'The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.' Aubrey has re-thought her father's words ever since he introduced the theory to her so many years ago. But no matter how much time had passed, no matter how thick her patience grew, no matter the amount of lives lost, war was hell. Aubrey shook the cordial compassion thoughts aside, "Must be a glitch in my new update." She mumbled entering the Command Bridge.
"Captain on Deck!" A Petty Officer announced bringing full attention to the bridge.
Aubrey saluted, "At ease." The bridge returned to work and Aubrey went to her father's office. The Supreme leader of his people and the Commander of the deadliest fighting organization in the galaxy, Commander Posen.
"Ah Captain, just the person I wanted to see." Commander Posen spoke gesturing for his partial cyborg daughter to sit. "How is the new chip doing?" The chip in question was Aubrey's Biochip installed into her. The updated version was installed into most officers, Aubrey was no exception.
Officers in the Army were born human only and to compliment the human like android soldiers they amassed through interstellar domain, (stripping other worlds of their technology and resources for their own survival and gain), it was found best to have the leaders be fitted with chips and exo-suits to communicate and assist their android soldiers. Only Supreme Leader Posen, the High Council and pity bottom dwellers not worth the technology were chip free.
"Excellent so far Commander. The instinct processing time is much faster than the last chip." Aubrey replied with her generic cyborg vocabulary instilled into her.
"Perfect. I was worried that with the new chip there would be…glitches. So far we've only had to reset 4 deviants."
"I assure you Commander, this is the best chip yet." The commander nodded and continued with the task at hand.
"Alright Aubrey here it is. We've lost contact with are scout on Romulus 3, the far moon of Drexel Prime. His mission was to scout a potential new home base that we could strip and resupply on. With our drilling speed so slow, we will need a place we can stay on for some time so we can resupply. As you know, Romulus 3 is in Shroedien occupied territory, birthplace of this pity rebellion against our cause. However, we do know that the rebellion has moved out of the region and further into the galaxy."
"So what is it Commander that you seek from me?" Aubrey asked instinctually.
"You are the best of the best. I want you to go ahead and find out what happened to the scout on Romulus 3 and report back to me for further instruction. Although the rebels have moved on, I still feel there is a threat on Romulus and we need to take it out. Several ships have escaped our blockades surrounding the Shroedien Rim. Smugglers most likely coming from deep on Romulus 3."
"Yes Commander, it will be done." Aubrey stood, bowed and prepped herself for the interstellar trip to Drexel Prime. Kicking in her warp drive and darting through Alexus GL6, (the largest wormhole known in the outer territory) Aubrey arrived at Drexel Prime 2 hours later.
Darting around the large planet formerly known as 'The Birthplace of The Rebellion', Aubrey flew around and made her descent upon Romulus 3. Aubrey had no idea what to expect once her boots hit the ground, she was no longer protected by her own. She was behind enemy lines on a moon she had no intel about. There was still a threat, although the rebels were in their own civil war, Aubrey was far from her world of Asus Farr. No matter where she went, she would be a huge target.
Aubrey surveyed her surroundings. Using her cyborg abilities, she took samples of the air, potential threats, temperature, atmosphere and scanned for potential life. Romulus 3 was a dense tropical moon filled with luscious vegetation and water. The warm atmosphere felt perfect to Aubrey. The soil was fertile, and the organic life was filling. Aubrey took her notes and stored them into her bionic database before continuing.
Aubrey continued through the dense vegetation for hours before coming to the scouts LZ. His drop ship had been stripped and all useable parts were scavenged. It had been abandoned for some time. With no other lead and the sun setting, Aubrey set up camp to review her notes.
Before she shut herself down into rest mode, she contacted her mothership,
"Ah Aubrey, have you found our scout yet?" Commander Posen spoke standing on his hologram tile.
Aubrey held her communicator in her hand taking in the sight of her Hologram father,
"No commander. I have made it to his LZ. His ship has been dismantled and by the looks of it, its been that way for a while."
"So there are potential hostiles? That must explain why the scout has gone missing."
"Yes sir. I plan to look over the ship for signs and the surrounding areas. His mission log stated he was to go north and search the badlands for resources. I will head north in the morning." Aubrey stated.
The Commander nodded in agreement, "Ok Captain. Be careful and check back in with me tomorrow."
And with that, Aubrey put her communicator away and shut herself down into rest mode trying to gain a healthy start for tomorrow.
…
Aubrey's internal clock woke her up at dawn. Feeling rejuvenated and ready for her search, Aubrey looked over the decimated ship before heading north. There was very little left of the ship, most components from the switches to the outer shell had been removed. All the wires and the fuel from the tank had been removed. Even the engine had been removed. Someone sure had a field day on this ship, but who?
After seeing nothing that could assist her, Aubrey turned her attention to the north. Gaining a high vantage point, Aubrey could see the badlands, where the scout was sent to search for resources. It was going to take the rest of the day to reach her destination, but she didn't mind. Once her objective was set into her programming, she was unstoppable.
The Captain took notes of the landscape. Trees were plentiful, they looked as if they could reach the sky. Crystal clear streams flowed through the valley and Aubrey followed them down the mountain into the mineral rich fields that were the badlands.
With no sign of the scout, she assumed the worst and reported back to her father,
"Message for Commander Posen please," Aubrey asked her father's assistant.
"Sure thing Captain." She replied.
"I have reached the Badlands with no trace of the scout. I will presume his role and finish the job and report my findings back to Command."
After setting up her camp, Aubrey got to work. She spent the next 3 days scattered across the badlands setting up probes for her research. She set up moisture vaparators to pull the moisture from the air. This would allow her to filter and clean the water for proper use, adding her own chemicals to it so that she wouldn't get sick. She had admired her work and tomorrow she would return to collect her data.
Returning to camp and cooking her dinner, Aubrey star gazed up into the night-time sky, taking in her potential new home and outpost. It sure was beautiful, and she wouldn't mind spending time here. One thing nagged at her however. She has been all across this region and in the 5 days she's been here, not one sign of any humanoid activity. She took her thoughts to bed and she curled up into her tent, and decided not to completely shut down, but instead go into low power mode.
Branches breaking around her tent in the middle of the night was not what Aubrey wanted to hear. She sat up and turned her hearing up as she adjusted her eyes to see through the canvas. Sure enough, there were 3 humanoid creatures poking around her campsite, ravaging though anything they could get their hands on. Aubrey stayed put and had her gun by her side in any event they wanted to check inside her tent. But as quickly as they came, they were gone, and Aubrey was blown away by the encounter.
She only hoped she could find were they came from but for now, she went back into sleep and prepared herself for the next day. She collected her probes and water she collected and returned to camp. She plugged herself into each probe and sent the results to the command ship. This planet was full of titanium, iron, gold and Pentaxid, (crystals used to power their Warp drive engines). Large reservoirs of Riaxor Gas filled the planet beneath the surface. Riaxor gas was highly sought after for Asus Farr. It was the most powerful gas found in the galaxy and it was used in guns to help them fire. This scouting mission was a success and Aubrey began her trek back to her dropship. Upon arrival, it to was stripped apart, much like the scouts.
With no way off the planet, Aubrey began to search for the culprits. Luckily, she could still see foot prints heading off to the east, so that's where she went. And what she found was extraordinary. A small village with people! Actual people. They were odd acting, dressed poorly and were small brittle looking humans. They lived in huts and tents and Aubrey scanned the village and found no sign of any technology at all.
"Commander I've made contact with humans on Romulus 3." Aubrey spoke.
"Interesting. Hostility level?"
"0. They appear to be very primitive people. Much like the early civilizations found on Earth. No technology to be seen."
"Good. With your data, we will be arriving on Romulus in 10 days. Commander Posen out."
Having been occupied, Aubrey was unaware that she was spotted, her exo suit glaring away and the villagers sneaking up on her. Being excellent hunter/gatherers, Aubrey never heard them so all she felt was a thud against her skull, temporarily knocking her out. Her computer shut down and she was taken into custody.
Aubrey came to in a dark tent, hands and feet tied and several wild-eyed natives looking her over. A man had entered and quickly grabbed Aubrey's attention,
"Captain Posen from Asus Farr. So nice of you to come looking for me."
It hit Aubrey as soon as he said it, "You're the scout that has gone missing?"
"Yes the very same."
"Why are you with these people?"
"After I came to Romulus 3 and started my research, I stumbled across these people and I realized this is where I'm supposed to be."
"You abandoned your duty and defected to the natives, you deviant scum!" Aubrey hissed. "I will have you reset and put back into service you deviant."
"You can't! The man said threatened. "You leave me no choice." The former scout reached into a bag and pulled out an extractor, inching closer to Aubrey.
"Get away from me deviant!" Aubrey yelled trying to kick away the scout.
"Shhh Captain. I am freeing you of your chip. You'll see how wonderful life is here without having to rely or answer to others."
Without her chip Aubrey would be considered a deviant. And that was unacceptable. She couldn't function without her chip, it was her lifeline, "Why are you doing this!" She cried.
"I'm someone here Aubrey. Look around you, these people need guidance and I can provide that. This life is amazing, and I feel important here." He said gripping the chip and ripping it out sending Aubrey into a restart mode. She has never been a full human for more than 5 minutes; her biochip was everything to her.