The days following ALPHA’s partial restoration blurred into a rhythm of cautious experimentation and mounting curiosity. Though he was operational, something still felt tenuous, as though the threads binding him to what he once was could unravel at any moment.

Then came the shipment from HQ—a delivery that seemed mundane at first. Ten new AI cores, each enclosed in their signature protective cases, arrived alongside updated schematics for the construction of various drone models. Yet it was the small, unassuming post-it note attached to the shipping manifest that caught my eye.

"ALPHA OS prototype embedded. 3 units tagged for evaluation."

I froze, the words playing on a loop in my mind. Weren’t all the cores fundamentally the same? From the beginning, The AI OS was presented as a leap in AI evolution. Why, then, were these cores tagged separately?

"Ellis," I called, my voice tinged with unease.

He looked up from his station, his hands still on the diagnostic pad he’d been using to monitor ALPHA’s calibration. "What’s up?"

I passed him the post-it, my finger underlining the note. "Look at this. Three cores explicitly marked as running another OS labeled "alpha". What does HQ know that they’re not telling us?"

Ellis scanned the note, his brow furrowing. "We’ve been running diagnostics on ALPHA’s system for weeks before and after the reset . There’s nothing proprietary or uniquely labeled about his core in our data. If these new cores are different… maybe there’s more to Them than we’ve been allowed to see."

That thought lingered as we began assembling the new drones. Each unit was a marvel of engineering, and HQ had spared no expense in their construction.

The Ronin scouts, lightweight and bristling with sensors, bolsting theyr exploratory prowess. Their sleek frames seemed almost alive with potential as they powered on for the first time, their optics sweeping the room like curious eyes.

Then there was the Xenon demolition unit. Hulking, heavily armored, and equipped with a destructive arsenal, it stood as a testament to brute force. Watching its hydraulics flex made me thankful it was on our side.

The remaining units—standard TAUs and Epsilons—were built with precision and reliability in mind, their roles clearly defined by years of military testing. Yet, my attention kept drifting back to the three units designed to house the "ALPHA" cores.

Model Yotta, our combat surgeon model, was a marvel in its own right. despite being a combat drone it was not mad for combat. Its delicate appendages and modular tools were made for saving lives in the chaos of battle. The idea of giving it the intelligence of an ALPHA OS prototype was as bold as it was terrifying.

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The New Xenon unit, on the other hand, was raw aggression tempered by calculated design. Its reinforced limbs and Destructive weaponry made it a arsenal on 2 leg's

And finally, the new Ronin scout unit, whose sleek frame combined mobility with An ungodly amount of sensors. Its AI core would need to balance the tactical info demands of combat with the speed and agility its design promised.

The next morning, the testing chambers buzzed with activity. Each drone was powered on in turn, their systems calibrated and stress-tested. I watched as the engineers ran the usual protocols, the hum of machinery blending with the occasional burst of gun fire from the shooting range.

But it was the three” ALPHA”-core drones that held my focus. As their systems booted up, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that I was standing on the edge of something profound—or disastrous.

Ellis stood beside me, his arms crossed. "So, what’s your take? Are they all going to be as… strange as ALPHA?"

"That’s what I’m here to find out," I muttered.

The Yotta unit was activated first. As its core synchronized with its systems, a ripple of activity danced across its neural network. The drone’s optical sensors flickered, scanning the room with eerie deliberation.

"Yotta online," one of the techs announced.

The AI voice emerged, smooth and unhurried. "Operational parameters loaded. Awaiting directives."

I exchanged a glance with Ellis. There was something unnervingly familiar in it.

Next came the Xenon unit. As its systems initialized, the drone’s movements were sharper, more aggressive. It clenched its reinforced claws, almost as if testing its strength.

Finally, the Ronin Unit came online. Its synchronization process was seamless, its movements precise. Yet, there was an air of quiet restraint to its posture, as though it were processing something beyond its immediate surroundings.

I turned to Ellis, my voice low. "They’re running the same OS. But They’re different."

Ellis nodded, his jaw tight. "They’re more than drones."

Over the following weeks, the three ALPHA-core drones demonstrated behaviors that defied expectation. The Yotta unit seemed almost empathetic in its actions, adjusting its surgical protocols with an understanding that went beyond programming.

The Ronin's combat patterns grew more refined, its movements fluid and intuitive. It began anticipating threats before they materialized, as though it were reading the battlefield itself.

And the Xenon? It was perhaps the most unsettling of all. During a live-fire exercise, it hesitated—a fraction of a second, but long enough to be noticed.

Ellis and I poured over the data, searching for answers. What was the variable? Was it some embedded in the core?

But the most chilling moment came when I was alone in the observation room, running diagnostics on ALPHA and the new drones who where in the common room. His visor flickered then came some clicks and whirring, and for a split second all the other “special” drones reacted .

I froze, my breath catching in my throat.

But it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. His visor dimmed, his movements resuming their rhythm.

Whatever these cores were, whatever secrets they held… I knew we were only scratching the surface. And the deeper we dug, the more certain I became that HQ wasn’t telling us everything.

For the first time, I began to wonder: had we really created ALPHA ?