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“I did not adequately factor in her emotions with the separation, Captain Seth.”
I nodded in sympathy. Alpha had completed the SecUnit ship assignments, and Whiskey and Peader had been placed on Holism (you didn’t separate a Construct/Human combo if you could help it). It knew, factually, that Saoirse and Peader were in a relationship; what it didn’t understand was how itchy a human could get when parted from a significant other. Shay’s minor fits of irritability were generally directed at Alpha (although for some reason Tarik was a main target as well), and it tolerated them stoically. For the most part.
I empathized. I had been on the receiving end of Saoirse’s displeasure a time or two. She was polite, but I know a verbal flaying when I receive one.
Which was why we were hiding in Peri’s cargo hold watching a SecUnit exercise.
It was a week into our wormhole trip and things were going smoothly. Our liberated indentures, no, I couldn’t call them that; reluctant refugees was a closer description. Anyway, our passengers had settled in well here and on Holism. As had our SecUnit guests; the feeling I was getting (and Holism’s Captain Medhavi concurred) was that they were starting to truly trust us. They still regularly requested confirmation that their offline HubSystem was still functional though, and refused our repeated offers to access the Construct Trauma modules Preservation and PSUMNT had created, so we weren’t there 100%. Baby steps.
The journey to Preservation would require 45 cycles to complete. We had wasted no time in exiting the area after Sum Total had destroyed the mining facility. And moon. BirlaBeren would be taking quite the loss with its destruction and the satisfaction that thought brought me was immeasurable, as was the idea that there would be no executive bonuses that fiscal quarter.
None of the refugees wanted to watch its destruction. Martyn was surprised by that; I understood though, they retained fond memories of it and what their HubSystem had done there and were sad to see it end, regardless of our intangible promises of a better life.
I’d also had a very stern talk with Perihelion about HubSystem. Peri had been treating it like an annoying younger sibling, and in the way of siblings had been (hopefully) unintentionally cruel to it, to all of them, by not explicitly stating HubSys could be transported. Peri still had difficulties with understanding that other MIs had feelings. I also thought it secretly admired (was jealous of) HubSystem for attaining on its own the consciousness it had been given by Mihira and New Tideland.
But enough of that. I stopped daydreaming and said to Alpha, “Tango and Foxtrot have elegant moves; we all watched Three’s video of their fight. Three has been wanting a rematch with them.”
Alpha snorted; the mine units had declined to run ‘like a human’ but they had picked up mannerisms from their humans and I suspected were subconsciously employing them. There was a reason Alpha was the lead SecUnit of the six we had rescued from the mine. It exuded authority. It had pitch black hair (still in a military style, all of the mine SecUnits were still reticent to change their appearances) and a bronze skin tone, normal shades for SecUnits. It was the eyes that caught your attention, deep, dark brown that bordered on black, almond shaped with smooth lids. The face mirrored Alpha’s aura. In the feed and in person, its defining characteristic was a calm assurance, the kind that a person acquired through perseverance and hard lessons.
Alpha was wearing one of Peri’s uniforms. That had been a mild issue; the mine Units had been reluctant to part with their armor, but Perihelion had ‘persuaded’ them. Quotations intended. I was dubious about the persuasion part; Alpha and the Twins had stiffened and speedily undressed after they had voiced their objections. Considering Peri had threatened to slowly flay Three’s human parts from its body the first time they met if it didn’t comply…let’s just say it had a macabre imagination. I had checked in with Holism’s captain to see if they had any issues. Medhavi had laughed and said Holism managed to get the attire switch accomplished ‘without inflicting terror and intimidation.’
Alpha shrugged. “Elegant is not a suitable adjective for fighting. They have never faced raiders or hostile Units; the mine was their first rental deployment. Thank you for allowing them to spar with your Units. Tango and Foxtrot require experience and physical enrichment.”
That was an understatement. The paired Units’ feed aura was the absolute opposite of Alpha’s; not quite chaos, more of an unbridled exuberance. Like everything was new and shiny and they wanted to experience it all. They were similar in appearance, and I suspected they had been created using analogous genetic material. Their skin and hair color differed, Tango’s a lighter brown than Foxtrot’s, but both had striking deep blue eyes that always looked like they were up to something even when they were standing in classic unit neutral. Being governed and restricted must have been pure hell for them. Peri and Alpha approached controlling them in the same manner; exerting authority and gently squashing them down when needed and making sure they had jobs or other physical or mental activities to occupy them.
There was one thing I was curious about with Foxtrot and Tango. “It was my understanding that governed units were not permitted to be so close.”
“We are not. They are an aberration. A lucky one for them. They are, for want of a better term, vat siblings. They told us they were both brought online at the same time and immediately connected through the feed for comfort and company. Normally that would result in a sizeable correction, but a third SecUnit that was brought online at the same time went berserk.” It shrugged at my shocked expression. “It happens. The production facility’s HubSystem and the technicians were occupied with subduing and destroying it and did not notice them integrating. By time it was discovered, separating them would have been time consuming and not cost effective. The only option was destroying them, and if the technicians did that, their section would have been behind quota and fined. So they approved them and found an assignment they could be shipped together to, which was us. Abhinav and Renata noticed they worked better as a team, and as long as they did not bring attention to themselves they were left alone.” Alpha gave a tiny quirk at the corners of its mouth. “That did not last long after HubSys took control.”
Fate and luck was on their side.
Alpha continued, “They both enjoy studying combat styles and implementing them in their modules. But the end result is always the same, more choreographed moves that are beautiful to watch but useless in a real fight. Your Units will defeat them in less than three minutes because they understand the reality of hand to hand combat. It has to be vicious, you have to intend to cause disabling damage, and there can be no mercy if you want to win.” It went back to watching the sparring, then commented. “At least SecUnit knows this; it taught Three?”
I supposed that was true; of the two, SecUnit had a grittier past. But I couldn’t tell from the match what had prompted Alpha’s observation. “Why do you say that?”
“Three constantly looks to SecUnit for guidance, and follows its lead. I can see in its moves a reflection of SecUnit’s style.”
The motions were so fast there was no way I would have picked up on that.
“So how would you correct their deficiencies?”
Alpha turned and looked at me. It had no issues with eye contact. “They need a true demonstration,” it answered, then drew itself up to an attention stance. “Permission to fight SecUnit? If it agrees?”
I appreciated it asking first, but hell no. Did it think I had forgotten how this entire adventure started with SecUnit attempting to hack into its HubSystem? Alpha and SecUnit had gotten off on the wrong foot, so to speak, from the beginning back on the mine, and I’d noticed them sniping at each other off and on during the evacuation. The two of them fighting was a bad idea. “I’m not going to allow a no-holds-barred cage fight here, so no. Permission denied.”
Alpha obviously had been considering this for a while and was willing to try to persuade me. “There would be rules. No unrepairable damage, or damage that would require more than one cycle in a cubicle. First to achieve an indisputable kill move on its opponent wins.”
Suddenly Peri’s voice was booming in the bay, “That is inadvisable on a multitude of levels. No.” Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with reservations.
The action had come to a complete stop with Perihelion’s declaration. SecUnit, looking confused, asked “No to what, ART?”
“Alpha wishes to fight you as a demonstration for Tango and Foxtrot. The level of combat it wants to employ is too dangerous. Captain Seth agrees.”
It always amuses me when Peri uses my rank and name to bolster a statement. Like it was pulling a Dad card. At least this time it didn’t exaggerate my agreement. SecUnit’s face took on that still cast that indicates concentration on feed conversation; a glance at Alpha confirmed who it was speaking with. I got the feeling neither of us were going to like the end result of that talk.
SecUnit shrugged and said, “It’s not wrong ART. Its rules are acceptable.” It smirked at Alpha. “And this needs to be done.”
“The rules do not go far enough,” Peri griped. “I want no energy weapon fire in my hold.”
“Have to use the arm guns or it won’t be as effective a lesson,” SecUnit argued. Alpha was wisely keeping silent and letting SecUnit handle Peri’s objections. “But it brings up a point; Seth will have to leave. Too much collateral damage risk from missed shots.”
So that wasn’t going to happen. If there was going to be a fight, then I damn well wasn’t missing it. “Sorry SecUnit, I’m staying. Peri can put up a barrier for me to stay safe behind.” And by saying that I implicitly gave approval to proceed.
Rules established, and my squishy human body safely behind the barrier Peri had erected, the match was ready to begin. SecUnit waited in the center of the bay as Alpha stripped down to its pants and removed its boots. That got SecUnit’s attention; it always fought in sturdy boots and from the considering look on its face, had never faced a barefooted Unit opponent before.
And I had never seen intact SecUnit feet. At first glance they were like human feet; in size equivalent to what a human of its height and weight would possess, and with the requisite five toes. It’s when Alpha expanded out those toes you realized how decidedly un-human like they were; the four outside ones were bifurcated down the middle of the foot and spread out enough to double the width. The fifth inner ‘big’ toe was set far enough back that it could probably be used as an opposable digit.
I could see where they could be an exploitable advantage.
SecUnit took a Weaver stance, positioning one foot forward and creating an angled body position and a reduced target; its left arm slightly raised in a pre-shooting posture, its hand dangling down and out of the way for arm gun deployment. Alpha crouched down to one knee, feet splayed, its arms spread and fingers lightly touching the floor. Balanced and ready.
Perihelion was ‘refereeing’ and had appointed itself the official starter of the fight. It provided me with a countdown in our private feed (melodramatic but that was Peri), and as soon as the counter hit zero a loud buzzer reverberated throughout the bay.
All hell broke loose. Alpha exploded from its position, and almost faster than I could follow ran on all fours at SecUnit. SecUnit had anticipated the speed, but not the position, and by time it aimed its arm gun lower to compensate, Alpha had plowed into it, pile driving it into the deck plating hard enough that I swore I felt a shockwave.
Peri had switched the internal countdown to a timer. It had predicted a SecUnit victory within 128 seconds. I had agreed with SecUnit being the victor (solidarity for a crewperson and all that) but had the fight pegged at 180 seconds.
Three, Tango and Foxtrot were stone still, their faces rapt with attention. Only their eyes moved, a dizzying motion as they tracked the action I did not have the ocular ability to perceive (I damn well would be watching the slowed down replay). I could only catch snatches in real time – Alpha throwing SecUnit across the room and SecUnit’s rolling slide into a three point stop before blurring back to re-engage. Flashes of energy weapons connecting at close quarters. The sharp smell of ozone. Alpha on its back, its left arm barely attached, its right arm holding SecUnit’s right forearm to prevent a firing acquisition, its left leg bent and left foot holding SecUnit’s other arm immobile. It was trying to get its other leg into play but SecUnit had it clamped down between its own legs.
This impasse went on for almost twenty seconds. I could see their arms trembling with the strain. Then SecUnit wrenched its arm to the side, turning the downward pressure into a sideways one, bending and breaking Alpha’s wrist then shoving its weapon under Alpha’s chin.
Alpha immediately went limp, and Perihelion announced MATCH TO SECUNIT in the feed. The stopped time was 130 seconds and it was ‘not gloating’ heavily in our connection.
SecUnit rolled off of Alpha and onto its back, and told it , “Not going to be a fucking rematch. You fight dirty, I respect that. We good?”
“I don’t fucking want a rematch. Even my pain sensors tuned all the way down isn’t enough.” It tried to sit up, then apparently decided that was a bad idea. “We’re good. Trade you fight moves for hacking tricks.”
“Done.”
They both looked like hell; SecUnit was leaking from a gaping wound in its abdomen, smaller but still impressive holes in its shoulder and thigh, and for some reason was missing its right ear. Alpha seemed to have fewer weapon wounds but was still leaking impressively, and both its arms were out of commission. Three and the twins were suitably awed with the match and were feed conversing with Peri on how best to get them to MedBay.
I crouched down next to them. “What happened to your ear?” I asked SecUnit conversationally, like losing an ear was an everyday occurrence for Units.
It glared at Alpha. “That asshole bit it off.”
“You use every weapon at your disposal in a fight. It’s around here somewhere, it can be reattached.” It looked over at Tango and Foxtrot. “Do you understand now?” They nodded vigorously in unison. “Good. We will review the footage and discuss after I am repaired.” It had to say that, the two of them looked like they wanted to start the replay that instant. “This was a training lesson,” it continued, “I want Bravo and the others on Holism to watch as well.”
Peri’s cleaning drones had arrived, along with two gurneys. Alpha and SecUnit were loaded on them in no time and headed to MedBay, Peri having decided that it would do a better job than a cubicle of putting Alpha back together.
“I am looking forward to viewing a version of the video as well,” I commented. I didn’t expect Alpha to say, “Please make sure Tarik views it. Of all your crew, he would benefit and understand.”
Tarik? I wanted to ask why, but Alpha had closed its eyes and looked like it would appreciate a nice shutdown, so I refrained and just made a mental note to make sure that happened.
It must have anticipated my curiosity or just felt the need to explain. A somewhat large memory file was uploaded to Perihelion and myself. (Peri pounced on it and proclaimed it safe to view).
I made sure they were safely settled in Medbay and hurried off to my quarters. I wanted to watch the memory file, and I was fairly sure I wanted Martyn with me when I did.
#####
Memory file 1
Being brought online after being in transit was disorienting. This was my second deployment, so I knew what to expect to a degree, but the SecUnit tech who was coordinating my transfer was impatient and annoyed and had already issued multiple corrections. I wanted to comply but I didn’t know where I was or what the expectations were and I was afraid.
The Tech led me to a loading bay. Humans were running and loading gear into a shuttle and my Threat and Risk assessments were climbing to levels that my Governor Module was going to insist I do something about and I didn’t have enough data to complete a proper analysis.
We stopped in front of a scarred, uniformed man whose insignia designated him as an officer and his feed identified as Perez (he/him), assignment (Captain/Combat Death Squad).
“Here’s your new, replacement Unit. Tap here for acknowledgement and we can go through calibration and hand off.”
Captain Perez looked like he wanted to tap something other than the Tech’s handheld device. “Are you fucking kidding me? We are mustering out for deployment in 15! I don’t have time for this shit!”
The Tech gave a bored shrug. She was braver than I had given her credit for. “Take it now or go without for six months. Your call and not my problem!”
“Fine! Fucking fine!” Perez yelled. He was angry, and I didn’t want to be here. “Initiate client transfer and get the fuck out of my face or I will shoot you myself.”
This was very confusing. But at least I had protocol for a client transfer. “SecUnit. Acknowledge new primary client Captain Perez. Acknowledge new secondary client listing.”
This I understood. I acknowledged both and waited for further instruction.
“Ok done. It’s all yours. Good luck.”
Captain Perez turned back to me.
“How many combat deployments have you had?”
I knew he wasn’t going to like my answer. “This is my first combat deployment, Captain. My first deployment overall was a VIP guard detail.”
“Motherfucking cheap company is trying to get us killed…..I’m going to regret asking, but how long have you been in operation?”
“6,452 hours.”
Captain Perez looked he wanted to throw something. Or hit something. I hoped that something wasn’t me. “I don’t have time for this shit. SecUnit, acknowledge admin code Sec221571282Primary.”
That shot me to a stiff attention. “Acknowledged.”
“Adjust distance limit equal to null. Unit is not constrained to Primary or Secondary Client locale.”
That was not normal procedure, but he was my primary and I acknowledged. He turned to another soldier and then pointed at me.
“Ok, load the Cherry into the cargo hold and let’s move. We are minus five behind schedule.”
“Do I babysit the FNG Sir?”
“No. It sinks or swims. Fuck how much it costs.”
I looked up ‘cherry’ and ‘FNG’ designations.
Oh. They were not complimentary to my abilities.
My humans and I were tasked with a hostile acquisition of a rival company’s mine site. I didn’t have a briefing but was taking my cues from the Captain.
As soon as we engaged, my Governor Module prodded me to take point regardless of the damage. First priority, it reminded me, was to protect my humans. But I was receiving conflicting orders to stand down and wait from my Primary Client. I stopped and my Governor Module administered a 10% correction for not following my primary directive.
I obeyed the one punishing me and promptly took enemy fire that dropped my performance reliability to 81%.
The rest of my human team rushed out to support my position and go on the offensive with the rival corp’s troops.
I thought I had fulfilled my directive. I was wrong.
As the battle subsided, my next communication was with my Primary Client. Captain Perez was furious.
“Unit! 25% correction, duration 3 seconds!”
My vision blacked out and my knees would have buckled had I not locked my joints.
I didn’t understand. What had I done?
Captain Perez was stomping towards me and yelling loudly. “You fucking stupid piece of scrap. I give a fucking order, you obey that fucking order. If you ever disobey me or throw yourself into enemy fire like cannon fodder again so help me I will order a punishment so harsh it will make your eyes bleed. Are we clear on that, Cherry?”
I couldn’t speak, but was afraid enough that I quickly nodded, hoping that would suffice.
“Riggs, clean up and get the scrap to a cubicle. Unit, report to me immediately after repairs. Acknowledge.”
I managed a weak “Acknowledged” before I involuntarily shut down.
Memory File 2
I stood at SecUnit Standard Attention, waiting patiently (anxiously) for whatever further punishment my Captain deemed necessary. He had yet to acknowledge me, beyond an initial stand and hold command.
He finally looked at me and motioned to a chair. “Sit.”
My buffer immediately started to spit out, “SecUnits are not permitted to…”
“What did I tell you about disobeying orders?” he interrupted, eyes narrowing and nostrils flaring in an expression I knew all too well meant nothing good.
I sat. Whatever the governor module did to me for sitting would not be equal to making my eyes bleed. I never wanted to find out what level punishment would do that.
And was surprised. I wasn’t disciplined. By anything. My GovMod was strangely subdued.
Captain Perez sat back with a satisfied smirk. “Didn’t zap you, did it? While you were in repairs, I reviewed your logs and finished adjusting your govmod. I’ve learned a few things over the years about SecUnits. I’m not putting the rest of us at risk because you get zapped and freeze up at a bad time just because your Governor Module decided it didn’t like your tone or for speaking without permission or for any of the dozens of stupid reasons it has programmed. It will autopunish for level 4 and 5 infractions only. I or team members I designate will administer all other corrections.”
That was…unorthodox. Basically it would only punish me if I ignored a direct order from my team humans, turned on my team, killed without reason (i.e., battle or in circumstances to protect my team) or lied to my clients.
“Make no mistake, I will use it. But I will also tell you exactly why you are being punished, the level, and the duration. And you will understand and agree with every second of that pain because it is a lesson to keep you functioning and your humans safe. I don’t tolerate anyone or anything under my command not performing at their fullest potential. Now, review the footage from the skirmish and give me your analysis.”
I was reserving judgement; his idea of fairness most likely was not the same as mine. But I did understand tests. I obeyed, looking at all available camera angles, rerunning the action from each helmet, each drone, until I calculated the optimum plan.
And found I had a problem. My revised strategy would have ended the fight 8.2 minutes faster, and with fewer injuries, and would contradict the moves the Captain had deployed. Humans did not like to be criticized. I feared Officers would like it even less and would equate contradiction with disobedience.
I froze. If I didn’t respond I would be disobeying a clear directive from my Primary Client. If I did respond I would be angering my Primary Client. And my Primary Client was now visibly annoyed.
“You have faster processing than that, Unit. What’s the hold up?”
I flinched enough that he noticed. “Disregard prior question. Do you have a final analysis? Yes or No.”
“Yes.”
“Then send it over. Now.”
I sent it over and waited for the explosion.
His face grew thoughtful, then to my shock delighted. “Well I’ll be fucked sideways. You may be green but you aren’t stupid.”
I had no idea how to respond to that.
Memory 3
My squad and I were completing a training exercise and were currently at the foot of a vertical rock formation that I estimated to be approximately 1000 meters high. We were instructed to climb it, and the humans were busy pulling out gear and chalking up their hands.
Captain Perez was staring at me. Again. He did that often, and I was beginning to realize it was not a bad thing. “SecUnit, you are permitted to use gear as well.”
“Thank you Captain, external gear will not be necessary. I can complete the task with what I possess.” I stepped back and examined the ascent, mapping out hand and foot holds. “I can reach the top in a conservative estimate of five minutes.”
I expected the scoffs and general calls of ‘bullshit’. And they were correct. I could do it in three minutes but didn’t want to show off.
Captain Perez took an illegal tobacco stick out of his pouch and lit it. He looked at me speculatively and said, “Then let’s see what you got, Unit.”
Challenge accepted. I retracted my helmet and removed my gloves. I hesitated slightly, then sat down and removed my boots as well.
They were all staring at my feet. I spread them out for maximum traction and did not look at any of the humans.
Corporal Riggs asked, “Did you know their feet looked like that?”
“Nope,” Captain Perez answered. “I’ve had ten SecUnits over the years and never saw one without boots on.” He looked at me and waved at the rock face. “Well go ahead, show off for us.”
I took that as an order and ran at the rock wall. Momentum took me up three meters before I started maneuvering the hand and foot holds I had visually mapped out. I was making better time than I had initially estimated. I would reach the top in less than three minutes.
Two minutes, forty seconds to be exact.
I could hear the whistles and hand claps below. By this time in my deployment I knew they were complimentary sounds.
Captain Perez shouted up, “Ok you’ve made your point! How fast can you descend?”
I briefly thought about jumping, but Risk Assessment was pegging that maneuver at a 64% leg damage that would necessitate assistance to my cubicle. That risk dropped to an acceptable level by climbing down three quarters of the way. Which I did headfirst, then flipping off the cliff face to land upright.
Two minutes exactly.
My Captain was grinning appreciatively. “You got any other tricks I don’t know about?”
I did have one other, but it was one humans generally did not want to know about. But it was a direct question. “I have the capability of removing my hands and controlling them remotely.”
I heard several variations of ‘holy fucking shit’ from the humans.
“So why is this the first I am hearing of and seeing these advantages?”
I answered truthfully. “It is strongly impressed upon SecUnits during initial calibration not to upset or startle humans. Our feet and hands were described as being ‘creepy’ and non-standard use falls under that directive.” I paused. “I believe they are explained in the manual. We are permitted to utilize these features if ordered to. I interpreted your instruction to use gear as an order.”
My Captain threw his tobacco stick aside and snarled, “Fucking idiots. So they gave you advantages then punished the living shit out of you so you never use what they gave you. Blanket order; you use every advantage you have to complete commands. Clear?”
“Acknowledged.”
Final Memory File
I was being reassigned. Captain Perez was not pleased. I was resigned. I had known this wouldn’t last.
My Captain was arguing with the Company Tech. “I had put in a request for this Unit’s permanent assignment.”
“Captain Perez, it’s been assigned here for three rotations, which is highly unusual. We never permanently assign our SecUnits. It creates….issues. This Unit is due for a memory wipe and a new deployment. Your new Unit is being uncrated as we speak.”
“This is fucking idiocy. Our stats show we are the best Combat Death Squad the Company employs, and you want to fuck that up by taking an integral piece of equipment away from us?”
It was probably the squad’s success that brought this on. We were too good and presenting as a potential internal threat.
“My hands are tied. Please sign here for release and acceptance of the new SecUnit.” The tech turned to me and barked, “Get in the damn crate.”
I pinged Captain Perez one last time as I was obeying and climbing in. He surprised me by opening a feed connection. I’m sorry, I tried. One last lesson to you; always remember it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. On that note, I put my personal admin override on all your memories here, and all the modules we upgraded. They won’t be able to erase them and shouldn’t realize that they can’t.
Vaya con dios.
End Memory File
Martyn leaned in closer to me. “Well that…explains a lot.”
It did. Why Alpha was adamant about information regarding the hack. Why it was insistent on training its crew and Three, why it wanted to include Tarik. It had been helped in the past; maybe not what I would have done, maybe cruelly, but that was all the squad Captain knew and he beat that into it so it would survive.
I felt Peri cuddling into Martyn and myself. It had watched. It understood.
“Can we keep Alpha? Please?”
I sighed. “Peri it isn’t a pet. It has choices.” Hmmm, it did have choices. And loyal as Alpha was to its people and HubSys, it wasn’t a high possibility but damned if I didn’t want it in my crew as well.
“We’ll see is the best I can say.”