Work Text:
Una exhaled sharply, her frustration barely contained. She had tried everything, absolutely everything she could think of here, but Nori's code was unlike anything she had ever seen before!
Hell, she’d never even heard of a code like this. It seemed to be full of so many contradictions and
It was mercilessly erasing sections of Khan's code, then twisting into a form that was completely incompatible with the UNN hardware. The implications were devastating: Nori would never be able to become a mother. And as Nori's doctor, it was Una's burden to deliver this crushing news.
Oh joy.
“Nori,” she began, her voice heavy with reluctance.
“So, what's the verdict, doc?” Nori beamed at her, an innocent and eager enthusiasm clear in her expression. “When can I take my new brat out of here?”
Una winced, her usual directness faltering under the weight of the situation. Some truths were just too brutal to face head-on, and telling someone who wanted a child she would never be a mother was right up there. “About that...there's something about your code that defies understanding.” Nori froze, her expression locking into an unreadable mask. Una pressed on, “I guess you know what I'm talking about.”
Nori stayed silent, her eyelights wide and empty, practically a void. “It's somehow stopping you from having a kid. Short of modifying an already mature code, and hoping that will serve as a good base to prevent the code from mutating too much and deleting Khan's code entirely.”
To her discontent, Nori remained motionless, the very picture of someone beaten down by life and was only existing right now. Una approached her cautiously, and finally, Nori moved, but her gaze was distant, fixed on something beyond; blankly staring forward. “Look, whatever that code is...it scares me. I have to report this, is there anything you can—ACK!” Nori's hand darted out with a speed too fast to belong to a mere Worker Drone and literally ripped Una's words from her mouth, removing her jaw.
Una staggered back, but Nori's oil-slicked hand shimmered with a bizarre holographic symbol, yanking her forward with an inexplicable force. "Khan wants a child more than anything, even more than I do," Nori murmured, her voice a chilling whisper. "I'm sorry, but I can't let him down."
And darkness swallowed Una whole.
Several hours later, a UNN blinked open her eyelights for the first time, and Nori gazed down at her with a soft smile. "There you go, and you have my color...good, I was worried I'd have to adjust those settings..." Her smile widened, a hint of triumph in her eyes. "Welcome, Uzi."
