System log: The Bunker, Site 3

Solar Calendar: Unknown, 2???

Current status: Active

Log 19

The day began with the humans gushing over the new knight mechas produced by the fabricators. To prevent a fight, Gamma had ensured that the personal mecha suits already indicated their users, that being the boss captain Donaldson, and Sloan, and that the next three would be going to Ryan and the twins. Dina had excitedly walked to the two men through what she’d learned in controlling her own knight, and the three spent the morning practicing their limits outside with the help of the new techies, as they were called.

Work on the individual runners’ files and job titles within modern human society was ongoing. A techie referred to a human with skills in programming, engineering, computer maintenance, and/or design. Besides Sloan, who was still an apprentice techie, there were three more experienced techies in the Roadrunners: Dan, a lower middle aged white man, Steve, softspoken latin-ish man, and Rob, a darker skin bald man who loved to laugh. The four were well acquainted with each other it seemed, with Rob being the most experienced member. He’d taken to being with Sloan when the boss needed a techie, and likely would replace the younger man over time in terms of importance. Gamma judged this wouldn’t have much social impact on the group, as Sloan seemed to very much respect the older man.

Another new job title, one that seemed to apply to Ryan for once, was hulk. Being a hulk, apparently, meant you were a larger size human specializing in strength, endurance, and size to accomplish tasks requiring augmented strength. This didn’t only refer to exo-suits as it turned out, because their conversations indicated both a genetic and human-induced condition that encouraged this form of human body, with the name title referring a forgotten comic character, though the body type should have been called ‘thor’ in gamma’s opinion. Ryan’s odd focus on food was apparently a side effect of the condition, as the other four hulks in the group all appeared to equally enjoy and need more calories than the average human. Ryan’s general attitude and cowardice, however, was not seemingly shared with his comrades who were, generously put, not a bright as Ryan. The four other hulks were: Hilda, a large muscular blonde, Evans, a bald tank of a man, Leaves, the tallest of the bunch with long red hair, and Freya, Leaves’ slightly shorter sister.

Between the original six and the new seven, Gamma still hadn’t picked up the other seven new runners yet, but would keep a sensor out to update their metadata. From what the program gathered, three were healers of some kind at least, though the exact job title had yet to be uttered. Overall, everyone mostly appeared to be doing the same thing for now as cleanup work continued and loads were taken up to the fabrication room to be recycled. The Roadrunners continued to be cheerful and hopeful in their general attitudes despite their new surroundings, likely referencing a personality trait handpicked when they were all hired by the boss, or whoever else did logistical work in the runners.

Gamma returned its focus outside to the group of three knights racing across the desert. On the sidelines, Rob stood on the right side of the entrance, with Steve and Dan on the left side recording data and discussing things with each other. It appeared the latest test had been completed, as the trio of mechas had turned and run back to the other humans.

The boss, in the lead, stopped in front of Rob and pulled up his helmet to reveal his face. “So, how does it look?” the older man asked curiously.

“Well boss,” Rob drawled with a grin. “It would appear Sloan’s records match what we’ve all seen here today. Huge boost in velocity and acceleration, much better turn control and flexibility, and that nifty little auto-camo; that suit is worth its weight in titanium and platinum I’d say.”

“So, it lines up with Dina’s data,” the boss asked in confirmation.

“I believe I just said that?” Rob noted with a roll of his eyes.

“Right, sorry,” the boss shook his head. “Feels like my mind is still catching up to me. Was there anything unusual you spotted?”

“Hm,” Rob tapped his terminal thoughtfully. “Technically, no. However, I do believe I noted something young Sloan here didn’t.” Sloan looked over curiously, to which the older man shook his head. “Naw, you didn’t miss it Sloan. While you three were all running in formation, your suits all turned in time with each other in such a way that no movement was wasted. Were I a betting man, I’d say your suits were coordinating with each other to maximize efficiency.”

“A wireless communication?” the boss and other two mecha riders all grimaced.

“No no,” the black man waved them off. “I’d of said something if I detected a signal. To be honest, I can’t make heads or tails of it from my end. I imagine the answer lies somewhere in the code flowing through those suits, and I’d be very adverse to plugging in without a better rig. Can’t imagine the data security I’d have to punch through to even access the logs, so we’ll be tabling that.” He shrugged. “Suffice to say, I’d be confident in declaring these knight mecha suits work best in teams and not solo. Up to you all how you plan to use that.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“I’ll keep that in mind for later,” the boss nodded. “Thanks Rob. Is the plan still to have you, Steve, and Dan all go with Sloan to investigate the security terminal?”

“Later in the afternoon, yes,” the lead techie agreed. “We have to go back and do a shift for cleanup first sir. Can’t be letting those hulks do everything and make jokes at our expense, right?” He laughed, and the boss joined in. With a wave to his fellows, Rob lead the other three techies, Sloan included, back into the facility.

Dina and the boss remained outside. The woman tilted her suit-covered head curiously at her boss. “Are we not going in sir?” she asked.

“I want to do a full perimeter patrol,” he explained to her, “now that we can move in proper patrols of two, though four would be ideal. We haven’t seen every side of these ruins yet either.”

“Understood boss,” Dina nodded. “I’ll follow your lead.

Annoyingly, the human duo began to jog around Site 3, placing Gamma in an unfortunate spot. It only had audio sensors at the entrance of the facility, and since their faces were covered the program would be unable to read their lips from the security cameras. Adding audio sensors to existing outside security infrastructure was so low on the priority list Gamma didn’t even bother attempting to estimate the time it would take to reach the task, so it would have to endure this situation for now. The return of wireless communication would be a welcome addition to everything when it was safe.

Idly, the program watched as the duo jogged past each security camera one after the other. Their speed was impressive, as it mirrored that of the average human sprint speed, and was just as well since Gamma had designed the mechas. The program’s inner dialogue was rudely interrupted when the humans abruptly stopped and began to search the area.

It was only after a moment of analyzing that Gamma realized the issue. There hadn’t been enough wind to disguise the tracks left by the drones the previous day. The knight mecha’s sensors were easily able to note the disturbance in the sand, track the source and destination, and offer their human rider’s a quick estimation of what had made the tracks based on the suit’s recorded data, which was updated every time they recharged and reconnected to Site 3’s main computer. Ironically, Gamma found itself checkmated by its own design. Somehow, it had the impression this situation would have brought much delight to the scientists, even Dr. Dilbert. The man only ever seemed to smile when his designs proved their superiority, after all.

Judging by the movements of the arms and hands, the duo were having a deep discussion about the drone tracks. At least, it didn’t appear that the humans were feeling any fear or unease; more that they were expressing curiosity and likely some guesses about the purpose and goals of the drones. Given the runner’s innate sense of said curiosity, and the relatively low number of things to do, Gamma had a good sense for what would happen next. As usual, in this less fortunately, the program was correct as always.

Upon re-entering the facility, the boss summoned up the runners and began to explain the situation. Gamma listened on with an odd sense of frustration and . . . poutiness?

“So,” the boss continued. “That’s what I think we found. Where those drones were going, neither Dina nor I are sure, but we can follow their tracks with our knight mechas. Given that the only time we’ve ever seen drones leave the ruins was to retrieve raw materials, there’s a good chance this group is doing the same. Thoughts?”

“Kinda strange they pulled the equivalent of escaping through the window to avoid being seen boss,” Ryan pointed out from the back. “It’s not like they’re teens looking to get lucky or wasted.”

“True,” the boss agreed over the snorts of the crowd. “But since we don’t know when they left, maybe they wanted to avoid the large group of us that was here yesterday. They focus on optimal pathing after all.”

“Since you didn’t see from here where they’d gone, doesn’t that mean its pretty far away wherever they’re going?” one of the hulks, Evans piped up. The tank of a man rubbed his head. “Not a fan of going somewhere without knowing how long it’ll take boss.”

“It can’t be too far,” Sloan pointed out. “The drones we saw had less than a day of operation time before needing to recharge, wherever that is. They roll only slightly faster than a brisk walk, so even the maximum distance would only be about half a day away. We could travel that easily in these knight mechas.”

“But is it worth the risk?” Rob asked with a raised eyebrow. “You and Dina would be blows if lost, but we’d struggle if the boss went missing. And since it’s just your three right now with knights, anyone who went with you would only slow you down. Plus, if you left now, that would only leave Ryan and the twins to offer guidance about this place. I’d rather roll in the sand, I’d think.”

Collective groans, laughs, and tongue-clicking echoed around, with the three mentioned individuals all shrugging in agreement. Clearly, everyone was aware of their own faults and capabilities.

“Be that as it may,” the boss said a moment later, “I do think it’s important to at least know where those drones were heading. If nothing else, they might disturb a bug nest or located another ruin to investigate. Whether it’s security concerns or knowledge for future expansion of our activities here, both are equally important for the sake of our future here.”

Reluctant nods were seen all around as everyone seemed in agreement.

“But you’re not going with just the three of you, right boss?” Hilda, another hulk, asked with a frown.

“I think that’s a bit too much risk as well,” the boss sighed in acknowledgement. “But I don’t want a full squad. This is just a scouting trip people, not a full investigation. I know stars above all of you will want to volunteer, but I just need two more for this. And no section leads,” he said, eyeing the crowd. “You all need to stay and continue to learn this place.”

After some more discussion, it was decided that both Hilda and Steve would be coming along, the former for some additional muscle, and the latter to help Sloan in case of any technical difficulties. The two were a bit comical next to each other; one very much taller than six ft and over 200 lbs, the other about six and maybe 200 lbs soaking wet. The addition of their exo-suits did nothing to aid in the discrepancy, much to Gamma’s amusement.

With basic supplies attached to everyone’s suit, the group of five left the facility to track the drones. Unknown to them, Gamma dispatched a third scout drone to tail the group from above, ensuring the program would be kept up with events outside of its security net. Statistically, it was unlikely the humans would be able to keep to the exact path the drones had taken, raising the risk factor by several degrees. The program fully expected, that the knight mechas would very soon be put to their first real field test.