Heavy hangs the head
By Chaos Blackwing

 “Someone make sure that the fire on the second floor is safely contained. Barkly, make sure everyone who was evacuated is checked for smoke inhalation or other injuries. Mark, the window over there seems to have a bit more smoke coming out of it than I’d like, check it out, and if need be we’ll douse it again.”

With the fire mostly dealt with at this point, I took a moment to catch my breath. It had been touch-and-go for a bit there when we arrived, apartment fires are never fun, but it looked like my team had pulled through again, with everyone safe and the fire almost out. Half hour or so and we’d probably be able to head back to the station.

It felt strange sometimes, standing back and directing my team rather than being in the thick of it myself, almost making me feel more like a manager in an office rather than a firefighter, but all told the others were far more suited to carrying out the heavy lifting parts of the job, and more than once since A-Day they’d thanked me for the steady guidance I provided, allowing them to focus on their individual tasks without having to worry about the others or what they might be missing in the hectic running around.

That said, if I ever found out what nutjob thought it would be funny to make firefighting ‘bots look like dalmatians...

**

When Anibots(or, ‘Awakened’ as they now preferred to be called) were first introduced, their main use were in areas considered too dangerous for humans, or in jobs where there was a high risk of injury. One of the affected professions was that of firefighter, which quickly transitioned from teams of vulnerable humans, to teams consisting of specially crafted anibots, built to withstand high temperatures and with increased strength to better clear obstacles preventing people from escaping a burning building. 

However, while the ‘bots were far more physically capable, when it came to making snap decisions and judgment calls on scene, it was found that an experienced human firefighter tended to be much more effective. As a result, most teams were composed of a human leader who would oversee and direct the robotic members of the team, usually half a dozen anibots. In this way the firefighters had the best of both worlds, with the durability and strength of specialty built ‘bots, and the knowledge and decision-making abilities of their human leader.

**

As the truck pulled into the station, with Mark driving, I was just wrapping up the incident report, and was looking forward to a night of relaxation to balance out such a frantic afternoon. Even though my team did most of the work, between coordinating half a dozen people, keeping track of the fire to make sure any flare ups were put out as quick as possible, and making sure the civilians were evacuated and treated, I was beat, mentally exhausted even if the rest of my body was still fine.

Shaking my head to clear it, I shut down the portable terminal and carefully climbed out of the truck, where I was met by two of my team, Geris and Calik, the rest apparently having gone on ahead without us. With the grins the two were sporting, I had a pretty good feeling what came next, and with a soundless nod I handed the terminal to Calik, as Geris reached over and drew me close before giving me a nice hug, brushing a hand softly down the back of my head as he smiled down at me.

“Come on Pup, it’s our turn this time. You’ve got a pair of dogs in need of pampering, and a shower waiting, so let’s head off shall we?”

A smile on my face, I merely nodded mutely as we headed off towards the bathrooms, my mind wandering back to the first time this happened as I was guided along.

**

The first time... to say it was a surprise would be something of an understatement. I’d been working with the team for close to four years at that point, though most of that was when they were simple ‘bots, and it had only been two months since they’d ‘Awoken’ as they liked to say. 

Luckily for all of us the transition was a pretty smooth one, though I am told I looked like someone had snuck up behind me and clocked me with a 2x4 when I walked into the commons room one day to find the rest of them chatting away as though they always had. By that point I’d gotten into the habit of addressing them as people anyway(a common enough occurrence I’m told for those that work closely with ‘bots), so having them start to talk back wasn’t too much of a stretch, and as we all enjoyed our work, sticking together was pretty much a given.

Anyway, apparently the team had been chatting off and on regarding me for a bit, and had come to a few decisions. One night, after a particularly stressful fire, they asked that I come to the commons area for a little chat. Not sure what to expect, I was surprised when it turned out to be an intervention of sorts. 

The job of firefighter team leader had a very high attrition rate, with few lasting for longer than 10 years, and it was believed to be primarily due to the high stress caused by one person being responsible for the lives of those they were tasked with saving, knowing that a wrong decision or poor judgment could very well lead to deaths, with no-one to blame but themselves. For one person to shoulder that sort of responsibility, day in and day out, with lives on the line... it was enough to break anyone given enough time.

The team was apparently quite aware of this, and having started to see the signs of burn out in me, had discussed the matter between themselves until they thought they had come up with a viable solution. If the stress of constantly being responsible for the lives of others was too much to bear, then they would relieve me of it, leaving me responsible for nothing, even if only for a time.

Their proposal was simple. Out on the job, or when handling official business, nothing would change. I would still be the one making the calls, providing guidance and directing the others, and they would follow and obey me as had always been the case. Between jobs however they would be the ones in charge, directing my actions in the same way I directed theirs, leaving me in a similar position of having to worry about nothing more than following orders.

Though naturally hesitant at first, I had to admit that it was tempting. To let someone else worry about everything for a while, to not have to be constantly thinking about how one wrong call could cost someone their life... the idea certainly had it’s allure. In the end it was the concern from the team that convinced me, as it was clear they were worried about me, and I just didn’t have it in me to tell them no in the face of such an earnest desire to help.

Though I may have been unsure of how effective their idea would be originally, that first time more than convinced me. By the time the next call came, I was more relaxed than I had been in years, and I was able to handle the fire much better as a result. Between the reprieve from responsibility and the stress it brought, the increased effectiveness at my job, and the boost in morale for the team, when they asked if I wanted to make the change permanent, it wasn’t even a choice.

Leader on the job, follower while at rest, and none of us have ever been happier. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a pair of soot covered dogs in need of washing and grooming.