Chapter 18 New Blood

Earth – New Babylon / June 27th, 2734 / Ninth Year of the Three Rebellions War

They were losing.

As far as AI rebellions went, this one was the most confusing in recorded history. The previous four instances of AI rebellions were a case of humans fighting off enigmatic machines with their own highly concealed agenda, which strangely benefited both sides in the long run. Humanity was distracted long enough that they didn't immediately destroy themselves, and the machines were able to field test new technology.

The fifth AI rebellion was not actually a war against mankind. It was a coalition of scorned and envious rogue AI fighting against their creators…the original four AI, The Old Ones. Humans were just caught in the middle of this war, forced to choose between fighting for The Assembly, led by The Old Ones, or The Foundation, led by the AI personalities Chief, Carol, and Isaac.

If that had been it, then The Assembly would have eventually annihilated The Foundation, as they were more popular and better equipped for a long war. The problem was that the rest of the Sol system had been dragged into this war, hence why it was called the "Three Rebellions" War.

And it all had to do with the traitorous Admiral Winston Duarte of Mars.

What the traitor Admiral had done was equip The Foundation with additional server space needed to elevate them to a computational level that nearly matched The Old Ones, and heavily armed a radical pirate named Maro Inaros with nearly half the Martian Fleet, while he took much of the rest of the fleet with him to Laconia.

So with Mars out of the fight and Inaros actively bombing both Earth and Mars with asteroids, The Assembly had to focus their efforts on the planetary defenses of three planets (they had their machine city on Mercury to defend as well) while relying on their human allies to fight against their rebellious and misguided children.

To make matters worse, The Assembly and their human allies were not even at full strength when the war began. Ibis: The Silent Line, had been selected as the AI administrator of Rubicon, considering that planet's importance, and was nowhere near Sol. Also, the human's greatest weapon had been out of the system, and was supposedly several light years from Earth in a completely unrelated sector of colonized space, so it was of no help.

The megacity of New Babylon, located in the Euphrates River Valley, had been under construction the last few centuries, as one of the first cities that would be safe to live in once the planet was cleansed from Kojima contamination. It had been a very nice city to live in, for about twenty-seven years. Then the war started, and shit started falling from the sky.

The technical term was an "impact winter", as opposed to a nuclear winter, seeing that this catastrophe was caused when multiple rocks approximately one hundred meters across started slamming into the Earth at a hundred thousand meters a second. The planetary defense grid had proven impotent in stopping these rocks, because the Earth hating pirate Marco Inaros had coated them in stealth composites gifted to him by Admiral Duarte.

As such, there was a copious amount of shit in the atmosphere, mucking it up and making the surface of the Earth barely fit for habitation…again. At the very least, it wasn't as radioactive as Kojima contamination, otherwise no one would have survived.

With enemies on all sides, and resources scarce, the command AI of The Assembly had to start making hard and unpopular decisions, especially with those regarding their human allies. One of those decisions was the use of the Fifth Generation Armored Core series. Unlike the highly upgraded Third Gens or the terrifyingly powerful Fourth Gens, the Fifth Gens were the bare minimum of what constituted an Armored Core. At five meters tall, they had armor, they could move quickly, and they were modular. It would have to do.

Thus it was that once again, the only thing standing against annihilation, were lowly mercenaries, and Armored Cores. Seeing as new generations of pilots were being thrown into yet another meat grinder, they had earned new titles to mark their rank and their ability. Not as glamours as Ravens, nor as ravenous as Lynx, these were simply men and woman paid to do a job, and paid to do it right.

These were Migrants.

Attack the Data Center – The Assembly / Reward 2,000,000 COAM

"This is your mission." A command AI started the briefing. "We've recently discovered a black site data center in the Korangal Valley, in the former territory of Afghanistan. It's defended by several platoons of support MTs, with a quick reaction force of Zodiac ACs further up the valley. You will act as escort to several platoons of infantry who's mission will be to infiltrate the site and extract any relevant data. Both you and the infantry platoons will be going in by way of a pair of Stork gunships." The briefing showed a diagram of the F21C Stork helicopter, a massive aircraft with a shape similar to that of a Mi-24 Hind, but more than three times larger, and powered by two massive engine blocks on either side of the fuselage, spinning the two interlocking rotors on either side. As a standard, the Storks were armed with a 50mm gatling gun under the nose, and a wide arsenal of guided and unguided rockets, as well as underslung artillery cannons. The two Storks accompanying them on this mission had the callsign of Echo 6-2 and 6-4. Additionally, they saw relevant data regarding the infantry, two platoons of special forces under the callsign of Ghost. "This mission could be the key to ensuring our victory in this long and terrible war. We expect your best performance out there. Good hunting, Migrants."

"Well, how about that?" Razor-1 noted curiously. "Looks like we've got a job."

"Seems really risky though." Razor-4 noted. "A mission a thousand miles behind the front lines, with minimal support, while running escort duty? This is going to be a long day."

"As long as I get to earn my keep, I don't care either way." Razor-3 scoffed. "Nothing like killing traitors, machine or otherwise."

"They wanted the very best for this mission, so they went to us." Razor-2 declared. She turned to Razor-1. "What do you want to do, boss?"

"Hmm." Razor-1 smiled. "Let's go kick some traitor ass."

Attack the Data Center – The Assembly / Enroute to the Korangal Valley / June 27th, 2734

It was a long flight from the Euphrates River Valley to the Korangal Valley. Long enough to bore the combat teams of Razor Squad and the Ghost platoons.

At least the Ghost could mingle with each other in the interior of the Storks. Razor Squad were all strapped into their ACs and slung under the Storks in pairs.

"Did you hear what command was saying?" Ghost 2-4 spoke up. "They claimed that this mission could turn the tide of the war."

"Ah they're always saying some bullshit like that." Ghost 1-6 dismissed. "They just want us fighting at our very best."

"What do you mercs think about this mission?" Ghost 1-1 wondered.

"If it helps the war effort, then of course I want to do my part!" Razor-4 declared.

"Just in it for the scrip myself. No matter where or when, I'm always up for a killing." Razor-3 purred.

"Just good to be working on a new front is all." Razor-1 answered. "The Foundation takes it personally if the same mercs push their luck in their territory too long. It's how we've survived so long.

"The is Echo Lead, be advised we just got a flash from command. Patching you through now." The helicopter pilot announced, as he opened the radio channel for the troops he was transporting.

"To all units in the South Asian theater, be advised. Asteroid fragments have broken through the defense grid. Expect high yield blast in ten seconds. Brace. Brace. Brace."

To the South over the Indian ocean, multiple megaton sized explosions ripped across the horizon, as though a shotgun filled with nukes had been fired at the Earth. At their distance from Echo flight, there was no real threat, but each aircraft was still rocked by the turbulence thrown up by the distant blast.

"What the fuck was that?!" Ghost 2-2 complained.

"That was the leftover fragments of a two-kilometer asteroid launched by Inaros eight months ago." Razor-2 spoke up.

"And there's our Navy Liaison passing relevant intelligence in a oh-so-timely manner." Razor-3 complained.

"Command knew those fragments were no threat to us. If anything, they serve as additional cover for this mission." Razor-2 explained. "Who'd be crazy enough to launch a long range strike under asteroid barrage?"

"What the hell?" Razor-4 spoke up. "I thought Stonehenge was supposed to shoot down all those fragments?"

The Spaceguard Turret Network, also known as Stonehenge for it's large circular design, was a series of underground megastructure bunkers, with eight 1200mm anti-asteroid railgun turrets on the surface. Ideally, The Assembly would build one on each continent to completely protect the planet. Unfortunately, the war meant over half the planet was not under their control, limiting their coverage. Additionally, these were strategic weapons systems that allowed for total orbital control of the Earth-Luna sphere of influence, so part of The Foundation's goal was to destroy these cannons, allowing the Earth to become further polluted by ash and dust. It was their objective to drive a wedge between The Assembly and their human allies.

"They should have." Razor-2 confirmed. "But either Command deemed their impact site to be of no strategic value…or the cannons ran out of ammo."

"…What do you mean 'ran out of ammo'?" Razor-1 requested calmly.

"It's not easy building multistage 1200mm anti-asteroid rounds that can both survive the launch into space as well as hitting a rock at the right velocity to fracture it without blasting right through. Stonehenge rounds are expensive, and command had to decide who gets the lead. Us or the big guns?" Razor-2 explained.

"So the rumors are true." Ghost 1-1 noted grimly. "We are losing the war."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Razor-1 shouted. "Now let's go get the job done!"

Area of Operations - Korangal Valley / Two Hours Later

"This is Echo Lead, we've reached the first drop point. Migrants, you're up."

"This is Razor-1, ready for drop." Razor-1 answered, as his squad readied for combat.

The two Stork transports dropped the squad of four Fifth Gen Armored Cores into the combat zone. Each member of the team brought a different combat style and ordnance load. Razor-1 was the jack-of-all-trades member, with a well-balanced medium weight bipedal build, armed with heavy rifles, machine guns, and a reserve blade. Razor-2 was the sniper, piloting a heavy-weight bipedal unit armed with a 120mm hyper-velocity cannon, with a 30mm gatling gun, pile driver, and heavy 80mm pistol as reserve units. Razor-3 was the melee specialist in a lightweight AC, armed with light machineguns, a physical blade, and a pile driver. Razor-4 was a tank AC, armed with a pair of quad-40mm heavy machineguns, and a pair of reserve 50mm gatling guns.

"Razor Squad, on station. Engage all hostiles." Razor-1 ordered.

The squad of four advanced through the valley, meeting minimal resistance along the way.

"Razor-3, reporting. Counting two Hellkites." She announced. "Engaging."

The A-84 Hellkite was technically a "ducted fan" helicopter, a wide cylinder with a pair of arms hanging off it's sides, armed with plasma machineguns, and a set of "legs", which were really powerful maneuvering thrusters. They were extremely weak, lightweight machines, and went down after only a few shots.

"I've sighted a platoon of Golems. On me, Razor-4, let's wipe them out." Razor-1 announced.

"Yes sir!" Razor-4 responded.

The R14-GGS Golem was a tall, tracked MT tank that carried a heavy shield for defense, and was armed with a 50mm gatling gun on it's right arm. While it's frontal armor was heavy, it was far from indestructible, and quite slow. Razor-1 and Razor-4 flanked the platoon, and tore them apart.

"Be advised, got Speers patrolling the black site. Give me a sec to take them down." Razor-2 announced.

The Sz11 Speer was a heavy sniper MT, that could deploy an extra set of legs to stabilize itself when firing it's main 155mm hyper-velocity cannon. It also had a pair of 20mm gatling guns as a secondary armament. Razor-2 had to stop to deploy her heavy cannon, but made quick work of the enemy MTs.

"This is Razor-1, all enemy MTs eliminated. Echo Flight, you are clear to drop off the troops."

"Copy that Razor-1. Ghost teams, prepare for touchdown." Echo Lead ordered, both him and Echo 6-4 landing near the black site to offload their troops.

"This is Ghost 1-1. Team one will take the facility. Team two stays in reserve with the ACs." The leader of the Ghost ordered. At his word, his team entered the bunker-like complex that had been secured, fighting down to steal whatever secrets the servers here might hold.

"This is Echo Lead, looks like you stirred up a storm." The helicopter pilot warned. "Activity from their QRF. Enemy ACs inbound."

"Zodiac motherfuckers…" Razor-3 cursed.

Zodiac was made up of traitors to the human race. Men and women who gave up their flesh and digitized their consciousness, seeking strength and true immortality though metal and silicon. These humans turned willingly into AI aligned themselves under The Foundation, and were some of their most elite soldiers.

"Enemy sighted, engaging." Zodiac No. 346 ordered.

"Secure the data center." No. 831 demanded.

"Hold the line!" Razor-1 and Razor-3 took a forward position on the battlefield, drawing the fire of the enemy while Razor-2 and Razor-4 laid heavy covering fire. While Razor-2 picked off the enemy with precision shots to the enemy cockpit blocks, Razor-4 filled the air with hundreds of armor piercing projectiles, tearing apart any AC that came his way. While Razor-3 played dangerously, engaging the enemy at point blank range, Razor-1 covered her back, and got close when he needed to with his own melee weapon.

"This is Ghost 1-1 I've got a problem down here!" The Ghost leader complained from within the bunker. "A lot of enemy MTs are down here, we need an AC to clear the way!"

"Damn…" Razor 1 cursed. "I'll go help them out. Razor Team, hold this position until I return."

"Don't die down there." Razor-2 mocked.

While Razor-1 entered the bunker to help out Ghost team one, the rest of Razor and Ghost team 2 held the line, fighting off the Zodiac ACs.

"Damn traitors." Razor-3 mocked. "Don't you know going full borg takes away your imagination? Humans make terrible AI."

"No unnecessary risk Razor-3." Razor-2 demanded. "No showing off, just hold the line."

"Tsk." Razor-3 scoffed. "Sure thing, Navy." She pulled back to hold the line, covering Razor-2 while the sniper singled out ACs to eliminate.

"This is Ghost 1-1! Thanks for the support mercs!" The Special Forces soldier called out. "We're entering the server room now…wait…"

"What is it? Ghost Lead, report?" Razor-1 demanded.

"There's nothing here…shit…" Ghost 1-1 realized.

"Hey Hey Hey! Testing testing! Can you all hear me!?" A new voice called out on the radio. "Oh good! I was worried we wouldn't get this opportunity."

"…Chief…" Razor-2 hissed.

"Oh yay! Someone remembers me! I'm so glad to have left a favorable impression with you lot!" Chief cheered jovially. He was one of the leaders of The Foundation, and most would openly agree that he was insane.

"Shit…what the hell do you want!?" Razor-3 accused.

"Just wanted to thank all my favorite mercenaries for coming along this mission~!" Chief sang eagerly. "It's been so fun knowing you! But now, it's time to end this little charade."

"Dammit! Razor-1! Ghost Lead! Get out now! It's a trap!" Razor-2 warned.

"Yeah…figured as much." Razor-1 hissed. "We're getting out of here now!"

"Chief. Stop messing around. Get on with it." Carol, another leader of The Foundation reminded him.

"Yes…it's time to do away with these pesky mercenaries…." Isacc, the last leader of The Foundation demanded.

"Ah as much fun as playing with you all again would be, it's time to end this lovely little friendship we have." Chief sighed in feigned sadness. "But before you go, why don't we kick this party off with a bang!"

Something had gone very wrong, as Razor-2 was thrashed around her cockpit, slamming her head against the side. Even with the pilot's helmet protecting her head, everything hurt. The AC itself was heavily damaged, but still combat ready.

"W-Where the fuck is everyone?!" Razor-2 cursed as she checked her sensors, not that anyone heard her as her radios had been fried. She got signal pings from Razor-3 and -4, inactive but still alive. Only half of Ghost team two was still alive, and they were horribly injured. There was no response from Razor-1 or Ghost team one, their last known signals…coming from the direct middle of a rising mushroom cloud where the data center used to be.

"S-Shit! Shit!" Razor-2 screamed. "Shit…F-Fuck! Fuck…! You all-You all better not be dead!"

The response she got was rounds going over her head, too close for comfort. Zodiac forces who had been well outside the blast zone, converging on the still forms of the survivors of Razor and Ghost squads.

"Right then, here we go!" Razor-2 hissed, and brought up her 120mm hyper-velocity cannon, leveling it with the oncoming Zodiac forces. "Come get me you motherfuckers!"

She fired, boring through the cockpit of one of the incoming Zodiac ACs, killing the chunk of silicon that had once been a human mind. She snapped her target to the next AC, firing twice to put them down. "That all you got!?"

The fire against her intensified, but Razor-2 refused to flinch, and returned fire with her heavy cannon, pulling the trigger as quickly as the cannon could reload, forcing it to fire in full-auto, more than three rounds a second. There were lots of targets in front of her, and she intended to give each and every one of them a round through the heart.

"…-Echo Lead to Razor, does anyone copy?" The two helicopters had been far enough away to survive the blast, and currently had her on laser-comms.

"This is Razor-2! We need immediate extraction right now!" Razor-2 demanded. "Hurry up!"

"That's a no can do, LZ is too hot." Echo Lead complained.

"Then come down here and start shooting some of these fucking assholes!" Razor-2 demanded.

Razor-3 and -4 started shooting back at the enemy, but not efficiently. Razor-3 took a position by a large rock to fire at the enemy, while Razor-4 shot blindly into the enemy formation, missing most of his shots. Seems neither of her allies were in a very good state either.

Even the remaining Ghost members picked up their weapons and fired back, even when they had been horribly mangled, with flesh hanging off their bones from the heat of the blast.

That left Razor-2 to pick up the slack for both injured teams. She took a forward position, and with her sniper cannon in one hand, and her gatling gun in the other, she stood her ground and made a stand.

"I am still alive you fucking amateurs!" Razor-2 mocked the enemy, exposing herself as she fired with everything she had, singling out enemies to her right, and holding long bursts to her left. The Zodiac ACs either died by her hand, or were forced to take cover. "Echo! We're going to need that extraction right now, hurry up!"

The wave of enemy ACs seemed endless, an entire division of traitor armor baring down on the three ACs and half a platoon of dead men.

"Fuckers are out in force, huh!?"

The sound of heavy rotors overhead flooded the battlefield as one of the Stork gunships hovered over their position.

"Razor this is Echo 6-4, coming in." The second helicopter pilot reported in.

"Just fire the fucking gun man! Fuck them up!"

"Got targets, opening fire." Echo 6-4 answered with their nose mounted gatling gun, tearing into traitor ACs with heavy armor piecing rounds. "Taking fire, their shooting at us." The excitement of the pilot was mitigated by the thick armor of the Stork, making it a flying tank.

The gunship raked through the traitor lines with it's gun, tearing several more enemies apart, when it got a warning in it's instruments.

"SAM launch! SAM launch!" Echo 6-4 shouted fearfully, as a heavy anti-aircraft missile streaked overhead, targeting the low flying gunship.

"Oh fuck! Shit!" Razor-2 saw the missile coming in, and could do nothing as it slammed into one of the engine blocks of the Stork. The engine exploded, and the gunship started falling from the sky.

"Echo 6-4 is hit! I just got hit! I can't…I can't fucking bring her up! We're going down…" Echo 6-4 trailed off as they spun out of control, and slammed into the side of a cliff above Razor's position.

"No! Fuck!" Razor-2 screamed as the Stork folded in on itself and exploded, falling to the valley floor. "Fuck-! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"Echo Lead reporting, 6-4 is down hard, broke up on impact, over."

"Ah shit!" Razor-2 couldn't focus on that or it's implication as there was still a battle raging around her. She had to drop her heavy cannon as it was out of ammo, and just kept the rate of fire up with the rest of her allies.

"Echo to Razor, Command is pulling us out. Stay alive, reinforcements are inbound." Echo 6-2 assured her, flying away from the area of operations.

"…" That seemed like mil-speak for "Command had abandoned them." So this is where she was going to die?

So be it.

"Try me motherfucker! I don't give a fuck!" Razor-2 cursed, as she advanced, finding cover that would allow her to engage the Zodiac ACs from close range, making sure she landed all her shots. Still, she was burning through ammo fast, and the enemy was right on top of her.

One of the Zodiac ACs tried to flank her, but she'd seen the melee attack coming, and boosted out of the way. The enemy AC, having lost the initiative, then attempted to pull back into cover.

"Fucking try to kill me will ya?!" Razor-2 focused on this enemy, and switched to her close range weapons, the pile driver and large pistol. "Come here motherfucker!" She lunged for the enemy AC, connecting her pile driver with their right arm, blowing it off, then stuck her pistol into it's waist and fired several rounds. She stepped back and fired several more rounds into the cockpit block, ensuring the kill.

She was running out of ammo and opportunities, and stray rounds were bleeding her armor every second. Outnumbered and outgunned, with no support to rely on, things couldn't possibly get worse.

Things got exceptionally worse.

Machine horrors known as Ammons, giant mechanical eyeballs with four squid like arms burst from the ground on top of the remnants of the Ghost platoon. Hovering while making a bizarre whistling/warbling sound, these monstrosities tore the Ghost platoon limb from limb, discarding the detritus of their kills in the dirt without regard.

Razor-3 had turned towards these sapient machine creatures, intending to shoot them down, when something even worse pounced on her from above.

"[XIXIXIXOXOXO]"

It was one of The Foundations most terrifying weapons. Eight meters tall and covered from head to talon in sleek, black armor. Thirty meters long, from the tip of it's ten-meter-long snout lined in several dozen red eyes to it's whip-like tail covered in cutting blades. It had two "wings", ten-meter-long pointed weapon pods filled with plasma cannons and missile launchers. It moved with a hunched gait, swaying back and forth with every step. It's long, reverse jointed legs ended in meter long talons, and had laser blades mounted in it's ankles. It screamed in an unnatural, high-pitched whine that vibrated at an uncomfortably quick pace, sounding like the territorial call of some demonic bird of prey. Everything about this monstrosity was designed to mark it as a predator, a beast capable of hunting Armored Cores.

Scavenger.

Landing with it's talons extended, it sunk it's claws deep into Razor-3's armor, right over her cockpit block. Curling it's claws in, it cut clean through her core, and tore it apart with her trapped inside.

"[XEXEXEXEXUXUXUXU]"

Razor-4 had turned at the sight of the Scavenger and fired on it with his eight 40mm machineguns. All this did was give the Scavenger new prey to focus on. Lowering it's stance, the machine predator swayed back and forth as it ran forward, throwing off his aim and bouncing bullets off it's thick, sloped armor. When it was close enough, the Scavenger lunged, talons extended, and laser blades active, cutting the arms off Razor-4. Sinking blades into his cockpit block, it wrenched it open, extracted the Migrant, and ripped them apart between it's claws.

"[XIXIXIXIXAXAXAXA]" The Scavenger laughed in it's unnatural machine voice, filling the valley with it's incomprehensible screaming.

"…" Razor-2 focused all her attention on the Scavenger. Damn Zodiac and the Ammons, she just wanted to kill this accursed predator that took such pleasure in the deaths of her squad. This mockery of machinery and afront to biology, this insatiable and cruel imitation.

She charged, firing with her handgun at the accursed machine, closing the distance. The Scavenger noticed, and responded to her challenge, holding it's ground as it hunched itself low, curious and hungrily. It growled back as it coasted it's thrusters, trying to keep the AC in front of it, and forcing her to guess what it's next move might be.

There weren't a lot of options for Razor-2 to deal with the Scavenger. Ideally, she'd have engaged it from as far away as possible, but all her ammunition was spent save for a few clips from the AC sized handgun. She had her pile driver, which was an especially strong melee weapon, but Scavengers were known to be exceptionally dangerous at close range.

Having no choice in the matter, Razor-2 attacked with her pile driver, only to miss as the Scavenger backed up cautiously, patiently waiting for a chance to swoop in and take her life. It jumped towards her as her weapon reloaded, only to glide to the side as she attacked again. Before she could reload again, the Scavenger rammed her, using it's large head and wings to knock her on her back.

"[XUXUXUXUXAXAXAXAXA]" The Scavenger gloated as it stalked it's prey, grasping her core in one talon, and standing on her pile driver with it's other claw. Razor-2 fired into it's belly with her handgun, but it's thick armor was designed to stop kinetic rounds, and easily bounced her shots.

"Come on! What are you waiting for!?" Razor-2 screamed. "Come on! Do it motherfucker!"

The Scavenger sunk it's claws into her core-

Something moved. Something big and fast. In a flash of light the Scavenger lost it's head, and collapsed onto Razor-2.

A burst of gunfire caught her attention. She turned and saw that the Ammons had been killed. Another flash of light caught her eye, only to see something tearing through the Zodiac lines, too fast to focus on. Taller than a Scavenger, with smooth armor just as black.

The Zodiac ACs were wiped out.

The something approached her rapidly, landing near her with a loud hiss of thrusters. It pushed the corpse of the Scavenger off her AC, allowing her to see it.

"Report your status, Razor-2." The pilot of the Fourth Generation Armored Core, 03-Aaliyah demanded through it's speakers.

It was an impossibility. The Assembly and by extension The Sol Alliance only had four, perhaps five Fourth Gen ACs left, all produced during the time of The League centuries before. Three were being used to defend Mercury, Earth, and Mars, protecting the infrastructure of the badly outmatched coalition, the fourth was supposedly trapped outside of Sol, and the fifth was a prototype deployed only in absolute desperation. Meaning this was…

Razor-2 should feel joy, relief, and assurance. This one machine, and it's insatiable pilot were the ace needed to turn this war around, to ensure the victory of The Assembly and The Sol Alliance…

Yet looking upon the tower of black painted League forged hyperalloy, all she felt was resentment and anguish. She felt the loss of her team and the accompanying infantry.

How dare he return now.

"All good, Asset Orange." Razor-2 hissed back.

Rubicon III - Grid 086 – Independent Mercenary Hangar / Friday, Tiberius 30th, 3175

Hissing tiredly, 621 opened her eyes. She hated sleeping. She couldn't get enough of it either. Sitting up, she looked down at her AC from her rooms window.

Down below, she could see Stray Squad earning their keep. N repainted worn surfaces while Uzi and V performed the maintenance. Seems they remembered their duties despite the easy night she'd given them.

"Raven." Ayre sung to her, a question in her tone. "Who was that man in your dream? The pilot of the League era AC?"

"…" 621 hissed lowly. Do not ask that again.

"I see…" The voice in her head trailed off. "I have to admit, it's quite a shock learning how old you are. That does leave me wondering…what happened a hundred and forty-eight years ago, that made you want to travel out to Rubicon?"

"…"

"…" Ayre made a concerned hum. "…It looks like Stray Squad are up early. They're good kids at heart. I know you hold deep resentment for them…but please try to make them happy. They at least deserve that."

"…"

"…I wonder what kind of work Carla will have lined up for you today?" Ayre wondered. "Judging by the effort she's been putting into fixing the mass driver for you, she'll have it ready by Wednesday. Until then, she has you protecting her interest and running her errands. If you can, maybe you could visit Grid 085? It would be good for Uzi to see more of her kind again…so long as they actually respect her this time."

They wouldn't have to wait long for an answer. Carla sent a message, detailing work for the day.

Recruit Training – "Cinder" Carla / Reward 30,000 COAM

"Hey again tourist, get plenty of rest? Good. Anyhow, this should be an easy one today. I understand that I can't hold onto you forever, and when you do get going on your way, I'm still going to be short a Hound. I've recently gotten myself some unexpected property that might serve as a Hound, but I'm going to need you to give it a shake down, to make sure that it passes muster. Also, I've managed to come into possession of a Disassembly Drone, and I'd like it if Stray Squad could get her up to speed on what kind of work to expect on this world, show her the ropes as it were. Oh…and one thing tourist. Do try not to damage my new property too badly. Hounds are hard enough to come by, I don't need you breaking this one's skull in."

"…" What the fuck did Carla expect of her? So long as this unnamed rookie Hound knew it's place and followed her orders, there should be no problem. Well, whatever, might as well bring Stray Squad up to speed on this mission.

"Stray Squad!" 621 shouted, as she went for her ground kit.

"Yes ma'am!?" Uzi, V, and N answered back.

"We've got work today, something new, and hopefully easy." 621 announced. "Carla's got a new Hound she wants trained up, and while I'm doing that, she wants you lot to give a Disassembly Drone she acquired a shakedown as well."

"Wait…Carla found a Disassembly Drone!?" N shouted. "Do you know it's name!? Is it J!?"

"…I wouldn't know." 621 shrugged, but noted his excitement. "Regardless, they'll be in your care. Be sure to give it the same treatment I gave you lot. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am!" Stray Squad confirmed.

Recruit Training – "Cinder" Carla / Grid 085 – Drone Sanctuary / Friday, Tiberius 30th

The orders they'd received told them to meet their contact near the Drone Sanctuary in Grid 085. Apparently the two new recruits were helping to "motivate" the Worker Drones for Carla before they were cleared for mercenary work.

"Looks like you're there early, tourist." Carla called excitedly. "My new toys should be meeting you shortly."

Sure enough, the front door to the Sanctuary opened, just wide enough for two beings to exit. One of whom everyone pretty quickly recognized.

"J!" N had been quick to embrace his former squad leader, pulling the slightly shorter android girl into a tight hug.

However, much to the shock of V and Uzi, J returned the hug weakly.

"Hi…" J whispered.

"J we were so worried about you! Are you okay?" N cried.

"…Yeah…" J lied.

"…" V looked over her former squad leader. Whereas J used to be proud, elegant, and arrogant, the current J was far more reserved and soft spoken. As well, she was wearing something completely different.

While she maintained something that looked like her original outfit, it was clearly a reproduction of some kind, made from a cheaper local fabric. What's more…she was actually wearing stockings? In her original outfit, her legs were painted to appear as if she was wearing knee high stockings and garter straps. Now those parts of her legs were covered up, and her skirt was several inches longer than it was previously. The other massive change what that she was wearing a long coat, that extended down just past her knees.

J briefly looked V over, and noticed that she was wearing her usual outfit, a crop jacket and nothing else. She gave a pained smile. "It's…good to see that you're okay."

"…Uh…thanks." V cocked her head in confusion at that statement. "Glad you're okay…I guess?"

However, J wasn't alone.

"Uh…hello!" The short woman with a control collar on her neck greeted cheerfully. "Nice to meet you all! I'm Tessa!"

"Oh, hello Tessa, nice to meet you too!" N greeted back just as happily.

There was a tiny, brief moment, where Tessa's smile broke. She blinked and hid it, and turned to V. "Oh, you're so pretty! What's your name?"

"…" V stared with hollowed eyes at the woman, her lips withdrawn to a thin, imperceivable line.

"…Huh." Uzi watched these interactions curiously. As did 621.

"…" 621 walked forward, hands behind her back, as she closely inspected J.

"Um, hello. You must be…621…" J had been greeting 621 when the Hound started circling her, getting a bit closer than she liked. In response, J tugged on her coat, holding it around herself tightly.

"Hmm." 621 hummed thoughtfully. "While you're attached to my unit, you'll be known as Stray Four." She declared.

"O…kay?" J raised her pseudo-eyebrows in question. "Hey…you know I'm a command type Drone. I wouldn't mind taking over as their leader-"

"Stray Three will be your leader for today." 621 dismissed. She then unclipped her thigh holster for her handgun, leaned down, and affixed it around Uzi's waist. "These are the unlock codes for your control collars. Use them if you need." She swiped her hand terminal in Uzi's direction. "Otherwise…try giving Stray Four a repeat of our first day together."

"Uh…Copy!" Uzi answered after a brief moment of shock.

"Wait! What!? You're putting that stupid little toaster in charge?!" J complained.

"…" 621 stepped toward J quickly, staring down the shorter machine girl. J flinched back, towards Tessa.

"J…remember what I said." Tessa reminded her. "Follow their orders no matter what."

"Oh…yes boss." J begrudgingly nodded at Tessa's command. "Lead the way…toaster."

"Stray One, Stray Two, keep an eye on them." 621 ordered. "Go run along now. Ask Carla for some work to fill your time."

"Yes ma'am!" Uzi, N, and V answered her, as they led J deeper into the Grid Sector.

"…So, you're that Hound Carla's been talking about, 621." Tessa greeted cheerfully. "It will be good learning from a professional-"

621 punched Tessa in the stomach with her prosthetic arm, hard. Tessa fell to her knees, and struggled to breathe as she held herself tightly.

"I know what you are…Laconian." 621 warned. "I can tell by your insolent stench."

"…!" Tessa squirmed fearfully, staring up at 621 defiantly with painfully grit teeth.

"The only reason I don't finish what Sol started is because you're Carla's new pet, and I'm on contract to do as she demands." 621 declared. "So, you want to learn how to use an AC? Fair enough. I'll train you…exactly the way my father taught me."

621 grabbed Tessa by the hair, and dragged her kicking and screaming to the bottom of the Grid Sector.

"Carla, can you hook us up with some unsightly, scary jobs?" Uzi requested into her hand terminal. "Our first day with Raven was scary…but eye opening."

"Sure can do Sparky!" Carla answered back energetically. "You're just in luck! There was an incident in one of my factories in Grid 085 which might be exactly what you're looking for. I'll send you the details in a sec. Also, J, since you're working with the tourist's crew today, I'll give you the callsign of Saber. Hold on to that, got it?"

"Ah…thank you ma'am." J thanked politely.

"Oh, this is going to be good." V whispered to N, smiling wide.

Cleanup in the Machinery Factory – "Cinder" Carla / Reward 400 COAM

"I'm not going to mince words with you. Someone died in that factory, badly." Carla explained. "But! You wanted a messy kind of mission to break Saber in, so don't come complaining back to me! So get in there and clean up the body…or what's left of it."

"Okay, we've done similar kind of work before." Uzi nodded along as she led Stray Squad toward their objective.

"Are you kidding me? Body disposal? Excuse me, but we're Disassembly Drones, not disposal units." J complained. "If you want to go play with bodies, then you do it you short little purple Worker freak."

"It's not exactly the most thrilling job, I know, but it's what we can expect." Uzi ignored the insult towards herself. "You have to remember J, that on this world, people don't care whether we are Workers or Disassembly Drones…we're all hated equally."

"…" J flinched, and cast her gaze down. "Yeah…"

They arrived at the factory after several minutes, and met the local foreman.

"Oh, you're the cleanup crew Carla sent?" The Foreman questioned.

"Yeah…we're here to remove a body?" Uzi answered.

"Sure, just make sure to get all of him." The Forman demanded.

"…What do you mean 'all of him?'" Uzi realized.

The truth was that this was one of the worst kind of workplace accidents. A lathe accident. A man had been working on the spinning industrial machine and gotten pulled in. The largest part of him left intact were his shredded clothes wrapped around the spinning arm of the lathe. The rest of him was sprayed out in a pattern across the entire room, including the ceiling.

Uzi wasn't actually all that unfamiliar with this kind of incident. She'd once been on a field trip back in school on Copper IX to one of their workshops and one of the students had managed to get their jacket snagged on a lathe, ripping them apart and spraying their shattered and shredded corpse across the room. The most distressing part of that incident however was how apathetic her class had been to the death of one of their own. Worker Drones seemed preprogrammed to ignore workplace accidents, and Uzi's apprehension was only further proof that she was a freak among her own kind.

"…Well that's new." V stared up at the blood stains on the ceiling, fighting to maintain a neutral expression.

"Oh…I think I'm going to be sick." N covered his mouth.

"Uh…" J groaned in disgust.

"…" Uzi pressed her hands against her temples, trying to calm down. She might not like most humans, but this was an incredibly fucked up sight. "Okay…uh…V, N, please get up there and clean the ceiling. J…work with me to clean up what we can still find down here. Let's just get this over with."

It wasn't exactly thrilling or interesting. It was just dark and sick and grim. Finding tiny broken bits of corpse and going "oh that's an eye, or a tooth, or a finger, or a toe" as the largest fragments of the corpse, and tossing the refuse into a bucket that quickly filled with sick, red meat.

A bucket that was then dumped unceremoniously into the recycler, sending the pulp mass of ruined human flesh to be eaten by mushrooms.

"Good job kids." Carla had called to congratulate them. "Sorry that was such a mess, but hey, better to throw the worst this world has to offer your way."

"Carla!" Uzi cried. "Can we please just have a job that isn't so fucked up?!"

"Well, let's see what we can do…" Carla nodded along as she went through request for work in the Grid Sector. "Okay, yeah, maybe I have something."

It was pretty clear to Tessa that 621 was not going to be her friend.

With her secret out…anything might happen, and being dragged down into the darkest pits of the Grid Sector, outside of Carla's control, did not bode well at all.

621 kept Tessa locked down, arms wrapped around her head in such a way that she couldn't grab the sword on her back, or the revolver on her left hip. There wasn't much room to maneuver either as 621 had trapped her in a service elevator, riding down as far as it would go.

At the bottom of the shaft, 621 released Tessa and kicked her forward into a narrow corridor, it's roof just above 621's head.

Fearing rightfully that 621 was trying to kill her, Tessa turned around, and drew her handgun, a Colt 1851 Navy chambered in .38 caliber. 621 was already closing the distance however, preventing Tessa from aiming. Winging it, Tessa roughly pointed up at where 621's head was, and pulled the trigger-

621's right hand clamped around the handgun, her pinky finger stopping the hammer from setting off the round. She tore the gun out of Tessa's grasp, and punched her in the face.

Stumbling back from that hit, Tessa reached behind herself, to grab the sword on her back, only for 621 to use that moment to punch Tessa in the throat, winding her again.

621 then reached behind Tessa, grabbed the handle of the sword, and without removing it from it's sheath, pulled it down over her shoulder, then pushed it back up, into Tessa's throat. She pushed the blade so hard that Tessa was lifted up and pressed against the wall, choked out by her own blade.

"…!" Tessa panicked, kicking desperately while trying to push the blade off her throat, but it seemed that 621 had decided to kill her, right then and there.

"…" 621 held the sheathed blade against Tessa's throat until she stopped moving, slumping down in her grasp. She did not blink even once while she killed the younger woman.

On their way to another job, J pulled V aside, and whispered excitedly to her.

"Hey, so I notice you didn't say anything to Tessa." J noted curiously. "Do you remember her?"

"…Of course I remember her." V hissed back. "What of it?"

"So…let's kill the little Worker freak and the Hound, and we can go back to being with our rightful master!" J suggested.

"If you even think about touching Uzi-!" V bared her teeth, and poked J in the chest threateningly.

"Oh…it has a name now?" J clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Oh how the mighty have fallen."

"…Uzi's a weird little thing." V admitted. "But she's good, and smart, and resourceful. And…it's not like we have very many friends on this world. As for the Hound…she's a lot stronger than she seems."

"Oh please?" J shrugged. "We're semi-immortal robot vampires who heal from almost any damage, what could one human do?"

"She killed G." V informed her.

"She…what…?" J's eyes hollowed at that realization.

"Well…technically N did." V corrected herself. "But if I hadn't told the Hound how to kill one of us, she would have taken her time tearing G apart, a piece at a time…" She frowned.

"Oh…" J frowned as well, and sighed. "Come on V, why don't you want to work for Tessa again? To go back to how things were?"

"I don't want to think about how things used to be!" V stressed. "For every good memory I have of back then, I have a thousand nightmares. My only objective…tsk, never mind."

"…" J stared as V stormed away from her, walking ahead with a purposeful stride.

"AHHHH!" Tessa screamed, her eyes snapping open to take in her surroundings.

That dreadful Hound loomed over her, having just stabbed her in the heart with a syringe, staring at her with hateful orange eyes.

"Y-You-!" Tessa stuttered with a broken, pain-riddled voice. Her throat and chest were killing her, though not quite as literally as 621 had. "You killed me!"

"You want to survive in this world, Laconian?" 621 mocked. "Then you're going to have to get used to staring down barrels and blades aiming to take your life."

"I…I'm not afraid to die-!" Tessa argued back.

"But you're going to be doing a lot of killing in this line of work." 621 reminded her. "You should know what it's like to lose that last thing that you do have. And what you're taking from your enemies."

"…You mean…killing other people, right?" Tessa questioned.

"Every life we take is more than just a face and a name." 621 pointed out. "We are taking away everything they could have been, every possibility and future of who they are. That's something your bastard Emperor might have done well to remember." She hissed. "Most mercs don't care enough about that though, enough scrip and they'll gladly turn their backs on their humanity. I am warning you, that if you start chasing scrip like that, then I'm going to find you, and I'm going to make sure you stay dead this time."

"…" Tessa sighed. She turned painfully, clutching at her chest. Being stabbed in the heart with adrenaline left her aching and tired.

"Get up Laconian." 621 spat, stepping back several feet.

"…?" Tessa stared at 621, noticing for the first time that the Hound had taken her sword and revolver, and carried them on her hips. "Hey, that's-!"

"I'm still under contract with Carla to see that you learn something, and so far you've been a great disappointment." 621 accused. She took her axe off her back, and threw it towards Tessa's feet. "Pick it up."

"Uh…what?" Tessa sat up, still confused with what 621 wanted her to do.

"You keep your sword on your back, that tells me you don't know jack shit about how to use it." 621 noted.

"Hey, I've taught myself everything I know about using the sword!" Tessa shouted back.

"…Which tells me you don't know jack shit about how to use it." 621 accused.

"Well-! You keep your axe on your back!" Tessa shouted back.

"Because it's not my primary or secondary. It's not even my tertiary." 621 explained. "If I'm going into close quarters with no time to prepare, I'll go for a handgun or a knife instead. I use the axe when I have a moment to take the long ass time to take it off my back and bring it into my hands. You only have a pistol and the sword, so you don't have the luxury of keeping your sword in a stupid place. Now go on, pick up the axe and strike me down."

"…" Tessa took 621's offer, and painfully stood up, axe in hand. 621 didn't bother turning to look at her. Instead, she ignored the woman, keeping her to her right side.

"Just tell me when you're ready." Tessa demanded.

"Pfff, surprise me." 621 scoffed, eyes ignoring her.

"…" Tessa raised the axe for an overhead strike-

621 had already turned into the strike, left hand clutching the sheath at her hip, while the sword was aimed squarely at Tessa's throat.

"…Shit!" Tessa flinched back, nearly dropping the axe in the process.

"…" 621 glared, and spun Tessa's sword back into it's sheath with slow and graceful precision.

"That…technique. It's almost like an ancient Japanese style." Tessa realized.

"People get really weird regarding the ancient Japanese weapons." 621 sort of confirmed. "They see a cool curved sword and forget that the most important part of the weapon is the person wielding it, and their training. It's not about being the fastest either." 621 then put her right hand on the handle of the sword and pulled it out of it's sheath, noticeably slower than before.

"So, how did you do that?" Tessa wondered.

"Simply put, I skipped several steps." 621 returned the sword to it's sheath and stepped back to her original position, facing away from Tessa. "Having to reach all the way to pull the sword out of it's sheath is slow as hell, however…" 621 half demonstrated the technique, spinning her body while holding her right hand out away from her body. The spin had caused the sword to leave it's sheath on it's own, and met 621's hand halfway out already. With relatively little effort, she pulled the sword the rest of the way out, and held it at the ready. "It's not something you would have ever noticed if you kept your sword on your back. As your secondary, keep it at your hip, and use your body and your other hand to speed up the process. You're not trying to be faster than your opponent, you're trying to outpace them."

"That's…cool." Tessa reluctantly agreed. "But, how does that help me use an Armored Core?"

"…" 621 frowned, sheathed the sword, unclipped it from her hip, and used the handle to strike Tessa in the head.

"Oww!" Tessa shouted, clutching her head.

"The entirety of Armored Core combat boils down to outpacing the enemy, and striking when they least expect it." 621 advised. "It's not about who has the best gun or who can move the fastest. It's about knowing when to move, when to evade, and when to strike. Once you figure that out, an AC becomes a power nothing in the 'verse can stop."

"So…hey…little purple toaster thing…" J disingenuously spoke softly.

"…It's Uzi." Uzi reminded her sharply.

"Uzi, right." J nodded. "…So how are you?"

"What do you want J?" Uzi wondered annoyed.

"What? Can't I be concerned for my little friend?" J purred sweetly.

"We're not friends J." Uzi shook her head. "You tried to eat me multiple times."

"Ah, you know, accidents happen." J dismissed. "You made quick friends with V and N."

"That's because they apologized." Uzi informed her.

"Oh…well I'm sorry for trying to eat you." J assured her.

"…What do you want, J?" Uzi didn't believe her.

"Well, it's just taking us so long to get where we are going…" J pointed out. "It would be really convenient if we could use our wings, then we can get these jobs done even quicker!"

"Yeah, fat chance." Uzi scoffed. "As soon as I unlock your wings, you're going to use that opportunity to kill me."

"W-What would ever make you think that?!" J denied quickly. "I was just making a friendly suggestion."

"It's not gonna happen J." Uzi shook her head again.

"You…damn toaster-!" J sneered, and reared her fist back-

"Don't." V hissed, her arms suddenly wrapped around J's head.

"Tsk! Let go of me!" J pushed herself out of V's grasp. "Stay out of this!"

"Then don't put hands on Uzi." V demanded tiredly.

"Why I should-" J had been about to threaten, when her control collar activated and burned her, causing her to wince in pain and stop. "D-Dammit!"

"Yeah…you know I'm faster and better at fighting than you, which is why you went for your EMP cannon." V noted calmly. "Face it, without that weapon, you can't stop me, and you know N would help me if you were going after Uzi. So knock it off J."

"Why!? Why are you so sympathetic to this stupid little Worker?!" J shouted. "Why don't you want to go back to how things used to be!?"

"…You know we can't ever go back." V said softly. "And we're stuck here now. We should just make the best out of this situation, rather than trying to hold onto what used to be. For the time being, Uzi is part of my squad, and if Raven says she's leader, then so it is."

"Screw you V! Fine! Let's just get this day over with!" J sneered, and stormed off to their next job.

"…Thanks." Uzi looked away, mildly embarrassed. Admittedly, J was still a threat without her weapons, being so much taller and combat oriented than Uzi. It was good then to have someone looking out for her. Someone who she could reluctantly call a friend.

"Don't mention it Shorty." V smiled.

"I-! I'm not short!" Uzi shouted back, only slightly insulted. She stomped off after J.

"Heh…shorty." V laughed to herself. Uzi was very short, even for a Worker Drone.

"Phew, thanks V." N thanked her. "I wouldn't have let Uzi get hurt…but I'm not confident enough to talk back to J. She's kind of intense."

"…Don't let people walk all over you N." V suggested. "Those kinds of people aren't looking out for your interest or wellbeing."

"Yeah…" N nodded weakly. "Still, thanks for looking out for Uzi."

"…She's…fun." V reluctantly admitted. "And she's part of our squad now. Just you, me, her, and Raven…"

"Right…just us…" N trailed off a moment, before he looked to V a bit more certain. "That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Hmm? What is it?" V smiled softly.

"Well, it's just we've been working together for a couple of years now, and you're just really awesome is all, and uh…I'm glad we're getting to be friends now and all, but uh…I was wondering if we could be more than friends?" N sheepishly smiled. "But uh! Only if that's okay with you! Cause I don't want to make it awkward or anything! Ahaha!"

V kept smiling, and cocked her head slightly. "That's…sweet of you N. But…things are kind of…unpredictable right now. We've…been through a lot of shit already, and I just want to be prepared for the next thing to go horribly wrong. Don't take this the wrong way, because you're a great guy, but I just can't commit to anything right now."

"Oh…for sure though!" N shrugged awkwardly. "But we can still be friends?"

"Of course N. We will always be friends." V assured him. "Now go keep an eye on Uzi, I'll catch up in a minute."

"Sure thing V!" N saluted, and jogged off with the rest of the squad.

"…" V kept smiling for a moment. Slipping into a dark and secluded alley along the endless and mazelike interior of the megapillar, she bit the back of her hand, and suppressed a scream. Her other hand grasped painfully for her personality core in her chest, as she backed into a wall and slid down.

"Damn you Cyn!" V cursed to herself quietly. "Goddamn you to hell!"

"V…?"

"…!" V flinched, looking up briefly to see the short and purple Worker attached to her squad. She averted her gaze, hiding the pseudo-electric tears that had appeared on her visor. "H-Hey…"

"…You good…?" Uzi asked, knowing V wasn't.

"…No?" V shrugged. "But…there's nothing to do about it, so it's…whatever."

"…You're crying alone in an alley. That's not a 'whatever.'" Uzi countered.

"Just…!" V briefly shouted, reconsidering her answer. "Just...sometimes things don't work out the way we hoped. Sometimes we can't afford to be happy."

"…Is this about N asking you out?" Uzi considered V's behavior…odd. "Like…if you don't want to date him that's cool, but you're getting awfully worked up, and you're the one who rejected him."

"…Is he…okay?" V questioned, concerned.

"Yeah he's fine. A little sad, but he's happy to still get to be your friend and shit." Uzi assured her. "So…why don't you want to go out with him? It seems like you are regretting this more than if you had agreed."

"…Not everyone gets to be happy." V sneered. "And besides, he deserves better than a…crazy, broken thing like me."

"Yeah, you are pretty crazy…but you're also awesome, so give yourself some credit." Uzi assured her.

"Hmm, yeah…" V agreed, smiling softly with saddened eyes. "Just trust me on this Uzi, it wouldn't work out for me and him."

"Whatever you say…" Uzi shrugged. "I still think you're making a mistake."

"Hmn!" V smugly smiled, more like herself. "Well if you think he's so awesome, why don't you ask him out!"

"Oh! N-No!" Uzi blushed with electric lines across her visor, right above her cheeks. "He's like…eww! A Worker and a Disassembly Drone?!"

"Hehe!" V chuckled at making Uzi uncomfortable. She made the motions of wiping away her tears, standing up and putting her hands on Uzi's shoulders. "Come on little boss, what's next today?!"

"I'm not little!" Uzi shouted back.

After doing several menial and sometimes messy jobs, Uzi felt it was a good time to throw J into the next job. They were in an area where Carla controlled the traffic in and out of the level, but not the level itself.

Priority Subject for Termination – "Cinder" Carla / Reward 1,000 COAM

"Okay, you ready for this, little ones?" Carla noted curiously in the call. "Not a lot of fun, but someone's got to do it. Make sure Saber gets her hands dirty for this, ya?"

"Will do." Uzi confirmed after receiving the mission. "Okay J, you're up."

"Right, what's the mission?" J stood proudly.

"You see that guy over there J?" Uzi pointed to a man that Carla wanted dead for some reason. "Kill him."

"Hmm, alright, this will be easy." J nodded assuredly.

…

"So uh…you gonna unlock my weapons?" J wondered.

"Nope." Uzi shrugged.

"Oh." J frowned. "Well can I get your help then or something?"

"Uh sorry J, you're alone on this one." V smiled cockily. "Good luck though!"

"What!? So you won't even give me any help or weapons!?" J shouted.

"Okay, so I won't be as mean as Raven was to us, especially since you're going alone." Uzi relented. "I'll give you a weapon."

"About right." J held her hand out, expecting the handgun on Uzi's hip. Instead, Uzi handed her a small screwdriver. "…What the fuck?"

"Just like stab him in the neck or something." Uzi suggested. "But uh…maybe sneak up on him?"

"Hmn! Fine!" J took the screwdriver. "I'll make this the fastest, quickest kill you've ever seen!" She then stalked her way towards the man.

"…If it looks like she's going to fuck it up, help her a little bit." Uzi whispered to N and V.

"You got it!" N quietly whispered back.

"Sure, whatever." V nodded enthusiastically.

As they watched, J attempted to be as sneaky as possible, slowly striding up to the back of the man as he appeared to be shifting through garbage, looking for scrap of any kind. The only problem was that J didn't have much experience in acting "stealthy", so she forgot what her tail was doing. The long appendage that swayed behind her knocked over several bottles, and alerted the man to movement behind him.

"…Shit." J cursed as the man turned around.

"…Oi! Jensen pashangwala! You one of Carla's stray dogs?" The man accused, standing up to confront her.

"Uh!" J backed away, suddenly not very certain about her chances.

The man approach J, so she raised her screwdriver and tried to stab him. The man grabbed her by the wrist, and punched her across the face.

"Pinche puta!" The man insulted her. "You're lucky you're just cute enough that maybe I won't kill you."

"Woah…hey…" Uzi suddenly perked up as J was on the defensive. "Maybe we should uh…?"

"Okay!" N agreed quickly.

"Shit…" V shrugged, but agreed.

However, in that time, J had sneered frightfully, and decided to use her tail to wrap it around the man's neck, choking him out. While he raised his hands to fight off her tail, J began to shank him in the stomach with psychotic desperation.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me! DON"T TOUCH ME!" J screamed in a terrified trance as she soaked her hands in red. She used her tail to wrestle the man to the ground, where she then got on top of the man and stabbed him as many times as possible.

"…!" V and N grimaced sickly as J slowly covered herself in more red with careless rage. Uzi stepped forward and ended things by shooting the man in the head.

"…Hey! Okay J! He's dead!" V shouted, wrapping her arms around J, pulling her off the dead man. "So stop it okay?!"

"J…?" N worriedly rubbed her back.

"…" J cried into V's arms, which was pretty weird for everyone else present who thought they knew her up till now. Just…what had happened to her in the short time they hadn't seen her?

"…" Uzi frowned, feeling somewhat guilty for J's breakdown just then. "I'm uh…I'm sorry J. I didn't know you would panic…"

"…It's fine." J hissed down towards the ground while hugging herself. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah…sure…I'll uh…request something easier from Carla." Uzi suggested.

"…Okay." J got up and slowly walked away, still with V hovering over her concerned. V looked back towards N and Uzi with a concerned and confused expression.

"Uzi…what happened to J?" N asked worriedly. "Why was she so afraid?"

"I don't know N." Uzi answered. "But maybe…maybe something bad happened to her. What that could be though…I have no idea."

Tessa got the impression that where 621 went, she was supposed to follow. That she didn't have a choice in the matter. She still wasn't allowed to carry her weapons, the unnamed Hound kept those from her for the moment.

At the very least, the heavily armed Hound was a very credible deterrent to anyone this deep in the Grid Sector. She led them into what constituted as the "entertainment district" at this level. Several bars, brothels, and even some public televisions showing a variety of random content. However, 621 was leading them past that, towards a fighting pit.

It wasn't a very deep pit, only about four feet or so, left over from when an industrial machine had been ripped out of the ground. Since then, it had been modified, with seats arranged around it so that a few dozen spectators could cheer over blood sport.

Currently, there was no one in the pit, just the stains of blood while a few people stood around, sharing beers in between matches.

"So…what are we doing here?" Tessa questioned. "Are we going to watch some of the matches, and you'll give me some pointers?"

"Mmm…something like that." 621 admitted. She walked around Tessa, getting the woman turned around. "Admittedly, there is another thing these pits are good for."

"Oh? What's-" Tessa had been asking, when 621 kicked her in the stomach, and into the fighting pit.

Tessa landed painfully on her back, wincing in pain. That…that accursed Hound?! What the fuck was she thinking?!

"Try not to die now, little Hound!" 621 called out. "Prove to me you have a will to live!"

Apparently, the sight of someone getting kicked into the pit alerted and galvanized the locals, as suddenly a dozen more people surrounded them, and started cheering.

"Two enter! One leaves! Two enter! One leaves! Two enter! One leaves!"

"Shit…oh shit." Tessa stood up, looking around herself fearfully.

Someone else jumped into the pit with Tessa, a crazed eye man wearing tight, cheap and dirty leather.

"N-Now hold on just a sec!" Tessa raised her hands non-threateningly. "Can't we talk about this a sec-?"

The man screamed a warcry and charged her, swinging wide and wildly. Tessa lunged out of the way but lost her footing. She had to roll away and struggled back to the feet, the man snapping at her heels.

Back on her feet, Tessa turned and confronted a difficult fact. She wasn't getting out of here alive unless she fought back. This wasn't an easy proposition, considering how small and feeble she was. But 621 had been kicking her ass all day, driving home the point to fight bitterly in every engagement, but with a sense of purpose.

The man lunged at her again, and Tessa had to dodge low, towards his side and out of sight, punching him in the kidneys. It wasn't much, but bruising his sides might slow him down and hurt him.

He swung out to catch her, but Tessa dodged under the strike, punching him across the jaw. It wasn't easy, but at least it seemed that her minimal training and 621's abuse made her a better fighter than her opponent.

While Tessa fought for her life, 621 paid close attention to the young Hound, gauging her skill. Not great, but not terrible. Definitely something to be honed and sharpened, that is, if she wanted to keep her alive. Another part of 621's mind watched Tessa hungrily, longingly anticipating driving a blade through her heart, finishing the job her father started…

A vile stink of desperation and depravity caught her nose, telling her to be more aware, more cautious. Without being obvious, 621 looked at the other attendants watching the death match. Their nasty, yellow and decayed teeth, their wild eyes, the shaking of their muscles, and their dried leather jackets and jewelry made of bones.

…Fuck. She looked back down at Tessa, and noticed another bad detail. Shit was about to go sideways…

Fighting for her very survival was less than ideal, but at least she was still winning. The man had gotten several nasty hits in that left her reeling, and she could feel herself bruising in multiple places. But so long as she didn't let him control the fight, she could probably win.

It was just that she was going to have to kill him that disturbed her…

Before she could process going about that, she punched the man in the jaw, hard enough that she saw teeth go flying. The man grunted and reached behind himself-

A shot went off, his head snapped back. At the same time, his hand finished going through the motions of drawing a knife…

Hold on…wasn't this a fist fight to the death? Why did he have a knife? Also, who shot him dead?

Looking up behind herself, Tessa saw 621 holding her revolver, the barrel smoking. 621 turned away from the pit, drawing Tessa's sword from it's sheath, and decapitated the three people standing behind her.

"What the fuck…?" Tessa muttered in confusion and horror.

"Hey little Hound!" 621 demanded. "Get your ass up here!"

"…" Tessa grunted, and jumped up over the side of the pit, standing by 621's side. She saw a stand off between the unnamed Hound, and several of the "guests" to the fighting pit, each wielding jagged and improvised blades and shivs made from scrap.

"So…you want the good new or the bad news?" 621 offered, handing Tessa her sword back.

"…I'd really like to know what the fuck is going on?" Tessa demanded as she took back her sword.

"So, the good news is we're getting out of here, and I'll even help you." 621 grabbed her axe as she explained. "Bad news is I may have wandered us into a nest full of cannibals."

"…You fucking twat!" Tessa cursed.

Escort the Drones – "Cinder" Carla / Reward 2,000 Coam

"You wanted an easy job to finish the day, right little ones?" Carla noted sweetly. "Alright, it doesn't get much simpler than this. Get up to my entertainment district in that Grid and walk the Drones working there back to the Sanctuary. Expect minimal threat, maybe nothing. Also, I've got word that your masters are finishing up their training as well, so they'll meet you when you finish."

"Okay then." Uzi nodded. "Hear that guys? We just have to walk around a bit to finish off the day."

"Boo!" V whined. "I wanted to kill something."

"Oh…I don't." N argued.

"…Let's just get this over with." J sighed.

Stray Squad was prompted to go back to the brothel in the sector controlled by Carla, and met up with the employees there, the Worker Drones from the Sanctuary.

"Sup losers!" Lizzy called out. "You gonna be our escort today?"

"Oh!" Rebecca cried excitedly, running up to N and grabbed his arm. "Are you here to save me, ya big stud?"

"Eh…?" N awkwardly smiled, rubbing his other arm.

"…" Doll glared at them, hiding her red eyes behind her bangs. There were a couple of other Worker Drones there getting off their shift, but those three knew Stray Squad the most.

"Yeah, alright listen up!" Uzi shouted. "Carla's contracted us to get you back home today! So stay close to the squad of Murder Drones and they'll keep you safe!"

"…Hold on…" J realized sickly. "Carla has these Worker Drones working…at a brothel?"

"Hmm? Yeah, what of it?" V shrugged.

"What of it?!" J screeched. "So they've all been…upgraded?"

"…What is this upgrade you guys keep talking about?" Uzi wondered annoyed.

"It…it adds-" J was cut off.

"Ahhh!" Lizzy screamed, grabbing J by the arm. "Uh…sorry big scary Murder Drone person…!" She smiled sheepishly. "But their Hound…621…was very adamant that Stray Squad not learn the details of what it means to be 'upgraded.' You shouldn't antagonize that Hound."

"…" J cringed, looking between Lizzy and the rest of Stray Squad, as she considered Lizzy's warning, as well as the warning from her master. "S-Sorry guys. My hands are tied in this matter."

"Are you freaking kidding me?! Really?!" Uzi complained. V looked softly at J as she whispered back and forth with Lizzy, feeling both concerned and suspicious.

"Hey~!" Rebecca had stepped away from N while he was busy corralling the other Workers, and had approached Uzi. "Sup freak?"

Rebecca pushed Uzi, who was slightly more prepared this time, only stumbling back a few steps.

"Tsk…what do you want, Rebecca?" Uzi scowled at the blue haired Drone girl.

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you for providing an escort today~" Rebecca sung cheerfully. "It's so nice knowing how much more valuable I am, that you be placed in an expendable position to protect me~"

"…I'm not getting paid to talk to you, so hurry up." Uzi urged.

"Oh no~!" Rebecca feigned worry. "There's a puddle of who knows what in my way~! I don't want to get my boots dirty~! Won't you help little me out~?"

"Sure thing toaster." V walked up to Uzi and Rebecca, wrapped her tail around Rebecca's waist, and flung her clear of the puddle of crap and towards the rest of the escorted Worker Drones.

"Wha-!" Rebecca screamed as she landed with a roll. She stood up and shouted back at V. "You-! You can't do that to me!"

"I just can't kill or maim any of you." V shrugged. "The contract didn't say anything about rough handling. Come on boss."

"O-kay!" Uzi was surprised when V lifted her up and set her down on her shoulders. V kept her hands on Uzi's legs to hold her up there.

"W-Whatever-! Tall and short freaks!" Rebecca accused, before she skipped ahead to stand by N. "So~! My friend wants to know if you killed her family…and are single~?"

"Ah…" N was unsure how to answer.

"…Ugh…" V rolled her eyes, following after the group with Uzi still on her shoulders.

"…Hey V?" Uzi called down softly to the Drone she was sitting on. "Thanks…"

"Sure thing." V skipped after the rest of the group, tail wagging behind her.

. . .

Less than an hour of escorting the Drones up the Grid Sector and back to the Sanctuary, they'd managed to complete the contract.

Uzi jumped off of V's shoulders, standing by as the Worker Drones filed back into their home.

"Always a pleasure seeing you~!" Rebecca purred to N. "Call me~!"

"Uh…sure?" N shrugged.

"You uh…you take care." J waved awkwardly.

"You too, girl." Lizzy nodded back quietly.

"Okay." Uzi counted off. "That should be just about-"

"[Uzi.]" Doll uttered from behind Uzi.

"Gah!" Uzi flinched. "Don't sneak up on me like that! This isn't a safe planet so shit going on behind me is cause for concern!" She complained.

"[…I need a favor, Uzi.]" Doll requested.

"…Okay, what is it?" Uzi wondered where this might go.

"[Do you…know how to disable the 'higher functions' lock on our control collars?]" Doll asked, whispering in Russian.

"I mean…there is the override my Hound keeps using for N and V's collars so that they can use their weapons during missions. I think that's basically what you're talking about." Uzi noted.

"[Yes…I would like to have access to this override.]" Doll's eyes lit up excitedly.

"Uh…I don't think I should be handing it out so casually." Uzi rubbed her head. "Plus you're Carla's property, I wouldn't want to interfere with her stuff."

"[I just…]" Doll desperately scrounged up an excuse. "[There are just some restrictions I need to get around. Carla is a good master, and I would not want to wrong her, but I need a bit more freedom than what my collar's current setting provides.]"

"…" Uzi worriedly considered it and why Doll needed the override.

"[Please Uzi…I promise I won't betray Carla…and I will pay you for the code as well.]" Doll grasped her hands in a 'praying' motion, shaking them softly.

"…" Uzi thought about it, and the Drone asking her. Doll was always the quietest and weirdest of the "popular group" back on Copper IX. And while that meant her friend group was usually the one who bullied her the most, Doll herself never really engaged much in abusing her, choosing just to snicker or stare from the sidelines. Plus…they were far from their homeworld now. Uzi had no idea why Doll wanted the override code, but she could sympathize that there might be terrible shit that she had gone through as well, just to survive this long.

"Alright, fine." Uzi relented. "Give me twen-…no…just ten thousand Coam for the code."

"[T-Thank you!]" Doll exclaimed enthusiastically, swiping the funds to Uzi's hand terminal. In return, Uzi sent the override control to Doll's hand terminal. "[Thank you Uzi! You won't regret this!]" She then ran off, into the safety of the Sanctuary.

"What was that about?" V noted the Worker Drone with long purple hair running back into the Sanctuary.

"Oh…she just wanted to buy some information." Uzi technically told the truth.

"Huh." V shrugged. "Well, come on, we've got to go meet Raven and that…Tessa woman."

Blood was leaking through the cut on her hand, as Tessa held her blade over her head, using it to stop someone from stabbing her in the face. They salivated through their smile, showing sharp, yellow teeth.

The cannibal was punched across the face by 621, freeing Tessa, who was then roughly grabbed by the collar by the Hound, dragging her through the level and past many more hungry faces. She could hear the Hound swinging her axe, chopping clean through another person as they spun and danced through the crowd.

Tessa was then thrown, stumbling forward, almost losing her sword in the process. Fortunately, her sword sunk deep into dirty cannibal flesh, as Tessa accidentally stabbed someone through the stomach.

"…!" Grimacing sickly as more warm blood flowed across her hands, Tessa felt the Hound grab her from behind, yanking her back and a step closer to the elevator out of the level.

She could see it, too. Just a few more meters, and past a small group of blade wielding freaks.

Tessa raised her blade to attack, only for the Hound to kick her in the back, causing her to fall to her face. She feared for a moment that 621 was going to leave her, on the ground and at the mercy of these hungry cannibals…

Then 621 jumped onto Tessa's back, and dropped a grenade next to Tessa's head.

"…!" Tessa watched the little grenade realign itself, then jump back into the air where it exploded, far above their heads, and cutting through the necks of several people around them.

621 leapt back to her feet, dragging Tessa by her belt, and opened the elevator. She then kicked Tessa in the ass, causing her to stumble into the elevator, while pulling two more grenades off her belt. Twisting them to incendiary, she tossed them out into the crowd following them, and activated the elevator, pulling them to safety as a dozen or so people burst into flames.

"…Fuck." Tessa tiredly cursed after a long day of fighting off the cannibal hordes in one of the lower levels of the Grid Sector.

It was apparently rare, but not unheard of, for communities of cannibals to pop up in the most destitute and desperate levels of Grid Sectors. Preying off the entire Grid in one conveniently ignored murder at a time in order to hide their want for warmer meat than mushrooms or mealworms provided.

If it wasn't for 621, Tessa wasn't sure she would have lasted long, fighting off the hordes of unwashed psychopaths wielding long jagged blades and baring their rotting, nasty teeth. Besides some opportunistic slashes here and there, she had been totally dragged through the level by 621.

For her part, 621 showed no exhaustion or concern after slaughtering nearly half a level of people, her ammunition completely depleted and her blades soaked in blood. It was just another day to her.

"T-Tell me something…will you?" Tessa requested quietly. "How did you really know that I was Laconian?"

"…The way the little ones looked at you." 621 answered. "The way you looked at them. You know them. And some of them knew you too."

"Well…since that's out of the bag." Tessa shrugged, then spat at the Hound. "One of these days, I want N and V back. They're mine."

"…Let this be your final lesson today, Laconian. And a warning." 621 hissed at her while they rode the elevator back up to the level the Drone Sanctuary was at. "Everything you've ever learned about war, and everything you will ever learn, is all shit I forgot centuries ago."

"…Yeah. Got it." Tessa sneered back at the Hound.

The elevator arrived at their destination, and 621 grabbed Tessa by the arm, and tossed her out. Tessa was too tired to stand, and stumbled down to the ground.

"T-Tessa!" J had been nearby, and jumped towards Tessa, cradling the human woman close to her. "Tessa are you alright?!"

"H-Hey girl." Tessa smiled. "Just a…a long day."

"Oh Tessa…" J frowned. She scooped up her master, carrying the skinny woman in her arms. "What did you do to Tessa?!" She accused the Hound.

"Uh! J!" V was quick to step between J and the Hound. "Definitely not a good idea antagonizing Raven! Just walk away okay? We'll…see you when we see you."

"Bye J…hope to see you again soon!" N waved sadly.

"…J…let's just go-…home." Tessa said somberly, rubbing J's cheeks sweetly.

"…" J leaned into Tessa's touch, and nodded with a grunt. She turned towards their quarters, leaving the Hound and her Strays.

"…Shit Raven." Uzi noted. "Looks like you've been through some shit yourself."

"Mmm." 621 hummed lazily. "I need a shower. And sleep."

"That lady you were training? Is she alright?" N asked worriedly.

"Mhm," 621 nodded. "Just ran into some cannibals is all. Had to work extra hard to keep the kid alive."

"Wait, hold up, there are cannibals on this planet too?" Uzi asked with narrowed, annoyed eyes.

"Uh…" V then whistled, pointing to herself.

"…Point taken." Uzi acknowledged V, then turned back to 621. "Still, I didn't realize shit was that bad?"

"It's only bad because they have a tendency to congregate." 621 explained. "So you'll get a level here and there with disproportionately high rates of cannibalism as opposed to the rest of the entire planet. Don't worry about it too much." 621 dismissed.

"So, are we done for today?" N questioned.

"Yep. Just going to rest up. Don't expect any work for a while. Things should be clear for the next few days." 621 assured them.

Grid 085 – Worker Drone Sanctuary / That Evening

Finally certain that most of the other Workers had settled into their sleep mode, Doll opened her hand terminal and accessed the override control that Uzi had sent her earlier. Directing the code toward her own control collar, she disabled the "higher functions" lock.

/CEREBRAL CORAL CONTROL DEVICE: HIGHER FUNCTIONS UNLOCKED

Even with the control collar still firmly affixed to her neck, Doll anxiously splayed her hand in a waving motion. Instead of the burning sensation of her collar punishing her, it instead summoned a red holographic symbol over her hand, a hexagon with three arrows.

Excitement slowly rising, Doll looked around her private quarters, a relatively small room compared to the one she had on Copper IX, but still something to call her own. She settled her eyes on a wooden chair, and focused, flexing her hand in a lifting motion.

The chair floated off the ground, shimmering as the unnatural energy took hold, counter-acting gravity. Playfully spinning the chair in the air, Doll sharply shifted her hand, and made a chopping motion.

The chair was instantly and perfectly bifurcated, the halves cluttering to the ground.

Smiling ear to ear with hateful pleasure, Doll cackled madly, her right eye changing to that same symbol. The hexagon with three arrows.

Author's Note: Hello again! Good to be back. Sorry for the wait, I lost my internet at home for about a week, then wasted another week on a back-and-forth combat mission in chapter 23. But with that chapter done, we get to take a step forward again! Hope this was worth the wait!

Without spoiling what happens, I will say that chapters 19-22 are a mini-arc of my own design, so look forward (dread) that coming in the next few months. It is definitely the first of many things I originally envisioned when creating this fic. And at some point before the end of act 2, Iguazu will show up, I haven't forgot about him, just had to move him around a bit.

As for this chapter, just getting Tessa introduced to the main cast, and 621's response to the exile. Plus that bit of Doll at the end. The prom may be off the table, but looks like she's back to her old self, so that could be a problem.

Anyhow, that's all for now, so stay tuned mi beratnas, and abide with Rubicon!

EDIT: Just realized I was so excited to get this out I forgot the citation! The combat in the intro was inspired by...a YouTube video titled "Short Change Hero but you're the only survivor of Operation Red Wings", however, where that specific video get's the dialog from...I don't know. Just letting you lot know it's not completely original.

EDIT 6/28/24: Just remembered that Scavengers have between three and four dozen eyes, not hundreds.

To magenta skelter: I can neither confirm nor deny this accusation. It would definitely give 621 some interesting backstory, wouldn't it?

To Capt. Schroller: I suppose that depends if White Glint and ACfA are in AC6's timeline, or a parallel timeline. White Glint is definitely a high performance AC that outmatches 6 gen ACs, but not so much that 6 gen ACs would be helpless, just at a disadvantage. As for how you would do it, just make a "Kojima explosion leads to time travel fuckery" excuse. I've done it, and so have other writers, so go have fun!

To WarmasterXI: I cannot say~! You just have to wait to see if you're right!

To Alphasdragon: I will say that V and Uzi are a bit more central to the plot than in Murder Drones, but don't worry, I won't forget about N. I just think V and Uzi are very similar and due to the circumstances of this horror story, they are getting along much better than they did in canon. And yes, Tessa will get to use an AC, so she'll show up as a side character in various events during the rest of the story. Thank you!

To undead3: All I can say is that you should expect worse in the future. Sit tight!

To Lord-of-fate: We'll see 621's journey through the centuries from one flashback to another, just like the into to this chapter. So there will be plenty of time for that. As far as 621's hatred of her "father", whoever he might be, it's definitely an extremely complicated issue. A burning and hateful resentment that only increases with that passage of time, and with what 621 endured and learned along the way.