Save the Day Program, once again. (Gundam IBO/Satisfactory SI): Chapter 13

Akihiro Altland walked the halls of FICSIT Inc. with a purpose, following behind his recently made friend, Orga Istuka, and Mikazuki Augus, as they were the oldest among the children who had yet to reach the age of majority.

As they would be declared adults within a matter of months, the woman known as Ada had called them to the CEO's office to discuss their future goals, something that the boys in question had not even imagined would ever be asked of them, given their status as Human Debris.

Yet another anomaly in their lives in the past few months since they were brought into FICSIT, just like with the rest of the Human Debris.

Truthfully speaking, the Human Debris were a paranoid bunch, always waiting for the other shoe to drop and show them once again that they should never trust adults or corporations. That they should never trust anyone but themselves.

However, as days turned to weeks, and then into months, none of their fears ever came true.

The older ones, those who were already adults, were given safe and stable jobs in the company, where they piloted the strangely humanoid machines that the company dared to call Mobile Workers, and the normal-looking Flat-bed Mobile Workers, without using their Alya-Vijnana systems, while others worked as assembly line workers, even though most of the process was automated and only required humans to scan the labels before the products are put in storage.

Some of them who knew how to read and write, or those who came from an educated background before becoming slaves, were given other jobs, such as logistics, administration, catalogue management, and other such things which required skilled labour.

And even while employed, these young adults and teenagers are also forced into attending classes hosted by Ms. Ada twice every week, teaching them all kinds of things from engineering to IT, to Law, to Biology, and everything in between.

According to her words, she was making sure that her employees would be a cut above the rest and would learn to grow in their career paths, and benefit the company.

It was left unsaid that those that could read had already gone through the contracts given to them and found no clause in it that bound them permanently to the company, which meant that all this knowledge being taught to them could easily be used by these children to go somewhere else and could easily prove to be a detriment to FICSIT.

And yet, she taught them this knowledge nonetheless, for which the children could only feel grateful.

Of course, not all jobs could be done by human debris alone since there were some positions in companies that required highly skilled personnel, such as lawyers, PR, HR departments, marketing, and maintenance.

Such positions were often filled in by civilians from the nearby city of Chryse.

Originally, the human debris children had expected these civilians to be disgusted by the ‘Space Rats’ working in their company and treat them in the same way their previous owners treated them, despite the company’s CEO being a kind man, according to the older kids.

Yet, once again, FICSIT proved them wrong.

During the various interviews being conducted on a daily basis to fill up those positions, there were a few, but noticeable number of people who held disgust towards the Human Debris and gave the children bad looks.

Unfortunately for these people, Ada Monica always had eyes on everyone somehow and easily spotted these kinds of people.

Akihiro could not help but chuckle as he remembered the tongue lashing that the Second in Command somehow managed to deliver in her usual bland tone, making those prejudiced people leave the compound in either tears or in cuffs as they escalated to violence and end up getting thrown out.

And all of this was just for the adults of the group.

For children who had yet to enter the double digits or those who can barely be called teenagers, they were sponsored into reputed schools and educational institutions in Chryse, giving them the opportunity to grow and become whatever they wished to be.

Despite Ms. Ada’s insistence that this was all an investment and that she was just focusing on training her future employees, Akihiro and his friends knew the truth.

Ada Monica was a kind woman who looked at them as humans, as children, and treated them as such. And just like her, her boss, their boss, the man known as David Thornton, who allows Ms. Ada to do such things with company money, was also a kind man.

Even his brother, who had only ever known hardship since they were separated and had come to see the world in a very cynical way, liked the woman and admitted in private that she felt very warm, like their mother did when their parents were still alive.

That is why Akihiro, Olga, and the rest of his peers had long since made up their minds.

Even though they are not being treated like slaves, even though they are being given the opportunity to study and grow up to become whatever they want, even though the doors to freedom have been opened for them.

All of them would still dedicate their lives to FICSIT, to Mr. Thornton and Ms. Ada.

They will do whatever they can to become useful for their saviours, and become loyal members of their company, helping it grow and become so powerful that none would dare challenge them.

This vision was one that all the children shared, even the young adults who were already employed in FICSIT in one way or another.

Soon, the children made their way to the door that had a newly made plaque installed, identifying it as the office of the CEO.

Olga knocked rather loudly at the door, a force of habit, which he tried to catch, but it was too late.

However, unlike what they would have experienced at CGS, where the First Group would beat them up for knocking so loudly, they received no such punishment.

Only the calm voice of the man inside rang out.

“Come in.”

Unlike how he appears to them most of the time, wearing a strange jumpsuit that looked very advanced, he was dressed in a proper business suit, letting his short black hair and deep black eyes be seen by everyone.

His rugged face, which spoke of hard work, just like with Ms. Ada, was rather handsome and was very popular in the local city, according to what Akihiro and the rest of the children had overheard during their commute to the city for one reason or another.

But even the harsh and chiselled look of his face could not hide the warmth in his eyes as he looked at them, making the children straighten up a little bit on reflex.

“Ah! You three are finally here. Come, sit down. Ada has bought some fine food for you all from the city.”

“Incorrect statement, Administrator. I bought the items to test their quality and see if they are worth the credit. Now that my curiosity has been sated, it makes sense not to waste them and give them to the children.”

Mr. David simply smiled at the stoic woman who continued staring at him blankly before shaking his head and motioning the children to sit down.

The first to move was, as usual, Mikazuki, who moved forward, sat down, took a slice of the cake without a fork, and started eating it straight away.

However, the moment he did, Ms. Ada’s blank gaze fell on him, making the teenager straighten up on reflex.

“Mr. Augus, it would seem our sessions on table manners have not worked. That simply won’t do for a prospective employee of this company. Maybe I should increase the length of our classes?”

“……Annoying.”

“You mean to say that table manners are an annoyance?”

Mikazuki simply nodded and continued eating as Olga sighed in exasperation, making Akihiro just watch the show with a smirk.

The woman’s eyes narrowed just a tiny bit at the boy’s affirmation.

“I see. In that case, I would ask you a question. What do you find more annoying? Table manners? Or staying still on your bed for 24 hours straight?”

That seems to have put the fear of god in the poor boy as he slowly put the cake, or what was left of it, back on the plate, cleaned his hands with a nearby tissue, picked up the plate and fork, and started eating as Ms. Ada had taught them.

This time, Akihiro could not help but snicker as Olga sighed while leaning back into the seat.

Watching the show, Mr. David also chuckled at the back and forth before leaning forward and putting his head in his palms.

“While I enjoy the comedy show, I still need to know what you children have thought about what I said last time. Have you three given any thought on what you want to do now that you are approaching your 14th birthday, which is the age of majority on Mars? Any ambitions, any career ideas? Do you want to go to the local college? Or maybe attend the pilot school? Anything?”

Mikazuki Augus just looked up from his cake and pointed at Mr. David, making the older man give the boy a confused look before Ms. Ada interpreted his actions.

“It would appear that Mr. Augus has decided to stay at FICSIT Inc. for the time being.”

Again, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“While your dedication is appreciated, Mr. Augus, we are not asking you about your living arrangements, we are asking about your future goals. Do you wish to study further? Do you wish to go for higher education? Do you wish to attend a Pilot school or any other career-related institutions? Things like that.”

This time, Mikazuki simply shrugged and pointed at Olga, who once again sighed heavily.

“We have thought about it. Mikazuki has no opinion and says that he will follow me and Mr. David wherever we go. I think I want to go for higher education. What about you? Akihiro?”

“Same.”

This time, Ms. Ada nodded and immediately started using the datapad, doing whatever she does as the second in command, while Mr. David looked at them with interest.

“Oh? What field are you going to pursue once you pass the test?”

Olga looked the older man straight in the eye and answered with as much confidence as he could muster.

“I want to go for political science.”

“Hmm, I see. You want to change how things work?”

“Yes.”

The man and the teenager communicated through their eyes with very few words, understanding exactly what the other wanted to do, making Mr. David smirk while his eyes held a strange sense of pride.

“Good. You have the heart. All you need is the knowledge. Ada?”

“Already done while you two were carrying out your strange ritual. Was that the so-called ‘men being men’? That I keep hearing about from the female employees?”

“….Perhaps, we should discuss such things at a later point? When the children are not present?”

“Acknowledged.”

This time, the children could only snicker quietly at the older man’s exasperated look.

This comfortable atmosphere, like they were all the same, like they were one big family, was the reason why all the children felt that these two adults were different from the rest. That they were trustworthy, and that they truly did care about their well-being.

Akihiro smiled as Mr. David turned towards him.

“I want to go to pilot school. Specifically, Mobile Suits.”

The man nodded at his words.

“Makes sense. Your preliminary tests that Ada conducted did show that you had a higher aptitude for that field compared to others.”

He turned towards Mikazuki and smiled with amusement.

“Something tells me you are not going to go into politics with Olga, eh? Mikazuki?”

“………..No.”

“Then? What are you interested in?”

“…….Mobile Suits.”

“You want to create mobile suits?”

Mikazuki shook his head.

“You want to pilot them?”

This time, he nodded.

“Why?”

“……..Fun.”

David Thornton stared blankly at the boy for a few seconds before he burst out with laughter. However, it was not one filled with derision or mocking, but one filled with amusement and warmth.

“Is that right? Then, I guess you and I have something in common-“

“Which is why you will go to a proper Piloting school, Mr. Augus, before I allow you within the vicinity of a Mobile Suit. This company cannot handle the loss of another Mobile Suit because someone unqualified wanted to take it for fun, or a ‘Joyride’ as people put it.”

“…..One time, it was one time.”

“One time too many, Administrator.”

Mikazuki blankly stared at the back and forth between the adults and simply shrugged, going back to his cake while the other two children stared with a fond look.

‘Yes. This place, this family, I’ll protect it this time around. I will not lose them because I am weak like last time.’

That evening, the three children quietly left the room and back to their rather lavish quarters, leaving the two bickering adults to whatever it is they do.