Null Protocol || Ramattra x Reader

Chapter Twenty-Three

Laylani looked between Ramattra and (Y/n) before reaching out to fix the Hawaiian lei around his neck. "You might need to convince Darius of that, but we both know why she's here."

He leveled his chilly stare on her but she didn't back down like she knew he'd never hurt her, barely acknowledging the sneer that left his voicebox. "You are pushing your luck, Laylani..."

"Why am I here?" (Y/n) directed the question at Laylani, and the small omnic turned to face her with a soft, airy laugh.

"It's more than just your mechanic prowess. He's been keeping an eye on you ever since you two left the cave, and I think-"

"That is enough from you," Ramattra cut her off. "Human, with me." He marched towards the doorway and (Y/n) quickly followed after him, glancing back at the small, amused omnic as she faced the screen with the omnics under Null Sector's control. She reached out to tap something on the keypad in front of her when (Y/n) rounded the corner.

"She seems nice," the girl said when the two of them were out of earshot, earning disgruntled acknowledgement from the Ravager.

"She has a talent for unearthing information which she should not be privy to," came out in a grumble before his unenthusiastic admission of, "It is why she is here."

"So she can keep an eye on the omnics you mind controlled or whatever?" She could feel his scowl without seeing the angry glint in the pinpricks of light behind his face plate.

"You know nothing about which you speak."

"You ain't liberating omnics, Ram. You're putting those poor folks in a prison of your own making instead."

"I cannot stand aside while they let themselves fall victim to what your kind does. We will die out if this continues, human, and that you will never understand."

It took her a couple moments to think of something to say, and when she did, she spoke them into his back slowly. "I ain't sure what the right solution is, but I do know that you're taking this too far. I thought the line you wasn't gonna dare cross was hurting your own people." Fixing human/omnic relations wasn't one that could be solved overnight – it had too many layers and too much jaded history on both sides – but he had to understand he was crossing lines he'd once deemed too far, and that was a slippery slope.

He scoffed. "I have never once sought to harm them."

She rose an eyebrow at his back. "Then what is it you're doing to them right now?"

"Liberating them." But even as he said it, his voice strong and resolute, he didn't glance back at her. So she said nothing else as he led her through the winding, maze-like halls of the ship, the uncomfortable tension between them stifling enough that she didn't bother trying to break it – what could she say that she hadn't already?

They eventually ended up in what appeared to be the mechanic bay – tools of all kinds were lined up along the wall and in cupboards, her toolkit she'd brought with her resting on a bench. In a corner was a robot who stood with its hands on its belt buckle as its lone yellow eye light rested on her, and she squirmed at the sheer resemblance to Darius.

"This is a C-455 Sharpshooter," Ramattra explained, and her eyes drifted down to the revolver in the holster at its hip. "It will watch over you while I am not around to ensure Darius does not act against you." Even sounding thoroughly pissed off with her, he was doing his utmost to keep her safe. It almost warmed her heart.

"I reckon you succeeded in making yourself a certified American cowboy," she commented, pointing to the poncho and cowboy hat. Its metal was a purplish black, the poncho was a greyish green, and it had spurs on its heels and a big iron on its hip – all it was missing was a cigar.