|Lucy|
"Ma'am! We found movement from the southwest!"
"What?! How many are they?! The sensors say we still have time to prepare!"
She shouts as she drops a sandbag on top of the trench. She and her people have been digging defensive works to hold back the incoming army and protect themselves. However, these trenches were built to stop the force approaching from the north, not from the opposite direction.
"No, ma'am! It's only one movement, and it's not a machine."
"What? Who is it?"
"It's Devola, and she's bringing an aircraft."
"What?"
How? That is the only thing running through her mind. Aircraft are almost never seen in this part of the world. They are reserved for supporting large Android battalions fighting on the other side of the globe. She has no idea how Devola managed to acquire one, and she intends to find out.
She follows the scout and soon spots the aircraft in the distance. The VTOL lands beside their base, and Devola steps out.
"Devola! It is good to see you return."
"It's good to be back, Lucy. How is the situation?"
"Not too bad, but it'll get worse soon. We're digging trenches around the base and plan to use them against the incoming army."
"Not a bad plan. But I have something better."
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, a holographic interface appears around Devola's arms. She manipulates it quickly, and moments later, Lucy sees what she's doing—an entire drone army pours out of the aircraft and begins to work.
Her eyes widen as they start constructing a massive wall encircling the base.
"Devola… this is…"
"Builder Drones. They convert energy into matter, and we can use them to construct defensive barriers. Do you have any maps and data on the incoming army? What wall layout do you need? Where do you want your best units placed?"
She wants to ask more questions, but forces herself to wait. There will be time for that after they defeat the machines. She sends Devola the data she gathered so far, along with the preliminary battle plan. The two of them refine it together, and Devola begins implementing it immediately.
Devola also briefs her on the other types of drones. Assault Drones are particularly effective against smaller machines with their plasma spitters, and can disable medium-class machines with their laser cannons. Hunter Drones provide rear-line coverage, sniping machines that slip through, and offer fire support. Their stealth system is interesting, but it is not very effective in large battles because the machines will always use a powerful scanner when they enter a large battle, and she knows they will detect them even with their stealth system activated.
But the real game-changer is the Builder Drone army. They erect a seven-meter-tall, three-meter-thick wall around the entire base and even clear wreckage as they work in a matter of hours. She knows those drones will be done enclosing their base before the machines arrive.
Lucy blinks when she notices a sentry turret rising from the wall.
"Devola? What is that?"
"Ah, that's the Tarantula Sentry Gun. It fires something called a Bolt—a self-propelled miniature missile. It also has an energy–matter fabricator to continuously produce its own ammunition."
Lucy stares at her for several seconds before she finally breaks.
"How? How can you make all this, Devola? Even YoRHa can't produce tech like this. If we had something like this, we would've won the war long ago!"
"Do you remember when I said there is someone who can turn the tide of battle, Lucy?"
"Yes."
"He's the one making these things."
"And who is he?!"
"You will know when he arrives with Popola."
Lucy throws her hands up in the air.
"Argh! Fine! While we wait, I'll check the scanner and see if the others are coming."
"Of course. Leave the fortifications to me."
==|Line Break|==
"Ma'am! The scanner detects another movement from the southwest! We're detecting a lot of movement—something big is coming from that region!"
The scout forwards the readings to her, and Lucy frowns at what she sees. She looks at Devola.
"I hope this is your sister and the reinforcement you are talking about. There are a lot of them, and we can't fight on two fronts."
"Don't worry. Those are the reinforcements. The one leading them is the person I mentioned."
"Truly?"
"Yes."
It doesn't take long before a behemoth of a tank rolls toward their base. The gate opens, letting it pass through the new wall. Popola jumps out first—but the sight that makes Lucy freeze is the man who steps out after her.
Black hair. Blue eyes that shine with power and wisdom. But what stops her cold is her internal scan. She may not be YoRHa, but her system is advanced enough to confirm the impossible:
The man in front of her is a human.
A living human.
She snaps out of her shock when she hears the twins chuckle. She shoots them a quick glare and salutes the man.
"Glory to mankind, sir! My name is Lucy, leader of the Reunion City Resistance Camp!"
The man smiles warmly and nods. She freezes again—just for a moment—and stores the memory deep within her core. She will remember that smile forever.
"At ease, soldier. My name is Simon Blackmore, and I'm here to reinforce your troops."
She is elated to fight beside a human, but she quickly pushes that emotion aside. She cannot let sentiment endanger him. The machines are going all out, and it will be even more dangerous to him as they cannot protect him fully while fighting a war.
"But, sir! You shouldn't be here! Please take the VTOL and fly to a safe location. The Desert Camp should be secure at the moment."
"Negative, soldier. I'm here to help, and I will fight alongside all of you."
"But—!"
Simon raises his hand.
"I understand your concern, Lucy. But as a human, I will not stand back and let you fight for me. You all have suffered enough. Let me help carry the burden you've carried for so long."
Something bursts inside her—an unfamiliar warmth spreading through her circuits. She feels refreshed, even without maintenance.
She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. A glance at the twins shows they are equally affected. After a moment of hesitation, she makes a decision she knows she might regret.
"I understand, sir."
She steps aside.
"However, please retreat immediately if the situation becomes dire."
"I promise you."
"Thank you."
Simon nods.
"For now, let's continue fortifying this place. My scan indicates we still have three hours before the machines enter firing range."
"Yes, sir! Let me show you around!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|Simon Blackmore|
During the journey here, he and Popola produced as many drones as possible. With the Ares fabricator running at maximum output, they created 100 Assault Drones, 70 Builder Drones, 50 Hunter Drones, and 45 Maintenance Drones.
When he arrived here, he immediately instructed the Builder Drones to assist Devola in further reinforcing the wall. While the others worked, he used the remainder of his Charges to create additional specializations.
He has enough offensive power—but he needs protection. To that end, he spends five Charges on the {Armor} specialization. He grunts at the strain as knowledge enters his head, then uses the final Charge on {Ranged Weapon}.
What? He still needs firepower. There is nothing better than overwhelming firepower, after all.
With his enhanced knowledge, Simon begins constructing power armor for himself. He could build something like an Iron Man suit, but that would require time he does not have. Too many components need manual assembly.
So he designs a suit reminiscent of a Space Marine's power armor—without requiring a Black Carapace.
The armor is made entirely of Solar-Titanium, a slightly modified alloy: 50% lighter, twice as heat-resistant, but 10% weaker than the unmodified alloy. The Impact-Absorption Gel compensates for the reduced strength.
It is powered by a subatomic microfusion generator, a solar converter, and four bio-batteries that act as emergency backup. The batteries last for 62 hours, but on a tidally locked Earth, the solar converter ensures they rarely run out of power.
The armor increases his strength by 400% and speed by 200% so long as it has power. A thruster unit on the power pack allows limited flight—up to 40 meters off the ground, cruising at 15 kph with a maximum of 25. Not ideal, but this is a rush job. It will do for now. He will upgrade his armor when he has more time.
Mounted on the power pack is a hard-light projector capable of deploying a barrier that blocks multiple low- to medium-strength attacks, or one heavy strike, before needing a two-minute recharge.
The helmet houses a compact CSS computer linked to Helios and the satellite network. It includes a scanner with a 10-meter radius capable of penetrating up to two meters of solid matter. Its communications suite allows him to communicate with any Android within a two-kilometer radius.
Photolenses protect him from sudden light bursts and let him see in infrared, ultraviolet, and low-light conditions. A respiration unit filters toxins and is connected to an internal oxygen supply in case he needs it.
A special compartment beneath the power pack houses a micro-fabricator capable of producing his ammunition. His right arm contains a retractable heavy bolter linked directly to the fabricator for automated reloading.
All in all, he is ready for war.
He is snapped from his thoughts when Popola enters Ares with a small stack of papers in her hand.
"Simon."
"How is it, Popola?"
She looks grim. He takes the report in her hand and reads through it. Popola releases a sigh and says.
"All of the Logic Viruses have been purged from the androids."
Just as he suspected. Every Android carried dormant Logic Viruses that could be activated through a specific signal. After deploying the Maintenance Drones for deep scans, Popola confirmed the theory. She purged the viruses, installed new firewalls, and linked them to Helios' guest network. Now they can access Hermes' battlefield feed and communicate with him during combat.
"Perfect. Now, I need you to take over the—"
Before he can finish, Helios alerts him to a massive movement from the north. The scanner reports at least 2,000 machine lifeforms entering the detection range.
He frowns.
"Tell the others to prepare. The machines are here—and there are thousands of them."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simon's Specialization (Day 8):
Solarpunk = 3 Charges
Miniaturization = 2 Charges
Efficiency = 2 Charge
Automation = 2 Charges
Stealth = 2 Charges
Energy – Matter Conversion = 3 Charges
Fabrication = 3 Charges
Surveillance = 2 Charges
Fortification = 2 Charges
Computer = 5 Charges
Hacking = 3 Charges
Cybersecurity = 4 Charges (+2 Upgrades)
Android = 8 Charges
Range Weapons = 3 Charges (+1 Upgrades)
Vehicles = 4 Charges
Biotech = 3 Charges
Medicine = 2 Charges
Defense = 5 Charges
Material = 2 Charges
Hard Light = 3 Charges
Aerospace = 3 Charges
Communication = 2 Charges
Energy Generation = 5 Charges
Terraforming = 2 Charges New
Armor = 5 Charges New