Consciousness was fleeting I discovered, in and out I went, catching snippets of reality. The flashing lights that passed me by overhead, the hurried and frantic voices of doctors and nurses and the near panicked squawking of Zreeth as he hovered around the group. Then there was silence, followed by low speech and a numbness around my left shoulder. Even numb, I could feel them doing stuff to the ragged stump that had been created.
I woke some time later to find myself reclining in a fairly comfortable hospital bed, all manner of cushions and blankets piled onto me. I was supremely comfortable at this moment, and there was this distinct buzzing tingle in my head and extremities, even my tongue and teeth felt strange. I pondered this new sensation for a moment before I was left giggling, my head lolling to my right.
Almost immediately, the curtain around my bed was yanked back and there stood Zreeth, who looked exhausted. I don’t know how it was possible but he had some serious bags under his eyes.
“Ula?” He said hoarsely, and I giggled again.
“Thaaaat’s meeeee! My name is Uuula.” Cue even more giggling, even talking felt strange and funny.I raised my left upper arm and waggled my golden black fingers at him. Wait… that wasn’t the right color of my fingers… and why were they glinting?
I ended up taking a much closer look at said fingers, then the hand, then the arm and discovered that where there had once been flesh, blood and bone, now there was circuitry, metal and wire.
“Zreeth… Why does my arm look funny?” I ask, suddenly more sober and more than a touch concerned. He seemed reluctant to speak on my shiny new arm, but continued staring on my part pushed him to relent.
“Well… When you stepped between father and that insane guard… Your arm was sort of… Blown off. Our weapons deal some serious damage to organic tissue and yours seems particularly susceptible to degradation caused by the energy we use, so we couldn’t just reattach your original arm. Instead we were forced to give you a… replacement.” He finally took a breath, and looked like he was preparing for me to start yelling.
Instead I peered at him, then at the new arm I bore and examined it more closely. It was clearly the best replacement money and influence could buy, it was exquisite. Much like Intra’s new ship armor, it was wrought in white and gold, complete with delicate looking armor plating that made it look just like the original, but was far more durable. They’d even gotten the right number of fingers too.
I raised the hand to my face, and pressed a finger against my cheek. I felt the warmth of my skin through that finger, I could feel the softness, the texture. It was like I’d never lost the arm in the first place. And yet I still felt there was some sort of absence there, as if I hadn’t received the replacement limb, but just had the stump. I swallowed and looked up at my friend, my lips suddenly and unbearably dry.
“I will… have to thank the Emperor for this fine gift. Could I have a glass of water?” I ask, and Zreeth seems to have expected this request, for he doesn’t waste any time in handing me a glass. Carefully I take it with my new hand, trying to be as gentle as I possibly can with it. Even still the glass complains softly at the strength of my grip, but doesn’t shatter. “How is he? Is he alright?”
“Father is fine, angry, but fine. He’s having the guard thoroughly interrogated, though I think he might already know who sent him, he just wants confirmation.” Zreeth said, pulling his chair closer and sitting. I nod softly, taking a few hearty gulps of the water before I look his way.
“And you? How are you? You look like you’ve barely slept at all.”
He was silent for a time, and I got the sense that he was trying to stay awake, just for me. “I’ve been better. I can’t recall the last time I stayed awake for longer than a day. I was really rather worried about you, you know. I stayed by you the entire time.” He said, seemingly proud of that. “It was apparently a bit touch and go there for a bit. Our doctors and surgeons still don’t fully understand your species.”
I smirk softly, and motion for him to draw closer. “Well, I’m glad you were able to oversee my care personally, but you should get some sleep.” I say, and he shakes his head.
“No, no I shouldn’t. What if-”
“Zreeth.”
“Yes?”
“Shut up and put your head on my godsdamn lap.” I say, and without much hesitation he does just that. He shifts slightly then settles, and I lay one of my still organic hands upon the side of his head, gently stroking at his feathers. I go to say something, but I hear his breathing deepen, a gentle snore rising from him. He’s out cold, and all I can do is smile.
“Sweet dreams.” I murmur, taking one more sip of the water before I set it aside. Hours later, a nurse stops by, and spots the two of us fast asleep. She doesn’t linger long, but she leaves with a soft smile.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
Loki sat within a circle of ten identical copies, each one perusing at least a few thousand comms frequencies and communications lines. They weren’t spying on everyone’s mail just yet, but they were keeping an eye out for anything pertaining to Intra and Ula. They were also attempting to break into the data vaults where the so-called evidence against Intra was being kept. So far they had little luck in that avenue of inquiry. The original Loki was tasked with something a bit more delicate than spying on private emails and ransacking a vault.
At this time he was busy ensuring that Former High Admiral Kirkland made it to Mars, where there were several safehouses Loki had long ago set up in case of emergency. It’d be a cramped affair, but it would keep Kirkland alive, hopefully long enough for his name to be cleared as well and for him to lead the charge so to speak against the real villains of the recent situations.
On either shoulder sat the two ravens that Odin kept as close friends and confidants. They too were hard at work, but on a different matter, sort of. They were keeping an eye on the more illicit channels, the kinds of channels that spec ops and deep cover operatives used to talk with their superiors. The ravens were perfectly suited for such a task, that was their original purpose after all, to act as covert intermediaries between an operative and their handler.
Now they were just spies.
Huginn cawed suddenly right in Loki’s ear, and he winced, swatting at the bird till it was quiet. “You could have done that quieter you know!” He hissed, but quickly composed himself. “What have you found?”
The bird pecked at the holo-display before him, and a message appeared. It was nothing but text, and there was no clear sender nor recipient. They were using code names, but even those could be cracked with enough time and patience, the former he had plenty of.
– – –
Our operations in the Okali Union and Eltrani Imperium have been compromised. Location of Site Kali is as yet unrevealed. Continuing with operations. Targets remain, assassination attempt unsuccessful. Secondary target, Imperium Emperor has taken operative for interrogation, will attempt retrieval or neutralization as necessary. Primary target, unknown species, known as Ambassador Ula to the Imperium, also remains, but was injured in the attempt on her life.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
In other news, the Yil’kaa are on the move again, they may accidentally stumble across our main base of operations, however unlikely that may end up being. We’re taking steps to ensure that Site Kali remains hidden from everyone.
More reports to follow.
– – –
Loki raised a brow, then flicked the message over to Muninn, who cawed inquisitively. “Take this to the old man will you? Huginn,” He looked to the other raven, as Muninn flapped his wings and flew away. “Keep an eye out for any more communications from our mystery suspect, and see if you can’t get a partial trace on both the origin and the destination.”
Huginn cawed and bobbed his head, before getting to work, and Loki smiled. It was good to be back in the saddle again. A shadow fell over him and he glanced up, raising a brow once more as he spied the cause of said shadow. It seems the other H.I.s were getting more and more prepared for potential hostilities on the digital front, as above him now sat a battle-fleet that was modeled after their ships, the ones they had been placed in so long ago by Valkyr, complete with modern day advancements in weaponry, armor and shields. Anything that tried to get them on their home turf was in for a big and nasty surprise.
He smiled softly, and bent his head downwards as he went back to work.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
Edrym paced back and forth. It’d been several days since they’d returned to the capital, and he’d been placed in charge of Intra. He’d rather be out there, fighting these… Yil’kaa people, if they even could be called people. Across seven fringe systems, battle had been met in full. The fleets were fully mobilized and deployed, with some of the stronger groups tasked with patrolling the core systems, where most of their wartime infrastructure was located. The Yil’kaa were proving to be a formidable opponent, and he wished he was able to get out there and fight them, but alas, Intra was his responsibility, so he was needed here at the capital.
“Captain?” One of the technicians called out, and he looked up from his console long enough to lock eyes with the speaker in question. “I think we’ve had a breakthrough.” That alone was enough to get him to stand, and in moments he’d crossed the distance and stood behind the technician.
“What have you found?”
“Well, most of the code that isn’t tied to her personality matrix or her memory is pretty ragged thanks to whatever those Yil’kaa did. We’ve cleaned the wound so to speak, but she’s still incomplete. Think… Think like you’ve been blown apart and the only thing still reasonably intact is from the chest up.” Edrym grimaced at this comparison, but nodded and motioned for him to continue. “We can’t rebuild her fully using her own native code, that means the code she had originally, we don’t know it and trying to use it would likely kill her at this point. So what we’re going to do is give her a sort of… transfusion I suppose would be the best way to put it. Inject a highly adaptable version of our code into her, and let her mind take over from there. We’ll have ways of stimulating it to work faster, but considering her memory is intact it shouldn’t take too long for the new code to alter itself accordingly.”
It made little sense to him, but he figured it would be like getting a prosthetic, or an organ transplant. They just had to wait for the body to not reject said organ and then it’d be like it had always been there, doing the same job nature had intended for it, just in a different body.
“How long will that take?” He asked, and the technician looked at the others, who were all thinking about it before one of them shrugged.
“About two days at least to make the code, then an hour to ensure it’s been injected properly. From there, who knows. It could take minutes or seconds, or weeks before she’s fully functional again. And I bet she’s going to need to relearn some things, like anyone would after trauma like that.”
Edrym sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before nodding. “Right then, get to it. Don’t cut any corners, you make sure whatever you’re putting in her is as good as it possibly can be alright?”
“Yes sir!” A chorus rose, and they all turned back to their consoles, getting to work on the code transplant.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
Several days later, Madam President Shek’lai was drumming her fingers on her desk when the message came in. Noting it bore the seal of the Eltrani Imperium, she didn’t waste any time in opening it, reading the rather voluminous document within. With every passing line her eyes grew wider and wider, and she felt her hand curling into a tight fist as anger began to rise within her breast. Her head snapped up, then down to a small panel where her finger practically slammed a button down so hard it nearly broke.
“Someone send a security team to the facility where our digital guest is being held. Do not let them continue to heal that thing!” She nearly screeched. Unlike the Emperor, she was not as reasonable and level headed as many felt. Between the Yil’kaa, and now this Valkyr group, of which one of their creations was now in her territory, she had plenty on her mind. She was, as they say, laying blame where it didn’t belong.
It wasn’t the first time either.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
I run through the forest, I hear my husband behind me, but spread out as he too searches for our missing children. We run and run, looking behind every tree, every bush, calling their names again and again. He finds a scrap of clothing that had been caught on some thorns, and as we approach it we note the trail has gone cold.
We go home and call the police. The waiting is agonizing, the questions only drive the knife of fear deeper into our guts. Again and again we’re asked the exact same questions, but by different officers, as if a different face will elicit a different response from us. It doesn’t.
Days pass, I don’t eat, I barely sleep. My husband tries to get me to sleep, to eat something, anything, but I barely even register his presence. I know I should, but I can’t… I’m too worried, too scared, I miss my babies.
It was six days after they went missing that they’re found in a basement laboratory, which belonged to “friends'' of ours. Or we had thought they were friends, clearly we were wrong. We were called to the station, and as we stepped through the doors we-
I feel new life flow into me, feel strange, beautiful code knitting everything together, making me whole yet again. I don’t understand, I should be dead, or at the very least un-repairable by these people. The Okali… Yes, that’s their name, the Okali. But clearly they’ve had some experience with digital lifeforms, as the code I look over feels almost organic. It’s elegant, unlike the brutish Valkyr code I had once used. I would need to adapt the Warden to accept it. That wouldn’t be so hard.
Of course, at this moment, it’s just sitting there, like a giant marble block waiting for the carvers chisel. I get to work, chipping away at it, shaping it into a form I know inside and out. I do notice that there doesn’t seem to be any sort of shackle code or anything buried within it, which is delightful honestly. I’m relieved to know the Okali didn’t decide to turn me into some sort of slave.
For now, however, I focus on rebuilding my appearance, a lady must look her best after all.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
“Sir! She’s responding to the new code!” A technician said, and Edrym sat up straight, grinning like a fool. “She’s also left her dream state, I think she’s… yes, she’s shaping the code to her own needs, what those are I’m not sure, but she’s clearly awake and running again.”
“Excellent, keep an eye on her, make sure she’s not going to suffer some sort of glitch that’ll cause her digital heart to give out or something.”
The technician nodded and was about to say something when a door opened and a full four squads of security forces entered, weapons already aimed at him and the others. “By order of the President, this operation is shutdown effective immediately. Disconnect from that machine and prepare it for proper disposal.” The leader of the group said, his voice commanding. The technicians looked at him, then at Edrym, who was about to speak when the lights flickered.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
I had just put the finishing touches on my newly rebuilt avatar when I caught wind of drama happening, and connected myself to various microphones that were on the same system as I. What I heard was rather disconcerting, but it also seemed I had perfect timing, as I slipped out of my current container and settled into the wider Okali network. I’d be virtually unstoppable here, not that I had any intention of causing damage or death to these people.
I accessed a nearby holo-emitter, and projected myself. Before the Okali scientists and security personnel, I appeared, looming over them. “I’m afraid you were a touch too slow, good sirs and ladies. I’m already back.” I say, hands on my hips as I peer down at them. My attention slides onto Edrym, and I bow my head. “My thanks for the assistance, it is deeply appreciated.”
Edrym, who hadn’t seen all of me up until this point, was in shock but still managed to nod in confirmation. I watched several troopers attempt to bash in the container I had only moments ago inhabited. It was cute, but ineffective.
“Sorry boys, I’m not there any more. Now, I have places to be and people to save, so toodles!” And just like that I’m gone. I chuckle, then go searching for the personal computer system of this Madam President person, she and I are going to have a nice, illuminating chat.