Saber
A chilling breeze came across the rooftop as twinkling provinces decorated the night. Saber felt strange not finding them to be the most beautiful thing in her sight, but the glass towers of Coensus were what caught her eye. Their height cut the little grey puffs moving across the black sky in half as they flowed over the city. Another pop caught Saber’s attention. When she followed the sound, a bright red flash of color dissipated into the black. Celebration was still underway for the first day of the Coensus Plunder. The system would be dense with tourists from all three Edge Kingdoms, the Cendorian Kingdom, and A.R.M.S. Hundreds of companies and governments showed off their new toys to the masses. All hangars were occupied with a ship from some other province within the galaxy, vehicles took foreigners across the Council Seat for a celebration; a perfect environment for Saber and her Ego technology. Since the target hadn’t arrived yet, Saber quickly examined herself. Her long body sat in the toned silhouette of the bodysuit. Running along the inside of her thigh, she knew a net of thousands of small projectors were waiting to be powered for her transformation. The slightly bulky wrist display had a hard connection to her… well, actually, it wasn’t connected to anything. The battery would pulse the needed energy into the suit, but no complex put any data into the projectors. It baffled Saber how powerful she was sometimes.
Her beauty though, there was never a doubt in her mind why she looked so good in the black bodysuit. Many times, in the mirror, she found herself entranced with the body she had crafted over her years. A toned backside let her jump higher while making her men’s desire. The legs that carried it weren’t too thick and weren’t too thin, showing a life of genuine activity, not just artificial stimulation like most of the people on Coensus. Her chest maybe was a little small for her frame, but she never received a complaint. Perhaps she should’ve listened to her mother and become a model for those aesthetic companies. Unfortunately, Saber inherited her father’s addiction. Her heart started pounding beneath that chest as her wrist display notified her. She sat up from the glass balcony rail and brought up her Hive Visionaries. Her target rolled in with his HT-Soaring by Hierarchy Vehicles. The grey four-doored blocky beast stayed two feet off the ground with four silver metal spheres. When her target arrived at his location, the spheres shut off their magnetic tether, lowering him those two feet for his exit. A petite woman held his hand this time. With her target preparing for his entry into Lovelies Club, Saber switched the sight of her Hive Visionaries to Conduction. She needed to see the electrical current of the man’s security. If the rumors were true, the men beside him would have one flowing through them. Disgust sat in her heart when those rumors were confirmed. Every single one of his men had an electrical current that fit the primitive flow of a Bloodline Prosthetic. He was a Mechanical Supremacist. Saber realized, though, that she didn’t really care in terms of strategy. She could hide, fight, become one if she needed to. For the moment, she had only one more thing to scan. The HT-Soaring had its electrical flow in the usual places, except the motor spheres. The four currents flowed heavier than the company’s standard model. Of course, a man of her target’s stature, more luxuries were certainly inside.
Another pop went off to her right. It left a bright green this time. Out of curiosity, Saber flicked her Visionaries over to see the source. A few miles out, there was a luxury vessel holding all the usual partiers. Women showing off their sculpted bodies, men trying to acquire said bodies, and the more focused people who wanted someone specific. That was enough information for the moment; it was time.
Saber put the Visionaries in their utility holster and drew her Exact from the same belt. The beautiful weapon with twelve round magazines and a tactical slide was more accurate than any energy weapon, or at least any Saber had used. Perhaps it was a biased view since it was a gift from her mother, but it never failed her. Once she felt satisfied with the weapon’s readiness, Saber went to her wrist display. She swiped through and first activated her magnet grapple before powering the thousands of projectors in her suit. Small dots of light twinkled across her body. To the outside observer, there was nothing. Usually, some parts of the Ego technology recorded the surrounding area, so it knew what part of the environment it had to project. Saber’s power removed half the technology needed for the suit. Her peripherals were all that was needed for her mind to complete the image for any observer. All that remained was for Saber to get down onto the street.
She stepped over the glass rail and lowered her right hand onto the metal beam that spanned the entire height of the skyscraper. After one deep breath, she threw her feet out into the air and felt her right hand grip to the building. She hung from only the sixty-first floor, but the sight below still stirred her stomach. She brought the magnet’s power down to thirty percent. The wind rushed through her short black hair while every floor whooshed by in a steady rhythm. Lines of vehicle light grew bigger with every second. Finally, the sidewalk appeared. She swiped and slowed herself to a gentle stop seven feet above the ground. When the magnet turned off, she hopped down and stood on the street of the Council Seat. Those small pops of color were bursting all over the city. Saber checked her display time. The first day of the Coensus Plunder was about to end. Of course, the celebrations never ended. Someone would always be awake, doing something wild to mark the annual festivity. Saber, though, had to get on her ship and leave this province before Divitiae rose over the maze of glass towers.
Through the lines of oblivious pedestrians, Saber found the entrance to the Lovelies Club. A booming base played on the custom laser cylindric index, flashing lights along with the fast beat. Saber couldn’t predict what the lights would do. Instead, she had to make a constant appearance for herself. What did she want to look like? The mood of the filled club: people wanted their desires fulfilled for the night. A sexy attire would blend her in, but that would only get her so far. Eventually, a guard would want to stop her, ask questions. She quickly made her decision after that thought. Saber had the perfect image of one of the target’s henchmen formed in her mind and took on the form. She stood as tall as most men, so it wasn’t shocking when a shorter man looked up at her and gave a quick face of fear in a perfect light flash. Clearly her image of a broad chested man with a deep scar down the side of his temple was successfully projected. Saber grinned as she buttoned her illusionary attire jacket and scanned the flashing room for her target. Red, blue, green, bright white, and purple flashed in quick succession as magnets at the end of the room, made colored bubbles of water flow in a sensuous dance above the patrons. In all that visual chaos, she saw a man doing the exact opposite. Up on a second floor, looking down on the dance floor, a man tapped behind his ear while he stood in a rigid guard. Saber didn’t hesitate moving towards him. He most likely guarded some sort of luxury platform where her target played with that girl of his. A disguised Saber pushed through the crowd to a large ramp on the left side leading to the upper platforms. The black glass floor slowly brought Saber to her rigid guard. In the flashing lights, Saber could see the reflection of the man’s prosthetic arm. This is when it occurred to her. She needed to add some prosthetic to her disguise. It already had a scar at the temple, so she simply added a prosthetic eye to match the injury. The flashing lights covered the shuttering of the projectors as they switched the eye. Saber learned long ago simply being confident got her anywhere. As she passed by the guard, he gave her a strange glance, but all she did was nod and entered the luxury platform. The man didn’t want to get in trouble, make a fool of himself, or worse, be wrong, so he had no choice. Saber’s disguise became a real person in his detail. Of course, anyone of higher position on the target’s security team wouldn’t accept that, so she put herself in that sexy attire after all. After three rapid flashes of green, purple, and white, the broad chested security guard became that desire Saber admired so much.
Her toned legs would tease through the slit of her blue dress as she passed the other patrons. She couldn’t see the outfit, but she saw the reactions of those around her. Men gave a drooling stare while the other women gave that quick jealous glance. The security guards on the luxury platform simply noted her as she passed. Saber brought her sharp brown eyes, surrounded by a blue glittery shadow, over to the right side of the club. She noticed she could journey deeper into Lovelies on her side while a closed door stood on the right. Her target must’ve been behind that door. Saber pushed by the hidden bridge so she could scan the club below and rule it out. When she looked at Lovelies’ second, more exclusive, dance floor, all she saw were the usual celebrities. Mainstream artists, whether singers or theatrical entertainers, fashion artisans, and of course, one of the racers of the Coensus Plunder. Levis Velo had on his best attire as two women kept their bodies pressed against his. All the usual people, and no sign of her target. He was across that hidden bridge.
Saber strutted back and noticed a guard keeping a close eye on her. Her turning around was suspicious, but no one could act on it, yet. She simply passed by the man as his Bloodline Prosthetic eye dilated its old shutter. Adrenaline had just flowed through him. There would be a fight. Two men blocked off the right ramp while the luxury platforms by the door were cleared out. Her target had a very secure detail. It kept a wide perimeter, had an angle of every section of the club, each individual had training in melee combat, and the bridge, hidden behind the flowing water display, acted as a perfect funnel. Not only were the men physically superior, but they were Mechanically Superior as well. She would have to use their own momentum against them if she wanted to get to her target. Her slow walk ended at the start of the bridge. Already two large men waited for her at the other end while the rest of their team hidden in Lovelies started converging towards her. Saber couldn’t draw her Exact yet or she would reveal her Ego technology. With one deep breath, she started crossing, soaking herself in the jade of the levitating water. Her stride halted when the two guards took off their suit jackets. The magnetic seam on their dress shirts was pulled back so they could show their Mechanical Supremacy. Bloodline Prosthetics meant the cogs, wires, and cables shifted as the men readied themselves for a fight. Tinges of grins and smirks danced across their faces while unspoken whispers of jokes leaked from their minds. They were underestimating her. Their prosthetics put them above most men, but, unfortunately for them, Saber’s Ego Technology put her above everyone.
She could hear them thinking about their next moves. The one on her left wanted to throw a right hook while the other wanted to jab her straight in the stomach. All she had to do was throw herself against the left side rail of the bridge. Once that was done, she’d throw up two projections of herself and watch the two men fall. Saber heard their minds planning another set of moves, but it was pointless. She charged them, sank into that left glass rail, dodging both mechanical punches, then shined her projections. When the two men went to dodge her images’ punches, their skulls found one another. Their stunned state made Saber’s real jabs to their throats easy incapacitations. A sudden set of clanks behind Saber caused her to sprint for a nearby pillar. The moment she ducked behind it, she heard four rounds ricochet against the metal. Weapons previously holstered were drawn and opening fire on her. Saber knew she needed time to unlock the door, so these men had to be removed. She drew her Exact and sent out a projection into the open. Immediately, rounds were being fired, so Saber peered around the corner and saw two men shooting at the decoy. Before she heard their minds become confused, she took the time she needed to shoot out both of their kneecaps. With screams of panic filling the club, Saber went to her wrist display and hijacked the door’s keypad.
That hard click of the magnet coming undone signaled for Saber to plan. There would be at least six men behind the door. She could trick them and become one of their own, but it was too risky. She couldn’t engage in melee with Mechanical Supremacists fairly, and they already knew about her Ego Technology. Saber had to borrow from the C.S.F.’s strategy set. After she refocused with a single deep breath, Saber forced open the door and stepped back. No one fired, so the men were highly trained.
One voice yelled from the hall, “You two go, they could already be in the room.” Saber’s Exact remained in the Ego’s shroud, but when she fired, the weapon’s own flash would reveal her. That was her utility reason for not shooting the two men that came into the club. Her main one was she didn’t want to kill anyone unnecessarily. The career she chose only removed thieves, syndicate enforcers, cheats, and all other scavengers of society. Even if these men were Mechanical Supremacists, there were too many stories of men like them changing their ways for her to want them dead. As the two guards entered the club, Saber slipped past them and closed the door behind them, causing their friends in the hall to open fire at the doorway’s general area. Saber felt a round shift the air across her black hair. She slipped past and examined her surroundings.
Nitrogen coolers left chilling mist across the floor of a high-end kitchen. The marble counters were covered in sharp knives and unused ingredients for dishes. Three men pointed their weapons toward the door Saber had just entered. One was moving to unlock it for his two friends. Saber waited for the moment it opened. As the flashing-colored lights of the club started pouring in, Saber sprinted over and pushed her Exact into one of the back men’s kneecaps. Bang! He collapsed in a scream of agony. Saber pressed the barrel into the other man. He crashed down in tears while the three men by the door snapped around. Shen went to the left side of the kitchen and let the men pass before she slid across the white floor. Her weapon fired point blank into each right leg. All five men were down on the ground, within the same second, screaming in pain. Only one man in her target’s detail remained. He stood by a chrome metallic door, at the end of a back hall, with nothing in his biological hands. His natural eyes stared down the hallway in panic. Saber inched towards him, hoping not to step too loudly. After a few steps brought her close, Saber noticed the part of him that was his Bloodline Prosthetic… his throat. At that moment, she could see his pupils dilate beyond natural limits. A Bloodline Prosthetic throat was old enough to have an Overdrive outlawed everywhere in the galaxy. Saber sprinted and started closing the distance as gills in the man’s throat sucked in copious amounts of air. Shrieking Cords would rip through Saber’s heart and cause it to stop beating. Luckily, as the man went to exhale, Saber slid beneath his legs and shot one round into his groin. His whole body convulsed to his crouch, blasting his sonic voice down into the floor. For two seconds, Saber saw shards of floor launch into the air while the enforcer smacked against the ceiling, then everything went black.
When her eyes opened again, Saber saw her kneecapped guards still writhing on the floor. She wasn’t unconscious for very long, so her target was still behind that metal. Once she crawled up from the floor, Saber checked her wrist display. No damage done to her Ego Technology. A scan of the shattered white floor had her Exact ten feet away on her left side. It didn’t seem ruined, but Saber wouldn’t be surprised if something jammed. With the Exact placed on her belt, she walked to the holographic display of the chrome door. She watched her wrist decode until it discovered the door’s passcode. Three numbers were selected, and a loud puff of air pushed itself out. Saber rushed to right side as the door retracted into the wall. She checked her wrist display one last time, saw she was still invisible, and decided to step into the room. It was a private office that looked down at the luxury platform of Lovelies. The room was made of some red stone that held veins of gold. Her target sat down at a desk while his girl, with Luxurious Skin, sparkled on a nearby chaise. The man wasn’t nervous, scared, or anything, in fact he seemed amused. Saber remembered all the information she had gathered on him. Jabez was a man who controlled a crucial part of the odalisque trade on the system Idyll in the province of DO2. He and his Mechanical Supremacists rarely left the system unless it was for something like the Coensus Plunder. He also was one of the few private owners of a Mechanical Ego. Part of why Jabez was so difficult to kill or arrest was because the Ego shrouded him from every sensor, eye, and Tracer complex. Saber needed that device before Divitiae rose over the Coensus horizon.
She listened to his mind and found out how clever his professional had me him. The man knew if he was supposed to be dead, he would’ve been shot by a rifle as he entered Lovelies. Saber had to speak with him. She hesitantly drew her Exact and then thought the shroud of invisibility away. As the scales of the projectors shuttered Saber back into reality, Jabez grinned.
“Saber, the best of the best is after me, how flattering. Why are you after me is the only question I have?” She didn’t waste any time.
“The Ego, I want it.” Jabez chuckled.
“Afraid of fighting machines?”
“A certain set of machines, yes.” By the risen brow, Saber knew she had revealed too much.
Jabez asked, “Whose set of machines? There aren’t many people with unique… oh, you either have a shit brain or a steel pair.”
Saber replied boldly, “Trust me, it’s the latter, give me the Ego.” Jabez shook his head.
“No, first off, my ass is outside of Idyll, I’m in his territory and I’m not messing with him. Second, his machines don’t work that way. Trust me, the Ego will be useless.”
Saber got closer with her Exact as she asked, “What do you mean?”
Jabez started playing with his ring as he explained, “These machines, their A.S.I. isn’t normal. Detection, security, pursuit algorithms, travel, aggression predictions, facial decoding, body decoding, Visual and Auditory Tracing, the fact I’ve only listed a fifth of what that A.S.I can do, that’s not a normal thing. No, no, you, my dear, have to be shit brained. But that doesn’t matter.” Saber could hear the truth both in his voice and his mind. The Solicitor General was a strange man with powerful tools. Another thought suddenly lurched into the man’s mind. He felt relief as something was on its way to save him. Saber pressed her weapon into his skull.
“What did you call?” The question forced a single image into his mind. A schematic of a Cendorian Security Machine screeched through his mind in a purple and yellow haze. Those four spheres on the HT-Soaring had so much power. Saber didn’t have any more time; she had to run.
She sprinted out of the office towards the first elevation chamber she saw. Saber threw herself in and sent the chamber to the floor she had planned for her escape. That immense pounding in her chest fueled her calculations of where those four machines were. They could carry a Soaring at up to ninety miles per hour while magnetically tethered. She had to separate herself from their range somehow. The few moments she had in her ascension allowed for a hijacking of the building’s security complex. When she brought up the holographic display of her wrist complex, she saw shadows speeding through the white halls of the tower. Suddenly, her holographic went black. The S.I. of the Cendorian Machines was using the same complex to track Saber. It knew exactly what floor the chamber was speeding to and already calculated her likely escape route. She had to calm her mind those few seconds so she could plan. Saber took a deep breath and remembered something about security or hunting S.I. They favored visual targets before auditory. She could give herself a few seconds before the Cendorian Machines fired on her. Saber had never pushed the range of the Ego projectors passed three feet, but she wouldn’t be comfortable without five. The S.I. wasn’t too smart. If she shrouded herself and made the projectors create a vague outline of her, the machines would shoot it. The chamber lurched to a halt and opened to a set of unoccupied offices. She had a straight line to a wall of glass windows a hundred and eighty feet away. The moment the doors opened wide enough, Saber sprinted straight at them. An image of herself dragging five feet behind appeared in her mind. Hopefully, it would work.
She could hear the metal spheres rolling up the staircase as they closed in. Saber stood a hundred and thirty feet away from the windows when the machines barreled onto her floor. For a moment, it was only four of the same sound, the grinding of metal on stone, but she knew the S.I. decided to create a kill box when the crash of glass filled the hallway. All four machines were speeding to get ahead of the projection, smashing every glass wall on either side of Saber. She had only seventy feet before the window. Her Exact would have to shoot out the glass at the very last moment to keep her illusion going. She could see the chrome sheen of their armor in both of her peripherals. The metal spheres had gotten into position. Their weapons roared at the projection.
Flashes filled the room, reflecting off the chrome armor. Saber kept sprinting for the window. Only forty feet remained, so she drew her Exact and had a bitter realization. Her original plan was to slide down the slope of the glass tower’s massive atrium for the residential spaces below. If she followed through, the security machines would roll after and kill her before she ever reached the street. In the last twenty feet, she sprinted for the right corner of the building. Cutting such a hard diagonal forced her to shoot through the same glass walls her pursuers were crashing through. When the first round flew, it broke the S.I.’s pursuit of the projection. One of the machines spilt open a new section of armor. She heard it fire a few rounds as she shot out the window. Saber leapt, went to her wrist display, and increased the power of her magnet grapple. It latched onto the metal column holding the corner of the glass structure. Once attached, she flung herself around, giving her cover. The S.I. of the Cendorian Security Machines predicted her next move. It knew Saber would get herself to the street. Guards inside the building were on high alert, and the white and neon yellow flash of Coensus Steward pursuit vehicles flooded towards the Lovelies club. All the S.I. had to do was calculate her route and the machines’ intercept course. Saber peeked around the corner, as she descended, and saw the four chromes spheres launch out the windows. They cracked the atrium glass when they landed, but the chrome spheres remained steady and barreled towards the street. Saber took away some of her magnet grapple’s power, so her descent increased. The machines would get to the street first, but they would have to round a whole street corner before getting sight of her. She looked down and felt blessed when she saw a dense river of people walking on the side path. Saber created some random citizen in her mind and finally touched the ground. A few people noticed her sudden appearance, but none cared. They were too busy, too annoyed, and too arrogant to care about anything else other than their own tasks. Saber turned towards where the machines would round the corner. The four chrome spheres appeared on the side path. Their S.I. instructed the machines to search for Saber farther ahead since that was natural prey behavior. She casually walked past the machines as a well-dressed Appraiser and escaped unharmed into the crowds.
An empty, dark glass building sat in a marble field. Saber skirted the surrounding grounds of the structure. It stood tall, perhaps the tallest in the Council Seat, and had a strange coil to it, making it seem like a blend of natural and synthetic architecture. Saber had been staring at it for nearly ten minutes, completely calm. The moment she stepped onto the grounds, the Psychic Dread her mystics mentor taught her many years ago appeared. Something about this tower could only be sensed with her mind, not her brain, not her body, her mind. It left chills on her spine as she followed the structure up to where its tip pointed towards the provinces above. Ships flew in and out of the atmosphere above it, but they all sped away faster than most would, or perhaps that was Saber’s own fearful perception. Many knew the Solicitor General’s reputation, and few had a kind view of him. His Solicitors all lived in properties he owned and drove vehicles that were completely exclusive to his company. Carter-Dixon, Malcolm Baluster, Hierarchy, all of them had a specific design that belonged to him and him alone, a galvanized armored obsidian steel hybrid. Every single vehicle had pitch black windows so no one could see business being done, and it was rumored no one could ever detect any of his assets. Saber confirmed that rumor not too long ago when she examined the building with her Hive Visionaries. There was an electrical current, but it was small, too small for the rumored A.S.I. he had present across the galaxy. Everyone under him had the same intelligence serving them whether they were in the Divitiae province or the Gallance province that sat at the end of the Cendorian Kingdom. Saber wouldn’t know where any security measures were, but she needed this. She took a deep breath and focused her mind on what she desired. A single number appeared in her mind: one hundred and ninety-four. Most likely a floor number. There was only one step left, entering the building.
Saber knew it wouldn’t be likely, but she first wanted to try opening the front glass doors. She grabbed the handle, expecting that strong tug, only to feel the glass panel fly open. That Dread grew in her chest, nearly crushing her heart. Every instinct told her to walk away. She couldn’t listen though; she needed her desire. Defying every voice inside her head, Saber stepped through the door. A paralyzing chill wrapped around her. That feeling of something watching her magnified beyond any bearable level. Those instincts screamed for her to leave, but she only had to focus on that desire. She walked further into the open lobby and felt her heart drop when a dark red line of light appeared off in the corners of the room. They shot around the perimeter of the lobby until an outlined glass elevation chamber appeared at the opposite end of Saber. The glass rotated behind the wall, opening the chamber for entry. So much space between her and that chamber. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave the light of Coensus’ four moons. The moment she stepped forward; Saber would plunge into a deep shadow. Something kept focusing on her, staring, but there was no sign of any Visual or Auditory Tracers. Her desire kept pushing her forward. With a sudden quick pace, Saber plunged into the darkness, feeling that Dread rush towards her from the shadows. It gained and gained until she finally got into the elevation chamber. All the Dread felt like it sat outside the door. Before Saber pushed the display, she wanted to know if she was imagining it. She reached her left hand back into the lobby. Nothing. There was no violent reaction of any kind. It just seemed like a place that didn’t trust her. She brought her hand back in and looked down at the chamber’s display, only to find a panel of marble and obsidian buttons. Her finger stabbed one hundred ninety-four and the chamber started its ascent. It didn’t shift from its straight path, so a normal central column would take her to one of those twisted floors. Saber drew her Exact and felt that Dread again. She was being watched, a focused, cautious watch. After focusing her mind, she felt nothing predatory. The Dread just stayed in her heart as the chamber slowed. Finally, she brought her Exact up to her eye, and the chamber opened.
A flood of pale light came through the twisted windows. She could tell the floor was made of white marble, but black veins ran through it all. Her soul felt uneasy. Saber stepped onto the floor, expecting something to activate. Quiet, a heavy quiet. Step after step added more weight as she pushed into the center. It wasn’t enough to pull her off her desire, though. In the open circle of marble offices, one desk in the center of four small glass walls piqued her interest. Something quickly gave Saber the impression the moment she moved for it; whatever lurked in a different plane would manifest. She needed that desire; it had too much time spent on it for her not to take it. Saber's only decisions were taking another step and waiting to fight whatever it was, or sprint for the desire. She had already braved the lobby; no reason not to brave the thing itself. Saber kept her Exact ready as she stepped forward towards the office. Something shifted in the walls.
When she spun around, two pieces of marble rolled down in the pale light of the four moons. Next to the chamber door came two glowing blood red lights. Before she could react, the machines produced a menacing voice so powerful, deep, and terrifying that when it said that dreadful word, “Saber,” her blood chilled. That voice shouldn’t have known that unless it had access to the Stewards’ database. How far did the Solicitor General’s power reach? She couldn’t see what was carrying those two lights. Their speed could’ve been equal or greater than hers, Saber wouldn’t be sure. Shooting at them was pointless. A single round wouldn’t do anything based on the General’s known power. Saber made a quick decision. She spun back around and sprinted for the desk. Metallic footsteps followed her. She ripped open the glass door of the office and rummaged through the desk. The machines had stepped into the pale light. Saber, in a quick glance, saw they were old. Cogs were moving, pistons acted as tendons for the arms, such primitive technology, yet they moved so naturally. She felt her brain shutter at the sight.
They moved too naturally. They opened the door as she found the cylindric index. All that remained was her escape. She turned and shot out a window. Saber went to leap, but a giant metal shutter clamped down onto the floor before she could move, a standard security measure. Maybe these machines were only auditory and visual. Saber slide underneath one of their legs, noticing that neither of them went to strike. As she did so, she shuttered into a projection of her surrounding environment. When she looked over, the elevation chamber was sealed, and all the metal shutters were clamping down. That Dread nearly split her heart in half. Saber stood in pure darkness as the two red eyes were charging towards her. Suddenly, a white light in a stairwell turned on. Saber sprinted for it, hearing the metal feet just behind her. As the white light flooded over her, Saber ran down the marble-obsidian steps towards the lobby, but she heard another set of footsteps clomping up the stone. All she had for an escape was another floor lit only by the four moons. She sprinted in and took in her surrounds.
The room seemed little more intricate, there were obsidian walls she could blend into. With a pure black projection, Saber pressed herself up against the farthest wall and watched the two glowing red eyes reach the doorway access to the stairs. The primitive cogs held still as the two eyes stared right in her direction. Saber watched them slowly walk towards her.
She just kept saying in her mind, “They can’t see me, they can’t see me, they can’t-”
Her heart nearly stopped when that deep menacing voice countered with, “False, Saber.” She drew her Exact, shuttered her projection, and pointed the weapon straight at the machines.
“Get away from me!” The two machines stopped and stared at her with their single glowing eyes. Behind them, a silhouette of a man appeared from the bright light of the stairwell. A man in three-piece attire walked across the obsidian floor towards Saber. He had on a white jacket, a black vest, and a grey dress shirt that seemed tied together by a thin black ribbon collar. She pointed her weapon straight at the man as he approached. The machines were unfazed. They knew she wouldn’t shoot because she had said to herself that she wouldn’t.
She finally screamed, “HOW CAN YOU HEAR MY THOUGHTS?”
The man held up his hands and replied, “You should know better than anyone that you don’t need the organ to read the mind.”
She protested, “But these aren’t people they’re…” Saber couldn’t finish the statement, they were something else. They weren’t the manifestation of an Advanced Synthetic Intelligence; they were the manifestation of something much greater. These machines walked naturally, but nothing natural gives such a Psychic Dread. Saber only had one option, which was to tell a truth they already knew.
“This index has my father’s last mission on it. I just wanted to know what happened.” The suspicious man with amber eyes nodded.
“That’s understandable, quite a dramatic way to get that information though.” Saber could tell by the man’s confidence and prowess that he was the man everyone feared.
“Your reputation didn’t make it seem like asking was a possibility.” He chuckled.
“Or did you just want to take on the challenge?” Saber swallowed her anxiety from that question. The man knew her perfectly, somehow. She nodded and waited to hear the man say, “You don’t need the index, your suspicions are right. But you can keep it. I just need a copy.” Saber felt a tear run down her face. Her father died nobly, like a hero. The Solicitor General was quick to say after that, “So, since you now owe me, all I ask is that when you see these machines next, you tell the man they serve the thing you and I know best.” His statement, ‘You don’t need the organ to read the mind’ flew into her head.
She asked, “Why?” and received a strange answer.
“Because that man will be on his Path and he’ll need that knowledge for that walk.” The Path, the man was a worshipper of the Light, unless, of course, he knew those Boxers everyone feared, sometimes more than him.
Saber took a deep breath of relief and said, “I will, thank you.” The machine on his left held out its hand so Saber would give back the index. She obliged and watched as the three figures started walking away. Suddenly, Saber grew bold again. She wanted to know the Intelligence these machines had. She took her focusing breath and tried finding that mind. In one quick painful snap, she felt her mind flood with a single thought, sleep.
When she woke next, Saber was on her heavy fighter on a Lightway back to the Cendorian Kingdom. Her green bed sheets covered her, but she still had on her Ego Technology. She wasn’t sure how she got there. Saber got up from her bed, went over to her ship’s controls, and sat down in her pilot’s chair. She spun around, wondering what had happened, when something flickered just beside her. One of her holographic control displays switched from blood red to gold. Jabez was right, that was no A.S.I. and the Solicitor General was certainly a man not to be messed with. For the first time in a long time, Saber closed her eyes and thanked the Light for this blessing of life. Then she remembered her exchange with the Solicitor General. A marble box sat on her ship’s controls. Inside, a cylindric index containing her father’s last moments. Blissful tears and a smile rolled across Saber’s face. She could go home and tell her mother the good news.