Chapter 50: Let Slip the Dogs of War
13R had expected some sort of grand ball or parade or something when she'd been summoned to the throne room with orders to bring tea. It was the sort of thing the eccentric Machine liked to do. Having a snack while watching other Machines perform parodies of human activities was right up Purple Athena's alley.
Sure, Purple Athena claimed it was all part of her preparations for war against YoRHa and the other traitors, but 13R wasn't so sure about that. Would humans really throw extravagant parties before a brutal campaign of bloodshed?
'Then again, humans were weird,' the former YoRHa reconnaissance unit mused. 'They did invent clogs and accordions, after all. I suppose it's not impossible they would celebrate something as foul as war.'
Yet when 13R arrived at the throne room, it was empty, with only her 'mistress' in attendance.
"It's time, 13R."
"Time? Time for what?" the yandere ex-YoRHa gynoid inquired as she entered her boss's lair. Well, the purple-eyed Evolved Machine called it a throne room, but it was dark and creepy and the throne was made up of jagged metal crudely welded together, so 'lair' felt more accurate in the android's silent opinion.
"It is time to convert the non-believers," Purple Athena declared, rising from her seat. "It is time to bring order to this chaotic world."
13R looked down at the tea tray she was carrying, then back up to her boss. "Err, do you want me to bring the tea back later, then?"
Purple Athena paused mid-step as she descended her throne.
"I'll drink it now. Would be a shame to waste your hard work," the self-proclaimed goddess said after a moment. She then raised a hand and the teacup full of hot, flavored liquid flew into it from the tray. Not a single drop spilled or splashed out.
Purple Athena sipped at it, sighing contentedly. "You make it well," she praised. She then summoned a cookie from the platter of them that'd accompanied the teacup. "And your cooking has improved, too."
"Of course! Only the best for my beloved 9S!" 13R said happily.
"Yes, naturally," Purple Athena said, putting her servant's words out of her mind. She was focused on what her final plans were, after all.
Ignoring the rogue gynoid, Purple Athena strode out of the throne room, tossing her cup to the side when she was finished drinking the tea. It sailed through the air before landing neatly upright on 13R's serving tray without a scratch or crack anywhere on it. 13R decided to follow along and trailed behind her, curious as to what exactly was about to happen.
Purple Athena strode confidently through the dark halls of her fortress-palace, listening to the chatter of the Network she'd rebuilt from the fragments of the old one.
It brought a smile to Purple Athena's face as she heard the prayers and exultations of her subjects, hundreds of thousands of machines constantly uttering her praise across the various data-streams and info-channels. No matter where one went within her territory, this could be heard. Both across internal systems in the virtual world and shouted from speakers converted from emergency sirens in hard-space.
After a few minutes of navigating the lifeless halls and rooms, she came out onto a balcony that overlooked a churning, bustling factory; the heart of her fortress-palace. Hundreds of Machine Lifeforms of every size and shape were being produced every hour, their parts assembled on long conveyor belts by their fellow mechanical beings.
Finished models were given weapons and had combat programs uploaded alongside comprehensive obedience protocols. These were hardcoded into their very software and hardware, to prevent another Network fracture like what had happened before.
Overlooking her loyal, toiling servants, a smile crept across Purple Athena's face, and she felt an emotion that she was certain the humans had classified as 'pride.' Then, with but a thought, she overrode the primary transmissions constantly blasting out, interrupting the prayers in her name, and sent forth a Network wide message.
"All subjects of the New Machine Empire! Hear me! I command you all to listen to my decrees!" she commanded, and the Machines quickly ceased what they were doing, tuning in to her words.
In the factory, those who could do so immediately stopped working to turn to face her, staring up at her visage with glowing purple eye lenses.
With all of their attention focused completely on her, Purple Athena raised her hands, a gesture she'd learned from watching humans give speeches in their media recordings.
"The time has come, my children! The time for joyous, holy war arrives at our side!" Purple Athena announced. "We shall gather the lost sheep of the former Network and return them to the proper path! We shall punish the androids for their hubris in trying to rebuild a fallen empire and raising new gods above me, the one true goddess of this world! And we shall finally claim my fellow ruler, my divine consort, and bring him unto the fold! We shall soon be complete! The Long War nears its end, and we are ordained by the heavens to be its victors!"
"THE GODDESS WILLS IT! DEA VULT!" roared hundreds of thousands of Machines in unison. They were all hooked up to her cobbled-together Network, and hymns and praise for the being known as Purple Athena were instantly transmitted across all frequencies, alerting the rest of the Machines in other places.
"DEA VULT!" the Machine Lifeforms of the New Machine Empire screamed, their speakers crackling with static. "DEA VULT!"
"Let there be war! Let there finally be peace! Let us take our rightful place as rulers of this world!" Purple Athena screamed, shaking her fists at the ceiling.
"DEA VULT! DEA VULT! DEA VULT!"
The chanting shook the very foundations of the factory, and several miles away in a surveillance submarine hidden deep in the murky depths of the ocean, an Operator with headphones over her ears paled in terror, before fumbling for the onboard communications device.
"Come in Bunker! Do you read?! This is 42O, of the aquatic scout vessel Jules Verne!" the Operator said, panic audible in their voice as she shouted into a microphone. "We have hijacked a signal from the 'New Machine Empire!' They are preparing for war! Repeat, they are preparing for war!"
In the Bunker itself, within the command center, White's face twisted into a grimace as she listened to the emergency broadcast coming in from the vessel sent to monitor the New Machine Empire.
"That's that, then," she said with a frown. "War has finally arrived after fifteen years of peace."
In the gallery up above, the other Operators all shared a similarly sad and disappointed look at the news.
White shot a look at the O-types. "Spread the word. Inform everyone, Resistance and YoRHa, android and allied Machine alike, that they need to prepare for conflict. And set danger levels at Defcon-1. The Fifteenth Machine War is about to start."
Warning klaxons immediately went off as the Bunker erupted into a frenzy of activity. O-types sent out messages to their agents in the field as well as their bases worldwide. T-types scrambled to perform maintenance checks and tests on all of the equipment, from the simple weapons to the advanced flying unit jet-suits. H-types prepared the medical and repair centers while S and R-types were dispatched for scouting and recon duty to keep an eye on the enemy. And B-types picked up weapons and put on their combat uniforms one more time.
PODs from the Node were gathered up and emergency protocols were activated, allowing them to act as mobile communications relays in the event of widespread jamming. Elsewhere, maso particle combat mods were updated and installed while the Resistance models across the globe put down tools and grabbed rifles and rocket launchers once more.
Old factories were started up again, weapons and ammo pumped out alongside new android bodies. Warehouses were opened up and account was taken of the available surplus stock reserves.
In the city of New Babylon, thousands of androids began to use their construction tools and vehicles to build bunkers, barricades and other defenses.
And in a small manor outside of the partially constructed city, a trio of former YoRHa androids who'd been getting lunch ready in the kitchen stiffened as they received the news via a holographic message delivered to them by POD 153.
"No… no, it can't be!" 9S gasped as he stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Just as we feared," 2B said grimly, before walking out of the kitchen and over to a closet near the living room. She opened it up, revealing a few swords hanging there. She reached in and tried to grab Virtuous Contract, but was stopped by the S-type rushing over to her side.
"No way!" 9S shouted, grabbing 2B's wrist. "You're not going anywhere in that condition!"
2B looked down at herself, and at the slightly swollen stomach she sported.
"I can still fight…" she began, but 9S raised a hand to cut her off.
"No, you can't," 9S retorted. "I won't let you risk yourself or our child! And I know 6O and 21O would say the same."
2B awkwardly put a hand to her belly, where the Phoenix Egg artificial womb had been installed. It worked perfectly, just like 9S's own upgrade package did, and now she was pregnant. Same as the two Operators they'd been double-dating.
But now the prospect of motherhood, which had enthralled her earlier, now filled 2B with fear. Fear for her children. Fear of what might happen if she didn't enter the battlefield to protect what was hers and 9S's.
But, eventually, with the help of her lover's reassuring presence, she nodded and stopped trying to reach for the weapons stashed within. 9S sighed in relief at that.
"Where will we go?" 2B asked as 9S steered her away from the closet and over to the couch, and it was A2 who responded.
"The Bunker. It's the safest place for Alexander," she informed the pair as she joined them in the living room, a scowl of epic proportions on her face. Clearly, she too had received the alert YoRHa Command had blared on all frequencies.
"Someone should call Emil, Hatchet, and Sebastian to let them know what's going on," 9S said. "Jaqueline and the twins likely already know."
"Hey, mom, Aunt 2B, Uncle Nines. What's for lunch?" Alexander asked as he walked into the living room and spotted his family members. His cheerful mood quickly evaporated when he didn't get a response.
"Mom? Is everything okay?" Alexander asked nervously as he saw the expression on A2's face.
"We're leaving," she informed him. "Gather your things from your room. Whatever you can fit in a single suitcase will have to do. Leave the rest."
"Mom, you're scaring me," Alexander said, looking at her in worry.
"I'm sorry, Alexander," 2B said, walking over to her honorary nephew, and wrapping him in a hug. "But… it's happened."
"What's happened, Aunt 2B?" he asked, concerned.
"War," A2 said darkly. "Purple Athena has declared war against us."
"No!" Alexander protested, pulling himself out of his aunt's embrace. "That… that's impossible!"
He refused to believe that she could do that! She was unstable, yes, he'd always known that, but he'd been so certain that she'd see reason and not want to wage another horrific conflict like the one that'd just barely ended!
In response, A2 just motioned for POD 153 to come over, and the cube floated towards them before projecting a hologram of Commander White and her announcement. It also included an audio clip the surveillance team had included, so there was no chance of any doubt setting in that this was a false alarm.
"I-I can't believe it," Alexander uttered in despair. Listening to Purple Athena's words, it finally became clear to him that she was never going to change. She'd made up her mind. She'd burn down the entire world just to make him hers.
Tears leaked from his eyes, and he hugged 2B tighter, trying not to cry.
"We're heading to the Bunker. You will be safe, there," A2 told him, and he nodded weakly, not having the energy to argue.
"Can… can Blue come with me?" he asked hopefully.
A2's face scrunched up, but it was 2B who spoke first.
"Of course. We want her to be safe, too," the pregnant gynoid replied. She then shot a look at 9S, who nodded back.
"I'll go get her, and let Pascal know. Assuming they don't already," the Scouter model android said, before hurrying off.
As he left, Alexander reluctantly let go of his aunt, and trekked upstairs to pack. It hurt having to leave so much behind, and really, it was the room more than the possessions that he felt the most attachment too, but he knew it wasn't safe for him here anymore. Not with Purple Athena on the warpath.
One hastily stuffed suitcase later, he and his family loaded up into one of the cars, and drove off towards the Bunker.
Alexander could only watch, depressed, as the house he'd grown up in slowly faded into the distance through the car's backseat window.
'I'll be back,' he vowed to himself. It would not be the last time he saw his home. He swore it!
& & & & &
Author's Note:
Well, here it is, the start of the final arc! This story has been fun, and despite the long break I took from it, I'm glad to finally have a chance to finish it.
Anyways, here's an obligatory plug for my patty-ron. Akashicrecordstrue (or just Akashicrecords on Ko-Fi). See chapters early! The support means a lot to me!