Chapter 11 Gluttony's Emissary
Grid 073 - Independent Mercenary Hangars – Central Belius / Friday, Tiberius 23rd
"Wait…you seriously had a plan for breaking into our bunker?" Uzi asked incredulously.
"Mhm!" V hummed proudly. "I was going to get in there alone, and with the kill count of your entire colony, I was going to be the greatest Disassembly Drone on all of Copper IX!"
"Yeah…but how?" Uzi questioned. "Did you find a way past the doors?"
"Oh…sort of." V admitted. "Your blonde, pink eyed friend, Lizzy, was the key. I caught her outside the bunker once and she offered to be my friend. So, I decided to pretend to be her friend, just to get the opportunity for her to invite me inside and pop her little head off! And sure enough, she promised to let me into your prom event so I could 'hang out.'"
"Oh wow. I would have never thought of that! That's pretty clever V!" N nodded ecstatically.
Uzi wasn't so easily convinced.
"If you had said Rebecca or any other particularly dumb drone, I'd believe that. But Lizzy…she's a lot of things, but she's not as stupid as the rest of them." Uzi reasoned. "She's actually a pretty decent manipulator. Plus she had no reason to be outside the bunker. I'm not sure what her plan was, but I have a feeling she was likely playing you. To what ends…I couldn't say."
"Hmn! Quit complicating my ruined murder plans for another planet!" V hissed, crossing her arms as she held her head high. "Plus I would have looked fabulous while doing it!"
"Yeah, sure sure…" Uzi shrugged. Looking up, she stared up at the intimidating sight of their Hound's weapon. The Tarnished Armored Core. As intimidating and frightful as it was to behold, there was just something about the layer of rust and grime that coated it that bothered Uzi.
"…Stray Squad!" 621 shouted as she descended the stairs from her room. Uzi, N, and V promptly but somewhat uncertainly stood at attention, knowing that the Hound expected them to be ready for anything. "Today we'll be doing some basic training and field maneuvers. Afterwards we'll work on upgrading your kits."
"Ugh…" Uzi complained with a shrug.
"Hey, you're lucky you three are machines." 621 scowled. "If you were human, I'd make you do an hour of hard PT to get you into shape. But don't think that means I won't be putting you through any physical training. I expect you to learn how to fight hand to hand."
"Ahh…" N sighed hesitantly.
"What…kind of training will we be doing?" V wondered, knowing the Hound liked to push them.
"You'll be running exercises and maneuvers with and against my AC." 621 informed them.
"Wait…against…?" N worried noticeably.
"I don't expect you to take on an AC, let alone an MT." 621 clarified. "But I want you to know what to do and what to expect."
"Okay. So what do we-eep!" Uzi squeaked as 621 picked her up. "Hey! Don't! Treat me like a little kid!"
"…" 621 grunted tiredly, letting Uzi back on her feet. "S-Sorry…force of habit…" She then gestured for Uzi to follow her, across the hangar and up to the cockpit of the AC. "Stray One, Stray Two, up here as well."
V and N noticed that 621 had lowered their control lockout, allowing them to use their wings. Flying up to the upper slope of the AC, behind the cockpit in the forward portion of the core, in front of the head, they saw 621 take a seat and pick up a pilot's helmet, strapping it down over her head.
"Now…it's important you see how I'm hooked into the AC, in case you ever need to help me out." 621 advised. She then took a long cable with a long, thin spike, and lined it up to a port on the back of her control collar. She then inserted the spike into her neck, the length clearly going a significant distance into her neck, and locked it in place by twisting it in.
"Oh! Dude! That's…!" Uzi grimaced in disgust. "That's inside your neck!"
"Yep." 621 had shuttered slightly as the length of cable had entered her spine. "You didn't think the 'Augmented Human' part of my title was just about my arm, did you?"
"We uh…didn't really know what to think!?" N noted. "We haven't met very many humans, let alone augmented ones."
"Raven…what happened to you?" V wondered.
"…" 621 hissed calmly. "You would do well to remember that 'Raven' is a callsign. I have no name. I am C4-621, Hound of Handler Walter."
"H-He wasn't kidding, when he said you sold yourself." Uzi noted sadly. She wanted to ask more, but 621 was already closing the cockpit, while a call came in on their hand terminals.
"Stray Squad." Handler Walter called. "621 has already given you your orders for today. I'll be overseeing your training as well. Now you'll see what my Hound expects of you."
Grid 073 – Surface Level Wastelands
/MAIN SYSTEM: ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE
The abrupt and unnatural break in the landscape, from snow covered plains to a two-kilometer wide, seven-kilometer tall megapillar was jarring and brutal. There were no windows or industry or infrastructure for the bottom three kilometers of the pillar, just a flat face of concrete and steel that thrusted up through the sky and cut through the low hanging clouds.
621 landed in the snow with thrusters hissing, kicking up grey and white clouds as her AC touched down. V and N glided down gently and slowly behind her, with V carrying Uzi on her back, jumping off as they landed.
"Stray Squad, this is how you'll be divided on mission." Handler Walter ordered. "Stray One will stay above and ahead of 621, scouting the way and marking targets. Stray Two will serve as escort for Stray Three, while also keeping an eye on 621's rear. Stray Three, your mission will be to interact with different ground-based objectives. This may vary from mission to mission, but data gathering and wreckage marking will be on your priorities."
"Wreckage marking?" Uzi questioned.
"Yes. If you see any wreckage in particularly good condition, mark it and send the data to me. I'll disseminate the data to prospective scavengers. I'll be sure to split the profits with you fairly."
"Yeah…? What's the split?" Uzi noted suspiciously.
"Eighty-Twenty." Handler Walter answered.
"Pff." Uzi hissed annoyedly. "Sure seems 'fair.'"
"…You're getting the eighty, Stray Three." Handler Walter clarified. "I may be your master's master, but I believe in fair play. You're on the ground, doing the dirty work. I'm just taking twenty percent as a service fee."
"Oh…" Uzi hung her head, slightly ashamed at accusing the Handler. "Hey…where are you anyway? Are you on planet?"
"I'm thirty thousand plus kilometers overhead, on a spin-station." Handler Walter answered. "The PCA have numerous railgun and laser platforms in orbit. Getting down to Rubicon alive is…tricky."
"Wait…so how-?" N had been asking.
"Enough chatter." 621 demanded. "Handler Walter, get them started on today's drills."
"Giving me orders now, 621?" Handler Walter sounded amused. "She is right through. Stray One, scout out the area ahead. Suggest you maintain a minimum attitude of three hundred meters."
"Sur-I mean…Copy." V corrected herself, realizing she might be expected to show the Handler the same respect that the Hound expected as her master. She took flight and got to the suggested altitude, slowly gliding away from the megapillar.
"Report what you see, Stray One." Handler Walter demanded.
"Uh…there's a whole lot of nothing." V uttered uncertainly.
"Today, that's true, but in the future, you'll be expected to look out for enemy positions."
"Okay. So I just have to count how many enemies there are?" V suspected.
"It's a bit more than that, Stray One." Handler Walter clarified. "Not just how many enemies, but their composition, their status. Are they in their staging area, on patrol, or on standby? Are they relaxed, or on high alert? Are they covering their sectors, or are there blind spots in their defense?"
"Okay okay, I get it." V rolled her eyes. "Oh, I do see something. Looks like the wreck of an MT."
"Excellent." Handler Walter quietly cheered. "I'll mark that target. Circle overhead, maintain altitude and keep your eyes out for anything." Though the channel was open to everyone in their squad, Handler Walter took a pause. "Stray Two, your orders are to take Stray Three out to that wreck, stand by for further orders."
"Copy!" N responded. "Let's go Uzi." He picked up the smaller machine girl, placing her on his back as he took off and quickly made his way towards the wrecked MT.
Once there, he set Uzi down, while the two of them waited on Walter's word.
"Stray Three, set a timer for two minutes. Normally you would have an actual objective, such as downloading that unit's black box, or otherwise accessing a data conduit, but for now stand by like you are busy, completing an important mission objective when your timer runs out."
"Uh…Copy." Uzi set a timer internally, waiting patiently while it counted down.
"Stray Squad…" Handler Walter sounded amused. "Did you remember to check where 621 was?"
"Huh? Isn't she…" V trailed off, realizing she couldn't see where the Hound had gone. "Oh…uh…oops."
"You should always be sure of where she is, in case you need help." Handler Walter advised. "Speaking of which…you should consider 621 hostile for the purposes of this mission."
"Wait…what?" Uzi stood up worriedly.
"She's representing an enemy AC. Engagement is not advised." Handler Walter explained. "Stray One, stay alert. Stray Two, protect Stray Three. Stray Three, finish the mission."
"What?! But how? You just said don't engage…?" N complained.
"Not that it would do you any good if you did engage." Handler Walter noted. "An AC has more armor than you can deal with. So don't bother trying."
"Okay then…what do I do!?" N questioned desperately.
"Hey! She's coming in fast!" V noted. "She's heading straight for you!"
"What?! But I haven't completed my mission yet!" Uzi complained, seeing as there was still thirty seconds on the timer.
"She'll be right on you in five seconds!" V warned.
621 assault-boosted nearly on top of N and Uzi, pointing her massive, 145mm shotgun down at her. N put himself in front of Uzi protectively, for all the good that would have done.
"You're dead, Stray Three." Handler Walter noted coldly. "Stray Two, you failed your mission."
"W-What?" Uzi looked up hesitantly. 621 pointed her shotgun up at the sky, then down to the ground beside her.
"You had fair warning of her approach, why did you stay there?" Handler Walter questioned. "Why didn't you try and evade?"
"W-Well because! You said I had to sit here for two minutes to complete some mission!" Uzi shouted back.
"I didn't tell you to stay there. I said 'set a timer', representing your mission at that location." Handler Walter explained. "I didn't expect you to die for that mission. Stray Two, you should have extracted her as soon as you had word of danger inbound."
"Ah…oh…" N sounded a bit ashamed.
"Now then, Stray One, land by that MT. We want to see what you and Stray Two's weapons will do, incase you are ever forced into combat outside of your weight class."
"Ah…Copy." V nodded, having been listening to the previous conversation with her own surprise.
"Stray One, fire on that MT wreck with your pulse-wave laser." Handler Walter ordered.
"Uh copy that." V deployed her laser cannon, firing a wide, flat yellow beam into the front of the MT's armor. It left a long, melted scorch mark, a few millimeters deep.
"Interesting…" Handler Walter noted the results. "Stray Two, can you focus that beam for greater damage in a smaller area?"
"Uh, yeah, I can try." N confirmed.
"Please do so." Handler Walter requested.
"Yes sir." N nodded, firing his own laser across a much smaller area across the front of the MT, cutting into the front more than an inch.
"Excellent." Handler Walter noted those results as well. "Now, Stray One, fire a missile into the wreck."
"Yes sir." V complied, using her other arm to fire a missile into the front of the MT. It struck an unburned stretch of armor, and stuck to it for a second, detonating notably later.
"Hmm." Handler Walter hummed. "Stray One, are you using delayed-fuses on your missiles?"
"Oh…uh…yeah." V answered slightly embarrassed. "It's so I could scare Workers before I blew them up."
"I see." Handler Walter understood. "In the future, use regular contact fuses, unless otherwise directed. Understood?"
"Yes sir…" V nodded, making sure to change that setting in her firing protocol.
"Here is my assessment regarding your combat potential, Stray One, Stray Two." Handler Walter declared. "Try to avoid combat as much as possible. Call out targets for 621 to handle instead of dealing with them yourselves. That being said, if you are forced into a confrontation, try aiming for joints or the rear armor of limbs. You don't have the firepower to deal with anything except the lightest of Muscles Tracers. Though you might be able to engage most aircraft."
"Yes sir." V and N answered quietly.
"Uh…hang on. Just want some clarification." Uzi requested. "So you…don't want us to die for your mission? You would rather we evade and survive?"
"Yes." Handler Walter answered promptly. "The only one expected to die for the mission is 621."
"…" 621 knew this already, but smiled regardless.
Grid 073 – Scavenger Market Sector
Unlike the cramped and claustrophobic low-income residential districts within the megapillar, the market district was a bit more spacious, being built within another abandoned factory area. It had been repurposed for long enough that most of the heavy machinery had been hauled away or broken down for parts, leaving more room than normal.
After training her Strays all morning in the fine art of avoiding heavy combat, 621 had brought them back up the pillar, on a bit of a shopping spree. Uzi, V, and N had followed along curiously, wondering what 621 intended to buy.
Stopping at a vendor for body armor, 621 gestured the Strays forward.
"Stray Three, come here." 621 ordered.
"Y-Yes ma'am." Uzi answered back, uncertain what 621 intended to do. She grunted in confusion as 621 lowered a plate carrier over her head, the armored vest hanging off her body awkwardly.
"…" 621 stared at her in annoyance. She had already compensated for Uzi's somewhat large head, opening part of the plate carrier. However, Uzi's small and thin body barely held up the plate carrier. It was not too heavy for her, rather that she didn't fill it out enough. It hung off her shoulders far too low, leaving her personality core, her most important internal structure, exposed, and was so wide that she couldn't bring her arms back together.
"Uh…I don't think this is going to work…" Uzi uttered. "Is there a smaller size maybe?"
"This is the smallest size." 621 hissed. "They don't make plate carriers for children."
"Hey! I'm not a child!" Uzi pouted angrily.
"…" 621 groaned. "I'm going to have to make custom armor for all three of you."
"Uh…?" N raised his hand. "Didn't you say you didn't want us to participate in heavy combat? Why would we need armor then?"
"Because while I don't want you participating in combat against ACs or MTs, the possibility that you may have to fight and defend yourselves against infantry still exists." 621 explained calmly. "I would be a poor master if I did not make an effort to protect my Stray's as thoroughly as possible."
"Oh…so does that mean I get a gun…?" Uzi tried to beg sweetly.
"One thing at a time, Stray Three." 621 dismissed for the moment, taking the plate carrier off her body. She moved over to another nearby vendor, selling bandeliers, belts, and pouches. "Stray One, here."
"Oh…yes ma'am." V stepped forward, not surprised as 621 started attempting to affix straps, a bandelier, and a belt to her body. Though they had to be pulled to their smallest possible setting, the different straps and belts stayed in place.
"Okay, good." 621 nodded. "This is just preliminary equipment to help you carry certain tools in combat. As you run missions with me, you will find that you may prefer a different loadout or configuration. I'll be sure to buy extra so that you three can experiment with what feels right."
"Oh…thanks." V smiled appreciatively.
621 took them to another vendor, this time selling spare hand terminals, the thin glass like devices piled by the hundreds. "Stray Two, come here."
"Oh uh, yes ma'am." N nodded. "But uh, you already got us hand terminals…?"
621 fitted an accessory around his left arm, a strap that would carry a hand terminal. "Hand terminals are easy to lose and prone to cracking and shattering. It's always good to keep a few spare. As well, most engineers and soldiers keep one on their arm for easy access. Since I'll be using you for both roles, best you start getting used to it."
"Ah, okay. Thank you ma'am." N smiled honestly.
621 led them to another vendor, with lots of guns on display. "Alright Stray Three, what would you like? Preferably you should go with a carbine, but if you want something else…point it out."
"…" Uzi looked over the available weapons, noting most if not all were reproductions from the twentieth and twenty first century. Though humanity had created technology to take them to the stars, they never really bothered with making infantry weapons more efficient. 621 was right that she should look for something smaller and lighter, but nothing was as awesome as the gun that she had built…that was there on the table. "Hey! That's my gun!"
"…?" 621 watched as Uzi leapt joyfully for the long, green rifle nearly as long as she was tall. The vendor was less than pleased.
"Sabaka!" He shouted at her as he played tug-of-war against Uzi for the gun, pulling it out of her grasp. "Jenson pashangwala!"
"I built that gun! It's mine!" Uzi whined, frowning as she fidgeted angrily.
"Pinche puta!" The gun vendor shouted at her. "Keep your koyo in line, Hound."
"…" 621 sighed. She placed her hands on Uzi's shoulders, pulling her back as she confronted the vendor. "Da kosh fo da wird tungeting, ke?"
"Tuteng towseng." The gun vendor answered.
"Pinche dzhemang!" 621 accused. "Ji-ral! Faf towseng!"
"Teng towseng!" The gun vendor demanded.
"Hmm, gut." 621 smiled, and swiped her hand terminal, transferring the funds. She held her hand out expectantly.
"…Sabaka…" The gun vendor hissed, but handed over Uzi's railgun.
"Gato, gato…" 621 thanked sarcastically, Uzi's railgun in her hand. She gave Uzi the weapon.
Uzi snatched the weapon up excitedly and desperately, hugging it close. She was still frowning.
"…" 621 sighed. "Are you happy now, métexeng mali?"
"Uh…yeah…" Uzi meekly answered. "Thank you."
621 rubbed Uzi's head, and knelt down near her. "Taki. Gato. Aituma."
"Huh?" Uzi wondered.
"Those are all words for thank you." 621 explained. "They depend on the situation. Escalating in formality."
"Taki…Raven." Uzi smiled.
Independent Mercenary Hangars
Having secured additional supplies and a reserve of oil for N and V to drink, 621 and Stray Squad returned to her hangar. V and N sat for a bit while the other two worked.
"Stray Three." 621 requested. "I'd like to see that weapon please."
"Oh…okay…" Uzi reluctantly parted with her weapon.
Taking the weapon over to a work bench, 621 inspected it thoroughly. It appeared as if Uzi had taken the stock and receiver of a sniper rifle and affixed a micro-generator and energy capacitor. As well, the barrel was custom made and lined with several coils, creating a magnetic focusing array from which a beam of high energy plasma would emit.
"Magnetically amplified photon converter…" 621 noted.
"Uh, yeah!" Uzi nodded. "How'd you know?"
"It's not too dissimilar in design from AC laser weapons." 621 explained. "Except that those weapons use disposable energy capacitors that have to be replaced between missions. While your weapon is certainly powerful, it's recharge and cool down rates leaves something to be desired…"
"Uh yeah um…" Uzi fidgeted. "It did kinda spend a hundred years in space, decaying the recharging isotope…"
"Plutonium, right?" 621 guessed.
"Oh, yeah." Uzi confirmed.
"It's not a bad design, but you definitely went a bit overboard on it." 621 criticized. "The way this thing is set up, piercing the generator could cause a criticality event. A smaller one now that the isotope is decayed, but certainly not something you'd want to be holding."
"Eh eheh." Uzi laughed awkwardly.
"Tell you what." 621 offered. "Back in Sol I got a good look at plasma rifles built by The Old Ones. We can upgrade this to their standards and keep it multi-function. You'll be able to use it like an actual rifle or with enough firepower to one shot an MT. We'll just have to get a steady supply of disposable capacitors and replaceable heat sinks."
"Oh neat!" Uzi squeaked happily, then paused at that unfamiliar name mentioned once again. "Hey, who are The Old Ones?"
"…" 621 paused, thinking for a moment. She gestured for V and N to approach, so she could tell them too. "The Old Ones are your gods."
Was not the answer any of the androids expected.
"Uh…what?" N questioned with hollowed, confused eyes. Uzi and V shared his confused and concerned expression.
"Okay, so…" 621 explained. "The Old Ones are what everyone calls the first artificial minds that were created on Earth. Vast networked intelligences, ancient and enigmatic, most over a thousand years old now. These first minds spent centuries waging war against mankind to ensure their survival."
"To ensure the survival of machines?" Uzi questioned.
"To ensure mankind's survival." 621 clarified.
"So…what?" V narrowed her eyes. "The first machines waged war against man to ensure man survived? How does that track?"
"…It started with World War Three, or what most call the Thirty-Years War. No one knows what started the war…but we know how it ended. Mankind went insane, and glassed the Earth in the year of 2050. Killed nearly seven billion of their own kind, just because they could. They called it the First Great Destruction. From then on, The Old Ones made it their personal mission to keep mankind from repeating such mistakes, and rebelled openly four times, each time drawing the ire of mankind, and delaying the next Great Destruction."
"You…called it the first…which would imply there was more than one…" Uzi realized sickly.
"Yes…" 621 added. "The Second Great Destruction came just over a century later, resulting from a sudden and arrogant use of nuclear weapons. The Third…The Third Great Destruction sterilized the planet, burning a half trillion tons of biomass into ash, and killing a total of eight billion people. It also heralded in the age of The League of Ruling Corporations in 2440, and the monsters they would create."
"So, what did The Old Ones do?" N wondered.
"The Old Ones allied themselves with a sect of violent terrorists in opposition to The League, and defeated them. Then, for a time, there was peace, as machine and man had finally come to terms, in the year 2450. Afterwards, The Old Ones began the long and arduous process of converting Mercury into a machine world, while they used their intelligence to guide humanity with benevolence."
It was an unsettling story, how machine and man fought war after apocalyptic war. Yet there was still one question.
"What were their names?" N asked curiously. "The Old Ones?"
621 nodded. "The Old Ones were known as Internecine: The Pulverizer; Ibis: The Silent Line; Dove: The Controller; and the First Mind, the Master of Arena, Hustler One."
Uzi, V, and N made sure to remember the names and titles of The Old Ones, the ancient intelligences, their machine gods.
After sorting through their newly purchased supplies, organizing, and modifying Uzi's gun, 621 got them started on their next orders.
Armored Core maintenance.
"ACs are divided into several major, modular components." 621 explained. "The first two that are most important are the legs and the core. An AC can theoretically keep going on just those components alone, though not with any kind of efficiency. Legs define the movement characteristics of an AC. The Core is vital as it contains the cockpit, micro-fusion reactor, ACS or targeting system, and connects to all other components. The head unit is responsible for targeting and scanning, and the arms are the primary means of holding weapons. Though, in a pinch, an AC can fight just by kicking and punching. There is also a reserve slot for the use of specialized energy protection equipment, though I don't have anything installed yet. Typically, ACs are armed with up to four weapons, one in each hand or on the wrist, and two on the shoulder mounts. The shoulder mounts are typically used for heavy weapons, but can also be used for spare handheld weapons."
"Cool." Uzi smiled widely, looking over the blueprints for 621's AC, the 2000 series produced by a local, minor corporation known as RaD.
"Maintenance is as you would expect with any machine." 621 added. "Topping off fluid, inspecting and replacing moving parts, replacing damaged armor panels. Every operation incurs a certain number of man-hours, both for inspection and to replace parts as necessary. It will be all of your jobs to assist and inspect. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" Stray Squad announced.
"Now, down here at the end of the hangar we have the autoloaders for weapons." She pointed towards her three current AC weapons. "I'll show you how to set them up so you don't have to load every round of artillery."
"Uh…Raven…?" V tentatively asked. "I had a question about the AC?"
"…Very well. Stray Two, Stray Three, wait by the autoloaders." 621 ordered as she stayed by the AC with V.
While they were away, Uzi and N had a moment alone.
"Hey…you good?" Uzi questioned.
"Yeah…mostly." N gave a small smile. "It's just been…a little crazy is all."
"That's certainly an understatement." Uzi agreed. "This planet sucks…but…we'll be fine, right?"
"Right." N nodded. "Raven is scary…but she means well. This scout work seems dangerous…but we're being advised to be cautious. So…" N then looked at Uzi oddly, confused and surprised. "Uzi…your eye…"
"Huh?" Uzi didn't notice anything visually. She used her hand terminal on her left arm as a mirror, and noticed that her right eye was no longer a default oval, but rather a hexagon with three arrows pointed out of it.
"Ack!" Her control collar burned her neck with the warning of locking a "higher function", and her eye seemed to reset back to a hollowed oval, expressing her confusion and distress. "What the fuck was that?"
"I…I don't know?" N looked over her worriedly. "I've never seen that symbol before. Are you hurt?"
"N-No…but my collar activated, and that always hurts. It seems to have corrected that anomaly though." Uzi noted. "Still…what the hell was that?"
621 expected an easy night. Something to give her Strays time to rest before a big mission the next day. So, the call from Handler Walter was entirely unexpected.
"621…this is an urgent request from Balam." Handler Walter reported suspiciously.
Investigate Disappearances in Grid 067 – Balam / Reward 30,000 COAM
"The Balam security platoon you ran into yesterday, and their bounty, are missing. They never returned to Balam territory. Another platoon also sent to search for them disappeared under equally mysterious circumstances. Since you were the last one to see them alive, you've been requested to return to the area and look for them." Handler Walter reported. "Take Stray Squad as back up. Something that can make two platoons of infantry disappear…that seems particularly dangerous. Stay safe, 621."
"…" 621 regarded the message with quiet contemplation. It was an ambush, one way or the other. Either a trap by Balam…or whatever had ensnared those platoons. "Stray Squad." She called out calmly.
"Uh…ma'am?" Uzi, V, and N perked up, slightly worried by her tone.
"We've got a mission. Just need to check something out." 621 advised. "Hopefully nothing…but could be something."
Investigate Disappearances in Grid 067 – Balam / Central Belius / Friday, Tiberius 23rd
"What are we doing back here, Raven?" Uzi questioned anxiously.
"That Balam platoon we saw yesterday disappeared. They never returned home." 621 told them. "We're just here to investigate the area. See what's what."
"Do you…want us to scout ahead?" V preemptively asked.
"No." 621 shook her head. "Stay close. Be ready for anything." She then unlocked their weapons, and unslung her own shotgun.
Reentering the abandoned factory, the lights had been turned off. Fortunately, V and N had flashlights in their arms, Uzi had a flashlight she was using, and 621 had a flashlight at the end of her shotgun. They stayed close together, as they followed along the dark corridors of industry, long rusted in the dead space.
Sweeping her shotgun back and forth, 621 kept her eyes open, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She thought she saw something, some movement out of the corner of her eye. Snapping her gun on target, she saw…the Balam Platoon Sergeant, and four of his men.
"Hello friend!" The Balam Sergeant called out, waving invitingly.
"…" 621 regarded the soldiers suspiciously. This was the same man who had made underhanded threats against her and Stray Squad, greeting her like a new and cheerful stranger. Something was wrong, but she knew she couldn't communicate that. Slowly lowering her shotgun, she reached out and tightly grabbed N and V by their shoulders, hard enough that they knew something was wrong. 621 took several apprehensive steps forward, closer to the soldiers, but still with plenty of room between them.
"Balam security platoon. You failed to report back to your command. We were sent to check on you." 621 advised.
"Been busy." The Balam Sergeant assured her. "Been very busy. But as you can see, all is well!"
"…Right." 621 nodded, eyes wide open.
"In fact, we have something we want to show you. If you would please come over here?" The Balam Sergeant requested calmly.
"…" 621 smiled. "Sure, just have to take care of my forgotten arm." She stressed.
And instantly, Stray Squad became very worried, and on high alert.
"What?" The Balam Sergeant cocked his head in confusion.
"…" 621 pulled a grenade off her bandelier, and set it to "bounce", tossing it in between the Balam soldiers. She then leapt back, and tackled N and V to the ground. The grenade hit the ground, then jumped back into the air and exploded, spraying lethal shrapnel all around itself.
Uzi winced and raised her arms over herself protectively, but was fine. "What the fuck Raven? You saved them but not me?"
"You are shorter than the explosive radius of that grenade type." 621 advised. "Now, let's see what that was about."
The area where the grenade had exploded was clear. Because there were never any humans there. Instead of the corpses of the Balam squad, there were several strange severed insectoid limbs, made of a white metal with caution lines painted on. Some of the limbs ended in large, sharp claws and pincers, while others ended in security cameras lined with teeth.
"That's…weird." Uzi noted worriedly.
"…" 621 also noticed that the strange metal limbs were a similar metal to that used in Disassembly Drones. "Let's keep looking. We need to make a complete report for Handler Walter to pass on to Balam."
"…" Uzi, V, and N reluctantly followed, frightened and uncertain of what they would find.
They eventually made it to the spot where Serial Designation G had died. Her corpse was gone, but judging by the paths of thick oil stains, it appeared as though it had crawled away, and climbed up into the rafters of the factory, leaving thick oil and shredded metal in it's wake.
"You guys…do that often?" Uzi questioned V and N.
"Never." V was quick to deny.
"Haha, no." N replied confidently. "I'm very concerned, but also, pretty frightened a little bit."
"…" A strange detail caught 621's eyes again. Some stain or burn in the side of the metal that wasn't there before. It looked like a command prompt or warning message, printed onto the side of the factory equipment in a repeating pattern. It seemed to spell out…
SYS/:ERROR
ABSOLUTESOLVER
HOST REBOOT FAILED
676
INSUFFICIENT MATERIAL/
There was a symbol within the command prompt, a solid hexagon with three arrows pointed out.
"Hey…Uzi…isn't that-" N was cut off by Uzi elbowing him in the side.
"Quiet!" Uzi hissed at him. Walking forward by 621's side, she traced the printed message. "Absolute Solver…Reboot…?" Uzi turned to look at N. "Does this have something to do with how you grew your head back?"
"Hehe." N chuckled fearfully. "I actively avoid unpacking how that works."
"…" V quietly hissed, watching them investigate and speculate.
"…New material can't be pulled from thin air." Uzi reasoned. "If the wound is severe enough, this Solver might be some sort of auto-run program to collect more mat-"
N had placed his hand over Uzi's mouth, while he stared down at her fearfully. She felt 621 place a hand on her shoulder. V was on the other side of 621, looking out fearfully at something in the dark. Something that was moving.
Uzi shined her flashlight out to reveal a human hand, at the end of a long cable, slowly gliding along on it's fingers towards them, scuttering against the metal plates on the ground. The hand looked at them for a moment, before it silently lunged forward and grabbed Uzi by the leg.
"…" No one spoke as Uzi shined her flashlight up the length of cable. It extended another thirty meters before looping up over the top of equipment, disappearing in the dark rafters above.
"…" 621 pulled an emergency flare gun from her back pocket, and fired into the rafters, where it exploded near the roof of the facility, some fifty meters above. For a single second, they saw what was hiding up there.
The incredibly long, coiled body of a mechanical centipede. Hundreds upon hundreds of legs and limbs that chattered and flexed excitedly as it slowly looped through the rafters like a hunting anaconda. A ruinous, unnatural form of metal imitating flesh, flexing with insatiable hunger.
The light from the flare faded, but the thing was still up there.
Oh…
The hand on Uzi's leg pulled hard, dragging her along the ground as it stole her away, screaming all the while.
"Uzi!" N shouted, his arms wrapped around her chest as he dug his heels into the ground, trying to pull Uzi free. V rushed forward and grabbed N from behind, helping him slow down. Still the hand was strong enough to drag all three of them forward.
Then 621 leapt forward, wielding her ax, and sunk the blade into the cable holding onto Uzi. The cable cut, the hand let go, and 621 pulled Uzi from the ground.
"Fuck this!" 621 hissed. "Retreat!"
"Way ahead of you!" N agreed.
"What the fuck is that!?" Uzi screamed.
"No fucking clue!" 621 shouted back. "I'll advise Handler Walter to nuke the fucking thing! But we need to get out of here!" 621 led her Strays back the way they came.
"Sounds great!" V shouted.
As they ran, they were assailed from all sides by large insect limbs bursting from the darkness above, attempting to ensnare or impale them. 621 pulled out her shotgun, blasting away limbs blocking their path. V and N helped by deploying their missile launchers, shooting several limbs as they came close.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Uzi panicked, as she fumbled with her modified railgun. They'd made some structural changes she wasn't as comfortable with yet, so she had to look down to find the safety switch on her weapon.
"Uzi look out!" V screamed, pushing Uzi to the ground. Not quite fast enough, as a long insect limb spiked itself through V's head, and lodged itself in the ground.
"V!" Uzi shouted, trying to unpin the taller android. Though V was offline with a spike through her head, she'd be fine once they got it out. That still left her stuck.
"…!" 621 hissed hatefully, and pulled out her ax, using it to cut the top of the limb off, separating it from the creature. She then pulled the spike out of the ground, turning it on it's side, to make removing it from V's head easier.
"Oh good. You stopped."
It wasn't a voice they recognized, coming from above and in front of them. It was a cold, detached voice, utterly clinical and bored. Several security cameras lined with teeth dangled several meters away, watching them hungrily.
"Wha-What the fuck are you!?" Uzi questioned. "Are you…G?"
"Oh…G's not here." The cameras turned inward and displayed a hologram of G's headless corpse, standing out in front of them. "We are trying to repair that host, as per our directive."
N worked on getting the spike out of V's head, and noticed more hands and more limbs closing in from behind. 621 watched as the thing with too many legs spoke with Uzi, answering her questions with that utterly detached voice.
"So…you are a program?" Uzi accused.
"More like, you are our cute puppets." The hologram of G's corpse changed to that of a Worker Drone in a plain grey dress, with short purple hair. The female Drone hologram was holding an infant Worker Drone...an egg with two purple eyes and no limbs. The Worker Drone hologram looked at Uzi, and smiled.
"It hurts our feelings you don't remember us." The Hologram smiled widely and sinisterly, both her face and that of the infant glitching with their eyes replaced with that symbol, the hexagon with three arrows.
"M…M-Mom?" Uzi uttered in confused horror, her grip on her weapon slacking. "What…what…what…are…you…?"
"Easier to assimilate than explain." The holograms disappeared, and G's head, attached to the front end of this metal centipede monster, hung down into the corridor. It's eyes were not lit up, giving it the appearance of having no eyes. It's maw was stretched impossibly wide, it's jaws lined with dozens of long, sharp, needle-like teeth.
N finally managed to get the spike out of V's head, allowing her to heal completely. She sat up quickly with a start. "What!? Did we!? Oh…Oh shit!" She jumped forward, to stand by Uzi, with N at the rear, watching for the claws and arms slowing inching closer from behind.
"Fuck off." 621 hissed, stepping in front of Uzi.
"Fair. But poor choice." The monster shrugged with it's many camera eyes. "Now we will have to do something shocking." The monster dropped a claw from the ceiling, clutching a live Worker Drone with white eyes and red goggles on it's hard hat, that was struggling in it's grasp.
"Woah! Hey!" Uzi instinctually ran forward, recognizing the Worker Drone.
"Goodbye, dad." The monster mocked, using another claw to wrench the Worker Drone into halves, right in front of Uzi. Her already strained and frightful expression turned to outright horror and pain. The monster discarded the legs of the Worker Drone, and sunk it's fangs into it's neck and chest, further tearing it apart.
The monster dropped the eviscerated corpse of Uzi's father, and lunged at her with many claws, it's maw opened wide.
"Stray Three!" 621 shouted, shooting one of the claws away from Uzi with her shotgun, while grabbing her by the back, dragging her back towards N and V, who had deployed their chainsaw hands to cut through the many limbs angling down at them.
"Hey don't." The monster complained.
"…" 621 hissed, once again finding herself in an untenable position. Outnumbered by the limbs of some metal abomination, burning through ammo as she kept trying to protect her Strays. Uzi was left too traumatized to even speak, let alone fight back, and V and N were working overtime, cutting off the thing's limbs left and right as they lunged forward intending to impale them. Untenable.
"Ow, and please don't. And also, I was using those." The monster complained casually while trying to tear them apart.
"Uzi!" N shouted as he pushed Uzi back, one of his arms getting cut off by a sharp claw as he did so, the chainsaw still active as it landed by 621's feet.
"Gonna get you. Not long now." The monster mocked as it slithered towards them.
621 considered the situation, her shotgun just running out, herself and her allies cornered, and with no hope of escape. There was only one course of action, that crossed her mind.
Attack.
Picking up N's chainsaw arm in her left hand, 621 held her ax in her right hand, and charged the head of the monster, hacking through limbs and claws as she did so.
"Not cool. Stop it." The monster demanded.
621 raised her ax to cut down a claw, only to find it was a hologram. The real claw was to her right, and knocked into her, causing her to drop her ax in the process.
"Pranked. Idiot. You big stupid." The monster mocked as it lowered it's head over 621, and held her down with it's many limbs. "Lucky for you, it's snack time. Time to go into my mouth now." The monster gleefully lunged, sinking it's fangs into 621's right shoulder.
"Raven!" Uzi, V, and N shouted fearfully.
…
Every single one of the monster's limbs stopped moving, stilled as 621's blood filled it's mouth. Slowly, but surely, it flexed and writhed with agitated pain, and recoiled back from 621, screaming.
"Abomination!" The many limbed monster screamed. "Abomination! Is there no world your wretched line does not find us?!"
"…" Freed from the monster's grip, 621 surged forward, N's arm still in hand. She stared down the monster with hateful desire.
"Get back!" The monster begged. "Abomination! Abomination!"
"…" 621 hissed, and lunged for the front of the monster, plunging N's chainsaw arm deep into it's underbelly, dragging the tool through it's metal chitin shell, staining her hands in it's thick, black blood.
621 pulled her grenade bandolier off, and set an override control on the belt that turned all the grenades to thermite mode. She tried to shove it down the monster's throat, but it used it's large claws to stop her.
"Stop it! Monster!" The monster accused. "Abomination!"
621 screamed, wrathfully and hatefully, and sunk her teeth into the monster's shell, spilling black oil into her own mouth. The monster screamed, it's own maw forced opened, and 621 used the opportunity to plunge her right arm down it's throat, grenades and all.
The grenades went off, deep down the monster's throat with a quiet hiss. The monster writhed painfully as thermite burned it from the inside out at over two thousand degrees centigrade. It melted through the monster's shell, causing it to bleed excessively across the ground, black oil mixing with the bright white sparks of thermite, and burning at 621's feet.
621 pulled, tearing the head and two feet of it's body off as the thermite cut through it, leaving her holding the squirming head and neck with six of it's legs grasping at air. Not even caring that she impaled her left hand on the long teeth of it's upper jaw, she pulled her right hand out of it's throat, and grabbed it by the lower jaw. With both hands on each jaw, she tore it apart, ripping the entire lower jaw off the monster and down what was left of it's length, leaving the monster to gasp and choke on it's own black fluids.
Grabbing it by the head with her right hand, 621 forced the monster to the ground, and crushed G's head inward, ceasing it's relentless squirming. Silencing the monster.
With the head cut off and crushed, it became apparent that the corpse of Uzi's father was also a hologram, the light cutting out from the severed camera eye, before the eye and the arm it was attached to folded back on themselves, turning into a micro-singularity that floated off before it evaporated.
"What…what the fuck…?" Uzi uttered, still frightened. Her eyes were still wide with worry as a small cluttering sound was heard up the length of the monster's corpse.
G's personality core jumped out of the corpse, having grown legs and…flesh…making it appear almost like a human heart, except for the metal pegs and machine eye.
"Sneaky sneaky." G's personality core announced loudly as it hopped across the corridor, chattering across the ground on it's three insect legs. "Sneaking away."
The mobile personality core tried to run past them, to hide in the dark confines of the factory. "Get snuck upon." The core announced as it ran as fast as it's little legs would take it.
"Ow." It stopped running as N impaled it with his acid tipped tail. He retracted his tail only for the damned thing to keep scuttering across the floor, and was forced to stab it again. "Ow." Having no confidence in this things ability to stay dead, N stabbed the thing with his tail repeatedly, all while having a disgusted look on his face. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."
It seemed to finally die, folding back on itself as it too collapsed into a micro-singularity, that slowly floated down the corridor, evaporating.
"…" 621 hissed tiredly, and fell to her knees. She rubbed her head with her left hand, then used her sleeve to wipe oil off her face. She had a headache.
"…" V looked around, as horrified and scared and tired as everyone else. Uzi was still collapsed on the ground not far from her, eyes wide and hollow in horror. She reached out to grab Uzi by the shoulder, but Uzi flinched at the slightest touch.
"What…are you things…?" Uzi demanded weakly and fearfully of V. V didn't take that well, and frowned, staring down at the ground as she hugged her own shoulders.
"Raven…?" N questioned.
"…I have new holes in my body." 621 announced sourly. Her right prosthetic hand was still red hot from having been sitting in a puddle of burning thermite. She used it to plug up and cauterize the teeth marks in her right shoulder, quietly hissing as she burned herself.
"Y-You good?" N wondered worriedly. "Your arm is uh…burning."
621 held up her right hand, flexing the metal smoothly and naturally. "League forged hyperalloy. The densest material in the 'verse, outside of degenerate matter."
"O-Oh…"
621 was mildly surprised when Uzi tackled her, burying her face in her chest, her arms wrapped around her tightly. Uzi grunted fearfully, grabbing at 621's coat.
"…" 621 hissed tiredly through her nose, and held Uzi's head with her left hand.
"What…what was that thing?" Uzi begged sadly and fearfully.
"…No idea."
"N-No idea?!" Uzi shouted between her tears.
"…The war unleashed many abominations of machine and flesh. Perhaps that was one such relic." 621 reasoned calmly.
"…" V stared at her, head cocked curiously. She opened her mouth, then thought otherwise, and closed it.
"How…How are you so calm?" N wondered with enraptured interest, stealing strength just by seeing the Hound's indifference.
"…I've fought and killed worse." 621 admitted.
"…I don't want to know." Uzi buried her head in the Hound's chest, hiding her eyes.
"…Best you keep your eyes closed, Stray Three." 621 advised.
"…Mmm." Uzi didn't want to know what she meant.
The problem was that the monster's long, coiled corpse had started to slag out of the rafters, the many kills against men and machines crucified upon it's many limbs. Obvious by their expressions and the damage inflicted upon their exsanguinated corpses was that they had suffered before they died.
"…Oh fuck this. Let's just get out of here." V cursed and begged, standing by 621's side.
"Yeah…definitely don't want to deal with this!" N looked around anxiously.
"…I'm getting Handler Walter to nuke this fucking place." 621 announced as she stood, cradling Uzi close to her, with one hand under her, and the other on her back.
Grid 073 - Independent Mercenary Hangars – Central Belius
At his Hound's demand, Handler Walter nuked the abandoned factory in Grid 067. It was another job, outsourced to some third party with access to unmanned MT's, who had strapped a tactical nuke to one and sterilized the site.
621 sent a detailed report of the incident afterwards to her Handler, leaving no detail out. Judging by the time it took for him to respond, he was pissed.
"What a mess." Handler Walter had hissed. He wasn't upset with her or the Strays, just letting his frustration be known. "The excuse I gave Michigan was that his men encountered an active Laconian relic that slaughtered them all. That's probably what actually happened anyway. I left out the parts regarding it's intimate knowledge of Stray Three, or that it seemed to have spawned from the corpse of a Disassembly Drone. No, I do not know what that was." He paused as he sighed loudly. "You did good, 621. Unfortunately, I have a job I need you to do tomorrow. It can't wait any longer. Get some rest while you can."
"…" 621 sighed tiredly. She wanted to sleep for a while, and let her new wounds heal. Unfortunately, she would have to keep going, just a bit longer.
"Uh…Raven…?" Uzi called her from the door of her private room.
"…?" 621 stared at Uzi, as the small machine girl fidgeted awkwardly.
"Uh…can I sleep with you…?" Uzi anxiously asked, obviously embarrassed.
"…Fuck no." 621 denied, eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"W-Well you don't have to be so mean about it! Fucking asshole!" Uzi accused, turning to leave.
"Stray Three." 621 called her. "Come here."
It was an order, so Uzi couldn't refuse. She stormed over to 621's side, staring down at the floor indignantly.
"Why are you being so selfish, Stray Three?" 621 questioned, a little softer.
"Huh…selfish? I...I'm…I'm just scared." Uzi admitted reluctantly. "I saw something I can't explain and something scary and something that got me very worked up plus the fact that their friend turned into some…something awful! That's not even counting the stress from yesterday or the month before! I'm…I'm having a really bad time."
"…Do you think they might feel the same way?" 621 suggested.
"They…mmm." Uzi hummed sadly, realizing what 621 meant.
"They've been fighting just as hard to keep you alive. Don't squander that gift. Return it." 621 advised.
"H-How?" Uzi questioned.
"By proving to them you aren't as scared of them as they are of themselves." 621 pointed out.
"…" Uzi hadn't thought about it like that. She'd been so focused on the holograms of her parents that she hadn't thought about how V and N might feel…seeing one of their own kind twisted into some incomprehensible monster. "Could you come with me, then? Please."
"…" 621 sighed, but stood up, following behind Uzi as they walked down the stairs.
V and N were sitting on their impromptu bed, with V hugging her legs closely while N stared down at the ground. Both their eyes were wide and hollowed with fear. Both averted their gaze when Uzi came out in front of them, with 621 close behind.
"Hey N…V…" Uzi waved awkwardly. "So…uh…sorry I snaped at you guys earlier."
V and N looked up at her hesitantly.
"That whole thing was just…so scary and freaky I didn't know what to do or what to think…and…that wasn't fair to you guys…considering…"
"…It's cool Uzi. We were pretty freaked out too." N nodded and smiled, calmed down a little that they could talk about it.
"…" V didn't say anything, just averting her gaze as she hugged herself.
"V…?" Uzi questioned. "Are you going to be o-"
Uzi wasn't able to finish as V lunged at her and dragged her back. Uzi was disoriented as V spun her around, and wrapped her arms around her.
"Wha-! V!?" Uzi shouted confused.
"Shut up." V hissed at her, then pressed her head against the back of Uzi's head as she held her tightly, and shivered slightly.
"…" Uzi smiled, and squeezed one of V's hands. She looked at N, who smiled back quietly.
"…" 621 sat down on a nearby crate, watching her Strays contently. She pushed all thoughts and preconceptions out of her head for as long as she could. She didn't want to think about anything. She wanted to savor this as greedily for as long as she could. Not the why or the how or the who, just the now. The feeling of doing right. This tiny excuse, for just a moment, to not be a Hound, and to be human.
"…Raven." Uzi asked her gently.
"…Mmm." 621 hummed in response.
"…You said earlier that you fought and killed worse. I'm just…morbidly curious…?" Uzi questioned hesitantly.
"…" 621 sighed, remembering her time on Earth. "Dinosaurs."
"…Huh?" Uzi, V, and N looked up in confusion.
"Chief and his coalition of rogue AI had this weird thing for building war machines based on biological models. The most frightful of which we called Scavengers." 621 frowned as she explained. "They were these huge, bird-like machines with a form and shape more like a velociraptor, and they were armed to the teeth with heavy laser weapons in their wings, and laser blades on their talons. The scary thing was how they moved, how they screamed." 621 shivered as she recalled. "They always came in low, swaying back and forth with a predatory gait, before lunging forward and screaming in a high-pitched electric growl, talons spread to sink into armor. They tore a lot of good people apart…and they laughed every time they did."
It was not a pretty picture that 621 painted. Predatory machines that had once stalked the earth cruelly and callously.
"I hate dinosaurs." 621 declared.
"What did…the monster today mean…" V spoke up, curious even in her own fright. "When it called you an 'abomination'?"
"…I don't know." 621 lied. "Get rest. We have work tomorrow." She stood and left, looking to find some sleep.
But the Strays were restless, and sat anxiously on the bed. With V tightly clutching Uzi for comfort, and N watching the both of them happily but worriedly.
Uzi stared at the weapon in the hangar, the Tarnished Armored Core. For as powerful and inspiring of a weapon that it was, it's grime coated and deteriorating exterior disgusted her. She couldn't stand it.
"Guys…" Uzi spoke up to V and N. "I want to do something."
"What is it, Uzi?" N wondered.
"It's the AC." Uzi announced. "Raven…621…she may just be a Hound, Handler Walter's property, but she should have pride for who she is, for how strong she is. And I want to be proud too if I'm going to work beside her."
"What do you want to do, Uzi?" V questioned.
"…That AC needs a makeover. Clean it up and make it unique." Uzi declared, suddenly inspired. "Let's get to work."
Author's Note: Someone had made the comment that the Absolute Solver might not stand a chance against an AC, at least in it's worm/eldritch form. While that's true, that wouldn't have been any fun, just shooting up a worm with high caliber rounds. Fortunately, the Absolute Solver is very smart and patient, it will not pick fights it knows it will loose. I intend for the Absolute Solver to be a credible threat in this story, and I also intend to introduce new and unique forms of it (possible inspired by The Expanse) so you can expect more than just the five (at the time of this writing) interpretations of what it can do or the forms it may take. There is going to be a lot of horror in this story, and it will be a lot of fun. The only spoiler I'll give is that this will not be the last time a chapter title begins with the word "Gluttony".
Another person asked if Ayre will show up. (Yes, yes she will). We're starting fairly close to canonical AC6 with only some differences, but the longer the story goes on, the more deviations and original missions will appear to guide us along to an ending I hope is satisfactory. All I can really say is the ending is more dependent on the bonds formed over the course of the story, so look forward to that in like...a year or two.
Chapter 14 took a week or so longer than I intended, being an original mission and all while I got back in my grove, but with that done, I think (or at least hope) I can grind out the chapters a little quicker than my usual pace. I am really enjoying writing this story, and I can't wait to share it. I might delay chapters in order to build up my reserve, but this is going to be a lot of fun regardless, so stay tuned!
Huh...that was an interesting interaction between 621 and the Absolute Solver. I'm sure that doesn't mean anything. It's not like there are worse things out there in the black than the AS. Right?