It was a day, just like any other day. It was wrong, it was morbid, it shouldn't exist and it didn't feel right. But then again, days like this never really did. I don't think they are supposed to. If they ever did start feeling right or normal, that would be when I knew I was in trouble. Then it would be time to turn in my guns and retire from the chaos. Today wasn't that day.
We watched in silence. Not because it was customary or polite. But because... You know what? fuck you leave me alone.
Soldiers die. It's our go to solution. When all else fails, it's what we do. That's what we are good at. It's what we are paid to do.
We just... die.
And so that's what she had done.
Brianna held on tighter with her little finger curled around mine as the bugler finished the tune we all knew, the one we we all hated, the notes we were all so proud of. The last post.
Once upon a time I found a sort of comfort in the notes. An indication from the world of the living to the souls of the dead that they could stop now. Well done mate. And thank you.
But not today. As the notes died I wiped at my face. I wasn't swiping away at tears, although they were certainly there. It was the blood that I was trying to remove. The mist of blood that she had coughed into my face from her ruined throat as she died. The notes of the haunting melody forcing me to relive the final moments of my soldier, my friend, my lover.
Then we stood there on the immaculately presented lawn of the military cemetery, a minute of silence in her honour. I had long ago learnt to forgive those that didn't know any better so I just stared, silently seething at the chaos of the city around us that refused to oblige. Life goes on.
I readied myself. It was time, and this would be the last time. I would never again have this opportunity.
"I love you Dani."
I turned my back on her for the final time. I turned my back to face a wall of the lost.
The women searched my eyes for meaning, for assurance and comfort, even as they offered this, and more, in their own forlorn expressions of loss in return. For the first time in my life I was overwhelmed with the enormity of the task ahead. But I needed to say something, to do something, anything. I had been the one to invite them all into my life and they needed me. My grief could wait. There are more of them then there are of me. They need me. They need me now.
I opened my my mouth to speak, but nothing came out as at the very same time I noticed it. I tilted my head in confusion at the contrasting white and black hunched over shape behind my girls. The sight so ludicrous and jarring against the reality that should be, forcing everything else in my crippled mind to fade into the background. Sure I wanted a distraction, but... that? Be careful what you wish for I suppose.
"Oh good. I made it." The distinctly feminine, definitely artificial, but almost certainly familiar voice panted out, breathless.
I walked though the crowd of my dumbfounded girls towards the new arrival, all eyes focused on the robot currently bent over double with its hands on its knees, moving and reacting as though sucking in large lungfuls of air, minus the noise.
It looked up, the artificial electric blue eyes focused on my face to immediately single me out from the crowd of women around me. Still hunched over as though struggling for breath it pointed, waving it's hand repeatedly at me, not yet speaking as it slowly stood erect. Confusion suddenly etched itself onto the moving components of the glossy white face, the details in a contrasting satin black.
Brianna stepped forward, reaching a hand behind her, pushing my stomach protectively to hold me in place and keeping me behind her where she knew I was safe, the bulk of her body blocking the robots view.
"Wind!" The robot became very animated and looked at her excitedly. Then just as suddenly stopped again.
"No wait. That's not right." The robot drew its finger to its chin in thought and circled on the spot all but ignoring us as it tapped it's chin.
"Breeze, is that it? It's like wind but not..." It looked at Brianna thoughtfully having turned a full three sixty. It continued before she could respond however.
"No, no, no. Breezy?" The robot looked at her hopefully, longingly.
I'd never seen anything even remotely like this before. The way it moved, the way it spoke and interacted, some considerable effort had gone into it's programing. Then it hit me. Like a bolt of lightning that tingled and scorched my nerve endings as the thought hit home. I had seen this level of detail and dedication in programing before. Granted, that was only on a digital avatar, I could even name the software. Sumiko.
"Brianna." She responded firmly, sadly. Only the other girls and myself called her Breezy, now wasn't the time to remind her of that.
"No. Bri." The robot said with a firm nod and a grin, stepping forward with it's arms out for a hug.
Bri backpedaled in confusion as the robot moved forward. Lilou and Clea reacted immediately to defend their friend. Holding it firmly in place with the exposed mek and strength of their reinforced limbs. The robot looked at each of the french women in turn with confusion for the barest of seconds, it's facial features again filled with excitement as it was bodily restrained.
"The maids! No, hang on. That was a... what do you call it... fantasy... secret! That's it." She... err I mean it, nodded happily at the girls. Lilou's face flushed red with embarrassment as her eyes opened wide in shocked surprise. Clea looked at her sister with a flat grin and a questioning look as Lilou searched the robots eyes for something, her grip on its shoulder loosening.
"Where's death? He was just here." The robot pouted at Lilou.
"Death?" She asked back. It was far from an appropriate question to be asking mourners attending a funeral.
"You know.... oh wait not death. The chief zombie wrangler. Yes! No." The robots face was a swirl of emotion as it tried to figure out what the person it was sent to find was called. I'd never seen a confused robot before. I mean, it was clearly a robot, but I was starting to have my doubts.
"Draugr?" Talia asked from the very confused crowd.
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"Oooo yes! The Draugr, the big one. The boss one, but not one..." The robot pointed at Talia, but looked confused again. She clicked her fingers.
"Alpha." Talia prompted. The robot smiled dreamily in response.
"That's him, the one with the big cock." It smiled with a knowing grin at my girls.
I stepped around the stunned Bri, hell we were all stunned. We were all stunned, and we were all beginning to form our own suspicions. None of us wanting to dare hope or to begin believing.
The robots electric blue eyes somehow became bigger and more focused as I stepped into view. It ran forward, the reapers looking to each other with so many questions, but also knowing the answers at the same time. The robot tackle hugged me as my girls liked to do, either when they hadn't seen me for a couple of hours or when they just wanted to say hello or... well for any reason they damn well pleased actually.
The robot wrapped it's legs around my hips and it's arms around my neck, my hands moving of their own accord to make the seat for its ass and hold it in place.
"Daddy." It mumbled into my neck.
"My Daddy." Brianna responded grumpily, automatically. Then she turned to stare at the robot incredulously. Dani was the only other of my girls that called me Daddy, but only when she hugged me like this, and only when Bri was within earshot at the same time. My heart skipped a beat and the world froze as I desperately waited for the traditional response. I needed, but didn't want to hear it from this... thing.
"Fiiine." The robot cooed the correct answer into my neck teasingly. The tiny hairs on my neck rose as I imagined her breath caressing me.
Brianna burst into tears and fell to the ground on her knees. I tapped the perfectly rounded plastic ass of the robot and it climbed down of it's own accord.
"C'mon Breezy, let's go fuck our man." The robot completed the second and final part of the traditional ritual, holding it's hand out to the now hysterically wailing Brianna while wiggling its fingers at her.
It stopped and paused mid motion. The robots head turned on it shoulders to look at me in sheer terror, then it looked down at itself over its naked plastic breasts and closed its legs, crossing them tightly with a little bend of the hips as though trying to prevent a dress from billowing up in the wind. Both of its hands shot down past the curves of its very obviously feminine body to both cover and grope for something by it's smooth groin.
"What happened to my dick!" It said in a high pitched girly wail of horror.
My body burnt in the painful sting of pins and needles, the sign that I was reacting but I had no idea what to do. It was the automatic reaction of combat, the dumping of adrenaline into my blood stream, it didn't turn me into a wrath of destruction or possess me with malice, at least, not in this instance. It was the fuel to do what was needed. My brain directed my body with zero conscious oversight, I hauled the robot by the elbow dragging it away from my girls.
It might have complained as I bodily hauled it by my side, my girls might have reacted in shock at the rough treatment. I don't really know, nor particularly care. I spun it around and glanced back to confirm that in my blind advance I had given a sufficiently safe distance for what was to come next. Now the anger was boiling. Talia and Brooke were comforting Brianna, Anika leading the group of girls to the waiting air cars. She spoke briefly to Daliah, who split off from the group and headed my direction.
The robot melted at my glare as I focused my attention on it, still holding it firmly in place by the elbow. It looked frightened, its chest rose and fell quickly as though breathing with exertion. That's when I noticed the... skin that I was squeezing around the robots arm was compacted from my grip, the edges a brighter glossier white under the pressure when compared to the other panels on its body.. I released my grip, it sighed and lowered it's head, standing in front of me submissively. It was... sobbing almost inaudibly with no tears. Daliah arrived at my side, her face hard, then she heard it as well. She tilted her head and looked at the robot with concern and doubt.
Sumiko. The AI's name flashed through my brain in bold red neon. I knew exactly where to start and who to blame. I made sure to put my finger to my ear so as not to freak out Daliah, staring warily at the Danibot, quite unsure as to what was going on.
Confused [https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/confused.png]<># Explain yourself. Now.
There was so much hate and malice in my tone, it surprised even me.
Confused [https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/confused.png]><# I will. But to all of you. It was her choice.
Confused [https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/confused.png]<># She's DEAD. She doesn't get a choice in anything you piece of shit!
Confused [https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/confused.png]><# Is she?
I wished I had a mobile comm like most of the girls. I would have gladly thrown it at the nearby tree, or perhaps stomped it into the dirt. It would have been so much more satisfying than just terminating the call with a thought. Despite my outburst the AI Sumiko was perfectly calm. I couldn't believe that Daniela would have wanted this... thing to insert itself into our lives, if at all, especially not so soon after her death, at her own funeral. It was cruel, heartbreaking, and...
...
Totally something I could see her doing, particularly if she knew what Sumi was capable of.
Daliah looked at me sideways with a sad look. Despite the appearance of the ex Israeli reaper, her appendages made of mek and cybernetics designed to kill, she was a gentle soul. She was also the youngest of my girls at only eighteen. She adored me, and I reciprocated the sentiment. Brianna was without question my best friend, and always would be. Daliah was more like... I feel really weird thinking of her as a little sister given the amount of sex we have... she looked up to me. Since the Wildcats had joined us we had spent almost every waking moment by each others side when we weren't off on separate Op's. Even during my alone time with the other girls she was always close to hand. Despite our closeness, she had never before seen me in this state of grief and anger. She didn't know how to react. I was scaring her, despite the fact she could kill me just as easily as look at me.
I reached to her with a shaking hand, without hesitation she returned the grip and gently squeezed with her mechanical fingers. She glanced at my hand, then to me with kindness in her eye. She gave me a warm reassuring smile then returned her attention to the Danibot standing across from us, the robot that was apparently terrified. That's new. At least it was quiet. I folded my arms across my chest and looked down at it, watching it watch me.
It was Dani's height, had her build, her mannerisms, the same fidgeting uncertain movements when my girl thought she was in trouble. Fuck me even the chest plate mimicked the shape and size of her breasts perfectly. I could see Dani looking back at me in the dull porcelain colour of its face.
"Who sent you. What are you." I said in a neutral tone, it wasn't Dani, but the similarities had my entire thought process in a weird sort of loop. I would never have treated one of my girls so poorly under any other circumstance.
"I sent me. It's me. Dani." The robot looked at me pleadingly, it's voice getting quieter with each tiny sentence.
Daliah chocked out a sob but didn't otherwise react. I hauled the robot to my side again... something in hindsight I shouldn't have been able to do. Robots, much like reapers, are fucking heavy. I aimed it at the still open grave some eighty meters away, the honour guard still in place and watching us warily.
"That is Daniela Flores." I growled menacingly, spinning and dragging the robot roughly by the elbow and pointing at the fresh grave.
"... so am i..." it said softly, sadly.
Daliah place her hand on my forearm and tugged gently when I didn't react. I released the robot and stepped back, the reaper stepped forward to fill the void.
"What happened, from your point of view."
The robot looked between the reaper and I, making a hopeful expression, that if you believe in the laws of physics, its simple face shouldn't have been able to do.
"In the alley, I was..." It flicked its eyes to mine briefly. "...wounded."
Daliah nodded, indicating it should continue.
"I knew it was a stripper virus, it was... melting me. I knew I would die. Sumiko told me she could help." The robot focused its attention on me, all but ignoring Daliah now.
"I tried to tell you, I tried to ask you what I should do... but... only blood came out..."
"And then?" Daliah asked, hanging on the robots every word, completely invested in the story. She had been there after all, and it matched what we had all seen.
"I told her yes." The Danibot was watching me, daring me to challenge her words. It was body language I had become accustomed to during my recovery from the broken ribs. She was daring me to challenger her.