Chapter Text
It felt like a minute. First, one alarm, then two, then what looked like a hundred, still growing. The Shargs were ruthless and they obviously wouldn't wait for the GDR to be built. coming down in horrendously large numbers, no amount of Robos would hold them back. Olivia sighed as she reviewed the same file again and again. 78 robo casualties, billions of humans, world wide.
It's been five days, she wrote in her notebook. Five days underground, constantly working to get what we need. We have water and we're able to contact other Sky Corps sectors. No reliable food, but we're just beneath HQ.
Olivia stared at the pathetic gap between them and outside, reenforced walls of concrete, artificial lights. The last work of Veritas before the robo went MIA. Still, up high against the cave rod was a print of their hand, the plush palm and three mitten-like fingers being the only interesting detail in the dry walls.
Always the same, Olivia continued, glancing from her spot among crates, Work on this, Olivia. Work on that, Olivia. Well Dad, I'll remind you that I'm not as useful as the other cadets. You better not be reading this.
Engines whirred and fluorescent lights hummed, metal shuttered and whined as a giant fan was added to the entrance, moved into place by Tombo and Tanaka. With a whir of their own, Tombo pushed the blades into motion, setting the trap into motion. If a Sharg so much as dared to explore their cave, it’d be shredded before it could even squeal.
The thought sent dark satisfaction through Olivia, a small smile on her lips, serves the jerks right for taking her home away.
The white and copper robo landed with a thud, sending a vibration through the ground. They kneeled, and Captain Tanaka stepped out from their cockpit. His black exo-suit made him hard to see against the shadow covered stone walls, but his gray hair and dull green shawl was unmistakable.
The general, her father, walked up to thank him. Even if she was too far to hear, the look on his face spoke loud enough.
Sound erupted from outside, streaks of colors ripped across the sky. The large robotic figures circled around the dead base, likely confused by the absence of people. Tombo and the captain shared a look and took off, stopping the turbine and flying up out of sight.
Groups of engineers and even the few remaining of her cadet course climbed the platforms, watching in awe as Tombo pushed the turbine, staring it after the three new Robos. A hulking, black robo, a tall sleek grey, and a short, rounded black.
While the celebration was a lot more tame than any that had happened before the massacre, cheers still erupted at the new glimpses of hope.
《{_}○-☆-○{_}》
LG7 was amazed, that's the only way it could describe what it felt at the sight. TF1 -Tombo, as it was called now- filled them in, what forces the had here were overwhelmed in the middle of building the primary global defense. It wasn't even sure how many remained to defend after that, and it's bonded really wasn't too helpful.
As they landed, their cores cooling with the release of gravitational defiance. BH4 and SD3 made loud thuds as their pedes touched the surface and the looked around, as did LG7, who was much quieter.
Humans stood along the walls, on the ground, on posts higher up, all greeted them with eccentric cheers.
“This is mellow, even for them.” Tombo commented, looking over LG7’s shoulder. Not that it was a hard feat, it was remarkably small. “I don't know what their plan is now, but the cadets use to play a series of competitive games to display their skills, and you'd get to choose who you bonded with.”
BH4 glanced back. “So we wait? What about the Shargs, they never rest.”
Tombo nodded. “Sometimes, that's our only option.”
SD3 was enraptured by the tiny organics around them. It watched as Tombo's bonded approached another important looking human, talking in a language none of them could yet decipher.
“Well, I'll show you to the docks, no use wasting power standing around.” Tombo walked through a tunnel that looked to be cutting it close for something as big as BH4, but they pushed through.
“This is all we can safely get to from base. Some humans will go higher, but it's generally off limits.” The room was open with high ceilings. Crates lined the walls where there weren't any charge posts. LG7 watched as humans in bright coats scampered under their pedes, moving things from three posts that Tombo motioned to.
“Get some rest, I'll keep you updated on any decisions from General Park.”
《{_}○-☆-○{_}》
[WARNING, hostile organic detected.] ALERT CLEARED.
Stupid, stupid Shargs! HF1 cursed mentality as the pest pushed it away from the team. They couldn't hear it, not like they'd stop. They were told not to, not under any circumstance. And if that didn't piss them off.
Their heavy black frame provided some cover in the dark of space, as was why all teams send where recolored black or grey, but the bright red of their optics and a section on their face didn't leave much to the imagination. Its core idled as it studied the Sharg, watching as it winded up to strike again.
With practiced easy, HF1 pulled out its railgun. As the transport guard of the team, it was HF1’s responsibility to deal with threats on their journey to Earth.
Shots fired rapidly, some bouncing off the cartilage shell of the Sharg, others lodging into its flesh. It reared, its hideous jaws opening in a muted squeal. Blue blood swelled around the nails, dropping around the bug in little orbs. Its body curled, its muscles contracting in death and its body drifted away.
HF1 let out a metaphorical breath, lowering its arms and the rail gun retracted. If the times weren't to dire, it might have taken the moment to admire the foreign solar system.
As the star threw his fire out to the wards he gathered around him, sending his warmth down and seeding life on earth.
HF1 remembered when it got the chance to look over TF1’s messages, when it first arrived on the planet. How it described the humans, the ceremony that it had earned after they understood its purpose there. How it had bonded with a human, who understood and and vice versa. It remembered how it had been given a new name, by its bonded, Tombo.
Humans were weird, but HF1 found it endearing. A small species, who had become fully reliant on something bigger, that they didn't know even existed, would go through the effort to integrate send guards into their life. Not only that, but they took the time and materials to revert the travel paints back to a robo's default colors.
Naturally, TF1’s messages slowed, then stopped. There was nothing left to share, after living with them for so long, everything had been shared.
Their peaceful reflection was interrupted as something slammed into them. The swiveled and stared at a massive Sharg in its eyes, which held a dark, morbid satisfaction. HF1’s core whirred back to action, a moment too late, and it slammed into a piece of junk- not junk, the humans’ attempt at a global shield.
[WARNING, back chassis damage detected.] ALERT CLEARED.
It dismissed the warnings that showed oh their HUD, but that small moment was all the Sharg needed. The disgusting organic pest pinned the robo, impaling one of its arms with its pincer, bending the shield piece to lock HF1 in place.
If a Sharg could laugh, it would. The sound would be dark and gravely, fitting of the supreme intelligence it's tiny head could hold.
HF1’s visual systems shorted out and more warnings covered the black of its vision. Too many to clear, maybe a system reset would be beneficial..
[Emergency reset it 9-
《{_}○-☆-○{_}》
Olivia crawled through a vent shaft, pushing outside of the wall. The stars were always pretty, but without any lights on, they really did shine.
She sighed quietly, looking around for any witnesses to her escapade. No one. She dropped down to the catwalk, jogging into the sands. Cold broke through her jacket, but she didn't turn back, crawling up a rock fixture and sitting down.
She took a deep breath, staring up at the stars. Her eyes traced constellations, flowing down the Milky Way. The world was peaceful, calm. Orange sands were blue under the night, critters scrambling around.
Quiet patter behind Olivia announced someone's arrival, and she turned to look at Lana, meeting her with a soft smile.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Lana crawled up and sat beside Olivia. “Didn't think tonight was a stargazing night.”
“I didn't plan it.” Olivia sighed, leaning onto the girl’s shoulder. “I have a bad feeling about this. Three new Robos? Only three? We lost so much of our defense five days ago, three more isn't going to do anything!”
“Olivia. It's better than nothing. The stars didn't form in a day.” Lana assured her, staring down at their entwined hands. “You'll be the best pilot this division has ever seen.”
“After Tanaka.”
“Yeah, yeah, after Tanaka. But still! This is just the beginning. We know Robos can communicate with each other, maybe they can communicate with someone from back on their planet! Then the shargs won't have a chance!”
Olivia couldn't help but laugh at Lana’s enthusiasm. “Maybe.”
“So pessimistic!” Lana waved her off. “So, have you found Orion yet? Oh, or the little dipper, you always find the big one first.”
“Nope, but I saw Big Dog.” Olivia laughed at Lana’s baffled face.
“Canis Major?! How? I've never seen him!” She shook Olivia's shoulder to emphasize her point, but both girls melted into a pile of laughter. “Y'know, the ground isn't all that comfortable.”
Olivia nodded, smiling as she stared up. After a moment of comfortable silence, Lana shot up, pointing to the sky.
“Holy smokes! A shooting star!”
“No, that's bigger.” Olivia stood up, narrowing her eyes. “We need to alert the captain.”
《{_}○-☆-○{_}》
[Restart unsuccessfully. WARNING, minor hull bre-] ALERT CLEARED.
Its system booted back up, displaying just as many warnings as before its pointless act. Well, actually, there's more than before.
[WARNING, critical servo damage, temperatures passing acceptable levels, helm breach detected.] ALERT ARCHIVED.
Absolutely lovely.
It looked around with their limited mobility in their impromptu cage, optics gazing over a dark sky and arks of blazing yellow and orange. So, it fell to the surface. Surprisingly, it didn't see the Sharg, so it must've not followed it down.
It tested the metal trapping its arms, feeling as it slowly bent under the force, but nowhere near granting HF1 freedom. They growled, pushing harder. Scraps of the GDR had melted slightly into its own frame, practically welding it down.
It paused, reassessing the things around it. Sand, sky, a mountain- not a mountain, the Human Cadet Facility. So, their crash was probably seen and help is on the way. Hopefully.
“Holy-” that's not what it was hoping for. A human, and by solar storms they are tiny, peeked over the crater. Honestly, they probably had a better view on what to do.
It hoped so as they slid down the fallen sand and stone, hopping from the most stable pieces of metal and its body. HF1 grimaced as flames licked their boots.
“Okay, another robo. Can you move?” They looked into its optics and nodded. It wriggled its fingers and pushed weakly against the melting metal.
“Not by a lot, but you can. That's something, a good something.” The human muttered, thinking as they looked around. “Okay, well, Lana- you don't even know who that is. I meant help is on the way. The Captain and Tombo will be able to lift you out.”
Splendid, this was just the way it wanted to meet TF1. It sighed and nodded at the human.
“You should leave.” HF1 tried to tell the human, who looked at it incredulously. Right, language barrier. Who knows how long the help would take, and there's only one other way to fix this pathetic barrier.
”Will you accept the bond?” It craned its head down, wincing internally at the burning in its neck. It knew how the human would answer, with or without the barrier, humans can recognize patterns remarkably well for organics. It watched as the human processes its question, seeing a light of determination and hope light in their eyes.
“Yes.” They emphasized their answer with a firm nod. A selfish glee burned in the pits of HF1’s cockpit, finally, I would be as good or better than that little blue jerk. It activated the mental command, connecting the two beings.
"All clear?”
“Crystal.” The human smiled. “I'm Olivia. Guess you need one too?”
”That is customary”
“True. How about Hero?”
[SYSTEM CHANGE DETECTED, unit designation set to 'HERO'.] ALERT CLEARED.
“All systems updated. That aside, the fires are increasing in size and I would recommend that you retreat.”
Olivia visually hesitated. “And you?”
“I will be fine.”
Olivia nodded and ran back, slowly scaling the way she came down.
HF1 groaned, watching the streaks of core exhaust blaze over the sky, a sharp ark bending back. Four Robos landed in a militarian line, TF1 acted first, by its own or its bonded’s command. It leaped down, digging its servo in the debris.
”HF1. System report?" as professional as ever.
It glanced at the archived alert, ”functional.”
”good. We need you to give a semi-detailed analysis of anything that would prevent us from getting you back to base.”
Hero held back another groan. ”sections of the GDR have melted into my armor, my left servo has been pierced and is currently inoperable.”
Tombo growled, its core straining. By an obvious command from its bonded, the other Robos joined. BH4 and SD3 pulled at the metal around Hero. LG7 of course, stood to the side, lessening gravity as if it would help.
Hero let a flare of annoyance flicker in their optics as they looked over a new warning on their HUD.
[WARNING, internals at threat of exposure.] ALERT CLEARED.
“Be Careful! You're pulling at my armor.” It growled.
“It can be fixed.” SD3 said dismissively.
Scraps of the GDR groaned as it snapped back, removing the oppressive weight on its abdomen. Of course, a section of the plating along its upper chest had been pulled away completely, leaving valuable mechanics exposed to the flames.
Soon, another barrier was pulled away, along with more plating. Hero couldn't help but internally scowl, the armor it worked so hard to maintain.
It groaned as BH4 heaved it up and away from the crash, carrying Hero over its shoulder. In a frail moment of calm, the group revled in the relief of Hero’s predicament being over.
Naturally, Olivia worried at the scarlet wires that were pulled loose throughout the numerous breaches in their plating.
“Hero!”
”Olivia.” Hero replied, much more calmly. ”Before you bother. I will be fine. Only surface damage, a few loosened wires, nothing too dangerous.”
”You bonded already?” LG7 asked, leaning forward. Earning a broad glare from Hero.
"bugger off, LG.”
”That's not- I didn't mean it in a bad way! We are too, actually. I guess I didn't expect you to take the first human you saw.”
Hero looked around at the team. ”So, all of us have a human here?”
”Yep!” BH4 explained. ”Tombo said that cadets would actually be assigned instead of us picking. So I'm Thunder Wrecker now!”
”That so?” Hero paused. ”What about the rest of yah?”
”Buddy.” LG7 shrunk back, slightly embarrassed by the simple and non-threatening name.
”I was titled Big Red.”
[SYSTEM CHANGE DETECTED, unit files updated.]
”Hm. Aside from BH4, the names are simple. Convenient.” Hero snickered as the others groaned at the old designation. ”Don't get your pedes tangled, I'll use what you've got now. Is just Thunder good? For short I mean. Saying the whole Thunder Wrecker every time I need to talk to you will get annoying fast.”
”Uh, yeah. That's fine. Thanks.”
They all nodded, falling in silence again. Hero held Olivia in its hand, admiring how small she was compared to it. Barely the size of its finger. Yet for being so insignificant looking, the council decided that they were important enough to kill and sacrifice for.
”Enough lollygagging-” Tombo started.
”What?”
”-Tanaka was informed that a Sharg signature has been located around us. We need to leave. Now.” Its tone left no room for argument. All but Hero hovered feet above the ground.
”Well. You know what to do, Olivia.” The girl nodded, climbing into its cockpit. It felt comforting, hero admitted to itself, to know that its human was safe within its body. It activated its core, and damn near yelled as a searing pain shot along every receptor it had.
Before it could react further, the Sharg breached the ground and it pinned the obsidian robo to the ground.
”You bleeding son of a-” Hero howled, slamming its operable fist into the ugly crustacean. The thing reeled for maybe a second, before the ounce of blunt damage became irrelevant.
”Well, scrap.”
The Shargs aimed its pointed joint, arching it to pierce Hero’s helm. Thunder slammed into it at a blinding speed, sending all three rolling, with Thunder the first to recover and the Sharg the last.
Hero couldn't help but fret over Olivia. There was nothing inside of a robo’s cockpit, stupidly enough, that would keep an unlinked pilot from being thrown around. Regrettably, and it's a fact Hero understands cost them their fight, it left a target on its back, open, defenseless. Well, not that a grounded mech had much defense anyways.
”HERO!” Big Red had near screamed, sliding ahead to take the brunt of a charge. Again, both Robos went flying back. And damn if that wasn't getting annoying.
Red landed on top of Hero, its optics flickering as its abdomen sparked. And frag, Hero wasn't one to get distracted this easily. It could hear as the other three clashed with the beast, occupying its attention, wearing it down, maybe taking revenge.
Hero pushed Red to the ground beside it, opening its hatch as Olivia jumped down, going right to Red’s own. It opened and Olivia pulled out Red’s bonded. The human was visibly shaken, understandably so. The charge had broken past the mech and armor along the hatch, wires and components continued to spark from broken connections. It would be fine, Hero told itself, Red was resilient. Maybe not as heavily armored as Thunder but not weak.
《{_}○-☆-○{_}》
Maya. Olivia's heart shattered as she saw her classmate, unconscious but alive. She pulled the girl out of the cockpit, looking her over like Hero was to the robo.
”Olivia. We need to get them away from here. The others can handle the Sharg.” Hero ushered her up, leaving their hatch open for the girls.
“But- how will we go anywhere? You can't fly, even when you're not carrying another robo!”
”Then I run.” With a groan of their joints, Hero flipped the grey mech over their shoulder. They huffed as they pushed themselves forward, slowly gaining speed. ”Am I even going the right way?” They asked with a sour tone.
“Towards Sky Corps? Yep. We're even on the right elevation if we ignore the slight hill the gates rest on.”
Olivia clutched the other cadet, feeling a chill of the night air as it wizzed into and around Hero’s cockpit. The uniforms didn't keep out all of it, but Olivia was still glad she had more than a tank top or jeans.
In the distance, along the walls of plateaus, lights flickered on. The path diverged to the side and down, dipping through a crack in the ground. Their feet thudded as they diverted their course.
”Scrap, you didn't tell me there'd be a tight space!”
“you never asked! Just keep going, the turbine isn't moving yet.” Hero growled. Sparks danced off their shoulders as they pushed through the concrete gate.
The crowded space is almost jarring. Every team looking up from their work to stare at another new robo. Just as quickly, Chief Max motioned for Hero to carry Big Red into the hangers, lightly scolding them for their manhandling.
“Get them in their dock, the team will take it from there.” She turned to address the mechanics in reflective yellow vests, her commands muting as they left.
Hero held their hand to their hatch, lifting the cadets to a lower platform. ”Get her where she needs to be. I've got Red.”
Olivia gave a quick nod, but Hero turned too soon to see it, and she adjusted her hold on Maya. She carried her to the makeshift infirmary in the corner of the main room, two nurses circling the girls before they even entered the tent.