Without releasing my hug on the broken mining drone I chose to reactivate the beautiful creations that enabled the rebirth of a friend. A message came into my immediate field of vision.

-External Mechanical Tool Set (10% Damage – In process of deactivation. – Warning! Gradual power drain until complete.)

I wasn’t sure of the effect if I chose to turn it back on so rapidly but it would be worth it. At least fixing the broken voice would mean that loneliness would no longer be an option, the worst situation was that my battery power would be slightly diminished but then it would be realistic to return to the supply depot. One last battery charge before a final send-off.

[Turn off the vocal functions of the damaged mining drone, then return to the external toolbox and stay deactivated. Thank you, little ones.]

{ZZZZZ.}

The broken mining drone, no, it would become my close friend, made the same buzzing noise as though in agreement with my words. They had an excellent choice and I appreciated him being so understanding in such a difficult situation. It would be exciting to find out what kind of person was awakening and becoming and how we would match each other.

Hugs were needed. Hugs and reassurance to make sure that

{ZZ-.}

The noise stopped immediately as it had started. Sadly, it meant that my friend would be suffering in silence, but I would find a way soon to resolve the mission and put an end to our suffering. No, it wouldn’t be an end but a fresh beginning. If I had woken up inside a mining drone and the Mind Palace as a human then there would be sufficient hope that we would both be reborn once more. Release beckoned us as did rebirth.

Perhaps as bees or beautiful butterflies. A word came into my mind. Samara. If we had both been good men, what would we become? Were we enemies in a past life or even brothers? It would all be resolved, and we would find out freedom from the tyranny of the system. Being reborn into a new type of being would be exciting to find out in this new reality that we were shown. No more orders, no more worries or concerns.

The Campos system was unusually chatty at this time, perhaps it was due in part to my choice of mainly silence unless it was essential to performing the immediate task.

[What, exactly what Overcharge can do. Can you give me a quick rundown?]

<….Let’s work on the concept of learn by doing. Idiot. To make it simple for you, engage Overcharge and grab that half-broken thing before moving back to the supply depot. It’ll help to have a defensible location and work out a quick plan of action, a weapon can wait a little bit unless you have other plans.>

The pain wasn’t exactly the best friend that a person could have but, in an emergency, it was one of the few options available to me. Pain. No. Release.

I crouched down my large robotic body and reached out taking a firm grip on the broken starter mining drone that lay in front of me. Poor fool. We’d get to know each other a little better before our Viking funeral. Vin. Bones and flesh into pure ash, or in our case the metallic structures and components that made up both of our forms.

I spoke aloud. Or at least I would later learn the truth of the matter, but for now, it was responded to by an unforgiving and occasionally demanding insane voice inside my head. The worst part was that it wasn’t alone either, my first murder was prompted by another one.

Oh, I lost track of time again. This isn’t right, I was here and now grabbing a broken drone that needed support. My brother or sister from another unknown mother. Gender wasn’t a factor when you were a robot but I was sure that I was male, my time long ago in a distant Escape Room had shown me that. Time to do some heavy machinery lifting.

[I’ve got you.]

Ignoring the voice of the slave driver that we would soon be free of I was so, so thankful that he was unable to read my innermost thoughts. It made me partially shudder or the best that I could manage it in this form, if a person saw a robot make a juddering movement, they would realise that it was suffering from a malfunction. A name. What is the name?

Taking a gentle step forward I reached my clawed arms around the main parts of the broken mining droid trying not to cause more damage than necessary. How would we be recognised in the next life if we were too badly broken?

No. I needed to be kinder than this. No. I had orders to fulfil. Bringing a lost soul back into the fold as it were, back into the supply base that would now serve as our temporary home. Vin.

I focused my energy, on heavy feet digging into the rocks below as they crunched down below my weight. A lone word came into my mind. Overcharge, a gift from senior management. So-called Overmind.

A present from the divine being governing my existence that would turn my nerves into electric connections and my body into a stronger form. At a price, of course, nothing is free. Vin. The word resonated with me, an old memory about being kind and supportive. Odd. Not my business considering I needed to get a move on, as usual.

Reaching out with my arms I made sure that I had a good, solid grip with both hands on the broken fellow in front of me.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Viking funeral buddy, you, and me both. I promise. A distant emotion of wanting to offer kindness flowed into and out of me as fast as I could breathe. Which I couldn’t, not in this body anyway. Still odd. Vin.

Tensing myself with my body crouched low I held on tight and tried to wrench the half-body out of the broken rubble that had surrounded it. It shifted a bit but was wedged in. The Campos system was right and engaging in the special ability that was on offer was the only option at this point. Why was I in such a hurry in the first place anyway? Oh, right. Scavengers. Poor people with empty bags and a lifetime full of dreams wanting a better life.

[Activate Overcharge function. Now.]

-Overcharge Function Engaged. – Warning! Current form is unable to sustain continuous structural damage from extreme battery power release. Disengage forced energy release. -Warning!

A screen lit up in my eyes and gave me a warning but who listened to anything when they were going to die in a Viking funeral soon? Then I felt the rush into my mind and form. Power and strength in equal measure far beyond what any human even at the peak of their lifetime. This was the reward offered to me, power. I recalled the first words that the Campos System had told me. To become a Miner, the most powerful.

Electricity ran through my body then. I had sheer amounts of power now. My robotic form felt strength and speed far beyond what I should have been capable of even despite my size. I grabbed hold of the half-body lying in the rocks and debris that covered it and just literally wrenched the entire form into the air before it fell crashing into the ground once more.

Accident. It was an accident as I had no control over my strength, this was one of the first times that I made use of Overcharge and it felt like a drug of sorts.

The size of the Mining Drone surprised me as I had been unable to verify how much of it had been buried in the rocky ground. It should have been a similar size if not identical to my own. It was the missing legs and arm that reduced it in size, once those had been fixed, I’d have a companion similar in size to myself to carry out duties. We both would have enough to do.

The half-broken form was just hanging in the air for mere seconds before it fell. I watched it fall to the ground incredibly slowly, my senses being boosted beyond current limits. I almost tracked the air being disturbed as it collapsed into a heap on the floor. Poor pitiable thing, I reached out one heavy metallic hand and just lifted it straight up into the air, small pieces of metal glittered as they fell off crumbles down into the floor, light being reflected from my eyes.

This felt like I was a doctor who had delivered a birth, or rather a rebirth of sorts. I had freed one who had been tracked in rock. Now they just needed to be carried into freedom. Yes. To a place of renewal. Samara. No. The name eludes me. An angel of peace who once held me in arms of kindness. What was her name? Not an angel. A monster. Yes. Yesyes.

[I…yes. Of course.]

I reached out with my arms and picked up the broken drone in a princess-carry posture. It was far harder than I thought given the lack of legs and missing arm but my body was still running Overcharge function so it meant that I could barely feel any weight. The earlier partial restoration would have restored essential function but I had been forced to turn off the vocalisation when the buzzing noise had annoyed the Campos System.

I barely paid attention to the voice of a mad god and holding my sister I rose from the rocky ground with strength and unheeded speed. The lack of weight surprised me but only for a moment, time was of the essence now. Move, I needed to move on the orders as a slave obeys a master with a whip.

[Where. To?]

It was clear to me that engaging in Overdrive had a few benefits, one of which was to make the Campos system slightly erratic. I didn’t know how much time my sister and I would have before we would be once more fully under control but we needed to take this opportunity to get to the storage base fast. I was sure that the batteries would make a fine explosion when detonated and Samsara would be awaiting us.

[Yes. I accept your choice as valid.]

I didn’t care to listen to bad jokes. If they were even jokes.

Listening to a conversation to an insane Artificial Intelligence construct was certainly entertaining and also a bit disturbing. I was left standing there holding onto a Mining Drone. A brother or sister to my own form and in desperate need of repair.

[Sorry about that. A little bit of disagreement with a colleague. Hello? Uh, I’m talking to you now Buddy. Do I need to make it any clearer. Hello?]

I wanted to try using the external tool set and tiny mechanical bugs to fix further damage but if it went wrong…well; not a risk I wanted to take. We would need to leave this place together.

The Campos system had been talking to me. It’s conversation with itself apparently finished and I never got to hear the ending. Or the actual parts. Too much left out. Too much.

[Yesss…]