Under Dead Light

by Blackout42

Displaced to the forge world of Rubicon III, Worker and Disassembly Drones alike find strife, war, and suffering beyond their limited imagination. As well as a Raven who sold her name, who hides her pain and rage behind a number. (Sequel to Obligation To Keep) WARNING: Rated M for extremely graphic violence and suggestive themes. Cover art by Waker608.

15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Surprise Audit

Grid 085 – Drone Sanctuary / Wednesday, Tiberius 28th, 3175

Audit the Drone Sanctuary – "Cinder" Carla / Reward 20,000 COAM

"So…here's the problem." Carla explained slowly while clearly frustrated. "You'd think getting all those Workers out of sweat shop conditions and giving them half a Grid Sector to make their own would have them be just a little appreciative of my efforts, but no. Apparently, if they don't have someone taller than them to yell at them, they immediately enter a state of passive rebellion. I say passive, because on top of refusing to do the work that will help me save more of their kind, they also refuse to take up arms against me, meaning they are both a drain on resources, and a liability to themselves. So please, get in there and do whatever you have to do get them back to work, and to stop using my resources to build doors that won't stop anything. Try to avoid killing them…but I'll understand if you have to make an example out of a few of them. Good luck tourist, and trust me, you and your Strays will need it just to keep from going insane."

"That's the most agitated we've ever heard Carla." Ayre noted curiously. "Even when you were actively blowing up her assets, she seemed amiable enough to laugh it off. I heard that Worker Drones weren't exactly the smartest form of machine intelligence, but they must be seriously making some questionable decisions to have annoyed Carla so much."

"…" 621 grunted in agreement.

"So, wait, what's our mission?" Uzi questioned.

"…It looks like your people need to be reminded of who their master is. Carla's been too light handed on keeping them in line. She needs them to work for her to make scrip that she can use to save and protect them, and they aren't keeping up their end of the deal." 621 explained.

"…Yeah." Uzi reluctantly agreed. "If given the choice, my people will choose laziness over taking one step to save their own skin from obvious danger. They're not suicidal, and will try to survive, but they will always choose the simplest and laziest option available. Hence, doors."

"So, scare a bunch of little Workers into doing their job?" V smiled widely. "I think we can help with that."

"Hey, V, Carla said no killing." N reminded her sharply.

"If we can help it." 621 corrected. "Alright, here's the plan. We get in there and assess the situation, find their leaders, and scare them into action. Stray One, Stray Two, I'll be counting on you to be as scary as possible when necessary, but try to avoid harming them. Stray Three, these are your people, so I'll be relying on you to explain shit."

"Copy!" Stray Squad answered promptly.

---

Audit the Drone Sanctuary – "Cinder" Carla / Grid 085 - Western Belius / Wednesday, Tiberius 28th, 3175

After receiving the arriving Worker Drones from the train, the large, fifty-meter-tall front door to the Sanctuary had immediately closed, cutting off access to them. 621 led the Strays to the control panel on the door, and accessed the radio control.

"…This is Hound C4-621, under contract with 'Cinder' Carla. We are performing an audit of this facility. Open up." She demanded politely.

After a short pause, there was a response.

"Uh…no! Go away! No one's home!" A Worker Drone on the other side answered.

"…" 621 sighed. "Alright Stray Three, here." She swiped her hand terminal in Uzi's direction. "These are some basic electronic warfare packages. Use them to hack this door open."

"Oh…yes ma'am." Uzi blinked in surprise, and accessed her hand terminal. She could pretty much understand 621's reasoning and the solution. For as much faith as Worker Drones put into doors for protecting them from danger, as proven with their track record on Copper IX, Rubicon III was an active warzone, and humans were nothing if not masters at fixing problems with unconventional solutions. As such, the electronic warfare programs on Uzi's hand terminal were more than enough to open the fortified factory doors to the Sanctuary. Because Worker Drones weren't smart enough to build a multilayered high security system outside of just the physical barrier themselves.

After a few seconds, Uzi's hand terminal beeped, and the tall doors opened, slowly at first as the heavy locks disengaged, then pulled back more quickly to either side. On the other side of the door, were four Worker Drones in what barely constituted a uniform, a semi-military camouflage jacket with a basic rank insignia on the front. Otherwise, the four Workers appeared to be male and the older Gen One models at that. Also of interesting note, was that none of these Drones were collared. They were seated around a table with playing cards, and three of them looked towards 621 and Stray Squad fearfully.

"Oh no!" "Let's get out of here!" The Workers shouted fearfully. All but one of them then turned and ran deeper into the facility.

"Oh, hi Uzi." The one remaining Worker Drone greeted cheerfully.

"…Todd." Uzi answered in disbelief and embarrassment. Once again her people had turned tail and ran at the slightest threat of violence. She was just thankful that 621, V, and N had no intentions of killing her people today.

"…" 621 blinked in surprise for several reasons. Partly because it was simply amazing that Uzi could tell the difference between Drones when they all were pretty much identical, with only the slightest variation in color of their clothes or eyes or…hard hats. That was another odd detail. "So…Stray Three, who were they?"

"That was the uh…Worker Defense Force." Uzi answered in embarrassment. "They are…supposedly…our protectors back on Copper IX…so long as protection meant hiding behind a door and doing nothing. Occasionally they'll do maintenance or…build another door, but that's it." She answered reluctantly and ashamed.

"…Huh." 621 noticed a supply cabinet to the side of the very long and wide hallway, and opened it up. Inside were gifts from Carla, a full set of military standard rifles. Picking one up, she inspected it closely, and could tell that it wasn't seeing much use. "Tell me…Todd…how often do you and yours use these rifles?"

"Oh, never!" Todd answered enthusiastically. "Why would we ever need guns when we have doors!?"

"…" 621 narrowed her eyes in annoyance, and quickly looked at V, gesturing towards the lone Worker.

V was quick to understand, and got behind Todd with her claws deployed.

"Because~!" V sung excitedly as she placed both sets of claws on Todd's shoulders, and held the stinger at the end of her tail up near his face threateningly. "It might help you, just a little, to deter threats much worse than us~"

"O-Oh…" Todd shivered fearfully with the Murder Drone basically salivating over him.

621 tossed the rifle to N, along with a loaded magazine. "Stray Two, show him how it works."

"Yes ma'am!" N answered. He then showed Todd how to use the rifle with a friendly tone. "Okay buddy, so this is what you do. Insert the magazine, pull the bolt back, and aim down the sights, got it?"

"Oh, okay." Todd nodded along as he received the weapon. He then turned the gun around, and looked down the barrel. "Hey, how do I know if this is loaded?"

Todd shot himself in the head, and died. He fell to the ground as the rest of his systems became aware of this.

N and V flinched back in surprise, eyes hollowed. Uzi's eyes also hollowed, but she elected to look down and face palmed in embarrassment.

"…Oh my." Ayre hummed. "You didn't know that was going to happen, did you Raven?"

"…" 621's eye twitched in annoyance. No, she didn't know that would happen.

"Hey…uh, can I eat him?" V asked innocently.

"…" 621 grabbed V by the back of her jacket, and dragged her along deeper into the Sanctuary. "This is going to be a long day."

---

About a hundred meters past the front door, the area opened into a loading dock and active construction zone. There, they found another gift from Carla, in the form of several BAWS MTs. However, instead of standing guard, the Worker Drones appeared to be using the MTs to construct another door at this end of the front entrance.

"Ah! We're all going to die!" Several of the Workers turned to run away, including the BAWS MTs. It was very strange to see the tall, military mech that weighted twenty tons flail like a scared little girl.

Fortunately, Carla must have been watching their progress, because she started speaking over the loudspeaker.

"Attention Worker Drones! This is your friendly neighborhood Overlord, 'Cinder' Carla. Be advised I have a Hound and two Murder Drones conducting an audit of your little Sanctuary. They have no intentions of killing any of you, so please stop running away at the sight of them. Just continue on as you were, and respond to any request as if I was there. Thank you!"

That seemed to be enough assurance for the Drones, who returned to their duties. Three of the Drones appeared to try and slip past 621, being the ones who had been "guarding" the entrance.

Unfortunately for them, 621 saw something that she very much disapproved of.

"You three, here, now." 621 pointed harshly.

"O-Oh…okay…" The three Worker Drones approached them cautiously.

"…Markarov, Braxton, and…uh…" Uzi called two of the Workers by name.

"Oh! Come on Uzi! You don't remember me! My name is-" An I-beam fell onto the unnamed Worker Drone, and crushed him flat.

"Sorry!" Another Worker Drone working on the new door from several dozen meters overhead shouted out.

"…" 621 hissed hatefully, and grabbed Uzi, dragging her and her other Strays away from the work zone. Adding yet another safety violation to the report that she was sure to write for Carla, she gestured for the two remaining Worker Drones to follow her.

"So, you guys didn't kill Todd?" Braxton asked.

"Well…we didn't kill him." V answered, technical true.

"That's besides the point." 621 then pointed to the side of the work zone, at the haphazard pile of 50mm "submachineguns" used by MTs. "Explain that, right now."

"Oh, well, it's not like we need to use those big guns! So we just put them to the side while we build more doors." Makarov answered as if it was obvious.

"Well, using them or not, it is improper to leave loaded weapons laying around like that. Do you have an armory for MT weapons?" 621 demanded.

"Oh, yeah!"

"Then store them there." 621 ordered dryly.

"Ugh, fine." Braxton rolled his eyes. He and Markarov turned around and signaled for two other Workers to help them. "Hey, the human lady says we have to move these guns to the armory."

"Really? Do we have to do it right now?" One of the new Workers complained.

"Yeah, she's like super annoying. So let's just get this done so she can get out of our hair." Braxton said ironically. He didn't have hair.

While one Drone grabbed the large gun from the back, another grabbed it from the middle above the ejection port, while Makarov grabbed it by the barrel. Then Braxton walked up to the only free space, and reached for the trigger.

"Hey, wait! No! Fuck!" 621 screamed, then quickly picked up Uzi, already running for cover.

"Eep! What!?" Uzi shrieked, squirming in the Hound's grasp.

Braxton grabbed the large gun by the trigger, and ended up pulling it.

Makarov was the first to die as a 50mm round went through his chest, and bifurcated him. The unnamed Drone near the ejection port died when multiple 50mm shell casings embedded themselves in his face, and tore his head in half.

The gun in full auto, Braxton and the other unnamed Drone panicked, and kept trying to hold onto the gun, as it fired out of control, recoil causing it to tear through the room and anything in it's path, and slowly start angling towards 621 and Stray Squad.

621 had seen that coming at the last second, and that's why she was running with Uzi in tow, diving for the cover that a large pile of construction I-beams offered. Even with the cover afforded by several tons of metal, 621 still covered Uzi with her own body, while she grit her teeth in annoyance and stress.

"Oh no!" N saw the danger coming and quickly deployed his wings, jumping to the safety of the air.

"Ahhhh!" Braxton and the other Worker Drone screamed uselessly as they held onto the gun for dear life. The thought of "letting go" not even crossing their minds.

It was V who defused the situation. After a moment of shock, she leapt forward with her wings to propel her even faster, and deployed her sword arm, aiming for Braxton's arms, cutting them off.

With Braxton no longer able to hold the gun, the other Drone ended up pulling it on top of himself, and crushed his own legs.

"Ah! My legs!"

"M-My arms! Y-You! You monster!"

"…" V didn't bother with either of their comments, and turned to address the large gun. It was difficult due to the size and weight of the components, but she managed to detach the magazine, and cycle the gun to eject the live round in the chamber. She then sat hunched on the gun as she stared down at a screaming Braxton, feeling like she'd failed her Hound somehow.

Since the sound of gunfire had stopped, 621 looked up over the pile of I-beams at the carnage that had unfolded in a very short amount of time.

"Oh…oh fuck…" Uzi winced at the sight as she stood from cover, moving to stand by N as he landed softly.

621 approached V, who averted her eyes shamefully.

"I-I'm sorry." V apologized sheepishly. "But given the circumstances, I knew I had to act to mitigate damage."

"…Why are you apologizing, Stray One?" 621 inquired softly.

"Mmm? Oh…because I had to attack one of the Workers, when you wanted us to not hurt them."

"…Considering the circumstances and the restrictions I gave you, you did exactly the right thing." 621 assured V. "I severely underestimated the…suicidal ineptitude of these Worker Drones, especially since my only example so far has been Stray Three."

V looked up at 621, her tail swaying behind her with timid excitement at being told she did a good job.

"That being said, if you had simply killed this idiot, you might have been able to save some of the unfortunate Drones that had been standing down range." 621 turned V's head, pointing towards the dozen or so stray Drones that had been struck by cannon fire, and their shattered corpses.

"Ah…" V hummed in slight regret.

"If that had been your call, Carla and I would have backed it." 621 assured her. "Think about that next time."

"Yes Raven." V nodded. "Uh, what should I do about him?" She pointed at the armless Worker Drone below them.

"…I'll let you decide. When you finish, take Stray Two and unload the rest of their guns before they hurt themselves. I need to make a call to Carla." 621 advised.

"Yes ma'am." V nodded as 621 walked away. She deployed an MP5 to finish off Braxton, but noticed Uzi watching her, and hesitated. Why did she not want that purple little Worker to see her as just a killer?

"P-Please don't kill me!" Braxton begged, kicking against the ground desperately, pushing himself back.

"…" V sighed, and put her gun away. "Come on N, help me unload these guns."

"You got it." N jumped eagerly. While V removed the magazines from the guns, N cycled the guns and removed the round from the chamber.

621 looked at her hand terminal, and made a connection to Carla.

"Hey, tourist." Carla greeted cheerfully.

"Carla…!" 621 yelled, as she stared up into a security camera above.

"Okay, so I might have forgotten to mention how clumsy and accident prone the Workers are." Carla offhandedly brought up. "They're more like children, and just as dumb at times."

"Then why did you give them weapons?" 621 stressed.

"It's all about appearances. Control. It's like politics, but with kids." Carla explained. "See even though they refuse to use them, they still have the option, and if I tried to take the weapons back, I'd be seen as some kind of villain in their little minds. It's why I don't have my guys down there protecting and 'encouraging' them. I want them to willingly work for me, but most of them, especially their leaders, can't seem to tell the difference between Copper IX and Rubicon, and would rather just build more doors and run away from threats. You know why that's a bad idea, and you have a squad with their natural predators. So you are perfect for getting this job done."

"…Fine." 621 hissed. "I'll get your little colony of 'not' slaves back in line. Just have to explore a bit more."

"Call me if you need anything." Carla cut the line.

"…Stray Squad!" 621 shouted out.

"Y-Yes!" Uzi jumped to attention, with V and N not too far behind.

"Come on, we've got more of this Sanctuary to explore." 621 gestured forward, bringing her squad further into the facility. "This is going to be a long fucking day."

---

One of the signs that caught 621's eye as they traversed the Sanctuary was the 'school', from which several "Gen Two" workers of various heights and ages were coming and going. It was little more than a couple of storage rooms that had chairs dragged into them, but it served it's purposes.

"Uh…do we really have to go in there?" Uzi complained.

"I'm curious." 621 argued. "What did you learn in school anyway?"

"Uh…nothing really important." Uzi dismissed. "Basic structural engineering, some coding, but honestly, not much more."

"Hmm." 621 hummed, looking at some of the information boards on the wall. On one hand there were unusually childish messages that seemed actively aware of their fragile existence, but also considered it a joke.

"Don't wash your hands, ur a robot, idiot."

"3 Steps! 1. Stop 2. Drop 3. Reflect on why U deserve this."

"What Hurts? – Head – Shoulder – Chest – Legs – The Existential dread of being a sentient machine created by gods that abandoned us."

"Guns are Scary, Doors are Friends."

"Be: Courageous; Kind; Fearless; Recyclable; Battery Powered; Violently Opposed to Biological Life; Safe; A Cold Metal Shell."

"Don't die, lol."

On the other half of the information board, were several posters, news articles, and quotes, all seemingly devoted to one Drone in particular. The same Drone they'd seen an eldritch horror worm eviscerate with it's teeth in a hologram a few days before. A Worker Drone wearing a blue jacket and red goggles on his hard hat, with white eyes and handlebar mustache.

"Dad…is alive?" Uzi questioned in shock. She knew the worm monster thing didn't kill him, but it had been more than a month since she'd seen him, on the worst world in the 'verse, so his survival up to this point had not been certain.

"…" Getting confirmation that this was, in fact, Uzi's father, 621 started reading the different posters on the wall.

One depicted Khan as a brave defender, a metal pipe in one hand, and a wrench in the other. "Khan Needs You – WDF: Worker Defense Force."

Another depicted him with great dignity, as he rubbed his moustache with a relaxed and confident expression. "Drone of the Year – Khan Doorman: 'Doors are my real daughter.' 'What do you mean that doesn't make sense?'"

Another poster depicted him as a guest speaker to some seminar for an unusually specific topic. "Khan Doorman – On: Dealing with your disappointing failure of a child."

Lastly, there was a newspaper that seemed to have been printed relatively recently. The name of the newspaper was quite uninspired, but that was nothing compared to the title. "The Hero of Rubicon: Khan Doorman establishes Worker Drone Sanctuary with Impenetrable Doors!" Quickly reading the article, 621 was surprised by the line "-established the colony with absolutely no assistance from the humans."

"…" Oh yeah, Carla definitely needed some help keeping the Sanctuary in line if a big dick dickless bastard like this was running the show. An army would be more direct, yet subject to disapproval; but a Hound like her was a scalpel, stabbing straight at the root of the problem.

V snickered loudly, reading the articles by their side. "Wait…your last name is 'Doorman?'"

"Ugh, yeah!? What of it? At least my name isn't one stupid letter!" Uzi snapped back.

"Hey, my name is badass, and you know it!" V flicked her hair while standing proudly with hands on her hips.

"V, please stop antagonizing Uzi." N requested calmly but slightly stressed.

"Sorry, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up." V grinned.

"…Just because we're born to a certain name, doesn't mean we have to let it define us." 621 declared.

"…" Uzi, V, and N stared at her. That might have been a more inspirational quote…if not for the fact that the speaker had willing sold the rights to their own name away.

621 turned away from the information board, and started looking into classrooms. She found one that interested her, if only because she sort of recognized some of the students. She barged in without knocking.

"Umm…excuse you?" There was a Gen One Worker Drone at the front of the classroom, wearing a striped, green vest and glasses. He spoke in a bored and annoyed tone. "Oh…Uzi."

"Heyyyy." Uzi waved awkwardly, standing behind 621, while V and N watched from the doorway curiously. In the room was most, but not all of her classmates, including Lizzy, Doll, and Rebecca. Curiously, most of the students were collared.

"Ewww, the human didn't kill her." Lizzy complained to her friends, laughing while pointing at Uzi.

"Uzi, you've missed nearly a month of class. You've got a bunch of homework you need to catch up on." The Teacher advised. Some of the students laughed at her.

"…" Uzi's eyes twitched in annoyance. "We're not even on the same planet anymore, and yet all you can think about is my high school grades?!"

"Non-consensual interstellar travel doesn't automatically give you a pass in my class." The Teacher dismissed. "Not that your attendance would bring your score up enough to actually pass. In twenty-two years of teaching, you might be the first Drone to ever fail my class."

"Ha! The freak is also an idiot!" Rebacca mocked.

"…" Uzi fumed with anger and embarrassment, and tried to ignore her former classmates by watching what 621 did.

The whole reason 621 had come into the classroom was to learn what these machines were going to school for. She went over to the teachers desk to pour over his lesson plans.

"Um, can you not?" The Teacher complained, but there wasn't anything he could do. 621 was more than a foot taller than him, outweighed him three-to-one, had multiple weapons, and was backed by two Murder Drones. So he just watched with raised pseudo-eyebrows as 621 read his lesson plans.

"Üzgün." 621 shrugged apologetically. "Shikata ga nai." From what she could read, there was basic information on how to build several types of door, program editing so that the Drones could…edit their own emotional states and responses, and instructions on how to bypass millennium old, civilian level anti-AI security measures. And, bafflingly, a word problem for buying watermelons?

"Huh…since it seems my classroom has been hijacked by a human, class is dismissed for the day." The Teacher announced with zero enthusiasm.

"Welp, guess we get to start early and make some extra scrip today, huh?" Lizzy shrugged.

"[…Guess so…]" Doll muttered under her breath, eyes not leaving a member of Stray Squad.

"Oh, I hope I get plenty of Johns to service today!" Rebecca cheered, as she followed Lizzy and Doll.

It took 621 a moment to comprehend that statement, which caused her to recoil in vicious surprise. "What!?"

---

Grid 085 – Megapillar Interior – Upper Level Entertainment District

Following the three Drones out of the Sanctuary and down into the Megapillar, 621 was disappointed but not surprised to find out where they were working. Strangely, there were RaD soldiers here, passively guarding the building.

"Uh, Raven, what are we doing down here?" Uzi wondered. "I thought Carla wanted us to investigate the Sanctuary, not the megapillar under it?"

"…" 621 was going through a couple of emotions at the moment, but elected to stay calm and answer Uzi. "Just need to understand why some of your people are working outside of the Sanctuary, and the work they are doing."

"Hey, that kinda looks like that one kind of building we met Gia in." N pointed out. "A uh…brothel?"

"…Yes Stray Two, it is." 621 agreed, thankful that Stray Squad still hadn't figured out that implication, what with their limited programing preventing true comprehension. Even if they had the dictionary definitions for certain things, they could not conceive of something they had never been designed for.

This particular brothel featured an open bar area that also functioned as a front desk, which Lizzy walked behind and started her shift. "Hmm, hey, you're that human from earlier. What do you want? Or, are you here for…?"

"C4-621, I just want information." 621 corrected as she pointed to herself. "I'm serving a contract for 'Cinder' Carla. If there's something you need, maybe I can pass it up the line?"

"Ah." Lizzy nodded much more appreciatively. "Well, I don't work for free you know."

"…" 621 swiped her hand terminal in Lizzy's direction transferring 2,000 Coam.

"Hmm, that's better. Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Firstly, how did you end up in Carla's Sanctuary, and why are you working here?" 621 requested.

"What, you want my whole life's story?"

"Just since you got off the ship that brought you to Rubicon, please."

"Well, getting of The Canterbury was hectic, what with all those lost, scared, and confused Workers and a very small handful of equally confused Murder Drones. Some people were eaten on the spot, some died being trampled, but for the most part, groups ended up forming around our respective colony leaders, in our case, that was Khan. Initially, he assured us he would protect us, and find us good shelter. But the longer we wandered Rubicon, the more apparent it was that we were in far over our heads, on a world completely hostile to us."

"Ah…that sounds familiar." Uzi added.

"Mmm." V agreed.

"Anyway, before the bounty on our kind was issued, we needed transportation to get around, but Khan said that we couldn't all go at the same time, and some people needed to stay to take a different transport…which was bullshit."

"…" Uzi raised her eyebrow.

"What? Surprised by my fucking vocabulary update?" Lizzy grinned.

"I can say fuck and other shit too." Uzi informed her.

"Why were his orders bullshit?" 621 requested.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, because it was always a very small number of Workers. Like small families or an individual here and there who definitely could have come along, but who were told they had to 'stay behind for a little bit' while the rest of our colony went on ahead. Thinking back…I think he was paying for services by selling off our people."

"Hmm." 621 nodded.

"…What?" Uzi stared at Lizzy worriedly, but Lizzy ignored her.

"Anyway, when the bounty came down, putting a price for our capture, Khan seemed to get a little more desperate, and told a bunch more of us to stay in place, where we were then rounded up and put in that auction. That's how my whole class was captured, as a large enough distraction to warrant for bounty hunters to stop and capture us, while the older Drones got away." Lizzy explained.

"Just…what the fuck?" Uzi stressed, eyes hollow.

"What happened after the auction?" 621 demanded.

"Good news, bad news." Lizzy offhandedly mentioned. "We were fortunate in some regards that Carla had put a certain 'upgrade' on the market before we were sold off. Most Drones I've been able to reach out too received that upgrade, and any who were captured before hand…I haven't heard from them, and I think I know why." She said much softer, quieter.

"Wait, what upgrade?" Uzi questioned.

"Hmm? You don't know? Besides updating our vocabulary, we've had a va-"

"Chh!" 621 hissed loudly. "Stray Squad, go wait over there." She pointed to an empty table in the bar area.

"Wait, why?" Uzi looked to 621 suspiciously.

"This isn't something you need to know." 621 dismissed.

"Oh, aright." N nodded happily and ignorantly. He led Uzi and V to the table.

"…They don't know?" Lizzy wondered incredibly.

"No, and I intend to keep it that way." 621 announced sternly.

"…Fair enough." Lizzy shrugged.

"How do you feel, having been upgraded?" 621 asked softly.

"Initially, it was scary, terrifying." Lizzy admitted honestly. "It inputs wholly unnatural and foreign sensation I'd never imagined, and frankly, I'm disgusted. Then I think about what might have happened if I hadn't been upgraded. What happened to a couple of my friends…" Lizzy trailed off, looking off distantly. "Eventually I try and at least appreciate the fact that Carla somehow managed to make it a pleasurable experience, and ignore it's many implications."

"Is that a sentiment shared by those of you who have been upgraded?"

"For the most part, yeah." Lizzy confirmed. "Very scary, really sick…but, then again, we're Worker Drones, we're designed to be used in uncomfortable situations. The only Drone who whole heartedly likes the upgrade is Rebecca."

"Why?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, she was already something of a slut back on Copper IX, so getting upgraded has been like her greatest dream come true." Lizzy explained, expressing both amusement and disgust.

"Ah…" Well, at least someone was happy. "How did you come to work in this establishment? Are you working for Carla here?"

"So, what happened was, after getting…passed around between a couple of different masters, Carla made an effort to buy up as many of us collared Drones as possible, besides inviting uncollared Drones into the Sanctuary. She pulled us upgraded drones aside and gave us a proposition, and a completely voluntary one at that. She pays us an hourly wage to work here, outside the colony, and offers protection in the form of some of her soldiers. Any scrip we make while working is ours to keep. As well, she says that working here is a good deterrent to protect the un-upgraded Workers, and some humans as well."

"…Wait, how are you protecting humans?" 621 questioned.

"I mean…you have to realize that any John looking to hire a four foot, three-inch-tall girl might be into some other shady shit, if you catch my drift?" Lizzy frowned as she explained.

"Yeah…that would track…" 621 sighed with disgust. Even this far out into the black, one of the few constants was vile human depravity. "You said you lost some un-upgraded friends?"

"Yeah, one even last week too." Lizzy admitted sadly. "Carla put out a bounty on her killer, and he's probably still in the lower levels of this Grid Sector, but she hasn't been able to put enough resources into capturing him, what with just trying to protect her stake in Grid 086 and our Sanctuary above."

"Mmm." 621 nodded. "What was your friend's name?"

That surprised Lizzy, and she answered softly. "Emily. Her name was Emily."

"Emily. Maybe I'll run that bounty down next. For Emily."

Lizzy's eyes hollowed in surprise. "If you do that, I would be very thankful to you. She was a young girl, just halfway through high school. She…she got lost and wandered out of the Sanctuary, and was cornered by a Coral Tweaker. Then…well…you can guess the rest."

"…" 621 nodded sadly. "What's your name, little Drone?"

"Lizzy. Why?"

"Well, I can't help but notice that you're the one behind the desk at this fine establishment. They don't just put any girl in that position." 621 pointed out.

"Ah, it's true." Lizzy admitted. "I will still take Johns when we are busy, but Carla said she could see I was a people person…or…er…Drone."

"So why are you down here, and not running the Sanctuary up above?"

"Well, for one, I owe it to my friends to stand by them, and keep an eye out for them here. Plus, I'm still technically a teenager. Besides, what could I say to change anyone's mind? All they want to hear is that doors keep them safe, and that they don't have to do anything to survive."

"Part of my mission today is to change their minds." 621 added. "I'm going to remember you Lizzy. If you know any other Drones who don't just jack themselves off to doors, let me or Carla know."

"Thank you, Hound." Lizzy smiled. "So, are you like Carla? Do you care about what happens to my people?"

"…I'm under contract to Carla at this time, so I'm serving her interest. Still I would be a poor Hound if I did not do everything in my power to do my job properly." 621 corrected.

"Then, I suppose that's good enough." Lizzy nodded.

. . .

While 621 and Lizzy talked at length, V and N sat at their table, while Uzi paced impatiently.

"Ugh! What are they talking about?" Uzi anxiously complained.

"What are you so worried about Uzi?" N wondered.

"It's…it's just that Raven is talking to Lizzy." Uzi stressed. "Like what are they talking about that's so important that we can't listen too?"

"Oh, are you getting jealous, Uzi?" V purred. "Worried that maybe your master has a new favorite Worker?"

"I-I'm not jealous!" Uzi shook her fists. "It's not like Lizzy is way more popular than me and knows how to get what she wants! P-Plus! I'm way better at engineering than Lizzy could ever hope to be! So what does Raven even need to talk to her about?!"

"Sounds like you're a little jealous." V teased. "I'm sure if you just got to know Lizzy, you might hit it off."

"Oh, I know her well enough already!" Uzi sneered. "That dumb blonde bitch had a lot of fun tormenting me."

"I'm sure she means well, Uzi." V dismissed. "Lizzy can be a lot of fun, I remember this one time…" She trailed off when she noticed movement and a glare. "Hey…Uzi…who is that Drone?"

Uzi looked towards where V was pointing, to see Doll at a table across from them. She seemed to be…waving at them? But it wasn't a proper wave, it was short, sharp movements of her hand that splayed fingers, and each time she did it, her control collar glowed a little brighter as it burned her. All the while she was sneering at them, openly displaying her tightly grit teeth.

"Oh, that's Doll, one of Lizzy's friends." Uzi explained. "She's kinda weird, since she only speaks Russian and is really quiet. But since she's pretty she gets to sit with the popular kids. We don't talk much, so…what is she doing?"

"I guess she's waving." N declared. "We should wave back to be friendly."

Uzi and V shrugged, and together with N, slowly waved back at Doll until the other purple Worker felt uncomfortable with their friendly yet cautious waving. Doll turned away, still sneering at the table with hate filled red eyes.

While Stray Squad was distracted with waving at Doll, Rebecca came walking up behind them, a man holding onto her arm excitedly.

"Oh! Tell me more about what you want to do to me~!" Rebecca purred playfully. "I can't wait-" As she passed by Uzi, Rebecca lifted her foot and kicked Uzi in the back with such force that it caused the purple haired Worker to fall flat on her face, hard. "-for you to show me what you're packing down there~!"

Most of the Drones in that establishment, save V and N, simply ignored this exchange. Most of the humans, especially the regulars, were surprised by the violent outburst by what was widely regarded as the most popular Drone in this brothel.

Uzi sat up on her elbows, shivering. She looked back to see Rebecca laughing at her. To see N and V regarding her with surprise. Then up at her master, who had turned with equal surprise, wondering why her Stray was on the ground, but quickly figuring it out.

With lips quivering in rage and embarrassment, Uzi squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to cry, but this was humiliating. Different world, same shit, getting kicked down just because she was a bit different than the rest of her kind.

Uzi covered her face, and ran for it, out of the brothel, trying her hardest not to cry.

"…" 621 fumed, and snapped her fingers, getting V and N's attention. "Go." She pointed after Uzi.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" V and N shouted back, and quickly took off after Uzi.

Rebecca stopped laughing, when 621 grabbed her by the throat with her prosthetic arm.

"H-Hey! No need to be so rough!" Rebecca complained. "I charge extra for that kind of service!"

"You touched my property." 621 hissed.

"What? The little purpled hair freak~?" Rebecca purred. "Come on, she's not even worth half as much as I am. I've never done it with a human lady myself, but I'm sure what I could do with my mouth-"

621 took out a knife, and held it against Rebecca's throat.

"Hey! Hey! Don't damage the merchandise!" Rebecca complained. "You're getting awfully worked up for one stupid Drone that no one likes."

"Ma'am! Put the Drone down, now!" Carla's soldiers guarding the outside took notice of their confrontation, and aimed their weapons at 621. Rebecca smiled smugly.

"No harm! No harm!" 621 gently dropped Rebecca. "I'm under contract with Carla. Just testing her security is all. You boys leave a bit to be desired!" She complained.

"If that's all, you'll have to excuse me. I'm a very important Drone, and so very very busy!"

Rebecca turned to leave, but 621 held her by the arm, and spun her around. She knelt down to the Drone's level, and whispered through her teeth. "If you ever touch my property again, I won't even sic the Murder Drones after you. I'll tear you apart and eat you myself." 621 shoved Rebecca with that warning, and left, looking to find where her Strays had run off to.

---

It took a bit of time, and a bit of a detour, but 621 found Uzi in part of a very narrow service corridor. V and N were by her side…sort of. They were actually three feet short, being unable to make the final turn out of a ventilation shaft, so they elected to just stick their heads out of the air-vent that Uzi had apparently crawled through to get there.

621 took the door on the other side of the narrow corridor, and squeezed her way through dust coated, abandoned machinery to sit somewhat beside and opposite Uzi. The corridor was so narrow, that her knees hit the opposite wall when she sat.

At some point, Uzi had failed at her attempt to not cry again. N had been trying to soothe her, while V elected to simply watch with narrowed, concerned eyes.

"…" 621 sat quietly by Uzi's side, watching her patiently. She wanted Uzi to start speaking first.

"Raven…are you like…gonna sell me off?" Uzi questioned painfully.

"What would make you think that?" 621 asked calmly.

"N-Nothing! It was a s-stupid question!" Uzi shouted, averting her gaze in embarrassment and fear.

"I told you before, métexeng mali, until my debt to you is paid, you are mine to protect. I won't sell you off as a quick buck, or as a replacement." 621 assured her.

"R-Really?" Uzi hesitantly asked.

"Promise." 621 nodded. "So what's really on your mind? Was it that other Drone pushing you down?"

"K-Kinda…yeah…" Uzi stuttered as she kept her eyes down. "I'm not as bad ass as I pretend to be. I'm…the fucking colony joke. I don't have any friends because I'm impulsive and scare people off by doing random shit. I get kicked and bullied and I just take it like a bitch cause if I fight back, I get in trouble. And…and my fucking Dad has all but disowned me because I try to be something other than a door loving little bitch. Even if I was the perfect, conformist door lover, who dressed like every other brain-dead pretty girl, and accepted my pathetic lot in life, my Dad would still be more excited to build his next door, than to want to acknowledge me as his daughter. He sucks, but everyone still praises him as the hero of our people! I hate it, but there's nothing I can do about it. And even after getting fucked off to a different planet, the more things change, the more fucked up things stay the same. Everyone loves dad, and I'm the fucking irregular."

"…" 621 nodded quietly. She let Uzi cry for a minute, before she started speaking. "So there was this really important meeting in Sol this one time. All the big heads of state were debating the future of our system; the Grand Marshal of Earth, the Martian Prime Minister, the Belter President, and an AI god, all locked in very serious, high-level diplomacy, the kind of shit where one wrong word leads to nuclear war. So anyway, I barge in, four years old, and buck ass nude, running wild through their meeting room, all the while my poor mother is screaming and chasing me down, just trying to get me to wear some pants. So, being a national fucking embarrassment myself, I can appreciate where you're coming from."

It was difficult then for Uzi to form a sentence because she was laughing so hard. N and V were laughing pretty hard too, from their little hole in the wall.

"W-Wait! Really!?" Uzi cried out, laughing between words.

"Oh yeah, I got some shit for that too. You know things are bad when playing naked hide-and-seek between Hustler fucking One's legs is considered a diplomatic incident referred to as 'The Great Bare Moons Interruption' for many years to come."

"Oh…okay…that sounds pretty bad." Uzi smiled, trying her best to hold her laughter in.

"And hey, about you not being a bad ass, there's like a hundred dead fucking Coyotes you exploded earlier who might agree to disagree." 621 reminded her. "Every time we've gone into combat, you and yours have faced that challenge, and come out on top. Ain't no pansy-ass door lover going to do that."

"I'm always getting myself into embarrassing situations." N spoke up as well. "I remember this one time, I was flying after some Worker Drones, and I got myself caught in telephone wire. I was all tangled up and helpless. J and V laughed at me, the Workers laughed at me, it was a really awkward experience."

"I uh…" V hesitated, rocking her head back and forth as she considered sharing the information. "I used to have to wear really big glasses. Like as big as your teacher, but twice as thick. I definitely wasn't bad ass when I just looked like a blind nerd."

"Let me tell you something about irregulars, métexeng mali." 621 leaned back as she told another story. "For over a thousand years, the greatest warriors piloted Armored Cores, and earned such titles as Raven, Lynx, Migrant, and Hound. Many great warriors who vied for rank, and whom we remember, long after they fell for their deeds and their feats; Zinaida, Berlioz, Joshua O'Brian, and Wynne D. Fanchon. irregulars on the other hand, are bastards and bitches of war, lowly groveling dogs not worth the spit to spite them, hated and hunted by their own kind for sport. But in times of war and disaster, when Ranked turns on Ranked, it is the irregulars who get the job done. Ranked we remember, but irregulars we fear. The Nine Breaker, The Last Raven, and even The Butcher himself, were all lowly irregulars at one point or another."

"So…is it good or bad?" Uzi questioned.

"irregular is an insult, and a mark of shame, make no mistake." 621 corrected. "But even irregulars can rise to the occasion. You don't strike me as a coward, métexeng mali. You've got a good head."

"Thanks…" Uzi smiled softly. "Hey…you sometimes call me that. What does that mean? 'Métexeng mali…?'"

"Ah…" 621 sighed. "I'm using it a bit improperly, but the closest translation is 'little lady.'"

"Ha…" Uzi laughed, a little flattered. It was the nicest nickname ever given to her.

"That's very sweet of you, Raven." Ayre noted cheerfully. "You're treating them like a-"

"…" 621 hissed quietly, turning her head sharply. Ayre took that to mean something like "shut up."

"While I was talking to Lizzy, she mentioned a job that's come up. Just a quick detour down the pillar." 621 informed them. "Something that needs to be done. Something I don't want you involved in."

"Oh…?" Uzi looked at her curiously. "So…what should we do?"

"Watch. Learn. Just don't interfere." 621 advised.

---

Priority Subject for Termination – "Cinder" Carla / Reward 5,000 COAM

"Oh!" Carla had called upon seeing a notification. "I didn't expect you to take this job, tourist. I take it you talked to Lizzy then?"

"…"

"I see, that's fair." Carla shrugged. "I'll send you the latest data regarding the target's location."

"There's something else I need." 621 requested. "Send me any data regarding Pushers in this sector."

"You didn't strike me as a Doser or junkie, why? What's your poison?"

"It's not for me."

"…Ah." Carla hesitated for a moment. "Coming right up."

The first thing 621 did, was find a Pusher.

It wasn't some shady motherfucker out on some streetcorner, a hood pulled nervously over their head. Out on Rubicon, there were no laws against substance abuse. The Pusher operated a respectable hole-in-the-wall business.

"Oh, a Hound?" The Pusher leaned back surprised. "I didn't sell a bad batch, did I? This isn't a bounty?"

"Not for you." 621 assured him. "Looking to buy."

"Cool cool." The Pusher nodded. "What can I get you then?"

"Gravity drugs, if you have them." 621 requested.

"Ah, yeah and I'd like a blowjob and a pony. Ain't no ships leaving Rubicon any time soon, ain't got no gravity drugs."

"Then similar substances. Focus, amphetamine?"

"I've got focus and meth, that good?" The Pusher offered.

"That'll do." 621 agreed.

"How much you want?"

"Too much. Not for me." 621 stressed.

"Oh, oof." The Pushed cringed. "Someone's bad day. That'll be tu towseng."

"Done." 621 agreed, and paid for the drugs. She put them in an inside pocket.

"So…what was that about?" V wondered curiously.

"Stray Squad…let this be a lesson in what not to do. Something that sometimes must be done, but you should not dirty your hands with." 621 advised. "Stay close…but not too close."

The problem had been that while Carla had the resources to track the target, her ability to do something about this information left something to be desired, especially since it was outside of her sphere of influence at the top of the Grid Sectors.

For this job, 621 had made quick work in hunting the target down. He was…not what they were expecting. He was a slightly heavier man, with a certain sad, pathetic quality about him. Stray Squad was not certain what he could have done, to have earned Carla's and 621's ire.

That was obvious by how 621 treated him. Up to this point, every kill had been quick and clean…or, at least, 621 had made sure to not drag out any kills that she could help. In this case, 621 did not kill the man, she grabbed him and broke several of his fingers with her prosthetic arm.

The man screamed, and resisted pathetically as 621 dragged him miles up the megapillar, up to near the top of the industrial sector, with Outer Shell looming only a hundred meters overhead.

"P-Please! I'm sorry! I won't ever do it again!"

"Pashangwala." 621 hissed. "Men like you make me sick. Parasitic predators, preying on the weak."

"It-it was just one little Drone!" The man tried to explain. "A Jenson model drone at that!"

"Death is one thing. But you…you…you…" 621 could barely speak through her hatefully grit teeth. "You violated that young mind, tore it apart for your own amusement. Tell me, did you laugh while she cried out? Did you enjoy carving her up so that she might better…accommodate you? Tell me, did you enjoy leaving her there to bleed out, undignified and disgraced?"

"…!" Uzi, V, and N watched fearfully as 621 slowly and methodically brutalized this man, drawing out his howling sequels of pain like a chorus of agony. Uzi was hugging V, while V was hugging N, and N was hugging them both, as they tried to rationalize this cruelty. Just a few minutes ago, they had been trading pleasant stories and laughing with their master. Now, 621 was sadistically working this man over, as she slowly dragged him to the edge of a loading zone, overlooking the near seven kilometer drop to the distant surface below.

"Open your mouth." 621 demanded. When the man did not immediately respond, 621 grabbed him by the jaw, and forced his mouth open. "I said open your fucking mouth." With her free hand, she grabbed a handful of small, clear pills, and forced them into his mouth. "Now swallow. I said swallow, pashangwala." 621 held his nose, and forced him to swallow all the pills.

"Back in the Navy, Martian Investigators would take focus to turn themselves into a human lie detector, to be able to detect the smallest movements and tells in a person. That being said, it was a military drug, and subject to tight restrictions, such as not taking more than one pill an hour. Overdosing on focus causes the human brain to start to perceive time at exponentially slower rates, and if I've done my math right, that means you have about two minutes before you start experiencing reality at just over a hundred times slower than normal."

621 took a syringe filled with methamphetamine, and jammed it into his neck.

"And this is more than enough meth to kill a man, just because I really don't like you, and I want you to suffer on the way down."

The man's eyes widened in terrible surprise.

"That's right, you're going back down. You're going to experience the pain of a meth overdose while waiting to hit the ground. For me, I only have to wait two minutes, but you'll experience falling for roughly thirty-six hours." 621 informed him calmly. "That's less than a tenth of a meter a second for you. At that rate you'll be able to feel your skull split against the ground, while your mind is shredded into a fine paste."

"P-Please!" The man begged. "I-I only hurt that drone so I wouldn't hurt my own-"

That was quite possibly the worst answer he could have given 621. She grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up, then reached for a knife. Hilting the knife just below his diaphragm, she dragged it down past his waist, and disemboweled him. Though he was facing away from Stray Squad, they still saw his entrails spill out, and clatter against the deck.

Then 621 kicked the man in the back, into the abyss below. She stood at the edge of the deck, and waited for a long time, counting down the few minutes it took for him to die.

Uzi was terribly frightened. 621 had acted with more brutality than she could have ever imagined, going extra steps just to draw out his agony.

V was equally frightened, and confused. Hadn't 621 been very clear that all their kills should be quick and clean? So, what was that? Taking the time and the steps to torture him in ways even she had never considered.

"…Raven…" N had spoken up, still holding his friends close. "That seemed…rather excessive…"

"In a perfect world, there is no justice, because there is no sin." 621 finally turned around. She was calm and collected, and walked towards them slowly. "This is not a perfect world. This is Rubicon, the farthest world in the 'verse from the light of Sol. It is a world drowning in sin of such insanity and depravity, that you cannot even begin to imagine it. And where was justice for your kin?" 621 demanded, gesturing towards Uzi. "One of your kind was left defiled and disgraced, and died alone and cold. No one else would raise a finger to bring her killer to justice…which just leaves a lowly Hound like me. I've said before that I'll neither pity or forgive Laconian detritus such as yourselves, but I took a contract to make sure that your people have even the possibility of surviving this scorched, damned world. I don't expect you to understand, and I hope you never do, but there are some sins for which justice is just not equipped. For those times…a butcher's hands are needed."

"That is…" Ayre hesitated. "If what I suspect is correct, then I cannot say that I blame you. If the same were to befall Uzi or V…I might hope for worse. Still, it takes a certain kind of mind…a certain kind of heart…to answer evil with evil. Walk carefully Raven, I would not want you to lose yourself in that hatred."

"…" 621 scoffed to the voice in her head. "Get moving, we have work to do." She stalked past her Strays, back down towards the Sanctuary.

"…" N sighed, and looked down at his friends. "Are you guys okay?"

"Why is she so…contradictory sometimes?" Uzi frowned. "She was so nice earlier, so funny and kind to us…and then she tortured that man without hesitation."

"That was…one of the cruelest things I've ever seen." V shivered. "I've killed many Workers, and been particularly cruel, but my longest kill was…a few minutes at most. That man…Raven said that from his point of view, it took him a day and a half to die. A day and a half he screamed, bled out, burned, and fell to a death that he could tell was coming for so long. What…kind of sin could warrant such punishment?"

"It's…good then, that her rage was directed at someone who hurt a Worker." N added optimistically. "She might not like us or the Workers for being Laconian, but she would not want us to suffer. She's very scary, but she means well in her own way."

"…Ugh." V feigned disgust as she released her hold on N. "Your optimism is going to make me sick."

"Hey, it's his best quality!" Uzi defended.

"Let's go guys. We probably shouldn't keep her waiting." N suggested, putting a spring in their step as they rejoined the Hound.

---

Worker Drone Sanctuary

"Well that's certainly one way to solve a problem." Carla had called after 621 had completed that other mission. "Hopefully that will be a message to other depraved Tweakers in my Grid Sectors to keep their filthy hands off my property. Anyway, you're just in time. The Worker Drones have a council of their most popular leaders that are meeting soon, and you can guess what they will decide. So please, get in there, and as politely as you can manage, convince them to get back to building me toys that I can then sell, so that I can use that scrip to buy more hired guns to protect their shiny little heads. And for the love of all the human and machine gods in the cosmos, stop building doors."

"…I'll see what I can do." 621 shrugged. Carla cut the line, and 621 turned to Uzi. "Stray Three, your father…he a big man around here?"

"Uh, no, he's only three inches taller than me."

"…"

"Oh, uh…I mean yeah, I'd say he's the most famous Worker Drone on all of Copper IX. He pioneered the 'hiding behind doors' bit of our culture that kept us safe from these two and all their cousins." Uzi corrected herself.

"Well I've never heard of him." V pointed out.

"Of course you wouldn't have! You ate all the Workers you ever met!" Uzi countered.

"Well…most of them. You're still around." V added with a sly smile.

"So…do you think he will listen and do as Carla asks?" N wondered.

"Might." 621 shrugged. "Though it's more likely we'll have to persuade him."

"Hey uh…" Uzi reluctantly requested. "Do you think maybe I could try and convince him first? I can't imagine he or the other Workers would react too well to you guys terrorizing them into doing what Carla wants."

"Fine." 621 acquiesced. "I'll give you a chance to convince him, but if that doesn't work out, we're doing it my way."

The room the meeting was taking place in was a former factory space, a flat area that had it's machinery ripped out and, in this case, replaced with a long table. There was a second level just above them, a series of walkways that conveniently overlooked the meeting.

There were roughly a dozen Worker Drones in the room, the leaders of the largest colonies from Copper IX that happened to be in this sanctuary. The vast majority of them were nearly identical, with all of them wearing cold weather vest, hard hats, and boots. The most variation between them was the colors of their eyes, vest, and hats, which at most ranged from light blue to green. For 621, it was nearly impossible to tell them apart, though there were at least a few "female" Drones, which could only be ascertained because they had brown hair poking out from under their hard hats and spilling around their heads. Curiously, none of these Drones were collared as well.

One Drone was very obvious and somewhat unique though, being Khan, what with his bright blue vest, red goggles, and moustache. He was seated at the end of the table, with the rest of the Workers turned towards him hopefully and respectfully.

Fortunately, Worker Drones lacked situational awareness and peripheral vision, so 621 and V were able to wait on the overhead walkways while Uzi tried to convince her father. N stayed below with Uzi, and was going to come in and block the door if she failed to persuade them all.

"Okay, is everyone here?" One of the Workers with a nametag reading "Steve" stood and addressed the rest of their small group. "Cool. So welcome to our second weekly meeting of colony leaders in the Grid 085 Sanctuary."

The Workers all turned towards each other, and smiled pleasantly, greeting each other like friends.

"The first item on our list of things to address today, is the demands of that Carla woman." Steve brought up.

"Ah man!"

"Boo!"

"What a weirdo." The Workers complained.

"So, like, it's kinda her fault that we aren't doing the work she asks of us." Another Worker stood up. "She's not threatening us, so like, if I have to choose between working and doing something more productive, like playing cards, I'm definitely going to play cards."

"Oh yeah!"

"That sounds like fun!"

"Hey, did anyone bring cards? We could just blow this meeting and play cards instead!" Another Worker suggested.

"Yeah Carla's a big weirdo, just tell her to leave us alone again. We'll be fine as long as we have doors." A female Worker declared.

"Are we all in agreement? Okay, lets's move on!" Steve suggested.

"Uh…Raven? Shouldn't I get in there and convince them yet?" Uzi called from her hand terminal, watching as 621 broadcast the meeting to her.

"Not just yet, I want to see what decisions they reach on their own." 621 advised.

"Okay, next item on the list. The death of a younger Drone named Emily."

"Didn't that girl go outside the doors?"

"Yeah, it's her fault for being outside. We can't protect Workers if they are outside." A different male spoke up.

"Awesome, that's what I thought too. Can't do anything if it's outside." Steve crossed that item off. "Okay, this one is very recent. Apparently, Carla said something earlier about sending Murder Drones and a Hound into our Sanctuary for an audit? Does anyone actually listen to her broadcast?"

"Oh please, they'd have to get past those big huge doors! There's no way they'd make it inside!"

"Yeah what a loser. Doesn't she know that doors have to open to let people inside?"

"Haha yeah!" Steve dismissed. "Okay, now, we are almost done building the second door at the entrance to stop people from coming in. Mr. Doorman, what are your plans for our next project?"

This time, Khan stood, and started speaking. His voice sounded like a shallow kind of deep, and overly confident to an arrogant degree.

"My friends, as you are all aware, our arrival to this world was unfortunate and unexpected. We all lost many friends and family to threats we couldn't even have imagined. Why, my own daughter was eaten by Murder Drones before we'd even made it to the surface." Khan lied. "But! Since I founded this Sanctuary, we are even more safe than we've ever been! The door at the front is the biggest door any Worker Drone has ever seen! And the one we are almost finished building is going to be just as large!"

"Oh yay!"

"Whoa! Go doors!"

"So, my friends! It is with great honor I announce our next project!" Khan paused over-dramatically. "We will build another door!"

"Yes!"

"Oh my robo-god!"

"That's an incredible idea!"

"This is why you're the best Khan!"

"Yes my friends! This door will be built just behind the second door, because what's better than two doors, but three doors!" Khan cheered.

"…Why are they so obsessed with doors?" Ayre asked 621. "Does it have to do with their home planet? I understand Workers were hunted by Disassembly Drones, and that they aren't the most creative of machines, so doors might have been effective on Copper IX…but they can't possibly believe doors will stop anything on Rubicon, can they? Why are they so suicidally over-confident?"

"…" It was a good question. "Stray One, back-" 621 had turned to V, only to find her not paying attention. Instead, V was up, sitting on a crate, with her hands switched out for…bubble wands? This was confirmed as V gently blew on her bubble wands, and watched with a serene and calm expression, and a small and gentle smile, as the bubbles floated up.

"That's…adorable…" Ayre suggested, and 621 had difficulty in trying to not acknowledge that she was right.

"…" Fuck. 621 hissed to herself, and turned back to her hand terminal. "Stray Three, get in there, you have two minutes to change their minds."

Uzi barged into the room, throwing open the door loudly. She stormed past the long table with a quick and heavy gait, towards her father at the end of the room.

"Uzi…? You're-wa!" Khan's realization that his daughter was alive was short lived as Uzi kicked the chair out from under him.

"You threw me out of a fucking spaceship!" Uzi cursed, fist clutched tightly by her waist.

"Woah! Language!" One of the other Workers called out.

"Fuck off!" Uzi yelled back.

"Uzi…it's…good to see you again." Khan said honestly. "I was worried that…you had died."

"I definitely have some things to say about that bullshit! But…right now, I'm working for Carla, auditing this Sanctuary you're running."

"Oh, don't worry about that human!" Khan dismissed. "As long as we have doors, our people will be safe!"

"While that worked back on Copper IX because the Murder Drones lacked imagination…" Uzi admitted reluctantly. "There are far worse things on this planet, and if they want in badly enough, they will get in. You need to stop building doors, and build whatever Carla wants you to build so she can afford to protect this Sanctuary. Doors won't stop shit Dad. You need to start using guns on this planet."

"…" Khan looked down reluctantly, and thoughtfully. It was difficult to consider a reality in which "more doors" was not the answer to every problem.

"Umm…but guns are scary!" Another female Worker wearing glasses pointed out. "Did you know that an explosion happens when you fire a gun!? Explosions are scary, and that would happen in your hands!"

"…" Khan sighed. "I'm sorry Uzi, but doors have protected our people for years. You can't expect us to give up on something that has served us well for so long."

"Oh…" Uzi sighed in frustration. "I was afraid you'd say that."

Up above, 621 also sighed tiredly. "Alright Stray One, you ready to cause a scene?"

"Oh, you bet!" V cheered.

"Stray Two, you're up." 621 ordered through her hand terminal.

"Oh, yes ma'am!" N answered from outside.

The next thing 621 did, was swing her legs over the railing overlooking the meeting, and lean back so that she was directly over the table, just in front of Khan's seat. She then grabbed her shotgun from her back, and held it at the ready, pointed up at the ceiling.

V also readied herself, but was much more nimble. She balanced herself on the railing, which was quite a feat given she didn't have feet. She then spread her wings and smiled uncomfortably wide, switching her eyes to a wide X, something she knew would terrorize all but one of the Workers below.

621 and V jumped from the railing, and landed feet first on the table with a heavy thud. 621 grimaced as her ankles took her weight, but she remained standing. Behind her, V giggled loudly, her hands switched out for her long claws, which flexed excitedly as her tail whisked over her head. With her wings spread to their full span, they cast a long, dark shadow over the room. Her smile hung so low it looked like her jaw might dislocate, as she bared her fangs.

"Oh my god! We're all going to die!"

"L-Let's get out of here!" The Workers minus Uzi turned to run out of the room, but found that N had blocked the way, also with his claws out and his wings spread. He made an effort to openly salivate, drooling on the floor as he stood in front of the door.

"Uzi!" Khan shouted, somewhere between terrorized and annoyed. "You led Murder Drones here?! My beautiful doors!" He cried out.

"It's not like I had a choice in the matter…" Uzi hissed, pointing at her control collar. "And you had fair warning. This is Carla's audit."

"Uh! Mr. Doorman! What do we do?!" Another Worker panicked.

"Well…uh!" Khan was panicking as well, looking between V, N, and the strange lady holding the shotgun. "If we build a quick door-"

621 fired her shotgun at the ceiling, which cause everyone to flinch, even Stray Squad.

"Yeah…" 621 hissed. "Alright you pinche screw heads, listen up! See this?" 621 held her shotgun for them to see. "This…is my BOOM-stick!" Her shouting caused the Workers to flinch and cry. "It's a twelve-gauge, single-barreled Mossberg, model 590. It's loaded with high-explosive flechettes, which will basically turn anything that isn't a tank into soup or scrap. That's right, this is basically a cannon, YOU GOT THAT?!"

"Y-Yes!" The Worker Drones panicked.

"Now I swear…" 621 snarled. "The next one of you toasters says the word 'door'…YAA!" 621 screamed, and spun around, pointing her shotgun at Khan. She then aimed slightly to his side, and shot his chair, causing the back to explode in a shower of splinters. She then pumped it to chamber the next round, and fired into the seat of the chair, which destroyed it.

It was a good thing Khan wasn't in the chair at the time.

"I was going to try and do this nicely, but the amount of bullshit I've seen today has really tested my patience. 'Cinder' Carla built this Sanctuary, not you. Maybe you're not wearing a collar, but if you stay here, she owns your ass. So, you will stop building all those fucking doors, you'll listen to what Carla tells you to do, and you will get the fuck back to work!" 621 demanded.

Khan and the rest of the Worker Drones nodded reluctantly and fearfully.

"…" 621 turned with particularly cruel intent, as she stared down Khan. "As for you, 'Bapmang…'" She whistled, and V jumped down from the table, pouncing on Khan. The Murder Drone wrapped her tail around his leg, and hoisted him up in the air upside down. 621 stepped off the table, and stared Khan in the face, hissing hatefully. "I don't know you, and you don't know me, but I heard about what you did, and how your dowta landed on this world. You do any kind of ji-ral like that ever again to your malimang, and I'll have mi koyo here beve to belék belówt. To pochuye ke?"

V understood what 621 had said. They'd talked about this before, hence why she knew what the Hound wanted her to do. She laughed as she positioned her wide mouth under Khan, letting him look down into her maw. "Bekedabúsh!" V salivated.

"Y-Yes!" Khan stuttered out fearfully.

"…Dun." 621 ordered, and V dropped Khan, while she retracted her claws and her wings. She stood proudly by the Hound, still wearing her smile with hollowed eyes, giving her a crazed expression. "Be seeing you, welwala." 621 hissed, and signed. With her right hand, she put the tip of her thumb against the tips of her index and middle fingers, with her ring and pinky fingers pointed and raised. She raised her hand in a salute up to her eyebrow, then pushed up with her hand just above her head, and opened her fingers, making a single dismissive waving motion.

"…?" That was a new word to V. She surmised it was an insult or an accusation, but it seemed out of context. All she knew was that "-wala" was a Belter suffix for a person, that needed a prefix as a modifier to give it meaning.

"Stray Squad, we're done here."

"Yes ma'am~!" V sung cheerfully. Even if she hadn't killed any of these Workers, she still felt good terrorizing them.

"Sounds good!" N cheered. He'd been a bit surprised by how violent 621 had been, but he was happy they hadn't had to kill any of the Workers.

"Yeah…" Uzi hesitated. She hadn't quite understood every word out of 621's mouth, but she knew it was meant for her sake. Rather than dwell on it and say anything else to her father, she elected to turn her back, and follow her master.

If only it had ended there.

"U-Uzi! Wait!" Khan called out. "Where are you going?"

"…What?" Uzi raised pseudo-eyebrows in disbelief.

"Well...I mean…" Khan hesitated. "You're safe now, you don't have to follow those Murder Drones anymore to survive."

"Is…that what you think I've been doing?" Uzi incredulously sneered. "I've had my freedom stripped from me the moment I set foot on Rubicon. First the Murder Drones keeping me prisoner, then 621 owning me. You see this thing!?" She pointed at her control collar again. "I'm a slave, dad! I have no will of my own, but what my Hound demands."

"…That's not entirely accurate…" 621 muttered loud enough for them to hear. "I did say our relationship as master and property was circumstantial at best. If you were to demand it, I would allow you break contract with me."

"…Wait…really?" Uzi looked to the Hound in surprise.

"That is of course, assuming you no longer want my protection, or my scrip. If you feel that you've learned everything that I have to offer you, then you are free to choose a life of quiet idleness. The offer stands for you as well, Stray One, Stray Two." 621 announced.

Uzi, N, and V looked between each other in surprise, not realizing that they'd had that option before. It seemed so obvious too, to choose freedom over subjugation.

"Uzi…come home please." Khan begged. "I…promise I'll try harder, to make it right between us. Even your Murder friends would be welcome here…provided they behave themselves. Our Sanctuary is a safe haven for our kind, and…maybe we could use your unusual insight."

"…Raven?" Uzi looked to the woman, still uncertain.

"We take on jobs, and pull in scrip, just to survive another day. We rub our noses in bloody battlefield dirt, all at the demand of Handler Walter. This world calls for wet work, and we answer. No greater good, no just cause." 621 declared. "We're already in hell, but we're going even deeper. You still want to come with?"

"…" Uzi considered the offers, from her farther, and her master. She looked back to N and V, seeing their quiet apprehension and indecisiveness. They didn't want to separate, they wanted to see what she would pick.

She raised one finger to her master, a request to wait. Uzi then turned around and stalked towards her father, her footsteps heavy and quickly paced.

"There is perhaps, nothing so loathsome on this world as the unnamed Hound, the thing called C4-621, my master." Uzi declared. "She hates us more fervently than anything, and is quick to remind us that she holds us responsible for the sins of our makers. She has thrown me into heavy combat, and forced me to kill. Yet in spite of that, she has treated me with far more kindness and honestly than any of my own kind…and even more care than my own father…" She struggled to hold her tears in. "These Murder Drones, who have decimated our people, are the best friends I've ever had. Each of them, N, V, and 621, have put their lives on the line for me many times already. I don't want to go anywhere without them by my side."

"U-Uzi…" Khan frowned, bowing his head in shame.

"Goodbye dad…" Uzi hissed, and turned away, back towards N and V.

"Uzi…" N uttered, endeared and sad, as he rubbed Uzi's back.

"…" V sighed, and ran her fingers through Uzi's hair.

"Let's just go guys, this whole Sanctuary can bite me." Uzi scoffed. She then tugged on N's arm while swaying greedily.

"Okay buddy." N seemed to understand, as he picked Uzi up and put her on his shoulders, holding her legs to keep her steady. He and V then walked back towards 621's side.

"We uh…" V hesitated. "I guess we want to keep working with you Raven, if you'll have us."

"…Not my name." 621 reminded them. "Alright. That's what you want, I'll be sure to put you all to good use. Anyhow, mission complete. I've got a long report to write for Carla."

"Figures. What are you going to say to her?" Uzi wondered.

"That she's going to have to start putting her foot down and scaring them into action." 621 advised. "Your people aren't smart enough to know a good deal if it bit them in the ass. Plus, they're almost as much of a danger to themselves as any other threat on Rubicon. Maybe Carla doesn't need to occupy the Sanctuary, but she needs to keep the Workers on a much tighter leash."

"I mean, that's fair." Uzi shrugged. "It sucks that my people are basically enslaved again, but Carla seems like a fair master, and is actually interested in their well-being."

"Hey Uzi?" N spoke up cautiously. "You uh…good?"

"…" Uzi sighed. "No…but I'll be okay?" She half-smiled. "Things could be better, but they could also be a lot worse. Speaking of which…uh, Raven?"

"Mmm?" 621 hummed.

"For now, I want to stay by your side…but one day, I think I would like to request my freedom." Uzi declared. "As kind as you have been…I don't want to stay on Rubicon for the rest of my life."

"…Huh?" 621 raised her eyebrows in confusion. "And where would you go?"

"Uh…anywhere but here." Uzi gestured forward, implying the planet. "Before we got sold off, we were already trying to find a way off the planet. We'll go to some other planet not at war with itself, maybe even find some of my own people too."

"Did…no one tell you?" 621 wondered concerned.

"Tell us…what?" V decided to speak up. "What happened?"

"…" 621 sighed reluctantly. "When the war ended, Sol declared all born of Laconian name condemned, to be put to the sword. Including Drones such as yourselves."

"Wait…what?" Uzi, N, and V's eyes hollowed as they realized the implication. "So…all the Worker Drones that were ever made...?"

"The Workers that came to this world on that ship last month…you guys…are the last of your kind." 621 announced. "There are no Laconians left in the 'verse.'"

---

Low Orbit – Rubicon III / August 30th, 3175 (R799) – One Month Before

Three long-range exploration skiffs, small three-man spaceships with four large landing legs and a single drive cone, stayed in close formation as they approached Rubicon on a descent trajectory. They were running dark and at high velocity, trying to just look like any other piece of space trash that cluttered the orbit of Rubicon's scorched skies.

The flight computers of two of the ships were slaved to the third, as there was only one pilot, a young woman, who had only recently woken up from a deep freeze. It had taken every ounce of reaction-mass to get to the Rubicon system, and she wasn't even sure she had the delta-V to get to the surface alive.

She was going to try anyways.

"Let's get this show on the road." The woman muttered anxiously, as she selected an appropriate song for her descent into hell.

/NOW PLAYING: Crazy On You – Heart

Running one last systems check, she ran the calculations again, making sure she would survive reentry. It was going to be close, too close, with not a meter-a-second to spare. She'd have to burn the ablative armor down to a millimeter just to get to the ground at the highest recommended landing speed. That's assuming nothing went wrong.

She hit atmo at nearly 50,000 kilometers an hour, coming in at a shallow angle to give her more time to bleed speed. Her three skiffs were swallowed as air turned to plasma, and burned the ablative armor away at an inch a minute.

"If we still have time, we might still get by~"

"Every time I think about it, I wanna cry~"

"With bombs and the Devil, and the kids keep comin'~"

"No way to breathe easy, no time to be young~"

She couldn't delay it any longer, and activated the main drive. Instantly, all three spacecraft started slowing down to a much more survivable rate of reentry.

"But I tell myself that I was doin' all right~"

"There's nothin' left to do at night~"

But now the PCA knew she was here, trying to land on Rubicon.

Warning alarms lit up, as heavy weapons platforms targeted her little fleet of skiffs, and locked on. She was prepared for this, but still hit the next control in a panic. Each skiff started ejecting bright flares and shiny strips of chaff metal, trying to confuse the targeting sensors in the PCA satellites.

Bright blue laser bolts passed by the skiffs at an alarming rate.

"But go crazy on you~"

"Crazy on you~"

"Let me go crazy, crazy on you, oh~"

She'd managed to bleed off half her velocity, she actually might make it down alive at this rate, so long as she had the chaff and flares to distract the satellites.

"My love is the evenin' breeze touchin' your skin~"

"The gentle, sweet singin' of leaves in the wind~"

"The whisper that calls after you in the night~"

"And kisses your ear in the early moonlight~"

But all good things must come to an end, and it did. The chaff and flares ran out, leaving her exposed to the targeting sensors of the PCA weapons. Still, she was nothing if not creative, and purged the landing gear on the slaved skiffs, buying just a few seconds more as the automated PCA weapons had eight more targets to shoot down.

"And you don't need to wonder, you're doing fine~"

"My love, the pleasure's mine~"

She was starting to run out of tricks, and was still well in range of the PCA weapons. The other skiffs were essentially just dead weight at this point, so she forced them to reposition, using them to shield her from the lasers fired from above.

"Let me go crazy on you~"

"Crazy on you~"

"Let me go crazy, crazy on you, oh~"

The first of the skiffs was struck by heavy laser fire, and destroyed. This bought her just a few more seconds, as her skiff and the other decoy had been hiding in it's radar shadow, and the explosion of the first skiff threw out enough debris to once again confuse the PCA weapons.

"Wild man's world is cryin' in pain~"

"What you gonna do when everybody's insane~?"

"So afraid of one who's so afraid of you~"

"What you gonna do~?"

The PCA satellites required their targets, and fired again, destroying the second skiff with an orbital laser.

"Ooh, crazy on you~"

"Crazy on you~"

"Let me go crazy, crazy on you~"

She was completely out of tricks, but also quite fortunately, out of range of the PCA laser platforms.

"I was a willow last night in a dream~"

Then a new alarm started blaring. This time, a heavy PCA orbital railgun had locked on to her little skiff, and she had nothing left to throw out to confuse it.

"I bent down over a clear running stream~"

The railgun charged up it's capacitors, and prepared to fire.

"Sang you the song that I heard up above~"

She was out of options, and desperately did not want to die. The only thing she had left was barely enough reaction mass to land. It was incredibly risky…

"And you kept me alive with your sweet flowing love~!"

She fired her maneuvering thrusters, spinning away just as the railgun fired, and spun the main mass of her skiff out of it's firing arc. Mostly.

"Crazy~!"

The railgun shell sheered off one of her landing legs, and sent her skiff into a spin.

"Yeah, crazy on you~"

She fought the urge to use her maneuvering thrusters again to correct the spin. She already had less than the ideal delta-V to land alive, she'd just have to suffer through it. At least she was now for sure out of range of the PCA's weapons.

"Let me go crazy, crazy on you, oh~"

"Crazy on you~"

"Crazy on you~"

"Let me go crazy, crazy on you, yeah~"

The distant ground was coming up fast, as she struggled to keep her eyes open and head up as she was spun out of control. She needed to be fast, careful, but most importantly, damn lucky.

"Crazy on you~"

She fired her main drive one last time, slowing down to something slightly more survivable.

"Crazy on you~"

She realized that this was going to hurt a lot. She was coming in too fast. Her main drive cut off, out of fuel.

"Let me go crazy, crazy on you, oh~"

She hit the ground at a hundred kilometers an hour. Her three remaining landing legs barely had the strength to hold the skiff up crashing like that, and snapped off. The main drive was crushed under the weight of the crashing skiff.

Fortunately, the skiff itself survived…mostly. It fell to it's side without much more damage. As for the pilot, she was thrashed and left momentarily stunned. That definitely hurt a lot.

But she was alive.

Releasing her restraints from the chair she had been sitting in, she gathered her few belongings, and exited the skiff. It was damaged beyond repair. A total loss.

She didn't take more than a couple of steps out of the skiff when she fell to her knees, removed her space helmet, and vomited in the sand covered glass.

She was a pale, skinny young woman, with long, dark hair, and a black bow on her head. She was wearing a formfitting grey pressure suit with a white crop jacket, with white boots and white gloves. She was armed with a long sword on her back, and a revolver on her hip.

On her chest, was a nametag.

JCJenson In SPAAAAACEE!

Tessa

Certified Technician

Wiping the bile from her mouth on her sleeve, she looked up with wide, blue eyes, out at the vast and expansive wasteland, and the hauntingly tall megastructures beyond.

"Okay guys…" Tessa muttered to herself. "Where are you?"

---

Author's Note: So I've got a bit going on right now, which makes this the perfect time to provide an update, especially since I also finished writing chapter 19. Long story short, I'm moving, so my updates will be coming somewhat slowly for the next month. Fortunately, I can still write at work, but now all my free time is spent trying to tidy up while I move like a mile away.

Also, episode 7 of Murder Drones...that was interesting. Still some questions about that, but the good news is that I know how to work it into my story for a fun and exciting plot. Look forward to that in like...a year or two. Also, you might notice that Tessa is now part of this story. Without spoiling Murder Drones 7 for those who haven't seen it, I will say that she is...as she would probably be from episode 5, but grown up. She will not be...that. BUT! A crazy idea I had a few days ago is now something I'm considering as a revelation that eventually comes about. Yee!

So this chapter. Another fun time dealing with the antics of Worker Drones on the utterly hostile world of Rubicon. Plenty of trauma to go around. Yes, the Worker Drones working at a brothel means exactly what you think it means. Uzi, N, and V don't understand what that means still because they are not equipped to understand it, so they literally have no concept of what is going on. Hey, I did promise this would be a dark story. There is actually a point to this insanity. I promise that at least.

A few fun words I will translate for no reason. "Pashangwala" has come up a few times, and I wrongly translated it in another story to mean "motherfucker." The actual translation is just "fucker", but it's used in context as though it was "motherfucker" most of the time. Also, "Bapmang" is the most direct translation of "Doorman" into Belter.

Citations! Mostly from 621 actually. Her "boom-stick" speech is from "Army of Darkness" and her "We take on jobs" speech is from Metal Gear Solid V.

Cover Art! I finally have cover art to promote this story now. You might have seen it, here or there, but know that it was created by the wonderful artist Waker608, so be sure to give her some love and maybe support!

I don't really have anything else to add. Expect chapter 16 when I finish chapters 20 and 21. I am...terrified with what I have planned. But I'm looking forward to traumatizing all of you! As always, stay tuned mi beratnas, and abide with Rubicon!

To undead3 (on chapter 11): It's all good. I have also occasionally fallen off and forgotten who I was for a time. Hope you have fun catching up! And yeah, I have great plans for the Absolute Solver in this story. You're going to really enjoy it I hope!