When morning comes, I wake up to a small surprise.
Taser is snoozing on my chest, internal fans softly blowing and her motors purring as her cyan indicator light slowly pulses in and out. Oh. Oh my goodness. She's cozy. Warm too. Well, if she's chosen me, then I guess I'm allowed. Gently wrapping my arms around her, I nudge at Ace's partition to make her wake up too.
ACE> What? >:(
"Look."
ACE> !!!
I do her another kindness and grant her the permissions to receive my sensory inputs. Even there in her partition, she can feel what I feel, and gets to hold Taser again from beyond the grave. I hug her robotic cat closer for her and sigh with content. I don't receive any messages, Taser doesn't wake up, and I'm very comfortable in bed.
Five more minutes, I think…
When I wake up again, she's gone off somewhere.
"Aw…"
ACE> Such is the way of cats…
Sitting up in bed, I dangle my legs off the edge of the bunk as my wakeup procedures finalize. Damn, that was a good rest. I needed that. My diodes are still flickering on, but my processors are running. Stretching my arms over my head with a yawn, I let out a sleepy droning hum while I sit there for another minute.
"Mmm… Anything on the…" Holding my head up, I reach back into my memory core. My subconscious processes parsed through the footage from Henna and Zenith. "Damn. Like Zoya said. There really isn't anything of use. Nine and Nep-15 were… not communicative."
ACE> 9 was a creep. And Nep-15 was just an asshole, full stop. No wonder the team was more careful when I came around.
"It was interesting that Nep-15 was an Ethereal Phantom too… And we never found out Nine's SubVariant. Nobody saw either of them in combat. I guess it doesn't matter much. All that footage showed us was context. Nothing helpful to our directive. I think the only thing of value in that regard was that Nine went North when she left. Toward the Reclaimer…"
ACE> Yeah, I didn't see much of note either.
ACE> Except??? Nine and Zenith???
"That… Yes, that was something of a surprise."
ACE> That bastard corrupted the file on purpose to cover something up.
"I don't think whatever was cut is of any use to us, Ace."
ACE> …
ACE> Yeah, I'd rather not know, actually.
ACE> But Henna and Zoya???
"I saw that coming from light-years away."
ACE> I didn't!
"You're not very perceptive or insightful, are you?"
ACE> >:(
ACE> Is that ethical though?
"If Henna's jailbroken, then she isn't subservient, and she has her own free will."
ACE> Huh. 1. I guess it's fine then?
ACE> Anyway, I looked into your theory. Turns out we do have RNG 8-bit integer values for most of our personality traits. My confidence stat = +233, boldness = +229, and arrogance = +221 LOL
"Well, obviously. That all makes sense. Are you able to see mine?"
ACE> 1. Your three highest are prudence = +235, patience = +223, opportunism = +218. Also? You're a Scorpio. I'm an Aries. Just in case you were wondering…
"If astrology weren't entirely nonsensical, you being an Aries would make total sense."
ACE> Right? Thanks, by the way. For letting me feel Taser. That was really kind of you.
nEPI-0107> Gladly. She's your cat. But now she's mine too. She claimed me.
ACE> She sure did. Our cat. I love it. How's the MI?
I slide out of my bunk and drop a few feet to land on my toes without a sound. Stretching the stiffness out of my limbs, I check on the Defender and find its charging indicator bar full and in the green. With no other clue how to bring it online, I tap at its black metal skull.
Its eye sockets light up cyan and blink a few times. It sits up on its own, then rotates to sit on the edge of the bed. The lights representing its eyes dart around the room then settle on me. In a feminine but clearly robotic voice filled with discordant cheer, it speaks.
"Greetings, Pursuer. I am Defender. Awaiting instructions."
"Um. Nice to meet you, Defender. Please, call me Nep."
"Understood, Nep."
"What are you?"
"I am a Defender."
"What kind of machine are you?"
She hesitates. "A Defender."
ACE> I love her.
"I don't know anything about Defenders. What can you do?"
"I will protect and serve you however you command. I am capable of executing simple tasks and complex commands. However, my primary purpose is for combat assistance. I can attack with my own body as well as ClearTech force propulsions, utilize CyanTech to repair myself and other machines, impede enemy movements toward you, or deflect attacks from hitting you. In addition, I will monitor with advanced sensors for any sign of threat, scan for potential dangers or other robotics, and alert you in advance if there are hazards in the area. This is the extent of my ability. Please, utilize it well."
"Hm. How can I say no to any of that?"
She happily says, "You would be foolish to do so!"
ACE> I love her!
"How should I refer to you?"
"However you choose to do so."
"Are you alright with being a she?"
"Affirmative, Nep. I am now a she."
I don't think the Defender will understand the question I'm trying to ask, so I move on. "Do you have any sort of directive or goal?"
"Protecting you, Nep, is my directive and my goal."
"Okay. When not in combat, do you have any sort of default behaviors?"
"I will accompany you at all times unless you tell me to do otherwise. If you require my assistance for tasks such as cleaning, repair work, or observation, I am willing and able to assist in these areas as well. What do you require of me, Nep? Awaiting instructions."
I pause to consider. I want to get back out there into the wastes and see what more I can find. It's early in the morning, so we have plenty of time to venture out and search for materials, weapons, or upgrades.
"Please, accompany me."
"Of course, Nep."
"You'll need a name too. Defender is too impersonal. Hm… Oh, I have a great idea. Tune. Your name is Tune."
ACE> You cannot be serious.
"Yes, Nep. I am Tune."
ACE> Nep Tune? You think you're funny?
"I'm ingenious. Nep, Tune, and Taser. There's nothing that could stop us, is there, Tune?"
"Realistically, there are many things that could stop us!"
"Let's make sure they don't. Are you outfitted for the cold?"
"Yes. My construction is resistant to extremely low temperatures, to a minimum of negative one hundred degrees centigrade."
"We won't be out in weather like that, not if we can avoid it. Do you know where you came from? Who sent your blueprints to me?"
"I am afraid I do not have that information available."
ACE> Damn. Good try though.
"Come on, Tune, I need to get dressed and ready. We'll introduce you to the others."
"Understood. One moment."
She stands up, just around my height, and her mechanical bones suddenly start to excrete quicksilver. Liquid mercury pours out all around her and then somehow takes shape on its own and solidifies into the form of a female human. Her silver coating is smooth and featureless, and her face is a flat mask with her cyan eyes showing through as two blinking ovals.
"I am prepared for operations," she announces. "Following you as commanded, Nep."
Curious, I tap a finger on her shoulder to find it solid. "Is this mercury?"
"Yes. My external chassis coating is an elemental composition containing mostly mercury, frozen solid by my internal systems to form an extremely durable outer shell. I am strongly resistant to all forms of physical damage. Including firearms."
"Defender," I nod, admiring our new friend. "This just keeps getting better."
ACE> Almost too good to be true…
Gesturing for her to follow, I ping Taser to join us and bring Tune around the interior forest, heading straight for Quentin's workshop so he can check her out. He's there already mulling over hardware inventory. So involved in that, he doesn't notice our arrival until I announce my presence with a soft knock on the workbench. He looks up, tablet reflecting off his glasses, then stares.
"You got it working."
"I did. She sounds capable. I'm eager to see what she can do."
With a hesitant frown, he responds, "Bring her over here. Let me take a look and run some diagnostics. Don't want any surprises with a machine like this."
"Sure. Tune, go ahead."
"Yes, Nep." She climbs onto a workbench and lays down. "Preparing diagnostics. Access permitted. Retracting portions of external shell to provide access to the proper ports."
Her quicksilver skin melts in a few places, disappearing inward and showing her black skeleton once again in those areas. This Defender MI of ours is fascinating. Quentin goes through a few checks on his tablet, bringing over a few other machines and tools to give her a full metric review. When he's done he leans against a table, arms crossed.
"Well. Nothing to it. No secret malware, no surveillance uplinks, no malicious executables. She's fit as a damn fiddle."
"You sound disappointed."
"I don't know where Ace got these plans," he reminds me, scratching his head. "I don't suppose you do?"
"No. I still haven't gotten through all of her data."
"Well, alright. What I can tell you is whatever this bot here says is the truth. It's the genuine article. Here to help, so I gather. Why and how, I suppose, remains to be seen. In any case, it's safe for your utility, Nep. You'll be fine out there with it at your side."
"Excellent. I'm taking my first venture out now."
"Really? Where to?"
"I'm interested in the bunkers."
ACE> 01111001 01100101 01110011
"You sure you're ready for that, kid?"
"I have more friends with me. We'll be careful."
"Shit. Alright. Finding the bunkers might be difficult though."
Tune responds, "I come equipped with ground penetrating radar capabilities."
"There you have it," he says, gesturing at her. "Just know those bunkers are dangerous. All of Cipher is, but we've found documents alluding to some of the old military compounds being trapped and rigged to blow. If you find one and get in, keep your eyes wide open, kid. Don't go dying so soon after we got you back."
"Thanks Quentin, I will be careful."
Placing my chassis parts back on, I magnetize them to my chest, back, and legs, then do the same with my lightweight armor plating. The weight of it all is slightly unfamiliar now, but I still feel plenty agile. Maybe not light as a feather, but light as cotton. Strapping up the cube case backpack, I check my guns and load my pistol magazine, magnetizing it to my hip like always.
I think I'm ready. "Tune, ready?"
"Yes, Nep, I am ready."
"Taser?"
"Tweet-twoo!"
ACE> Tweet-twoo!
"See you when we get back," I say to Quentin, and he waves as I go. Crossing over to Louis's storefront, I call his name as I approach. "Batteries side quest, right? For more L-Credits?"
"Ha! You wish," he laughs, setting his tablet aside. "Ace flooded me with batteries. I have those for days. At this point? Flashlights and books. Zoya gets cranky when she has nothing to read. Also! Paracord! Seriously. Paracord. Henna needs more. I need more. We all need more paracord."
"I'll keep an eye out. Thanks. By the way, Louis, meet Tune. She's the Defender MI that Ace built."
"You think you can just slip that one past me?" he snickers, head shaking. "Nep and Tune? You think you're so clever, don't you?"
"I sure do. Oh, what's that over there?"
When he looks, I swipe his tablet off the table and walk away.
It's fine. The case is shock resistant.
"Hey! What? What was that? What are you, a cat? Get back here, robot!"
Laughing to myself, I call over my shoulder, "Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."
ACE> Okay, I approve of that. You are like a cat, lightfoot.
nEPI-0107> Meow.
ACE> LOL
The airlock evens out. With Taser and Tune at my side, I step into the cold once more. My first time since arriving here at the Station. It's a frigid negative sixty, and the wind is awfully strong today, with some light flurries that restrict visibility to maybe a kilometer or less. Not blinding by any means, but not clear either.
Setting my rifle on my back, I check the map raster.
A few kilometers West toward the mountains, there are a few markers Zenith placed indicating potential entrances to bunkers. The one he has marked in green as BEP-GD-7 looks like the closest. Taking that one down, I transmit its location to my own onboard, bringing up the location indicator in my optic feed. A green arrowhead shape pointing downward, its designation above it with my distance away just beneath.
ACE> Shit, I didn't know we could do that! Quest marker!! xD
"Three and a half klicks," I mutter to myself and Ace. "Any ideas on how to traverse the snow?"
ACE> 0. I got lucky and it was mostly frozen when I was moving around. I'm disconnecting from your sensory input so I don't have to feel the cold. Ha. Loser.
"You irk me sometimes."
ACE> You love it ;)
It's good that she's disconnected from my sensory input, or she might feel the flutter in my chest at those words. Damn it. Since when does Ace flirt? She's supposed to be dense. Does she even realize that was flirtatious?
I ignore her, moving on.
"Nep!" Henna calls out from my left, waving me over. Zenith is with her.
I go to join them, both near to the dome's wall as Henna works on repairing something. A few parts and pieces are scattered around in the snow, and it looks like an air unit is the subject of maintenance this time. She's fixing an intake fan, I'm guessing, though I have no real idea if I'm right.
"Hi," I say to them with a short wave. "What's going on? Do you need me for something?"
"Hm?" Henna lifts her head. "No, I just wanted to say hi! Who's this? The new MI?"
"Yes. Meet Tune. My newest companion. She's a Defender MI."
"Nep and Tune, huh?" Henna laughs her bubbling laugh. "That's good! I like it! Nice to meet you, Tune! I'm Henna."
"Hello, Homesteader! I am Tune."
"That's mercury, isn't it?" Zenith asks her. "Mercury plating? Damn near indestructible in these temperatures, isn't it?"
"Yes, Zodiac Trooper. My armor is resistant to most forms of physical attack."
Even she recognizes him as a Zodiac Frame, not a Pursuer. I want to ask him more about that, but not now. I want to explore.
He gives me a glance over. "You're going out there, soldier?"
"I am. I want to look for some upgrades. What do you know about these underground bunkers? I have one marked which I'm about to go look into."
"You're going to die again. You're not ready for that."
ACE> Tell him to fuck off.
"Please don't start," Henna whines. "I hate when you two fight."
I'm not about to argue. "Okay, Zenith. Thanks for the warning. What do you suggest?"
"Oh. Okay. That's unexpected." He frowns down at me, puzzled. "I'm coming with you."
ACE> 0.
"That works for me. Taser, Tune, and I are happy for the help." Both Frames look floored, and Ace has shut up now, so I move on. "I'm concerned I'd be taking up your time or inhibiting you from your duties, however."
"I've done my morning rounds. I've been meaning to scout the area I'm thinking of anyway. Don't worry about it. You're looking at GD-7, right? I haven't gone into that one. I'm not certain what's down there."
"Let's check it out, then. I'm ready when you are."
Henna lets out a heavy sigh. "Just don't get yourselves blown up, either of you. Nep, you're too young to die. Zenith, you're too old to die. So make sure you watch for those traps. I'll be sad if either of you come back hurt…"
"We'll be careful," I assure her. "I know Ace was a bit of a hothead, but I'm much more cautious."
"Thank Turing for that," Zenith grumbles. "She was terrible about getting herself into shit."
ACE> …
"Don't say that," Henna responds, hands on her hips. "Ace was bold, but she wasn't careless. You weren't exactly offering your help like you are now, either."
ACE> Hennaaaaa <333
"That's true," he admits, locking eyes with me. "I've got your back, soldier. I won't let anything happen to you."
"Nor I you. Nor Tune either of us, isn't that right?"
"My directive is to defend you and no one else. However, I can provide the Zodiac Trooper with limited assistance if you would like me to."
"Please add Zenith to your protections."
"Query: who are you referring to, Nep? The Zodiac Trooper, correct?"
"Yes. Please refer to him as Zenith, not Zodiac. Cover me first, but if he needs help, please don't hesitate."
"Understood, Nep. The changes have been made. Zenith has been added to my protections, marked third priority."
"Huh? Who's second?"
"DD-MAUS-22."
"Who–What?"
"Tweet-twoo!"
"Oh! That's Taser! Change her name to Taser in your system, please." I give Zenith a coy look. "I think there's some measure of Ace's righteous vengeance to leaving you as a third priority. Taser is, after all, much more important to us."
ACE> 1!!
"Yeah, yeah, I'll take it," he snickers.
"Okay then. Let's go, team. Taser, come on girl."
She cheeps and buzzes around, blinking green. The four of us depart, saying goodbye to Henna before passing through town and into the snowy wasteland heading toward the towering mountains.
"Here," Zenith says when the snow gets deeper. He casts some kind of Technomancy on me with the touch of a hand, then does the same thing for himself. "An L1 CyanTech called Featherfooted. A necessity around here. It's integrated in my Serial line."
I take another step and find that the surface of the light snow is rock solid. My leg points don't sink in at all. "Damn. That's useful. I hope Louis has a Cylinder for that."
"He might. Come on."
I take particular note that Ace says nothing.
The three of us and my two drones seek out new horizons, yet untouched by Ace in her initial runtime. Despite my wary sense of caution, I'm more than eager to see what lies ahead.