9S jumped to the side, dodging the missile that exploded thirty meters away, where it couldn't harm any of his comrades. 9S aimed his hand toward the turret as his vision turned white, the defensive programs within the missile platform resisted his touch but were no match for his skills. The missile pot exploded, finally allowing access into the inner core of the moon base.
"Anemone, are you alright?" 9S asked, the resistance androids were the first to be targeted by the missiles, they were the ones who suffered the most during the assault on the moon base.
The resistance leader stood up and pat herself to clear the dust "I'm ok" she replied, her attention was quickly drawn to the android on the ground, struggling in pain. The Android had lost his left hand and was covering it hoping to stop the fluids from escaping "We have a few injured here, Jackass!" 9S frowned as his eyes met with the injured Android, this one was lucky he was only wounded unlike those who lost their lives trying to enter the moon base.
The woman in question arrived with a repair kit in hand. She quickly injected the surpressen to prevent a logic virus infection "IT HURTS!" the Android groaned in pain, he was met with the scientist's slap across his cheek.
"Jackass!" Anemone glared.
"What? he is crying like a baby, he is giving me a headache" Jackass tried to defend herself, she took a quick glance towards the gate before resuming her repairs "It's not like there are more of those, this was the last"
'Well, at least he is going to live' 9S thought.
The Scanner looked at his surroundings, noticing their lack of numbers. The assault was divided into two groups, the first was led by Anemone while the other was led by 2B, their lack of presence was worrisome, especially when their task was to clear the defenses on the moon base.
Although 9S was worried about her fellow androids, what he worried about the most was 2B, he needed to know where they were, where 2B was.
"Pod, update me on the second team" the Scanner ordered, he was quickly met with his companion floating around him.
"Analyzing. Analyzation complete" the Pod churned "YoRHa unit 2B will be here in exactly three minutes and fifty-six seconds" Pod 153 informed.
9S gritted his teeth when he heard the word 'YoRHa'. That damnable word that has caused so much suffering for the androids, 9S and 2B, a lie constructed by the bastard behind the last gate in the moon base. He rather die and have his parts recycled than accept that title again.
"Proposal. Tactical support unit Pod 153 can assist the resistance members in repairs" the Scanner nodded, he could hack into the gate's system until the second team arrives.
"Do it" the Shota boy said before Pod 153 flew towards the scientist and began assisting the android despite her protest of being able to do it alone. Jackass soon relented thanks to the constant nagging of the pod. 9S turned towards Anemone, she has given her last orders to her subordinates.
Noticing his gaze, the resistance commander turn to face him as well, giving him a questioning look as he quickly diverted his eyes to the gate. Ever since the truth behind the project YoRHa was revealed, 9S felt nothing but guilt whenever he saw a resistance member, how couldn't he? they have been lying to themselves all this time.
They have been lying to them all this time...
9S took a deep breath, allowing the filtered air of the moon base to course through his systems, although he didn't require oxygen to operate, it helped him to calm his mind. Once his systems were in optimal condition, he began hacking into the gate's system.
The computer systems on the moon base were the finest 9S has ever witnessed, the only thing that could outmatch it in computing and defensive programs was the central machine intelligence itself.
Thousands upon thousands of different programs evolved as he tried to break them, actively interfering with his progress. It was like machine intelligence with its constant evolution and adaptability. Although it was far inferior to machine intelligence in raw processing power, it was more than a match in efficiency, being quicker to respond to 9S's attacks despite lacking the strength of the machine intelligence. This explained why the N2 hasn't hacked into the moon base despite having so much power, without a direct connection it was impossible to do so.
This place must be a valuable place for whoever built it for him to place such defensive measures to protect it.
'A waste' the Scanner muttered. The moon base, the sanctuary of the council of humanity, what value did it have if they were dead? what use did a dead race have for a home?
9S's hand turned into a fist as a wave of anger and despair began to build up in his cogitation unit. 9S was furious but more than anything, he felt guilt, he felt grief.
What purpose did he have now? he and his comrades had survived the fall of the tower thanks to the survival of the bunker after it crashed. The bunker was still able to repair the damaged units, giving him and his fellow androids a chance to keep living, but to what end?
"Access granted" a male robotic voice echoed in the halls, all the android eyes fell upon the door as it opened.
The Scanner opened his eyes, a ghost of a smile touched his lips as he took in the visage of 2B and her team. She is truly the most beautiful thing in the entire world.
"Good job, nines" 2B said, giving an awkward smile, a gesture she wasn't familiar with, though it was oddly suiting. 9S's cheeks turned a bit red as he turned his head around, perhaps life was still worth something so long as he had her.
"Alert: high levels of heat detected in the BlackBox, unit 9S should control his cognition unit" Pod 153 appeared out of nowhere, its little hands were covered in oil that was spilled during the repairs. Pod's voice turned all the heads towards 9S, giving more color to the redness on his cheeks "Proposal. Unit 9S should be subject to scans for further analysis for more efficiency in future situations"
"S-shut up! I'm fine!" the Scanner yelled, trying to save what little grace he had left.
Looking around in a desperate search for salvation, he saw Anemone giggle while the mad scientist grinned. The other resistance androids were looking at him too.
"Adorable" the resistance leader voiced her opinion.
"Should've turned her into scrap when you had the chance, shorty" Jackass eyed the Pod, her concern wasn't the poor Scanner's dignity, her desire was the things she could do with high-quality parts 153 was made of. Her mouth was already watering at the opportunity.
"Tactical support unit is essential for any YoR..." the Pod 042 stopped, a little electric shock ignited across its frame "Tactical support unit is essential for all Android combat models. Proposal: Resistance member Jackass should help Pod 153 and Pod 042 to stay in pristine condition" the Scientist huffed.
"In your dreams tin can" the mad woman responded.
"Says the woman who worked day and night to repair the Pod" a voice said amongst the resistance members, causing several eyes to focus on the scientist.
"Alright which one of you fuckers said that?" Jackass yelled, trying to find the culprit while Anemone tried to stop her.
9S took a deep sigh of relief, allowing a smile to on his face, perhaps the androids weren't so broken to stop functioning, even after discovering the truth behind their creatures. The Scanner's eyes turned towards 2B, she quickly averted her gaze as their eyes met, covering the smile on her mouth with her hand.
'Damn it, she must've heard the Pod' 9S cursed under his breath, he also made sure to curse 153 for embarrassing him like this.
"2B she is joking! she is damaged and doesn't know what she's saying!" the Android lied, 153 was in top condition aside from a few minor dents. He was desperately trying to save grace.
"Negative. Tactical support unit Pod 153 is in top cond-"
"STOP IT" 9S jumped at the flying unit, trying to catch it with his hand and force her to remain silent. His attempts met with further embarrassment as his face kissed the ground, the Pods were more capable of dodging than any androids thanks to their small size "Alert. Unit 9S should refrain from such action" the Pod said in a tone that almost sounded challenging.
"Damn it" the Scanner cursed as he quickly got up.
Not able to hold back her laughter, 2B let out a giggle, stopping both the Scanner and the Pod "It's fine, 9S" 2B smiled.
As if it couldn't turn redder, the Scanner's face almost melted with embarrassment. A combination of wanting to prevent embarrassment in front of his beloved and 2B's perfect smile that he had rarely seen.
"2B I-"
"Sorry to interrupt your romantic moment but we have a problem" a white-haired woman clad in black approached the pair, she was 17B, a fellow YoRHa, or at least was.
17B gestured towards the hallway that was revealed after 9S hacked the gate open, at the end of the corridor was another portico with a sealed vault door.
"Bastards" Jackass hissed, as she saw the gate. All the YoRHa androids and those who were adept in the tech field frowned at the sight of the adamantium door.
Those who were knowledgeable in the ways of science and technology all grew furious while the others simply looked confused. It was Anemone, the leader of the resistance who saved her fellow less informed androids from the disgrace of asking the question.
"Alright, what are we looking at?" Anemone asked as she crossed her arms, the others listened quietly.
"By the moon, I thought those reports were made up to make humans look cooler" Jackass replied still not answering the question.
Anemone raised her eyebrow, silently gesturing for the mad scientist to continue, and continue she did "That thing is a one-way gate that can only be accessed from inside"
"Meaning it can't be hacked" 9S finished her sentence, his voice was bitter while he did. Not being able to hack something was a humbling experience he didn't like.
"Just blow it up then" the Resistance leader suggested, the other Androids also nodded in agreement while YoRHa soldiers looked at her as if she was mad.
"That's the problem, we can't" the Scientist brushed her hands over the smooth surface of the gate "It's made of hard Maso, unless you bring a tactical nuke, I don't think you can break through this thing" Jackass explained, everyone's eyes widened at the revelation "I don't want to damage the things inside this vault, Anemone. This place holds all of the records we had on humanity, I... I don't want to lose it" the mad woman's tone grew into a grieving mutter. Anemone too felt the same.
Anemone shook her head to clear her mind "Still, if we had something so strong then why use it now and not during the machine wars?"
"Because we don't know how to make them" 17B chimed in, her voice carried authority unlike other androids of her type, there was a reason why she was the second greatest B type after 2B "Hard Maso was invented by humans during their war against the legion. The archives on Bunker's database only mention the material to be in the experimental stage. The knowledge of its production was lost after the project gestalt"
The mood turned sour as 17B finished, a look of sadness washed over the faces of the androids, YoRHa, and resistance alike. They were happily messing with each other just moments ago, the B model's reminder of their creature's demise was a slap on the face that returned them to the bleak reality.
God they should stop mentioning humans.
"I suppose what little result the project had was found by the YoRHa" Jackass mumbled, how they managed to shape something like that into the shape of a gate was beyond them, perhaps the information on how to shape it has remained while the knowledge of its construction was lost?
"So, how do we get in?" Anemone asked the question that was on everyone's mind. The answer to her question came from a different source.
"You can't" a voice resonated through the halls as a blond woman dressed in white appeared, she followed by a squad of black-clad YoRHa androids. Her name was commander White, the disgraced leader of once proud elite androids. Her elegant voice that once steered fear into any man's heart was now dimmer than before, like a fallen angel of humanity's myths, she was now shamed, never to return to her former glory.
But even an old and frail behemoth was still a monster at heart, she was no different. Even now White carried an air of authority and grace around her, leaving other androids in awe with her every step.
The squad behind her was no different from herself, the YoRHa is now a group of androids looked upon with disdain, a group of fanatics at best. But they too were beasts, hence the reason behind their survival even after exposing the great lie YoRHa worked so hard to protect.
"Whity, always with the dramatic entrance" Jackass sneered quietly. The rest of the resistance soldiers looked at White with a mix of disgust, sympathy, and scorn.
Most people nowadays didn't like YoRHa, though none showed it openly. Now that the machine intelligence was gone, they were the second strongest group in the entire world after the army of humanity, and none dared to challenge them.
But even then, many androids were sympathetic towards their YoRHa kindreds, they were mostly resistance and AoH members who were aided by YoRHa during the machine wars. For them, the YoRHa were also lied to by some unseen force that tricked them all into believing a lie, their main subject of contempt was the force that was now hiding behind an invincible gate.
White took a slow step towards the gate, ignoring the gazes that were locked on her frame, they weren't as important as the focus of her attention "The inner core was reinforced with what little Hard Maso humanity had produced before the Project, it is built to withstand nuclear and orbital strikes" the Commander's hand gently touched the gate, the materials used to build the gate was one of the few things that remained untouched by the elements unlike those on earth, meaning one of the last ones who touched it were human.
It was pathetic really, to expect to feel the touch of her creators by brushing her hand against an object that might've been touched by them. What if human scientists used a full-body suit to protect themselves? might as well consider the gate untouched.
'I am pathetic, aren't I?' White gave a bitter smile before quickly erasing it from her face.
"What the fuck does that suppose to mean?" a voice growled amongst the crowd "We've come all this way to the fucking moon and you're telling us to go back empty-handed?" a few nodded in agreement.
"She is right! my friend died trying to open a way into the base, I won't let his death be meaningless"
"We won't take orders from a half-machine mongrel!"
The air suddenly tensed as the YoRHa readied their hands on their weapons, not to kill anyone but to protect themselves if the need ever arose.
"This is bad, 2B" the Scanner whispered to his partner who nodded, if they didn't do anything to stop, the unstable androids might cause damage they won't be reversed.
Before they could think of a solution, the commander of the resistance rushed to their aid with a punch. Anemone punched the closest man who dared to speak out of line, her hand impacted his face with a force of a cannon, throwing the Android back and silencing the crowd. Her actions reignited the respect 9S and 2B had for her.
"Anyone else?" the woman asked, her grip on her rifle tightened.
"But ma'am! she-"
"She is YOUR ALLY!" Anemone yelled, berating the android under her command "Is this how low you have fallen?" she asked in a firm voice "To insult fellow androids who bled and died with us for years?"
"They aren't androids. They use machine parts to make more of themselves" another woman from the crowd yelled.
"By that logic, you aren't an android too" she gestured toward the android's leg "I distinctly remember where the parts for that leg came from" the Android flinched, unable to find an argument. Her fellow resistance soldiers tried to hide their own parts that were made of salvaged machine parts.
Anemone walked in the middle of the crowd, making sure every soul heard what she was about to say. Once she made sure she had everyone's attention, she spoke.
"Look at you, turning on your allies that bled by your side for decades. Calling them names and trying to make them less of an android than they are" she gestured towards 9S and 2B, two YoRHa androids everyone in the crowd knew, they have a history of helping everyone regardless of background, they even helped the machines "9S and 2B, they are YoRHa too, aren't they? yet they are the ones who destroyed the tower and the machine intelligence. They destroyed Adam and Eve!" 9S flinched as everyone's attention was drawn towards him, 2B, on the other hand, stood as calm as ever "Tell me 9S, did you know the truth?"
9S's hand turned into a fist as he tensed, the sudden attention wasn't doing good for his cognition unit. But even with his mind in disarray, he knew his answer. 9S was not a traitor nor a liar!
The Scanner looked down as he felt something warm wrap itself around his hand, 2B's hand was resting on his, giving him the comfort he needed. 9S didn't know what he would've done without her.
"No" the Scanner answered "I discovered the truth too late" he gritted his teeth, he was still frustrated about that fact.
The crowd looked at each other, already their sentiments were wavering. It required only one final blow to take it down.
Anemone walked over to White, the squad behind her tried to pull out their weapons to protect their commander but were stopped by White herself. The commander of the resistance stopped in front of the blond Android, standing face-to-face with the C model. All those years on the surface when she worked along with YoRHa, the C model was something of an unreachable height for Anemone, always finding an excuse to not speak directly with the resistance, now that she stood in front of her, she had no way of escaping Anemone with more excuses.
"Did you know the truth, Commander?" she asked firmly and calmly.
White contemplated her question before answering with the truth "I am not the highest rank in the military, I have no access to the SS files" White replied "To put it simply, no, I didn't know the truth, not the whole truth" Anemone sighed before turning towards her underlings.
"Do you still want to go on? even towards people as oblivious as you are?"
One of the androids stepped forward from the crowd, a woman with brown hair hanging loosely down her shoulders. Her expression was that of grief and furry. She was most likely one of many who had lost someone dear to them, someone who wanted answers for their friend's death. If humans weren't alive, then what did their deaths accomplish? "Then who knew? someone has to know in order to make the lie" she demanded, her eyes didn't leave White, even for a moment "Was it commander Violate? commander Teal? Sienna?" she spat out the names of the generals from the army of humanity.
White tilted her head, she didn't understand what was the browned-haired Android talking about. If she, as the commander of YoRHa didn't have access to SS files, then why would AoH generals have access to them?
"Even the highest ranking officers from the army of humanity only have clearance level S. All SS and possibly higher-level files are locked in the most secure location androids have(or rather had) access to" she gestured towards the Hard Maso gate that was locked a long time ago.
9S frowned, if White didn't have access to SS files then who did?
The Scanner turned towards the gate, perhaps they will find the answers they seek inside. Once they found a way to open that gate.
Nine looked at the screen with curious eyes, a smile forming across his face.
"White survived, quite unexpected" he lit up another cigar and placed it on his lips.
The smoke from the cigar showed its effects imminently as it calmed his mind. Say what you will of humans but they were genius for making such a wonderful recreational product, even if it caused major health issues for them. Had humans still roamed the earth, 9 wouldn't allow any form of tobacco near them, especially with its damaging effects and addiction. Thankfully it didn't do much to his artificial body except the filters.
"Her talents will be extremely useful, for the whole of android society" with a flick of his gloved finger, he changed the image on the screen to show the C model in her full glory.
"Her talents are exceptional, competent for her role too" Miranda confirmed his thoughts, although her mouth complimented the YoRHa commander, her eyes were locked on two individuals of the same faction.
9 knew all too well which pair she was eyeing.
"Learn all you need to know about the love birds" 9 tossed a chip filled with information about the pair towards the woman standing behind him, she caught it in the air without effort "You might be working with them in the future"
Done with eyeing the chip, Miranda looked back toward his creator "Oddly calm for a man whose decades of planning failed miserably" 9 cringed, he immediately calmed himself.
Decades of careful planning, assassinations, redirection, and intrigue, all was for nothing. The lie of humanity's extinction was revealed for the whole world to see, Bunker had survived even after the crash, the moon base was being raided. The only thing his plans accomplished was an unnecessary loss of life, even the death of N2 couldn't make up for expansive YoRHa facilities that were destroyed.
"The chip" 9 said as he turned the chair around to face her "It also contains the... improvements to our plan" the doors behind Miranda opened "All the necessary resources are granted for your mission, don't fail" 9 signed her to leave.
The female android left the room with a sigh, this was the problem with being the best agent, they always gave her the most demanding missions.
Cursing 9's name, Miranda walked through the halls and into her temporary room. Once she confirmed that no one could hear or see her, she placed the chip in the computer to read through the files. She frowned as she read the name of the operation.
"Operation Mithra" the Android muttered, reading the details spoiled her mood.
Operation Mithra. A plan to create an independent android civilization in which, androids could live without requiring humanity as its purpose, a united earth with a single government that is achieved in several phases.
Phase one, the elimination of surviving machine nations and their presence on earth.
The destruction of the tower and N2 has caused a massive backlash, destroying more than 80% of the machine lifeforms on earth. The casualty rate among those connected directly to the machine network was 95%, while the disconnected machines suffered much less and around 30%. The android losses are predicted to be somewhere around 10% to 15%.
Although the machine lifeforms suffered the bulk of the casualties, they still outnumbered the android forces. Those connected directly to the machine intelligence during the backlash and survived, have formed into several lesser machine intelligences with different goals, many also joined the free-thinking machine nations and communities upon being free from the N2. There is also a decent percentage of machines freed from N2 who just wander around without a purpose.
These machine factions must be eliminated if possible, if elimination is not possible, negotiations are also accepted so long as android supremacy is conserved. The usage of free-thinking machine communities for eliminating machine intelligences is also encouraged so long as Cerberus isn't acknowledged as the perpetrator.
Phase two. The church of humanity.
Although humanity is extinct, they still retain influence on android programming, in form of loyalty and purpose. In order to prevent damage to android society, a lie must be devised in form of organized religion to keep the morale at acceptable levels. Since most androids still revere humanity, their usage as a deity is permissible. A number of androids among the resistance and AoH are already selected for purpose of spreading the belief, including five YoRHa operators, two B models, two D models, and eleven H models, the resources required to aid them in this endeavor are already in place.
Phase three. Android independence.
To increase our influence within the android society, all efforts must be made in order to influence the androids into creating an oligarchy that chooses the ruler of the nation. This form of government is more easily influenced and is most likely peacefully accepted by androids of the different regions.
The people will elect candidates who in turn will elect the leader.
Miranda sighed as she read the last part "The bastard with his dreams" she cursed 9, he was always like that, always trying to create an independent android superpower.
"But it doesn't sound bad. Except I have to do most of the work, as always" the Android shook her head, her hand massaging her eyes "That's how he gets us, talking big, giving us a dream, and asking us to achieve it" she stood up from the chair, there were still more to read from the files, but she can do it later, once she gathered her thoughts.
"But you fall for it every time, don't you Miranda?" the woman questioned her own reflection "Always trying to find a purpose" she turned away from the mirror and towards the door, there was much to be done.