested on every protocol, or should we try one test at a time? I hope the training has the right budget for her examinations—"
"Miss Butteroil, do I look like someone who was assigned to be your bestie?" Sergeant Collin spoke without giving the woman eye contact. Beatrice looked down, feeling embarrassed. "Well, I just thought I'd give you a heads up on her. She isn't going to know everything on the first exam so don't have too much hope—"
Collin raised his hand to indicate a plea for silence. As they reached the training room, Sergeant Collin walked to the retinal scanner, the doors slid open once the scanning was complete. Beatrice whistled at how wide the room was all over through the control room. "Glad you guys had the right budget for this".
Collin rolled his eyes in annoyance. A man entered the control room after them. The General of the Independence & Intelligence Agency, General Hamdon, came as Beatrice expected. Sergeant Collin gave an honorary salute, which the scientist imitated.
"Dr. Butteroil, you don't have to act like a soldier here", He sighed. Beatrice hid both hands behind her back and avoided eye contact. Hamdon walked to observe from the booth. "Dr. Butteroil, where is your invention?"
"Oh um…right there Sir". She answered with a high octave in her voice. "But I wouldn't call her an invention, so I requested an examination—".
"Doctor…you have already said this", Hamdon groaned. "Initiate testing Sergeant.
"Right away General", Collin pulled a small lever downwards. Then the train room became brighter, giving the three individuals a clearer view. Beatrice's creation was by the side wall.
Tapping the microphone connected to the speaker, the scientist spoke. "Arise warrior". Collin barely held his chuckle at the scientist's words of command.
The humanoid doll's eyelids snapped open and immediately stood up. Beatrice was nervous yet feeling a sense of thrill.
"Okay, Delacacie. This is your very first test, we're just going to see your potential and strengths and weaknesses. This is just a drill so think of this as freestyling, okay?"
The mechanic woman turned her head to the speaker, and then at all possible test obstacles before her. Slightly crouching into a steady position, a beep sound indicated her to begin.
The first obstacle was jumping over trap doors. She moved across swiftly in a ballerina style. Next was dodging machine shooting tennis balls, which she flipped back and forth. She even went as far as bending backward. Then to the three observers' surprise, Delacacie jumped in a twirl style and kicked a ball back at the machine. The ball crashes through the machine, making it malfunction.
The next obstacle was the hurdles. As the two soldiers and the scientist watched, the general hummed. "It is agile but needs to learn restraint".
"But she thinks on her feet, just as I had hoped", Beatrice said as she watched with expectation. They noticed that the weapon was more than average agile. Delacacie completed the laser test. Now for the combat part.
Two hovering training bots came through the doors. Tall, grey, with no eyes but lenses, and were ready to fire their arm canons. The second that a holographic beam was fired, Delacacie cartwheeled to the side, pausing into a handstand, she made a quick blink but jumped into an upright position. The bots hovered in her direction. As they prepared to fire, the doll leaped to it, attacking with a mid-air push kick. She pulled the other bot's arm canon, spinning it while pulling. The bot was about to fire when Delacacie redirected the aim onto the other bot.
Then she bent the canon right back to the bot as it fired. The blast scattered parts of the bot out of the smoke dust. Emerging out of it was Beatrice's creation.
"That. Was. Cool", Beatrice gasped. The General hummed, impressed by the invention's capabilities. The sergeant gazed at the scientist with an amused face.
"You call her 'Delacacie'? Was giving it a pet name necessary?"
"It's not a pet name! She is not a pet, she is—"
"Mam Bea. I have completed the training so I am waiting to be escorted. That was formal enough right?"
The general and sergeant deadpanned at the scientist, who laughed nervously. "I thought it would be convenient if she spoke like a normal young adult".
"You didn't provide that information. You didn't even tell us it could speak".
"She needs to develop a little human intelligence. You didn't seriously think I created her as a remote-controlled machine, did you?"
"What if she turns on us?"
"That only happens in movies Sergeant", Beatrice scoffed. The general just stared at the two individuals.
"That mindset of yours…don't get too cocky Dr. Butteroil, dismiss the session. Tomorrow, we'll see just how smart you made it become".
The scientist nodded forcefully, she didn't look at Sergeant to already guess he was rolling his eyes.
At the chambers, once Beatrice had locked the door, she turned to her creation. "Arise, Warrior".
The humanoid droid's eyelids fluttered open, then turned its' head to the scientist. "Good job on your drill session. So far the general was impressed".
"I wish I had seen your 'boss's' face. Was he making a face of approval?" Delacacie asked. Beatrice chuckled a bit forcefully.
"Military individuals are trained for war. Nerds like me are a threat to their one-track mind because we can build things that could, and it is a big 'could', steal their employment". Beatrice explained as she brushed her creation's wool hair.
"Am I one of those things?"
Beatrice was waxing off minor scratches "Only if you choose to harm humanity"
"I am aware of my purpose. I must help humanity to the very end".
Her master cleared her throat a bit. "Don't make it your entire life purpose. In fact, decide once the real testing commences. We just started drills, so it could be a long while before you're ready for the real deal".
"I assume you will be the one commanding me?"
"I hope so", Beatrice quipped. "Although I'm more certain you'll know what you're doing".
"Wouldn't I still need my Mam?"
The scientist dragged the world 'well', "I'm sure you will, I know you better than anyone in the base. Plus I made you so…". She stood up and walked to her shower room with a towel and toothbrush she picked up. "Stand guard while I cleanse my body".
The droid stood up and guarded the entrance door.
A space area near the asteroid belt.
"The human mole we sent has told me interesting information", A red uniformed individual walked into a futuristic room. It had a full head science fictional helmet covering its head. They were speaking to another individual sitting in a chair with the back turned.
"Well? Don't raise the suspense, what is it?" The being in the chair asked.
"There is a war-based area where an invention was created. The mole told me this…creation…has massive strength".
"What is this invention exactly?"
"He is not sure chief, only three human beings are aware of this creation, and unfortunately, the mole was not one of the three".
The being in the chair hummed. "No wonder why Earth has been silent. I think we should give Earth a reason to reveal their creation much sooner than they are planning. It would be more dramatic if they had very little time to prepare".
The next day, Delacacie was performing intellectual exam drills. As Beatrice was in the classroom with her, she asked a few questions. The droid answered correctly. Things were smooth until the emergency horn sounded across the base.
Sergeant Collin barged into the room. "Dr. Butteroil! We are under attack by a one-eight emergency".
"A what—"
"An extraterrestrial war enemy! We are going to need your creation!"