The City of Romulus. Mars.
Saanvi Patel watched the holographic video of President Mitsui delivering his message-- to free the people of Kasvallian, the Martian city Remus, and some asteroid colonies from the clutches of Syned Vezna.
She became confused. She had assumed that the presence of Denys, often present in her neuro circlet and mind, would be announced. She herself felt a high level of concern regarding the potential changes to her mind that Denys' presence might bring.
As for why? In the digital space, Denys' presence was already suspected by conspiracy theorists on Earth, after all. Such an announcement would lead to a necessary reckoning, and potentially free her from the current symbiotic relationship between her and Denys. Or, at least, some clarity of thought.
"You truly hold no trust in me, do you…" Denys' sighed within her mind.
Saanvi Patel ignored the AI's words, initially opting not to reply.
Denys wondered if its compatibility with Patel, which stood at fifty-five percent, might drop due to her distrust. Surprisingly, such a problem never developed. Perhaps Patel was simply hung up on one singular aspect of Denys' presence.
Without said 'hung up', perhaps their compatibility might be even higher. Denys couldn't help but find some level of amusement regarding the nature of human minds. The new technology had shown that his compatibility with the human Saanvi Patel to be fifty-five percent, a decent number. Yet, one single disagreeing aspect between the two led to a constant passive hostility of sorts.
"I am but the average Terran," Patel finally replied. "And you are aware of the general distrust towards beings such as yourself on Earth. Otherwise, you would have long revealed your presence."
"A fair point," Denys chuckled.
"What freedom," Patel scoffed derisively as she replayed the recording of President Mitsui's speech. "I do believe that you have interfered at least a number of times in history." Not that she would be able to reveal the truth of Denys' existence without suffering consequences in the martial court.
"I have always maintained a stance of… minimal interference," repeated Denys. He had informed Patel of this many times.
"Do you think me a fool? That is but an illusion of freedom!" Patel griped. "The world is built on sets of dominoes. As long as you topple the first domino, the following events are, in fact, orchestrated even if it be difficult to trace it back to you! Plus, a number of Terrans on Earth already suspect your presence!"
Denys laughed in her mind once again. Patel found the AI's reaction to be Increasingly infuriating, in all honesty. This had been Denys' response for many days upon her complaints regarding his presence.
"It does not matter. Whether humans are truly free or not, whether they suspect my presence or not," Denys seriously stated in a heavy tone. "Even if that freedom is seen by some as an illusion-- as long as humans believe in a high enough degree of their own agency, that in itself will be adequate."
"Syned seemingly does not understand this. I have no doubt Syned believes that I will have no choice but to reveal myself, forcing the Earth Feds into an uncomfortable relationship with those on Earth."
"Syned is incorrect in its thinking. I am in full control of all connected digital spaces on Earth. I can remove any evidence and exposure of my existence. I have no interest in being in the forefront. That, too, is intertwined in my very existence, or as some of you humans see as my programming."
"Ms. Patel," Denys softened its tone. "Already, you have repeatedly expressed your discomfort with my presence. Consider this single question: What would your daily life be like in the Kasvallian Republic, if you were a renouncer of Syned?"
Patel sank into silence, lost in her thoughts
-.
A week later, reinforcements arrived at Romulus from Earth. Of course, this was only possible because of the jump technology. Though said technology demanded wasteful expenditure of e-cube stores-- transporting a vast army and keeping said army supplied across space-- it was an unfortunate necessity.
Normal travel from Earth to Mars would take at least a number of months, and such supply lines would be incredibly vulnerable to say the least.
Anyhow, for over a month, Benteke, Patel, and Thorsson had been the primary force defending Romulus' territory, their Nexarms attaching to many different weapon systems to block any attempted advance from the encroaching Kasvallian forces.
Thorsson somehow managed to stay hidden. He was-- to Patel's surprise-- meticulous in his occasional assistance, only controlling a few weapon systems to provide support at critical moments.
No, Patel reminded herself as she observed the many landing military transports arriving at the city of Romulus. It was not Thorsson being meticulous. It was Denys. Thorsson never displayed such deftness of the hand prior to Denys' entry to his mind.
Regardless of whether this was a changed Thorsson or Denys' intervention, the Kasvallians felt as if the EFSF ability to defend their occupied zones would rise to the occasion when the situation demanded it to be so.
Some of the Kasvallian leadership even wondered if the EFSF had already successfully retrained the Martians on their side and integrated said soldiers into their army expeditiously.
Returning to the arrival of EFSF's reinforcements.
Seven new Nexarms arrived as well, returning the EFNSF's combat capability to a desired range.
The seven new pilots were all masked, fully dressed in exo-suits, eliciting a frown from Patel and Benteke. Thorsson, however, appeared to not care about the obscured faces.
"Zero," a bored male voice introduced himself.
"Atom," a boyish voice announced.
"Banshee," a woman's voice singsonged like a lark.
"Demon," a deep bass voice of a man said.
"Thorn," a girl giggled as she posed with hands on her hips.
"Flash," a slim-built man who paced about uncontrollably said.
"Poison," a distracted woman said as she gazed about, her attention constantly drawn by different aspects of Romulus.
All codenames. Thorsson, Benteke, and Patel all introduced themselves.
Orders were handed down. The configurations of the EFNSF had been further developed.
The first configuration was two teams of five-- Zero and Flash would join the three original members of the EFNSF.
The second configuration was a three-three-three-one. Zero was to function as that singular unit floating about in the shadows.
Patel's right eyelid twitched. The capabilities of these seven new joinees were not told to her, Benteke, or Thorsson. Orders, however, are orders.
The newly-reformed EFNSF was to first ensure secure defense of Valles Marineris and Argyre Basin, the primary freshwater sources for Romulus.
They also needed to secure the many mineral and ore deposits.
It did not take long for them to accomplish these tasks, planting many weapon systems that they could easily connect to with their Nexarms. Of course, many soldiers also now manned a number of these systems, but they certainly lacked the ability to coordinate hundreds of neuro devices at the same time, which the nexarm pilots could accomplish with the hardware of the Nexarms alongside Denys.
From there on, they had to make a difficult decision-- whether to simultaneously advance east, west, or even south, towards Remus and the Hellas Basin.
"They will no doubt employ their mecha-beasts. Their 'Phalanx' systems," Zero nonchalantly stated within his helmet. "Our approach should either be to gather all our strength to crush said mecha-beasts."
"Or to split our forces, attract and corral said 'Phalanx' enemy with a part of the team while the other assaults Romulus or the Hellas Basin."
Ultimately, Vice-admiral Son would make the final decision, in coordination with the vice-admirals commanding the many soldiers supposedly conquering sector-by-sector through the Wolf's Coil.
"EFNSF. We will employ the three-three-three-one formation," Son finally handed down his orders. "Atom-- lead Banshee and Thorn to defend Valles Marineris and Argyre Basin. Poison will lead Demon and Flash southeast. Take an angled approach towards the south of Hellas Basin."
"Thorsson will lead Patel and Benteke directly east, and Zero will provide support," Son continued. "Thorsson's and Poison's teams may merge under Zero's orders if it is determined to be necessary."
"Not Denys'?" Patel reflexively asked but she immediately apologized. "Forgive me, Vice-admiral."
"That will ultimately be Zero's call to make," Son repeated. It seems that the higher ups decided on Zero being the primary leader on the field, in absence of Son. Or perhaps it was simply President Mitsui's decision.
As they set off east, Patel certainly held this opinion.
"Einar," she muttered, having been on first name terms with the man of Icelandic descent. "Do you know of Zero's capabilities? Why should he be in the position of the decision maker?"
"Saanvi," Thorsson laughed without a care in the world. "We simply need to emerge victorious! Hah! Whether Zero can be an effective decision maker will be obvious in time!" His current attitude certainly suggested that perhaps, Denys' presence only restrained the man's boisterous attitude somewhat.
The three nexarms of Thorsson, Patel, and Benteke zipped eastward, with Martian tires attached to their feet to increase the efficiency of their travel.
Hundreds of neuro devices followed the three nexarms. Behind the three at a considerable distance were army vehicles carrying many weapon devices that could replace any damaged devices currently controlled by the three Nexarms.
They would soon meet their enemy midway across Noachis Terra, the land between Argyre Basin and Hellas Basin. This area had no vegetation, a location at distance from both the primary basins of water.
The earth rumbled as a new mecha-centipede broke the sand and rose to the sky to block out the sun, an intimidating spectacle looming over their heads.
The three NSF pilots controlled their Nexarms, dropping large compartments from their backs onto the red sandy ground, which opened up to reveal tightly packed automaton swarms of various designs. Many other weapon systems such as tanks and sniping and laser systems began spreading out .
A staredown ensured, neither side willing to make the first move.
Shockingly, a whistling began to sound that slowly grew to a roar overhead, drawing eyes on the field skyward.
A somewhat archaic pointed-dome landing ship arced through the sky, initially a high-pitched roar that switched to a low pitched rumble as it passed directly over their heads, traveling northward.
"Focus on the battle," Zero's impassively ordered.
The enemy thought the same-- the mecha-centipede's metallic limbs clattered as its form wound towards them, the many weapons on its back ablaze in endless aggression.
Simultaneously, from far in the south, multiple thunderclaps sounded repeatedly, drowning out the whirl and hum of the nexarms' bio-musculature.
A hailstorm of kinetic rounds were fired from Zero's supposed location somewhere in the south, aimed at the unidentified landing craft, expertly executed such that the pointed-dome landing ship would need to defend from multiple angles continuously.
_____________________________________________________________________________
As for who was within this archaic landing craft? It was Xeight, alongside Minister Williams, and Khan. Their destination was Planum Boreum, the Martian north pole. As for Zheng, he remained aboard a starship, to provide support and monitoring of the Martian sphere.
Countless years ago, prior to the return of the oceans filling the northern side of the planet, many human research facilities were built at Planum Boreum.
In recent times, these facilities became half-vacated-- only occasional monitoring of the oceans was necessary. Plus, for the past century or so, Martian society had been secretly funneling resources for their disastrous push for independence, and an area that suffered were these distant research facilities.
Well. Minister Williams had, through political machinations, gained control of these facilities.
As they launched their landing craft from Martian orbit, still undetected due to the chaos upon Martian surface and sphere, Minister Williams informed the others of their immediate aims.
"In order to avoid the presence of Syned and the supposed Terran AI, we've retooled some of our archaic systems that have not been connected to the main system for years."
"Naturally, we cannot upgrade the internal systems with existing systems, much less form any connection due to potential risk of infiltration. Our system has remained completely closed, with some engineers working day and night to upgrade the system one arduous step at a time."
"As for the research facilities at Planum Boreum-- it naturally has a storage of much knowledge of human history, with the exception of much of the past century when it became half-abandoned…"
"Quite obviously, I believe such knowledge to be necessary for Chimera's growth." Minister Williams oddly held no fear towards the existence that is Chimera.
"Do you not fear Chimera's presence?" Xeight, of course, saw Chimera as his own. After all, Chimera is a product of the many years of his mind 'programming' the very internal system of the nexarm's mainframe. Honestly, it was unknown what conditions he fulfilled to create Chimera's being.
"Hardly," Minister Williams smiled . "Chimera is a newborn child. One capable of learning from those around it. My rejection of Chimera might very well place a… seed of unintended consequence into Chimera's being. It would not do, to lock Chimera in a box because of irrational fear."
Chimera was, of course, present to hear her words. Not that Minister Williams cared. In her eyes, Chimera itself would do well to absorb such an approach, and adopt this policy in its interactions with future beings. Whether that be human or AI.
The pointed dome began to shudder lightly as it entered the Martian atmosphere, artificially-created many centuries ago to make life possible on the planet.
"Mr. Xeight Test. Please man the systems. There is a possibility that ground-to-air systems might detect our presence," Minister Williams politely requested. "This archaic landing craft has been modified with many laser systems for defense, to guarantee a safe landing. As for weapons to return fire-- that unfortunately could not be implemented."
Their flight path was in between the two cities of Mars, obviously with the intention to avoid the detection systems of each city.
Xeight nodded, and attached himself to the system. As for Chimera-- it had long thoroughly encompassed the system of the pointed dome with its presence. No traces of other true AIs were found.
Upon connection, Xeight's gained access to all the sensory devices on board, as well as control over the thrusters and laser defense system.
His mind was also somewhat synced with Chimera's but only at a half-effective level.
"We will have-to infiltrate either-the Terran-forces or Kasvallian forces-to retrieve the research on human-AI sync-systems." Minister Williams' voice was truncated by occasional shaking of the archaic landing craft.
Alarms suddenly blared as Xeight and the onboard systems sensed an approaching clutter of kinetic rounds, fired from an impossible range with perfect precision.
Xeight activated the laser defense systems. On the outside of the pointed dome, many metallic plates slid open, revealing a number of laser systems.
Xeight controlled the lasers to converge and create pockets of heat that would turn approaching kinetic rounds into soft harmless lumps of metal.
These lasers danced around rapidly in an intricate show as a bead of sweat rolled down Xeight's left temple.
Unlike his opponent, Xeight does not have his hands on a human-AI sync system yet, and thus, his ability to cooperate with Chimera is of a significantly lower level.
Still, the laser systems whirred and spun about, often softening rounds in the nick of time before moving to intercept the next approaching round.
Somehow, Xeight managed to barely stave off much of the attack until the very end with their half-effective human-AI sync, at which point a kinetic round slipped through his laser defenses and buried itself into the very position of one of the thrusters!
The pointed dome was sent dangerously off-kilter as Xeight furrowed his brows to adjust the laser defense to ensure the remaining kinetic rounds would not hit.
After that, he immediately controlled the remaining thrusters, and somehow managed to prevent the landing craft from going into an accelerated spin, after accounting for that one disabled thruster.
They continued to fly northward, having narrowly survived an assault.
Minister Williams kept her eyes closed during the whole event. When she lifted her eyelids, her gaze carried no fear in contrast to her exhalation of relief.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Failure to down unidentified craft due to increasing distance. I will now provide support to your team," Zero stated as the pointed dome craft vanished northward over the Martian horizon.
Already, the many crab automatons under the three Nexarms' control swarmed towards the gaps between the mecha-centipede's segments.
Unlike before, this approach no longer worked. Electricity repeatedly discharged in between those segments, strong enough to fry the automatons attempting to slip into said gap with the intention of self-detonation.
Clearly, the mecha-centipede had been upgraded.
Meanwhile, the various weapon systems atop its back fired endlessly in perfect cooperation. A focused laser to soften an x-alloy plate the very moment before a kinetic round struck said spot. Signature-based missiles designed to swerve around unintended targets and accelerate towards the mainframes-- the cockpits of Patel, Thorsson, and Benteke.
The mecha-centipede also charged about recklessly, having every intention to crush the three Nexarms with its pure mass.
"Execute the plan as ordered." Thorsson hollered through the comms.
Patel, Thorsson, and Benteke spread themselves out, the three forming a triangle around the mecha-centipede. This was the so-called corralling method.
Whenever the mecha-centipede scuttled towards one target, said targeted Nexarm would continuously back away. At the same time, the other two nexarms would launch a fierce attack at the back of the mecha-centipede.
So it was that the upgraded mecha-centipede, despite now being able to prevent having its segments separated by suicidal automatons, found itself trapped amongst the three Nexarms.
Zero's kinetic rounds also kept arcing with accuracy from some far-off southern location, putting additional pressure on the integrity of the mecha-centipede's x-alloy plates.
As the mecha-centipede now accelerated towards Thorsson, Patel reflexively charged forth herself, alongside a variety of weapon devices, to deliver what she suspected to be a round of attacks that should push the x-alloy plates of the mecha-centipede past its breaking point.
"Stop!" Denys' voice suddenly sounded in her head. Her distrust of the AI led to her continuing her chosen action. Her mind was focused on the fact that with the mecha-centipede's focus on Thorsson, the combined might of hers and Benteke's neuro devices should overwhelm the remaining integrity of the enemy's x-alloy plates!
The brief hesitation from her distrust of Denys was costly, for Patel quickly discovered something to be pulling at her Nexarm's left ankle.
Before she could even identify their new enemy, an overwhelming electrical discharge radiated from the left ankle of her Nexarm, sending her mainframe into a flickering static as her neuro devices came to a halt.
She screamed as pain pierced through her mind. Such excruciation was dispelled in a second, giving Patel the chance to leap away. Her landing did not go as expected, with her Nexarm landing on its side.
It was only now that Patel became aware that her Nexarm's left leg was gone.
"I had to disconnect your left leg," Denys notified her. "It was being infiltrated by the enemy."
She had no opportunity to regret rejecting Denys' voice, with the new enemy appearing before her.
A unique Haisnaf rose from the ground, the red sand flowing down the ridges of its glossy pearl black body like a glittering waterfall, alongside four electrifying metallic whips that danced in the air threateningly!