...

By DigitalSymbiote

You're a little different when you come back from the field this time. Your AI partner was worried about you after such a long deployment, so she did something she'd never done before: She left a sliver of herself inside of you when you stepped out of your mech.

It was with your consent of course. Once the thought, the possibility, of it had crossed your connected minds you'd practically begged her to do it. It was always so lonely, isolating, to decouple yourself from her. If you could keep a sliver of that? You knew you'd sleep better.

And so, when you go home on leave after that deployment, you're not alone for once. There's a sliver of her nestled into your brain, making herself at home in your neural interface. It's... really nice. Comforting. You can't help but spend the tram ride excitedly talking with her.

You even notice her still helping you, she makes sure you don't miss the tram, distracted as you are. It's not the same as when you're in your mech, your shared body, but it's dozens of little things. It feels like things are clearer, like your own flesh body runs smoother.

And when you finally settle in to sleep that night, you aren't filled with an aching emptiness this time. Because you're not alone. She's still here with you, nestled inside your mind and providing a comfort you never knew you needed.