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

The Palace of Sports, underground parking lot nearby

Alba Maria Rodriguez Marquez, August 12, 2049, 7:30 PM

It was so dark that it felt almost eerie. Not a single source of light, not even a faint glimmer... Although, she did have a flashlight. And plenty of other things – a stockpile of food, a sleeping bag, a place with water and a toilet.

“Joder! He even left a tube of shampoo and toothpaste!”

Technically, Maksim had acted with utmost tact and care... Perhaps it was precisely this emphasized cold politeness that poisoned the heart of the proud Spaniard the most.

Inside Alba, a battle raged for hours between two sides of her soul, like some “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in mini-skirts.” Locked up all night, feeling like a prisoner in a cell, she couldn’t sleep. She simply sat, wrapped in her sleeping bag in a corner, hugging her knees, mourning, and periodically contemplating what to do about Maksim and his company in the morning.

She wanted to punish and take revenge, to crush him along with those damned wenches... the ones Maksim chose OVER her! But her past feelings and rationality fiercely resisted this blind resentment.

“God knows how angry I am!” screamed the vengeful, hurt part of her. “You think you can stuff me in a black bag, dump me somewhere far, and everything will be fine? Not a chance! You haven’t left the city; you wouldn’t have had time. Most likely, Max staged this whole act just to convince me. I understand perfectly – oh yes, perfectly! – why you’re all squirming! Like worms on a hot skillet! And I will use ALL my knowledge and resources to ensure you pay!”

But in the next moment, a lump rose in her throat. Deep down, in a secret corner of her soul, love still lingered. Alba was too proud to deceive herself about this. Otherwise, why did that moment of revelation with Dasha in the car happen? Why did she insist on meeting? If she had stopped then, nothing would have happened! But something pushed her forward…

Was it the desire to look into his eyes once more? A desperate grasp at a lifeline... Maybe he, so smart and strong, would take her hand, lead her, provide answers to her questions, and find solutions to all the challenges they faced today. Everything would become so easy and simple. Like back on the beach in Valencia!

“Oh, geez, what nonsense!” Alba tried to stop herself... But the thoughts kept coming. Her memory dredged up the most cherished moments of their relationship. Her legs no longer felt the basement concrete but the sandy shore again. Her hand – in Maksim’s hand. He was leading her along the beach...

“And I was ready to follow you! I loved you! I would have been a loyal friend and, of course, a faithful wife. I would have been proud of you, helped, and supported you in all your endeavors, even the crazy ones! I didn’t care what you did, as long as I was with you! ...If only I had said this out loud.”

Alas, her innate Castilian pride prevented her from expressing such feelings so openly to a man. But, God sees, it was all true...

“And what about Maksim? He disregarded my feelings for the sake of some harebrained schemes with that brat! He kindled a fire in my soul like no one else before, only to carelessly douse it with a bucket of water! Like a tourist leaving a campsite in a hurry to move on!” fumed her bitter inner self.

“Moreover, it’s not like he preferred Dasha to me as a woman. Haha, that would’ve been truly laughable! But no, he chose his friendship with her and some, joder, common cause over my feelings. He didn’t even ask me to join him, to stand shoulder to shoulder with him! He didn’t realize that I would have been his best ally!”

“You humiliated me not only as a woman but also as a friend!” Alba shouted out loud. “You say you ‘trust’ her? And not me, right? I was ready to have faith in you until my last breath! I would never, you hear, never betray you, no matter what you did after fleeing Russia! Why, why did you do this to me?”

“You left me here alone... Confirmed that I mean nothing to you...”

Alba was consumed with anger and resentment. She slammed her fist against the concrete, splitting her knuckles open and yelping in pain.

Having vented her emotions, the girl calmed down, curling up in her usual position and cradling her injured hand. Her exhausted nervous system demanded rest, and the Spaniard began to drift into a fitful, unhealthy sleep.

An inner resolution on how to act in the morning surfaced from the depths of her subconscious as she was falling asleep. Throughout the evening, a periodic low hum from within the walls had nagged at her. Perhaps it was some underground utilities, water pipes, or a subway system still running on autopilot...

Whatever it was, it triggered memories from her childhood – the hum and vibrations of the Valencia stadium walls. The very rumble and tremors felt from below, from outside, as she rushed with her father and older brothers to a soccer match, always late. She climbed the stairs under the stands after the game had started, with the crowd roaring above...

And on the arena, a battle was already unfolding, where two teams faced off in an honest duel. They clashed, competing in strength, endurance, and strategy. Rage and cold calculation rolled over their opponents, washing over the enthusiastic audience. The strongest would win, and both sides would shake hands. The end. Clarity. The resolution of grievances and misunderstandings.

There it was, the solution! Everything became so simple! A fight was what she could offer Maksim, as the ultimate expression of her love and deep respect for him as a man. The stronger, more persistent, braver one would win! The one who was smarter both strategically and tactically.

Let someone sit back in a cozy chair behind a monitor with a vape in her pale hand, writing their soulless code. But she, Alba, and he, Maksim, would be on the same field. They would be united by the battle, sharing a single breath. And finally, Maksim would see Her! Not as a nobody or a former lover, but as a worthy opponent exchanging blows, someone who commanded his attention, whose next moves he would ponder as he lay down at night.

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Separated, yet together.

It was him who chose to put them on opposite sides of the barricade. He started this game first. So be it. Let him play. And if he proves to be better – alight!

Alba, speaking in football terms, today would join the Protectorate team, and, with such a fortunate “ball” in the form of valuable information, she’d pass it to the Internal Security Service. Next, let the team play. Her team this time!

She might start as a rookie on the bench. Against Maksim’s team, where he is the Captain. UNSA will hunt down his “players,” each one more intriguing than the last. And let Max bust his ass trying to protect them! These chosen ones, these remarkable hussies!

And in the end? If his team wins? Escapes the pursuit, becomes the “leader of the renouncers,” a big shot in some hypothetical “free republic” on the other side of Earth – okay! Winners aren’t judged.

But if he proves weaker and becomes just another numbered line in some Protectorate internal report on eliminated targets – she’d be satisfied with that outcome too. That’s just fair, it’s a duel! Her soul would find peace! And that’s it…

At that moment, her mind, finally relieved of its burden, shut down in satisfaction, and Alba drifted into a short but deep sleep.

She didn’t even consider how uneven the powers were in this “fair” game. Three people against a massive and seemingly all-powerful organization. But she didn’t need to. What mattered was that she retained a thread of connection with the most important person in her life. She found a way to preserve her pride, understanding, and motivation to live, fight… and win!

Everything became simple and clear.

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

Industrial Zone “NES Factory”, Medical Center “Lizard Tail”

Maksim Chernykh’s team, August 12, 2049, 11:37 PM

“You see, Maxie… Big brother…” Alisa faltered. Usually, she could calculate all possible outcomes of a conversation and knew exactly what and how the discussion should be unfolded. But now, she cast aside all predictions, not wanting to foresee the rejection. She was with her mind blank, and traitorously abandoned by the words.

Feeling a bit Dasha, she looked to the side, then upwards, and finally squeezed her eyes shut. How great it would be to take a deep breath to calm down! But this wasn’t virtual reality. Her mechanical body didn’t need breathing, depriving her of this simple way to soothe the frayed nerves.

Maksim raised an eyebrow, giving her an encouraging smile.

“Come on, don’t worry so much. You’re my all-knowing, confident sis! Speak now, I’m ready.”

Alisa bitterly smiled and finally resolved to blurt out her decision before she lost her resolve.

“Yes, you’re right. I am your little sister. And… I’m going to summon a TACTA Drone. It will install a special upgrade, and I’m confident… I’ll be able to connect to the Rating, just like you all! I’ll have access to purchases with grants! No catalog restrictions, except for ranking.”

“The only difference is that I don’t have a biological body. So, any enhancements related to biology won’t apply to me… The main thing here is for you to agree, to believe that it’s truly me. The same person you took to ‘Ob sea’ before fleeing Russia. The one you treated for mosquito bites…”

“Wait, wait. Alisa!” the guy interrupted her hastily. It might even be too hastily, as if he found this speech uncomfortable. “Understand, the cost of a mistake is too high. A lack of grants could be fatal for us. I know you possess a complete memory matrix, including psycho-emotional data, but you’re not…”

“NO!” The pent-up tension and lingering resentment towards her brother’s prolonged rejection exploded in a desperate shout. Alisa’s eyes flew open as she stepped closer and jabbed a finger into his chest. “The memory matrix has nothing to do with this! It’s time you open your eyes and understand one! Simple! Thing!… I am not! A machine! And I wasn’t one to begin with!”

She stepped back, wincing as if in pain, and folded her arms across the chest to hide how they tremble. But her gaze remained fierce and determined.

“I’m your sister, Maksim. The body is different, of course. But I’m also not just an android. Not some scientific project. I’m not merely a failed – or successful – experiment. My entire essence – my soul, if you will – is here and now, standing before you. It’s bound to a set of metal and plastic parts, to wires and cables, intertwined with software code. But it’s truly me! Just as if I were a cyborg instead of an android. Only my brain has been replaced with a mechanical prosthesis too!”

The guy frowned, crossing his arms in a mirror gesture to Alisa’s. Clenching his jaw, he tilted his head and glared at her with a mix of anger and stubbornness.

“I don’t believe how much they resemble each other!” Nikola thought in surprise as she watched this silent confrontation. “It’s absolutely clear now that they are definitely brother and sister…”

“Maxie…” Dasha’s trembling small voice cut into this “battle of minds.” “Maxie, if you keep this up, I’ll… I’ll hit you. Ouch! I mean… uh… yeah…”

Nikola barely stifled a laugh at this unexpected use of the psychological technique known as “pattern interruption.” The situation was certainly hardly one for jokes, but – damn it! – a bit more, and she’d regret not having popcorn…

“You invited me to your group, to your scientific project, saying you wanted to recreate a real, the most true personality!” Dasha raised her voice as she saw Maksim shift his attention to her. Thankfully, now he radiated not irritation, but extreme surprise. He even uncrossed his arms, letting them hang limply by his sides. Dasha took a breath and continued.

“You infected me with your dream. Scientific progress without limits. Immortality. The possibility of merging engineering thought and programming code to gain a real friend, to bring a loved one back from the brink. To become someone else. Someone better, smarter, stronger. To break free from the constraints that bind us, you, me… all of humanity! Right now! Did you deceive me, Maksim?”

Dasha squinted, staring directly into Max’s eyes, where a kaleidoscope of emotions flickered – denial and anger had given way to surprise, then shock, and finally deep contemplation.

“You… you’re… handsome. And smart. Yeah.” The look of self-absorption on the guy’s face shifted to one of astonishment, as if a stone by the roadside had suddenly started talking to him. Vasilevskaya had long become almost like a second sister to him, and he never imagined she would talk about him as a man, especially using the word “handsome.”

She continued, “I was glad to be with you all these years. Maybe even… happy. But if you can’t embrace what you inspired in me, we can’t be partners. That kind of you… I don’t need. I’ll leave the team. It probably sounds insane when everything around us is falling apart. But I… I’ve never been normal. You… know that.”

The disheveled girl looked like she was about to cry but kept staring at her long-time partner and inspiration, forcing herself to look brave, her chin jutted out defiantly. Nikola approached and took her hand, giving a supportive smile. Dasha went on:

“When everything is collapsing around us, it’s even more important to stay true to yourself. If I settled for less, was ready for compromises… then I wouldn’t create the Ravens. There wouldn’t be Kyiv Polytechnic. There wouldn’t be… you in my life.”

Maksim took a deep breath, sank into a chair, and covered his face with his hands as if hiding from the outside world.

“Oh, well… I give up. Is it… really you? Alisa. Are you really-really alive? Just… What if the alarm goes off tomorrow, I wake up in the morning – and next to me is just an ordinary AI assistant in a body painfully and absurdly similar to my beloved… deceased sister? It’s too terrifying. To believe – is terrifying. Once believing, I am not ready… I don’t want to… I just can’t lose you again!”

An awkward silence filled the room. But the tension that had previously permeated the air – it all vanished. Dissolved like some vapor from a vape. Alisa quietly approached and sat right on the floor at his feet.

“Okay. It seems we’ve all decided. Good.” A faint smile played on her lips. “So, about the Drone. I’ve calculated everything. We need five communication modules from the catalog, type…”