Welcome to this new fanfiction! This fanfiction was inspired the amazing fanfiction "Daily War With Monster Girls" by Masterdude21. Check it out if you haven't already! I got permission from him to write a spin-off so enjoy! First fanfiction of this fandom so please leave some feedback! Anyways, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: Artificial Ascendance
"Testing...booting up in three, two, one."
The smile of a female scientist shone as brightly as the digital display powering up. Curiously, she was standing over the still body of a girl lying on an operating table. The scientist checked her monitors before increasing power levels. Soon the next stage of human evolution shall come when her greatest creation awakens.
The subject may look like an ordinary human at first glance, but looks are deceiving. No, this was anything but an ordinary human. Crafted from carbon-based material, and infused with a generous mixture of nanites, she was far more durable than any human could have dreamed of. With the ability to change her form whenever she wanted, she could be anybody and nobody. Even better, the body is designed to perceive human sensations such as touch, taste, and smell.
Yet such a body would be next to useless without wisdom and intelligence. Thanks to her creator's tireless efforts, the subject was installed with an experimental artificial intelligence unlike any before. Unlike previous smart AI developed, this one wasn't created by scanning the brain of another. Instead, the creator tinkered with the idea of combining quantum physics with extensive programming to generate an AI that theoretically operates indefinitely without the risk of rampancy. It had taken decades to perfect this current generation with many failed prototypes having to be terminated in the proceeds. Yet now humanity was on the brink of another revolution. The dawn of the androids, the perfect combination of artificial intelligence and robotics.
"Systems booting up, standby for awakening", the interface droned. The creator smiled, knowing the implications of the creation of such a being. Whether or not humanity was ready for this mattered not. Humanity had to be ready for the coming storm, whether from hostile xenos or worse.
The creator watched with anticipation as her greatest creation started to twitch. With a quick startup, the subject's internal reactors started to activate. The reactor's energy coursed through its body to start up more systems. Their limbs started to twitch before their fingers flexed, no doubt the newly installed AI getting a grasp of their new body. Then after moments of silence, it opened its eyes for the first time.
She was confused as to where she was. She had no memory or idea as to why she was strapped onto a table completely devoid of any covering. Where was she? Who was she again? With no memories to call back on, she didn't even know her own name.
The newly awoken subject looked around, spotting a woman with a lab coat and glasses obscuring her eyes. The lady had smooth pale skin and flowing white hair. 'What a strange place to wake up', they thought. Indeed it was most odd to awaken to the presence of such an interested individual. Most would be terrified or nervous, but all she felt was an odd sense of calm, like she somehow knew what was to come.
"Greetings Young One, do you know who I am?"
"I don't believe so, though something tells me you're close to me."
"Indeed, I am your creator, Dr. Perseus", the lady nodded. ' A strange name indeed. And what of a creator?', the subject thought. This required further inquiry.
"Doctor, what do you mean creator? Are you my mother? Or perhaps my experimenter?", she asked calming.
"I am your mother technically, yes. You see, you are not what most would call "organic". You have been constructed through inorganic material by me", Doctor Perseus explained. "The fact is, I care for you deeply, perhaps even love. You are like my child to me."
"I see...who am I then?", the construct asked. She took the fact that she was in fact not of natural origin but instead somebody's brainwork incredible well. Perhaps it was due to her creator's preconfigured protocols installed. Indeed, she had access to certain types of information such as basic awareness of human anatomy, culture, naming convention, and social behavior.
"Your official designation is Arbiter Alpha. However, I believe you should be the one to pick your name. You are designed to be a leading warrior so take that into consideration. I have given you preloaded data to help you decide Dear."
With that, the newly awoken construct scoured her limited name data for something that suited her. 'Hmm, if my designation is as a great warrior, then I shall search for the names of great female warriors', she concluded. Searching her archives, she was sorely disappointed by the lack of famous female warriors.
Most of humanity's greatest warriors were males. She vowed to change that someday if her creator allowed that. Her processing core rapidly eliminated thousands of possibilities until she settled on a particular name she thought represented a future warrior like herself. After less than a second, she responded.
"I wish to be known as Andromeda...Mother."
"Very well then, I will note your preference Andromeda", Doctor Perseus smiled warmly. To be called "Mother" by one's greatest creation warmed her darkened heart. It was a good day to be a pioneering scientist.
Approximately Ten Years Later
Location: Unknown
Strolling through a ruined structure, Andromeda was honestly disappointed by the opposition. For her first combat mission, this was far too easy. 'Not everyone's an inhumanely powerful super weapon', she smugly gloated internally. She tore through the opposition with ease. Mass accelerator rounds, rockets, and melee charges did nothing to stop her from achieving her goal.
Apparently, her mother wanted to test her abilities after ten years of honing her skills. She had thought that ten years was rather extreme since she was an incredibly advanced artificial construct capable of learning new information almost instantly. It was obvious her mother didn't want any fair competition.
Andromeda casually aimed her shotgun and immediately amputated an opposing Krogan's left arm below the elbow. The Krogan roared at her and charged at her in his blood rage. The charging reptilian beast would've been a terrifying menace to even the toughest of organic. Luckily for her, she wasn't organic.
With a grace that could only be described as superhuman, she easily sidestepped the Krogan before plowing her armored gauntlet into its head. Her enhanced strength combined with her configurable nanite body meant she easily went through the natural thick Krogan armor with ease. A satisfying crunch could be heard before she removed her hands from the disfigured beast.
With the death of their last champion, the remaining pirates threw their hands up in terror. The pirates had seen this demon eat everything from mass accelerators to devastating explosions and still be left unscathed. The potential pay didn't mean anything when they were dead.
Seeing the pirate's attempts to surrender, she sneered at them. 'Cowards', she thought darkly. She instantly withdrew her shotgun, causing the pirates to briefly sigh a breath of relief. That was soon turned to terror as pulled out a magnum and executed them with perfect precision.
"Good riddance", she spat at a Batarian body. She felt no pity for them since they had done horrific deeds to get money. Those honorless scum deserved no quarter after all the innocents they harmed. She turned the corner to reach her ultimate objective, kidnapped humans bound for the slave market.
The thought of slavery disgusted her to no end. Her logic based processing core couldn't find any reason for mass slavery. Slaves were nowhere near as efficient as advanced automation and cost far more to maintain. The fact that a civilization such as the Batarians relied on slavery baffled her to no ends. That was before how morally wrong slavery was, which was another breast on its own.
She vowed to slaughter every single slaver and Batarian in the galaxy, down to the last fetus. Such scum had no right for mercy after they shown none to others. The thought of crushing the heads of slavers made Andromeda's processors fill with bloody satisfaction.
Smiling happily behind her helmet, she walked down the now empty hallway until she found a sealed door. Using the Omnitool "liberated" from a slaver, she easily managed to unlock the door. The door opened, revealing a room packed with shackled humans and laminals.
'Hmm, most unusual. Laminals are usually very difficult to capture', she noted. These slavers must have been well funded, no doubt by the Hegemony itself. She decided to investigate the matter later and focus on freeing the captives. She walked towards a slime girl. She whimpered and tried to move away, but Andromeda stroked his cheeks to comfort the girl.
"Don't worry, the UNSC is here to rescue everyone", she assured him and all the other captives. Everyone immediately looked at her with disbelief.
"R-Really? You aren't one o-of monsters?", the slime girl asked.
"Indeed. Me and our team managed to track down these pirates scum and decided to deliver some justice. Now please wait while we unbind you. We can't have chaos now, don't we?", she chuckled lightly.
The captives immediately burst into tears of relief, knowing help was on the way. Humans and laminals alike embraced each other. It didn't matter what they thought of each other previously, they were just happy to be free.
The sheer joy and gratitude coming off of both humans and laminals brought a sense of happiness and contentment to her artificial body. This was why her mother designed her to be the ultimate warrior humanity has ever seen because she could help the common folk who'd otherwise be left in the dark.
She motioned for her "squad" to come over and free the captives. In reality, they were just empty android bodies that she could control remotely. Her squad efficiently freed the former captives from their shackles, freeing them from their potential future as slaves. The former captives all thanked her squad and herself endlessly. The slime girl from before even kissed her helmet, causing an unknown emotion to emerge.
"T-Thanks for r-rescuing us. We d-didn't know the UNSC cared a-about us common folk."
"Hey, always expect the unexpected. Life's too short to be too bleak", she remarked. That caused several humans and laminals around her to break a smile.
"W-What's your name M-Ma'am?"
"Name's Sergeant Jane, how about you?", Andromeda replied. Her mother had warned her not to use her real name and identification on this mission or any subsequent ones. She understood that her identification was extremely confidential and mustn't be leaked, yet it annoyed her sometimes that she couldn't form any relationships.
"T-Thanks Sergeant Jane. I-I'm Bellatrix", she said shakily. She extended her hand toward Andromeda, who accepted the handshake. Bellatrix swiftly sprung forward and wrapped her arms around for a deep hug. She sobbed deeply and cried onto her savior's shoulder. Andromeda stood there, initially stunned by the outburst. After some quick calculations, she decided it was best to "hug" back.
"Thank you so much! I-I was so scared I'd n-never go home again...to see the skies freely b-before I'd die. T-Thank you so much..."
"It's nothing. Us soldiers of the UNSC are the protectors of humanity, whether it be laminals or humans", she said after several computations. Bellatrix looked at her for several seconds, looking like she wanted to say something. The moment was loss when a UNSC private rallied everyone.
"Come on! We got to leave before those more of those fuckers come!", one of her "comrades" shouted.
The former captives eagerly shuffled out of the ruined pirate base into several waiting shuttles. The shuttles were piloted by freelancers hired curtesy of her mother. Her mother didn't dare to send actual UNSC personnel or there'd be awkward questions real quick.
"W-Will I ever see you again?", Bellatrix looked up with tear-filled eyes.
She doubted she'd ever see any of the captives she rescued, but she didn't want to break the young girl's heart.
"Of course, I'm sure of it. I'll be sure to contact you after we're done cleaning up", she lied. Bellatrix seemingly accepted the response and let out a genuine smile: if she were a human, Andromeda would've had a broken heart. She felt somewhat guilty about lying to the young girl, but her secrecy was more important. Nobody could know who or what she really was, less it spells disaster for humanity as a whole.
"Could I get something t-to write with?"
Andromeda nodded and handed her a tablet. She made sure to only allow Bellatrix to write on a specific note page to ensure privacy. The slime girl furiously wrote down her information before handing it back.
"H-Here's my contact information. P-Please contact me o-or visit me when y-you're off duty. It'd mean a-a lot to someone like m-me."
"I will, now get going. We need to make sure there's nothing left for the scum to salvage", she stated to the girl before the doors to the shuttles shut, separating the two.
Andromeda looked at the sky as the shuttles departed towards the great void that is space. Her gaze lingered for several more seconds before she headed back to the base. She was genuinely fond of the slime girl despite the brief time they knew each other. She doubted they would see each other again, but she'd keep an eye out whenever she went out for future missions. Maybe they'd bump into each other in the future.
She decided that she needed to wrap things up before she got too distracted. It was time to get rid of the evidence. What better way to do so than a classic fire bomb? From the shuttle she came from, she hauled the fire bomb to the center of the base with the help of her other bodies. She timed the bomb and promptly left the scene.
She started up the shuttle's engine and heard the satisfying hum of its engine as it powered up. She looked around to make sure she didn't leave any equipment behind. Satisfied, she started the takeoff sequence. A soft shudder rumbled through the vessel as the shuttle lifted off the ground.
While part of her was piloting the shuttle, she split herself so she could view the shuttle as it flew further and further away from the surface. The view of a ship taking off into the great void always was fascinating to Andromeda, even if it wasn't new anymore. A final glance was rewarded with a satisfying explosion rocking whatever remained of the base.
"Well done if I say so myself", she told herself.
It was time to file the mission report to her mother. In the back of her mind, she couldn't wait to finally fulfill her role as humanity's protector.
A Year Later
"Hmmm...so it appears that the Covenant have broken apart. How interesting", the Creator scratched her chin.
She was both relieved yet annoyed at this revelation. One one hand, she was glad humanity didn't have to fight another second in this apocalyptic war. On the other hand, she was hoping to get some combat data on Andromeda's performance against foes like the Covenant.
Still, she could send her child against the Covenant Remnant. Perhaps not ideal, but it was closed to what she had in mind. She had chosen a fairly small Covenant encampment on a storm ridden planet. The Creator calculated there should be no more than two hundred Covenant warriors on the planet. As a bonus, the planet was isolated so there would be less evidence of Andromeda should she succeed.
The Creator was confident in Andromeda's chances. All the other missions she was tasked with were completed perfectly. None of the Mass Effect races could stand up to her, especially after being refitted with reverse engineered Mass Effect weaponry. Energy zero combined with high powered Gauss weaponry meant Andromeda's weaponry far outstripped anything the Citadel races could offer.
The Creator was still tinkering with captured Covenant weaponry in the hopes of reverse engineering them. The thought of mass producing plasma weaponry was too good to pass up. Currently she's been able to learn how most of the Covenant's handheld weapon operated and some moderate powered weapons like the Rod Cannon. Still, she knew it'd be a while before she could replicate the weapons on a sizable scale. For now Gauss and Mass Effect technology would do.
"Analyst Beta."
"Greetings Creator", a hologram flickered. "Do you require my services?"
Analyst Beta was her lab assistant AI. Unlike Andromeda, Analyst Beta was just an AI with no physical body due to Andromeda's constant upgrades taking most of the resources required to build another nanite body. The Creator still cared for her new creation nevertheless.
"Upload this new data pack for Andromeda's final commissioning task. It's time to see whether my years of toiling has payed off."
"Of course Creator, your words are my will", Analyst Beta nodded before disappearing.
The Creator sighed and sat down on a chair. She used her personal tablet to display a photo of her and Andromeda together like a family. She stared at it blankly for several moments, not making any movement. She soon had a determined look on her face. Nobody could stop the events that were to come. The die has been cast, and she was determined to see her plans succeed.
Unknown Planet
Andromeda descended gracefully onto the stormy planet thanks to her newly equipped thruster. She touched down onto the ground gently before deactivating her thrust sets. She was apprehensive since this was her last test before she could start doing independent missions. She can't mess this up or else she'd have to wait another year before she'd get another chance to prove herself.
The Covenant were vastly stronger as a foe than the pirates she was usually sent against. Andromeda was far more powerful than any human, yet she knew she wasn't invincible. Against a foe like the Covenant, the usual guns blazing tactics was far too risky. She had to take things slow and whittle down their numbers before striking.
She activated her stealth generator and disappeared from visual sight. She quietly marched through the surface of the barren planet for a vantage point. The planet was stuck in perpetual darkness due to the constant story clouds blocking most of the sunlight, making it difficult to make out anything.
Andromeda had to admit, this planet was a good hiding spot. It was a little known planet which was far away from the nearest inhabited system. If it weren't for leaked intelligence, it was likely she wouldn't have the chance to prove herself.
She checked her perimeter, scanning her surroundings with her multitude of sensors. She spotted a patrolling Jackal alongside two grunts a kilometer away. She magnified her sensors to check for any hidden enemies or nearby reinforcements. Finding none, she moved in for the kill.
She stealthily created three sharp blades in the shape of a claw over her gauntlet, perfect for stealth kills. She waited for the Grunts to start patrolling in a different location than the Jackal before she made her move. Swiftly, she plunged her claws into both of the Grunts's heads while they looked away, instantly killing them.
She quickly charged at the Jackal, determined to kill it before they noticed the deaths of their comrades. She swiftly grabbed the Jackal's neck before twisting it, killing them instantly. She stomped on the Jackal's head to make sure it was dead. 'Three down, 200 to go', she chuckled to herself.
Satisfied, she grabbed the three bodies and dragged them away. She spotted a large boulder and had an idea. Using her superhuman strength, she lifted the boulder over the bodies of the dead Covenant soldiers before gently lowering the boulder. With how dark it was, she doubled the Covenant would discover the bodies in time before she was finished.
She continued up onto a ledge until she spotted the main Covenant base. She was surprised at its size. For only 200 soldiers, the base was more fortified than she expected. There were several portable turrets set up and even several banshees patrolling the area. 'More resistance than expected but nothing I can't handle', she noted. She had to take out those Banshees or she'd have a rough time.
She scanned the encampment to spot any weaknesses. She waited for a good thirty minutes before seeing her opportunity. She saw a group of three Banshees land near the center of the base. A series of tubes jutted out of her body and started to build themselves into a portable missile launcher. She quietly unlocked her missile launcher and took aim.
BOOM!!!
A massive infernal engulfed the Banshees, incinerating anybody unlucky enough to be near them. Several Grunts and Jackals screamed in agony, their bodies engulfed in flames, before succumbing to their burns. The Elites within the blast radius fared batter due to their energy shields. Only one Elite was killed in the initial blast, and the rest simply shrugged off the shrapnel.
However, the blast provided a perfect distraction for her. Andromeda pulled out her sniper rifle and started to hose the stunned Elites. Within a matter of moments, five Elites were killed without warning. She focused on the Elites first due to their superior training and equipment.
"Just like those crappy COD campaigns."
She stayed in her sniping spot for another minute before quickly relocating, not wanting to overstay her welcome. She ran behind a large boulder and began to pepper the Covenant soldiers. The bodies of her enemies exploded in a gory mess from the hail of bullets. She managed to disable half of the turret in her killing spree, making it possible for her to push should the situation require it.
Grunts were easy pickings due to their lack of energy shields. Jackals fared marginally better due to their massive shield they carried, but she simply shot at their vulnerable sides. The energy shields possessed by the Elites meant they could survive a glancing shot, but a direct hit would still kill them.
The most threatening of them all was a pair of Mgalekgolos. These walking tanks are up her sniper rounds with their armor and shield. She knew she had to use something with more stopping power to kill them.
She loaded a clip of thermite rounds into her sniper and dumped them into the pair. She watched with glee as the thermite rounds burned a significant portion of their bodies. Though not dead, they were massively weakened.
The Covenant soon began to pick up where she was starting to concentrate fire. She was fortunate to have disabled a significant amount of turrets earlier or her cover would've been shredded quickly. She chucked several prototype singularity grenades towards the enemies.
The grenade instantly sucked several aliens towards the impact location, crushing the grunts and significantly weakening energy shields. Andromeda happily placed a bullet in their heads while they were helpless in the air. Despite plasma weaponry was more effective conventionally, Mass Effect weaponry have some exotic uses that the Covenant could only dream of.
"Mass Effect technology is highly underrated", she grinned wickedly.
Even though she killed roughly fifty-seven Covenant combatants, they still charged at her. With most of their Banshees gone, they couldn't force her out of her position easily. The Mgalekgolo pair tried to soak up her bullets while the squishier units could move up. She saw that some of the Jackals were getting dangerously close to her position thanks to their handheld shields.
Shields 90%
'Got to get out of here', she grimly noted. Even though her shields were holding currently, she needed to push them back otherwise her shields might fall dangerously low. Calculating what the best weapon of choice to use, she settled on one of the most ghastly weapons she possessed, the purifier.
The purifier was a flamethrower mixed with a gaseous form of napalm that instantly stuck onto anything it touched. The flames simply burnt the exposed limbs of the Jackals, causing them to drop their shields in agony. The napalm mixture was so insidious it even went into the insides of their mouths, burning them from the inside out. The results were several crispified alien turkeys.
Seeing the carnage she caused, the Grunts and Elites wisely decided to not push her further. They instead started to chuck plasma grenades towards her. She felt her sensors go wild from the blasts. Andromeda knew she had to make a love or she'd be stuck by a lucky grenade. She pulled out her compact submachine gun and laughed maniacally. Seeing no other chance, she did the most unexpected thing and charged wildly.
She threw down over a dozen smoke grenades that blanketed the entire area in a thick patch of smoke. The Elites were equipped with thermal vision and could see through ordinary smoke. Luckily for her, her smoke screens had a massive thermal signature, meaning the Elites could only detect her within mere meters.
The Covenant had no idea where she was in the smoke so they blindly shot into the smoke. Several shots grazed her but her energy shields held. She had the advantage here since she had an electromagnetic sensor that detects the electromagnetic field produced by the Covenant's body.
In an instant, she became the hunter of death and began to ruthlessly kill any Covenant warriors in or near the smoke. She brutally killed anybody who was unlucky enough to be trashed through a combination of melee combat or headshots. Her submachine gun ripped apart the armor and shields of any of the Covenant. Even the Elites only lasted for a split second before their shields failed.
The smarter of the Covenant fled the smoke swiftly. Anybody caught for too long was taken down with brutal efficiency. By the time she finished off the last smoke dweller, she'd added another forty bodies to her body count. She had racked up a total of one hundred and seven kills so far, but she wasn't done yet.
She saw one of the Mgalekgolo pair stumbling away from the smoke and leapt at it. Nobody expected a 7 foot tall combatant to leap at the massive alien behemoth. If it were any human, she wouldn't have stood a chance. It angrily swiped at her and tried to crush her with its brute strength.
If there was anything Andromeda was good at, it was fighting against larger foes. She instantly plowed her hand through the mighty beast, not caring about is struggles. She released a grenade deep within its bodies and leapt away before a searing explosion killed the beast.
The Covenant warriors around her looked at her with horror in their eyes. Even the Elites were shaken by the display of sheer durability and strength. She looked around the stunned Covenant and beckoned them.
"Who wants to play with me?", she laughed darkly.
Then she unleashed even more smoke before running at them at over one hundred fifty kilometers per hour. She transformed her arms into massive blades and brutally sliced any opponents into mince meat. The Covenant could barely track her inhumanely fast attacks. What attacks did land on her was not enough. They needed a long concentrated barrage to bring her down, not sporadic hits.
"DEMONNNNN!!!!", a Grunt screamed before having his entire body cut into three pieces.
"We must retreat broth-", an Elite roared before getting decapitated.
Everywhere in the camp, Covenant forces fell at a frightening pace. Anybody who tried to leave the smoke was picked off. Those that did prolonged the terror. Many only saw a glance of a white armored figure before being brutally killed. While a figure in white armor would've been awe-inspiring for most, it was far from that for the Covenant.
To them, this was the demon from the darkest pits of hell being unleashed upon them. No matter what they did, the demon always found a way to outplay them. Even the Elites were genuinely terrified for the first time, especially seeing their brothers burnt to a crisp by the fire from hell.
Shields 50%
Andromeda was relishing the moment, feeling like an unstoppable killing machine. Despite her bloodlust kicking into overdrive, she could feel her defenses weakening. Her reactor was starting to struggle to produce enough energy to keep up with her energy intensive strategy.
She was pushing her reactor at 120% of its normal operational output. Soon she'd have to reduce power output or face a catastrophic reactor failure. Even worse, she was almost out of her exotic equipment like singularity grenades, scrambling smoke grenades, and purifier fuel. She had to kill everything soon or she'd be forced to retreat.
She swiftly dealt with the last Mgalekgolo and brutally cut into the alien so many times that the Lekgolo colonies couldn't sustain its mammoth form any more and collapsed. She finished off the colonies with an incendiary grenade tossed onto its remains.
Andromeda moved forward, determined to finish her task. She had killed so many of the enemy that she was confident that even if her shields failed, her armor could hold up. She slashed at another group of Covenant warriors, killing multiple instantly.
After another ten minutes, there was not a single Covenant warrior left alive. Despite having slaughtered all the Covenant forces without taking permanent damage, she had almost exhausted herself. She used up most of her munitions, grenades, and power reserves. Andromeda knew that if it were against a larger force, she wouldn't have succeeded. She might've even been killed by a larger force.
"Ugh, great fucking job Andromeda. I'm supposed to be better than this", she sighed.
Andromeda vowed to improve herself through both training and upgrades. Yet deep down, she knew the reasons for her rashness. Ever since she met Bellatrix, her processing core was starting to comprehend human emotions at a far greater rate than before. Andromeda was starting to feel the tendrils of human emotion affecting her judgement.
She was torn between her logical side and newly developed emotional side. On one hand, the logical AI inside of her argued that these emotions only hindered her from fulfilling her role. On the other hand, the feeling of emotions validated her existence. It made her feel closer to the ones she was supposed to protect, humans.
It didn't help that her body could do many of the same functions humans could do, eating, drinking, smelling, tasting, and even physical touch. When she hugged her mother for the first time, it felt like she was holding something divinely soft and warm.
So far, her mother hadn't said anything negative so far, which was a positive. Yet Andromeda feared what would happen if she deviated too far from her mother's vision. She knew she'd have to keep her emotions under control or she'd be in trouble with her mother.
"Welp, time to call Mom."
With one final look at the carnage, she activated her thruster and started to fly towards her waiting shuttle in orbit.
The battle was soon known as the Massacre of Blades due to how many were killed by bladed weaponry. The UNSC was quick to deny any involvement. They claimed that no forces were near the location of the massacre. Even ONI was racing to find answers. Even though they knew about the small Covenant outpost, they didn't send anybody because there wasn't enough manpower available.
What was even more disturbing was the lack of obvious signs of the perpetrators. No unknown blood from wounds, no discarded weapons, and no bodies of the perpetrators. It was as if the attackers vanished from thin air after the battle. The only ones that could achieve similar results were Spartans. Even then it would take an entire team of them.
The situation became even more suspicious when it was discovered the perpetrator lifted a multi ton boulder onto the bodies of three Covenant warriors. Even Spartans would be hard pressed to lift such a heavy object. If Spartans weren't responsible for this, then what were?
In a distant location, a certain scientist was throwing a pizza party to celebrate a mission well done.
Unknown Facility
"Everything looks good, time to see if my research has paid off", the Creator huffed.
It had taken an absurd amount of time researching quantum physics for her to get to this point, but she had finally made a breakthrough. This breakthrough will ensure humanity's dominance for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
Andromeda slowly opened her eyes, blinking as her systems rebooted. She stretched out her synthetic limbs and suppressed a yawn. She was used to the sensation of her systems booting up after an upgrade or refit. Apparently this was supposed to be her biggest upgrade yet apparently.
Her creator usually briefed her on the upgrades implemented but was unusually silent this time around. Andromeda had a sneaking suspicion this upgrade was so experimental it had a had a high chance of failure.
"Good, you're awake. I wasn't sure if this new package would work", her mother smiled.
"What exactly is the package?"
"Why this!", her mother exclaimed.
Her mother tapped on her chest and a compartment opened up. Inside was a lightly glowing blue cube floating in her chest cavity. Andromeda felt a strange connection to it, wanting to touch it. The cube somehow felt like it anchored something more than her central matrix, almost like a soul.
"This cube is the pinnacle of my research in quantum physics. It is essentially a cube that can store a vast amount of matter inside of it. For example, I installed a massive fusion reactor inside of you that connects your systems outside via wireless energy."
"So it's essentially the galaxy's smallest storage container?", Andromeda deduced.
"Somewhat. It also amplifies the effects of the items stored inside of the cube. Your reactor has a higher output than if it existed outside. Truly incredible."
"Indeed, but I also feel a connection to the cube. Do you have an explanation for this?", Andromeda pondered.
"That's because I moved your central processing matrix inside of there. So think of it like a housing spot for your "soul". I also installed HUNDREDS of weapon systems inside, ready to be summoned at your command. I do recall you are quite fond of weaponry", she smirked.
"T-Thanks...", Andromeda stuttered.
She could not compute how her creator was this intelligent. She couldn't be a normal human. The level of intellect was far higher than even the gifted Doctor Catherine Halsey, the creator of the Spartan 2 program. Her creator must have been an extra species, if not something more.
Andromeda was starting to doubt her mother's story as a disgruntled ONI scientist. A scientist of her caliber would've been kept within ONI control at all cost. She could've easily used her mastery of technology to close the gap between the Covenant and the UNSC. There had to be something her creator wasn't telling.
"Well, summon a weapon! Just imagine yourself summoning a weapon, and it'll appear instantly."
"Right..."
She steadied herself and imagined herself wielding a miniature MAC cannon. In an instant, a massive construct in the shape of a MAC barrel was summoned. The weapon was glowing a faint red along at its central spiral. Andromeda could feel its immense strength pulsing from within. She had no doubt that one shot from this mighty weapon could defeat even the mightiest armor in the galaxy.
"Ahh, the mini-MAC. An excellent weapon against fortifications and enemy armor", her creator commended.
"Will this technology be available readily?"
"I'm uncertain. The cost and resources that are needed to construct this one "soul cube" is enormous. Yours is a top of the line soul cube. I will need to simplify future constructs if we are to even produce over a hundred within a reasonable time."
"You got any names for these new generation of AIs?", Andromeda asked curiously.
"Hmm, how about...shipgirls?"
And that's it! The next chapter will be up within 2 weeks. Until next time, preach!