As Revenant logged a third computer into the Syndicate's VPN, Mauser watched from a nearby desk with his feet up.
"Heard that Torc managed to separate you from your human mind," said the radio operator. He took a candy out of a jar on the desk, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. The assassin paid no attention to him.
"It's too bad Milutin isn't around to see his theory proven true. I know he pissed off a bunch of investors toward the end of his life, but that man was, like, the most brilliant engineer in history… They should have made him a simulacrum; imagine all the cool stuff he would have built!"
Revenant turned slightly, so as to cast a threatening glare in Mauser's direction.
"What?"
The word was muffled, as the radio operator had stuffed another candy into his mouth. He wolfed it down quickly before continuing to speak. "I get that, like, ninety percent of the faction has some problem or another with simulacrums, but I don't! As far as I'm concerned, anyone who doesn't like the government is A-okay."
"You're human."
At Revenant's words, Mauser's eyes narrowed to match the assassin's angry glare. "The fuck? I am not!"
The radio operator tapped the silver disk implanted on the right side of his head. "Does this look human to you, Bolts?"
The door unlocked with a click and swung open. "Mauser," a voice called from the doorway, "I need you to go on a supply run- why the hell do you have your feet on Colomar's desk? Boy, do you have a death wish?"
"Yeah, yeah- I mean, no- I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Mauser quickly put his feet down and stood up. Before rushing out of the room, he grabbed a large handful of candy from the jar. The several pieces that he dropped lay unacknowledged as he took off down the hallway. The door closed behind him, and whoever had come to retrieve him locked it from the outside with another little click.
Revenant wasn't at all concerned about them locking him in. An underground facility this complicated had to have an elaborate ventilation system- there would surely be a vent shaft somewhere that he could use to move around the structure if he needed to. He glanced at the desk to his right- Colomar's desk, according to whoever had just come and gone. Perhaps she kept a tool in one of those drawers for removing the security device she'd put on him. He got up, took a single step toward the other side of the room- then he thought better of it, and returned to the table at which he'd been told to stay. As much as he hated the vulnerability - the control that she and the faction potentially had over him - it occurred to him that so far, the device hadn't been used to cause him lasting harm. Colomar, however, had proven that she was monitoring his actions with it… If he went through her desk, that might give her an excuse.
Until this moment, such a realization wouldn't have deterred him. He'd just kill Colomar- if that failed, he'd only end up back in his factory with a new body. He'd keep aggressing relentlessly until all of his enemies had been slaughtered, and there was no one left to wrong him. For once, that escalation didn't seem necessary. The virus wasn't tearing at him anymore- things were… all right, for the moment. He was focused on the larger goal of striking the Syndicate - costing Hammond Robotics their protection so that he could destroy them once and for all - without being constantly interrupted by an onslaught of useless feedback from his human predecessor.
It wasn't long before Revenant finished the task that they'd asked him to complete. The anarchist faction now had access to the Syndicate's camera network on all of their secure computers- like the guards and assassins who kept the Outlands under rule, they could monitor the entirety of Solace City.
He looked around the room. Server towers hummed and whirred steadily behind him. These weren't nearly as advanced, nor as numerous, as those in the Syndicate's facility. They were, however, just as well maintained, if not better- these people clearly cared about the state of their equipment.
To his left was the vent shaft. He pried away the cover, folded his limbs closer to his body, and climbed inside. He was near-silent as he made his way through the ductwork; only a click of his claws on the smooth aluminum surface as he made his way through the walls of the structure. Too late, it occurred to him that Colomar could be aware of what he was doing at this moment. He froze in place for a fraction of a second, waiting for that cutting, surging static and the disorientation that it brought- but it didn't come. Colomar, it seemed, was otherwise occupied.
The assassin pried another cover out of the wall so that he could drop down from the vent shaft. He found himself in a hallway- carpeted with bland beige wallpaper; it looked like a middle-of-the-line motel. This command center, as Cade had referred to the place, was such a strange mix of architectural functions and styles… It was as though small sections had been ripped out of several buildings and assembled together to create this one. The structure had a strange atmosphere… Revenant didn't like it.
He passed by a room in which a person could be seen at a desk, using a holographic display for some kind of technical work. They didn't react to his presence or even look up. Further on, another worker was visible through a thick pane of glass and protective wire grate. This one was assembling mechanical parts for something- a cybernetic arm, perhaps; its outer casing was about the right diameter.
There were too many skinbags here, Revenant thought, who had the technical knowledge to inflict real harm on him. They reminded him of the many engineers and fabricators who worked for Hammond. He'd come to despise anyone with that sort of background, after so many decades of being powerless and disposable under their control. Torc and Wattson- even if they had proven themselves useful, even if they genuinely held no ill will toward him… humans didn't have purposes or directives. Their motivations and intentions changed on a whim. They were unreliable, and could not be trusted.
A door opened to his right, and someone stepped out into the hallway. They glanced briefly at Revenant and nodded their head in a quick greeting before they walked away, apparently unconcerned that he was wandering the corridors. He disappeared through the door they'd come from before it could fully close.
On the other side of the doorway was some kind of combat training area. It was much larger than the bland, homey hall outside would lead one to expect. Staffs, wooden swords, and other close-range practice weapons lined one wall, along with padded targets for kicking and striking. Grappling dummies and heavy bags were spaced around the far side, while the middle of the room held elevated platforms with ropes around the side for sparring matches. Most of the occupants of this command center must have been asleep or otherwise occupied, as there was only one other person in the enormous room: a dark-skinned man wearing khaki shorts with cargo pockets and a tactical knife strapped to his ankle, whaling on a heavy bag. The skill and precision with which he moved, combined with the way he held his head and shoulders when at a pause, suggested military training. His hair, however - twisted into short dreadlocks that stuck up and tilted toward the left side of his head - didn't fit their regulations.
When the man saw Revenant from the corner of his eye, he quickly grabbed the bag to halt its motion with one hand, while he used his teeth to pull the padded, fingerless glove off of his other.
"Renaud Augustin," he introduced himself between heavy breaths. "Corporal, Defense Force- well, I used to be, anyway. What have they got you doing around here?"
He stated his name and rank with a sort of pride, which visibly changed to a demeanor of rage as he continued speaking. The assassin didn't answer- he remained still and watched Augustin, as if waiting for something to happen.
"Not one for small talk, huh?" The corporal chuckled. "Yeah, nah, me neither. You want to spar?"
It caught Revenant by surprise that this man would act so casual around him, as if the two of them were old friends. There was a delay before he answered, during which he continued to stare Augustin down in a manner that, while neutral for him, likely appeared aggressive.
"I'd end up killing you."
"Is that so?" Augustin raised an eyebrow. "Then you're kinda missing the point of sparring, zanmi!"
The corporal raised his arms in a half-shrug, a goofy, lopsided grin creeping across his face. His expression became more serious as he closed the distance- his open hand curled into a pointed index finger, aimed at the transceiver attached to Revenant's chest.
"Colomar's work? Tch- stupid. As if a simulacrum is more of a threat around here than her freaky integrated hacking setup. Give me a sec; I bet I can remove that thing for you."
He turned and walked toward the back wall, where he'd dropped his black duffel bag. Hand wraps, boxing gloves, shin guards, a rubber knife and gun for practicing disarming techniques- he organized them into neat little piles to the sides of the bag until he was able to pull out some kind of handheld scanner. Two prongs protruded from its end, between which a beam of red light flashed. Having found what he was looking for, Augustin piled the rest of his things back into the bag and zipped it closed.
Revenant's hands clenched into fists at his sides as the man approached. He stood his ground while the corporal stood a few feet across from him- his optics tracked the motion of Augustin's hand as the former Defense Force serviceman raised the scanner.
The tension in Revenant's posture, his readiness to strike- didn't faze Augustin in the slightest. He passed the beam of light from the scanner across Colomar's transceiver, then calmly reached up with his other hand and peeled it off. The thin, translucent material bent under his touch, but did not tear or crumple. The circuit trace printed on the device seemed to glow when the overhead light fell on it at just the right angle.
"Now," said Augustin, "how about that sparring match? Light contact only- but if you do happen to fuck up and kill me...?"
He shrugged. "Guess I won't have to worry about it after the fact, ay?"
"Heh. Smart- for a skin-suit."
Revenant didn't see any flaw in that logic, though it was an unusual sentiment to hear from a human. Augustin nodded pointedly before turning and running away to climb inside one of the roped-off sparring rings.
"Well, come on- get in here! Unless you're worried about getting beaten by a 'skin-suit.'"
The man winked at him. Revenant tilted his head. Augustin's behavior was… strange, unexpected. He didn't come off as a threat in the same way that Wattson did; it seemed more that he was a risk-taker. There was something else going on with him, too- not that the assassin had any clue what. He wasn't much of one for social nuances.
Though non-lethal combat wasn't something he'd ever considered in the past, Revenant supposed he could humor this man with a sparring match. His skill was superior to that of a human in any format- and there wasn't much else for him to do while he waited for Crypto and the others to finish planning their attack on the Syndicate prison. He could do that for them, he supposed- but somehow, he doubted they'd accept any plan he put together.
After a few seconds' hesitation, he climbed into the ring and stood opposite Augustin.
"Wonderful!"
The corporal smiled and clapped his hands once in delight. "Are you ready to begin?"
"Are you?"
The assassin stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, arms slightly raised, ready to block- or more likely, to go on the offensive first. Strike his opponent before they had a chance to attack him; that was more the sort of tactic he favored.
Having pulled both of his gloves back on, Augustin looked up at Revenant with a sly smile. "I served in an EOD unit with a simulacrum, my friend. I am not afraid of you."
The corporal gave a single, firm nod. A second later, he shouted: "Begin!"
Revenant lunged from his corner and moved to strike Augustin at the bottom of the rib cage. Augustin anticipated his aggression and stepped sideways along a diagonal line- he repositioned himself at Revenant's flank and threw a punch aimed for the assassin's back. Revenant, however, was able to react faster than any human… He spun around in time to easily knock the corporal's arm to the side. As he did, his other hand caught Augustin's wrist. The hand he'd initially used to block found a firm grip around the man's upper arm, just behind the elbow. With both joints under his control, Revenant was able to control the corporal's momentum. He forced Augustin to drop to the ground to avoid having his arm broken.
Within a fraction of a second, Revenant was on top of him. The assassin's knee pinned Augustin's arm down- his own arm reconfigured into a bladed weapon, which he held inches from the corporal's chest, preventing him from counterattacking unless he wanted to risk impaling himself on it.
"Zero to one," Augustin conceded with a raised eyebrow. "Aikido, huh? It's such a slow, patient, polite discipline… Not at all what I would have expected from you."
"In a real fight," the simulacrum growled in a low tone, "I would have snapped your wrist and ripped your shoulder out of its socket."
He held his position for a moment to emphasize the danger to this pathetic, fragile human- then he finally stood and backed away, allowing Augustin to get back on his feet.
"So you know all the techniques," said the corporal. He kept shifting position, taking a couple steps to the left, then back to the right as he watched Revenant. "You can perform every maneuver flawlessly, but you don't know the ideas behind them."
"Philosophy is useless in combat," the assassin responded.
"Hmmm. We will have to agree to disagree on that," replied Augustin. "Begin!"
This time, the corporal went on the offensive. The instant he called the command, he leaped off his line with a high jab aimed at Revenant's head. The assassin turned to the side and the punch went past him- Augustin quickly retracted his arm before Revenant could grab his wrist again. The corporal shuffled back, safely out of Revenant's range, and waited for the assassin to close the distance.
Revenant lunged. He moved quickly, faster than a human would be able to react- but Augustin had anticipated his aggression. No reaction was necessary; the corporal was already safely out of the way. His shin connected with the back of Revenant's forward knee in an ineffective attempt to throw the simulacrum off balance- Revenant simply slid forward, closer to Augustin and slammed his forearm into the man's sternum. The impact sent Augustin staggering back a couple of steps.
"Zero to two," gasped the corporal, doubled over and looking up at his opponent. That maneuver could have come from a number of disciplines - Krav Maga, Muay Thai, several variations of Karate - but it certainly wasn't part of Aikido. Revenant was well-practiced in multiple methods of combat, it seemed- something that Augustin had considerable respect for.
The former soldier straightened up and returned to his corner. Revenant copied the action. To his surprise, this useless, non-lethal fighting was… all right. It was certainly preferable to idling around the base. He couldn't remember any prior instances in which working collaboratively with another sentient being had been tolerable to him.
"Begin," called Augustin.
The corporal waited in his corner with his arms raised in a guarding block for Revenant to jump off the line- and sure enough, that was what the simulacrum did. In response to his attack, Augustin threw himself to the ground.
Revenant didn't stop to question why the man had deliberately put himself in a disadvantageous position. He saw the vulnerability and lunged. Augustin had anticipated this; he pushed off one leg, twisted his hip, and swung a hook kick at the back of Revenant's knee. The assassin wasn't able to compensate in time, and he went down. At the same instant that his back hit the mats, the edge of Augustin's hand came down and lightly struck him across the chest.
"One to two."
He was already back on his feet as the corporal called the score- but those tenths of a second had been enough for Augustin to gain a point.
"Your skill is impressive," the man remarked with a nod after having climbed to his feet himself. "You're stronger, faster - indeed, better at the techniques - but that aggression of yours is predictable. And, you- well, you only react to what I'm doing. You never anticipate. You're missing that- for lack of a better phrase, human element."
"Humans are such fragile creatures," Revenant growled in response. "A 'human element' is a weakness."
"It's how I was able to beat you in that last round," Augustin pointed out. "I did something that made no tactical sense- and you played right into it."
"In a real fight, I'd kill you," replied the assassin.
Augustin grinned. "Irrelevant, when what we are doing is not a 'real fight'- is it not?"
Though he would never concede, Revenant did consider the corporal's argument. He'd followed up with the most efficient maneuver in each combat scenario that came up. It made perfect sense- but was it too predictable? Had the despicable human component of his consciousness made him more versatile in tactics…?
If removing it had made him a worse fighter, he was willing to put up with that sacrifice. He didn't tolerate failure or inferiority- he'd find a way to work around the predictability issue, without a virus of sorts cutting into him and influencing his every move.
"Go again?" asked Augustin.
The door burst open and Cade stormed in.
"Of course it was you," snapped the enforcer. His eyes bored into Augustin with anger and frustration. "Nobody else would be stupid enough to let a sim go wandering around our command center unsupervised. What were you planning to do if it decided to kill us all, or give our location to the Syndicate?"
He shifted his glare to Revenant and crossed his arms over his chest. "You couldn't show a modicum of respect for what we did for you, and just stay where Torc told you?"
Revenant took an aggressive step toward Cade- Augustin hurriedly ran around him and placed himself in between the two of them.
"Hey, hey- he hasn't done anything wrong, kamarade," the corporal insisted to Cade. "Colomar, on the other hand… I often question for how long we can trust for loyalty. At the end of the day, the only back she's watching is her own."
"You're not wrong there," muttered the enforcer.
Reluctantly, he made a conscious effort to suppress his hostile body language and relax. "Well, since we're all here… This is the guy I told you about, Revenant, who'll supply us with explosives and shit if you give me a list of the Syndicate's prisons. One of the only full humans with zero augmentation in our faction- and probably the only person stupid enough to be okay working with a sim."
Augustin clicked his tongue in disapproval. "A simulacrum saved my life on the battlefield many times, frè. Perhaps you are the one who needs to show a little respect."
Cade rolled his eyes.
"Now- why do you think I can supply you with explosives?" The corporal frowned. "You do understand what EOD does, yes? We disarm them- we don't build them."
"But you know how to build them," Cade replied. "And I know how fast you'd jump on the chance to blow your old lieutenant's guts out of his body."
Augustin raised one eyebrow, then slowly nodded in response. "You can give me that opportunity…?"
"With the list that he's going to give me, yeah. I can."
Cade briefly pointed at Revenant.
"So violent," said the assassin. There was an edge of amusement to his tone as he looked Augustin up and down. "You and I might just get along, skin-suit."
"Okay- now that we're all buddy-buddy…" grumbled Cade in a low voice. He turned his head toward Augustin. "Before I had to go hunting all over the building for this walking microwave oven, I was coming to see if you wanted to go on a short little detail with me. This prison we're hitting tomorrow- they have a transport headed northeast tonight, to their headquarters. We're gonna follow them 'till they stop for fuel, swipe their manifest, and get out without being seen. Unless-"
An idea occurred to the enforcer, and he turned abruptly to face Revenant.
"...I don't suppose you can get us access to their manifests from here, like you patched us into their surveillance network…?"
"Syndicate manifests are all hard copies," the assassin growled in response. When they need to send digital data to someone, it's a single assignment at a time- one prisoner for transport; one target that needs to be eliminated."
Cade frowned. "How are they so organized with paper manifests?"
"They have a building full of robot workers just for that purpose," Revenant answered. "Keeps rogues like us from disrupting their operations."
"All right- change of plans," the enforcer groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We're going after a shipping container full of parts for Hammond Robotics. In and out without being seen; redistribute the parts to those with cybernetics who - you know - need them to stay alive…"
Revenant folded his arms across his chest. His claws tapped against his opposite arm with a soft clink as he regarded Cade. "You want to do this right now…?"
"That," Augustin interjected with a crooked grin, "is the human element. Our enemies can't predict our plans if we make them up on the spot!"
The assassin shot a skeptical glare in his direction.
"Our faction's done a lot of runs like this before," Cade pointed out. "Consider it a practice for the big op, when we burn down their headquarters."
"All right," Revenant growled after a moment's hesitation. "Let's go."