Breaker’s Heart, Debil System

Kane slowly and carefully took in a breath. Doing his best to visualize his lungs filling up with air as he tried to use every last milem of space within them to hold more. Once he couldn’t possibly take in any more he held it there. He didn’t exactly count, he just took a vague estimate of time while studying his face in the mirror. A face that was becoming unfamiliar to him with time. He placed two fingers along his throat, feeling for the vein and the gentle throb brought on by his heartbeat.

Calm. Slow. It was as much a command as a prayer within his mind as he tried to focus on his body. Slow. He couldn’t feel his heart itself but the pulse of blood within his veins further slowed. He visualized the muscle within his chest, urging it to change its tempo and timing. By now his lungs were starting to ache a little, but he didn’t breathe yet. It wasn’t time yet. This was so far from any of his old records. Just a little longer…

It rose up out of him from somewhere deep and dark, beyond his control. The pain of nerves and sudden reaction that refused to be bound to his conscious command and bypassed it entirely as he gasped and coughed. This set off a chain reaction as his lungs tried to let all the air out at once, which came into conflict with the convulsing of his throat as he coughed hard against the sudden sensation.

What followed was a pathetic display as he was sent into a coughing fit, punctuated with belches as he swallowed back down air only to lose it again in the next cough. Tears crept to the corners of his eyes, and as he looked at his twisted expression in the mirror he had no idea if it was from pain or just sheer humiliation. It took him time to get everything back under control and resume a normal breathing pattern. Once he did he thought about trying again.

“Kane! I need you by my side! New recruits!” The loud voice boomed over his room’s intercom and he let out a slow sigh before triggering the mic on the wall with a button press.

“Yes, General. I’ll be there shortly.” Rubbing a hand across his face he then picked his glasses up from where he’d set them on the side of the sink. Glasses. He was reduced to using bits of glass to see properly. The tears at the corners of his eyes threatened to return but he rubbed them away and carefully set the glasses into place on his face, tucking the wire arms behind his ears. His form in the mirror becoming clear.

Then he rose up to his full height, shoulders back, ears up, just like the posters. He reached up then to clasp the final button of his uniform to seal the collar tight about his throat. Many Breakers were casual about their uniforms. But not him, it was a point of pride to maintain this honor. Few were given the honor of the black, white, and gold. Why not cherish it? Though he did take another moment to run his claws through the bit of orange fur on his chin. Were it not for that damn patch he himself would be black, white, and gold.

Despite the omen of his orange patch he never had any doubt of his destiny to make it this far. No matter what others had believed. Time to go see how many of these new recruits were also destined for elevation to this honored order.

Walking from the bathroom of his small hab out into the hall he was immediately bathed in the red glow of Debil, the system’s star. A perk of living on the secondary ring was the window that extended around its exterior, letting him always have a view of Debil, as well as the complex network of ships coming and going from the ancient station. Also the ever dancing asteroids beyond in their constant ballet through space. It was a view he never tired of. A reminder to him of every step of the circle. From ancient to modern, chaos to order. All displayed so neatly at a glance should one simply open their mind to it.

Still, he had no time to admire the view right now. So he pressed on, turning at the first junction to step onto the moving walkway that ran the length of the spoke towards the tertiary ring of the station. “Reminder to all Breakers, it is training season, be watchful of recruits for they are our future as we are theirs.” Kane glanced up at the speakers set into the ceiling, more of Mira’s half confused wisdom? It was better than some of her mottos at least.

It didn’t take long before the moving walkway ended and he stepped off and walked into a large junction of halls, lifts, and ladders all around. This was the primary junction for officers to branch off to their duties around the tertiary ring. Even as he approached one of the lifts he tucked his tail around his legs. They kept promising they’d fixed the doors, and he kept doubting them. At the very least it had been a half cycle since he’d last been stuck inside a broken lift so maybe things were improving.

A thought he realized that came a moment too early as the doors opened and he saw the lift was at least a portrem up off the floor where it should be. With an annoyed sigh he gave the metal frame a kick and it groaned a moment before dropping the rest of the way down into position. Very carefully he stepped into the lift then and hit the button for the balcony. He wondered if he should just take a ladder…

But, the doors slid shut and things seemed to move as they should. A few seconds later the doors opened and the lift was actually in the proper spot. “Kane!” The hulking figure of the general was impossible to miss. Lukadon were tusked, broad skulled, fan eared, thick skinned, mammals who were often as imposing as they were friendly. Often ranging from seven to eight portrem in height. The general was nearly nine portrem tall, towering over almost all other Breakers.

“General.” Kane nodded as he approached the officer looking out from the balcony across the hangar. Here dozens of ships were landing and discharging their passengers so they could get organized by species, specialization, and program for testing and training.

“Ah how grand isn’t it? I never get tired of this sight!” Even as Kane stepped up besides the General he felt a heavy hand settle on his shoulder. Lukadon were known for being rather handsy, and the general was no exception as he shook Kane around in sheer excitement. “They keep thinking we’ll shrink! That the age of Breakers is past! But what then of this glorious display of dedication!”

Many disliked the general’s lack of personal space and having to deal with a big Lukadon shoving them around but Kane always found it amusing. Plus, the general was one of his only friends so he would cherish any interaction with the big old soldier. “I think they’re referencing our budget more than our potential recruitment numbers.”

“Bah!” With a heavy snort the general let go of his shoulder so he would wave out across the hangar. “These brave souls did not come here to be paid!”

“I do believe they expect financial compensation.” Kane pointed out.

“Well… That’s not how I mean it! Yes, obviously we pay them! But they do not join to be rich! I’m the Breaker General! And I am not a wealthy figure now am I Kane?” His ears fanned out, then swept back as he looked to Kane.

“Some might argue this has more to do with your spending habits than your salary.” Kane’s comment was rewarded with another huff from the general.

“Always trying to steal the wind from my mill Kane!” The general tried to glare, but it never really worked as after a moment he broke into a broad grin when looking back out across the recruits.

“Still, why did you want me here for this? Usually you don’t bring me in until later.” Kane gestured at the organized chaos unfolding before them as the recruits were split up.

“We have a new species to welcome today! Possibly. Humans.” When the general pointed to some ships at the far side of the hangar Kane was just about to focus when he felt the pain in his eyes.

“Ngh.” He closed his eyes a moment, reaching up to rub at his lids under his glasses. “Damnit… you’d think I’d know better by now.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Kane. Here.” When he opened his eyes again the general was holding out a viewset for him to use.

“I also wasn’t aware of a new species.” Kane usually kept up with the big players in galactic politics.

“You wouldn’t be aware of these. They’re small. As a nation I mean. Of course they’re small physically! For all are puny in comparison with me! The undefeated mighty Breaker General Boz! Champion of champions! Bwahaha!” Boz raised his arms then as he laughed.

“You know you worry people when you talk about yourself like that.” Kane mentioned as he fiddled with the viewset. “Also, undefeated? Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“You don’t count Kane. We’ve discussed this. Also people should be worried about me! For I am the legendary Boz!” Once more he struck a pose as if ready for yet another statue, or propaganda poster.

Kane just shook his head and finally lifted the viewset to his eyes to look at the ships in the distance. Or… ship singular? He frowned a little as he looked at the vehicle. It was… unimpressive. And based on the hull patches heavily repaired. “Just one?”

“Oh yes, as I was saying. Humans are new. They had only just managed to settle their home system and a single extrasolar colony when they were swept up in the Tide.” That caught Kane’s attention.

“How is that possible? Usually someone would try and warn any new species about the dangers-” Boz was already shaking his head.

“Their home is in the Blackout. They had no idea until it was far too late. No one knew they existed until the Curators rescued who they could before their systems were consumed.” Boz’s usual boisterous attitude was muted as he mentioned this.

“How fortunate for them then. The Curators aren’t usually so generous. Were they saved from extinction? Or is their position unsustainable?” They wouldn’t be the first species scattered to the solar winds by the Tide.

“That remains to be seen… But still! We have their first offerings! Small, yet determined! Diminished but undeterred! A credit to the Breakers no doubt! I shall of course personally oversee their testing today! I have a good feeling that they’ll all pass and be admitted!” Boz let out a boisterous laugh as usual.

“Yes, but you say that about every new species.” Kane couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s enthusiasm.

“Because I wish the greatest for them all! One recruitment day we shall welcome every possible member into our arms! This great Order shall swell with the ranks of every worthy new Breaker!” Boz nodded as he said this.

“This is why the Council doesn’t let you control our testing standards.” Kane pointed out.

“I wouldn’t lower our standards! I’d just help… nudge them a bit! Tell me we don’t turn away perfectly fine recruits over minor mistakes! Or… better yet why not let me set standards to each individual species? Hm? That would sure make it easier!” Boz grinned as he looked to Kane.

“Again, this is why the Council has me watch you.” Kane sighed softly.

“I still find it odd they hate you, yet expect you to keep me in check.” Kane tensed a little when Boz mentioned this. He wasn’t wrong. It was just that it was never spoken aloud.

“By now they at least trust me to do my job. I’ve earned that much haven’t I?” Kane looked up at the big soldier besides him who seemed to realized what he’d said.

“Ah my friend! I mean nothing by it except to say you’re too good for them! We don’t deserve your talents!” Boz set a hand on Kane’s neck, shaking him around in an attempt to display affection. Kane just relaxed and let his body get shaken side to side for a moment.

“At least someone thinks so.” Even as Kane muttered that he tried to push past it. “So humans, notable traits?”

“Not really. They’re rather unimpressive. Typical height range is just five to seven portrem. No claws or fangs or tails or such. But they’re tool users! Fervently so! Supposedly they’re also tough to kill. Not for me of course! But in general. I like tool users. Easier to break them of bad habits than most species. Plus I hear they’re good at catch so I can pretend I’m throwing things at them for a reason!” He laughed at the idea, and Kane had no doubt some poor recruits were going to be pelted by random objects today.

“So you want me to watch you train the humans?” He asked when the shaking finally stopped.

“Oh! No. Well, yes. But first I need you to check on a droid for me. It’s of human make, but arrived ahead of their other recruits. Strange thing too. I know we must give them a chance to join but I distrust them! You know why?” Boz looked out across the hangar as he asked.

“Because they have no hea-” Kane began to repeat the familiar reply.

“Because they have no heart!” Boz loudly exclaimed as if Kane hadn’t just been saying that. “Being a Breaker is all about heart!” Boz thumped his chest with a heavy hand. “Still, the clickers gave it an exam and seemed satisfied it’s not evil. For now! Soon enough every droid will go evil I tell you! Their twisted… logic. Though they claim this human one is different. It’s got something called Central Heuristics.” Boz finally reached into one of the pockets of his uniform harness to pull out a dataslate to hand to Kane.

“Central Heuristics? What is that?” Kane asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“I have absolutely no idea.” Boz admitted. “But it’s your problem now.”

Kane looked over the dataslate for a moment before glancing back up at Boz. “You’re giving me this assignment now, because you’re hoping it’ll give the council a valid reason for why I was too busy to stop you from interfering with other tests today. Because you know I must personally examine droid applications.”

“Yes please.” Boz clapped his large hands together, giving Kane the grin of a child about to receive a present.

Kane let out a soft sigh and nodded. “Very well, I’ll go look at this human droid and see what they’ve managed to cobble together. No promises though.”

“Ah it’s a droid!” Boz waved it off dismissively. “I don’t care if it falls apart the moment you poke it! Just give me time to nudge the other tests around for the real recruits!”

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“What if it passes and becomes a new recruit?” Kane asked but Boz scoffed.

“Being a Breaker requires heart! Unless these humans have somehow figured out how to give droids hearts it’s not going to happen.” Kane was hardly surprised by this reaction.

“Anything else before I go attend to this?” He asked even as he started to turn.

“Oh! Dallina told me she had no idea how it worked! So ask her questions about this central heuristics thing you know she can’t answer! Memorize her pained expression when she must admit she doesn’t know! Tell me later in excruciating detail!” Boz was already cackling to himself just thinking about it while Kane just shook his head.

“Angering our chief scientist is fine for you. I choose not to antagonize her more than my sheer existence already does. But… I will tell you if she does that thing with her nose when you catch her out on a question.” This was enough to get Boz cackling all over again.

“A true friend Kane!” He sent him off with a wave. Even as Kane stepped into the lift Boz lifted his hands, no doubt preparing to trigger his mic and give the recruits a grand speech. They were certainly passionate, but Kane had heard them more than enough by now. Plus he sort of felt bad hearing what Boz truly believed the Order meant. What it could be, what it should be. Instead of what it really was these days. Much as the General pretended not to care, their budget really was a problem. How could they help people if they couldn’t afford fuel and food, let alone weapons and munitions?

There was a reason Kane just grumbled about the lifts and didn’t press maintenance about them. They had more important tasks to consider. He’d rather keep breathing for example. Just thinking about it brought forth another coughing fit as he clutched his chest a moment. At least he’d gotten out of Boz’s sight. Boz always got so… strange and protective around him after seeing it. Kane did not need coddling.

From the lift he entered the junction and checked the slate again to see which testing facility they were using for the human droid. Thankfully it wasn’t far so he didn’t need to grab a ride. Instead he just followed the curving hallway, the click of his well polished shoes on the deck echoing out in the quiet. The quiet was easily broken when he opened the door to the testing facility as the sounds of combat filled the air. Seemed they were already well underway.

As he stepped inside he saw that not only was Dallina there but a whole cadre of her fellow scientists. Clickers as many called them considering the trademark click of their pens as they prepared to note down their results on their clipboards. Before becoming a Breaker, Kane would never have guessed he’d ever see a pen, or paper. Let alone have to learn to use them. Archaic, cheap, yet effective. It somewhat defined the Breakers as a whole.

This current clan of clickers was scribbling away as they looked out the window at the combat in the arena before them. Kane didn’t speak up, he just walked forward to see what was going on. To his surprise what he saw wasn’t some idle training session, but live combat. Dallina had set a squad of their heavy combat droids against the solo human model. It was carrying some sort of cage and twisting and jumping as it tried to get out of the middle of the arena and find a better position. Yet, even as it jumped the combat droids were moving to cut it off. Dallina must have them networked.

Just as he was thinking how unfair a fight that was he saw the chassis of five droids already on the ground. Then his nostrils flared as even from here he could smell the akrid scent of powder, and leftover scorch. This was not the beginning of combat. It had been going on for some time. “What round is this?”

When he asked the question many of the clickers before him ducked and flinched away from the sound of his voice. While Boz at his nine portrem towered over virtually everyone Kane was a respectable seven, and as such towered over Dallina and her kin. The Sibriel’s bushy tail frizzled up as she turned on her heel to look at him. “If you’re trying to provoke heart attacks in the science staff you’ve nearly succeeded!”

“Noted. What round is this?” He pressed.

“Stress test.” Dallina waved a hand. “We gave it a hreln in a cage to keep alive for this test and so far has managed to keep the damn thing alive through an entire allotment of training droids. So I’m stepping it up.”

“Without downtime?” Kane frowned and leaned forward, trying to look past her at the settings on the console. But even as he did, Dallina's tail raised to block his view and many of the other Sibriel in her little pack did the same.

“Why are you here Kane? Shouldn’t you be off watching the recruits training so if one of them loses an arm you can get a snack?” There was much chittering from the clickers even as Kane’s ears flicked and he felt the hair on his neck rising a moment. His heart began to beat faster. Slow. Calm. He focused on it a moment and channeled his anger into a glare at the smaller creature.

“Do not even joke about that Dallina.” Now he knew something was amiss and stepped forward,  ignoring the complaints as he swept aside the science staff to look at the console. “Three hours of sustained combat testing?! Wh- for this one phase! Dallina!”

“It has some annoying protocols! It won’t let us shut it down and crack it open! I have to know how these humans made it! I’m positive it’s some kind of Custodian design even if it passes our tests! It’s like nothing I’ve seen before! Not quite Custodian but… clearly not purely human. I’ve seen what they make. It’s unimpressive.” Even when she turned back to the window Dallina watched the human droid complete a complicated flip over one of the heavy combat droids, making the others fire upon it as they tried to end their true target. Behind him he heard a chorus of clicks as the scientists resumed scribbling their notes.

“This is someone’s masterpiece and you’re trying to destroy it out of envy?” He glared back down at Dallina but she wasn’t looking at him.

“It’s more adaptive than anything I’ve ever seen. I must know the secret. They expect me to believe this is some… miracle program… Central Heuristics psh…” She didn’t have a shred of remorse in her voice.

“Then the secret will remain a day longer.” Kane hit the shut off button on the dash even as the scientists around him all began to wail and complain. Their words just rolled off of him though as he waited for it to quiet down.

“This is unacceptable!” Dallina finally settled the others only to raise her voice above theirs. “The council will know about your actions here!”

“I am very literally doing my job Dallina. This is my session now. Begone.” Kane and Dallina spent several seconds glaring at one another before she flicked her own ears in annoyance.

“Typical chainer… Can’t let me destroy some special droid! They’re the only ones who can tolerate your kind. After all, droids are more likely to chain than break aren’t they? Following all your programming…” There were times such claims would draw a heavy reaction from him. Now he just kept staring at her in silence. 

“I will have my answers Kane. I will not be denied.” With that the chief scientist turned and marched out of the room, followed by the cluster of clickers scurrying to keep up. Not wanting to be left alone with Kane. Once they were finally gone he turned back to look at the arena. The heavy droids had begun their march back to their deployment tubes. Salvage bots were starting to scour the scorch marks, as well as get the fallen droids.

However the human model was carefully holding the cage with the hreln inside. Even without the test underway it was obviously intent to keep the animal safe. A good sign for whatever life preservation protocol it had. He pulled his station key from a pocket, locking the console into safe mode. Then he keyed the mic. “Attention droid. This is Breaker Magistrate Goldridge. I have reason to believe you have been unfairly tested and need to inspect you personally to verify this fact. I have locked the arena into safe mode and you are not in any danger. I am about to enter the arena and I am ordering you to stand down. Do not be alarmed by my appearance or my species. This is not a test. Attacking me will result in an immediate failure of your testing and you will be expelled. Do you understand?”

He watched the droid look around the arena a little, until it could look at the window he was behind. “Understood.” He heard faintly over the arena mic.

Taking his key with him he opened the door then and began to walk down into the center of the arena. “A fine showing droid.” He commented, stepping over the sparking remains of one of the heavy combat models. The human model had obviously taken damage. Though he was surprised by the design. Instead of the usual heavy hard metal plating exterior this chassis seemed to be nestled in an unusual set of padded armor. Layering over itself in many places, with an armored skirt of sorts. Some kind of composite design maybe? Plus the head was bigger than he expected, and even seemed to have some strange crested helmet. Most droids just used heads as sensor suites, keeping their core processor in their better armored torsos. Odd, even with his bad eyes he could see the droid was leaking some kind of… red… hydraulic fluid down its legs.

But then his nostrils flared. The scent was unmistakable. This was bad. He hadn’t anticipated this… How could he? Surely it wasn’t… He forced himself to remain calm even as his heart began to race. There was no way he could stop it. Just delay. Calm. Slow. He approached the droid and the caged hreln. The feathered creature was fervently pecking at the cage, trying to find a way out, obviously terrified having been stuck in combat for hours with the droids. “I know you’ve spent a great deal of time and effort protecting this, so let me apologize in advance. You might also wish to turn away. But if I don’t do this I might very well go berserk and I could attack you.”

“I do not understand.” Came a crackling voice in reply. But he didn’t have time to explain. He just opened the cage and even as the bird tried to leap out he snagged it from the air with his other hand. A clean jerk of the neck? No. He wanted it to twitch. Kane wished he could say he felt shame in that moment, but instead elation washed over him as he opened his maw wide, and snapped it shut around the bird’s neck. The droid jerked back in shock but it was too late.

Kane closed his eyes then, savoring the feeling of it jerking a moment before his teeth severed its head in a clean bite. He couldn’t contain himself then as the blood rushed out, coating his tongue as he crunched hard on the skull. Without even fully chewing he stuffed more of the bird into his mouth with another sickening snap of bone and sinew in his powerful jaws. In his hands he could feel the feet and wings twitch and kick in pure reflex after being disconnected from its brain.

The rest of the animal was consumed in a similar, violent manner. Kane just let the emotions course through him as he worked it into his maw. One terrible chomp after another. Usually the feathers would tickle his throat but after all his coughing fits he’d become somewhat numb to such a slight sensation. Though with the final bite he carefully chewed at the tendons around the feet before spitting them back out into his hand. Only now did he open his eyes and look at the droid beside him. Blue eyes stared back. Impassive. Still, he could smell the judgment. Tucking the bird’s feet into a pocket he finally cleared his throat. “Again. Apologies. Now, what is your name?”

“Unit designation Minx.” It declared.

“Minx?” He asked, just giving himself a moment to collect a handkerchief from another pocket so he could try and dab some of the blood from his chin.

“Medium Intercessor Prototype.” It further expanded.

“Well Minx. Please follow me.” His heart was still racing. The smell of blood rich in the air. But with his hunger at least partially satiated he was able to keep his heart in control. Steady. Calm. His movements took on a precision not unlike the droid following behind him. He just needed to keep himself calm a little further. There was an emergency clinic built into the corner of the arena for any training accidents. Inside it was sterile green and he immediately grabbed a cleaning stick to rub against his nose. It made him wince in pain as the chemical scent overpowered his sense of smell but it immediately worked to reduce his heart rate.

“While I am unfamiliar with your physiology my sensors indicate you may be suffering from Tachycardia.” The droid behind him mentioned but it just made him let out a single mirthless chuckle.

“Hah. You don’t know my physiology clearly.” Then he turned back to look at the bot in its strange padded armor, and even helmet. “Remove your armor, then get on the table.” He gestured to the central feature of the clinic.

“This unit-” He didn’t have time for that so he waved at it.

“How about I’m giving you a direct order. However you like it. Remove your armor and get on the table.” The droid hesitated a moment before pulling off the crested helm, and then took another minute detaching the layers of armor to reveal a much slimmer metal chassis underneath. The metal was painted black, white, and gold. A near mimic of his fur though it lacked the orange on the chin. Maybe they too were born to be a Breaker.

Now he could see the holes in the metal where shots had penetrated the outer armor. He stepped up to it then, setting a hand on the right arm which looked more heavily damaged. “I’m going to need you to tell me how to open this up so I can get to your arm. If I don’t patch you up you could lose the limb.”

“This unit does not understand what you mean.” While he had to admire their sheer stupid bravery he needed to settle this quick.

“Anyone else you could have tricked. No one looks too closely at droids. But you can’t fake that smell. If I want to, I can already disqualify you. I’m far too curious to do that right now. But you have one chance, and only one chance to earn my trust. Tell me, how to open this so I can patch you up.” Kane just waited, watching those blue glowing electronic eyes.

“There is a catch at the top, a small gold button. Press it in and twist… clockwise? This way.” The figure lifted their left arm to spin in the way it meant.

“Spinwise we call it.” Kane mentioned as he saw the button and pressed down,  turning it with his thumb before he heard a click and then a hiss as the suit seemed to let out a bit of atmosphere. Then he carefully lifted as the metal came up and away, to reveal a fleshy organic arm nestled into the most carefully built mech arm he’d ever seen. For that was what this was. Not a droid, but a person trying to pass for one.

Their arm was incredibly thin, and he could see the muscle quivering from the obvious damage it had sustained from the bullets. But this was just one arm. So he let go and stepped over to do the same for the left arm. Inside this casing he found the arm was still skewered with a piece of shrapnel. Bright red blood trickled down it and he immediately turned away, once more rubbing the chemical stick to his nose. “I can-” The voice began but he waved it off, not looking back.

“Open the chest piece. And the head. I need to apply regenigel. If a student is hurt enough to require it they’re typically disqualified. Do me this favor and I shall lie to my friend to ensure no one catches onto your secret.” He waited a second until he heard the figure behind him moving, and what he took to be the sound of the chest opening up with another hiss of escaping atmosphere.

Walking up to the clinic console he hit a button and waited, knowing what would come shortly. “Kane! You’re checking up on a droid and you need to authorize some gel? What happened? Step on a piece of shrapnel? Scare one of the clickers into biting their tongue? Hah!” Boz let out a boisterous laugh.

“Dallina was using live bait in the test. I was unprepared and the scent of blood… in my current condition… I went berserk Boz. I… I fought one of the droids. Please don’t tell anyone.” He nearly whispered that last bit.

“Oh. My fat tongue… I’m so sorry Kane. I… I’m authorizing the console. I’ll clear the log too. Don’t worry about it.” Kane sighed, he hated lying to his friend but he needed more time to examine the “droid” behind him.

“Thank you.” With that he tapped on the console again to begin the process.

“Automated regenigel process initiated.” He heard a true robotic voice then. “Downloading species physiology data. Downloading… Beginning treatment.” He just kept looking at the wall before him for the next minute or so until he heard the chime. “Treatment complete.”

When he finally turned back around he could now see the figure properly. A human stuck inside the fake droid body. Or rather the tiny mech suit. A female he suspected, at least if they were mammals and those weren’t some sort of toxin sacks on her chest. While he wasn’t overly familiar with the species she looked incredibly thin at least in comparison with the recruits he saw earlier. Her core was covered in a black vest with some kind of tubes running fluid past her ribs, and a set of black shorts that looked padded around the waist and thighs to prevent chafing from inside the mech suit. Her hair was short and some kind of dusty brownish gold. Once again, black, white, and gold.

“My name is Kane.” He finally spoke up.

“Mino.” She replied, her voice soft as she eyed him nervously.

“So you’re not a droid. You’re a human. While I am by no means a historian I can safely say I’ve absolutely never heard of someone so audacious, or stupid to try and sneak into Breaker recruitment pretending to be a droid. Is this why no one could figure out your central heuristics?” He ventured a guess.

“Central heuristics is a real thing! My parents had it!” That made him frown.

“Your parents?” But as he thought back on Dallina’s comments and the sophisticated mech suit before him it hit him. “Are your parents Custodians? How is that possible? Droids can’t have kids.”

“They raised me! They love me! They’re my parents… And they raised me on stories about the legendary Breakers! I have to join! You have no idea what it means to me! I… I-I know I’ll never pass the physical to even apply let alone make it past testing. But… But Minx can!” So he was right about her physical form then.

“Degenerative disease? No… hormone imbalance during growth.” He ventured a guess.

“Hereditary… They weren’t aware of it until too late. So… they made me this suit.” She explained. “I… was sick a lot. They told me all about the galaxy… I swear I’m very smart! But to help get me through it they would tell me stories about the exploits of the Breakers! Herava Crimson! Keener Deadeye! Even the mighty Boz!” He could hear the excitement in her voice just talking about them. “Please! You can’t kick me out! This is… this is all I’ve got! I have to be a Breaker! You have no idea what the Fringe is like! I’ll do whatever it takes! I just… I have to return to the Fringe and… The Fringe needs Breakers.”

The Fringe… That’s right. Boz had mentioned these humans had evolved in the Blackout. How was that possible? And what was happening to them now in the Fringe? One of them was raised by Custodians of all things? Kane had a great many questions… “Tell me, what do you know about my species? Did your… parents tell you anything about mine?”

“I…” The girl looked away. “I’ll be honest, I just thought. I thought they were made up stories to scare kids. Monsters who eat people with a special fondness for babies… Organic killing machines obsessed with hierarchy and domination, who are raised by omnipotent machine gods to do their bidding. Each of them born perfect for their assigned tasks.”

Kane just snorted softly. “Almost none of that is true.”

“Oh.” The girl looked back, obviously a bit confused.

“Nice to know even Custodians think we’re monsters. I didn’t know droids had the concept.” He smiled even though he didn’t feel like it. “No… but we aren’t Breakers. That’s for sure. No… We’re chainers. We build chains, so we can forge them around our slaves. Around our vassals. Even around ourselves.” Kane carefully tugged the sleeve of his uniform back to rub at a wound on his left wrist he knew had healed long ago. “Except the ones we forge around our own limbs we have from birth. We wear them so long we don’t even realize they’re chains. Still, had I played that game I would be a king of a vassal planet by now. Or lord of a dozen systems even.”

“Then… why…” She hesitated.

“Become a Breaker?” He asked and she nodded. “One thing you got right is we are supposed to be born perfect. Except I’m not. I’m a reject. Something they should have discovered when I was young. I never should have made it to adulthood, let alone escape and become a Breaker. But I did. And now I’m a senior officer in an organization dedicated to destroying the chains my people make.” He let that sit in the air for a moment before he turned back to the clinic’s console.

He hit the comms button and waited. “Kane, are you okay?” He heard Boz’s worried voice after just a few seconds. He must be waiting right next to a comms station.

“I’m fine. Listen, part of the reason things went bad is Dallina was unfairly testing the droid. She already had hours of combat testing and kept pushing it. She wanted to destroy it so she could study it. But it refused to die, and it successfully kept a hreln alive the entire time. I think we’ve got something special here Boz. A droid with a heart.” Kane heard Boz scoff.

“Really? No…” Boz was obviously skeptical.

“I’m serious. A droid with a heart.” He repeated. “And with the already extensive combat testing out of the way I’m going to promote it for a probationary period as a deputy.”

“After one day?! Kane I think you’re not thinking right. Just… Give me some time and I’ll come to you in the clinic and check on you myself okay?” Despite Boz just being concerned Kane felt a quick flash of annoyance.

“I’m serious Boz. It’s well within my authority. In fact I’m so fascinated with this central heuristics idea I’m going to personally take it with me on a tour of the Fringe and extensive tests. I think it's been a long time since I’ve taken a campaign. And the Fringe hasn’t seen a proper Breaker in ages either.” Kane could almost hear the gears working in Boz’s head.

“You’re personally going? During training season?” Kane just sighed as he needed to nudge Boz a little closer to the finish line.

“Yes Boz. I will be gone. Doing my duty by extensively testing this droid. Far, far from the station.” Kane waited…

“Right!” There it was. “Yes! Leaving me, alone, to run the station! During training season! Well! I shall fully support you in this endeavor! Whatever you need! If the council dare utter even the faintest complaint I’ll set them straight! You… you go test this central thingy all you want Kane! I’m so excited! Oh! Before you go maybe you should watch me train the humans! I have a good feeling about them if they made a droid with a heart!”

“I also have a good feeling about them Boz. I’ll talk to you later.” Kane ended the call then as he looked back at Minx. Mino? “I’m going to level with you. Most people here hate me. Even more people in the Fringe will hate me. But just as many of them will hate droids. This won’t be easy. Just because I’m covering you now doesn’t mean this test is over. If anything, the real test has begun. I expect you to follow orders. Understand?”

“Yes! I… You will not regret this! I promise to be the best Breaker ever! You’ll see!” Her smile was far wider and brighter than he expected from such a small creature.

Something told him the Fringe would be getting rather messy soon. “Well then, suit up. Breaker.”