Seo sat in deep contemplation, both hands clasped together as he gently rested his head on the interlocked fingers. His hooded cloak billowed as he did his best to stabilize his emotional state. He sat in silence for a while before giving Ajax instructions:
“Switch to Combat Form.”
“Action unadvised,” the white sphere seemed to almost physically recoil.
“I’m going to need him soon,” I countered.”
“Nevertheless…” the AI, of all things, appeared to hesitate, “that is…”
“I found a way off-world,” I said as I gestured my head in a certain direction.
Ajax immediately activated the suit’s built-in scanners at full throttle, finally recognizing the rapidly growing blip on the horizon as a vessel. I continued: “And looking at the situation, it’s likely I’m going to need to kill more than few people.”
“Very well,” Ajax finally compromised.
The white circle stopped its endless rotation and paused for a moment before shivering and turning red, sporting a zigzag pattern line that acted as a mouth. I watched, unable to contain my faint amusement at what I expected to come.
Xaja paused for a moment – looking around conspiratorially – before hurling an avalanche of curses: “我操，我， 卧槽，卧草，妈了个巴子，阿西吧 …”
I chuckled lightly before questioning:
“And why exactly did you feel the need to curse in the Ancient Qing language?”
Xaja clicked his tongue as if it were obvious: “I was simply expressing my deep respect and admiration for the sheer breadth of a language that allows one to express the same thing in so many different ways.”
“Uhuh,” I agreed noncommittally.
“And who or what exactly were you cursing out so eloquently?”
“Uh everything duh,” Xaja interjected, “Do you know what it like spending 500 years frozen with that infuriating bastard. On top of I haven’t been able to kill anyone. I was so bored I thought I was going to die,” he whined.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Yes. That is just the way. If the calm and composed Ajax was holistic ‘Support’, then the unhinged Xaja’s could be described with one word ‘Violence.’ The AI focused on facilitating combat effectiveness and had appropriately biased protocols and directives. He had, however, developed a personality quirk or two – mainly his relentless bloodthirst…
…as for who groomed Xaja’s ‘unique’ personality *cough* *cough* those questions are best left to the manufacturer.
I then steeled my gaze as I sat up, preparing to engage:
“Alright, enough. I am going to face at least a couple of hundred enemies. So focus.”
Xaja’s endless blabbering hitched as he froze before the projection turned to face the horizon, manifesting illusory arms raised in a silent cry of exaltation and joy.
///
Their cruiser barreled at breakneck speeds, rapidly closing in on the mountain range before them. The squadrons had all returned and had nearly fully completed the evacuation procedure. Amos and his unit stood quietly in the hangar awaiting further instructions. The ship shook with a metallic groan, struck by a wayward particle blast.
Moira processed the various flashing indicators and the status reports at a frenzied speed. She had taken manual control of the ship’s piloting, strafing through gaps in the fractured wreckages of vessels that dwarfed her own in size. They were protected from an orbital bombardment – for now.
Finally, the evacuation order was complete. Moira immediately dispersed the few remaining staff, ordering them to retreat before bringing the ship to a screeching halt. She sprinted to the hangar before boarding an assault ship that housed Amos and his men. Moira opened the communication channel as she gave her final directive:
“Attention all crew members. You are to immediately disperse in random directions. Your goal? Hide and stall for as long as possible to allow the combat unit to face a splintered enemy force.”
“I will assign encryption codes to each team personally – set refresh rates to maximum tolerance.”
Moira then assigned a different fifteen-digit number to each of the hundred or so groups of fighters. The number would serve as the decryption key to access the team’s communication network and location. At least in the short term, the enemy wouldn’t break through their cloaking.
‘Hopefully. I’ve bought enough time.” Moira thought as her gaze flashed with worry.
///
The Marzan quickly alighted at the beacon’s location. They floated in triangular formation a few hundred meters above the stationary scavenger vessel. Kafri wore a puzzled expression as battlefield updates rolled in:
“Vessel shows no response to probing fire.”
“Scans show no lifeforms above.”
Kafri addressed the signal expert, double-checking the result:
“Probability?”
“Near-absolute certainty.”
‘Hmmm,’ she pondered as she studied the personal file before her. ‘Moira Rayznak – scavenger vessel commander – 5 years,’ she read through the intelligence, nothing particularly jumping out at her.
‘Either she has a high innate strategist talent or…the information provided in the file is either severely outdated or shallow,’ she calmly assessed.
She stared at the display tracking, which painted countless trajectories spreading out from the center of the vessel like a chaotic ripple. Kafri analyzed ‘She is decisive and cunning – she has effectively neutralized our direct confrontation firepower.’
‘The only viable option is ground assault … guerilla warfare – interesting.’
‘Humph,’ she snorted as a malevolent grin tore her face in half.
‘I was worried this was going to be boring but looks like I get to have some fun.’
Kafri’s gaze immediately sharpened, and her expression distorted with an almost aroused level of interest. She flexed her muscles before relaxing her four arms—a pre-warfare preparation ritual. Kafri’s joints gave out an audible popping sound. She was ready.
The commander immediately gave out orders while coordinating with the captains of the other two vessels. The ships began to descend as Kafri’s voice rang out resolutely, “Prepare for ground assault.”
‘I hope you will be able to entertain me a little more…
‘…And I hope you won’t falter to quickly.’
Just as those words were spoken, an invisible aura seemed to flood the space around her immediately as her eyes began to blaze with purple ethereal flames.
After all, Kafri hadn’t sensed any sublimated lifeform signatures, and she was no longer mortal. No, she had already taken the first step beyond:
Rank 1’ – ‘Awakened.’
Epithet – ‘One who has opened the door to the Source.’
