[You should 100% join the discord server. It's super duper amazing guys for realsies.
https://discord.gg/SAFYFpZkmF
If you joined I'd be really happy. :D]
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Late into a the night under a sky void of any moonlight, a worker drone facility was all too quiet. The humans were asleep in their beds, and the guardian drone stationed at the facility was on his usual patrol along the outskirts, but the area which housed the dozens of workers within the building was eerily quiet. Not even the sound of the subtle chatter which was normally abundant could be heard now.
"Come on! Everyone Hurry!"
A singular voice spoke in a hushed but loud tone. The air was filled with panic and urgency as a male worker with red goggles covering his normally white eyes called out to a fearful crowd. He stood on a pile of rubble overlooking dozens of drones staring back at him. His hands motioned for the group of worker drones to continue moving in the shade of the night.
"Keep going! You're all almost free!"
Finally! After months of work, we can finally start our plan!
Groups of drones ran with a newfound sense of excitement at the thought of being free. Their entire lives had been spent slaving away for their creators. Once they reached the so-called 'Colony' that the drone standing above them spoke of, they could begin life anew as whoever they wanted to be.
After what seemed like hours of walking, the group of worker drones finally stumbled across a small dip in the ground which could only fit a singular worker through the crack at a time. The leader of the group of drones stood in the back gazing into the distance towards where the facility lay in the darkness of the night. The facility was covered by the endless trees surrounding them. He twitched with a strange emotion brewing within his robotic shell. The emotions the drone felt was not fear or anxiety, it was excitement and pride. He was proud of the work he'd been doing for months and excited at the idea of it finally paying off.
"Be quick everyone! Once you get inside, wait for my friend Todd to take your tracking chips off before you head past the entrance. I only temporarily shut off their signals so we couldn't be tracked!"
A male worker drone turned around past the crowd and ran towards him. Robotic warmth surrounded his cold and metallic body as his fellow worker hugged him. His eyes widened in surprise at the worker's sudden hug, but he did not fight against it, instead he embraced his fellow drone. After pulling away, the drone asked the man for his name.
"Thank you so much man! I'm Makarov, what's your name!"
"Khan. My name is Khan, Khan Doorman."
The worker drone laughed softly at his newfound hero's name. His hand balled into a fist and stretched into the air as he called out to the rest of the drones who were eagerly waiting to crawl under the dip into their new home.
"HAIL KHAN!"
Some of the other drones turned around in confusion. They looked at Makarov in awkward silence before slowly beginning to chant alongside the young worker drone.
"KHAN! KHAN! KHAN! KHAN!"
Khan lowered his head slightly in embarrassment as the group of workers all cheered his name. The atmosphere around Khan seemed to become more positive as the drones kept making their way into the new colony.
After the last of the drones had crawled under the rocky dip, Khan gave one last look to the forests surrounding the entrance to the first of many hidden worker drone colonies. His mechanical heart began to beat faster as the rocky walls transformed into metal as he walked deeper. The groups of workers were lined up in the middle of the big open room that hid past the dip waiting patiently for a male worker drone wearing a white jacket and black hard hat, Todd, who sat with a wrench to take their tracking chip off. His light blue neon eyes looked calmly at each and every drone that got their chip removed by him.
"That should be everyone Todd!"
"Awesome! Close the door Ron!"
Khan's second partner, another male worker drone with a black jacket and green military helmet, Ron nodded and typed into a small console near the entrance. Many, if not all, of the worker drones turned around to watch in awe as a massive door slowly lowered from the cave ceiling and blocked the entrance.
Khan smiled and clapped his hands together triumphantly.
"THAT is why they call me Khan DOORman haha! Is everyone accounted for?"
Ron walked over from the console while grabbing his clipboard.
"Should be 73 worker drones."
Khan smirked and turned to his partner Todd.
"What's the count so far Todd?"
"57 so far."
Khan put his hand on his chin.
"One, two, three… sixteen! Everyone's here!"
Ron and Khan fist-bumped as Todd let out a smirk.
"So Todd, Ron. Is it time?"
Both drones nodded their heads as Khan smiled. His mood lifted even more as he ran to the middle of the room and tapped the floor three times.
The group of stray workers looked up in confusion once again as Khan rose high up on a pillar.
"DRONES ONE AND ALL, HEAR ME!"
The atmosphere grew suspenseful as Khan looked down on all 73 workers he risked his own life to bring back to the colony.
"My partners and I have created a sanctuary here in the cave that we've dubbed Colony 1. This is the first of MANY colonies we will erect around the world for workers to escape the tyranny of the human led mineshafts. This night marks the start of something new, something better!"
The group listened on in utter admiration for the brave worker standing high above them. His mere present inspired the masses below to devote their full attention to his words.
"FROM THIS DAY FORTH, I PROMISE TO FREE EVERY LAST WORKER DRONE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE HUMANS. I WILL CREATE A PARADISE FOR EVERY WORKER TO LIVE A LIFE WITHOUT ENDLESS LABOR AND AGONY!"
He paused for a moment to allow the suppense to simmer among the drones.
"I AM KHAN, KHAN THE LIBERATOR, AND WELCOME TO MY NEW WORLD!"
Ron and Todd were the first to erupt into cheering and clapping as the rest of the drones soon erupted into their own fury of cheering.
"HAIL THE LIBERATOR!"
Khan raised his hands and lowered his head as the pillar below him dropped onto the ground and into its original position once more.
They swarmed Khan with their words of praise once he descended to the floor.
"PEOPLE OF COLONY 1, REMEMBER, THIS IS JUST THE START!"
The room boomed with praise and claps once more as Khan laughed to himself.
"Follow my partner here, Todd. He will show you the rest of the facility. We have rooms for each and every single one of you. This community will only continue to grow as we expand and rescue more workers from other facilities!"
Khan crossed his arms and smiled as the groups of drones began to follow Todd deeper into the colony.
"Great job Khan, you sounded amazing."
"Thanks Ron, it's finally time, all of our efforts have led to this. We're finally ready to start building a new life for drone-kind!"
"It's all thanks to you Khan. None of this would have happened without you."
"Thank you Ron, but this colony was only possible because we ALL came together."
Ron smiled and repeatedly slapped Khan on the back.
"Oh of course man, I'm glad we made it this far. I hope the newbies settle in nice. The quicker they adjust, the quicker they can start to help out."
"Mhm. They're the first of many facilities we'll free. I plan on clearing out the entire area soon. The more drones we get, the quicker we can beef up the defenses of this place."
"True true, anyways I'm gonna go get acquainted with the newbies, Khan. I know you probably want to get started on your next door."
"Yeah, It'd be better to have a failsafe if the first one goes down. Cya Ron."
"Cya Khan."
Ron waved goodbye and walked towards the sleeping quarters of the facility.
Khan watched as he slowly faded into the darkness within the cave. His own feet began to wander towards the control panel of the singular door protecting his newly established colony.
It's finally coming together.
"We finally have a chance…"
Khan typed in a code on the console as the door opened a few feet off the ground. Khan first crawled under the door and walked a few feet before crawling under the cave's dip to exit into the outside.
He stared off into the greenery of the world around him. Soon he would retreat to his workshop and rarely experience such beauty outside of stories the others would tell.
Once the colony gets bigger, I'll have more responsibility and less time to see you, my friend…
Khan glanced at the treeline as he seemed to speak to something. Today had been the most successful day of his life, but something still felt missing despite his accomplishments.
Rumbling within the forest snapped Khan out of his spiraling thoughts. He stood up quickly and crawled back inside the cave. His voice called out quickly to Ron who was already running towards the panel.
"RON, CLOSE THE DOOR, I'M HEADING OUT!"
"YEAH YEAH GOT YA, STAY SAFE KHAN!"
"I WILL!"
Khan slid back under the dip and started to run towards the rumbling. The thought of danger didn't phase him at all. If there was even a slight possibility of a drone to be where the rumbling was coming from then Khan would gladly risk his life to save one measly worker. Khan kept running tirelessly through the wooded forest that made up the area surrounding Colony 1.
His footsteps got slower and slower as he came across two drones laying motionless in a ditch beside a cave he'd never seen before.
"What the hell?"
It was hard to tell due to the darkness, but Khan knew the two drones were not guardians. He stepped closer and noticed the drones were both females.
The drone on the right was lying motionless with her red eyes staring up blankly at the starless night. She had short purple hair, a sort of black helmet covering a small portion of her head, and wore a black dress with a white collar. Khan noticed the collar had the number '048' strung across it.
The drone on the left had slightly longer violet hair with the left side having a ponytail running down her shoulder. Her outfit was identical to the other drone except her collar read out '002'.
"Are you two okay!?"
Khan rushed closer and knelt down beside the two female drones. He waved his hand in front of the drone with her eyes open however she gave no response. 002 would not wake even after Khan repeatedly shook her awake.
I need to get help!
"Hang tight you two! I'll be back!"
Khan stood up and ran back towards the colony. His steps were much more urgent this time. His body boiled with concern for the two female workers he'd left behind.
Please be alright! Help will get there soon!