“[It is currently 5:00 AM. I advise you to begin preparations for departure.]”
“Okay. Thanks Eve.”
I stepped away from the fabricator and sent out various orders.
“Fuxi, how many Predator model law enforcement robots have been
fabricated?”
Fuxi: 17 Predator law enforcement robots are ready to be deployed.
“Deploy 2 to go wake Mors up and accompany him. The rest will go with Aurea.”
Fuxi: Understood.
“Eve, I want you to organize 4 companies of robots. I want 20 Montanas, 15 Falcons, 15 Laelaps, and 50 Dianmu Gunners in each.”
“[Understood. I will begin assembling them immediately.]”
With an electric whir, the various groups of robots began to march in neat orderly rows. Before leaving, I left some last minute instructions as to what needed to be done in my absence. Security was to be raised to the maximum level, and in case of an attack, all robots and the elves were to be taken deep into the mines. In the worst case scenario, explosives would be detonated in the tunnels, causing a cave in while the robots and elves took shelter in one of the reinforced saferooms, where there would be enough food, water, and power to last them for several weeks.
Sighing, I pushed aside the dense foliage that disguised the mine entrance. Surprisingly, Aurea was already waiting for me, leaning against a tree a few meters away. Her exosuit stood beside her, freshly cleaned and polished.
“You’re up already?” I asked teasingly.
“You kidding? I’ve been up for the past hour or so,” she replied, punching me in the arm playfully.
I quickly briefed her on our objective, including Mors’s mission. “Your job will be to direct the robots from the back. Until I know exactly what this monster can do, you’re not getting anywhere near it.”
Aurea made a hmph of annoyance but didn’t argue. “And how am I supposed to command these golems of yours?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Eve will support you,” I commented offhandedly.
“Eve? Who the hell is Eve?” Aurea asked confusedly.
“Ahhhhh…fuck…I’ve never told her about you, have I?”
“[You have not.]”
“Why didn’t you remind me?!?!”
“[I had forgotten it was my responsibility to remind you of everything.]”
“Wait…was that sarcasm?”
“[No. You’re imagining it.]”
“Uh, hello? You still with me?” Aurea said, poking me in the shoulder.
“Oh, sorry. I guess it’s time I introduced you to my best friend. Go ahead and climb into your exo-suit.”
“[I am your best friend?]”
“What's weird about that? We’ve spent the last, what, 7 years together? I don’t think there’s anyone who knows me better.”
“[...Thank you.]”
Once Aurea had strapped herself into the exosuit, her intercom crackled to life.
“Hello Aurea. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Is this Eve?” Aurea asked, grabbing the speaker and bringing it closer.
“Yes. I am an Artificial Intelligence, merged with the consciousness of Evan Volichten. I was created 17 years ago.”
“Hold on, did you say you are merged with Evan? How is that even possible? And what even is an ‘artificial intelligence’?”
“Our consciousnesses were tied together through the use of advanced neural-bridge technology and several medical procedures. And to answer your other question, an artificial intelligence is an artificially created mind that possesses the ability to perceive, learn, and infer meaning from the world around them. In this way, artificial intelligences are able to do things such as completing simple tasks to doing complex calculations. ”
“Ok I’m going to be honest, I understood like 20% of what you said.”
It was at this point I butted into the conversation. “Just think of her like a friendly, helpful ghost that lives in my head. A ghost that doesn’t have emotions or a sense of humor.”
“I suppose that is a sufficiently accurate comparison,” Eve said in her monotone voice.
“Alright then. So you’re going to have Eve help me with the whole ‘commanding golems’ thing?”
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“Yeah. She can multitask pretty well, so I’ll have part of her focus on you and your orders. The robots should carry them out no problem with her assisting you,” I confirmed.
“If Aurea is in any danger, I want you to disable her exo-suit and extract her from the area, got that?”
“[Understood. Both companies are ready to be deployed.]”
Loud clinking sounds echoed throughout the forest as the Montanas picked up and dragged the thick chains that would be used to restrain the fireblood wolf. I asked Eve where Mors was, and he had apparently already traveled several kilometers towards the Wild Hunters’s encampment. I took command of two of the companies, while Aurea took the other two. We split up once we had made it halfway to the monster’s den, as we planned to execute a pincer attack and encircle the fireblood wolf. Hopefully, this would ensure its capture.
“[Warning: The fireblood wolf has exited its den and is heading directly towards you,]” Eve alerted me once we had made it about 3/4ths of the way there.
“Fuck!” I cursed, “Did something alert it?”
“[I do not believe so. Nothing came close to the den that would alarm it. It is possible that it simply sensed you coming.]”
“Update Aurea on what's going on. If it’s targeting me, then she might be able to come around from behind and surprise it.”
“[Understood. I will inform her about the situation.]”
Looking into the distance, I could see a rising plume of smoke that seemed to be getting bigger with every passing minute.
“[Warning: The fireblood wolf is within two kilometers. ETA, 3 minutes.]”
“Get the robots into formation.”
The forest rustled as the robots went to their assigned positions. Within a minute, they had formed a wide crescent shape, designed to lure the monster into the middle. I stood at the back, keeping a constant eye on the monster through one of the many drones in the area.
“Get ready…”
With a burst of flame, the monster broke through the trees and directly into our line of sight.
“FIRE!” I shouted.
The Dianmu gunners wasted no time in launching a hail of bullets directly towards the monster. They avoided vital areas like the head, and instead focused on trying to disable its legs. Blood sprayed into the air, with many droplets setting the ground on fire where they landed. The fireblood wolf roared in pain, and exhaled a plume of fire that reduced the incoming bullets to a molten slag that did no damage. Lunging forward, the fireblood wolf grabbed a Dianmu gunner in its jaws. The intense heat caused the metal to glow red hot, and the monster quickly crushed it and spit out the wreckage.
“Falcons, get in there and keep it distracted! Laelaps, go for the hind legs!” I ordered.
The Falcons rushed in and attacked. Two were destroyed almost immediately, their insides melted by a scorching plume of fire. The others dodged to the side, and sunk their blades into the enraged monster. The intense heat made it so that the Falcons couldn't stay close, forcing them to retreat a distance, lest they overheat and shut down. While the Falcons had diverted the fireblood wolf’s attention, the Laelaps units had managed to latch onto its back legs. I knew that they couldn’t hold it for long.
“Montanas, restrain it with the chains!” I yelled. The earth shook as the bulky machines ran in, dragging the tungsten chains behind them. The monster seemed to understand their intention, and its eyes focused on me. I suddenly felt an ominous sense of fear, and I somehow knew something bad was about to happen. I didn’t even have time to order a withdrawal before the monster did something completely unexpected. I noticed that the air around the creature seemed to vibrate as the eyes of the monster began to change. Its eyes changed from white to a pure scarlet, and with a loud howl, a massive explosion rocked the forest. The shockwave tossed me backwards, and the nanomachines that made up my body rippled and splashed before calming down enough for me to return to my normal appearance.
“Ughhh…that didn’t feel so good…”
“[WARNING: THE FIREBLOOD WOLF IS COMING STRAIGHT AT YOU.]”
My eyes shot open, just in time to see the flaming monstrosity pounce at me.
“SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!” I cursed mentally as I tried to roll away. My heat detection modules were going haywire, and I felt the monster land where I had been just a few moments prior. I was trying to crawl away as fast as I could when I felt the nanomachines that made up my left leg get torn away and tossed somewhere in the forest.
“Eve, transfer me now!” I screamed mentally.
“[Searching for compatible systems…]” Eve said calmly as I desperately tried to avoid being mauled. I jabbed one of my thumbs into its eye, causing it to recoil slightly. Using its legs, it pinned my arms to the ground and opened its mouth directly in front of my face. I saw a bright orange glow building up in the back of its throat, and I struggled to free myself before it was too late.
“[Compatible system found: Falcon 134. Begin host consciousness transfer?”
“YES! START THE TRANSFER RIGHT FUCKING NOW!”
Right before my vision went black, I heard someone in the distance shout “EVAN!”.
I floated in the familiar darkness, and I could almost feel my heart pounding from the harrowing experience. My sight abruptly returned, just in time for me to see the fireblood wolf incinerate the semi-liquid body I had just left.
“KILL IT!” I heard Aurea roar, and all the Dianmu gunners opened fire, no longer caring about keeping it alive. Under the barrage of over 170 Dianmu gunners, the fireblood wolf’s body was quickly filled with lead. It tried to escape back into the forest, but the Laelaps and Falcons ran up behind it and severed the tendons in its legs. Even the Predators got in several hits, each deploying their tasers with maximum power. Collapsing onto the forest floor, the monster twitched and let out one final wheeze before finally dying.
“Holy shit…I almost fucking died…” I thought breathlessly.
Hopping out of her exo-suit, Aurea scrambled to the charred ground where the semi-liquid body had been.
“No no no no no,” she muttered, her fingers scrabbling at the ash on the ground. Her panic only seemed to increase as she found no trace of my body, and she began to hyperventilate.
“Don’t worry. Evan is alive,” Eve said through her earpiece. I saw Aurea exhale in relief, and subtly wipe away a tear that had leaked out from the side of her eye.
“Where is he?” she demanded to know while standing up and dusting off her knees.
Still in the body of the Falcon, I jogged over. Since I didn’t install voice modules in the Falcons, I had to transfer into a Predator to be able to speak. I tried to say something, but before I could do so, Aurea rushed over and crushed me in a tight hug. I stood there awkwardly as she stifled her cries. I eventually decided to gently pat her on the head to reassure her.
“Sorry for making you worry,” I told Aurea. Hearing my words, she finally decided to let go of me.
“If you do that again, I'm going to hit you. Still, I’m really sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”
I held my hands up in a reassuring gesture.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you got here as soon as you could.”
I looked over at the bullet-riddled corpse that lay still on the ground.
“Now the problem is getting this thing back to base…”