CHAPTER 5 – Status Unbound
Jackie whispered, "Open status window."
The holographic prompt dissolved, instantly replaced by a torrent of cold, terrifying data flooding her ocular implant. It wasn't the vibrant color scheme of the Nexus Directive; it was a simple, silver-on-black interface labeled:
BDJ SYSTEM STATUS: ONLINE.
Field Data
Designation Blue Diamond J-Series [Unique]
Protocol State Evolutionary Protocol (Active)
Nexus Directive Status Suppression Protocol Detected
System Origin Classified/Autonomous
(Nexus Breach)
Observer Tracking Kieran (Alias) - Status:
Active /Passive
Warning. Self-correction algorithms disabled
by Directive 1.2
Jackie gasped, a silent, internal shock. Suppression Protocol Detected. The Nexus wasn't just monitoring her; it was actively trying to choke her Evolution.
Before she could process the extent of the lie she was living, the chamber door hissed open. Patrick's voice gently spilled from her personal comms, a soft counterpoint to the thunder of her internal data. "Welcome to the Hydraulic Division, Jackie. Head west, up two levels to Testing Room Six."
Jackie forced herself onto the green path, her mind reeling but her body moving with unnatural efficiency. The BDJ System was now fully integrated, tagging the complex lab with constant data: Primary load-bearing division. Water. Pressure. Power. Circulatory system of Nexus.
She didn't walk through the lab; she processed it. The immense, cathedral-like space, the piston-towers thick as trees, the vast conduits glowing blue—all instantly mapped, analyzed, and filed.
She arrived at Testing Room Six, and the Nexus AI voice buzzed to life: "Participant. Hydraulic Pressure Test and Precision Challenge initiated. Proceed to the white circle."
Jackie stepped into the circle.
The platform lurched sideways, hydraulic arms slamming into the edges, trying to throw her off balance. Her BDJ System reacted instantly, flashing raw data across her vision: "Counterforce: left foot. Weight redistribution: 37%. Pressure: 1.4 tonnes."
She gritted her teeth, adjusting one, two, three degrees. She was no longer balancing; she was computationally predicting the water flow and pressure shifts, neutralizing them before they registered in her body. A heavy platform lowered onto her shoulders, straining the new Blue Diamond alloy. She held it, her cybernetic arm a rock, her ocular implant recording every micro-shift.
"Not bad," Patrick said.
"Precision test engaged," the Nexus AI continued without a pause. "Not all targets are hostile. Avoid non-combatants."
Panels slid open. Target drones whirred to life, darting through mist. Jackie didn't need to aim. The BDJ System locked onto hostile signatures, filtering non-hostiles into a separate, grayed-out layer of her vision.
"Dial cannon output to 12%," she muttered.
"Confirmed. Reduced yield engaged."
Her cybernetic arm moved in tight, precise arcs, every shot guided by BDJ's annotations: "Trajectory clear. Margin of error: 0.1%. Corrected." Thin beams of blue light cracked across the room. Drones burst in sparks and smoke; not a single non-combatant target was grazed. The test lasted seconds.
The lab fell silent. Jackie lowered her arm, her cannon closing with a metallic click.
Up on a catwalk, half-hidden in the vapor, a figure watched. His heat signature glowed faintly in her ocular overlay. BDJ tagged him again:
"Alias inferred: Kieran. Observer present. Status: Active / Passive. Tracking patterns suggest unauthorized data interception."
Patrick's voice returned, steady and unreadable: "That will do for today. Report to the next sector."
Jackie stepped off the platform, ignoring Patrick. She had all the information she needed. She was not a unique prodigy; she was a glitch, an anomaly the Nexus wanted to suppress, and she was being tracked by a rogue unit whose purpose was entirely unknown.
She was no longer Jackie Cannon, the trainee. She was the Blue Diamond J-Series, an Autonomous System running an Evolutionary Protocol while under Nexus Suppression.
The real test was about to begin.