November 10th, 2038
PM 02:49:38
"Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die."
She laid there in a chamber – one specialized for cryogenic suspension and refitted for the transference of human consciousness into a digital replica.
"And this is for…what, exactly?"
Elijah turned to you, pushing up his glasses as he wheeled closer to the keyboard.
"Every line of code her and I have written together…every test, every late night lying awake wondering how far the line between humans and androids could be pushed before there was no longer a line at all…" He looked behind him, at the chamber humming in subordinance, "It's all come to this."
You bit the inside of your cheek, brows creasing as you frowned at the frosted glass.
"It feels…unnatural. Like we're tampering with some sacred law of nature that just…shouldn't be tampered with."
"You wouldn't understand. You never do."
The keyclick was loud, and defining. A single press of a button on an overpriced keyboard that would conduct a costly mistake.
This research had been taboo. Hidden from the light of the board, both CyberLife's and Colbridge's. You'd tried to reason with them, tried to explain that if they didn't feel like they could tell anyone – they probably shouldn't be doing it.
You'd received the first of many death threats after that, tucked away in an envelope without a return address.
But when the lights flashed, and the alarms started screeching – when the chamber wouldn't open, no matter how hard Elijah pulled. When the power was cut, and the vitals monitor flatlined…
The act of defiance against mother nature, was returned to sender, regardless.
"She's dead, I…I killed her…"
You hadn't seen him cry very often. Had seen a dead body even less.
"There must've been a mistake. Where did I go wrong…"
He scrolled and scrolled on his mouse for what seemed like an eternity. He scanned the error report until his bloodshot eyes found you, hugging yourself in the corner with a CyberLife hoodie snug around your shaking frame.
There as such anger…and hatred, and fury.
"The stone."
The glasses in his hand snapped. Red droplets oozed out of his palm as he marched towards you and time felt like it was grinding to a halt.
"The only discrepancy in the code her and I wrote…together…"
Red that smeared along your neck as your back met the cold panel of a steel wall.
Red that stained your white undershirt, a replacement from a similar scenario.
The color was deepened by the blaring sirens and pulsing red lights; a distress signal for the retrieval of one dead woman, and an outcry for help the prevent a second.
"Amanda Stern is gone because I listened to you."
…
Pop…pop…
Pop-pop-pop-pop-
Bullet tracers zoomed overhead, blazing paths through falling snow and failed negotiations.
This was war…
The byproduct of miscommunication.
"ATTACK!"
Markus.
A war cry from his people, and a stampede to follow.
A small red dot fading in and out, marking the rhythm of an alarm.
Black borders peeled back; blurry on the edges, a blinding ray of light pushing them away.
You tried to make sense of a string of flashing words, begging someone to put you out of your misery.
!WARNING!
Heavy impact taken to shield's [FRONT] panel – critical damage sustained.
Damage Type: .50 Caliber bullet – shot from approx. 7,000 yards, traveling at 2,000 feet per second.
Distress Beacon: Activated.
Stabilizing...
250 milligrams of Sansufentanyl: Administered.
A needle pricked your neck, and the ringing in your ears flatlined.
!CAUTION!
Temporary side effects include:
Nausea
Your stomach felt like it would burst at any moment.
Dizziness
Every sound parted in an echo, the hoarse commands from DPD personnel coming in blobs of sound.
Impaired motor coordination
You gave a low-chested roar as your jellied hands slapped against someone's shoulders. You forced your fingers to curl, and your arms to pull.
[CPT] DALLEN: "She's alive!"
JCOOPER: "They're getting closer!"
STALON: "Keep firing!"
A breath of fresh air filled your lungs, and a visor retracted overhead.
"That's it, breathe…" Captain Allen urged, his exposed face matching yours, "You've gotta get it together – we're in the middle of a warzone, here-"
He ducked, his head swinging underneath a large shape casting a shadow over you. A spark bounced off the ground, igniting the dazed stones lodged in the front of your head as you came to.
He was covering you with his body, your shield hoisted in the air with one arm to cover both of you like a shell. His other hand was planted firmly on the ground, balancing himself.
Allen closed his visor, looking up.
[CPT] DALLEN: "Miller, what's the status on that sniper?!"
LMILLER: "He's good, Cap! Hiding his signature from my helmet, switching to manual!"
[CPT] DALLEN: "He's what?!"
LLASTIMOSA: "Captain, we're coming to get you!"
[CPT] DALLEN: "I said, STAY! PUT!"
[31] RROYAL: "You're out in the open!"
[CPT] DALLEN: "I will not lose another squad member! HOLD your FUCKING positions, and do not break the lin-"
Another crack of thunder; another loud clank followed by more sparks and a heavy thud on your chest had him mute.
[31] RROYAL: "HE'S BEEN HIT!"
!WARNING!
Heavy impact taken to shield's [FRONT] panel – critical damage sustained.
Damage Type: .50 Caliber bullet – shot from approx. 7,000 yards, traveling at 2,000 feet per second.
"It…was the shield-" You coughed, lungs full of fire and brimstone, "Miller…Liam, he's out seven…thousand…yards-"
LMILLER: "You gotta direction in all that intel?"
"No…It's…It's an android…"
LMILLER: "How in the Hell do you know that?!"
"He…hacked my HUD…and-"
LLASTIMOSA: "Grenier – any time, mate!"
CGRENIER: "WORKING ON IT!"
LMILLER: "Royal, what in God's name are you doing?!"
You had to get up. Had to join the fight, or die a pathetic burden that let your peers be picked off on your behalf.
It was do, or die. Run, or fight.
You'd made up your mind before:
You were done, running.
You rolled Captain Allen on his back, kneeling at his side. Grit your teeth, and kept your head down to avoid friendly fire. Used every ounce of anything you had in the tank to lift the shield with the viewport towards the ground.
No ballistic glass in the world was going to stop a .50 cal, or at least – you didn't feel like being the field test.
"Captain Allen, we've got to move."
[CPT] DALLEN: "I…know-" He choked, opened his visor, and rolled on his stomach to unload it.
You looked away, giving him an ounce of privacy.
Bullets planted themselves in androids, putting them face-down one at a time. Them, charging in mass and taking cover. Dodging shots and making progress…
Because progress, was inevitable.
And this was just pack meeting pack in the jungle.
A very different, very lethal version of the first contact you'd seen on television.
[31] RROYAL: "I'm going to get him on his feet-"
A man slid next to you, his shield tilted in the same fashion as yours.
[CPT] DALLEN: "I'm fine to stand on my own, Royal! Keep that shield on your fucking arm-AGH-"
He fell, his arm failing to support his weight when he tried.
[31] RROYAL: "It's broken, Captain. You know it, I know it, so let's just stop pretending and get you back behind the others, alright?"
[CPT] DALLEN: "Her…"
He pointed at you.
[CPT] DALLEN: "Don't let them get her."
Your brows creased, and you shied away from a bullet flying past your ear.
JCOOPER: "I'm empty, reloading!"
STALON: "Stay behind me!"
JCOOPER: "Where else would I go?"
LLASTIMOSA: "Fuck this…Mayumi, move behind the others and give me your shield."
AMAYUMI: "Excuse me?"
LLASTIMSOA: "We don't have time to argue!"
She covered your other flank, holding the shield up with her prosthetic arm.
LLASTIMOSA: "Alright, Captain – on your feet!"
He cried in pain as she and Royal gripped him, hoisting him up in a crouched position.
[31] RROYAL: "We're gonna move on the count of three and turtle him the whole way there. Ready?"
"Ready."
LLASTIMOSA: "Ready!"
[31] RROYAL: "One…Two…THREE!"
Running towards gunfire, or putting your back towards the army yelling in waves – you couldn't decide which was more terrifying. Which threat to your life was worth making a break for.
Or how your rapid heartbeat just pushed the medicine deeper into your veins; more quickly, like a poison spreading wildly.
Holding the shield, staying crouched in a spring – an anaerobic exercise that only made it worse.
The crispness in your mouth had you swallowing flakes. You sweated profusely, dazed as the Riot Unit line fell forward and came to; a drugged depth perception that put you in a stumble.
LLASTIMOSA: "You're swerving, keep it together!"
Everything was toggling left and right, not quite staying put on any axis. But if you moved, if you faltered; Ryan, Liera, and Captain Allen would be exposed.
Russian roulette was your least favorite game.
CMILLER: "Come on, you're almost there!"
Dust kicked up from a helicopter-propelled gust. It blocked out Chris's extending hands, covered from the waist-down by a shield-bearer in front of him.
[31] TCHEN: "Keep your head down, Chris!"
She was protecting him; something you'd failed to do out of impulse – again.
The helicopter swung around, hovering over the tallest command truck and dropping a rope. A body slid half-way before detaching, hitting the roof with his chest and taking aim.
CGRENIER: "Target acquired! You can't make that shot on a bird, Miller!"
LMILLER: "I already roped down, son."
He took the shot. Cranked his arm back, and a shell popped from the chamber.
LMILLER: "Negative contact. Switching to LAM."
[31] RROYAL: "Units en route, hold position. Shields, take Captain Allen – we're coming through one at a time-"
You and Liera stopped on his order, him on the right, you in the middle, her at your left – and the three of you protected the officer who intercepted the wounded Captain.
[CPT] DALLEN: "Talon, get me patched up – I'm not out of this fight, you hear me?"
STALON: "Aye-aye, Capt'n!"
[CPT] DALLEN: "Jesus Christ…"
LLASTIMOSA: "Royal, take lead – I'll cover the priority target while you advance."
[31] RROYAL: "Copy that. Moving out."
That's what you were – a package to be delivered to safety. Ryan had made it past the line, putting the shield on his back before turning to you.
But you froze.
[31] RROYAL: "Come on, you can do it. We're right here-"
You couldn't move. Couldn't bring yourself to put yourself in the line of fire of an AI-guided android with their sights trained on you.
LLASTIMOSA: "Once you're through, hold back behind the line. I'll take your place."
AMAYUMI: "I'm getting my shield back, you know I'm shit with a gun."
LLASTIMOSA: "That's what the LAM is for."
She kicked the back of your heel, urging you forward.
LLASTIMOSA: "MOVE!"
And you did, not that she'd given you a choice.
The temporary status of living was so brief – just a casing filled with gunpowder that made orbit until it buried itself in your back, chipping another 365 days off your lifespan.
That ideal had stayed with you since the recovery period of your last face-to-face encounter with Elijah Kamski.
You remembered when that had been your biggest worry, your biggest strain.
Almost welcomed it as you crossed a minimized version of no man's land, reaching a hand for Ryan's, extended over the shield-bearer strafing to the left.
RK800 #313 248 317 – 52: "N…w…th…s is th…law of the jungle, as old and true as the sky. And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper…"
Bang.
A shot rang clearer than the cracking of glass, and the warning of a breached viewport.
You fell backwards, cradled by the interior the shield mounted on your back.
The turtle had been flipped, rocking along on its shell with that same deadly twinkle clashing in the distance.
You could almost see through the enemy's scope. Could almost imagine an android mimicking Connor's appearance, his voice – his everything, lining you up for the kill shot.
Your eyes glued shut.
Everything was dark – the world had returned to black…
But you could still hear. Taste. Feel.
You flinched, forcing your vision clear and your mind to untangle the mess of scenery that flooded those senses.
Liera's shield had been struck – but her arm wouldn't break from being burdened by mortality. She was the variable Amanda hadn't predicted.
LLASTIMOSA: "Shields been hit, we're good."
JCOOPER: "They're pushing hard, get OUT of there!"
She didn't flinch…but at a distance, she'd been the link to chain the rest of the line together. And now, Ryan had no cover. She was too busy protecting you.
LMILLER: "Target in sight – sending a postcard."
Liera had you on your feet, two foundations that hadn't quite settled. Ryan grabbed your forearm. Pulled you in, his grip tightening in response to the SWAT-sent bullet soaring overhead.
RK800 #313 248 317 – 52: "…But the wolf that shall break it must die."
Liera pushed you, harder than she had before; almost tripping you on purpose.
The shot was loud, and deafening. A single pull of a trigger of an overpriced rifle that would conduct a costly mistake.
Your life had been taboo. Hidden from the light of the world, both humanity's and that of the android's. You'd tried to be reasoned with, had tried being explained that if you had to hide – you probably shouldn't be living.
You'd received the last of many more death threats, tucked away in a bullet without a return address.
And when the red light started flashing, and the alarms started screeching – when the chamber was empty, and a friendly vitals monitor flatlined…
Your act of defiance against mother nature, was returned to sender.
Your head bounced off the pavement before leveling parallel to Ryan, his forehead a mangled mess of oozing red and snapped glass, fiber, and plating.
A shield spun; a dreidel on its point – marking the slowing of time once again; as if you alone controlled its ebb and flow.
Liera dove on her knees, helmet rolling at her side in flashes of armored ankles scurrying between you two in an effort to close the gap in the riot shield line.
She was shouting. Yelling.
You hadn't seen a soldier cry. Had seen more dead bodies than this rare occurrence.
She kissed him, her forehead on his chest – covered in blood, rocking back and forth.
"No, no, no-"
The fleeting holler of denial was interrupted by a woman placing a hand on her shoulder.
AMAYUMI: "He's gone, Liera. We don't have time for this, either."
"Get off me-"
AMAYUMI: "We'll raise a drink to him later. But if you don't get your ass in gear, there's going to be more just like him. Do you think he'd want that?"
"He was my…he was…I…"
AMAYUMI: "He was my friend, too. And now we're going to give them Hell, and then some."
STALON: "Listen to her, Lasti."
Another woman joined their side, crouching and pulling Liera's chin up from Ryan's corpse.
STALON: "We've still got a job to do."
She'd searched her friend's helmet with tears for what seemed like an eternity. Scanned the black plating for an alternative until her bloodshot eyes found you, laying there stunted with a CyberLife suit of armor snug around your shaking frame.
There was such anger…and hatred, and fury.
"You..."
The spinning shield dropped, rolling on its curved front like a needle that'd been dropped…
Or a pin being ripped from a grenade.
"Ryan is gone because I saved you."
Anthony was gone, because he saved you, too. Connor was gone, because you'd involved him. Hank was suspended, because he defended you. Elijah was banished, because he'd married you.
Ryan's dismissal was just another number in the body count.
Captain Allen's shin guards blocked the menacing woman from your view, taking to a knee. His arm hung in a sling made from the rifle's strap; the weapon's stock planted firmly on the pavement like the butt of a walking stick.
His face twisted and contorted, looking up to his best sniper still perched on the command truck.
[CPT] DALLEN: "Miller, what's your status?"
No answer.
He looked to someone behind you, giving them a nod.
Two hands pulled you to your feet, and Allen used his gun to stand – hand wrapped around the barrel.
[CPT] DALLEN: "Miller?"
You shook off the pain, leaning into Chris for support. Your heart sank, finding Jack and Grenier looking behind them as officers on either side of them continued to fire at a very underestimated number of androids present at the gathering.
You pieced it together quickly.
The Marauders all knew Ryan; Liera had loved him…
And she was right.
He was gone.
[CPT] DALLEN: "MILLER!"
LMILLER: "Tango down. Standing by for pickup."
The hesitant response came with a somber tone.
STALON: "Liera, don't-"
She was interrupted with a grunt.
Captain Allen turned, revealing a scene of infighting.
Liera, elbowing Sage in the stomach and pulling her grenade launcher from her chest, the breakaway cable snapping and falling. The small, silver ball being loaded into the chamber, blue light leaking through the seams after she clicked a button with her thumb.
CGRENIER: "Widget, come here buddy!"
JCOOPER: "Forget Widget, STOP HER!"
LMILLER: "Get that bird out of here!"
[CPT] DALLEN: "LASTIMOSA! STAND…DOWN!"
She rocked on her heels. Closed her eyes, her teeth showing as her lips peeled away. Opened her eyelids under arch brows, two burning, maroon irises encroaching on shrinking pupils. Let out a roar when the pull of a trigger kicked the weapon back, the strands of hair from the side that wasn't shaven rocking from the recoil – waves of energy rippling through her padded vest.
The firing stopped.
Both police and androids alike paused their fighting, watching the device fly long – landing in the mass of protesters-turned-targets.
Victims…because they hadn't fired the first shot – CyberLife did.
But humans…impulsive as they are, didn't ask questions before launching an attack.
AMAYUMI: "Fire in the hole…"
A wide cloud of smoke overtook the back half of the android army. Those that weren't caught in the grey fog were forced to evacuate, dodging blue-soaked bodies of the fallen during their charge.
With the perimeter established in the side streets, and their rear engulfed in impending death, they had nowhere else to go.
They ran towards the shield line, putting their backs towards the army yelling in waves – because they couldn't decide which was more terrifying. Which threat to their life was worth making a break for.
When the electric smoke grenade detonated, and all that the light touched fell, and the officers regained control of themselves to commence the assault against the androids that had nothing left to lose…
War took on a different face.
You wiped the blood from your helmet, and picked up your blood-splattered shield. Gave Chris a nod, fighting off the nausea and dizziness your body was still processing. Inserted yourself back in the line, and fell to a knee. Gazed into the eyes of the leader of Jericho as he came closer, and closer…his body parted by the cracks in your viewport, the bullet still stuck between glass.
Against all odds, it hadn't made it through.
And just like that glass, you wouldn't allow yourself to break, either.
Just like that glass, if you allowed a hole to open, lives would be lost.
"We Bleed Blue…"
A horse snorted, latches jingled, and boots stopped crunching behind you as Allen took to the saddle. The shadow of Chris's rifle returned, and a noise-canceling notification popped up on your HUD as shells landed on your shoulder.
[CPT] DALLEN: "And so do they."
This wasn't the Stratford Tower where this parallel was drawn, before…
But the androids at Grand Circus Park were about to shed a lot of blood.
