I woke up because something smelled like chicken.
This was impossible for approximately seventeen separate reasons.
My eyes opened.
N was still powered down beside me, sitting against the wall of his new room with one hand resting loosely across my back.
The bunker lights had only begun their fake sunrise.
Dim amber.
Quiet ventilation.
No screaming.
No explosions.
No teenage railguns.
After the last two days, this qualified as luxury.
Then—
Chicken.
My nose twitched.
Definitely chicken.
Possibly.
Maybe.
Chicken-adjacent.
Whatever it was, every canine neuron in my head activated at once.
FOOD.
My human consciousness attempted sophistication.
We should first determine its chemical composition and—
FOOD.
Potentially toxic—
FOOD. FOOD. FOOD.
My tail began hammering N's leg.
His visor flickered.
"Mm..."
Tail.
Tail.
Tail.
N's eyes appeared.
"Biscuit?"
I was already staring at the door.
He followed my gaze.
Then sniffed experimentally.
Which was adorable because he absolutely did not possess my nose.
"What is it?"
I projected the single most important concept I had transmitted since acquiring psychic communication.
FOOD.
N's eyes became enormous.
"FOOD?!"
The door opened.
Uzi stood there holding a metal bowl.
"Please don't scream the word 'food' at six in the morning."
N was on his feet instantly.
"YOU FOUND DOG FOOD!"
"No."
He stopped.
Uzi lifted the bowl.
"We found something that allegedly won't kill him."
N's happiness reduced by approximately forty percent.
"That's less exciting."
"Welcome to science."
I approached.
Inside the bowl sat a pale brown substance shaped into little cubes.
It looked like someone had asked a printer to manufacture chicken nuggets based solely on a police description.
I sniffed.
Protein.
Fat.
Some plant material.
Water.
Minerals.
Something synthetic.
Not poison.
Probably.
Uzi crouched.
"Lara dug up old colony nutrition archives. Apparently the original human facilities had emergency biological synthesizers."
N gasped.
"We have HUMAN FOOD?"
"We have a machine that hasn't been used in forever and tried to produce something labeled 'Nutritionally Complete Canine Maintenance Formula.'"
She looked into the bowl.
"It smells like despair."
It smelled amazing.
I looked at Uzi.
Safe?
"According to the analyzer."
Pause.
"...Probably."
I looked at N.
He stared back.
"Maybe eat one slowly?"
Very sensible.
I delicately picked up one cube.
Chewed.
Stopped.
My eyes widened.
My canine brain ascended.
MEAT.
Not good meat.
Not even mediocre meat.
But after waking up in a frozen robot apocalypse and consuming exactly zero calories for more than a day?
Michelin star.
I attacked the bowl.
N screamed.
"HE LIKES IT!"
"I gathered that!"
I inhaled three cubes.
Uzi grabbed the bowl.
"HEY. Slow down."
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Give.
"No."
Food.
"You'll make yourself sick."
FOOD.
"No."
I deployed the head tilt.
Uzi's visor narrowed.
"That doesn't work anymore."
I added one floppy ear.
Her resolve visibly weakened.
"No."
Large eyes.
Tiny whine.
N grabbed his chest.
"Uzi, you're a MONSTER."
"He's manipulating you."
"HE'S STARVING."
"He has eaten four pieces!"
I added one paw onto Uzi's knee.
She closed her eyes.
"You're abusing supernatural power for breakfast."
Yes.
Her eyes opened.
"You admitted it?!"
N started laughing.
Eventually, Uzi surrendered the bowl.
Humanity—or dogkind—had prevailed.
『 MORNING EMOTIONAL HARVEST 』
N — joy, affection, relief
Uzi — amusement, exasperation, affection
+79 EP
Current EP: 1,454
After eating, the world improved dramatically.
My body felt warmer.
More awake.
Less like it had been quietly considering eating N's coat.
Very productive morning.
Then we entered the residential corridor.
And the mood died.
Three Workers standing near a maintenance station saw us.
All three froze.
One looked at N.
One looked at me.
The third immediately walked away.
No screaming.
Progress.
Maybe.
N gave a tiny wave.
Not his usual enthusiastic windshield-wiper motion.
Barely anything.
"Morning."
The Workers stared.
One gave him the smallest possible nod.
N's emotional signature exploded like he had just received a medal.
I nudged him.
Do not make big deal.
His smile became painful.
"Okay."
We passed.
Once they thought we were out of earshot:
"He said good morning."
"Yeah."
"That was weird."
"Everything is weird now."
"Dog's cute."
"Yeah."
N whispered:
"They think you're cute."
I whispered back emotionally:
Obviously.
He nearly choked.
We reached Uzi's quarters fifteen minutes later.
Technically, Uzi had reached them with us, because she'd brought breakfast.
But then she'd disappeared inside to collect her railgun.
Of course.
Normal people took keys.
Uzi took an experimental weapon.
Her door opened.
The weapon rested against her shoulder.
N smiled.
"Good morning again!"
"You were literally standing outside."
"I missed you."
"It's been thirty seconds."
N nodded.
"A long thirty seconds."
Uzi stared at me.
"How do you survive this?"
I sent:
Barely.
"Thank you."
N gasped.
"BETRAYAL."
Then my ears caught something farther down the hall.
"...her fault..."
Uzi heard it too.
Her posture changed.
Two Workers were talking around the corner.
"...wouldn't have happened if Doorman hadn't gone outside."
"J and V never got inside before."
"Now one's living here."
"And the dog."
"The dog didn't do anything."
"The dog made the Murder Drone turn."
"That's what they're saying."
Uzi's grip tightened around the railgun.
Her emotions came through our bond.
Anger.
Embarrassment.
And something beneath both.
Hurt.
N heard enough to understand.
His expression fell.
"They're blaming you."
Uzi shrugged too quickly.
"Yeah."
"That's not fair."
"Nobody said scared people were fair."
She started walking.
N caught up.
"But you didn't cause J and V."
"No."
"You didn't make me attack you."
"No."
"You didn't make me defect."
"No."
"Then why—"
"Because I changed things."
N stopped.
Uzi did too.
She looked back.
"For years, everybody knew the rules."
Her voice stayed quiet.
"Stay inside. Keep the doors closed. Don't make noise. Murder Drones stay outside."
She gestured between us.
"Then I broke the rules."
N frowned.
"Bad rules."
"Maybe."
Uzi's visor dimmed slightly.
"But the rules kept them alive."
That was the problem.
Both things could be true.
Hiding wasn't living.
But hiding had worked.
Until us.
I projected:
Fear needs target.
Uzi looked down.
I continued.
You easy target. N easy target. Me easy target.
She nodded.
"So what? We just let them hate us?"
No.
I looked toward the central bunker.
Explain.
N brightened.
"We explain!"
Uzi groaned.
"That sounded terrifyingly wholesome."
"Everyone gets together, and we tell them everything!"
"That sounds like a meeting."
I nodded.
Uzi stared at me.
"You died and somehow meetings followed you, didn't they?"
I froze.
...
How did she know?
Administrator Lara agreed immediately.
That was suspicious.
Nobody should agree to a meeting immediately.
We stood in her office while she reviewed overnight reports.
Khan was already there.
He looked exhausted.
Apparently spending a night discovering that your supposedly impenetrable bunker had enough vulnerabilities to qualify as Swiss cheese was stressful.
Lara looked at Uzi.
"You want a public assembly."
Uzi nodded.
"Rumors are already getting worse."
"I know."
Khan rubbed his forehead.
"I've had six Workers ask whether N can control minds."
N looked horrified.
"I can't!"
"Four asked whether Biscuit is controlling N."
N looked even more horrified.
"He's NOT!"
Lara continued.
"Two are convinced Biscuit is a JCJenson experiment."
I tilted my head.
Technically, I had no idea what I was.
So...
Maybe?
"And one Worker believes Biscuit is a ghost."
Everyone looked at me.
I stared back.
Uzi shrugged.
"We don't have evidence he isn't."
Khan pointed at her.
"Don't encourage this."
Lara closed the report.
"You're correct. We need facts before fear creates its own."
N raised a hand.
"I can tell them I'm friendly."
Everyone simultaneously said:
"NO."
N lowered his hand.
"Okay."
Planning the assembly took two hours.
Not because Lara enjoyed meetings.
Because she understood something important.
You couldn't walk two hundred terrified people into a room, place their species' natural predator on stage, and say:
Good news! He's nice now!
That was how riots happened.
N would stay visible.
But near an exit.
Hands normal.
Wings folded.
Tail secured behind him.
No sudden movements.
Uzi would explain what happened.
Lara would establish what they knew and, more importantly, what they didn't know.
Nobody would claim JCJenson had sent mysterious elite response teams.
Nobody knew that.
Nobody would claim J and V were coming tomorrow.
Nobody knew that either.
Facts.
J and V were alive.
They had entered the bunker once.
They knew Biscuit mattered to N.
They knew Uzi possessed a weapon capable of damaging them.
They knew N had defected.
Everything beyond that?
Unknown.
I approved.
Unknown was frightening.
Fake certainty was worse.
Then came defenses.
Physical vent barriers.
Watch rotations.
Emergency shelters.
Railgun research.
Nothing about turning every Worker into a soldier overnight.
That would've been insane.
Most of these people were maintenance workers.
Teachers.
Parents.
Technicians.
People whose experience with combat amounted to running away from it.
Training would come first.
Weapons later.
Hopefully.
Then Lara looked at N.
"One more issue."
"Yeah?"
"Someone will ask whether you've killed Workers."
N's smile vanished.
Silence.
Khan looked away.
Uzi stopped fidgeting with the railgun.
N stared at Lara.
"...I have."
"I know."
His fingers curled.
"A lot."
Lara's voice remained calm.
"You need to decide whether you're prepared to say that in front of them."
N looked at me.
I didn't send comfort.
Not yet.
This wasn't something I should soften.
This was his.
Finally he nodded.
"I don't want to lie."
Good.
Lara nodded.
"Then don't."
By midday, the main gathering hall was packed.
Two hundred forty-seven Workers.
I counted because the system did.
Apparently almost the entire bunker had shown up.
I stood near the front.
Uzi beside me.
N several feet behind us.
Lara on the raised platform.
Khan remained near the crowd.
Not beside Lara.
Smart.
This wasn't leadership presenting a single untouchable wall.
Khan was among the people who were scared.
Because he was scared too.
The room buzzed.
Whispers.
Glances.
Anger.
My Emotional Intuition strained beneath the weight.
Two hundred forty-seven emotional signatures were too much to examine individually.
It became weather.
Fear hung over everything.
Curiosity moved beneath it.
Anger flashed like lightning.
My Comforting Presence touched only the nearest Workers.
A little less shaking.
A little slower breathing.
That was all.
Good.
I didn't want to make them calm.
I wanted them able to think.
Lara stepped forward.
The room quieted.
"Yesterday, our bunker was breached."
No sugarcoating.
Good start.
"Two hostile Disassembly Drones entered through maintenance infrastructure we believed secure."
Several Workers began muttering.
"We have identified that failure. Repairs have begun."
She paused.
"We also have a third Disassembly Drone inside this bunker."
Every eye turned toward N.
He didn't wave.
Excellent growth.
"His designation is N."
Someone shouted:
"We KNOW!"
A few nervous laughs.
N almost smiled.
Lara continued.
"N attacked Uzi Doorman on the surface."
That surprised people.
Uzi glanced at Lara.
Still good.
Truth first.
"He injured her."
Khan's hands tightened.
"N then stopped attacking her."
Lara gestured toward him.
"He subsequently fought his own squadmates to protect Uzi and Biscuit."
Someone yelled:
"Because the DOG controls him!"
Noise erupted.
"There!"
"That's what I heard!"
"Psychic!"
"I heard it made Jorge forget his shift!"
"What?!"
Jorge shouted from somewhere:
"I ALWAYS FORGET MY SHIFT!"
Okay.
That one was funny.
Lara raised a hand.
The room quieted gradually.
"Biscuit can communicate."
Bigger reaction.
"He has demonstrated the ability to convey simple concepts and emotions to individuals with whom he has established trust."
Someone yelled:
"That's mind control!"
"No."
Lara didn't hesitate.
"I have experienced it personally."
The room stopped.
Interesting.
"He cannot compel me to obey him."
She looked toward me.
"He can make an idea understood."
Then:
"He also appears capable of reducing anxiety within a limited physical radius."
Not entirely comfortable with how clinical that sounded.
"But again, I have observed no evidence that he can override decision-making."
A Worker shouted:
"How do we know YOU aren't controlled?"
Lara paused.
"An excellent question."
That quieted everyone.
"If Biscuit could rewrite my choices so completely that neither diagnostics nor my own cognition could detect it, then I could not prove otherwise through testimony."
Uzi whispered:
"That's... not comforting."
Nope.
"But," Lara continued, "we have objective behavioral evidence. Workers outside Biscuit's range retain their opinions. Workers inside his range still disagree with him. Khan disagrees with almost everyone constantly."
Khan looked offended.
Then reconsidered.
Fair.
"N disobeys Biscuit occasionally."
N looked at me.
"When?"
I sent:
Morning yelling.
"Oh."
Uzi snorted.
Lara continued.
"The simplest explanation supported by current evidence is exactly what it appears to be: Biscuit communicates emotionally and has a calming effect."
Another voice:
"WHAT IS HE?"
Finally.
The big one.
Lara looked at me.
"We don't know."
Murmurs.
"He is biologically a golden retriever."
More murmurs.
"How he survives on Copper-9 remains under investigation."
I disliked that phrase.
N clearly did too.
His emotions spiked.
Lara noticed.
"Non-invasive investigation."
N relaxed slightly.
"And we have found no evidence that Biscuit is hostile to this bunker."
A Worker shouted:
"He made a Murder Drone turn against its own kind!"
There it was.
N's head lowered.
Lara looked toward him.
"Then perhaps N should answer that."
The hall changed.
Fear surged.
N stepped forward.
One step.
Then stopped.
His hands were visible.
No weapons.
No claws.
He looked terrified.
Not of them hurting him.
Of them listening.
"Hi."
Uzi whispered:
"Acceptable hi."
N swallowed.
"Biscuit didn't make me turn."
Silence.
"I attacked Uzi."
He looked at her.
"I was trying to kill her."
Khan's anger spiked beside the crowd.
N didn't avoid it.
"She shot my head off."
A few Workers stared at Uzi.
Uzi gave a tiny shrug.
N continued.
"My systems got scrambled."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"And then I saw Biscuit."
Several eyes turned toward me.
"I liked him."
Pause.
"Immediately."
Someone muttered:
"Obviously."
My tail moved.
N almost smiled.
"But that's not why I changed."
He looked down at his hands.
"I..."
This was harder.
"I've killed Workers."
The room went silent.
No whispers.
No jokes.
Nothing.
N forced himself to keep speaking.
"I don't know how many."
That hurt more than a number would have.
Somewhere in the hall, grief exploded through my senses.
Old grief.
A Worker near the back stood.
"Was Facility Twelve you?"
N looked up.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
Her voice shook.
"My sister was outside Facility Twelve."
N froze.
"I..."
"She never came back."
N's visor flickered.
"I don't know."
The Worker laughed once.
No humor.
"Convenient."
N looked like she had stabbed him.
Maybe she had.
Just not physically.
"I'm sorry."
"She's dead."
"I know."
"You don't get to be sorry."
N closed his mouth.
Good.
Don't defend yourself.
Don't explain.
Don't demand forgiveness.
The Worker sat.
N's eyes stayed on the floor.
"I thought killing Workers was what I was supposed to do."
His voice was barely audible.
"That doesn't make it okay."
The room remained still.
"J said it was our job."
He continued.
"The company made us for it."
His hands shook.
"I told myself that meant I didn't have to think about it."
A long pause.
"Then Biscuit cared about me."
Something shifted.
Not forgiveness.
Attention.
"I don't think anybody ever just..."
He searched.
"...wanted me around before."
Uzi looked down.
"And once I had that..."
N's voice cracked slightly.
"I started noticing things."
He looked at the crowd.
"Workers running."
"Workers scared."
"The fact that they were people."
That landed.
"I didn't become good yesterday."
Important.
"I just finally realized I had been choosing not to look."
He straightened.
"I'm not asking you to forgive me."
The Worker whose sister had died looked up.
"I'm not asking you to trust me."
He glanced toward Lara.
"But J and V will hurt Biscuit."
Then Uzi.
"And Uzi."
Then the crowd.
"And you."
His hands closed.
"If you'll let me, I'll stop them."
No applause.
Thank God.
No sudden acceptance.
A few Workers looked away.
Several were still angry.
Some were angrier than before.
But fear had changed.
N wasn't a friendly mascot anymore.
He was something more uncomfortable.
A killer who regretted killing.
A weapon asking whether he could choose what he protected.
The system chimed quietly.
『 SIGNIFICANT EMOTIONAL EVENT 』
Sources: N + surrounding Workers
Grief
Regret
Empathy
Conflict
Reluctant recognition
Harvest: +124 EP
Current EP: 1,910
Lara stepped back in.
"We are not declaring N innocent."
Excellent.
"We are declaring him useful, willing, and currently aligned with our survival."
That sounded like Lara.
"Trust will be earned individually."
Several Workers nodded.
"Nobody is required to like him."
N looked relieved by that.
Interesting.
"Nobody is required to interact with him beyond operational necessity."
Another nod.
"But nobody will attack him unless he threatens this bunker."
That part earned less enthusiasm.
Lara turned.
"Uzi."
Oh boy.
Uzi climbed onto the platform.
She immediately looked uncomfortable.
Two hundred forty-seven eyes.
One Uzi.
She would've preferred fighting V.
Definitely.
"Okay."
She cleared her throat.
"So..."
Pause.
"This sucks."
A few Workers laughed.
Uzi relaxed slightly.
"Apparently I'm supposed to explain why I went outside."
Someone shouted:
"Because you're insane!"
"Correct!"
More laughter.
Khan covered his visor.
Uzi continued.
"I went outside because I was tired."
Her humor faded.
"Tired of hearing that we couldn't do anything."
The crowd quieted.
"Tired of building doors."
Khan looked wounded.
"Doors are useful!"
"Dad."
"Sorry."
"I was tired of pretending being alive was the same thing as having a life."
That hit harder.
"We hide."
Her voice grew stronger.
"We work."
"We repair."
"We wait."
"And every time someone gets caught outside, everyone says they should've stayed in."
Uzi looked across them.
"But what happens when hiding stops working?"
Nobody answered.
"It already did."
She pointed toward the maintenance sector.
"J and V got inside."
Several Workers stiffened.
"Our perfect bunker wasn't perfect."
Khan sighed.
"But neither are they."
Uzi lifted the railgun.
"This blew N's head off."
N smiled.
"It really did."
"Not now."
"Right."
"It hurt J."
Uzi's grin returned.
"Twice."
Very proud of that.
"They regenerate. They're faster than us. They're stronger than us."
She lowered the gun.
"But they can be hurt."
That mattered.
I felt it spread through the room.
A tiny shift.
Predators weren't natural disasters anymore.
They were opponents.
Still terrifying.
Still overwhelming.
But opponents.
"I'm not saying everyone should grab a pipe and charge outside."
Chair-leg Worker looked disappointed.
"I'm saying we learn."
Uzi pointed at N.
"We have someone who knows how they fight."
At Lara.
"We know how they got inside."
At the railgun.
"We know they're not invincible."
Then at the crowd.
"So we stop acting like prey."
Somebody shouted:
"And if they come back?"
Uzi's face hardened.
"Then we make them regret it."
That earned something.
Not cheers.
At first.
A few taps.
Metal hands against railings.
Then more.
Not everybody.
Maybe a third.
Enough.
Hope moved through the room.
Not clean.
Mixed with fear.
Better that way.
Hope without fear would've been stupidity.
『 CROWD SHIFT DETECTED 』
Hope increasing.
Determination increasing.
Internal blame decreasing.
Harvest: +162 EP
Current EP: 2,072
Then came questions.
So many questions.
Sweet merciful stairs.
I had died and still couldn't escape Q&A sessions.
"Can Murder Drones see in darkness?"
"Yes," N answered.
"How fast can they fly?"
"Depends."
"Can you fit through the vents?"
"Some!"
Workers immediately looked horrified.
"Not THESE vents anymore!" Khan shouted.
That got actual applause.
He looked delighted.
Door Dad had found his moment.
"Does the dog need a spacesuit?"
Uzi looked at me.
"I don't think we have one."
N gasped.
"BISCUIT SPACESUIT."
"No."
"With ears!"
"No."
"What does he eat?"
Uzi pointed.
"We solved that one."
"Can he eat Worker food?"
"No."
"Can he understand every word?"
I nodded.
Half the room froze.
One Worker whispered:
"Oh no."
Another:
"Everything?"
I nodded again.
Three Workers immediately became embarrassed.
Interesting.
What had they said around me?
File that away.
"Can N smell oil?"
"Yep!"
"Can Biscuit smell oil?"
I sniffed.
N translated:
"Very yep."
"Can Biscuit fight?"
Silence.
Uzi looked at me.
N looked at me.
I looked at me.
Golden retriever.
Enhanced speed.
Enhanced agility.
Teeth.
Supernatural powers mostly devoted to emotional support.
I sent:
Some. Not enough.
N translated.
A Worker shouted:
"Then why was he fighting J?"
Uzi answered.
"Because he has the survival instincts of a toaster."
Rude.
Accurate.
"Is Biscuit controlling the assembly right now?"
Lara:
"No."
"Can he calm all of us?"
"No."
"Can he make N attack someone?"
N answered this time.
"He can ask."
Interesting distinction.
"But I choose."
Good.
"Would you attack a Worker if Biscuit told you to?"
N stopped.
He looked at me.
Then the crowd.
"No."
Excellent.
"Unless they were trying to hurt him."
Less excellent.
The Workers reacted.
N panicked.
"I mean, like, KILL him!"
Better.
"If somebody pokes him, I won't murder them!"
V would be devastated by this rule.
A tiny laugh moved through the room.
The tension cracked.
Then someone asked:
"What do we do now?"
Lara stepped forward.
Finally.
Action.
"We reinforce every identified breach."
The bunker map appeared.
"Workers with engineering experience will assist."
Another layer.
"We establish rotating external observation."
Another.
"Uzi's railgun will be studied for reproducibility."
Uzi smiled.
"Do not touch it without her permission."
Her smile widened.
"Thank you."
"We begin basic evacuation drills."
Less enthusiasm.
"And we gather information."
Lara looked at N.
"Specifically, the Disassembly Drone landing pod."
N nodded.
"I know the layout."
"We do not attack it."
Uzi lowered her hand.
She had absolutely been about to suggest attacking it.
"We observe first."
Lara looked at the Workers.
"No one is being ordered to fight."
Important.
"Those who volunteer for defensive training may do so."
"Those who don't will have evacuation, medical, engineering, communications, and support roles."
Much smarter.
"A bunker survives because everyone contributes."
Khan nodded.
Finally something he fully agreed with.
Lara paused.
"We spent decades building our lives around avoiding the enemy."
She looked toward N.
"Now we know the enemy can make choices."
Toward Uzi.
"We know they can be hurt."
Toward me.
"And apparently..."
Her expression almost became amused.
"...dogs exist again."
The room laughed.
Actual laughter.
I wagged.
More laughter.
Excellent.
Weaponized dog.
Still undefeated.
The assembly ended almost two hours later.
Workers did not rush N for hugs.
Good.
That would've been ridiculous.
Some avoided him.
Some stared.
A few approached.
One Worker asked N for advice reinforcing a vent.
Another asked whether Murder Drone claws could cut through a particular alloy.
One merely stood five feet away for ten seconds.
Then said:
"My brother died outside."
N's expression fell.
"I'm sorry."
"I don't forgive you."
N nodded.
"Okay."
The Worker looked at him.
"But if J comes back..."
Pause.
"...kill her."
Uzi snorted so violently she had to walk away.
N blinked.
"I'll... try."
The Worker left.
N watched him go.
Then looked at me.
"Was that good?"
Complicated.
"Yeah."
Exactly.
Complicated was better than fake.
『 ASSEMBLY COMPLETE 』
Large-scale emotional harvest recorded.
Current EP: 2,354
The rest of the day moved fast.
Khan became a menace.
A productive menace.
Every maintenance vent large enough to fit anything larger than a hamster received physical reinforcement.
He personally supervised several.
At one point I heard him shout:
"YOU SEE THIS? THIS IS A DOOR FOR THE VENT."
Uzi shouted back:
"THAT'S CALLED A HATCH."
"IT IS A SMALL DOOR."
No one could defeat him.
N helped engineering teams.
At first, Workers wouldn't stand near him.
Then someone discovered he could hold an entire steel reinforcement plate by himself.
Suddenly N became very popular with construction crews.
"Little left!"
N moved it six inches.
"OTHER left!"
"Oh!"
"No, no, stop—"
CRASH.
"Sorry!"
Less popular.
Then useful again.
Uzi worked with a small fabrication team.
Nobody was allowed to replicate the railgun yet.
Lara had correctly identified that handing unstable experimental weapons to untrained Workers was perhaps not excellent governance.
Instead, they studied its power cell.
Targeting.
Cooling requirements.
Uzi argued with everybody.
Meaning she was happy.
I moved throughout the bunker.
Workers stared less.
Some still whispered.
One asked to pet me.
I agreed.
Then four more did.
Then eleven.
At one point I ended up lying on the floor surrounded by seven Worker Drones who had apparently forgotten there was an apocalypse because:
DOG.
My EP counter climbed obscenely.
2,650.
2,900.
3,200.
N found me beneath a mountain of hands.
His visor displayed betrayal.
"Biscuit."
I looked up.
"Are you CHEATING on me?"
Every Worker stopped.
Uzi walked past.
"It's called having friends, N."
N gasped.
"WITHOUT ME?"
"That's generally how separate social relationships work."
He joined the petting circle.
Of course.
By artificial evening, the bunker felt different.
Not safe.
No.
But awake.
For decades, fear had taught everyone to become small.
Today they'd done something dangerous.
They'd imagined that tomorrow could be different.
I was back in N's room when Lara contacted us.
Uzi sat against one wall modifying a small component.
N lay on his stomach beside me while attempting to draw a proposed:
PACK ROOM SIGN
It was terrible.
Beautifully terrible.
It contained:
A dog.
A railgun.
A stick figure N.
Several hearts.
And what I suspected was supposed to be Uzi, except the drawing made her approximately two feet tall.
If she saw that, N would die.
The door opened.
Lara entered.
Her emotional signature was different.
Tense.
"Something happened."
Uzi stood.
N's wings twitched.
"What?"
Lara displayed a surveillance image.
Grainy.
Distant.
The Disassembly Drone landing pod.
Two yellow signatures were visible.
J.
V.
Probably.
Then—
a third.
N stared.
"Who's that?"
Lara changed images.
The third figure was difficult to see.
Humanoid.
Mechanical.
Not a Worker.
Not shaped exactly like N, J, or V.
Uzi narrowed her eyes.
"You don't know them?"
"No."
N stood.
"I've never seen that Drone."
Lara displayed another sensor capture.
Then my stomach tightened.
A fourth signature.
Another unknown.
Four figures total.
J.
V.
Two others.
N's cheerful expression vanished.
"They brought someone."
Uzi lifted the railgun.
"Who?"
N shook his head.
"I don't know."
That scared me more than if he'd recognized them.
Lara closed the display.
"The observation team detected them less than twenty minutes ago."
"Are they moving?" Uzi asked.
"No."
"Toward us?"
"No."
"Then what are they doing?"
Lara looked at N.
N looked toward the wall.
As though he could somehow see the frozen surface beyond it.
"J's planning."
My fur rose.
The system appeared.
『 END OF DAY STATUS 』
Current EP: 3,847
Lifetime EP Accumulated: 4,337
Bonds
N — PROFOUND
Stable.
Uzi — STRONG
Deepening.
Administrator Lara — STRONG
Trust established through mutual cooperation.
Bunker Status
Defensive preparation underway.
Worker opinion toward N:
DIVIDED / IMPROVING
Worker opinion toward Biscuit:
MOSTLY POSITIVE / EXTREMELY CURIOUS
Known External Contacts
J — Hostile
V — Hostile
Unknown Contact #1 — Threat unknown
Unknown Contact #2 — Threat unknown
Available EP
3,847
Then a final message appeared.
『 WARNING 』
External variables increasing.
Recommended action:
Prepare before investing EP.
For once, I agreed with the system.
N looked down at me.
His hand found my head.
Not petting.
Just contact.
Pack check.
I sent:
Together.
Uzi stepped beside him.
"Whatever random nobodies J dragged back..."
She clicked the power cell into her railgun.
"...they picked the wrong bunker."
N smiled.
Not his usual enormous smile.
Something smaller.
Sharper.
"Pack protects pack."
I wagged.
Outside, somewhere across the frozen ruins of Copper-9, four figures waited beside a corpse tower.
And two of them were strangers.
Great.
Because apparently three Murder Drones hadn't been enough.
END CHAPTER 6