Bunker, Commander's Room.
"Damn it, if I had known, I would have prepared some other clothes."
Commander White muttered to herself in frustration as she looked at the row of identical white outfits in her wardrobe.
As the Commander, she naturally couldn't have only one outfit, but the entire row of white clothes was exactly the same, with no difference at all.
This meant she didn't even have a more suitable outfit to wear for an audience with a human; they were all uniform Commander's outfits.
In the end, White changed into a brand-new Commander's outfit; she couldn't exactly go for an audience wearing combat gear.
"I hope the Human Lord will like it."
Looking at herself in the mirror, White murmured to herself. To be fair, her Commander's outfit wasn't actually that solemn or formal; upon closer inspection, it was quite sexy.
The Commander's outfit was similar to the long-sleeved cheongsams humans used to wear, except the slits on the sides were extremely high, reaching up to her waist and exposing her entire thighs and sides.
She also wore over-the-knee boots that matched the outfit. The boots hugged her thighs tightly, accentuating their shapeliness. Since it was artificial skin, both the smoothness and softness were top-tier.
After carefully tidying her appearance, White patted her high chest, steadying her nerves which were frayed by the prospect of meeting a human.
After tossing her discarded clothes into a corner, she stepped out of the room with steady strides. However, before she could go far, a group of combat-type Androids suddenly blocked her path in the hallway.
"Um, Commander... are you going to see the Human Lord? Do you need some guards?"
A red-haired combat-type Android spoke up somewhat shyly. The initial hair color of all YoRHa Androids was white, but there were no rules against dyeing it, so YoRHa Androids with other hair colors existed.
Hearing this, the Commander noticed that almost all the combat-type Androids were gathered in the hallway in small groups.
They all looked in her direction with hopeful expressions, seemingly waiting for her final answer.
"You guys..." White shook her head with a chuckle, not using her authority as Commander to make them all leave.
The core programming of YoRHa Androids was no longer just about "protecting humans," but a more profound "loving humans." Therefore, compared to ordinary Androids, YoRHa Androids yearned even more to see a human, the object of their devotion.
With such an opportunity right before them, it would be a complete lie to say they weren't tempted.
Even though White understood them, she couldn't possibly let all of them descend to Earth at once. Thus, White pointed randomly and said:
"The combat types I point to will accompany me as guards. The rest of you, stay on standby at the Bunker."
"Yay!!"
"Oooooh—!"
"No 'yay'ing!"
"Wuwuwu... why wasn't I standing in that spot just now? You're not allowed to be happy! No 'yay'ing!"
At that moment, those who were chosen jumped for joy, their hands raised in delight, while those who weren't wailed in despair, their eyes turning red with envy.
The scene perfectly illustrated that human joys and sorrows are not shared, and the same held true for Androids.
White left the hallway with several flushed Androids, leaving behind a group of envious and jealous ones.
A moment later, the group arrived at the flight deck. There were over a dozen flight units on the launch pads. These flight units were extremely expensive to manufacture, so the Bunker did not have many in reserve.
The Bunker wasn't the only space base. Besides them, many other Androids needed flight units, and since their destruction rate was extremely high, they were always in short supply.
The Androids in charge of logistics were somewhat surprised to see the Commander there; after all, as the Commander of the entire Bunker, she usually stayed in the Command Room.
Before the logistics Androids could walk over to ask what the Commander was there for, the Commander and her group had already boarded the flight units.
Then, several flight units ignited their thrusters and left the Bunker, flying toward Earth.
Only then did the logistics Androids react. They looked at each other in disbelief.
"Did the Commander run away?"
"Did the Commander defect?"
"Did the Commander elope?"
"???"
The group of Androids looked strangely at the one who mentioned eloping. Being stared at like that, that Android gave an embarrassed smile.
"I... I was just saying. We should go ask the Operator models."
Operator model Androids basically never left the Command Room, and they were the largest gossip group, so asking them was definitely the right move.
Setting aside the gossip spreading through the Bunker after the Commander's departure, the Commander's side had already reached Earth's atmosphere.
The atmosphere was the most dangerous area above Earth.
This danger wasn't because the atmosphere itself would have any negative effects on Androids, but because the Machine Lifeforms' anti-air defenses were primarily concentrated in this region.
In past descent operations, members were lost near the atmosphere almost every single time. The Machine Lifeforms' anti-air capabilities had always been superior to those of the Androids.
Whether it was flying Machine Lifeforms or massive amounts of laser weaponry, they were all factors hindering their descent operations.
Even members of the YoRHa Unit would suffer casualties when facing these obstacles.
However, the YoRHa Unit was different from ordinary Androids; they could upload their data and information at any time, which was equivalent to backing up their memories for rebirth—a privilege ordinary Androids didn't have.
The Commander, who was not a YoRHa model, would face true death if she were shot down here.
So, the Commander was terrified throughout the flight, deeply afraid that she would die on the way before even seeing the human's face.
But perhaps they were lucky, as they didn't encounter any laser barrages during this flight, nor did they even run into any Machine Lifeforms.
The Commander couldn't help but inwardly thank the human for protection.
The flight units weren't slow, so the Commander and her group reached the surface in less than half a day.
Flight units usually landed on ruined skyscrapers for easy takeoff later, but in order to see the human as soon as possible, the Commander flew directly toward the Resistance Army camp.
However, she still maintained some level of sanity and didn't fly directly into the camp for a crash landing.
She landed on a ruined skyscraper surrounding the camp, and the others following her landed on the rooftop as well.
After getting off the flight units, the Commander and the others didn't even bother with the stairs; they simply grabbed their pods and descended from the sky.
pods could help Androids land safely from high altitudes, so generally speaking, Androids wouldn't suffer fall damage.
They were much stronger than a certain Witcher who would die from falling off a second floor.
Of course, even if they jumped straight from the rooftop, their bodies wouldn't be completely scrapped; at most, they would suffer some damage. After all, they were three-hundred-pound Androids, so their fall protection must have been meticulously engineered.
Then, a group of people at the Resistance Army camp watched in stunned silence as another group descended from the sky.
A2 almost couldn't maintain her expression. Was this still the cold and heartless Commander she knew?
A2 fell into confusion once again.
Just a quick rant: I still can't get used to the combat controls in FF7, it's so hard. Also, the game's guidance is terrible; doing a side quest is killing me, I can't find anything without a guide.