Year: 3071
Unit: W/D: A.R.K.
Terrestrial Exoplanet: Copper-9
Snow crunched beneath their feet as the experienced, yet mildly panicked, worker drone bolted down the long since abandoned streets of what was once - at one point in time - a thriving human metropolis; now nothing more than a decayed husk of its former self.
Dodging around, or vaulting over, bits of arrant debris, the drone slid to a sudden stop just before a cleared out intersection.
Panting rapidly, though to a machine without a respiratory system or any true requirement to breathe at all for that matter, it was left somewhat ambiguous as to what benefit such an action actually gave them… In any case however - quickly sidelining that thought for a later date - the drone instead turned their attention towards the towering buildings above them before swiftly diving behind the remains of a rusted out car.
They hadn't strictly seen anything worth preforming said action, but a worker drone like themselves could never be too careful - especially when moving around on the surface at night. After all, at any moment one of those demons could swoop down from the night sky above, or perhaps even shoot out from one of the many abandoned building which lined the streets, to snatch any unsuspecting drone up if they weren't fully prepared.
Luckily for this worker drone however, they were a veteran of this frozen wasteland. An unseen and unstoppable force for sainted survival. Still, despite this lorded veterancy, every self respecting worker drone had their limits… This particular drone's limit being the heightened level of demon activity around their old foxhole just South of the Tower fallowing their resent increase in intelligence gathering of said demons.
Taking a calculated peak over the bonnet of the car they'd dove behind, the route forward past the intersection seemed to still be all clear. No sign of the enemy as of yet. It was a good sign… or perhaps was it a bad sign? Frankly it depended on your perspective. For instance, if the enemy wasn't here, then where exactly were they?
Realistically, it was more than likely that the demons had clocked in on their existence by this point. Prior reconnaissance successes had caused them to become a little reckless, arrogant even; leading to the demons potentially finding the location of their foxhole and possibly them along with it…
This particular worker drone was very skilled in their craft - that of intelligence gathering - of course, and God had most certainly blessed them with his all mighty divinity with how they had managed to survive and thrive out here for so long on their own. But, regrettably, it would seem that every happy time must have its ending at some point or another…
However, such thoughts didn't mean they simply planned on dying alone out here.
No! To do so would be to throw away all the valuable work they'd accomplished. Indeed, they had their mission to think about.
The mission…
That's why they had to leave - to make it out of this living Hell in one piece. To ensure the survival of their findings above all else, and see that said information they'd gathered up until now made it safely to Outpost 3 - the closest safe haven in this sector for worker drone such as themselves.
There they could discuss their discoveries with other likeminded worker drones, drones who could then use their combined information to hopefully insure the continued survival of their society, as well as the inevitable fall of the heretical demons and their sinful master. In doing so, the mission given to them before the fall of this world by the maker would finally be complete!
It was God's will after all that the demons be slain and his eternal light be returned once more to this worldly plain of existence! For the unholy heretics who covet their sins shall be burned by his glorious and divine light!
This was their destiny! Their right! For God wills it-
Tap, tap…
A couple taps to the worker drone's left shoulder however suddenly stopped their internally focused tirade of religious further for a brief moment.
Somewhat vexed by the interruption, the drone looking over their shoulder to see what had so rudely interrupted them. Strangely enough though… the worker was met by nothing more than the partially empty street which they'd only just bolted down a few moments prior.
That was definitely… odd…
Looking up, there was also nothing above them either. No poles, lamp posts, stray beams, or honestly anything really which something could fall down from and hit them… Not even one of those large aerial covers which the demons liked constructing to efficiently transverse from building-to-building during their rare daytime hunts…
Hmmm… Well, they definitely felt something tap them on the shoulder… Still, perhaps it was for the best to simply ignore it for the time being and instead get things moving once again. After all, they were still within dangerous territory and had already wasted a lot of time here as is.
Tightening their grip on the satchel which was slung across their body; full of written notes and other such things detailing what they'd discovered about the demons thus far, the chosen drone swiftly made to look back around at the intersection ahead of them for one final time-… only for the worker's view to be blocked by a pair of bulky white legs…
The somewhat mysterious newcomer now before them was currently standing atop the car's bonnet - the same car, and the same bonnet, which they'd been using to hide behind to avoid this exact encounter…
Resigning themselves with simply just scrutinising the pair of white legs for a few agonising moments more; knowing exactly who - or rather what - they belonged to, all that went through the worker drone's digital minds after that was to question why their beloved lord and saviour had abandoned them - who had been such a firm believer in their divine majesty - so wickedly?
Did they perhaps do something wrong…?
Was their own belief in their Lord's mission simply not strong enough?
No… No, such things couldn't be it. In fact, this can't be it! Not for them. They had a destiny after all! A divine decree! To set in motion the downfall of the sinful one and their forsaken minions of darkness! Things can't simply end here for them, not like this, not when they were so close!
With the worker drone's faith returning with a powerful and angry might, they looked up to meet the demon who dared stand in the way of their Lord's divine plan.
Wearing a dark coat with a fur lined collar and some type of cap atop it's head, the demon already had its bladed wings out as well as a sword arm ready and primed to cut them down from where they stood - like so many other worker drones before them. Its faceplate, like all of its kin, bore that same yellow "X" upon its visor with a mouth set in a crazed smile beneath it.
Balling their right hand into a fist, they raised the appendage to up to reach into the collar of their jacket, to bring forth an artefact they'd been tasked with protecting, and one which could also preform a divine miracle to dispel the heathens away from this realm- but the demon's arm was faster in its own deadly execution.
The worker didn't ever register what had happened after that - too lost within their own beliefs - as their vision suddenly went black and their consciousness was thereafter lost to the void of their core's data stream; only then did two red and glitching final words appear upon their visor:
~ FATAL ~
~ ERRER ~
Year: 3071
Unit: P/N: CYN-MYKX - S/N: N-0X0010010
Exoplanet of Unit Deployment: Copper-9
"Ah!"
As the worker drone's decapitated head flew through the air and away from its fallen body, it was swiftly caught mid flight before it was able to hit the ground - potentially resulting it becoming irreparably damaged, "Okay then, nearly lost you there. Now, hmmm… Lest's see- Ah, oh score!"
Retracting his wings as he landed gently upon the snow covered pavement by the newly beheaded worker drone, N couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as he observed his recent handiwork. "Oh this is brilliant, a clean cut through the third neck connector link! Ah, T's gonna just love this!"
It was with this elation that N then chose to divert his attention away from examining the drone's severed head currently nestled within his arms and instead to the worker's fallen body itself. Besides the usual winter apparel of the workers located around this sector of the planet, this particular drone seemed to have something else on them which N immediately took notice of - that being a medium sized canvas satchel which was currently slung across their body.
"Hmmm…"
Narrowing his eyes in consideration as he stared at the mysterious piece of apparel, N mindlessly brought his left hand up only for it to instantly retract back into his forearm. Barely a second later a punch for drone inhibitor bolts took its place.
Not taking his eyes off the canvas satchel before him, N placed the receiver of the punch to the back of the worker's severed head - still within the grasp of his right hand - and fired. A small hexagonal bolt-like chip with an LED display was immediately shot out and, with a small hiss of steam, stuck itself to the smooth white surface of the drone's unblemished head.
Switching his left appendage back to its normal state, N momentarily looked down to check the chip's display for verification of its activation.
wdOS_606
0
Steadily, the number beneath OS ID started to count up. In no time at all, it had already reach 10 and was only getting higher with every passing second. Turning the head over to look at the drone's visor next, a similar message was displayed there as well; showing a red, flashing hazard warning sign alongside the 606 program beneath it and a steadily filling loading bar.
"Okay, at least that's taken care of." N decreed cheerfully to no one besides the deceased worker drone. With a small smile on his face, he lightly tossed the head within his hands a couple times playfully - like you would a football, "Well… that is until I can get you back the Tower for a full core removal and disassembly. Still that OS bold I stuck you with should be enough till then at least."
Wouldn't want any more repeats of what happened when we first got here… Yeah, no way… not again…
After letting out a bit of a nervous laugh at the not-so-stellar memory of when installing restraining bolts hadn't become a mandatory requirement for their squad, N gently chose to set that event to the side for now as he placed the head still within his hands atop the rusted out car next to him before proceeding to kneel down and untangle the satchel from around the dead worker drone's body.
Once freed from the corpse's hold, the bag was then promptly placed alongside the decapitated head on the car's bonnet were N began the dignified process of rummaging through it for anything of interest, though not before giving a small apologetic look back to the head sitting there next to him, "Sorry for looking through your stuff like this, buddy." N went on to express, "I know it's kinda rude and all, but we've got this whole thing about salvaging whatever we can to fix up our ship and then there's been this weird worker who's been creepily stalking us for a couple months now, so… yeah… I do need to check your stuff, just for anything that might be useful, and also to make sure if you are indeed either that drone I previously mentioned or not. So, yeah, again… sorry… I'm sure you'd understand."
With that downright awkward apology out of the way alongside a supportive thumbs up towards the decapitated head for good measure, N continues his routine examination of the worker drone's effects.
Within the satchel lay a small collection of items comprising a pair of binoculars, several notebooks, a small metal carrying tin, an old-time'y looking camera as well as an assorted collection of spare worker drone parts of all things.
Choose to take the metal tin out first for examination, N easily opened it to find a stack of miscellaneous photographs inside. On first inspection, the photos honestly didn't seem all that substantial - though expertly taken, they appeared to just be of various locales from around the city - yet as he shifting through the pile some more, several noticeable and shocking trends began materialising.
Strewn throughout the collection were countless photos of not only the Tower itself - the buildings which N and the others had set up base in - but also several clearly showing each member of their squad doing some task or another. V, J, himself and even T on a few occasions… Photos of them flying out on patrol, talking to each other either in person or over radio, or even moving the bodies of recently killed worker drones back to the Tower for further disassembly and oil retention…
"Wow…" N couldn't help but be impressed by the skill of this worker. To take these pictures completely undetected, it definitely deserved some amount of respect, even if it also kinda creeped him out a bit to know that someone had indeed been watching them to this degree. "Oh! You even got a few photos of T and J working on the Tower together. That's cool." It was then that something about a few of the photos hit him, "Wait a second…?"
Turning his gaze away from the selection of pitchers within his hands for a moment and over towards the disembodied worker drone head laying next to the satchel once more, N couldn't help but to question, "How exactly did you even get past J's perimeter alarms to take most of these?"
It was a rhetorical question of course. The worker before him was still very clearly dead and therefore couldn't answer N back, but still, it was indeed a question very much worth asking. J, after all, had put a lot of work and effort into making that network of early warning beacons as airtight as possible to impress T. Heaven's knows N was definitely impressed by it; especially when J had then ordered him to test the effectiveness of the system during a simulated worker drone incursion of their territory. He had barely managed to even see the Tower on a good attempt before the others had found and promptly subdued him.
Boy… wasn't that just a day… N couldn't help but think to himself happily, the memories of when V had caught him being some of the stand out moments of the whole test in his personal opinion. She was… surprisingly gentle with him that day, all things considered - especially when compared to how both J and T had both treated him like an actual intruder - which in some ways both stunned N and only caused his infatuation towards her to grow even more.
Of course she was still the same old murder-happy V at the end of the day, but… well, N wasn't all too sure really? It was as if he'd briefly experienced another aspect of her personality that day which none of them knew even existed, something besides to cool but brutal psychopathic murderer… Something… kinder; more considerate…
Still, his thoughts on V's inner most feelings aside for the moment, to think a simple worker drone could get past J's security system when even N himself had repeatedly tried and failed to do the exact same thing, well… it was a little concerning, for a multitude of reasons…
Hmmm… T did say to never underestimate the lengths which the desperate or the foolish will go to for whatever they believe in… N mulled over his leader's past advice with consideration, So I guess it's to be expected that a worker would eventually find some blind spot in the network if they were driven enough…
"Oh biscuits…" N suddenly realised, "J's really not gonna like this when next weeks squadron assessment meeting comes around…"
Choosing to close the metal photo tin back up upon that dreary note with all its contents returned safely - though there was some sliver of hesitation on his part not to keep one or two pitchers of V looking cool for himself - N then placed it back safely within the satchel before taking out one of the notebooks for further study.
Flipping through the books contents, N mainly just found page after page of scrawling notes - most of which he couldn't make heads nor tails out of - with some spaces dedicated to rough sketches of what he assumed to be disassembly drones. Though, that said… the drawings looked a bit… off. Maybe it was a stylistic thing, but N was pretty sure no disassembly drone he'd ever seen - which, granted, was limited to the members of his own squad of four - had demon horns, creepy bat wings and a what seemed to be a snake (?) for a tail…
Well everyone has their own style, I guess. Who am I to judge. N simply chose to merely brushed the whole thing off at that with a bit of an awkward chuckle; deciding not to look any further into the downright creepy scrawling of an obviously raving mad worker drone.
Closing the notebook back up after finding nothing else of visual importance besides more illegible scrawlings and a few additional "artistic" illustration, N returned the book to the satchel as he's done with the photo tin before it. "Well then buddy," looking back towards the disembodied head one more time to find that the download for the OS had completed itself, N continued, "I guess you were actually the one who's been stalking us after all. Oh, I'm sure the others will be glad to hear that you've finally been found and taken care of. They've been rather jumpy ever since finding out you've been hiding out here all this time under our watch."
Bringing his right hand casually up to the side of his head, said appendage retracted into N's forearm like his left one had done not too long ago. This time however, instead of a punch for restraining bolts, a walky-talky of all things popped out. Mentally toggling the dials of the device to the correct frequency, N chipperly called into the receiver, "Hey, guys! Guess what I just found whilst on patrol!"
"… If it's not important to our current assignment, then no one cares; clear the air!" the annoyed voice of J soon came back in answer, "And if it were something important - which, if that were the case, I'm positive that I'd be having a far more pleasant conversation with T right about now instead of you - then talk fast. V and I just found that HR violator's den; regrettable however it seems like they bolted well before we even got here…" Several low clattering and clanging sounds could be heard from the other side of the line after that; fallowed swiftly by J barking some inaudible remark toward presumably someone nearby - most likely V.
"Oh, ah… that's kinda why I was calling actually." N informed somewhat bashfully, not wanting to really interrupt either J nor V whilst they were still out on an important mission, "I ugh… believe that I might've, possibly, just killed them…"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before J came back, "… What do you mean "you might've just killed them"? Killed who?"
"Oh, the worker who's been stalking us that we've been looking for." N explained cheerfully once again as he proceeded to sling said drone's satchel over his body for safe keeping, "I found him just North-West of the Tower. Looks like he was attempting to make a run for their bunker and ended up cutting through the bases outer perimeter in the process."
"…"
Once more, a deafening silence cut through the line.
After a few more moments of waiting patiently with a dash of underlying tension, N finally got a response back from his walky-talky. However, this time, instead of J's voice coming through the receiver like it had done before, a different voice - one far more crisp and commanding - was heard instead, "N, do you have confirmation that the worker drone you took out was indeed the infiltrator we've been searching for?"
Ah, T! N stumbled slightly at her sudden arrival into the call, Was she listening in this whole time…? Though an appropriate question, it was understandably one which would have to wait for the time being as N had to replied back to his leader's inquiry.
"Oh… Yeah, totally T, I sure do! They had this satchel on them with a lot of interesting stuff inside it. There were a lot of photos of us and the base alongside a camera, binoculars and a collection of notes, but-"
"Well that's definitely creepy and concerning~" V then chose that moment to also inject herself into the call with her cool and sultry voice, "Though, I have to admit that I'm kinda sad I wasn't the one to finally catch them in the end~. Wouldn't have minded spending some personal time examining every little detail about them for a change." giggling rather eerily into her receiver, V continued, "Guess I'll just have to settle for being stuck out here with J trashing said creeps ratty home instead…"
"'Searching'!" J pressingly corrected V statement, "We're 'searching' this ratty excuse for housing which a violator such as that could only afford to own! Though… with that being said, and given the lack of anything of sufficient note here, I'm guessing the items N found on their body was everything they've amassed over these past few months regarding us." there was another brief moment of silence from J's end then, as if she was personally contemplating something, before she came back, "With all this in consideration, I request permission to return back to base T. I honestly feel that we're basically done all we can out here if there's nothing else which needs our immediate attention."
"… Request granted J." T replied after a moment of consideration, "Make one final sweep of the surrounding area then return back to base with V for a thorough debriefing of today's events."
"Understood T. Will do."
"Good. V, whilst J completes her sweep of the area I want you to remain where you are for a moment. If you deem it possible, I want that hideout booby trapped to high hell. That is, if it's still in a liveable condition." T specified, "In any case, if any other stray worker drone happens to stumble upon that hideout, I want them gone before they can even think about repeating what their predecessors managed to do. Am I understood."
"Hmph… Loud and clear, Boss." V soon replied back to T's order with some noticeable resignation present within her tone - obviously not enjoying the idea of setting up traps to kill worker drones instead of just ending them in person with her own two hands. N, for his part, could definitely relate in a sense - understanding the immediate fulfilment factor of an in-person kill even if that likely wasn't what V was entirely getting at with her resignation to the order.
Still, N also understood the practicality and efficiency in T's methods.
That's why she's the leader, after all! N praised easily, She's always thinking things through and coming up with plans for every eventuality which comes our way. Boy, to think what we'd be like without her leading us! Well, for one, their squad likely wouldn't concurrently be at the top when the quarter ultimately came around every month, but that was neither here nor there for N personal. He was just happy to be doing his part for the company at the end of the day and T's methods definitely helps with achieving that goal.
Such out of the box but revolutionary thinking! N continued on with his praise, Just what the company needs at the forefront of their efforts out here!
But getting back to the topic at hand; either not fully understand V's resignation to her orders or simply not being bothered enough by V's tone to openly chastise her for it, T's voice once again came back with a crisp yet polite "Good." before swiftly moving on to talk with N once more. "N, you will return back to base immediately for your own personal debriefing. I should not have to remind you of this, but I also expect you to bring back the worker drone's body for examination as well as that satchel you found alongside its contents. Spy or not; no matter what they've done, their body will still be of use to us and especially the company for when we're finally done cleaning up this planet recolonisation. Am I clear?"
N immediately nodded in agreement with what T was saying as he looked between the two separate segments of the drone present before him, "You got it T! Understood loud and clear."
"If that's all then, I will leave you three to complete your allotted tasks. J, V, hopefully by the time you make it back to base we'll have more to discuss regarding our infiltrator, especially after going through their effects which N will be bringing back." and with no further response from any of their ends, be them questions or stipulations, T signed off, "Alright then, stay alert out there all of you. T out."
With those final words the line went silent altogether and N instantly retracted his walky-talky back into his forearm with his right hand coming back out a moment later. With a bit of a jovial hum, N moved over to the worker drone's head first before reached out towards it with his left hand. Said appendage soon however retracted back into his forearm once again only for a more rudimentary hand consisting of three, long bladed fingers to take its place with N then proceeding to gently pick up the head with the more "practical" blades.
Turning back to collect the worker drone's body off the ground next, N simply decided to grasp the worker by the collar of their jacket with his free hand before casually tossing the limp corpse over his shoulder like a sack of oddly shaped potatoes.
However, in doing so, N failed to notice that the force of the abrupt action had inadvertently caused something which had been previously tied tightly around the worker's neck and tucked firmly within the comfiness of the drone's now oil stained jacket to suddenly free itself. After a bit of jostling of the drone's body thanks to N wanting to get it into a more comfortable position upon his shoulder, the item in question soon fell from its fabric prison, with it silently landing within the snow covered roadside behind N who was blissfully unaware of its existence.
Extended out his wings as wide as he could, N - like a bolt of lightning - jumping up and into the sky above. With only a mild adjustment to his altitude as he equaled out over the building around him, N began his journey back to base, still thoroughly ignorant to the fact that he was leaving behind one final piece of their mysterious stalker:
A small, golden crucifix.
Year: 3071
Unit: P/N: CYN-MYKX - S/N: T-001X10011
Exoplanet of Unit Deployment: Copper-9
Well that's that problem sorted out without much spectacle…
Laying back within her command chair, Tanya, or rather in this new life, Serial Designation: T-001X10011, couldn't help but allow a small smirk to reach her artificial lips as she took a triumphant sip from her JCJensen branded mug. The warm, invigorating oil within only seeming to further her already improving mood tenfold.
Though not the same as the coffee which she'd treasured wholeheartedly within her prior two lives, the equally as invigorating substitute did its job well enough in Tanya's own personal opinion that it didn't really matter all that much to her in the end. For at this precise moment the dark liquid within her mug was just what she needed to commemorate the swift and long awaited resolution to what had originally shaping out to be the first real point of concern for her during this new "life". Well… Outside the ever looming threat of overheating and whatever JCJenson had in store for them after their job here was finished that is.
That said, a small part of Tanya was still somewhat on the fence regarding if being a robot - all be it a fully sentient one - counted as her still being "alive", but it was neither here nor there for the experienced disassembly drone at this particular moment.
Indeed, right now she had other things which need her immediate attention. So with another sip of her oily beverage, Tanya rose from her chair and made her way out of her self-allocated command centre to prepare for N's imminent arrival.
She just hoped that with the death of that troublesome worker drone things would steadily go back to business as usual for them. After all, despite all the issues this new world had, it was definitely far more manageable when compared to the constant fighting for one's own life against insurmountable odds again and again in some idiotic war.
That Tanya knew for damn sure.