As Vincent drove, he noticed a flash of light in his rearview mirror. He quickly glanced back, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"What the hell was that...?" He mumbled, his heart racing. "It's fine... probably nothing." He shook his head and focused back on the road.
They soon arrived at Trevor's garage and unloaded the container from the back of the truck.
As soon as they got the container to the ground, the lights in the house flickered and dimmed; the gauges and meters atop of the container began flickering and whirring.
"Critical error: Data missing, manifest missing, unable to verify contained unit. Release lock will be set to override state. If there is no manifest to reset verification procedure, contained unit must be terminated and destroyed immediately. Unverified units will not be accepted at facility T431-A." A lever popped up, and the lock released with a heavy metal clunk. The electronic voice repeated the message once more before the light next to the lever turned green.
Trevor looked at the lever and hesitated. "Should we be messing with this?" He muttered to himself. He reached forward and pulled it. As soon as he did so, the container hissed, the internal pistons releasing air and steam as it slowly opened, sliding outwards. A girl with black and white hair lay in a fetal position, a thin film of frost covering her. Her eyes were closed, and she did not move. She was naked, and the skin that covered her body was pale, almost blue in hue.
"Oh shit!" Trevor exclaimed, jumping backward.
"There were tits in the box." Vincent said, staring in awe. "There are tits in the box." He repeated, unable to look away.
"Vincent!" Jeanne yelled, covering his eyes and turning his head away. "It's... It's a girl...?"
Trevor stepped forward and carefully touched her, her skin cold and slightly wet. His touch was met with no response. "She's freezing..." He muttered.
"So it was a cryogenic container?" Vincent pulled away from Jeanne. It's gotta be a high-tech android. The Empire is ahead of the game on that, but this... this makes what they already have look outdated." He added, "We should put it back where we found it."
Jeanne stared at Vincent in shock. Her mind was racing with questions, her heart racing as she realized the gravity of their discovery.
"What?! Are you kidding me?" Trevor shouted. "We're keeping her. She needs to be taken care of. As humans we have a responsiblility for our technology, we can't just leave it somewhere. The e-waste reduction consortium was unfortunately brought into existence because of the lack of responsibility."
"Oh here we go..." Vincent sighed.
Jeanne sighed, "Trevor... she was made for stuff like that. The Argentia Empire's androids are very commonly in law enforcement, even five percent of their military are androids. She's just a product... and one no one should have in a consumer capacity." Jeanne muttered, looking at Vincent and then at the container.
"There's no law in the Republic that makes it unlawful to claim abandoned property from former battle zones. The only exceptions to that are class two labeled equipment, armored vehicles, weapons, or explosives." Trevor said, "It's finders keepers!"
"This... is a lot worse, Trevor." Jeanne said. "What if she's made to fight? What if she's a weapon? We know nothing about this android." She looked back at the container, staring at the girl inside.
"We can't just leave her, Jeanne. Look at her. We don't have to wake her, she's fine. She can't be dangerous." He paused and glanced at Vincent, "She could be the first step for us to get androids in the Republic that don't just perform simple tasks like they're daily quest objectives."
Vincent looked back at him. "Dude, you're going to have to figure out how to hide it, or you'll be caught by the military. They'll seize it, and you'll be arrested. Specifically, because it was in a container marked for Argentia's military." He explained. But if you're that adamant... I guess you can store it here in your garage." He paused, his gaze lingering on the girl's face.
The container suddenly beeped three times and began to hiss, steam rising from the edges. A gauge labeled 'RES' turned to '104' and stopped; a quiet tone rang out from it. The android opened her eyes; her irises were bright orange. She stared blankly ahead for a few moments before standing up slowly.
Jeanne's heart stopped, and she stepped back, "Oh god..." She gasped, her hand over her mouth.
Vincent stared in surprise, "Well she's woke now, and I can see everything..."
"Stop looking!" Jeanne yelled and punched him in the shoulder.
"What?" Trevor shouted, backing away.
"Who... Who are... you?" the android asked, looking around.
"Both of you stop staring! Trevor, let her borrow your sister's clothes. And Vincent turn around!" Jeanne demanded.
Trevor ran into the house, quickly disappearing.
"I-I'm Jeanne, and this is Vincent. That boy running to the house is called Trevor. We found you in a warehouse, so we took you here."
"Warehouse?" The android's eyes were wide, her expression confused and lost. She was shaking, as if she didn't know how to move.
"You're shaking... do you have a name I can call you?" Jeanne asked, cautiously approaching.
"Sh-Shu. My name is... Shu... The unit designation is... is... ATI771." She stuttered, her eyes darting from Jeanne to Vincent. "W-Where am... am I? Am I not in a facility? I... don't have any information on my current whereabouts.
"We can explain that later. You seem pretty confused." Jeanne replied, "So, your name is Shu? That's cute. So, um... I guess welcome to the Republic, I'm guessing you're Argentian?" She smiled at her. Shu stared back, her eyes wide.
Jeanne was about to ask another question, but Trevor returned with a set of clothes. "These are my sister's. Put them on, don't just stand around like a zombie." He handed her the clothes and turned around.
"O-Oh. Okay. I'll put them on." She grabbed the clothes, her hands trembling. "Th-Thank you."
"Okay, so, uh. Why were you in a container? Are you an Argentian military android?" Vincent asked, still averting his eyes from her nude form.
"ATI771 Shu, artillery and ordinance control specialist." Shu replied, "But I don't... know why I was in a container." She paused for a moment. "I can't remember. I don't remember anything." Shu's face was a mask of confusion; she was struggling to understand what had happened. "Maybe I was on my way to my first deployment? No... no... that's not right, there's definitely several combat logs... huh? There's corruption in the second memory region..." Shu mumbled, trying to recall events but failing to find any answers.
"Second memory region?" Trevor asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Y-Yes, I have several implanted memory databases. My main database has all of the data necessary to perform my duties. Secondary, tertiary, and quaternary databases have information regarding other things."
"What kind of other things?" Jeanne inquired, her brow furrowed in curiosity.
"Um. Information about the military, weapons systems, communications, and so forth. But the second database is manufacturing, engagement, deployment, and service logs." She said.
"So you have four databases?" Vincent asked. Shu nodded. "What about the other two?"
Shu paused for a moment, her expression blank. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to talk about those. They're only for my commander or authorized technicians. But I don't even have a designation in any database for a commander. And the only technician on record is Doctor Elyon Annette of Arlith Heavy Industries."
"Isn't Arlith is one of the nations that is a major exporter of android parts but I've never seen anything quite like you before..." Trevor said, scrutinizing her.
"Wait, Arlith Heavy Industries is a weapons manufacturing company..." Vincent mumbled to himself.
"We can take her there," Jeanne said. Arlith still has an open trade policy, and they are not a combat participant."
Trevor shook his head. "That would be a waste, I mean look at her. This is a chance to see how advanced their technology really is."
"So what then? You gonna take her apart? We have no clue how complex her design is or how maintenance is even supposed to be done on something with no visible seams." Vincent scoffed.
"Um, I don't think that would be wise... we have teams of specialized engineers and technicians for a reason." Shu added, "And, I would really rather not be dismantled..."
Trevor paused. Did she express her own opinion? She wasn't a simple AI like most other androids. 'Just what kind of androids were the empire making?' He wondered.
"Shu, please put those clothes on..." Jeanne asked her again, "I think it would be best if we took her to Arlith. And you can't keep her Trevor, she's a part of the Argentia military."
Vincent nodded, "I agree, we need to find a way to return her."
Trevor sighed and looked at Jeanne. "Fine. We'll figure it out." He turned to the android. "So, what do you remember last? What is the latest thing in your logs?" he asked, trying to understand what happened to the girl.
"Let me check... um... why is it scrambled... blackout zone...?" Shu said as she accessed her database. She seemed confused, her eyes flickered between colors, and her head tilted to the side as if she was searching through her database. "I... I don't know. It's all strangely fragmented, and data regarding specific details is corrupted. I was on a mission at some point… but… also not? C15… XMV… LDS23… What were these from...?" She quietly whispered as she placed a hand over her chest. "My core feels fine…"
Trevor and Vincent looked at each other in confusion. Jeanne continued, "Okay. Let's get her to Arlith."
"It's really far. And Shu doesn't have a passport to cross the border. We'll all be arrested if she says she's an Imperial soldier." Vincent said. "Even with my biker connections, there's no way to sneak her across the border. It'd be impossible."
"There's one way." Trevor mumbled, "You're gonna call me crazy, but, hear me out."
"Trial is now in session, Judge Jeanne presiding." Vincent joked, "Go on, let's hear it."
Jeanne crossed her arms, her expression serious.
Trevor paused, his brow furrowed in thought as he spoke. "We can cross the neutral zone. Instead of going straight to the Union's western border, we go north and circle around through the Kingdom's part of the neutral zone, there's a peninsula north of Argentia that's kinda ignored. Heading south from there will get us into the Union territories. The catch is there are reports of Meteorn activity in that area." He explained. "But we should be safe as long as we avoid them."
Jeanne let out an exhausted sigh. "Are you crazy, Trevor?" she said, shaking her head. "That's suicide!"
Trevor grinned. "It's not a perfect plan, but it's the only surefire way." He shrugged.
Vincent shook his head and laughed. "Alright. I'll give it to you. It's not the worst idea, I ride up that way all the time. It'll take longer though."
Jeanne's expression hardened, her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "Trevor, you can't be serious. You're not actually considering this?"
He nodded, his gaze intense. "Yes, I am." He replied. "It's our best shot." Trevor glanced at Vincent, who nodded.
"I can show the path to get to the peninsula, but it's still a gamble." Vincent added. "And I don't think I've heard about that area being that active. But the Meteorn attack on Argentia's capital was all over the churp today, and probably other socials too." He paused for a moment. "If I had to guess, they probably beefed up patrols since then, which isn't going to work well for our plan."
Jeanne looked at Shu, her eyes filled with concern. The girl seemed lost, confused, and scared.
Shu stared back, her expression blank. She had no idea what they were talking about or what was happening. The girl looked between them. For whatever reason, she couldn't access any of the military networks. Her internal clock was off by almost six months as well, and she didn't know why.
"Shu," Trevor called, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She turned to look at him for a moment, then retrieved her gear from her container. It consisted of a waistpack, a sidearm and holster, and a heavy-looking rifle. "Hmm... resonance levels are sub-optimal..." She studied the rifle and tapped its side, the display lighting up. "Oh no..."
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked.
Shu glanced up at him, "The internal capacitor is damaged, the weapon's power output will be significantly lower. It'll take a lot of effort to supress a Meteorn."
"Supress a Meteorn? Do you normally fight Meteorn?" Trevor asked.
"Yes, though the details are scrambled, I can put enough together to know I was in a unit that specialized in engaging Meteorn."
Vincent frowned but remained silent, figuring it'd be best to keep his opinion to himself for now.
Trevor's gaze turned to Vincent and Jeanne. "I think it's worth a shot. I mean, it's not like we're going to find any other way to get Shu back home."
"We could always just let her walk to the border by herself." Vincent suggested indifferently.
"Vincent!" Jeanne snapped, her voice full of anger.
"What?" He asked. "It's true, isn't it? We don't have any reason to risk our lives for her, she's property of the Union so she should be able to just go back."
"Why are you being like this all of a sudden?" Trevor asked. "I've never known you to be so cold." Trevor's expression hardened, his brow furrowed. He knew that his friend's attitude was likely a result of the stress and anxiety he felt over the whole situation.
"I'm just thinking about the reality of the situation, man. We're risking our lives for something we don't have any reason to be. And if she can take on Meteorn, why can't she just go back?" Vincent's voice was cold, his words cutting.
Jeanne stepped forward and glared at Vincent, "I can't believe you're saying this! We have a duty to help those in need, no matter what."
"No we don't, she's apart of the nation we're at war with. An enemy soldier, Jeanne. Think about it, what happens when she returns to her side?" Vincent said. "She'll be put back on the battlefield to cut down our friends and families that enlisted. And that's if she can even return to active duty. She's clearly missing parts of her memory."
Trevor sighed, his voice quiet, but his eyes were filled with determination. "Vincent, you're my friend, but we're not leaving her behind. Even if it means risking our own lives to get her back home."
"Then go by yourself." Vincent got back in his truck and drove away.
Trevor watched as Vincent left, his heart heavy with the weight of his friend's disapproval.
"Damn..." Jeanne sighed. "Vincent is a stubborn one, he's not normally this bad. He was probably really worried and didn't know how to say it."
Trevor shook his head, "Let him go, we don't need his help anyway."
"I'm sorry... you don't have to help me." Shu muttered. "I can handle myself, I really can." She said.
Trevor smiled at her, "It'll be fine, Shu." He turned to Jeanne. "I think we should start making preparations for our trip. I'll clean out my van, we'll need food, clothes, and other supplies." Trevor said as he headed into the house.
Jeanne nodded. "I'll go home and grab my stuff."