Novus Homo Headquarters
SPNGE Unit, Yokohama, Japan
17 November 2066, 00:03

Being an ES unit of the most upgraded version was a great advantage to a spy like Mitsuke Omori, known to the members of the android world as Griffon Zero --- although he had always insisted that his comrades call him without the 'Griffon', with the reasoning that the plain 'Zero' sounded a lot cooler --- who was smuggled into the dangerous Japanese society teeming with deceit, treachery, danger, and most of all, android hatred. The programs and sensors that had been installed in him recently were very useful, not only in blending with the human populace that so despised him and his kind, but also in decoding transmissions sent in by the various Novus Homo underground control centers all over the world.

In fact, he had just received one from their Berlin unit, sent in by the mysterious Reich Führer who he had never met personally, despite all the efforts he and his partner, Kuroudo 'Griffon One' Marume, exerted to be given the chance to. To the untrained, unaided human eye, the transmission was merely a jumble of ones, zeros, lines, symbols and nothing more; but he was a mechanical being of high intellect and highly technological add-ons, and that was an entirely different story.

He leaned back against his reclining chair and rested his cheek on the top of his palm, his motorized eyes that appeared too human scanning the message that scrolled past the fairly large computer screen, deciphering it almost instantly. When the last character dissolved into the blue-and-black background, he straightened up and reached out to the keyboard to send his response. He wasn't even able to type a single letter, however, for the incoming voice transmission from his partner who was out in enemy territory disguised as an army officer distracted and filled him with worry.

"Griffon One?"

The other's voice was soft and weak, its robotic aspect beginning to intertwine with its human melody that it was somewhat incomprehensible at some points, due to the fluctuations that emerged out of the integration. And the cackling flames in the background did not help make the conversation easier for them either. "I'm sorry, Zero. I can't make it back. The explosion got me, and now I can barely move. Got my circuits fried."

An uncomfortable pause transpired, long enough to make the brown-haired spy rise from his seat in fretfulness and wait with much impatience. Finally, Kuroudo's voice returned, but this time, his words were almost inaudible that it seemed as if the soldiers that were marching a good distance behind him were closer to the transmitter than he was. "Connellheim had just sent out Kobayashi and his unit to search for me. You have to send someone over right now to get the data card before they---"

Mitsuke cut him off with steely determination. "I'm on my way. Don't you dare self-destruct."

"Self-destruct?" A laugh. "No, not yet. I'm not that desperate. But I might if you take forever. Griffon One out."

The line grew quiet --- too quiet, in fact --- that the spy concluded that his partner must've set himself to standby-stealth mode to avoid being detected by the search party, which was spearheaded by the blonde's rival in the army, the ever-suave Eddie Kobayashi. Though the two ES units were an extremely clever pair of android undercover agents, the humans were slowly gaining on them, discovering various ways and means to see through their disguises, and they were running out of tactics to outrun them in turn.

Ordering all the other devices in the room to shut themselves down, Mitsuke rolled up his sleeve slightly to push a tiny button that appeared like a human birthmark in order to activate the sensors that would help him track his partner down. They were specially programmed to read Kuroudo's vital signs, and so even with the other in standby-stealth mode, he was sure he could find him without trouble. And in turn, that meant that there was certainly no need for the other to go suicidal by setting off the bomb that had been implanted inside of him, just like all other ES 'droids.

"Just hang in there, Griffon One," he whispered as if the other half of the fighting force he was part of could hear him despite the massive distance between them. He then clamped his mechanical hand into a fist. "I'm coming."

Novus Homo Landing Pad
SUICD Unit, Tokyo, Japan
17 November 2066, 00:06

"I hate daybreak operations," Lieutenant Eddie Kobayashi complained in a low, almost inaudible voice as he trudged through the many piles of steel and iron with his subordinates, his infrared visor not helping much in his hike across the vast area of terrain that was once the landing pad of the android base they had just destroyed. He paused in the middle of a small clearing, scanning the landscape that spread before him in hopes to spot a human figure among the explosion debris, but when he saw nothing but more metal scraps, he let out an exasperated sigh. He did not understand how in the world could his second-in-command have disappeared, when in fact the blonde had been just by his side all along.

He must've found something that was vital enough for the alliance that would render his promotion to my rank, he thought, but he shook his head and pushed the thought away almost immediately, as it simply didn't seem right. For the short span of time that Marume was under his command, he had managed to discover almost everything about the blonde out of his preparation for a rival with extreme potential, and he eventually realized that the missing soldier's goal was not to push himself into a high position and live as a superhero, but rather to get himself killed in one of their missions. It was ironic, but true; he knew for a fact that the kid was suicidal.

Remembering that, he bit his lip. What if Marume did intend to stay behind so as to have his life taken away by the explosion? It was a shame to lose a rival in such a situation, but deep inside his heart, Kobayashi knew that was glad --- even elated, to an extent. If the other was truly dead, there was no one for him to worry about anymore; he would remain the most favored soldier of Captain Gallen Connellheim, a title that had been beginning to slip out of his reach when the flaxen-haired fighter was assigned to the Tokyo corps.

He allowed a twisted smile to leak through his face that was hidden underneath the combat helmet he was wearing as he headed back to report to Connellheim, calling his still-searching inferiors to his side as he did so. He was only a few meters away from where he last stood, however, when he realized that there was yet another member of his unit that was missing. Scowling, he made the move to turn around and search for the said soldier, only to spot him running towards them as if he uncovered something very important.

And indeed, he did; he just didn't know how significant it was, to his superior officer, most especially.

"Lieutenant!" he called out from the darkness, coming to a halt in front of Kobayashi a few seconds later. He handed a dog tag, its fine chain still intact, to his waiting superior, before he rested his hands on his knees and attempted to catch his breath. "I think that's…" he took a deep breath, "… Marume's. But I couldn't… find him anywhere, sir. It's either… the explosion swallowed him whole… or he… somehow got away safely… but left that behind."

After fidgeting with the object the other treasure found, the young Lieutenant reached out to the back part of his helmet to activate the headlight, then adjusted his visor so he could check on the dog tag using his own eyes. It was basically similar to those they owned, except for two things. The first was its color; instead of a shiny gold-plated one the officers were known to have --- most of the lower-ranking soldiers were even jealous that theirs had to be either silver or bronze, according to the camp rules --- it had the hue of newly polished silver. In the darkness, its color didn't look any different from the rest, but just to be sure, the officer pulled out his own golden one for comparison. It was genuinely silver.

The second difference lay in what was written on it. Instead of the usual name and rank that was often carved in fancy letters with curls and loops, engraved on it was a mere five-digit code. Holding the dog tag closer to his face and the headlight, Kobayashi took a closer look at the calligraphy --- and his eyes flew open in surprise and realization. I can't believe it, he told himself, running his thumb down the incision that read ES21-2 to verify if it was really there. He then clamped his hand into a fist, enclosing the metal plate in it. Now I understand!

He looked at the soldier who found it, gritting his teeth as he relayed his order. "I want you to search that area for any sign of those blasted 'droids." He cocked his head to the side slightly to indicate that the command was for his other underlings as well. "Kill all that you can find, right on the spot, and make sure none of them will get away."

"They got Marume, Lieutenant?" the other asked worriedly, pulling out his blaster from its holster and loading it as soon as it was properly secured in his hands. His companions, who knew how dangerous the android soldiers were, did the same, the thought of the mechanical creatures managing to capture or even murder one of the best warriors in their squadron sending chills down their spine. They weren't going to take any chances.

But it was Kobayashi's answer that frightened them the most.

"No. He's one of them."

/To be continued…/