Mark of Man
Chapter 10
It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause.
Several hours had passed before X once again opened her eyes. Her head felt heavy, as if someone had taken her skull and bashed it against the ground for several hours. Slowly rising from the makeshift cot on the ruined highway, she placed a hand on her temple, groaning quietly as she blinked away the various warnings.
Nearby, Lieutenant Bublik was busy treating a few more Reploids, her formerly tightened ponytail loosened by the sheer amount of time she'd likely been on her feet.
Crazy human. Rokko observed while shaking her head, wincing a moment later due to the pain in her skull.
Glancing about, about seventy cots had been laid out for the various reploids and humans that had survived the initial attack and in the distance, a faint echo of megaphones notified Rokko that the Government's shattered shell was hastily trying to come up with a response.
Stepping over various humanoid reploids and walking around the larger ones, she started down the highway, a minor limp in her step. Apparently, the spike that had been removed before the highway battle had done more damage than she'd been aware of. That, or her body was having trouble healing from the assortment of wounds that she'd sustained.
Vile, next time we meet, you're going to resemble roadkill.
Scowling at the thought of the cowardly psychopath, she clenched her left hand into a fist, determined to fulfill her promise of ending him. As she thought of what had happened, she had continued to limp towards the slowly growing group of terrified humans and reploids. Many of them had scorched armor and clothes, missing chunks of hair, or outright sobbing at the losses that they experienced.
"Due to the severe damage that the Mavericks have caused, we've decided to fold all remaining human and reploid fighters together into a temporary anti-Maverick task force codenamed 'Maverick Hunters'." A man in a rumpled suit explained via a megaphone
The man himself looked just as harried as the rest of them, his red power tie ripped in half. His gelled back hair a rumpled mess, having strands of black hair sticking up in random and chaotic places.
"Until this current crisis is over, I am allowing the Maverick Hunters absolute Military Authority until Sigma is put down, having only the current head of government; myself to answer to. Due to the devastating losses, and the uncertainty on who is in charge of the Hunters, I'm placing our top Reploid Hunter in charge until we manage to sort through the losses of our human commanders and generals." Rokko's eyes widened, stunned at the proclamation.
That would mean… Zero was currently one of the most powerful individuals in the country, only answering to the new Prime Minister, or intern minister anyway.
"While normally this would be a crippling blow to our national defense, it appears that Sigma has struck targets across the world, causing all four superpowers to focus on internal affairs instead of considering invading a weakened foe. Due to this the Oceanic Federation, The Greater American Alliance, and the African Armistice Forces have approved sending military aid once they've managed to shut down Maverick Rebellions in their borders. Yes, this is a global rebellion on a massive scale." A number of humans rumbled uneasily at the announcement, but were silenced by the Intern Minister as he raised a hand calling for the right to continue to speak.
"Of course, considering what has happened, it's apparent that we will have to reevaluate where reploids stand in our nation, and how much trust should be given to them. But for now, our immediate crisis must be dealt with." While their intern minister shook his head, X felt a sense of impending doom.
Odds were whatever laws were passed after the crisis were not going to be in the favor of reploids. Of course, he didn't dare say that, not when there was already a global rebellion underway and had crippled Eurasia's ability to defend against such attacks.
As the words began to fall to more mundane and encouraging words, Rokko turned and began to limp away towards the jury-rigged camp.
On her way back, she lifted a hand to her right earpiece and contacted Zero.
"...Sir, I'm up and active." How she hated addressing him as 'sir'.
At least she didn't mind speaking towards Zero with a modicum of respect compared to him. Hopefully, he'd died in the bombing. If he had, it'd be at least one thing that Sigma had done right since going maverick.
"Good to hear, but I doubt you're at full capacity." Zero responded a moment later, an echo of laserfire in the background.
Rokko shrugged before she responded to the audio only call.
"Neither of us have the luxury of time… Sir."
Zero made a muffled sound of agreement before the hum of his saber signified its activation.
"Fair Enough Huntress X. I'm currently dealing with a number of maverick raids as they approach Neo Tokyo and Hong Kong. Unfortunately, that's only a delaying tactic as they're building new mechaniloids and robots with a number of bases, worse yet, the Himalayan mountains have a research lab that was created to stop avalanches. Sigma installed a Maverick there and is now dropping avalanches on towns and villages up there, some of them were made prior to the day of ash, so saving them is a top priority."
Nodding, Rokko responded quickly.
"It'd probably be best for me to deal with that first then. I'll engage enemy forces immediately."
"Alright, I'll send you the coordinates. We don't have a server room anymore, so you'll need to use your internal transfer systems. Unfortunately, our former command was shortsighted and didn't see it fight to install all reploids with that so we're two of only a handful of active forces. Good Luck X, you're going to need it." Zero warned before he sent the coordinates.
Quickly memorizing the details, she input them to her systems and a moment later teleported to the new battlefield. Although she didn't need to breathe, she took a deep breath of the frigid air and exhaled. If she'd been human, it would have caused condensation, but without water in the air, there was no 'puff' to her breath.
The Langtang Range rose over twenty thousand feet above sea level, with frigid temperatures dipping far below freezing in the upper mountains. However, she would have been lying if she said that she didn't take a moment to appreciate the view. Where X stood, she could see two more mountain ranges to the north, the tips of each mountain tipped with a thick layer of snow.
Rokko continued to gaze at the scenery for a few more minutes before she shook her head. As much as she preferred the wonders of the Himalayas over helping humans, she had a job to do. Maybe if she ever went maverick, she'd choose to make her base of operations here in the frigid mountains. Turning to face the mountain that she stood upon, she slowly began to weave between rocks, unbothered by the extreme temperatures and harsh terrain. However, what did catch her attention was much worse.
A former hunter that she vaguely recognized was standing watch, leaning against a large Ride Armor, looking more bored than anything else. Thankfully, he was more asleep than awake, so she was able to drop down to one knee behind a rock and slowly crawl closer to him. Once she was only a few yards away, she pushed off the ground, and leapt at him.
The maverick's reward for not paying attention was a fist through his chest, instantly killing the purple and blue armored foe. Unfortunately, Rokko had applied too much pressure, and his body had sunk onto her arm beyond the elbow joint. Mentally cursing, she took her damaged right arm and pushed the fallen maverick off of her arm.
With the sentry out of the way, she was able to get a good view of the lab. A few dozen more guards stood near the facility, making a stealthy entrance; what she had been after an impossibility.
"Thanks for the mech." She murmured, as she flicked off the coolant and oil.
It wasn't what she'd planned for, but the machine probably could withstand the fire from the guards and get her inside safely enough. Once decided, she scaled the machine, flipping over the ridge and into the pilot's seat. Unfortunately, this was an older ride armor and lacked a canopy and onboard weapon. But it was better than nothing at all.
Smirking slightly, X powered up the machine and began to move forward. Sure, it'd draw a lot of attention, and indeed it did, but the mech was a sturdy and powerful walking tank. Each punch she delivered instantly crushed a foe before they had a chance to respond.
Some of the mavericks she recognized, like that one reploid girl who hadn't even been given a name, just a simple designation. GP-36 something or another for example, but they'd chosen their path, and so had she.
However, with the sheer amount of fire her ride armor was under, it would only be a matter of time before it fell apart. Cursing under her breath, she ignited the primary thrusters of her acquired mech and drove it fully into the high security door that led to the lab proper. Once the suit had managed to break through, she leapt off of it, firing a single shot at the nearest turret as it tried to get a lock on her.
As she stood countless sirens screamed their warning that there was an intruder in the facility.
"Knock Knock." X said dryly as she began to jog down the halls, sliding down walls, and busting up floors and ceilings alike in her rampage through the base.
It was then that a very, very strange thing happened. She had fired a fully charged plasma shot, and destroyed a wall. Behind it, was a strange cylindrical device. Blue with small tips of red. normally, she would have ignored it having enough on her plate as it was, but something told her that this was important.
Her metal boots echoing through the empty hallway, she approached the device and to her surprise, the top half rose, revealing a face she'd only seen in books.
Professor Thane… Her blood boiled as memories returned to her from her time in the hunter library, right after Sigma had removed her from the active hunter roster.
It had been only two days since Commander Sigma had removed her from active duty, and Rokko was already extremely bored. Unable to do anything besides paperwork, and even that could only last so long when twenty reploids were working on the documents, she'd found herself out of things to do.
Sadly, the training room was being occupied by Commander Sigma and Zero, an ever increasingly common occurrence. Zero was apparently Sigma's golden boy and could do no wrong. She grudgingly had to admit that he was indeed a far superior hunter to her, at least for now.
This meant she was left with limited options. With Cobalt Wolf gone, she had no incentive to socialize, especially since almost every male in the base seemed obsessed with hitting on her. (Of course, many of the female reploids had some of that trouble to one degree or another.) But her creator had gone to great lengths to make her extremely attractive.
It was a divide that further set her apart from the others. Being the first of the reploid race, being what all other reploids had been based off of; without her consent at that, meant that she was more than a little unnerved at the idea of getting 'that' close to another reploid.
Sighing, X decided to wander the halls, dodging any reploid or human that looked even remotely interested in speaking to her. It was because of Donathan's approach she ducked into a room she'd never entered before and quickly moved deeper into said room so that the door would shut.
Sighing when she realized that he'd passed, she realized that she was in a library of all things. Odds were if she was caught reading she'd be in some trouble, but at least it was better than being out there and dealing with people trying to hit on her.
Approaching a computer, she decided to type up 'Professor Thane' on a whim. To her surprise, over three thousand books had been published in regards to her creator, and the library had over twenty of them. Her curiosity piqued, she quickly memorized the location of said books and slipped between the shelves and began to read.
Before that moment, Rokko X had believed she had had an impenetrable shield erected around her heart. But, no defense was truly perfect.
Professor Thane had created a different robot first; 'Rokko Chan', his 'daughter' that he loved beyond all others and he'd have done anything to protect her. Of course, it hadn't taken her long to put the pieces together. Her own name was a direct reflection of Rokko Chan.
Had she just been a replacement for his daughter that he lost? Pushing the book back to its proper location, she quietly slipped out, finding that her hatred for humanity had once again grown. Not even her own creator had seen her as her own person, just a replacement for Rokko Chan.
"Then I'll evolve beyond anything he could have imagined…" She murmured to herself, a silent vow.
It would be by her own strength and power that she would carve out her own future. One day, she'd be strong enough to topple everything that had hurt her and so many other reploids.
And once more, her heart hardened.
"Rokko X…" The professor began, but X held up her hand interrupting him.
"Don't pretend you care!" She snapped, hurt inadvertently making its way into her voice.
"X, what do you-" The old man with a well trimmed moustache and goatee seemed surprised and tried to protest his innocence.
"I'm not your daughter! I'm not Rokko Chan." X responded firmly, but even so, her tone wavered slightly, but she continued anyway.
"Did you think I'd be okay with the idea that I'm just some kind of replacement? No, of course not! And I don't want help from someone who only sees me as such," Her voice dropped to a near whisper as she continued. "You should have just stayed in the past."
With that said, she turned away, and quickly dashed down the hall, ignoring Thane's protests to get her to listen. Sliding into a ventilation shaft, she managed she crawl through the ducts, listening to the alarms still blaring. Eventually, she found an open chamber where a reploid, no maverick she had not expected was waiting for her.
Scowling, Rokko fired a shot and made a large enough hole to drop into the room. To her surprise Chill Penguin didn't even bother to turn around as he spoke.
"What took you so long X? Admiring the scenery?" He asked, pressing a button to kill the blaring alarms.
Standing slowly, Rokko raised an eyebrow at his blasé mannerisms.
"It is the Himalayas." She observed, aiming her buster at the former hunter.
"True enough, and even the plague of humans has reached this far. Remember what I said Rokko? 'One day Reploids will be seen for something greater. You'll see. The winds of change are coming.' Well, they've arrived. Both you and the Commander were right though. Humans will never give up their power, not until we put the fear of reploid might into them." Chill Penguin rocked from foot to foot until he was facing her.
Rokko X sighed, reluctantly nodding.
"Look, I don't want to fight you X, and I'm sure you don't want to kill another one of your own kind. Just… Lower the buster, and I'll put in a good word for you with the Commander. I'm sure he'd be happy to have you on his side."
Rokko shook her head firmly.
"I dislike humans as much as the next reploid, but I can't work for Sigma. He did two things that I don't approve of."
"What's that?" Chill Penguin asked with genuine interest.
"He tried to kill me, and he killed Wolf." Chill's expression turned sad, and he bowed his head for a moment.
"I'm sorry to hear that X… Cobalt was a good reploid and friend."
X let her buster dip a few inches as they continued to speak.
"If it wasn't for that, I'd have fought for him from the get go. What have humans ever done for reploids, or me for that matter?" She asked before shaking her head.
"But, he killed the only reploid that actually gave a damn."
"So you're going after the commander out of revenge then?" Chill asked quietly.
She nodded and the former arctic researcher sighed.
"Then I'm sorry it's come to this. Goodbye Rokko. I won't forget you."
Rokko raised an eyebrow in tandem with her charging buster.
"Don't bury me until I'm dead maverick." She replied.
Immediately, she was forced to jump as Chill charged her with a sliding dash. The entire room had a thin cover of ice, one that allowed the penguin to easily slide around. But, what Chill didn't know was that she too had learned to take advantage of a slippery battleground.
Landing deftly, she ran at Chill Penguin pelting the maverick with a barrage of shots, first a potent charge shot that knocked him down, and then several smaller ones until she drew near to him and dropped into a sliding kick, knocking him into the wall nearest them and embedding him into the duracrete.
As she charged up her buster, she was met by the maverick's squawking laughter.
"Not bad for a former B class Huntress!" He said cheerfully and pulled himself out of the crater.
"Current B Class Huntress, assigned to the seventeenth Maverick Hunter Task force." She replied as she ducked under a blast of his shotgun ice.
Rising and firing a blast of her buster, she taunted the maverick.
"You'll need to aim better than-Gah! How…?" She gasped as something struck her in the back.
Her foe merely grinned before firing another volley of his weapon and leaping towards the ceiling, summoning a blizzard, somehow. Once again, she dodged the first attack, but shards of ice struck her back a second time.
One of the chunks struck her already badly damaged shoulder and she felt blood leaving her body once again. However, she hardly winced and as Chill Penguin dropped to the floor, she delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to his beak, sending him into the far wall. As he flew, she aimed and fired a potent burst of charged plasma, ripping apart his armor in the process.
In retaliation, Chill Penguin fired another volley of Shotgun Ice, this time the blast hitting her in the face due to the blizzard reducing her visibility to near zero.
The potent ice blast tore into her face, damaging her left eye, and causing blood to flow.
Gritting her teeth, she felt herself instinctively trying to cry out. However, she merely let out a small groan of pain and dashed towards Chill Penguin, grabbing him by the beak and smashing him into the ground.
Keeping his beak shut, Rokko Aimed her buster at his head and fired a fully charged blast. Then, as he tried to retaliate, she charged again, headbutting his chest in the process. Once charged, she fired a second blast, and Chill Penguin was no more.
Her right hand seared, face bloody, and her body screaming dozens of warnings, she slid down to the icy cold floor, laying her left hand on Chill's chest.
"You… Definitely deserved that A class rank." She admitted, feeling… Almost sad that she'd been forced to kill him.
As she rested there, she sensed a strange power still housed within Chill Penguin's body, and one of her combat systems attempting to do… Something. Nodding, she allowed the program to run, more out of genuine curiosity on what it was trying to do than anything else.
A few seconds passed as a stream of data was processed through secondary and non emergency systems. Then, a schematic popped up in her database and she accessed the file.
Shotgun Ice Weapons Program accessed and deployable at will.
Frowning, she decided to attempt to access the program, and her armor color shifted, her dark blue armor lightening considerably and her body 'suit' switched entirely to a pale yellow.
Firing her buster, she was rewarded with an excellent replication of Chill Penguin's signature weapon.
How the hell…?
She could copy weapons? Since when?
Shaking her head wearily, she dropped her buster to her side, and contacted Zero a few seconds later.
"...Sir, The Research Facility's commander been terminated, most of the weaker mavericks are terminated as well, but I've taken some hefty damage and doubt I have the strength left to pursue the rest of them."
"Good work X, I'll order a helicopter drop to mop up the remaining forces and secure the base. You did good."
"Should I stay here until they arrive?" She asked,
"Yeah, just hold your position, and when they arrive I'll let you know. Afterwards, return to the highway encampment and get patched up. Anyway, who was the CO?" Zero asked.
Rokko sighed before answering.
"Chill Penguin, former A class Irregular Hunter." She responded quietly.
"Damn, that's rough. He was made of stern stuff. It's sad to lose a hunter like him. I'm sorry you had to terminate him."
"All in a day's work." She replied simply.
Reploids had been made for two purposes: to serve and to die. Chill Penguin no longer served, so she'd been called on to kill him. One day, odds were she'd become the hunted… But, for now, she still was the killer.
Not going to lie, this is a work of love more than anything else. Rokko's tale is one of hardship and sorrow, one that has a long, long road ahead. Hopefully, if you've read this far, you've enjoyed it! I'll continue to write it, and eventually this fic will be finished.
Regards, Gardian X