Where To Start
After that first night the Machine called you on, well technically all those payphones she had been relatively silent. Yes it would still contact you but in different and random ways that you could never predict. In the beginning she only lead you to three different instructors that were to train you in preparation for when she was eventually going to need your help. For five years that was all she had you doing, getting ready.
It had been strange at first the contrast between each of your teachers but you had grown accustomed to the Machines weird requests. After all it hadn't been until that third night that she had finally shown you what exactly it was you had found when you had found it. Very weird indeed but your willing to roll with her at this point. Its either that or be killed after all and you like to think the Machine doesn't want that to happen at all. Why else would she let that tiny Israeli lady beat the shit out of you or the Spec Ops guy shoot you just so you know what its like to be shot in the vest. Really they were both insane but you can't argue with the results. The Russian though he was scary paranoid. You lost count of how many times he had set traps for you that bordered on killing you.
Staring at the dark television as you sit on the bed of your current hotel room you can't help but want to ask it why, why you of every one in the world that it could have chosen from for Nightfall? You sigh and rub your hands over your face a moment because some how you know you'll never get answers out of it. Not those at least. She never seems to work like that and for some reason you want to trust her anyway.
This line of thought makes you laugh to yourself. You can't even decide between calling it or her, never him though it just doesn't seem to work for some reason that is way beyond you. Beside you your phone vibrates. You look to read an incoming text message.
Package for you.
Suddenly there's a knock at your door. Slowly you get up and look through the peephole. Seems its a bike messenger holding a small box in his hands. You open the door holding your glock that you had picked up on your way behind the door in your left hand. You briefly think back to the Spec Ops guy and the time you had figured out that you where good with both your hands. The delivery guy break's you from the painful thought.
"Nightfall?" His tone indicates that he is a little confused with his delivery instructions but holds the package out for you to take all the same. You just stare at him as you take it and swing the door closed without saying anything at all.
It's a little heavier than you thought it would be just looking at it. You set your gun back on the dresser and grab your knife from your duffelbag. Once the box is open you see only two things in it, the first you pull out looks to be a pair of sunglasses probably ballistic knowing the machine had been the one to send them. You put them on to test them out and that is when your finger touches a slight bump on the top left corner and the inside lens' light up with a faint glow. You look to the mirror and notice that you can't even see it looking from the outside in and everything around you doesn't look dark like regular sunglasses would make it look. Your vision focuses back to the insides and you notice a text at the bottom right.
Start up initiating…
You watch for only a moment when the text disappears and a small HUD comes up on the bottom left corner that shows you what you can only guess is the entire floor of the hotel your currently staying in. Next a message starts scrolling from right to left at the bottom of the glasses.
Initiating Nightfall for long term recon. Cover must be maintained at all cost.
"That is so cool."
You feel your heart rate pick up its pace in your chest. Your excited because finally your going to be getting somewhere. From your own virus all those years ago you had learned that everything has become a shit show and it has taken the Machine longer than anticipated to prepare for future events that she hadn't even fully figured the repercussions of yet. You had asked why not just go ahead with a kill order but all she would tell you is that inevitably it must be and no amount of killing would fully erase the event that was to come. Apparently there where things that either had to happen or it didn't have any options other than killing and you already know how she feels about that. It only took the once in those first days and it's form of a lecture for you to never want to repeat the experience again.
You shake your head and take out the second thing it had sent, an earpiece interesting. You place that in your ear and wait again for further instructions.
Syncing in progress…..
The message scrolls by and you wonder what exactly is the machine planning. You know she learned some things from your code which had surprised you when you had learned that fact. You have to give it's creator some credit, whoever it was was a genius with code to be able to create an AI with the capability to self sustain and have an invested interest in the longevity of humanity. You can't help but to ponder on how exactly had they been able to do such a thing, it was magnificent.
"11 o'clock" It startles you to hear such a tactical artificial sounding voice.
"What?" You look around before noticing a small red dot in the HUD on your glasses located in the room next door.
Target acquired. Objective, detain immediately.
"Ah that kind of makes sense but lets forgo the clock location on enemies. How about a missile targeting system sound in the direction of desired target instead."
Games had always been a good escape for you back in the dark days. So your mind had already been trained to react to certain sounds much more quickly than others. Besides you had never been in the military despite the instructors the Machine had sent you to so the whole 10 o'clock, 2 o'clock thing never really stuck. Your mind just took to long to respond and in this new line of work it has you going on that just wasn't acceptable.
The Machine complies and you start to hear the faint beeping and as you move around gathering up your things into your duffelbag placing it next to the door and grabbing your gun from the dresser the beeping ascends, descends and moves location as you move around. You have no idea how she can do that in the ear piece but sure enough it is much more helpful than the previous.
You leave your room going to the door to the left of your own room. The door light flicks to green and you open it a crack to get a quick glance into the room to see if you can get an idea of what awaits you besides the target. You see the arsenal laid out on the bed and raise your gun at the ready as you swiftly push it the rest of the way. The beeping picks up in speed in your ear until the door is fully open and your hear the target lock sound in your ear. You also see the target facing the bed putting a clip into his own gun and looks over to you once he hears the door smack the wall. You don't even think about it when you shoot him in the leg. He drop's immediately clutching his leg in pain.
Was that necessary?
The words scroll away and you think its weird the Machine is talking to you now after being silent for so long. Besides isn't this what she was preparing you for all those years.
"Better him than me and at least I didn't have to kill him right?"
You grab some zip ties from the bed and put them around the guys hands and feet making sure he didn't have room for escape before the police arrived. Wouldn't do any good for him to get away.
Take the P226 and the HK P30 from the bed.
You shrug before grabbing said pistols from the bed. Can never have too many guns and you kind of wish you could take the rifle to, its really nice. However you don't and dial 911 from the rooms phone so the police can find the guy with the small arsenal and lay the receiver next to it. Next you pass by your room to grab your duffel before leaving the hotel just as you hear the sirens from the police cruisers down the block.
"This is only the beginning isn't it?" You ask softly and her next message scrolls as you walk down the street to the car she is directing you towards at that moment.
There is much that needs to be done.
A countdown appears in the bottom right of the glasses. You don't know what its counting down to but if the all seeing Machine was concerned (If that's even possible for a machine but sometimes it makes you seriously consider things.) then it meant nothing good for sure.
"Great just what we need, the end of the world. I hope I'm just exaggerating here?" It's a question to yourself mostly as you start the car and it confuses you. You had never even thought of the concept before because you didn't really care all that much. Sometimes you even thought humanity deserved to kill itself off. But the Machine seemed to for whatever her reasons had a plan to help them. It saved your life so your not about to start questioning her now.
Please proceed to new destination.
"As you wish." you say softly in return as the lens' in the glasses change with a layout of directions for you to follow just like a GPS but still faint enough for you to see through and be able to not run into things at the same time as she directs you on where your going next.
Your not sure what makes you utter the next words to leave your mouth but you just can't seem to help yourself as you drive along. You also hope that the Machine in its own way considers the words you say to it.
"You know I think you should get another friend. Maybe an Analogue Interface since I have to be the Black Ops branch for you. Your Admin sure needs to be kept on his toes if all I've read about him is true. You know he won't change his mind on anything without someone to challenge his perspective and eventually you and I both know that's going to need to happen."
You can't help but to chuckle to yourself and wonder what type of person the Machine would pick out for that position if she did. They would definitely have to be at least a little insane but very outspoken and a force to be reckoned with to keep up with her. You still have no idea what she saw in you but you where born in the shadows with no one alive any longer that even knew of your existence except for the Machine now.
The Machine surprises you again for the second time that night by speaking directly to you through the earpiece. Granted its that tactical disjointed artificial voice again and it makes you wish it would choose a voice of its own.
"Analogue Interface to be considered."
"Really? Just like that?"
"It will take time but yes an Analogue Interface will be beneficial."
As you continue to drive leaving the city behind you for now you consider asking the question that has been on your mind from the beginning. Maybe it would answer you after all.
"So uh, why did you chose me? There had to be better options than a twenty three year old drop out of questionable morals."
It was silent for so long that you didn't think she would answer as you had originally thought. Eventually though the Machine seemed to come to the right answer.
"Because I saw you through the code you wrote for the virus that infiltrated the world Keiran. You showed me that I can learn from others and that all of you needed was someone to help guide and look after you or your natural need for violence would one day destroy yourselves. You Keiran showed me when I first saw you that despite what Admin had been concerned with you where one that could be trusted, needed to be saved and could help if given the right tools at the right time to prevent a lot of bad things from happening."
It was the most it had ever said to you and you almost feel nostalgic with how she calls you by name but quickly push that down. You can't deal with emotions no matter how much the Machine had shown you. You had never really understood them anyway. Better to just leave them behind with everything else the dark years took from you.
"Yeah you should definitely get a new friend to play with."
You chuckle lightly to yourself again at your own attempt at humor. The machine after all is still considered a child in years. You step on the gas a little more speeding off into the night to where ever the Machine was taking you next.
Authors Note: Well here's another chapter. I'm trying to keep to a timeline. Keep certain events intact and take liberties with a few others. So right now this is taking place just before Root Kidnaps Harold I think. That's before Kara uploads that virus thing right (Is that actually suppose to be the start of Samaritan, I was always a little confused by that.)? Not going to tell you how that will come into play because no idea yet myself. Still working out the kinks in the timeline and let me just say this is the most research I have ever done for a story. I'd like to be precise but please forgive me if there are any errors in said timeline. Still establishing whats going to fall where and why. Can't wait to see where this goes. I would like to post regularly on this but it really depends on the interest in the story on how frequently I'm going to post. Sometimes I just forget and need a little reminder. Hopefully next chapter brings in one or two of our POI main characters but we will see.
