Bonding was probably not going to happen on this trip. That was fine. We did not need to be friends with Nicoletta or Frederica. We only needed to keep them both alive as long as they were useful partners to us. That was all we needed. After that, it did not matter. Nicoletta certainly made it hard though. She had her military jeep and was keen on driving it. At most, only 2 could ride on my back. It was clear the better choice would be for all 3 to ride along with her. Because it was the logical thing to do, she could not disagree. However, it was not actually a good idea. Chase, Parker and Kyan had the emotional intelligence of children. Just like all young children on a really big road trip, they were extremely annoying. They continuously asked if we were there yet, demanded to listen to the radio, and reached around for all the guns hidden in the jeep. Nicoletta threatened to shoot them if they did not behave. The 3 AEP units did not like that. She had to stop the car so I could catch up and scold them. I was the clan engineer, so they had to listen to me. I told them to cut it out and ride quietly.
Nicoletta was thankfully able to continue driving without freaking out for the rest of the journey. Because we were in the desert, there was only one road. On either side of it was nothing but dust and cacti. Every so often, we spotted a few mechanical monsters. I told Nicoletta to stop the jeep. I thought that it was time for all of them to show us what they could do. Chase, being spawned by Claudette had the sonic organ in his chest and the water cannons in each of his arms. The nozzles poked out from his palms while the silver speaker jutted out from his sternum and took up his entire pectoral plane. Parker was spawned by Wendy and Kyan was brought into this world from Rosa's X-frame. The Sonic organ allowed them to create massive shockwaves to cause AOE damage to their enemies. Parker had the ability to charge the PEP and PEA units with his hands from a huge battery in his gut. Kyan could direct strikes of electric discharge from his hands. Kyan blasted water from his mouth. Parker did it from his chest. That was pretty cool. I thought they would do well here. I was right.
They made quick work of the monsters. It made them feel good to be able to fight things and win. Nicoletta also got to observe them in combat. All 3 of them were more serious and focused when taking out the creatures. They were all considered constructs, so they did not gain any exp. from combat. Still, being at level 65 was nothing to scoff at. A few more appeared, but they were even weaker. Once they were killed, we moved on. We thankfully got there before nightfall. It was a small compound where humans and PEP units lived together. It was named after Void Clan. Apparently, the compound was made by bandits that were hiding there. They had no clue what was under them. When Void Clan arrived, they made peace and convinced them to stop crime and share the are with humans in need. How they did this was not really ever mentioned. There was an electrified fence where the monsters were not allowed to get past. Inside, the humans and cyborgs were peaceful. They were the outcasts of a society that did not see the worth in honest human work or potential. It was very sad.
