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“William Miles is dead.”
He wasn’t sure what they were expecting from him when they delivered the news of Commandant William Miles’ death.
As far as William Miles was concerned, he lost his son the day Desmond quit the Commandant Training Program, a week before he could finish his training and be given his own unit and first mission.
Desmond believed that they would have had a big fight over it and some painful words would have probably been said by the both of them so he acted first, removing all possibility of them even talking. There was no place for pain if he didn’t give William Miles a chance.
It was quite easy, all things considered. All Desmond had to do was never open any of his emails, deleting them as soon as he received them.
He knew William Miles wouldn’t do anything more than that. He had always only given Desmond the minimal amount of time he could spare.
William Miles never bothered to barge into the life he had built for himself in the entertainment district, working as a bartender for a high end bar by the name of Bad Weather. Alcohol was heavily regulated and Bad Weather was one of the few establishments that could serve them in limited quantity with a clientele filled with names high up the government that he knew he was seen more as part of the furniture whenever he served them. Desmond had learned to be creative using other ingredients. He knew that made people remember him if not as William Miles’ runaway son then as their favorite bartender Desmond.
Desmond did know that the great William Miles knew where he lived. The power of the government at his disposal as one of the most successful commandant of his generation would do that to anyone, regardless of their lineage.
This was the most ‘uninvited’ William Miles had been in his life since he ran away from being a Miles.
Two people, a man and a woman, knocked on his door too early in the morning for him, cutting off his usual sleeping pattern.
They were a ‘colorful’ bunch.
The man looked like he wanted everyone to know he worked for the government, wearing a black suit and tie with his World Government ID pinned on the chest pocket of his suit. Black hair gelled back and dark eyes hiding behind glasses with light scratch marks all over.
The woman looked to be around his age with light blonde hair and green eyes. She was wearing a white winter coat underneath a white shirt and black skirt. Her fur winter hat that kept her hair mostly out of her face had 4 different medals pinned to it.
She was definitely beautiful and she had an elegant way of walking when he let them in his small apartment after they asked him if he was Desmond Miles (as if they didn’t already know that) and then asked to be let in because they had ‘news’.
He would have closed the door on their faces but it would be stupid of him to get into the government’s bad side considering he was already a dropout from one of the most selective training program in the space station, only given leeway from his insubordination by the grace of being a ‘Miles’.
She had said thank you when he led them to his small dining table, just next to the kitchen in this small open floor one room apartment he was able to afford with his salary.
Desmond would have liked to say that her beauty mark under her left eye was the thing that caught his attention.
But it was the black metallic horns above her ears that truly captivated him.
Other that her horns, she looked human.
But those horns showed the truth.
She was a Construct, a human whose mind was transferred to a body called a Frame, made of synthetic materials and metal.
The only true ‘human’ thing about her was her mind and, even that, was simply a digital copy of their actual mind.
It wasn’t even called mind anymore.
It was M.I.N.D, short for Memory Inductive Neural Depository.
If that was the case…
Can one truly say they were still ‘human’?
That’s what a lot of people like to ask so they would have an excuse of being a dick.
Desmond didn’t really care if one was a Construct or not.
After all, had he given William Miles a chance to see how much of a failure he was, that old bastard would have probably ordered him to ‘volunteer’ himself into becoming a Construct as well.
“You could have just sent me an email.” Desmond said instead, offering both of them a cup of instant coffee.
Only the woman was polite enough to thank him.
Neither of them drank it though.
“William Miles removed you from the Miles family registry.” The man informed him.
Desmond nodded as he said, “A’right.”
He didn’t bother to tell them that he had been the one to do that. He knew William Miles’ usually used passwords and pin codes. It took him a single try to access their family registry to remove himself the day he left the Commandant Training Program.
“As far as the government is concerned, William Miles was the last living Miles because of your ‘status’. As such, all of the properties and estates of the Miles family were transferred to the government.”
“I’m sure you’ll do the right thing and use it for the future of mankind.” Desmond said with a polite smile that did not reach his eyes.
Everyone in the room knew that he wasn’t being sincere.
They probably didn’t care.
“Among them is the satellite codenamed Apple-1.”
Desmond blinked.
Their family owned a satellite?
What the fuck?
“Sorry? Did you say satellite?” Desmond asked as he raised an eyebrow. The ‘that’s bullshit’ was clear in his tone.
He knew that their family was sorta rich back in Earth.
Before the Punishing Virus killed humans and corrupted machines, forcing what remained of humanity to escape to space, the Miles family had a big land over some place his father called Black Hills.
A land his father called the ‘Farm’.
“To be more exact, your mother’s family owns the satellite.” The man clarified.
“Ah, well, that makes more sense.” Desmond nodded.
Now, his mother’s family was loaded, no questions about it.
And it was the ‘morally questionable’ kind of loaded.
They were a family of scientists and researchers which was more valuable than gold during the first few years of humanity’s scramble to live in the cold uncaring expanse of space, only kept alive by this Eden-class space station called Babylonia.
The ark carrying humanity.
The final ark.
That was what his mother liked to call this space station.
Because of this, his mother’s family was able to receive more than the others. He was sure they were also quite rich back on Earth but he never asked his mother about the history of the Capitoline.
He barely had any memories of ever talking to his mother to be completely honest.
She was always busy as a member of the Science Council, doing something or another.
For the future of humanity and all that jazz.
Desmond never knew what it was though and she died before he could find the time to ask her.
“Many mourned the death of Minerva Capitoline-Miles.”
Desmond wouldn’t know.
She was less of a mother and more like that distant relative who only came home once every few weeks.
Desmond probably cried when he heard her death but he couldn’t truly be sure anymore.
Wait a minute.
Shit.
“I’m in the Capitoline’s family registry?” Desmond asked as he rubbed his face.
“Yes.” The man answered with a nod, “But your father filed the documents for a momentary change of the satellite’s ownership to himself when your mother died. The main clause of that document was that he was simply meant to ‘safekeep’ the satellite until your 18th birthday. Nothing will be removed or added and no modification will be made. It will be given to you as is after your mother’s death. Unfortunately, when you were 16…”
“I ran away and was removed from the Miles family registry but not in the Capitoline’s registry.” Desmond finished for him when he noticed that the man becoming awkward.
He probably thought it was a sore spot.
Desmond just sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
Everything about his family was a ‘sore’ spot that Desmond had stopped caring.
“Alright, give me the document I need to sign so I can transfer it to the government.” Desmond said as he raised his hand towards the man.
What used would he have for a satellite anyway?
He didn’t even know if it was still operational and not just a piece of junk floating into space.
Or worse.
It could just as easily been corrupted by the Punishing Virus at this point. Better to just make it the government’s problem.
Hell.
He has no idea how to go there anyway.
The man looked at the woman who had been silently watching Desmond the entire time.
The woman didn’t even looked at the man who was awkwardly trying to signal something to her.
Instead, she said in a gentle voice, “I’m sorry for your loss, Desmond.”
Desmond blinked, not expecting such words of comfort.
Shame it was useless on the Miles family.
He was sure that William Miles’ son died the day Desmond ran away the same way Desmond realized he had no parents when William Miles filed the application for the Commandant Training Program without speaking to Desmond beforehand first.
“Thank you.” He said instead.
Maybe once he was alone, William Miles’ death would finally hit him.
Maybe a small part of him, some small child that was hiding in the shadows of his mind, would grieve over their broken blood ties.
“I know you wish for us to leave so you can mourn his death.” The woman continued in the same gentle tone, “Unfortunately, the situation concerning the satellite is much more complicated than we all hope.”
She took out a tablet from the inside of her winter jacket and placed it on the table, pushing it towards Desmond’s direction. Desmond took it and the screen lit up the moment he lifted it off the table.
“Apple-1 was refitted to be a private research lab of your mother. She used to spend weeks there.” She explained as Desmond looked at the screen.
It was an overview of the satellite’s known specs and layout.
There was also a glaring warning at the top that explained that there were no official document that listed all the modifications that were done in the satellite.
Or what equipment and devices had been transferred there.
But the most glaring note was that there were no backups in the Science Council’s database of whatever was in the satellite, only the monthly summary his mother had given them.
“The World Government would like to officially ask you to join a recon squad to check the satellite’s status.” She said.
Desmond didn’t need to swipe the screen to know why they would ask a civilian (and a runaway) like him to go to a possibly dangerous situation.
“The satellite’s systems can only be accessed by someone with Capitoline genes, isn’t it?” Desmond asked, wishing he could sigh.
“No.” She didn’t shake her head, instead continuing to stare at him. Her voice has lost the gentleness she had given him when she paid her condolences but she spoke with more kindness than the man next to him did when he had been the one speaking to Desmond, “The satellite will only accept two specific genetic makeup. Minerva Capitoline-Miles and yours.”
This meant that his mother had always wanted him to inherit the space station.
Did she wished for him to become a scientist like her?
“So you want me to travel to a big metal coffin that has been floating in space for 20 years. One that no one has ever maintained at all during that time?” Desmond dryly asked, already knowing the answer.
“We will do our utmost to ensure your safety during this mission.” The woman promised as she placed a hand on her chest and Desmond could hear no lie in her voice.
“If the satellite is in good condition, the government is willing to buy it from you and return the personal properties and estates of the Miles family.” The man interjected, “And we will compensate you for coming to the satellite as well.”
Desmond glanced at him before continuing his conversation with her, “Can I ask what’s so special about this satellite? Why take the risk?”
The woman turned slightly so she could look at the man next to her. The man stared at Desmond for a moment and Desmond just raised an eyebrow at him.
He sighed and nodded at the woman who turned to face Desmond once more.
“As you know, Constructs such as myself used to be humans.” She explained as she dropped her hand, “We go through a painful procedure when we were humans to become Constructs.”
Desmond nodded.
Everyone knew that.
Some Constructs were volunteers.
Others were people who agreed to be Constructs when they were about to die.
There were even whispers that some of the Constructs were orphans who had no choice over the matter.
“Unfortunately, becoming a Construct is quite a risky procedure. Many die before they could become a Construct.” She paused before adding, “And some are disposed of because they become infected with the Punishing Virus during the process.”
The man cleared his throat and Desmond wanted to throw his coffee at him for trying to cut her off.
She didn’t acknowledge that blatant order to move the topic along and continued, “Your mother was researching to upgrade the procedure to create a Construct. She called it the Animus Project.”
“The goal of the Animus Project is to create a Construct from someone who has already died.”
The two left after telling Desmond that they ‘hoped’ he’d give an answer by the end of the week.
The man looked like he was about to say something but stopped when she offered her condolences once more and told him that William Miles was a great commandant.
Commandant.
A human who was in charge of a squad of Constructs, doing missions on Earth and fighting for their lives.
All for what?
For humanity to return to Earth?
Desmond never understood why they all wished to return to Earth, plagued by both the Punishing Virus that would slowly corrupt and kill them and corrupted machines that would also wish to kill them.
That was made him butt heads with a few of his instructors back when he was in the Commandant Training Program.
“You’re lucky you’re a Miles.”
That was what they usually said after just giving him a slap on the wrist for questioning the lessons and shit.
If it was up to him, he would have suggested they find a way to colonize the moon or Mars instead.
There was a project like that before. It failed, sure, but they could learn from that failure and try again.
In Desmond’s eyes, it seemed safer to stay far away from Earth and its Punishing Virus.
Maybe it was the only memories Desmond had was here in Babylonia. The only times he had ever ‘seen’ Earth were from the holograms he saw and the texts he read.
Earth to him was a story.
Maybe there were other reasons why humanity couldn’t let it go.
Maybe they needed its resources.
Anything would have held more sense to Desmond other than some emotional attachment to a planet that wanted them dead.
This kind of thought was something he inherited from his mother.
Or so he believed.
William Miles had always wanted to take back Earth.
He pushed Desmond to train to be a commandant like him for his own desire.
If he had been a good parent, he would have told Desmond to pick a safer career in the government.
Like becoming a researcher like his mother.
Not that he felt scientifically inclined or anything though.
Still, shouldn’t a parent wish for their child to be safe?
He didn’t get William Miles.
He also didn’t get Minerva Capitoline-Miles.
His most vivid childhood memory was a quiet house and the old woman who worked as both his nanny and the help.
He didn’t even remember her name, only what he called her. ‘Nanny’.
So he has no qualms giving some satellite to the government.
Was he willing to go there to check if it was usable?
He wanted to say no.
It hasn’t been maintained since his mother’s death.
There was no guarantee that it was safe at all.
But…
Her mother’s project, even if it was unfinished, could help.
If a dead person could become a Construct… that would only make it safer for the people risking their lives in Earth.
Just because he didn’t think returning to Earth was the right plan doesn’t mean that he wanted people to die.
So…
He took out his phone and clicked the contact details that the woman gave her.
He just sent her a simple message.
“I’m in.”
“Thank you for coming, Desmond.” The blonde woman said in lieu of greeting when Desmond entered the meeting room a minute early.
There were already four people in the room, not counting the two of them.
“These three will be accompanying you inside the satellite.” She waved her hand towards the three sitting on the large table at the center of the room.
Two of them were a man and a woman looking over the holograms in front of them, five different screens showing texts, graphs and the schematics of a barebone Frame.
The last one was a man who was resting his head on his folded arms. Desmond was sure he wasn’t sleeping at all.
“And this is Commandant Gavin.” She stepped to the side as the oldest of the people in the room walked towards him.
“Desmond.” Gavin greeted as he nodded.
“Uncle Gavin.” Desmond returned his nod. He noted the large large claw mark that scarred his face, touching both his left eye and the right side of his lips. He didn’t remember his late father’s best friend (or probably his only friend, who knows) ever having such a large scar so he commented lightly, “Looks painful.”
“It was.” Gavin agreed with a pained smile, “If it weren’t for Bill and his unit, my unit and I would have already been dead.”
Desmond hummed.
A few commandants joined the front lines, others stayed out of the field and either give authority to a Construct that would be called the captain of the unit or give orders remotely.
His father and Gavin were both commandants who preferred to join the fray.
He was sure that he would have followed such a dangerous path had he became a commandant as well.
“I see you two know each other. I will take my leave then.” She saluted Gavin before turning to face Desmond, “On behalf of the World Government, I thank you for agreeing to this, Desmond.”
“Well, if I didn’t I’d be a dick.” Desmond joked, ignoring the scoff he heard from the man looking at holograms. The dark haired woman next to him smacked the back of his head.
The woman Desmond was talking to chuckled and bowed slightly as she said, “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Desmond.”
She walked out of the room without giving Desmond a chance to tell her that he wasn’t looking for anything.
The moment the door hissed as it closed, Gavin cleared his throat and waved his hand towards the table. He waited for Desmond to start walking towards it before following him.
The both of them sat on opposite end of the table.
“For this mission, my unit, Voyager, will be taking point.” Gavin waved his hand towards the two who had been looking at holograms that they had turned off the moment Desmond sat down.
“This is Shaun Hastings. He’s not part of my unit but he will be joining this mission. He’s a scientist and the representative of the division in charge of projects related to the Constructs and Frames.” Gavin introduced the man who scoffed before.
“So you’re the infamous runaway Miles.”
Ah.
So that was where the hostility was coming from.
“Yup, that’s me.” Desmond answered with a polite smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “William Miles’ greatest disappointment. Nice to meet you.”
“Bill never-”
“Don’t worry. I know my place. ID card with feet, right? I’ll do my best not to get into anyone’s way.” Desmond said as he continued to smile politely.
Shaun didn’t reply and Desmond could see how his easy self-deprecation had taken him off guard.
It wasn’t the first time someone tried to get under his skin by reminding him of how much of a failure he was, after all.
Gavin sighed before continuing introducing the others, “The Construct next to Shaun is Rebecca. She’s one of the two Support Constructs in my unit.”
“Hey.” Rebecca waved at him, “If you need any healing, I’m your girl.”
“Hopefully, it doesn’t get to that.” Gavin said, “Rebecca and Shaun will be joining you to check the equipment and data in the satellite. Rebecca might be a Support type Construct but she was created for technical support. She only knows basic first aid.”
Rebecca opened her mouth and Gavin raised an eyebrow, challenging her to deny what he just said. Rebecca gave an overly dramatic thoughtful look before shrugging.
“And this one is Clay.” Gavin pointed at the man pretending to be asleep. Clay sat up and gave Desmond a lazy wave, showing the balljoint that served as his Frame’s wrist, “He’s an Attack Construct and will take the lead for this mission.”
Desmond didn’t say anything as he nodded at Clay. Clay just gave him a small lazy smile, seemingly unfazed by Desmond’s silence.
“As we’re unsure of the structural integrity of the satellite, it was deemed safer that we only deploy the minimum number of participants. Preliminary calculations confirmed that four people would be the safest number for this mission. Since you and Shaun were required to join, I decided two Constructs would be better to fill up the roster than for me to personally join in.” Gavin continued, making Desmond turn to face him once more, “I will join you on the mission together with the other Constructs of my unit but we will remain on standby inside the spacecraft we’ll be using to travel to and will support you via comms.”
“While we’re worried about the structural integrity of the satellite, I don’t think we would meet any hostiles there. There were no information of Minerva requesting defensive devices or automatons so I decided that an Attack Construct would be more flexible there than a Tank Construct.” Gavin said before standing. He placed his hand on the table and it glowed dimly before the center showed a hologram of the satellite.
“The mission is simple. We use a small aircraft to dock in the only docking ‘port’ of the satellite located here.” Part of the west side of the satellite glowed as he continued, “From there, you four will make your way towards three key locations: the bridge, the server room and the main room that Minerva used for the Animus Project.”
“The bridge is located at the top of the satellite.” Another part of the satellite glowed, showing that the bridge was at the top and center of the satellite, “You will make your way there first to check the status of the other rooms and plot your next route.”
“The server room is two floors from the bridge.” Another glow appeared on the hologram, showing that the server room is directly below the bridge, “As for the location of the main room used for the Animus Project… we don’t know where it is. None of the documents we have had any information about its location or even confirm that Minerva only used one room in the first place. Hopefully, the bridge would have information or maybe even logs of which room Minerva used the most.”
“That’s pretty much the plan.” Gavin said as he covered his left hand with his right, “Any questions?”
Oh.
Desmond had a lot of questions.
For one, what was their emergency protocol if everything went to shit?
Return to the craft and get out of there?
What if the way back was barred?
Desmond didn’t like this one bit.
This plan had so many holes it would immediately spit out any water poured inside.
But that was intentional, wasn’t it?
All they had was the schematics of the satellite when it was built.
No schematics to show if there was any modification.
No news if the layout is even the same in the first place.
No detailed reports of what was happening there.
Was his mother even truly working on what everyone believed the Animus Project was supposed to be?
And why did his father not give the government whatever was left in the satellite? Even if Desmond was the real ‘owner’, the government would turn a blind eye if a well respected commandant was to ignore the law to give them research materials and data for such an important project.
Which meant that the late well respected commandant used those very same perks to keep his late wife’s research away from the government.
And yet here Desmond was, just planning to give it to them for money that would make sure he wouldn’t work for a single day until the day he died.
Such an ungrateful son.
“No.” Desmond answered, “I don’t have any questions.”
The mission was scheduled to start three days after their meeting. Desmond left as soon as Gavin said that the meeting was over.
He also pretended not to see Gavin’s mouth open to call out to him.
He didn’t ask Desmond to come back to the room.
And Desmond didn’t turn back.
Gavin Banks was part of his past as the ungrateful failure Desmond Miles.
There was no need for them to talk about such past. Maybe Gavin had cute stories of him as a child.
Desmond didn’t.
What a cruel person he was.
He knew that the next three days were meant to be used to ‘arrange his affairs’ on the off-chance he dies during the mission.
So he told his boss that he was quitting.
Whether he dies or sell the satellite, there was no reason to continue to work as a bartender. His boss didn’t even bat an eye. There were many people lined up to take his job. People who was willing to work for a lesser pay than him.
Just to survive.
Because that was one of the only two ways to live in Babylonia as a civilian.
Work to survive or live a life of comfort due to their family standing and history.
Desmond lived both.
And he still felt like something was missing in his life even after experiencing both.
The spacecraft they would be using to travel to the satellite was just big enough to fit the seven of them. Gavin introduced him to the other two Constructs of his team: the Support Type Chewy who served as their main medic and the Tank Type Barraza who was actually the second in command of their unit.
Desmond never met any of them. Whenever Gavin visited his childhood home, he was always alone.
It was only when he started reading everything he believed could help him be a good commandant back when he was in the program that he learned that Constructs were given limited access in Babylonia.
Residential districts like where the Miles house was required special passes for Constructs to even be allowed to step inside.
And neither Gavin or Bill ever had any of their Constructs visit.
The ship itself only had the bare minimum and looked a lot like a bus with only one main room where they would all be staying during their time traveling to the satellite. The cockpit had three chairs and Gavin took the helm while both Rebecca and Chewy sat on the other two seats. Taking in consideration what they were announcing, Desmond guessed that Chewy was in charge of navigation and communication with Babylonia while Rebecca was in charge of monitoring the spacecraft’s status.
Behind them were four seats divided into two, pressed against the wall on either side. They were secured to the seat for the entirety of the flight but there was a hologram they could use to pass the time.
Unfortunately, Desmond had the bare minimum access given to him by the spacesuit he was wearing, a tight fitting suit that was completely white to show his status as a ‘civilian’, complete with a helmet that could be taken off by pulling it off like a hood.
It would take an hour or so before they could even see the satellite and Desmond had been resting his eyes so he could pretend to be asleep and have no one talk to him when he felt something lightly tap the side of his knee.
He tried to ignore it.
“I know you’re not asleep.”
He sighed and opened his eyes, turning to face Clay. Desmond had deliberately chosen to sit next to him since the alternative was sitting next to Researcher Hastings and the man looked ready to apologize for his behavior yesterday but Desmond didn’t want to deal with that awkwardness.
He expected Clay to be the lesser of two evils.
“What’d you wanna know?” Desmond lightly asked as he crossed his legs.
“What makes you think I have any questions?” Clay asked back with a grin.
“Okay, so you want to make small talks then?” Desmond dryly questioned.
“Sure. Why not? I’ll go first. Clay’s my real name according to my record.” Clay said lightly.
“You don’t remember?” Desmond asked, unable to hide his curiosity. He had heard that the process of transferring the mind of a human to a Frame could have side effects.
The most common side effect was a loss of memories but, as far as he knew, memory loss was rarely an issue. Just a few small gaps in their memory as a human.
Most of them remember enough to know who they were.
Of course, there were exceptions but the reports said it was so small it wasn’t even considered as a problem.
“I remember.” Clay answered as he continued to grin at Desmond, “People just like to ask if ‘Clay’ is my human name or if it’s a codename.”
“Oh.” Desmond was unsure what else to say. He thought ‘Clay’ was a nice name but people might think he was just giving out empty words to defuse the awkwardness so he remained quiet and waited for Clay to dictate the direction of their conversation as an apology.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“My turn.” Clay stretched his legs and slouched on his seat as he continue to stare at Desmond, “You close with that Construct from Purifying Force?”
“No. We first met when she told me that Bill’s dead.” Desmond answered.
“So you do know who she is and what she does. They don’t normally say that they’re from Purifying Force. Did she introduced herself as the captain?” Clay asked. Seeing Desmond shake his head, Clay’s grin grew a little bigger as he commented, “Kinda strange, isn’t it then? Why would the squad in charge of killing Constructs who either defected or was corrupted by the virus join the person that told you that William Miles is dead?”
Desmond thought that was strange too. While it was true that he first met the blonde woman that day, he knew of her. He had studied all active Constructs in his free time back when he was training to be a commandant. Knowing the Purifying Force members would make it easier for him and his unit to figure out if something bad is happening nearby.
He wasted so much time trying to be the son that William Miles wanted, not realizing that it has and always would be impossible.
As Clay had said, Purifying Force was in charge of hunting down and killing Constructs who were corrupted by the virus or had abandoned their duties.
“I have two theories… well, three, actually.” Desmond said. He waited until everyone was pretending they weren’t trying to listen in before continuing, knowing they would be too curious not to, “They never told me how Bill and his unit died. If it’s connected with the Purifying Force either his unit was corrupted by the virus and the Purifying Force is currently hunting the corrupted Constructs down.”
“Or…” Desmond shrugged as he said, “Bill and his unit aren’t actually dead but they defected from Babylonia. Maybe they joined that rogue group of humans and Constructs that stayed on Earth.”
Or was abandoned by Babylonia if the rumors were to be believed.
“What do they call themselves? Forsaken?” Desmond said lightly as he glanced at Gavin. Gavin didn’t make any noticeable movements but, then again, all Desmond could see was his back so it wasn’t like he could be sure. He leaned against the back of his chair as he continued, “If any of those two guesses were right, Purifying Force probably wanted to see how I reacted when I heard the news of his death. Maybe they were hoping I had information they could use to locate him or his unit.”
“I have nothing to give to them if that’s the case.” Desmond continued, “Bill and I didn’t have any contact ever since I ran away and, even before I ran away, the most contact we had was my monthly progress in the program. His replies had always been short. Mostly ‘do better’ or something similar.”
“Never tried to report ‘hi dad, I got a girlfriend’ just to see how he reacts?” Clay joked, probably trying to lighten the mood.
“Any and all kinds of relationships will be detrimental to the path William Miles wanted his son to walk.” Desmond answered in the same light tone. Before Clay could say something, Desmond cut him off lightly, “My other guess is that the Purifying Force isn’t interested in Bill but with mom’s research.”
“A project that can turn the dead to Constructs…” Desmond looked up as he commented, “That would be a great alternative but a questionable one as well. After all…”
Desmond lowered his head to stare at Shaun as he asked, “What’s to say that this project doesn’t have a higher chance of the Construct being infected by the virus?”
Shaun avoided his eyes and Gavin took over, “Your father was loyal to humanity, Desmond.”
Desmond just closed his eyes and leaned his head back as he hummed.
One could be loyal to humanity and be seen as a traitor by Babylonia.
The Forsaken back on Earth were humans too, after all.
What’s to say that his father didn’t ally himself with them and walked away together with his unit?
Desmond couldn’t say either way.
After all…
He didn’t know William Miles at all.
Desmond was used to the awkward silence that enveloped the space craft throughout their journey and docking.
It was the kind of awkward silence that threatened to weigh him down back when he would question his instructors during class.
It was the kind of awkward silence that followed him whenever he walked pass other commandant candidates whispering about the problematic son of Commandant Miles.
He had gotten used to ignoring them.
It was still a bit jarring considering how he spent nine years not having to deal with this kind of bullshit.
But it was more jarring how easy it was for him to put back up the mask of the problematic son of William Miles.
“All systems green. Preliminary analysis complete. Lack of oxygen in this area confirmed. Artificial gravity status all green.” Rebecca announced before she stood from her seat.
Barraza took over her seat and patted Gavin’s shoulder twice before he began to type on the terminal in front of him as he said, “Connecting monitoring system to server.”
Rebecca and Clay stood and clicked the side of the collar around their neck that they weren’t wearing when Desmond first met them.
“All vitals normal.” Chewy announced as she continued to type on her own terminal. The large window in front of the cockpit became covered by slightly transparent screens that just popped out.
Desmond glanced at them and noticed that they were mainly videos showing what both Clay and Rebecca were seeing.
Two more screens showed Desmond’s and Shaun’s point of view but the ones that showed their points of view weren’t completely correct.
It was slightly to the left.
Ah.
The comm that they placed on him was part of his helmet then.
It had a built in camera, most probably with audio as well.
Standard protocol, he supposed.
“Pressure has stabilized.” Chewy continued before saying, “You’re clear to go.”
“Roger that.” Clay said, patting Desmond’s shoulder once before saying, “I’ll take point.”
He waited for Desmond to nod before he turned to look at Shaun as he said, “Hastings, play nice.”
Shaun opened his mouth but Rebecca nudged him on the ribs, making the researcher turn to glare at her. They shared a look that showed just how much they know one another and Shaun grimaced before nodding, “I’ll be on my best behavior, sir.”
Desmond wondered if they knew each other before Rebecca became a Construct.
It would probably be rude to ask and he wasn’t close enough to the both of them to even dare broach the subject.
Clay pulled the lever at the opposite side of the cockpit and the wall began to open, becoming a short ramp for them to descend from. Clay’s grin was cocky and teasing as he said, “Kinky.”
Shaun glared at him but followed him out of the ship without any complaints.
Rebecca stood next to Desmond and raised her hand as if to pat Desmond. When Desmond turned to stare at her hand as it came close to her shoulder, she dropped it as she said with a smile, “You stay behind Shaun. I’ll guard our rear.”
“Understood.” Desmond nodded and began to walk out of the ship, feeling Rebecca follow and keep a three feet distance.
The fact that Rebecca could just as easily see if he makes any attempts to escape was left unsaid.
Desmond has no idea where they expect him to escape to anyway.
For now, he focused on what he could do.
His helmet showed a clear view of what he would usually see but there was a small slightly transparent map around the topleft of his vision, creating a map in real time as they traversed the docking area.
All of them must have an automatic mapping function in their helmet.
This too was standard protocol. Mock missions during training included a similar helmet which meant…
Desmond bent his elbow and saw the flicker of a screen appearing above his forearm. It showed him the same map and his vitals before flickering off when Desmond straightened his arm.
He pretended not to see it but it was nice to know that his suit had some sort of holographic interface he could check any time.
He was sure that the other members of this recon team had more access than him but a map would be valuable… just in case.
They reached the door that would lead them out of the docks and Clay raised his left hand as he took out the sword strapped to his waist.
Shaun stopped a few feet away from Clay and went down in one knee. Desmond copied him but stayed further behind while Rebecca remained standing behind him. He could see Rebecca poking the hologram in front of her three times before she said, “Analysis complete. It’s clean.”
Clay nodded before pressing the ‘2’ button twice then the ‘4’ button once on the control panel next to the door.
They all heard the loud error sound that erupted from the control panel and they grew quiet for a moment before Shaun asked, “Did you get the code wrong?”
“Of course not. 224 is the default passcode that we know of.” Clay defended himself as he rolled his eyes.
“Should we try blowing it up then?” Rebecca asked and Desmond should probably be worried that she sounded excited with the prospect of blowing something up.
Was everyone sure she was meant to be a Support type Construct and not an Attack type Construct?
He heard one of the Attack type Construct in the Engineering Force used explosives but he highly doubt that was Rebecca’s previous Frame.
“Do not use force unless it’s absolutely necessary.” Gavin’s voice came out of the inside of Desmond’s helmet and he was sure everyone heard it, “We still need to check the overall structural integrity of his satellite so we can’t risk it. And we can only check it once we can access to the bridge. Desmond, could you try and see if you can figure out what the correct code is?”
Desmond was not sure what Gavin thought he could do but he stood and walked towards the panel.
He didn’t bother to tell Gavin that his memories of how close the Miles family had been was pretty much incorrect. Instead, he crossed his arms as he stood in front of the panel with Clay next to him and looked at it.
He wasn’t going to touch something that hasn’t been maintained for two decades, after all.
Wait.
“Huh.”
“Huh?” Clay repeated as he raised an eyebrow, “Care to share with the rest of your team what that ‘huh’ means?”
Not really.
Desmond wasn’t even sure if his memories were true or if his brain was just fucking with him. If it was, he was blaming Gavin.
He pressed his palm on the panel itself, covering all the numbers. The moment his palm rested against the numbers, the panel let out three short sounds.
Desmond recognized it immediately.
He pulled his hand away from the panel and pressed the following combination.
2-0-1-1-1-3-0-7.
And the door slid open.
“20111307?” Shaun asked as he walked towards Desmond while Clay stepped out of the docking area.
Desmond could see Clay scan the area at the same time that more holograms appeared in front of Rebecca.
They must be connected right now.
No.
They were both connected to Gavin right now.
Constructs were usually connected to their commandant whenever they were on a mission. It made them more resistant to the Punishing Virus’ effects.
It was normal for Constructs to be connected with their Commandant remotely so it would be more surprising if Gavin wasn’t connected to the both of them considering how possibly dangerous this mission truly was.
For all they know, his mother had left an experiment to rot here that had already been infected by the Punishing Virus.
Or worse…
Had evolved together with it.
“Are you ignoring me?”
Desmond turned to look at Shaun. Their helmets made it hard to see each other’s faces but he knew the man was trying to make up for how much of an ass he was before.
Too bad it was wasted on Desmond though.
“Sorry. I got lost in my own memories.” The apology left Desmond’s lips, just as smoothly as the half-truth he shared, “This kind of security was in my childhood home. It’s the same melody that unlocks one of the rooms.”
To be more specific… the library.
A treasure trove of information and entertainment.
Desmond spent years in that room, watching videos that were saved in the server underneath the house’s basement.
Old videos and stories back when Earth was thriving.
His mother was the only one who visited him there whenever she came home. She never told him to leave the room. Instead, she would sit on the sofa he was and watch with him. She would always pick whatever they would watch.
She always picked educational shows that were focused on teaching young children what science was.
He preferred the purely fictional stories where hardship and pain were rewarded with a happy ending.
He supposed those videos would be transferred to the World Government Association of Arts. He was sure they would make good use of it.
“It’s clear.” Clay announced and Desmond waved a hand to give the impression that he knew that Shaun was supposed to follow before he did.
And a way to finish this interrogation.
Shaun must have realized what Desmond was trying to do or maybe he was more interested in getting the mission truly started. Either way, he walked out of the docking area and Desmond followed behind.
All he had to do was step out of the docking area and he knew then and there that this was going to be a long day.
The satellite was abandoned but it didn’t looked all that bad. There were no ‘cave-ins’ or any obstruction that would have made their way towards the bridge harder.
But all the doors were locked and only Desmond could open them.
Even when Clay tried to type in the same code as Desmond did, it didn’t work.
It seemed that they assumed Desmond’s genetic makeup would be needed to unlock the ‘restricted’ area.
Not every single door they came across at.
Desmond didn’t say that he wasn’t surprised that his mother was this paranoid. His childhood home had the same problem. His nanny could only open doors that didn’t need any codes.
Now though, Desmond realized how irresponsible that was, all things considered.
What if he needed help but he was in one of the rooms that his nanny couldn’t get inside?
It was bullshit, no matter how one looked at it.
But what was done was done, he supposed.
They reached the bridge without any problem (not counting Shaun’s ‘quiet’ grumbling about how none of his devices seemed to be picking up anything) and Desmond had to be the one to boot up the main terminal before Rebecca could access it.
Well…
Hack it would probably be a more accurate description.
She connected a wire that Desmond initially assumed was part of her hair into the main terminal’s port and began to furiously type on the hologram of a keyboard in front of her. Shaun was also doing the same thing and he supposed that they were connected in some ways, probably sharing the same short ranged network. He highly doubted that Shaun was directly connected to Rebecca. The only one who directly connected to Constructs on a regular basis was their commandant.
Clay stood right next to the door, keeping it open.
Desmond wondered if he truly believed something could attack them at any moment. Desmond didn’t.
This place…
It reminded Desmond of the old scifi stories he watched alone.
There was one line that seemed to encapsulate the very thought he had about this place.
This place was a tomb.
The lights flickered on and, a moment later, the black screens surrounding the bridge turned on.
The screens showed outside. The cold uncaring endless expanse of space.
And… Earth.
The angle of Earth on the screen reminded Desmond of a childhood wonder he once had.
The very first time he saw Earth back when he was still a child who believed his father’s words of how they were going to return to Earth one day.
This was the very same angle from that day.
They must have recorded it from this satellite.
“What…? Nononononono…” The panic in Shaun’s mumbling was clear to Desmond but he continued to stare at the screen showing Earth. If it was life threatening, Clay would be able to save them.
Even if he wasn’t close to Gavin, Desmond knew he was a competent commandant and his team wouldn’t fall down like flies so easily.
“Speak to us, Hastings.” Gavin calmly ordered but Shaun continued to mumble instead of actually answering him. Gavin simply sighed, most probably used to being disregarded when Shaun was in the zone and asked, “Rebecca?”
“He’s checking the database and it’s been scrubbed clean.” Rebecca answered.
“It can’t all be deleted!” Shaun shouted over their comms.
Deleted.
Scrubbed clean.
Both would imply someone deliberately destroyed his mother’s work. If it was because this place hasn’t been properly maintained, the worst state the data could be should be corrupted.
These kinds of server should have multiple failsafe to keep them from being accidentally deleted or for any corruption to completely delete them.
Desmond glanced at Shaun furiously typing while Rebecca seemed calmer.
Maybe she was checking something else.
Desmond would guess she was doing a full check on the status of the entire satellite or something similar.
Desmond sighed and walked towards the main terminal.
His job was to be their walking key but he supposed he could help them out. He could see Clay watching him as he kept hold of the hilt of his sword but ignored him.
He wouldn’t be able to fight off the strength and speed of a Construct’s Frame, after all. All he could do was make them understand that he wasn’t there to sabotage them.
He placed his hand on the main terminal as he asked Rebecca, “Open all working system here.”
Rebecca stared at him as her hands froze in midair. Desmond waited until Gavin said, “Do as he says, Rebecca.”
“Roger that.” Rebecca confirmed her commandant’s order and began to type on the holographic keyboard once more. Golden light lit up from the main terminal and slowly snaked its way all over the bridge.
A circle appeared underneath Desmond and they all heard a mechanical voice that stated, “Genetic makeup confirmed. Welcome home, Desmond.”
Welcome home?
“Welcome home?” Clay repeated the same thing Desmond just thought of.
Well… if there was any reason why people here should doubt the ‘sincerity’ of his actions, now would be the worst time for a mechanical voice to sprinkle throw shit in the fan.
“What’s your name and function?” Desmond asked as he raised his head to where the voice came from.
A surveillance camera turned, blinking its green light at him as the voice answered, “The codename given to be is PROPHET. I am stationed here to maintain the satellite and report any unusual activities, to support the research and development of the Animus Project, and to obey every and any order of this unit’s two owners: Minerva Capitoline and Desmond Capitoline-Miles.”
Desmond quickly typed out on his arm and sent the message to the entire team as he asked, “You said ‘welcome home’. As far as I know, this is my first time here.”
Rebecca’s expression grew grim and Desmond knew it was because of the short message he sent out.
‘check ai 4 pv’.
AIs infected with the Punishing Virus were the most dangerous. They couldn’t risk this PROPHET being infected as well.
It was better for Desmond to keep the AI preoccupied while Rebecca checked if there was any sign of the virus being anywhere in the AI’s system.
Fuck.
When he asked Rebecca to turn on the bridge, he wasn’t expecting an AI assistant. AIs and robots in general were severely regulated and kept a close eye by the government. Infected robots and electronics were driven by their desire to kill humans after all and just a small mistake could lead to countless deaths in an enclosed space like Babylonia.
“That would be wrong. You have been to this satellite before.” PROPHET answered, “Your first and last came to this satellite on…”
Desmond blinked at the date that PROPHET gave them.
“I was one.” Desmond dryly said, wishing he could rub his face, “Of course I wouldn’t have any memories of that time.”
Also…
His mother brought him to this creepy ass satellite when he was one?
A satellite that, from the looks of things, didn’t have any other human working on it. Just his mother and an AI assistant.
Holy shit. His family was fucked up.
“Yes, I realized that you don’t remember this visit. Would you like to see recordings?”
“No-”
“Wait! You have recordings?” Shaun asked quickly as he rushed to Desmond’s side. Desmond pulled away from the terminal and stepped to the side to evade Shaun’s flailing limbs as he lost his balance, needing to hold onto the terminal to not smack his helmet against the floor.
PROPHET remained quiet.
Shaun turned his head towards Desmond so fast that Desmond almost heard his neck snap. Desmond sighed as he asked, “PROPHET. Do you keep a recording of each day?”
“Of course. All recordings are kept secured in this location’s Akashic Server.”
Akashic…
Wait a minute…
That was what the library in his childhood home was called.
“Then why can’t we access any of it?” Shaun asked as he looked over the holographic screens in front of him, “There’s nothing here.”
Desmond stared at Shaun for a moment before he said, “My mother was paranoid.”
All three of them stared at him and he sighed. He raised his head to stare at the camera once more and asked, “PROPHET, only you and mother could access the Akashic Server, isn’t that right?”
“That’s not entirely correct.” PROPHET answered, “You can also access Akashic Server as long as you are in an appropriate location.”
Well, fuck.
Desmond wanted to sigh.
If he understood what PROPHET was implying…
They didn’t have to go here in the satellite. The library in his childhood home could have worked as well.
There was no way he was going to say that to the team now though. That would mean having to explain what the library was and why Desmond didn’t think of it before. It might even implicate him into knowing state secrets or some shit.
“Okay then…” Desmond rubbed the back of his neck as he asked, “Where’s the nearest ‘appropriate location’ so we can access the Akashic Server?”
“Athens Room will be the nearest location, Desmond. Would you like me to guide you there?” The AI asked.
Desmond turned to look at Rebecca who gave her a thumbs up.
No sign the AI was infected with the Punishing Virus then.
That was good to know.
“Yeah, we’d appreciate that.” Desmond said as he turned to face the camera once more.
The door to their right slid open and a line glowed with golden hue leading them outside as the PROPHET said, “Follow the golden thread, Desmond.”
Desmond looked at Clay to silently asked what to do now. He was, after all, the one in charge of their little ‘group’. Clay glanced at him before turning his attention at Shaun, “Don’t leave the room, Shaun.”
“I wasn’t planning to.” Shaun scoffed as he crossed his arms, “Rebecca hasn’t even told us if the rest of the satellite is safe.”
“It’s…” Rebecca frowned as she waved her hand. The small screens in front of her all disappeared as she reported, “It’s not good. This entire place isn’t safe at all. A lot of areas are like… one firework away from falling apart.”
“So as long as we don’t make any explosion, we’ll be fine?” Shaun dryly asked.
“I mean like… a firework display hundreds of meters away from us could cause enough force to blow chunks off this place.” Rebecca clarified as she lightly tapped Shaun’s helmet.
Damn. Well, that would definitely lower the selling price.
“Same formation and we stay together.” Clay ordered and they all nodded before walking out of the bridge.
Desmond saw the camera follow their movements.
And he was sure that PROPHET was watching them the entire time.
The golden line led them deeper into the facility. They passed a hallway full of locked rooms that all looked the same. The end of the hallway led them to a flight of stairs that led them two levels below before a door slid open, showing them a large empty room. Clay entered first with his sword held in his hands, checking the perimeter.
“Clear.” Rebecca announced from behind them at the same time Clay did and Desmond knew that she was using Clay’s ‘presence’ to remotely check for anything their naked eyes couldn’t see.
He was about to follow Shaun inside the room but stopped. There was no way he could explain what made him turn around.
It wasn’t like there was any reason for him to turn around.
Other than… something inside him whispering to him.
So he did.
“Desmond?” Rebecca asked when she saw him turn around.
There was another door, almost hidden by the stairs. Shrouded in shadows, the only reason Desmond could even see it was because he expected it to be there.
He knew that room…
He had been in that room before.
“Desmond, what’s wrong?” Rebecca asked as she turned around, “Do you see something?”
Desmond glanced at her.
She was a Support type Construct and Desmond could safely assumed her support lied on technical side.
But her vision which should be better than Desmond’s human eyes didn’t see the door at all.
The door must have some kind of security around it that made it ‘invisible’ to the technology behind a Construct’s vision.
“It’s nothing.” Desmond lied, “I was just thinking if the staircase is safe to use later on. It was creaking really badly when we used it.”
Rebecca turned to look at him and laughed, “It’s fine. I brought a grappling hook just in case.”
“I did not give permission for that.” Gavin’s long suffering voice came from their comms and Desmond chuckled lightly as he walked inside. The moment he stepped inside, dim golden light erupted from the ground and a cylindrical terminal that came up to Desmond’s stomach slowly rose at the center of the room. He walked towards it and looked at it. There was no panel whatsoever but the top looked big enough for him to place his hand.
He looked at Clay and raised his hand. Once Clay had turned to look at him, Desmond gestured at the terminal by placing his hand a few inches above the terminal, giving Clay a shrug to show he wasn’t sure if his guess would actually work.
“Rebecca, try connecting to the terminal. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try it Desmond’s way.” Clay said.
Desmond dropped his hand and stepped back from the terminal while Rebecca used the same wire that was connected to the back of her head and looked a lot like her hair to connect to the side of the terminal. Shaun walked towards it as well and began to type on a holographic keyboard at the same time Rebecca did.
A few seconds after they started working on it, the entire room began to let out a loud blaring sound.
It was annoying for sure but it wasn’t loud or intrusive enough to warrant how both Clay and Rebecca clutched their heads and went down on their knees.
Something was wrong.
“Get out of my head!” Clay shouted louder than he should.
“Rebecca?! What’s wrong?!” Shaun went on his knees as well and tried to shake Rebecca who remained motionless, eyes blank with a slightly open mouth.
“Clay? Rebecca? Can anyone hear me?” Gavin shouted and Desmond stepped back from all three of them.
Seeing that Shaun was too busy panicking over Rebecca’s unresponsive body, Desmond stood close to the wall and placed his hand behind him and drew a circle and a dot in the middle of the circle using his finger as he said over their comms, “Clay and Rebecca are down. Gavin, what’s happening?”
“I don’t know. Something’s connected to all the Constructs.” Gavin answered as Desmond felt a small part of the wall behind him slid open. Desmond felt something tap his hand and he grabbed it, recognizing the shape.
Good to know the same ‘secret symbols’ his parents taught him worked here as well.
Although…
“Did that something from this satellite?” Desmond asked, wondering if he just signed his death sentence by grabbing what was behind him.
“No.” Gavin paused and Desmond could feel his hesitance over the comms as he admitted, “I think our space ship was bobby trapped. Whatever hit all the Constructs came from inside our space ship.”
“And it only activated when…” Desmond stared at the terminal, his eyes going wide and ordered, “PROPHET! Don’t let anything connect with the Akashic Server!”
The dim light coming from the ground disappeared and Rebecca shouted as her cord was forcibly removed from the terminal. She fell in Shaun’s arms as the terminal exploded, knocking Shaun off his feet.
“I’ve destroyed all possible route to the Akashic Server.” PROPHET informed him.
Okay.
He didn’t mean to destroy this room.
“Why did you have to do that?” Clay said as he stood awkwardly. Rebecca stood the same way as well.
Like puppets being pulled up by invisible strings.
“Desmond, ru-” Gavin’s order was cut off and Desmond could imagine that he was now having to deal with two Constructs under the control of something else.
Like him.
Desmond glanced at where Shaun was still on the floor and, considering how Desmond could still see his breathing through the movements of his chest but he wasn’t making any attempts to stand or even say anything, Desmond was going to assume the poor man had lost consciousness.
Desmond began to walk backwards as he asked, “Are they alright?”
“Who?” Both Clay and Rebecca asked at the same time. They moved their heads as they answered, “Oh? These Constructs? Really? You’re asking about them?”
The two of them let out the same chuckle, sounding so foreign on their lips, “What a strange boy, you are. Worried about soldiers meant to die pitiful deaths.”
“Don’t worry. They’re still here.” They both poked their right temple, “I’m just… borrowing their bodies at the moment.”
Which, as far as Desmond knew, should be impossible.
Someone was remotely controlling four Constructs at the same time.
He never heard of such a thing.
“So did you come here to steal my mother’s work?” Desmond asked calmly.
“That’s right.” The two of them nodded as they took a step towards him.
He took a step back as he said, “Well, tough luck, buddy. This was the only way to access her work and her AI destroyed it.”
The two of them stared at him for a moment before they laughed. Clay pointed his sword at him at the same time Rebecca took out a small gun and aimed it at him.
“That’s fine.” They said in unison, “All we need is you.”
All they needed was him?
That’s right.
The Akashic Server could only be accessed by either him or this satellite’s AI.
And he was sure the AI had a kill-switch protocol in place if he was ever compromised.
His mother was too paranoid not to include such a thing.
“That’s good.” Desmond said as he quickly aimed his gun on himself, pressing it against his temple, “Don’t move or I blow my head off.”
The two controlled Constructs stared at him as he began to walk backwards, “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?” Desmond asked, “I’m William Miles’ son. I grew up knowing I’m expendable. And what better death is there than giving an asshole like you a big middle finger?”
Just as he was about to step outside the room, he felt something wrap around his ankle and yank him off his feet. At the same time, Clay charged him.
He kept a firm grip of his gun but it was now raised upward.
“We need you alive but we don’t need your limbs!” Clay and Rebecca shouted and Desmond bit his bottom lip to keep quiet as Rebecca’s cord’s grip on his ankle tightened.
Just as Clay was about to reach him, Rebecca crushed his ankle but Desmond refused to let out any noise.
Instead he pulled the trigger.
A loud bang resounded all over the room and both of his attackers dropped to the floor. The grip of Rebecca’s cord loosened and Desmond pulled himself up, ignoring the pain of his broken ankle.
He needed to escape.
This gun could only forcibly shut down any Construct that heard it for a short period and it was a one-time use.
“PROPHET.” Desmond grunted as he limped out of the room.
The door closed behind him and a large red x mark appeared as a hologram in front of it.
“This will only slow them down. You need to go, Desmond.”
Desmond heard a hissing sound behind him and knew that the ‘secret’ door had opened.
Desmond began to limp towards it as he asked, “Does this satellite have any anti-intruder system?”
“Below.” PROPHET answered and that was so cryptic Desmond wanted to throw his useless gun at the camera he knew the PROPHET was using to watch him.
“I’d appreciate it if you can give me an actual firearm or another one of these anti-Construct weaponry.” Desmond said instead of complaining.
He entered the dark room and the door slid closed. Dim golden line appeared on the floor and he felt the room move.
He was descending.
Oh.
This was an elevator.
A hidden elevator.
“There’s not enough power in the satellite for me to create another one. I’m sorry, Desmond.” PROPHET said and Desmond ignored how apologetic the AI sounded.
He knew that there were machines who were given ‘emotions’ to make them more human-like but he also knew that those machines were more or less left on Earth.
His mother was quite eccentric for deciding to make her AI, PROPHET, mimic human emotions.
Hell. The fact that she even had an AI in the first place was courting danger itself considering how the Punishing Virus worked. Even if they were in space, they cannot be too careful.
The elevator didn’t let out any sound when it stopped but the door opened once more and Desmond limped out.
Only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw what was in the middle of the room the elevator had led him to.
There was a man sleeping in the middle of the room, sat on a chair connected to countless wires that rose up to the ceiling. Holograms floated on either side of the chair, showing his vitals.
But all of those felt like noise to Desmond because the man sitting on the chair…
He had the same face as Desmond.
It was clear even from where Desmond was standing that it was a Frame specifically created to house the mind of a Construct. His left arm was metallic and seemed to be missing a ring finger. His face was made of that synthetic skin but from the neck down, he seemed to be made of metal, hidden only by his white robes. Desmond couldn’t see his hair, hidden by a white hood that seemed to shimmer the same prism light as his robes. It must be some kind of light armor that Desmond had never seen before.
Was this the big secret then?
Even when he had been young, had his mother planned for him to become a Construct?
Was this meant to be his Frame?
“Wake him up, Desmond.” PROPHET’s voice was soft.
Desmond froze.
Wake him up?
Did this Frame… already have someone inside it?
Desmond was reminded by a memory he should have been too young to remember in the first place.
“Desmond…” His mother’s voice held the same soft tone as the PROPHET’s, her arms cold as she held him in her arms, “This is…”
“Altaïr.” Desmond called out.
Just as he was about to reach Altaïr’s chair, the ground shook before the ceiling blew open. The blast pushed Desmond off his feet and he fell just by Altaïr’s feet. He placed his hand on top of Altaïr’s as he stood just as Rebecca and Clay jumped down. They glanced around before turning to face Desmond.
“It can’t be…” They both said in unison with wide eyes.
This must have been a surprise.
After all…
There was only one reason why there was a Construct here in the satellite.
The Animus Project.
Desmond leaned forward and Clay charged him as Rebecca aimed her gun at him. He whispered softly, “Please…”
The rest of his words were covered by the sound of Rebecca pulling the trigger.
Desmond knew he wouldn’t be fast enough to dodge that bullet and all he could hope for was that it was aimed at his shoulder or somewhere that wouldn’t kill him instantly.
It never hit him.
Instead, Desmond was pulled towards the chair and pushed to sit on it. His vision was blocked by Altaïr’s back but he was sure Altaïr split the bullet with the sword that had been resting on his belt. He blocked Clay’s charge with the same sword and slammed his left hand on Clay’s shoulder.
Clay let out a scream and jumped back. Red vital fluid bled from his shoulder and Altaïr flicked his left hand, cleaning the same red fluid from the short blade on his left hand in one smooth movement.
Altaïr glanced at Desmond before turning to face the two Constructs. Rebecca began to fire at him but he simply sliced each and every single shot as he calmly said, “Ezio, status report.”
“It’s not good, Altaïr.” PROPHET answered.
Altaïr sighed, “That’s not helpful.”
Altaïr blocked another attack from Clay using his sword and grabbed him by his shirt, using him as a shield to take Rebecca’s shots. Altaïr placed his sword on Clay’s neck as he asked, “What are you?”
Clay smiled even as red vital fluid dripped from the corner of his mouth, “The right question is what are you?”
Altaïr hummed and Desmond knew he was about to slice Clay’s neck off so he shouted, “Don’t kill him! He’s just being controlled!”
Altaïr paused for a brief second and glanced at him. His eyes narrowed before he threw Clay at Rebecca using his left hand. Clay slammed onto Rebecca and they both fell to the ground as Altaïr said, “No wonder your moves were pathetic. You can’t fully control their Frames. They’re probably fighting you right now, aren’t they?”
The two of them began to stand in that strange puppet-like way and Altaïr said, “Ezio. We’re leaving.”
“Finally!” The PROPHET shouted, the excitement only serving to confuse Desmond.
Altaïr took a deep breath before dragging the tip of his sword to the ground as he turned. Once he had turned completely, he slammed his sword to the floor as he said, “Be grateful our commandant is a bleeding heart.”
Both Rebecca and Clay froze, eyes going wide as they gasped. Desmond was sure that, whatever move Altaïr was making, part of it seemed to be able to ensure his fellow Constructs wouldn’t move.
Not that Desmond thought he needed it.
Altaïr’s movements were too fast for Desmond to follow with his naked eyes. One moment, he was just in front of Desmond, the next he seemingly teleported behind Rebecca and Clay. He sheated his sword just as both Rebecca and Clay fell to the floor, their entire Frame littered with cuts. Shallow enough that it wasn’t life threatening but deep enough that it would be hard for them to move for now.
Altaïr turned around and walked back to Desmond, giving him a mocking bow as he said dryly, “I spared their lives as you ordered, commandant.”
That smacked Desmond out of his stupor and he tried to stand as he said, “I’m not your commandant.”
Altaïr straightened his back and looked him over, making Desmond frown as he asked, “Did you hear me? I said-”
Altaïr used his sheath to tap Desmond’s broken ankle, making Desmond hiss as he fell on the chair once more, “What the hell, man?”
“There’s a healing pod in the shuttle.” Altaïr informed him before grabbing Desmond, ignoring Desmond’s surprised shout and his demands to be let go. Smacking him did nothing due to the high defensive capabilities of his Frame and, before long, he was carrying Desmond over his shoulder like a sack of rice.
“You’re such a dick.” Desmond groaned but stayed limp. The adrenaline giving him the necessary boost to keep moving had finally left his system and he was so fucking tired.
Whatever.
Altaïr did save him.
Wait.
“What shuttle?” Desmond asked as he pushed his upper body and twisted just enough so he can catch Altaïr in his periphery.
Altaïr walked to the other end of the room and the entire wall opened, revealing a smaller room.
No.
“Is this…”
Holy shit.
Desmond was placed inside a pod just as the wall slid close and he gasped when Altaïr quickly took off his helmet, throwing it behind him without any care. The pod closed and liquid began to fill the pod slowly. Desmond has no idea what this liquid was meant to do but he can see the hologram that was filling the pod’s surface were focused on his vitals and checking his body for wounds and other ‘foreign’ materials.
“Waitwaitwait-” Desmond slammed his hands on the pod as he shouted, “How is this a shuttle?! This looks more like an emergency escape craft!”
“We call it an emergency shuttle.” PROPHET answered unhelpfully.
“Are you planning to shoot us to space?!” Desmond shouted.
Altaïr continued to flip switches on the small control panel in front as he answered, “We’re already in space.”
“You know what I mean!” Desmond shouted as the liquid filled up to his waist.
“We’re not staying in space.” Altaïr finally answered before turning to face him. The screens in front of the control panel began to show a countdown, “We’re going to Earth.”
Desmond stared at Altaïr in complete silence, his lips forgetting any words that would help him describe what he felt at the moment.
The shuttle began to shake slightly and Desmond could feel the quiet hum of the engine even from inside his pod. The liquid has reached up to his shoulder as Altaïr explained, “Our enemy came from Babylonia. We can’t return there.”
“So we’re escaping to Earth?”
To the world desiring the death of all of mankind?
“Escaping? No.” Altaïr clarified, “We’re going to get Ezio’s Frame and wake up Ratonhnhaké:ton. Then we’ll hunt them all down.”
Desmond had more questions but the liquid had finally filled the pod.
And he realized that some kind of anesthesia was included in the liquid. His lungs were filled with the liquid and it took a second before he could breathe once more.
By that point…
The anesthesia had taken hold of him.
And Desmond really wished he didn’t wake up just to find himself stranded on Earth with a Construct of unknown origin.
But considering the day he had?
He wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up to a crashed shuttle, all things considered.