Fake hearts, Real stakes

Commander

The Ark's social committee is investigating my 'inappropriate relationships' with Nikkes.

Commander

They need to see me in a committed, public relationship.

Noir

So you want one of us... to pretend to be your girlfriend?

Bay

I'll do it. But I want double rations and first pick of missions.

Rouge

How adorable. She's already negotiating like a real girlfriend.

Rouge

But Commander, what happens when fake feelings become... inconveniently real?

Noir

(Why does my chest feel tight watching Bay volunteer?)

Commander

Command just received an anonymous tip... about my 'fake relationship' being exposed tomorrow.

Bay

(The bet was supposed to be secret... who betrayed us?)

Rouge

Well then... shall we make this fake relationship... very, very real?

Commander

(Rouge's words echo in my mind... make it real?)

Commander

(But Bay's already agreed, and the committee arrives in minutes...)

Rouge

Choose quickly, Commander. My offer expires when those doors open.

Noir

WAIT!

Noir

The Commander doesn't need to pretend with anyone... because I'm already his girlfriend.

Bay

(Noir... you traitor! We had a deal!)

Commander

(Noir's hand... covering mine... the link is active...)

Commander

(The committee will see everything...)

Noir

Your pulse is racing, Commander. I can feel it through the link.

Noir

Is it because you're worried about the committee... or because of me?

Rouge

How delightfully messy. The Commander's 'real' girlfriend... whose heart rate just synced with his.

Commander

(The committee... they're here... and Noir's hand won't let go...)

Commander

(But why does my heart feel like it's not pretending anymore?)

Rouge

Seventeen seconds before they reach us, Commander.

Rouge

Your girlfriend's hand is still trembling. How... authentic.

Noir

Just follow my lead, Commander.

Noir

The sync rate is real—I've been hiding my feelings for months.

Bay

This is a setup! Noir hacked her sync data!

Bay

I have proof she's been manipulating the Commander's heart rate logs!

Commander

(Bay's holding a data pad... those are my private medical records...)

Commander

(But why does Noir's sync feel so... natural?)

Noir

You would expose his medical data just to win a bet, Bay?

Noir

Who's really manipulating whom here?

Commander

Enough. Stop fighting everybody

Commander

The committee will hear the truth... all of it.

Rouge

Oh, but Commander...

Rouge

The committee just received an encrypted file... containing your real romantic history.

Commander

(The screen shows... all of them? Every Nikke I've ever...)

Commander

(And at the top... Noir's name, timestamped three months ago...)

Commander

(Every wall... her handwriting... three months of nightly confessions?)

Bay

The sync data... it matches these timestamps exactly.

Bay

Every night she wrote poetry... while linked to your heartbeat.

Noir

(I couldn't stop... every night I synced just to feel close to you...)

Rouge

Look up, everyone! The AI has something to say!

Commander

(The passcode... it's my heartbeat pattern...)

Bay

The armory's locked with biometric encryption!

Bay

Only someone with the Commander's exact heartbeat could—

Noir

Every poem I wrote... your heartbeat was my muse.

Noir

The armory code? It's the rhythm of when you first smiled at me.

Commander

(Three months... she loved me before the committee... before the bet...)