"Testing is now underway for the Advanced Tactical Mobile Suit, Cyberian-TAC, version 6.01. We are at the Facility's outpost base in Neon City. How are you feeling, Cadet?"
You look at your reflection in the mirror. Thick plates of black armor and neon strips cover your entire body. Arrays of blinking lights inside the helmet inform you of your health, the outside temperature, the altitude, and your current speed. The researchers have replaced your old pistols with a pair of sleek, streamlined plasma pistols. Your old penguin ally is now a hovering spy drone equipped with a surveillance camera.
It looks fine, and it's comfortable, so you feel like you can't really complain. But it's wrong. You want to feel wind in your hair and on your face, and smell the dust and rust and cordite in the air. The new guns feel foreign and awkward in your hands. Your life in the Desert Frontier always taught you that robots are slaves, mindless and evil, fit only for arcanium mining and target practice.
Now your face is that of the enemy.
"Cadet?"
You snap back into the present. "I'm okay," you say.
"Do you have enough air? Are you warm?"
"Yes."
"You're going to be in this a long time if all goes well. Now's not the time for the macho-man gunslinger act. If anything at all is bothering you, speak up."
You scowl at the head researcher. Good thing she can't see your face.
"I already said I'm fine. Let's go."
She shrugs. "Your words, not mine. Follow me to the mission room."
The mission room is a long walk from the lab. You stretch your fingers and wrists as you walk, trying to get used to the feeling of cold metal on your skin. It doesn't help. Your feet feel oddly heavy. This was a bad idea.
"Welcome, cadet." The Facility's base commander smiles at you as you walk in. "Any difficulties with the suit?"
"No sir, it feels great."
"Good to hear." He points at the map of Neon City tacked to the wall. "You're going to walk out here, and enter the Shadow-occupied Data Repository here. This is just a test, so make sure you communicate plenty with your handlers. We need to know every little flaw, no matter how small you think it is."
"Yes sir."
"All right. Let's get out there and put this thing through its paces. Doctor, how's the external readings from the suit?"
"All normal, sir." The researcher hands him a clipboard and a slim data pad. "There's the monitoring equipment and the communications system that feeds into the helmet."
"Thank you. Let's move out." He beckons to you to follow him out of the mission room, and you obey. The hall is lined with people staring at you in envy. You wish you could tell them what it really feels like; that you regret signing up for the mission at all. But you can't say that in front of your commander.
The airlock of the base hisses open. Icy air whooshes inside, chilling you briefly before the suit's atmospheric controls kick in and warm you up again. You take a firmer grip on the plasma pistols.
"We'll be in touch. Good luck cadet." Your commander nods briefly to you as you step outside onto the Neon City ground. The doors hiss shut again, and you're on your own.
Neon City is a dry, lifeless place. Not even the bleak landscape of the Desert Frontier can compare to this. You've heard the stories about the robot uprising, but you've never imagined anywhere could be so… dead. The only light is from long straight streams of plasma flowing through precision-cut channels in the hard metallic earth. Buildings are towering, straight-edged monstrosities edged with unnatural colors. Nothing moves. Nothing breathes. The armored suit doesn't let you smell the air, but you decide you don't want to.
You take a few steps towards the objective, marked on the display inside your helmet. The ruins of the Data Repository look like everything else in Neon City, except they've clearly seen better days. Bits of cracked foundation and other heaps of rubble cover the otherwise spotless ground. It hasn't been touched since the Shadows took it over years ago, but nothing has eroded or decayed.
Because nothing can decay, if there is nothing alive.
The back of your neck prickles suddenly. You shiver and look behind you. There's nothing.
"I'm reading increased heart rate. Are you all right in there Cadet?"
The sound of your comm makes you jump a little, but you're instantly reassured by the sound of another human voice. "Yes. It's just creepy out here."
"Agreed. Need any help getting into the Repository?"
"I think I'm on the right track, but keep an eye on me." You check your plasma blasters. They're fully charged and ready to fire. "I'm going to send in the drone first."
"Good idea Cadet. His video feed goes to us too, so if there's anything you have questions about, feel free to ask."
You reach for the little drone. It lands on your palm and the tiny quad-rotors come to a stop. The camera lens on its face tilts up to look at you. It isn't alive, but there's a funny quality to its face. It almost looks eager, like a puppy ready to play a game.
"Um…" you say uncertainly. "I need you to go in that big doorway in front. Just look around… and, uh, don't let anything see you."
The camera face bobs up and down, and you smile. It's nodding.
"Good boy," you say.
The rotors hum back to life and it lifts off and shoots into the broken doors of the Repository. You slip out of sight behind a large piece of broken rooftop and study the drone's camera feed. It's dark, but the camera adjusts, and suddenly it's clear as day.
The inside of the Repository is a wreck, but you can see it was beautiful once. Shattered pieces of mahogany furniture lie everywhere. Gilded and lacquered decorations have been scorched and blasted into melted messes on the walls. Dead plants in cracked glass terrariums line the entrance hall.
There are intact data modules in front of a few access stations, but you assume the only remaining information is what the Shadows needed to send back to Q'bthulu. No actual Shadows are in the drone's sight, but you're wary. Signs of their presence are everywhere.
"Base, are you seeing this?" you ask.
"Yes. Looks clear, but be extremely careful. I'm sure they just don't want to be seen."
"Understood." You call the drone back to you and unholster the plasma pistols. This is familiar, even if the guns aren't. You've been in enough firefights to know when something good is about to go down.
The inside of the Repository is even colder than the outside. The suit's atmospheric controls are probably working overtime to compensate, but the chill is still there. You tiptoe over the broken furniture, trying as hard as you can not to make any noise. Despite all your best efforts, a bit of broken glass crunches under your foot and you freeze.
Something moves in the darkness ahead.
"Base, are you reading any Shadows near me?" you whisper.
"Nope. Repository is empty on the visuals. But we saw that too. I have no idea what that could be."
"Damn it," you mutter. "This is too dangerous. Didn't you say this suit was a prototype?"
"It's the best we have so far. It should hold up fine, even if that thing was a Titan. Stay calm."
"Right," you say. "Can I get a night vision setting on this helmet?"
"There's a button on the right of the face mask. Press once."
You reach for it and your viewscreen brightens instantly. It's a little disorienting at first, but soon everything is clearer.
"Okay, we need you to detach the data modules from the consoles, load them onto the drone, and bring them back to base. If you get caught by Shadows, just run. We can't risk the suit getting damaged."
"Got it." You move into the Repository's main room and find the first of several modules from the intact stations. They're small oval capsules, and they come away easily in your hand. A little pocket opens up in the drone's back, and you drop them inside.
There's a loud crash from outside. You grab your pistols and look around, but nothing looks immediately threatening.
"Cadet, we have multiple Shadow Titans coming in on your position. You do not have the firepower to handle more than three. Direct order to come back to base, now. There is a ventilation pipe that leads to the Repository rooftop, and you can return from there. Hurry! They're coming in!"
"Understood." You grab the last few capsules and bolt for the pipe opening just as the Titans' heavy footsteps echo through the hall.
"Data module removed from console," one of the Titans says. "Possible life form interference. Must return module."
They stomp around the access room for a while, but they don't seem to be that bright, because they don't bother actually looking behind or under the consoles. You hold your breath as one of them comes close.
"Life form presence detected," it says. "Must be terminated-"
There's a shower of sparks as the Titan's head explodes. The armored giant sways and topples to the ground, dead.
You stare around in confusion for a moment, wondering what just happened. The Titans seem just as confused.
"Base?" you whisper. "What's going on?"
"Stay in cover! Don't let him see you!"
There's raw panic in her voice, and your blood runs cold. "Who? Who's going to see me?"
A soft hum near you suddenly grows into a powerful roar. There's an incredible explosion as the remaining Titans disintegrate in a hail of energy bullets. The light overwhelms your night vision and you squeeze your eyes closed, trying to block out the searing brightness.
Suddenly there's a hand gripping your arm, dragging you out of your cover. You try to resist, but they're much stronger than you, even with the suit. You blink the stars out of your eyes and look into a strange, robotic face.
"You are not a robot," the being says. Its voice is human. "You wear their face and carry their guns, but you are not like them. Who are you?"
"I'm no one," you say quickly. Your heart is pounding. The readings at the lab must be off the charts. "I was sent to recover data from the Repository here as a testing mission-"
"Your armor… where did you get it?"
"Uh, it's a prototype. I think they called it the Advanced Tactical Mobile Suit…?"
"So now they profit from my suffering." The lights on the person's helmet flicker. "I see."
"Your suffering? Who are you?"
"Your handlers at the Facility saved me from the Cyberian Tundra after the Shadow Invasion. They used an early model of the suit to resurrect me."
All the stories come back to you. You know who it is.
"No!" you shout. "Novus died in the fall of Neon City. The robots destroyed him and shattered the exoskeleton."
"That's what I wanted them to think."
"Why?"
"They made me into a monster," Novus says quietly. "I would rather have died that night than give up what remained of my humanity. I was raised a gunslinger, like you. I lived for the bright days of warmth and the smell of the dust and cactus in the desert. I had a family. Children. We inherited the mining rights to one of the richest arcanium veins ever found. I thought my life was perfect."
There's genuine pain in his voice, and you think back to your earlier feelings about the suit. The horror of seeing a robot's face in the mirror instead of your own. The cold bitterness of Neon City, and the loneliness of living in an ancient graveyard of lost Trovians.
"I could not return to my home after the transformation," Novus continues. "They would hate me. Robots are not welcome in the Frontier. Not anymore. I took a new name and a new purpose."
"They would accept you if you were to return to the Facility," you insist. "They told me about you! Yours was the only ATMoS suit that functioned in perfect harmony with the user."
"There is nothing you can say to make me return," Novus says coldly. "I will not go back to that prison, and those butchers. The suit only works because it was forced upon me, and I had no choice but to accept it."
"But you'd have friends there. A new family."
"They are no friends of mine. No friend would deny me the chance to create my own destiny. I will hate them forever for using me as their weapon against the Shadow. I cannot, in good conscience, let them continue to force this fate on more innocent Trovians."
For the first time in the exchange, you're truly frightened.
"What are you going to do?" you ask.
"I must do what I am made to do. Kill Shadows. I cannot deny my own nature… even if it is one I did not choose. But I can warn you, at least, to have caution in your dealings with the Facility. There are no innocents in this war we fight."
Novus turns his back on you and disappears into the darkness of the Repository before you can think of a response.
"Cadet? Are you all right?"
You'd almost forgotten about your comm. "I'm alive. Did you see Novus?"
"Yes. He killed the Shadow Titans and left. I'm surprised he didn't hurt you."
"You… didn't hear him say anything?"
"No. Why?"
"Nothing," you say quickly. "I just thought... I heard something, that's all."
"Okay. Come on back to base before the Shadows realize the Titans they sent are dead. Good job out there, Cadet. We've got some great news for you."
You leave the Repository with the little drone hovering behind you. "What is it?"
"We've made some important breakthroughs on connecting the functions of the ATMoS suit with the wearer's brain. It was a crucial part of the Novus suit. I think you'll be really excited to test it out. When you get back, we can start the process. Soon you'll be just like Novus: the perfect Shadow-killing machine."