| < Incident 02a | < Incident 02b > | Incident 03 > |
--- #### = Visual confirmation. The defective unit has the target objective in my sector. Waiting for orders.
/// > Establishing comms from ####
--- #### = ...
--- #### = Understood. Deploying remote units is advised. Permission to deploy remote units at my location?
--- #### = ...Yes sir.
/// > Objective updated - Eliminate defective unit and extract the objective target / Objective target must remain intact
// Deploying remote units, proceed to deploy translocation beacon
--- #### = Engaging.
I'm still in the grass field, still going - far from the floating island I need to get there, and, goddammit, I didn't expect it to rain that hard, I couldn't see or hear anything for a mile. Fortunately, Gary can transmit over my radio that my visor has this, as well as filtered noises and an interface to see it more clearly from a distance.
"Updated... This system indicated that this technology belongs to ours, and this system speculated to whoever controlling the Sleepers must have used them to gather these samples of our technology, thus the recognition of this system's scanning and the employment of these samples against everything they encounter," Gary informed suddenly.
"Okay? I thought you guys had these fail-safe measures to plan for this?" I questioned.
"We are. Yet some of the classified samples were bypassed by intrusive sources, thankfully, they stole a few of the samples but, sadly, these include the other anomalies that the personnel contained in some other facilities," it says. "But you have done your test and are familiar with your platform system for your own advantage, personnel," Gary adds.
"Do you think my gear is one of those?" I ask.
"Plausible. This system will run another scan and will evaluate and identify this system's remaining data. Please wait," Gary replies before it went quiet, focusing on its job as usual. It definitely made this AI skeptical of the whole "thing" that happened to us.
And, as Gary pointed out, why would they use our technology to do this thing? Whoever is in charge of us knows something about us and is able to knock us down and then turn us all into what we are now. I hope not all of them, wishing that what's left of us would go into hiding, and maybe... They'll sort this all out.
As I walked, I noticed the rain calming down then heard something from behind... It sounded like a - voice, didn't it? .. It started with a few of them, then a lot of them, yet it's still far and muffled by the rain... Then it turned into a fucking angry mob.
"Multiple bio-signatures are approaching at your six, be prepared, personnel," the IAM warned.
I quickly drew my gun and as I turned around to see and-
They are people... There are a lot of them, and they all have those mask things with eyes like mine. Veins swelled up from their masks, and they all appear insane and zombie-ish... Fuck, they were all armed to the teeth as well. And there's no doubt it's them - it's the Sleepers, but this time they've sent them to kill me and take Gary away... but I'm not going to let them take it.
I ran away from them as they started to scream bloody murder. They all start shooting at me, but the bastards didn't hit me very well despite the fact that I didn't have any good cover in the middle of the field except the large boulders from then and there, and still they shower me with bullets all over the place, forcing me to take cover and go ghost which draining my suit's power.
They all shamble towards me, shooting madly at where I hide, and as the boulders slowly chip away with their guns, I flee to another cover, and then another. But I'm running out of cover, and if I'm on an open field, my body will be riddled with holes.
I fired back, but it didn't do jack shit since there are so many of them than I ever could kill. Until one of those pack of "dog" things that look like a human on all fours running across crossfire to bite me, they're trying to force me out of the cover, I shoot them down first but one of them managed to pounce at me to the ground sending me out from the boulder.
"Shit!"
I'm in the open, and then all the bullets are starting to rain down on me, but I keep that fucker at distance with my hand on that thing as it tries to bite my head off. But I had a knife in one of my pouches, and I grabbed it and thrust it into that thing's temple, killing it immediately, then I use it as a meatshield from the stray bullets. I keep it until those guys wear black tactical gear and one of them is carrying... a fucking rocket launcher!
It fired at me, but I had enough time to bail out before it exploded, the blast almost knocked me off my feet, and my shield eventually gave out, then I got hit in the rear, and in retaliation, I shot them back with my rifle, killing anybody in its path.
"Fuck, there are too many of them!" I yell as I fired at them.
This fight feels forever, but I was able to thin their numbers down with well-placed shots while they were all huddled together. But those other things were smart enough to avoid my line of fire and try to flank me, but I spot them what they were doing and killed them as well, leaving only the zombies.
I killed all of them, but, shit, they almost made me run out of ammo, and making more of my stuff will take some time but I doubt I can't with all of them.
"Incoming waves of hostiles, personnel," it warned.
Shit, not now. I just used all of my supplies and still supplying my stuff... They're trying to wear me down with those things. If I keep fighting them, I doubt they'll go away.
"Deploy decoys to divert them away from us." Gary suggests.
"But my suit tells me it's almost running out... but I'll do it," I remarked.
As I did, I hid under the cover, then mustered all of my remaining energy and sent out a double, that didn't harm them much but was enough to draw their attention away from us. Gary was right; there are a lot of them, but they're dumb enough to follow a double since it drives them away to my west instead of north, which is where I'm headed. I'm waiting for this to pass and checking to see if there are any stragglers looking for me.
With the horde gone, I bolted for the next extraction, not waiting for the actual Sleeper to arrive and kill me. I hid by ghosting, and now I'm crossing some obstacles without issue. It appears like the coast is clear.
I made a drone and send it to scout out from my six in case someone tried to chase me down without an alarm.
I kept walking for an hour or so, still moving towards that island... and I can see it, it was getting closer but not close enough to reach the mainland in time for me to go over there, just a couple of kilometers and I'll be climbing up and out of there, hoping no one knows where I'm heading.
I move for about a half-minute before asking Gary, "What really happened back there? Back at Station 107?" Gary took a long time to respond. Not wanting to relive the unpleasant memories.
"As previously said, it remained unclear as to what transpired within the facility; all of the personnel within the facility suddenly went deactivated and then reactivated again, but they turned hostile... with the exception of the Ultimatum Units - and those who are not within the Station 107 are forced to disperse the facility to elsewhere and then commenced the protocol as a response," it says.
Ultimatum units?... I could barely remember those guys.
"Who are they? Are they our friends or something?" I wonder.
"Yes, they are an ancient race that traverses multiple worlds. They were extinct by Anomaly 0 for some time, but the personnel brought them back and decided to assist us in the war," it replied. "And again - those who are involved are killed by surprise... and yet they don't fight back... This system cannot blame them... everyone can't fight them - personnel and Ultimatum alike... It is prohibited against each other so they tried to pacify and in the end... They all died..."
"Were you there before?" I questioned.
"The former personnel who brought this system to Station 107 to assist with informational diagnostics... before the incident occurs," Gary adds.
"How did you wind yourself here?" I said. "Did your owner bring you here?"
"The former personnel sends this system down in a cargo pod... soon after he changes into a Sleeper... and before the facility disperse..." it said. It laments despite it always claims as every IAM are soulless and the tools to serve us but it did and I felt bad about what happened to it.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I apologized.
I couldn't believe how a single station could cause such an incident that ended up in all of this.
"You did say that our guys started killing everyone, right?" I respond.
"They do, but not just to this ontological origin, but everywhere; as of now, they are mining this reality as we speak-"
With just one more step, I dodged at something, and something flew directly in front of my face... then another, but this time I dodged it. Someone on my right is firing at me...
Gary muttered, "Sleeper..." I hope that was a joke, but an AI can't lie... I was praying that one of those zombies would appear out of nowhere.
But I was wrong.
Shit... How did that guy creep up behind me without detecting my drone? But...
Something strange happened to him and his gun... It's shaking... His arms are quivering as though he's attempting to yank it away from me... and then I realized... He's resisting it...
I put my hands up to show him I wasn't going to fight him, "You're awake? I know you can hear me, please fight it," I tried to reach out to him, but he was still pulling his gun away. Then I slowly approach him.
"What are you doing? It is dangerous," Gary says, and it appears that the AI is gobsmacked by what I'm doing.
"Do you think you can wake him up as you did to me?" I asked. "Do you think we can save him?"
"...The probability of reverting the Sleeper is currently at 9.7% in progress."
"Then do it!" I ordered as I got closer to the Sleeper. "Hold on, I'm here to help you," keeping him talking would help him fight it.
"We have to prioritize our extraction, and this system urges you to-"
"Let's deal with him first then we can go - along with him." I cut it off.
"...Understood... Proceeding on to the reversal process... Requiring proximal range to engage." Gary relents, and the procedure begins.
"Hey... We're here to help - hold on." I carefully come closer to him.
"Don't!... Run!"
He talked to me in this radio-like sound but this surprises me.
"...W- what?"
He suddenly side-kicked me in the right ribs, almost knocking me off balance, and then tries to shoot me with his gun, blasting huge nails out of it. And one of his nails shot me in my belly, but my shield saved me, yet it packs a punch to the point I lose my footing, but I quickly gain my balance back then I strike him back by jabbing the Sleeper's helmet so hard that his face shield slightly cracked and he became disoriented for a moment, this is enough for me to get Gary close to him in order to plug him in, I swipe him down to the ground then pinning him so that I won't let him get away.
I bring out Gary to go closer to his eye, but the guy dashed away from me with his jetpack far away to do something...
Then I watched him pull his left arm up, followed by a bright red glow that let out of his strange tendrils thing.
Fuck! He leveled the ground under us, creating a fuck-off earthquake that sent me down to it, and then those tendrils grabbed them and lift them up in the air... Shit... I know now he was forming a kill zone and attempting to smash me with it. And when he does so, he immediately pulls all of the tendrils coming from his left arm down as if they were strings.
"Ah, shit!"
He rains boulders down on me, I'm stuck trying to get out of these massive craters he created.
Chunks after chunks started raining down on me while I dipped and ghosted away trying not to get crushed by the rubble, some of it hit me but the shield protected me, but I doubt it will hold up for long... But I need to bring him closer because I don't want to kill him. I need to knock him out cold, but he won't stop throwing those fucking rocks at me... I continued evading to the point where it causes a lot of dust in this crater, which I used to conceal and eventually climb out of the kill zone...
But then I saw something in the dust... He lobbed something else at me... It's a grenade!
It blew up right in front of me, but it didn't hurt me, instead, it slowed me down. He then appeared in the dust and flew directly at me, punching me in the right side of my visor, causing some cracks from his punch alone, thankfully, the shield that was left took the brunt of his blows for me, but he sends me rolling down to the ground, further away from my extraction point. It was all a sham to let my guard down.
Everything is fuzzy until, as I gain back, I see him flying into the air again and diving down squarely at me... He's about to crush my head beneath his boot.
Out of reflex, I ghosted myself, making his boots pass through my head, which surprised him, and then I rolled out from him and grabbed him between his legs, swiftly lifting him up, but the minute I slammed him down, he darted away from me, blasting me away with his jetpack, which he then used with his rifle.
We trade with gunfire, but I use my pistol less since I don't want to kill him, but I do need to hurt him badly enough that he can't fight back. Two struck his chest plate and one grazed off the side of his helmet, but he didn't flinch and kept shooting at me, until my power ran out, causing me to take cover behind the rocks as he kept firing at me.
"Draw your sidearm and throw it at him to detonate; the blast will briefly incapacitate the Sleeper," Gary instructed abruptly.
"What? That's insane, what if he kills him?" I exclaim. "I'm not sure if it blows or not... Fine, Fuck it!" I changed my mind as I hesitated.
I stepped out of the cover and flung my gun at him as far as I could, throwing enough away to reach him. He saw the gun in the air and realized what I had done, so he stopped firing and covered himself by raising his arm, then I shoot at the pistol which caused a large explosion in the process.
I wasn't expecting a small gun that can blow him the fuck up that badly, but I couldn't see him through the smoke... Until the smoke settled, I see him still standing, but he was not in good shape; his gun has been totally destroyed, forcing him to rely on his pistol. But I didn't waste time, so I ran at him, rammed him down again, and then threw more blows to his faceplate, causing further cracks.
But he pulled out his gun and fired at my chest, thankfully my armor held it off, but he kicked me away from him and I fell to the ground. I checked my armor and saw holes in it, I was alright, but... Gary is gone. He snatched it from me because of that kick, but Gary did nothing when it was close to him... He manages to switch it off.
Damn it... He's not interested in killing me anymore, he's making a break for it with Gary, then I remembered I still have the drone that I sent out before, I send the thing to make it come to his place, and then it fires at his head, knocking and startling him a bit enough for the drone to take Gary away from him in the sky but it was nearly caught by his tendrils but it was shot down which sends Gary dropping down from the air, but I have enough power to send out my double to take care of him while I grab Gary away from him. I catch Gary from falling and then move further away from him, as the Sleeper struggles to get out of it.
The Sleeper eventually knocks it off and begins after Gary; with no time to spend, he flies away towards me and then dives it down... But this time he killed me by caving in my chest... His mission to finish me off and take Gary with him is now complete...
But in reality... It wasn't me... I lured the IAM out there with my decoy, and both of them served as my bait.
He realized it was a fake and shifted his attention to the real me... With my rifle aimed down at the scope... I really want to help him, but he turned Gary down, leaving me with no choice... But that guy... He came to a halt and just stared at me as if begging me to stop him... I knew now that he was still struggling against that control, I realized he turned off his shield for the whole time... he was waiting to shoot him, but he's reached his limit... He wanted me to kill him right now.
I'll put you out of your misery...
The bullet struck him, taking a good chunk of the left side of his chest as well as his arm, which blew out into tiny pieces and broke from what was left of his forearm, causing him to drop Gary on the ground.
I see him through my scope as he stumbles a little, then loses his balance and eventually falls down on the rock, lying on it... Is he still alive?
I take a glance at my rifle, then at my hands... It was trembling... as if... as though I had killed someone... I stood there for what felt like forever... But I came back to reality and realized I had to... I have to keep going.
I went there to get Gary back to see if it was okay, it looks fine but he's still turned off I don't know how to wake him up...
Then I heard their screams again... I turned around to see where the screaming was coming from... They're back - it was that horde, and they've already here with more numbers than usual... I'm fucked.
Then, out of nowhere, all of their heads were blasted off, killing everyone... I'm not sure how it happened, but it did... Not that I'm complaining. After seeing what the hell just happened, I-
He's... He's still alive, but... that shot I took made his affected body burns... He was about to die soon. I pulled it from my pouches and backpack, looking for anything that could save him...
I did find it and tried to keep him alive, but he's still slowly burning away more than I "fix" him... No matter how long I keep him alive but I've reached my limit, I've drained the things that keep him alive... Fuck... He's finished... There was nothing I could do to stop it. All I can do is be at his side...
"Sorry... I can't stop myself..." I turn my attention to the dying Sleeper.
"What? N- no... I'm the one who should be sorry... I just... I shouldn't shoot you."
"No... you did the right thing by stopping me..." His voice started getting weaker.
"I'm still glad that someone like you finally break free... Gives me hope that there's a chance... for all of us. How did you do that?" he asked, he's enthusiastic ignoring the fact he was dying.
"I was... it was an IAM who woke me up... it- he was so close to setting you free but..." I stammered and had no further words. "I believed it would work... it could have worked!" I was filled with worry and doubt.
"Promise me..." He lifted his arm, slowly fading away, trying to reach out with his hand to me.
"What?"
"I'm a goner, but... he'll be our last shot for all of us... And don't let yourself turn again, okay?" said with optimism.
I was quiet. There was nothing I could do but listen and stay at his side.
"Promise me... Set us free," he begged me one last time, struggling to say one more word... as most of his body slowly faded into the sky.
And so, I reach his.
--- Subroutines Diagnostics
> Sub-1 // Optimal - Active
> Sub-2 // Optimal - Reserved
> Sub-3 // Optimal - Active
> Sub-4 // Optimal - Active
--- I.A.M. Database Diagnostics
> Fabrication Schematics // Intact
> Critical Intel and Informations // Intact
--- I.A.M. Module Integrity
> Frame Integrity // 93%
> Internal Necessary Systems // 89%
> Communications // Optimal
> Fabrication System // Optimal
> Database Internal Storage // Optimal
/// > Proceeding internal self-maintenance
/// > Reboot Complete
"Oh, you're awake."
"Let's go," as I put him in, but I was stopped when he said:
"What happened... to the Sleeper?"
I didn't say anything better so I show him the Sleeper's helmet next to me, lying peacefully where it faces this beautiful view up on this island.
"... This system has failed to reverse him... I... This system has failed both of you and the fallen Sleeper." For a brief moment, he nearly broke his character. Even for a moment, his tone becomes more "alive."
I knew he wanted to save him just as much as I did.
"No. It's not your fault but... he could've tracked us out if we'd left him alive, he wanted me to end him. I'm sorry" I apologize to him instead.
He was silent after that. He's in mourning...
"While you're out, we're on top of the island now, so where are we heading next?" I ask him beforehand.
He pointed to his map display, indicating that it wasn't far away. We're only a few hikes away from the cloudy spot.
"Personnel, will you let this system scan his helmet?" Gary asks.
I didn't ask any questions and just did what he needed. He then scans his helmet for a time before processing what's left of him.
"Data received and updated... New fabrication options accessible to your AnvilSpace."
As I open it, a slew of new schematics appears; he downloaded what the Sleeper's things had. I made a new pistol after browsing through it, but it still takes a few hours to get a brand-new one.
"This system has detected the Sleeper's Unit SP-Code. He is coded as AVT-134-AHR 1st Generation unit - Division A1, the Liberators, but he is named Arthur," he stated.
"You said that because you don't want him to be forgotten, right?" I ask.
"Personnel Arthur do not deserve to be forgotten," he adds, "you have buried his remains in this sector... it was peaceful... That is your personnel's burial procedure, and you handled it appropriately."
I did what I felt was best for him, and I guess my memories did the burial thing without my knowledge... But, at the very least, he's now at ease in this place. He won't be forgotten for as long as we're alive, and maybe even if we make it out alive after this, and he's only the one who made me determined to end this.
I stood there with his helmet relishing in this place, and then we went on our way.
"Personnel?"
"It's Seven."
"Come again?"
"It's my name. Seven."
"Very well, personnel Seven."
"Okay. Lead the way."
"Understood. Resuming navigation..."
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