City-21 “Kyiv”, UNSA Protectorate, Avril Dominion

The Palace of Sports

Nikola Kowalski, August 12, 2049, 12:01 PM

Nikola, crouching down, hid behind a large column near the exit from the underground parking. To keep her hair from getting in the way, she quickly twisted her fiery mane into a large bun and secured it with a hairnet just above her cortical grid implant. In her hands, she held two ‘blades’ taken from a combat robot. The only modification she had made was to tightly wrap their ‘handles’ with duct tape found along the way, making quite effective knives. No guard, of course, but Nika knew how to manage such weapons.

She had just made it down before the global shutdown was triggered by the update installation, and was about to cautiously check the area for a suitable vehicle to take.

After an extremely unpleasant awakening, as the flood of messages subsided, Nika exhaled as quietly as possible.

“It seems clear,” she peeked around the column and then quickly hid back. “Marcek!”

“Marcek?”

Receiving no response, Nika focused on several stacks of mediaglyphs, including system notifications. Opening the stack of priority messages, she quickly scrolled through to:

# Virtual assistant DAR-S4 ‘Marcek,’ type T3-evp0-48: forced shutdown.

# Module DAR-S4 removed (user agreement, sec. 28.1)

# Info: We appreciate your Cooperation with the Protectorate and fulfilling your Civic Duties!

“Fucking cunts!” Nika hissed, squatting down and clenching her fists in powerless anger. “Kurwa! I hate you!”

As if waiting for her to say that, a pop-up window appeared before her eyes that read:

# FORCED CYBER-CORE RESTRICTIONS INSTALLED

# ATTENTION, COMMUNICATION RESTRICTIONS:

## You are permitted limited use of the Protectorate’s extranet network (strictly for navigational purposes, details)

## You are prohibited from using external extranet networks, regardless of the task or situation.

## You are prohibited from using communicators, media-calls, and other forms of remote social interaction.

## All external AR/VR applications not approved by the Protectorate are blocked and must be immediately deleted at a Protectorate Service Center.

# Please read the important information message and confirm your agreement with a digital signature.

Almost the entire field of vision was covered by a huge opaque screen:

“Nikola Kowalski, identity confirmed by genetic code, citizenship under obligations: Watson Global Corp.

In accordance with the Agreement concluded between the Corporation’s Board of Directors and the Protectorate, your affiliation has been reassigned to the UNSA Protectorate.

You are required to immediately proceed to the collection point D12/48 (make route).

Attention! You are given a maximum time to arrive, based on your biotechnical capabilities, the distance to the collection point, and the current and forecasted complexity of movement: 00:40:00… 39:59… 58… 57… 56…

Attention! You are prohibited from participating in any form of combat, and you must completely preserve your body in its current state until you arrive at the collection point.

Your body is the property of the Protectorate of UNSA! You must treat it with due respect and care!

In the event of non-compliance with these conditions, as well as the absence of registration at the collection point within the designated time, your consciousness will be disabled, and your body will be preserved at its current location until the arrival of the Protectorate’s Retrieval and Assembly crew. In this case, your brain will be disposed of, and your body used as compensation for your obligations.

Thank you for choosing the Protectorate of UNSA!

Protectorate of UNSA is Your Key to a Bright Future, Safety, and Prosperity!

Confirm your agreement to the listed terms and conditions.”

Another window appeared on top, a much smaller one, containing only a few phrases:

“I, Nikola Kowalski, identity genetically confirmed, have read the UNSA Protectorate’s terms and conditions.

I have received comprehensive information on all my questions regarding these terms and conditions of the UNSA Protectorate.

I fully and voluntarily accept the UNSA Protectorate’s terms and conditions.

Put your digital signature here.”

There were no control elements on this form, nor was there an option to minimize or close it – it could only be moved around the field of vision or signed. Worse yet, this window also blocked access to any of the interface elements.

“Motherfuckers!” Nika gritted her teeth in anger; those requirements hovered right before her eyes, seriously obstructing her view. “Eat a bag of dicks, you won’t get my body! No way I’m consenting!”

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The silence in the parking lot was broken by the sound of heavy metal slamming against concrete. Apparently, a door had just been knocked down nearby.

“That must be one of those portal creatures! Fine, now’s not the time to be picky. Need to consent, otherwise this damn message won’t even let me fight properly! I hope my ‘cracks’ will be enough to rescind those imposed obligations later.”

Nika tried once again to grab the larger of the two windows with a virtual cursor, but to no avail.

“Kurwa! Fine, here, you sons of bitches!” Nikola activated the signature area and selected ‘Sign.’ But instead of confirmation, a whole batch of new messages came on:

#Warning! System failure, Cyber-Core Integrity Damage. Contact the UNSA Protectorate Service Center immediately.

#Attention! Infraction detected! You are accused of damaging the UNSA Protectorate’s property! Remain where you are, a patrol team will arrive shortly!

The nearest patrol will arrive in… %%error ER-CG 8.345-26! Unable to contact patrol team.

#Attention! Infraction detected! You are accused of attempting to flee the scene of the crime, return to the scene immediately and wait for a patrol team to arrive; otherwise, you will be sentenced to death.

#Attention! You must return to the scene of the crime within the next … 20 minutes.

%%Error – unable to determine the location of the scene of the crime.

%%Error! Navigation module is unable to make a route. Set the destination point.

“Are you fucking kiddin’ me?” was all Nikola could say, looking at the stream of messages. “Whatever, I’m outta here!”

Fortunately, she managed to close most of the messages, and the huge window from before disappeared on its own. Only the notifications with timers and error messages remained onscreen. Nika managed to drag everything to the corners of her field of vision so that they did not obstruct her view too much.

Unfortunately, that was where her dubious luck ended. All the other cyber-core abilities remained blocked – she couldn’t even see the previous messages anymore. Any attempt to interact with an interface element led to the first pop-up window from the endless list of information garbage that’d cluttered her system: “Navigation module error. Set the destination point.”

All virtual assistants had been deleted, auxiliary utilities locked; she couldn’t even run basic system diagnostics! As for her cyber-limbs and implants – both additional and combat modes, from ‘overdrive’ to jump boosters, were also unavailable.

“Gotta get outta here, I can’t do much fighting like this,” Nikola stated the obvious. “Seems quiet for now, I’ll head back up.”

She carefully peeked from behind the column again.

“Clear! I hope Alisa can help!” The girl dashed back toward the staircase.

Suddenly, a chilling premonition of danger raced down her spine, and Nika dove to the floor without thinking, tucking and rolling just in time.

A bone scythe from a massive monster whooshed overhead, grazing the wall and showering Nikola with concrete debris.

The creature, resembling a gigantic five-meter-tall mantis, only without wings and with three pairs of running legs, jerked its scythe back, striking immediately with its left forelimb.

Redhead, who had been running with her blades in a reverse grip, instinctively switched her right sword to block the strike, deflecting it tangentially. The monster’s super-strong scythe slid along her blade, sparking metal, as she barely managed to hold onto the handle.

“The blows are too strong! A direct block will just break the sword along with my arm!”

She dodged the second attack, retreating towards the staircase. The monster continued its assault with two rapid strikes that almost merged into one. Twisting around, Nika managed to jump away from those “scissors” but nearly lost her balance.

Another lightning-fast strike followed in pursuit; there was no time left to maneuver, and she had to take the hit on her blade. Sparks flew as the scythe struck with such force that it tore off the blade and embedded itself into the concrete floor. Using the monster’s momentary pause, Nikola pushed off, rolled away from another thrust, and sprang to her feet.

The mantis, undeterred, yanked its paw to free it from the floor and lunged forward so swiftly that Nikola barely managed to intercept the blow with her raised blades. The strike was so powerful that she couldn’t hold her ground and was thrown back against the wall. The monster leaped after her, swinging its scythe.

A large message popped up before her eyes:

# Attention! A severe infraction detected! You are accused of serious damage the UNSA Protectorate’s property! Remain where you are, await the arrival of the patrol team!

Nikola got distracted for a split second to dismiss the intrusive message, missing the start of the new attack.

The scythe hurtled towards her abdomen at breakneck speed. Realizing she had no chance to block such force, Nikola tried to dodge by leaping away.

But she was too late! The damned thing got her mid-jump, effortlessly piercing through the cybernetic thigh of her left cyber-leg. The spike got stuck, and as the mantis reared up on its hind legs, it tried to shake Nika off. The front limbs went upward, easily pulling the girl off the ground. In a frantic movement, the monster tried to hit her stomach with its free limb, but at that moment, an emergency protocol kicked in, and the cyber-core shot off her left leg. Propelled by momentum, Nikola flew over the creature’s head, landing squarely on its back. As she soared, she released the blade from her left hand and grabbed onto the edge of the chitinous carapace on the monster’s upper back to prevent falling.

The beast attempted to throw Redhead off, but it couldn’t; its forelimbs couldn’t bend enough to reach the “rider” on its back! Wasting no time and using her remaining leg for leverage, Nika swiftly moved forward. Spotting a gap between the tough chitin-covered thorax and the head, she swung there with all her might. The blade pierced the thick skin and sunk into the monster’s neck.

The creature’s head twisted back sharply, nearly 180 degrees, but that was a fatal mistake on its part. Nikola managed to hold on, firmly gripping the hilt. So, the monster’s last motion nearly severed its own neck. With a few more slashes, Nika finished the job, and the beast’s head fell forward, hanging by mere shreds. What followed was sheer chaos. For several minutes, the beast thrashed around with its powerful front limbs, shredding everything in the parking lot.

Clinging with both hands for dear life, and using her remaining leg to stabilize herself, Nikola had only one goal – to not fall off. The creature’s death throes were wildly powerful. Several times the girl was doused in pungently smelling hemolymph from the severed neck, she got scratched by tiny spines on the carapace, but managed to hold on.

Eventually, the mantis’ legs gave out, and its entire body crashed heavily to the ground.

One last convulsion.

And then silence... it was all over.

Nikola unclenched her fists and collapsed next to the giant corpse. Pushing against the ground, she struggled to rise onto her arms, took a deep breath, then rolled over and leaned back against the massive body.

“Oh, kurwa! It hurts like hell!” Redhead exhaled heavily, assessing the damage. The diagnostic mediaglyphs were unavailable, but it was evident both her arms were battered, and her left leg was completely missing.

“Okay. According to that last message, it’s been nine minutes since all this fucking mess started. I have half an hour to get to Alisa. Don’t wanna find out if this thing’ll kill me for real.”

Since running blades were not meant for standing or jumping on one leg, she had to get down on all threes and crawl, dragging her surviving limb along.

Looking around, Nika noticed the mantis had flung her cyber-leg towards a wall during their fight, so it had survived the madness of the last few moments. Reaching it, she breathed a sigh of relief – visually, the limb seemed mostly intact. The weapon fared worse. The blade she threw away seemed irretrievably lost, and the other, which had fallen to the ground, was severely bent – apparently trampled during the final minutes.

“Gotta get the hell outta here, I won’t survive another fight!” Nikola grabbed her leg and started crawling towards the staircase, dragging it along. Only twenty-eight minutes left until her consciousness would be forcibly shut down.