A young female adult dressed in a cap and gown with honors cords draped around her neck crosses the stage to receive her university diploma with a grim smile. Walking off the stage to sit back down, she flips the tassel to the otherside. She waits for the rest of the graduates to receive their degrees…

Sitting in the passenger seat of a car, a dark haired teenager yells as the driver of the car as they weave back and forth in heavy rain. The driver loses control of the car only for the car to be stopped abruptly by hitting oncoming traffic. The dark haired teenager yells out the unconscious driver’s [sister?] name as she sobs into the night...

A little girl runs up to hug her father as he returns home. The father joyously shows the mother the documentation that they needed to immigrate. The girl has a look of confusion on her face…

My eyes remained closed as various images went by like a quick changing dream. I could not tell who the people were but the girl in each image shared the same features. The only thing that I could remember was screaming and the feeling of being on the verge of death.

I started to hear various noises of monitors but they sounded muffled like I was being held underwater.

A sea of green greeted me as I opened my eyes. A device that aided breathing was hooked to my mouth as I floated in what seemed like a glass tank of green colored water. My surroundings added to my confusion as nothing about the room or the situation was familiar to me. The green coloring didn’t help either but the room clearly amounted to a lab with strange instruments with dark colors. I noticed that there were a few other tanks with what looked like other people in them; all of them remained unmoving except for the constant motion of their limp forms in the green liquid.

While I had been surveying the lab, a quiet noise to alert whoever was running this lab had gone off. After what seemed like a few minutes, two people in dark clothing with colored accents entered the room to observe some of the instruments. Both smiled at the results of whatever they were looking at and came towards the tank that I was being held in. I was unsure of whatever was going on but I decided to remain silent as the two approached. Looking at the two more closely only deepened my confusion and gave me a faint feeling of foreboding.

The two “people” in front of me were not human, though from a distance they could have been mistaken as such. They both had four slits for eyes, each being the same color, though the two had different colors. Their noses were also more angular and pronounced than what I was accustomed to. Both were rather thin and appeared frail. The dark clothing they had reminded me of some sort of older military uniform but I was unable to place the exact country of origin it was similar to. The one on the left had various markings on his uniform whereas the one on the right had fewer features.

After looking me over for a moment, they started to speak.

“Nod if you can hear and understand this,” said the one on the left.

I was unable to tell gender just by how they spoke. It was strange that their language sounded harsh like a germanic language; stranger still was that I was able to completely understand what they were saying. Questions were starting to populate my mind but understanding that I was not in control of the situation, I proceeded to give them a nod.

The one that had spoken to me turned to the other to say something before going back to examine the instruments again. The other continued to look at me for a little bit and promptly left the room.

At this point, the liquid in my tank started to drain and I could start to feel the various parts of my naked body as they were exposed to the air. Something about my body felt unfamiliar but I couldn’t explain why. It felt like cooking in someone else’s kitchen.

Sounds of hissing escaped from the breathing device as it fell to the floor and I started to gasp for air. I heard gasps coming from either side of me as I realized that the other humans in them were now conscious. I counted a total of 10 people including me were present in addition to the individual that seemed to be in charge of the lab. There were 6 males and 4 females that formed our group. It sort of bothered me that I was naked in front of the others but none of them showed any signs of outrage or concern about the situation.

Abruptly, the individual that remained in the room turned towards us and started to speak.

“My name is Captain Reficio and each of you are now property of Repono Corporation. Going forward, you have no rights or freedoms. You will not speak unless you are spoken to and any disobedience will be severely punished. Nod if this is clear to you.”

Something about Reficio’s demeanor led me to believe that Reficio was female. Reficio had one hand on their hip as they spoke while the other hand remained on some sort of panel. I nodded alongside everyone else.

“Each of you will come up to me one at a time to receive your designation and bay number. Starting with the male on the far left.”

One by one, the ten of us went up to Reficio as instructed. I was eighth to go.

“Your designation is AU06-08. You will report to bay 08.”

I was still in sort of a haze after being released from the tank but when Reficio said my designation, I realized that I couldn’t remember my name. Pretty much anything prior to waking up in the tank was non-existent for me.

“Is there a problem AU06-08?”

A perplexed look must have shown on my face as Reficio narrowed her blue eyes at me.

“No...Captain,” I replied.

I made my way out of the single exit to the lab where I found myself in a wide dark blue hallway that had five large triangle shaped doors on either side with an even larger square door at the very end. Each of the ten triangle doors had an associated number and I made my way to the one labeled 08 which was on the center right. There was a biometric hand scanner next to the door which allowed me to open it.

I entered through the door to find myself in a large hanger. What immediately caught my attention was the presence of a tall white mecha or robot in the center of the hanger. From what I could tell, it was rather unimpressive and it looked frail. The arms and legs were skinny and looked like they could break with a little pressure. The only other features in the hanger included a bed with a trunk at its side and something that appeared to be a bathroom.

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I turned around as another individual opened the door behind me and entered the hanger. This individual had purple eyes and wore a uniform similar to Reficio’s but was grey in color.

“AU06-08. I am Lieutenant Veterum and I am your project owner. Please go over to the trunk next to the bed and get dressed. Once you are dressed, come back here."

The Lieutenant said all of that nonchalantly. The use of the phrase “project owner” confused me. Captain Reficio made it seem like we were supposed to be slaves. Regardless, I went over to the corner of the hanger that had the bed and the trunk. As soon as I got close to the corner of the hanger, a faint shimmering wall appeared enclosing the area. I was able to see the rest of the hanger but I wondered if anyone was able to see in?

A crystal clear reflection of myself also appeared on the wall. Unlike a mirror, it only showed myself and none of my surroundings. I looked at my reflection but I did not recognize the woman that stared back at me.

The woman that I saw was curvy yet toned and sported short, shoulder length hair. While I did not feel that my facial features and skin tone were significantly different, there were no blemishes whatsoever on my body. Was I also taller?

After taking the time to look at myself, I undid the latch on the trunk to find an outfit similar to what I had already seen but rather than the dark colors of Reficio's or Veterum's uniforms, this one was the same shade of white as the mecha in the hanger. It was larger than my body but as soon as I had put on the uniform, it contracted in size, fitting snugly all around.

I went back to stand in front of Veterum who resumed speaking.

“AU06-08, I noticed that you were examining yourself rather carefully in the image reflector. Was there any particular reason for that?”

I did not know how much I could trust the Lieutenant; we had just met after all.

“No Lieutenant.”

“Very well. Follow me.”

I followed the Lieutenant out of the room and through the large square door that I had noticed before. The triangle shaped room we entered, like the areas I had seen before, had no way to view what was on the outside. Assembled in front of a raised platform were the nine other humans from the lab, nine individuals dressed like Lieutenant Veterum, Captain Reficio, as well as numerous others of Veterum's people dressed in various exotic styles of clothing. Apparently we were running a little late.

I walked over to where the other nine humans were lined up to join them and Veterum joined what I gathered to be the other “project owners”. The room was silent as an immaculately dressed and groomed individual rose through an opening in the platform. Everyone but the ten of us broke into polite applause as the individual stepped closer to the crowd.

The individual had orange eyes and a very charismatic aura about them. They had a charming smile as they started to address the crowd.

“ My friends and dear associates, I am pleased to announce that our long and costly venture is now bearing fruit. Despite our setbacks and delays, Repono Corporation is once again in a position to take back the leading position in the market.”

The crowd responded to this statement with more enthusiastic applause. The individual continued to speak.

“To my new human friends, I am Director Nothus, current head of Repono Corporation. I sincerely thank you for your agreement and willingness to join us in your capacity as humans for the success of the company mission. As the leading head of Repono, I am truly grateful for you."

Once again, the crowd broke out with applause. I was starting to get a few pieces to this massive puzzle that was laid before me but I still was not sure how I got to this point. I could not recall any moment where I agreed to do this for Repono Corporation. Judging from some of the blank looks that the others had next to me, I figured they were in the same situation as me.

"Now, with your project owners, go back to your hangars and let your new AU careers begin!”

Since we were the last ones in, Lieutenant Veterum and I were in the position to leave first. On our way back to our hangers, I noticed the rest of the crowd was staying behind. I wondered what they were going to do after our group left the room. Before our hangar door shut, one of the other project owners with silver eyes called out to Veterum.

“Hey Veterum, you better not get too attached to your work this time.”

“That is First Lieutenant Veterum to you Second Lieutenant Praevenio. This is also a public space; you better do well to remember that.”

“Won’t matter for too long if my project results end up being better than yours again”.

Lieutenant Veterum’s facial expression did not change at all during this encounter but I noticed Veterum’s body language emanated a feeling of annoyance. Once we were alone in our hanger again, I decided to be a little brazen.

“Lieutenant, what was that about?”

“It need not concern you AU06-08. Now let us get started”.

The Lieutenant brought out a tablet looking device which enabled them to turn parts of the hangar into what looked like a combination of a gym, an obstacle course, and an exam room. Apparently parts of the hanger floor could go down and switch out with other preconfigured floors with a specific purpose. The Lieutenant had me go through various parts of the gym, testing me on my strength and speed. After the Lieutenant was satisfied, they had me complete the obstacle course while they timed me. Lastly, the Lieutenant checked some of my vitals and drew some blood after which the Lieutenant returned the hanger to its previous spartan form. During none of these tests did I ever feel fatigue, stress, or hunger. I could not tell how much time had passed.

“You have passed all of your preliminary exams and are now ready to commence Virowraith trials”.

“Lieutenant, what is a Virowraith?”

“A Virowraith is the name given to the production model exoskeleton that you see in the center of the hanger. As an AU, you will use it to defend and expand upon Repono’s vested interests.”

I was learning that the more answers I was given, the more questions that I had. The Lieutenant had me go up in front of the Virowraith and a platform appeared from the floor, bringing me to the open chest piece of the machine. I noticed that the interior was rather tight and only contained a surprisingly comfortable looking chair with a helmet device attached towards the top.

I heard the Lieutenant's voice coming through the helmet rather clearly telling me to sit down and face forward. After sitting, the opening to the Virowraith closed in an organic fashion and the helmet moved down to rest on my head. As soon as the helmet was on, my vision went black and I felt a little disoriented but after a moment I was able to see again. To my astonishment, I was seeing the hangar around me from the eyes of the Virowraith. I looked at my arms and down at my lower body only to see the different parts of the Virowraith.

“AU06-08, do you hear me?”

I heard the voice of the Lieutenant come to me as if I heard it through my own ears. Even though the Lieutenant had not shouted, I was able to hear him clearly from where he was standing. I replied that I could but the voice that came out was not my own; it was more electronic and intimidating yet still retained a remnant of my own voice.

“Very good. The Virowraith was designed to be an extension of your own consciousness; essentially for the time that you are in the Virowraith, that is your body. If the Virowraith is rendered incapable of continuing or is severely damaged, your human mind will reflect the same injuries; even though your human body may not actually be injured. The risks are worth it though as the Virowraith allows for enhanced physical capabilities and vitality."

"We're going to take you and your Virowraith out for a test run. Stand by."

After a second, the floor below me began to rise and it gradually rose through an opening that had appeared in the ceiling above. I found myself in another hanger, albeit smaller, with no features other than a large door. Once the floor was sealed, the door began to open up, revealing the black expanse of space.

I stood in awe of the scene before me and realized that I was still rooted to the hanger floor.

"AU06-08, proceed forward and out of the hangar."

The Lieutenant's voice startled me as he was nowhere nearby but I heard them clearly. I proceeded out of the hangar and stepped out into the open expanse of space.