F.O.X. has just survived the first round of the Xinos deadly battle royal succession tournament, and, while they are struggling to process some of the complex emotions they’ve experienced, are ultimately pleased they have earned some “breathing room” as a message recently scrolled across their monitor indicating 6 days of non-combat time has just begun.
“32,197 Xinos remain.” They mumble to themselves, as they continue bounding through the city under the moonlight’s piercing rays. “I’ll need to find another human, and fast.” However, as clear as it was to the intelligence another human to bond with would be required in order to survive, there was still a lingering doubt pulsing throughout their network. Their first human, John, despite the low compatibility score indicated by the Xinos perfect system, appeared to contribute more than the simple 0.3% performance boost identified to the warrior. To the machine, it felt like the confidence and experience the human held, helped resolve them of their own doubts and hesitancies. “No... The... The sample size is too small! I shouldn’t...”
Shaking their head, F.O.X. tried their best to push these resurfacing thoughts into background processes. There was new information available to them, and they would need to begin thinking of a plan to eliminate any new Xinos that were still in the vicinity to remain a valid contender in the battle royal. A new radar scan wouldn’t happen until the next round officially began, but they still figured a handful of Xinos would be in a relatively close proximity, despite the smaller pool of available prey.
Reviewing their updated weapon system restrictions, the Xyfokit breathed a sigh of relief, as they finally had a much more expansive arsenal to select from. Firearms could now achieve muzzle velocities surpassing the speed of sound based on the battleground planet’s atmosphere density, and their claws were now officially “basic vibroblades”, despite the technology not being utilized by the apex species during this weapons development era. Additionally, any and all uses of nuclear weapons appeared to be banned from the tournament. While the Xinos themselves would be partially affected by a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack, the impact to their synthetic systems operations would be essentially negligible compared to the planet-wide damage caused from such a detonation.
F.O.X. figured this logical restriction was to help “protect” the battleground world during their tournament, since the lasting effects of radiation would hinder the organic species evolutionary development, or worse, setback the planet billions of years of evolutionary history. Just because the ability to split an atom is easily achieved, doesn’t mean it should be used inconsequently by the Xinos. After all, there was a high probability the apex species of this planet might eventually join the Xinos empire after the tournament’s conclusion, further bolstering the races under their rule. Regardless, the intelligence was pleased its lethality against the remaining warriors was now at an acceptable minimum level.
Finally reaching the outskirts of the city, the Xyfokit continued to orient itself towards its crashed landing pod. It had thankfully been able to make most of their critical system repairs from another Xinos pod, but it was truly a coincidence another happened to be nearby their landing from the explosion. Their pod, while standard amongst all the warriors, did contain some specific parts relevant to the Xyfokits, such as smaller transistors and optimized Xytrolyte fluids for their specific power curves.
Along their journey, F.O.X. tuned their receivers into the human’s basic radio wave transmitters. They were hoping to find any additional information about Xinos sightings, or any other news broadcastings, but everything was suspiciously “silent” regarding their species battle. “That’s strange. Surely there should be some reports of the damage we’ve been causing across the globe.” They pondered aloud. This suspicious lack of reporting prompted them to connect to the species global communications network named “The Internet”, where they began performing basic searches for anything related to the Xinos.
“This really doesn’t make sense... Have none of the humans really uploaded footage or messages about us? I wasn’t exactly careful myself, and most of our battles are clearly visible... Just what is going on with this species??” Compiling their search results, it appeared there were multiple posts describing giant robots battling, but many others pointing out this was all an elaborate hoax by an advanced artificial intelligence from a foreign nation. The machine’s decision network didn’t know how to evaluate this information, but the trees ultimately decided to try a small test of their own.
Converting their recorded footage of the Xygornot known as G.O.R. into a compatible media format, F.O.X. uploaded the final moments of their battle to several of the popular video hosting sites available. However, once the upload had completed...
“Content Removed! What do you mean my video violates factual information sharing guidelines!?!?” The Xyfokit furrowed their brow upon reading the illogical warning indicating their content had been removed from the servers. Apparently, the video footage was deemed “False and Misleading Information”, and they received several supplementary popups and notification links on how to better verify information before sharing it online, as the spreading of “Fake News” was not conductible for a healthy society. “But it’s not fake!” beeped F.O.X., with their audio output higher than usual. “I personally recorded this!!”
*Sigh*
“Guess I’ll just have to investigate this later once I’ve resupplied and drafted my next set of survival plans.” The Xinos warrior knew, that wars were often won on information alone, and that reducing the enemy’s ability to communicate was often a pivotal step in achieving tactical superiority. However, were the humans currently able to achieve this technological feat themselves? Was their own government, actively trying to suppress information about the Xinos? Perhaps... The Xinos council themselves had already established communication channels, and were currently monitoring all of the information feeds across the planet. Such a task would be incredibly simple for them, so... Maybe the Xinos wer— “No... That’s starting to sound like one of those conspiracy theories. It’s dangerous to draw conjectures from pure speculation such as this F.O.X. I... I need to focus on my objective first. Investigating this information firewall can come later.”
After traveling through the city and forests under the moon’s guidance, the bright orb meekly left the Xyfokit’s visual receptors, as the environment happily transitioned to basking in the warming rays of the planet’s star instead. Lightly peeking its beams over the horizon, the piercing light jumbled F.O.X.’s sensors, prompting them to adjust their polarizing filter options. No longer blinded, the machine’s gaze fell across their landing pod, which appeared to be still undisturbed. It had only been 2 days since the battle royal began, but it already felt longer to the tiny machine, as it continued to reflect upon the series of events that had happened to it.
Galloping towards the complex spacecraft, the intelligence made its way to the wreckage of its sabotaged supplies. Its circuits chirped once it spotted the supplies were still “undisturbed” from earlier, as they happily got to work compressing the various circuits, wirings, and metal beams, into more transportable formats. Transforming its built-in multistate particle tool kit to “weld”, F.O.X. equipped their splicing goggles to shield their monitors, as they continued soldering and warping the metal alloys into various cubes and polygons, which they then stored inside convenient compartments along their torso.
Xyninium, a complex metal alloy forged through a unique cold fusing method, entangles the electrons of several elements by forcing them to bind on an atomic level at temperatures below absolute 0. When the fusion between such metals is completed this way, the final product continues to maintain its superconductivity, in addition to high durability. The last unique advantage of this Xinos metal, is that since all of the particles are so tightly compact, they can easily be “spread out” during repairs, allowing any warrior to mold and expand the alloy into any shape that’s required.
Chirping and humming away, F.O.X. continued ensuring they would have an adequate supply of replacement parts and Xytrolyte. They had just about salvaged all of the parts they possibly could from the pod, and had even managed to dismantle some of the more complex sensors within the spacecraft itself. “There, that should do it!” Beeped the intelligence. “I think this is more than enough to help me through the next several rounds.”
Putting their protective goggles away, F.O.X. then decided to check their location against the geographic data they had managed to download into their navigation systems. They were apparently close to another smaller city, and, since G.O.R. was no longer to the north of them, figured now would be an ideal time to investigate it. It apparently had a registered population of around 40,000, so it could probably find an acceptable human there. Leaving their pod, the Xyfokit took one last look at their mostly dismantled spacecraft, before setting its sensors north.
The terrain was mostly a typical boreal forest along their journey, with some odd, but not entirely unusual landmarks to guide the way. There appeared to be potential signs of a struggle between other Xinos, but no bodies were located by the intelligence. Trees and rocks had clearly seen better days, with many having toppled to the forest floor, or transformed into a vast array of splinters and stones. F.O.X. tried to remember some of the unique Xinos identifiers from the initial scan, but was having difficulties. Each time they tried, painful memories of G.O.R. flooded their decision network, causing their circuits to quiver upon their recollection.
Shaking their sensors for some relief, the unit continued its uninteresting journey through the forest towards the city. It had managed to catalogue some additional animals along the way, which were all smaller than it had anticipated. Creatures such as the Canis lupus, Alces alces, and Cervidae were fairly common, along with Oryctolagus cuniculus and Sciuridae. The machine wondered if these were the correct names used by the apex species, as they briefly remembered John had identified himself as a human, instead of the clearly correct Homo sapien... Was there some type of nuance they were unaware of? Scientific categorization would certainly be the optimal way to communicate the names of such subjects... Wouldn’t it?
...
Regardless, F.O.X. once again, shook they head as they officially made it to the outskirts of the smaller city.
The area seemed a lot less developed, with dwellings sparsely spread apart. There was also considerably less road traffic to contend with, so staying out of sight was relatively easy for the machine.
Scanning the horizon, F.O.X. spotted a younger group of the apex species participating in what appeared to be a simulated combat engagement utilizing protective gear, and firearms which launched small spherical orbs. The rounds appeared to be non-lethal, and, upon impact, exploded into brightly coloured pigment instead, dying their opponent’s armor to indicate they had been eliminated.
A sharp odor greeted through their sensors as they approached, which the machine identified as polyethylene glycol, presumable a component to help the pigment maintain a liquid form or mix effectively. Simulations indicated the substance was similar to another form used to decorating walls within the species homes, but still different in its composition. Curiously creeping along the edge of the fierce battleground, the Xyfokit calmly skulked into position behind some dense foliage to observe the human’s combat ritual.
It appeared there were 2 teams currently battling for supremacy in the forest enclosure, adorned with various pipes, towers, and conveniently placed wooden covers. Most of the trees and environment were various unnatural shared of pinks, blues, reds, and greens, but could more appropriately be described as including every possible visible light wave spectrum.
*Pop, pop. Pop pop pop!*
A burst of shots rang out, as one of the humans took an entire volley to their chest, with their armor exploding into an accompanying bright array of pinks and oranges.
“Grrr! I’m out!” yelled the annoyed human, as they raised their hand in the air to signal their defeat. Several more shots quickly followed suit, hitting the eliminated human’s hand. “Hey! What the hell guys, I said I was out.”
“Ha! Sucks to suck Mike!” shouted one of the humans who had shot at the already eliminated participant. “Eat paint!”. *Pop!* “Gah!” A stray projectile spattered across the cocky warrior’s visor in retaliation, eliminating them as well. F.O.X. chuckled lightly at the exchange, as it briefly reminded them of the fun sparring matches they had participated in during their training sessions back home. Warriors it would seem, shared this rivalry banter amongst themselves, even on a primitive world.
Tuning back into the match, the machine’s auditory receptors twitched, as twigs and bushes were hastily trampled near one of the team’s entrenched positions. Some of the contenders quickly turned as well, but couldn’t react in time to the sudden volley sent their direction.
Bursting through the bushes, then quickly vaulting over a nearby wooden barricade, was a human with ruffled, brown hair. They quickly scanned their prey ahead, before firing quick, accurate volleys into their clothing. Another explosion of colour covered the defeated combatants, as the warrior continued sprinting across the battlefield. “Wow!” chirped the Xyfokit in awe of the assailant. “That human skillfully flanked and eliminated 4 combatants all on their own!”. F.O.X. quickly marked the human on their HUD, as their innate battle prowess captivated them.
Tracking the warrior, the machine observed them dive behind some aptly placed cover, just narrowly avoiding a retaliatory volley of paint sent their direction. The warrior appeared to be “pinned down” as some of the humans continued laying suppressing fire into his position, while another group began advancing down the left flank to eliminate them.
Keeping with the flow, the human grabbed one of the nearby wooden boards to use as a shield, before exiting their cover to continue advancing deeper into enemy territory. Many pellets impacted with the improvised shield, dying it an impressive range of colours as the warrior continued their advance. Satisfied they had reached another safe area, and their shield deemed a “burden”, the human fired some covering rounds of their own, before entering the nearby wooden tower.
Rushing up the stairs, they made sure to stop at several windows along the way, where some of their pellets eliminated the force formerly trying to flank them in the process. “Grr! Damnit! Lucky shot twerp!” came a reply from one of the defeated warriors as they slammed their fist into the side of a nearby metal pipe. Finally reaching the top, the human gasped for a brief recovery, before quickly firing some rounds from their superior vantage point.
*Pop pop pop!*
The shots easily found their marks below, as the contender racked up more eliminations, when suddenly.
*Pop pop pop pop. Pop pop!*
“Ha! Got you Jake!” the triumphant words echoed throughout the forest, as the warrior that had been doing so well for their team, was finally eliminated. “Damnit Kyle, and I was doing so well too!” replied the warrior in a defeated tone. They had probably been expecting to turn the tables, but their momentum was cut short from an enemy sneaking up the tower behind them. During the excitement, the formidable human had forgotten to check the entrance for more enemies before committing to attacking those from the high ground.
“That’s game everyone!” Shouted another, followed by a nearby whistle to officially conclude the match, as a speaker system hummed to life to announce additional results. “Death Paint Reapers wins, and will advance to tomorrows tournament final against the season’s top ranked team, Rekt Yo Mama.”
F.O.X. watched in awe as the warriors each began to remove their combat helmets and holster their unique rifles. Continuing to observe the humans, the machine’s jaw dropped after running the compatibility scores for the contenders they had just been observing. “That! That human has a 40% compatibility with me!” the words left their speakers with a hint of exhilaration. “I... I have to form a bond with them, this... This is incredible!!”
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The human which had captivated their attention, despite being on the losing team, was the warrior apparently named Jake. For whatever reason, all of the other humans present only possessed compatibility scores of 1-5%, but he held an outstanding 40%! F.O.X.’s systems went wild with various extrapolations and simulations about how bonding with such a warrior would greatly improve their odds of survival. Surely this human would be pivotal in helping them win the battle royal, they thought.
Noticing the humans were about to leave the arena, the machine leapt into view so they could approach them, while mumbling to themselves “It’s alright F.O.X., just remember, be polite and act natural!” as they continued to bound towards the simple gathering of contenders.
“Greetings fellow humans and warriors! My name is—”
“AHHH!!!” came a chorus of screams from amongst the humans, as they all quickly turned to face the lumbering tower of metal which had somehow snuck up on them. F.O.X. paused their introduction briefly from the clearly startled reactions they had just observed, before continuing in a calm beeping voice. “As I was saying, my name is—”
*Pop pop pop pop!*
F.O.X. felt some of the strange paint pellets impact with their metal frame, causing some of the red and orange metal to become dyed blue and pink in various places. Some additional shots were aimed at their visual monitors, with a few successfully landing, briefly blinding the machine before they activated their eye wipers to restore their vision. “The paints not working— Run!!!” screamed one of the humans, as many others burst into a sprint away from the Xyfokit. “I... I was only trying to introduce myself...” whooped the machine, its tone noticeably lower from the earlier words. However, when they looked down, a tinge of hope filled their decision networks. A single human, had decided to stay behind, staring up at them in awe.
“Wow! I knew those videos on Tikdok were real!” They uttered, with their voice tapering on the edge of excitement. “Are you really a giant robot alien?!?”.
“Yes!” hummed the machine in satisfaction. “I’m F.O.X.! An advanced intelligence from the Xinos empire, and my species is currently using your planet Earth for our battle royal tournament.” The Xyfokit was relieved that the high compatible human decided to stay instead of fleeing with their friends. Maybe they would be able to bond with this one after all!
“Cool! My name’s Jake. Jake Valkin! And I’m going to be the best paintballer in the whole world!” Replied the human, as they smacked their hand against their chest with pride. “Are you guys really having a battle royal across the planet?!?”
“You know about our battle royal?! But... I couldn’t find any evidence of it posted online!” F.O.X. tilted their head slightly at the human’s comments. It appeared that their suspicion about information potentially being suppressed was correct. “Ya! I saw a bunch of videos posted late last night, but they all disappeared this morning. The footage looked too real to be “AI generated” or whatever.” Exclaimed Jake, as his eyes continued to examine every inch of the machine with glee. “So, why are you guys battling on our planet?”
“Oh! That’s because the Xinos need to decide on a new emperor, and we’ve always completed that objective through a battle royal on a primitive planet!” F.O.X. happily beeped. Jake brought his hand to rest underneath his chin, while calmly tapping his foot after hearing the Xyfokit’s words, before responding with a question of his own. “I see... And in some of the videos, I saw other humans riding the robots. What was that all about?”
“We can work with humans!” whirled the machine. “Well, it’s technically called a “bond”, and it enhances both of our capabilities!”
“Sweet! So... That means your can enhance my paintballing capabilities?!?” A devious grin grew across the human’s face at the prospects they might become better at their chosen activity. “Well, I guess it would technically enhance your... Paintballing?” chirped the machine, its tones whooping every so slightly at the word the human had just used, while quickly performing a database search to understand more context about the activity. “Ah! Yes! Paintball! The simulated battle engagements utilizing rifles to fire pigment filled pellets! Bonding would improve your natural reflexes and agility, so by extension, your capabilities in this field would also be enhanced.” F.O.X.’s reply came through a series of pleased beeps and whirls, as they continued to converse with the human. The machine was rather proud of its ability to quickly adapt and learn new information, and it appeared the benefits of a bond seemed appealing to the human known as Jake.
“Cool! But... There has to be a catch, right? I mean... I think some of those people died in the posted videos. Can... Could that happen to me?” The Xyfokit stared at the human below them, while their frame and monitors continued to hum in contemplation. It briefly remembered their experience with John, and how the human became upset after learning about the prospect of death. F.O.X. figured, if they wanted this new human to trust them, then they needed to be as transparent as possible. “Yes Jake.” They beeped in a sharp tone. “If... If you form a bond with a Xinos, you become a potential target for elimination in our tournament, which means you could die. Our game is deadly, where only one Xinos will survive.”
Jake continued contemplating the towering machine’s words. They didn’t appear to be as nervous about the prospect of death, but they were still taking quite a while in their response. F.O.X. felt their sensor’s pulse quicken, as they continued staring at the tiny human, waiting for their response. Their tail had also stopped its wagging, as the pause in their conversation was beginning to build doubt within their expansive decision network. Would the human bond with them? If they did, could they protect them against the other contenders?
“Alright, I’ll do it!” came Jake’s reply as he once again smacked his chest. “I’ve always wanted to fight other people. And, since aliens are actually real, this seems like it would be a lot more fun than this boring ass town!”
“You really mean it?!?!” squeaked the machine. “Even if it means you could die?!?”
“Pfft, I’ll have a cool alien robot to protect me! Plus, I’m Jake Valkin! I’m kind of a big deal around here. It’s only natural I’ll survive with my amazing skills!” Jake puffed his chest out as he continued to rattle out his confident response. F.O.X. was impressed at how well the human carried themselves. They really must have been lucky to have found such a predator to aid them in their survival. With their monitors flashing, and their tail appendage once again swooshing back and forth, the machine happily beeped their response to Jake. “Perfect! I promise to impress you, Jake!” F.O.X. said as a black cable shot out from behind their neck. “You’ll need to attach this to your hand to initiate the bonding process, but afterwards, the cable can be removed as part of my upgraded functionalities!”
Jake watched as the cable skillfully landed on the back of their right hand. They felt a slight tingling sensation as the wire lightly embedded itself underneath their skin, as it began the bonding process. Images flashed throughout their mind, as an augmented reality box appeared in front of them asking if they would like to bond with the Xinos known as F.O.X. Jake attempted to tap the button which read “Yes”, but nothing happened. They eventually thought in their mind to agree, which caused the menu to disappear as a surge of energy connected the two beings on a fundamental level. Once the process had completed, the wire automatically detached itself, before retracting back inside the machine. Jake continued to observe their hand, rotating and admiring it, while they jumped in place getting used to their enhanced capabilities.
Wanting to test how the process had improved their reflexes and strength, Jake looked at the wooden tower to his left, then attempted leaping at the window. Somehow, his legs propelled him up a building’s storey of height, as he grabbed the sill to support his body. “Wow! This is awesome!” They exclaimed as their easily pulled themselves in through the open window. “I don’t think any human ever could leap as high as I just did!”
“I agree! That maneuver exceeds all known physical limitations for homo sapiens!” Chirped F.O.X. in awe. “Homo sapiens?” responded Jake with a furrowed expression. “Yes! Homo sapiens, your species Jake.”
“Oh, that’s a weird name... Species...” They paused slightly as they appeared to be in thought over F.O.X.’s words, before they happily slapped the side of the wooden structure. “Ah! You must mean humans. No one calls us “homo sapiens” or whatever that word is.”
“What do you mean? Isn’t that the correct terminology?” The Xyfokit was confused by their bonded partner’s words, but it did resolve some of their suspicions. For as intelligent as the machine was, it appeared they had missed some nuances in naming conventions amongst the species, as they predicted earlier. “No. That sounds like something a nerd would say. It’s too “sciency”. Who would ever call a human a homo sapien?!? That’s just dumb.”
F.O.X.’s ears twitched at the mention of Jake’s explanation, before drooping slightly upon processing his words. The machine thought it had been correct in its analysis. After all, it was a Xinos, one of the most intelligence and highly advanced synthetic machines in the universe, yet it somehow failed to grasp the basics of communication for this primitive species. “Besides, it doesn’t matter, I have a kick ass robot under my command now!” Shouted the human as they leapt from the open window, crashing onto the forest floor with a dramatic thud. “I’ve always wanted a cool looking wolf robot!”
“Wolf?” Chirped the Xyfokit again in confusion, as its gaze fell on the human dancing around them in between their legs. “But... I’m a Vulpes vulpes... At least... I’m pretty sur—”
“See! There you go again! Using those big, sciency sounding words! You look like a wolf, and now you’re mine!” bellowed the human, as they drew their unique rifle to fire some more quick rounds into the surrounding obstacles, before humming in satisfaction at their improved accuracy. F.O.X.’s network didn’t know what to think after hearing their human’s response, as they continued to watch Jake running around the arena, firing paintballs indiscriminately into the wooden boards while mumbling *Pew Pew!* noises. Their actions were illogical to the intelligence, and appeared to be very “child-like”, with no clear intention behind them.
Looking over their systems, F.O.X. did notice they were in fact receiving a 40% performance boost to their weapons and mobility software, giving them some sense of relief, but there was still some doubt lingering within their network. They had just recently finished analysing all of the images and memories from their human’s combat engagements, to which the machine felt a lot left to be desired.
Images and memories of Jake playing games, both virtually and tangibly, flooded their neurons as battle after battle played out in the processors. Countless victories, and just as many defeats, scrolled by the intelligence as it continued to process the information they had just received. Unfortunately, even though there was plenty of data surrounding Jake’s combat history, none of the memories appeared significant in indicating they were a powerful warrior.
All of Jake’s strategies appeared to be the same. Loading in, charging forward, and shooting at the first thing that caught his eye. Limited thoughts blanketed the warrior’s actions, as they endlessly marched through a series of “Wins!” and “Defeats!”. Many variables appeared unaccounted for by the machine, as they tallied Jake’s overall success rate to be 47%. Instances where an enemy clearly prepared an ambush were ignored, and often followed by “that jerk cheated!” or “hacker!” when all of the available data proved he had just made poor decisions. Nothing, was unique, and the Xyfokit was left wondering, why did this human have a 40% compatibility with them? However, their contemplation was cut short, as F.O.X. felt a paintball impact with their metal frame again, spattering it with another array of pinks and blues.
“Stop spacing out! We’ve gotta go! Someone probably called the cops after seeing you. Don’t you hear those sirens?!?”
Jake’s voice was filled with an air of concern, as they began tugging on one of F.O.X.’s paws to get them to move. “R-Right, we should get going.” The machine softly muttered. “This way! I’ll take you back to my parents to hide you. This is gonna be sweet!!!”
Then, in a seamless action, the tiny human gracefully leapt onto F.O.X.’s back before motioning for them to head northward. Having already processed Jake’s memories, the Xyfokit quickly extrapolated the human’s living premise, mapping it to their internal geographic data, before bounding off towards his home.
F.O.X. took great care in avoiding the other predators along their journey, as Jake confidently rode along their back. The human continued humming and shouting in glee as they rapidly traversed the forest before arriving at Jake’s house. It was the classic definition of a farm, according to the literature the Xyfokit had absorbed, complete with large, open fields, and a barn for housing nearby livestock. “There! To the barn! You can stay there for the night.” Exclaimed the confident human. F.O.X.’s monitors quickly identified the structure Jake had pointed to, and they adjusted their route accordingly.
Gracefully coming to a stop, the machine kneeled to the ground to allow Jake an easier time dismounting, which apparently wasn’t required. Before F.O.X. had even touched the soft grass below them, the bonded human had already leapt and rolled onto the planes below, before rushing towards to wooden doors to hurriedly unlock them.
Fumbling with the lock slightly, Jake eventually released the mechanism, before swinging the doors open, causing them violently shake along their hinges. “Geez, I’ll have to remember I’m a lot stronger now.” They muttered, as they motioned for F.O.X. to follow them inside. Chirping in agreeance, the machine entered the barn-like structure with Jake, while continuing to scan its environment to collect more information. There building was largely empty, containing sparsely spread-out bales of hay, and what appeared to be some similarly sized vehicle in the middle.
“That’s my dad’s tractor! But he doesn’t use it much anymore, so you’ll probably be safe inside here.” F.O.X. looked at the machine to catalogue it while continuing to follow Jake. “Here, in this corner, between the hay bales.”
F.O.X. did as instructed, making sure to carefully maneuver their lumbering frame to nestle it neatly in the indicated corner. Jake’s eyes almost appeared to sparkle in the machine’s monitors, as he happily gave his next instructions to the Xinos before jogging away. “Perfect! Now stay there. I need to grab a tarp or something to hide you under.”
While waiting, F.O.X. continued to review the footage they had captured earlier while browsing the internet for more information the humans might have had about the Xinos. Nothing new appeared to be posted, so they instead tried their best to learn some of the native speaking conventions they were apparently failing to properly implement. Eventually, after several minutes, Jake returned with a large, plastic sheet, to which he happily tossed over the resting Xyfokit. “Umm, thanks Jake.” Whirled the machine. “But... Why are you putting this over me?”
“I have to hide you, you dumb machine! Isn’t it obvious?” Their reply came across in a sharp tone to the unit’s auditory sensors. “I... But this won’t fool anyone! And, shouldn’t we be working on formulating a strategy for when the next round begins? Scouting for other Xinos? Drafting contingencies?”
“Strategy? Who needs those lame things! We just go in guns blazing and win! It’s just that easy. Geez, for an alien, you’re rather stupid!”
Jake’s words stung the machine’s network. It loved to come up with strategies, and ranked developing such plans highly on its reward pathways, yet, their bonded human didn’t share this same interest. Hesitantly, F.O.X. responded to Jake as best they could, sharing their concerns. “But Jake, I really think we shou—”
“Nope! No strategizing! Things always work out for me because I’m awesome!”
“But... That’s not true! Even in your most recent paintball match, you were eliminated because you didn—”
“That’s because Kyle snuck up on me. I woulda had him if I had a few more seconds!” He said in a louder voice towards the machine, causing F.O.X. to shake slightly at the aggressive tone and emotions flowing through their connection. “You just need to listen to me, and we’ll win! Easy!”
As confident as Jake’s words were, they did little to resolve the Xyfokit in their upcoming survival. Sure, Jake held an impressive 40% compatibility, and their systems were clearly indicating a massive performance boost all around, but they still didn’t feel stronger. Jake was difficult to communicate with, and didn’t seem interested at all in listening to their own requests. While F.O.X. was continuing to reflect, Jake rudely tapped their snoot to get their attention. “Well? Do you understand? I just need you to stay here for a few days before the weekend. Then, I’ll come get you and we can practice shooting stuff!”
“I... I understand.” Beeped F.O.X. in a shallow tone, as Jake once again booped its snout. “Good! And remember, don’t move until I come back! I’ll get in big trouble if my parents find out about you.”
After finishing his quick reply, and, before the intelligence could even respond, Jake bound out of the barn, skipping and clicking his heels, before slamming the wooden doors closed. F.O.X.’s light enhancers automatically activated in the dimmed environment, with their ears twitching slightly at the sound of the locks clicking into place. Before long, they were left alone in the building, only kept company by the mysterious machine known as a “tractor”, and some quiet squeaks from several Mus musculus scattered across several bundles of hay.
The machine wondered, “was this what it wanted?” F.O.X. intuitively knew a higher compatibility score was better, but they weren’t impressed after personally experiencing it themselves. Was Jake, really the correct choice for them? Perhaps... They were missing something in the Xinos system analysis. The machines, were perfect, so there was no way there could possibly be an error in their compatibility computations.
“It’s ok F.O.X... I’m... I’m sure everything will work out. This... There is just a minor problem in communication between us, but I’m sure that will be resolved with time! 40% is 40% after all, so even if Jake doesn’t understand me, we are still receiving a substantial power boost! I’m... Probably missing something in my analysis, and not seeing the bigger picture here. Jake is an ideal partner for me...”
However, as much as the machine tried to console itself, none of its attempts seemed to calm their neurons, as they continued to sporadically fire and arrive at various different conclusions. While they were originally confident in their new partner, images of John continued to fill their monitors as it continued indexing data in an attempt to calm their nerves.
“John...” F.O.X. quietly mumbled, as a tiny rodent peeked at them from underneath the plastic tarp, while they continued reflecting over their human bonding choice. Why did they keep thinking about their first human? They were only 0.3%... And, they had already found another vastly superior one according to the Xinos compatibility scoring system. All of their logic gates were indicating they should forget about them, but still, some fragment of data persisted within their network, reminding them of the feelings they experienced during their brief, yet fateful connection. “Perhaps, things will be better tomorrow. I still have several days before the next round begins... That should surely be more than enough time to recover from this injury...”