Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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Summary
The PreservationAux team is getting ready to start their survey. But first they need to review everything the Company has provided to them as part of their package.
Dr. Gurathin volunteers to check on the medications, figuring it will be faster for him. He doesn't anticipate how much it will bother him. Or how he will struggle with the ways being in the habitat will feel like being back in the Rim.
Everywhere in the habitat, he is being watched. They're all being watched.
And Gurathin will discover that he isn't the one who takes it the hardest.
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Set just before the start of All Systems Red / Murderbot Season 1. Minor spoilers for the show if you haven't watched it yet.A mix of book canon and show canon. The whole team of my beloveds are here.
Marked as complete for now, but I may add more chapters or turn this into a series.Too late. Already happening.*
Final Edit: Since I've made this the first part of a series now, I'm simplifying and updating the description here. Cheers!
Series
- Part 1 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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What wakes Dr. Gurathin isn't just a nightmare. It's a memory. A memory of who he was. What he did. One of the things that he will never allow himself to forget.
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Set a cycle or two after the third chapter of "Taking Stock". You don't need to have read that one to follow this one. And you really, really do not need to read this one to follow anything that comes after.
Mind the tags. Nothing is terribly explicit. More details in notes for those who want to read but avoid the sexual assault.
Series
- Part 2 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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Missing the Signs by Jack_Daw
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, Murderbot (TV)
23 Aug 2025
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Summary
It's a pleasant evening on the planet. The PreservationAux crew have another bonfire and just relax together.
Gurathin, as usual, feels like something is off.
He doesn't realize the problem is with him.
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Gurathin is going to have it rough.
As usual, this will make perfect sense even without reading any of the other parts.
Mind the tags. More details in note.
Series
- Part 3 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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Summary
The (mega)fauna attack, and its aftermath.
The SecUnit's behavior bothers Gurathin. Something just isn't adding up. He needs to know what's wrong with it.
Both Gurathin and the crew will soon realize they have way more problems than just some subterranean fauna.
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And we've reached the start of All Systems Red/Murderbot Season 1!For those who have only watched the show:
In the books, Bharadwaj gets attacked but it's Volescu in the crater with her, not Arada. I'm following the book version of canon here. The flow of events is pretty similar, but different.Series
- Part 4 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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Testing a Theory by Jack_Daw
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, Murderbot (TV)
26 Aug 2025
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Summary
Something or someone messed with the original survey package. The Company? Or the SecUnit?
Gurathin tries to figure out what's going on. And he wants to collect more evidence on the SecUnit's odd behavior so he can take his concerns to Mensah.
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If you have only read the book or only watched the show, this scene has minor spoilers for whichever one you're unfamiliar with. Details in notes.
Series
- Part 5 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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Searching for Answers by Jack_Daw
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, Murderbot (TV)
30 Aug 2025
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Summary
When they lose contact with the DeltFall Group, the crew decide that Mensah, Pin-Lee, Ratthi, and Overse will visit the site. The SecUnit will go with them. They have no idea what they're walking into, and will be gone for two or three days.
Bharadwaj, Volescu, Arada, and Gurathin are left behind at the habitat.
Gurathin spends the time until they return searching for answers.
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Set immediately after "Testing a Theory".Each chapter has an individual note at the start for any content notes/warnings.
All 3 are written and will be posted over the next couple of days.
Show fans: From here on, where there are differences, I'm moving almost entirely to book canon. (Except Leebeebee makes an appearance in the next work after this one, because I want her to.)
Series
- Part 6 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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After fleeing the massacre at DeltFall Group, the crew are left with emotional scars, a heavily damaged SecUnit, and even worse problems than before.
Gurathin is finally going to get the answers he's been looking for. But now the whole crew will be left with a bigger question: what comes next?
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This work covers the time in All Systems Red/Season 1 from when the crew return from the DeltFall Group site up to the point in the book where they flee their habitat. It follows immediately after "Searching for Answers" and is best read after those chapters.Mind the tags.
Additional details for self-harm at the start of the relevant chapter. If you have been reading this series since the first part then 1) Thank you very much! and 2) The self-harm in this work isn't like that. If it is something you want to skip, please read the chapter note when you get there.
Series
- Part 7 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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The Preservation crew have been targeted by an unknown enemy. Unless they can stay one step ahead until the Company arrives, they may never make it back to Preservation.
Then SecUnit comes up with a plan.
It's dangerous, and sounds improbable. But it may also be their best option.
Gurathin's role is integral to its success. He isn't afraid that he'll fail... but he's afraid that SecUnit might.
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This work covers the period from confronting GrayCris all the way to the very end of All Systems Red/Season 1.
Follows immediately after previous work.
Series
- Part 8 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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Summary
After SecUnit leaves, the PreservationAux crew are left behind on Port FreeCommerce. They'll have to deal with GrayCris, the Company, DeltFall Group, and all the fallout from the planetary survey.
Everyone just wants to go home to Preservation.
With little else to do, Gurathin puts his old skills to use.
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Set during the timeline of Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol. But contains spoilers for Exit Strategy because stuff happens that SecUnit doesn't learn about until book 4.
Series
- Part 9 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant
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Summary
Mensah is gone. Mensah is gone.
And Gurathin is desperate to get her back. No matter what it takes.
Even if it means delving back into everything he wanted to leave in the past...
Series
- Part 10 of Perceptive, Observant, Vigilant