Saber

A nice chilling breeze came across the rooftop as the twinkling provinces decorated the night. Saber felt strange not finding them to be the most beautiful thing in her sight, but the massive glass towers of Coensus were genuine works of art. They were so tall that the little grey puffs moving across the black sky split in half as they flowed across the city. Another pop caught Saber’s attention. When she followed the sound, all that remained was a bright red flash of color. Celebration was still underway for the first day of the Coensus Plunder, the largest technological showcase in the galaxy. The system would be dense with tourists from all three Edge Kingdoms, the Cendorian Kingdom, and A.R.M.S. as hundreds of companies and governments showed off their new toys. All hangars were occupied with a ship from some other province within the galaxy, while vehicles took foreigners across the system’s Council Seat for a celebration. It was a perfect environment for Saber and her Ego. Since the target hadn’t arrived yet, she quickly examined herself in the reflection of the tower’s glass. Saber traced her long, toned legs as they sat in the black bodysuit. Running along the inside of her thigh, she knew a net of thousands of small projectors were waiting to be powered for her transformation. The slightly bulky wrist display had a hard connection to her… well, her. The battery would pulse the needed energy into the suit, but there was no complex putting any data into the projectors. It baffled Saber how powerful she was sometimes. Her beauty, though, there was never a doubt in her mind why she looked so good in the black skintight bodysuit. Many times, in the mirror, she found herself entranced by the body she had crafted over her years. A plump, toned backside let her jump higher while making her every man’s desire. The legs that carried it weren’t too thick and weren’t too thin, showing a life of genuine activity, not just stimulation to a muscle group. Her chest maybe was a little large for her frame, but she never received a complaint. Perhaps she should’ve listened to her mother and become a model for those aesthetic companies. Unfortunately, Saber inherited her father’s addiction. Her heart started beneath her chest as her wrist display notified her.

She sat up from the glass balcony rail and brought up her Hive Visionaries to see her target arrive in his HT-Soaring by Hierarchy Vehicles. It was a grey four-doored blocky beast that stayed nearly two feet off the ground. Four silver metal spheres carried the vehicle across the Coensus’ streets and when her target arrived at his location, the four spheres would shut off their magnetic tether to the vehicle and lower him that near two feet so he could step out. When he stepped out this time, a petite, blonde woman was holding his hand as she stepped out of the Soaring. With her target preparing his entry into Lovelies Club, Saber switched the sight of her Hive Visionaries to conduction so she could see the electrical current of the man’s security. If the rumors were true, every single man beside him would have a specific flow to them. Disgust filled her heart when she confirmed the rumors. Her target was a Mechanical Supremacist. Every single one of his men had an electrical current that fit the more primitive flow of a Bloodline Prosthetic. Saber realized, though, that she didn’t really care. She could hide, fight, become one of them if she needed to. For the moment, she had to scan only one more thing. The HT-Soaring had its electrical flow in the usual places, but it had so much more in the motor spheres than the company’s standard model. Of course, for a man of her target’s stature, more luxuries were certainly inside. Another load pop went off to her right. It left a bright green color this time. Out of curiosity, Saber quickly flicked her Visionaries over to see what the source was. A few miles out, there was a massive vessel holding all the usual partyers. Women showing off their sculpted bodies, men trying to acquire said bodies, and the more focused people who simply wanted someone specific. That was enough information for the moment; it was time.

Saber put the Visionaries in their utility holster and drew from the same belt, her Exact, with a twelve round magazine and tactical slide. It was a beautiful weapon; she would even swear it was more accurate than any energy weapon that existed. Perhaps it was a biased view since it was a gift from her mother, but it also never failed her. Once she was satisfied with the weapon’s readiness, Saber went to her wrist display. She swiped through and first activated her magnet grapple before powering the thousands of projectors in her suit. Saber looked down and saw only the small twinkles of light coming from her body. To the outside observer, there was nothing. Usually, some part of the Ego technology recorded the surrounding area, so it knew what part of the environment it had to project. Saber’s power removed it, along with half the suit’s technology. Her peripherals were all that she needed to complete the image for any observer. All that remained was for Saber to get down onto the street.

She stepped over the glass rail and lowered her right hand onto the metal beam that ran up and down the entire height of the three-thousand-foot building. Saber only had to descend sixty floors since she needed a vantage point of the club entrance. After one deep breath, she threw her feet out into the air and felt her right hand grip the building. As she hung from the sixty-first floor, Saber went into her wrist display and brought the magnet’s power down to thirty percent, so it could only pace her acceleration towards the streets. A few minutes of the wind rushing through her short black hair got Saber to the street. Those small pops were bursting color all over the Council Seat. The official first day of the Coensus Plunder was about to end, but everyone on the streets and in the clubs knew the officials didn’t decide when the day was over. Of course, Coensus never really ended a day. Someone would always be awake, celebrating the Coensus Plunder in their own way. Saber, though, had to get on her ship and leave this province once she finished her errand. Once Divitiae rose over the maze of glass towers, her opportunity would be lost. She passed the oblivious pedestrians and entered the Lovelies Club. A quick song was being played on the custom laser cylindric index. Lights were being flashed along with the fast beat, so Saber had to change her appearance. She couldn’t predict what the lights would do. Instead, she had to make a constant appearance for herself. What did she want to look like? The mood of the filled club was obvious. People wanted their desires fulfilled for the night, so creating a sexy attire would blend her in. That would only get her so far, though. Eventually, a guard would want to stop her. She quickly made her decision after that thought. In her mind, she had the perfect image of one of the target’s henchmen formed and took it on. She was as tall as most men, so it wasn’t shocking when a shorter man looked up at her and gave a quick wide-eyed glance in that single moment the lights flashed. Clearly, her image of a broad chested man with a deep scar down the side of his temple was successfully projected. Saber grinned as she buttoned her illusionary black attire jacket and scanned the flashing room for her target. Red, blue, green, bright white, and purple all flashed in quick succession as the magnets at the end of the room made colored bubbles of water flow in a slow, sensuous flow above the dancing patrons. In all that visual chaos and seductive dance moves, she saw a man doing the exact opposite. Up on a second floor, looking down on the dance floor, a man tapped behind his ear while he stood in a rigid guard. Saber didn’t hesitate moving towards him. He was most likely guarding some sort of luxury platform where her target was playing with that girl of his. A disguised Saber pushed through the crowd to a large ramp on the left side that led to the upper platforms. The black glass floor slowly brought Saber to her rigid guard.

In the flashing lights, Saber could see the reflection of the man’s prosthetic arm. This is when it occurred to her. She needed to add some prosthetic to her disguise. She already had the scar at the temple, so she simply added a prosthetic eye to match the injury. The flashing lights covered the shuttering of the projectors as they switched the eye. Saber learned long ago simply being confident got her anywhere. As she passed by the guard, he gave her a strange glance, but all she did was nod as she entered the luxury platform. The man didn’t want to get in trouble, make a fool of himself, or worse, be wrong, so he had no choice. Saber’s disguise was a real person in his detail. Of course, anyone in a higher position on the target’s security team wouldn’t accept that, so she put herself in the club’s appropriate attire. After three rapid flashes of green, purple, and white, the broad chested security guard became that desire Saber admired so much. Her toned legs would tease through the slit of her blue dress as she passed the other patrons. She couldn’t see any of what she wore, but she could see the reactions of those around her. Men gave a drooling stare while other women gave that quick jealous glance. The security guards on the luxury platform simply noted her as she passed. Saber brought her sharp brown eyes, surrounded by a blue glittery shadow, over to the right side of the club. She noticed she could journey deeper into the Lovelies on her side, while there was only a door on the right side. Saber suspected her target was behind that door, but she had to verify. She pushed by the bridge hidden behind the water display and saw the dance floor below. Her target wasn’t in any of the luxury platforms and when she looked over at the Lovelies’ second, more exclusive dance floor, all she saw were the usual celebrities. Mainstream artists, whether singers or theatrical entertainers, fashion artisans, and of course, one of the winners of the Coensus Plunder. Levis Velo had on his best attire, as two women kept their bodies pressed against him. All the usual people, and no sign of her target. He was across that hidden bridge. Saber started her walk back and noticed a guard keeping a close eye on her. Her turning around was suspicious, but no one could act on it yet. She simply passed by the man as his Bloodline Prosthetic eye dilated its old metal shutter to focus on her. There would be a fight. They blocked off the right ramp, and no one was on the luxury platforms by the door. Her target had a very secure detail. It kept a wide perimeter, had an angle of every section of the club, and each individual had training in melee combat. Not only were the men physically superior, but they were Mechanically Superior as well. She would have to use their own momentum against them if she wanted to get to her target. Her slow walk ended at the start of the bridge, hidden behind the water display. Already two large men were waiting for her at the other end while the rest of their friends, hiding in Lovelies, started converging towards her. Saber couldn’t draw her Exact yet or she would reveal her Ego technology. With one deep breath, she started crossing and immediately stopped as the two guards took off their attire jackets. The magnetic seam on their dress shirts was pulled back so they could show their Mechanical Supremacy. Since they were Bloodline Prosthetics, Saber could see the cogs, wires, and cables move as the men readied themselves for a fight. She focused in on them and knew they were underestimating her. They knew their prosthetics put them above most men. Unfortunately for them, Saber was above everyone.

She could hear them thinking about their next moves. The one on her left wanted to throw a right hook, while the other wanted to jab her straight in the stomach. All she had to do was throw herself against the left side rail of the bridge. Once that was done, she’d throw up two projections of herself and watch the two men fall. Saber heard their minds planning another set of moves, but it was completely pointless. She charged them, sank into that left glass rail, dodging both mechanical punches, then threw up her two projections. When the two men went to dodge her projections’ punches, their skulls found one another. Their stunned state made Saber’s very real jabs to their throats easy incapacitations. A sudden set of clanks behind her caused Saber to sprint for a nearby metal pillar. The moment she disappeared behind it, she heard four rounds ricochet against the pillar. Weapons previously holstered were drawn and opening fire on her. Saber knew she needed time to unlock the door, so these men had to be removed. She drew her Exact and sent out a projection to go out into the open. Immediately, rounds were being fired at it, so Saber peered around the corner and saw two men shooting at the decoy. Before she heard their minds become confused, she took the time she needed to shoot out both of their kneecaps. With that done, she went to her wrist display, during the screams of panic in the club, and began hijacking the keypad of the door.

That hard click of the magnet coming undone signaled for Saber to plan. There would be at least six men behind this door. She could trick them and become one of their own, but it was too risky. She couldn’t engage in melee with Mechanical Supremacists fairly, and they already knew about her Ego Technology. Saber had to borrow from the C.S.F.’s strategy set. After she refocused with a single deep breath, Saber forced open the door and stepped back. No one fired, so the men were definitely highly trained.

One voice came from the hall, “You two go. They could already be in the room.” Saber’s Exact remained in the Ego’s shroud, so she shouldn’t be seen, but when she shot, the weapon’s own flash would reveal her. That was her utility reason for not shooting the two men that came into the club. Her main one was she didn’t want to kill anyone unnecessarily. The career she chose only removed thieves, syndicate enforcers, cheats, and all other scavengers of society. Even if these men were Mechanical Supremacists, there were too many stories of men like them changing their ways for her to want them dead. Also, she knew nothing about her target, except the fact that he had something she wanted. As the two guards entered the club’s dance floor, Saber slipped past them and closed the door behind them, causing their friends in the hall to open fire at the doorway’s general area. Saber felt a round shift the air around her black hair as she examined her surroundings. She was in some sort of high-end kitchen. Nitrogen coolers left a chilling mist across the floor as the marble counters were covered in sharp knives and unused ingredients for dishes. There were three men pointing their weapons at the door just as the white hallway opened up into the kitchen. One was moving towards the door to unlock it for his two friends. Saber waited for the moment the door opened. As the flashing-colored lights of the club started pouring in, Saber sprinted over and pushed her Exact into one of the back men’s kneecap before she pulled the trigger. He collapsed in a scream of agony as Saber pressed the barrel into the other kneecap. Another man fell down in tears while the three men by the door spun around. Saber went back to the left side of the kitchen and let the men pass before executing their kneecaps. She slid across the white marble floor and fired her weapon point blank in each right leg. All five men were down on the ground, screaming in pain, while one man in her target’s detail remained. The man was standing by a shining black metal door at the end of the back hall, with nothing in his biological hands. His natural eyes stared down the hallway in panic. Saber slowly started moving towards him, hoping not to step too loudly, but she noticed the part of him that was his Bloodline Prosthetic, his throat. At that moment, she could see his pupils dilate beyond natural limits. A Bloodline Prosthetic throat was old enough to have an Overdrive outlawed everywhere in the galaxy. Saber sprinted and started closing the distance as gills in the man’s throat started sucking in copious amounts of air. Shrieking Cords would rip through Saber’s heart and cause it to stop beating. Luckily, as the man went to exhale, Saber slid beneath his legs and shot one round into his groin so his mouth would send the sonic blast straight into the floor. The sonic boom blasted into the floor and threw the man into the ceiling, while Saber felt herself get thrown back into the black metal door.

When her eyes opened again, Saber saw her kneecapped guards still writhing on the floor. She wasn’t unconscious for very long, so her target was still behind that black metal door. Once she slowly got up from the floor, Saber checked her wrist display. There was no damage done to her Ego Technology. She looked around the white floor and saw two blurry Exacts ten feet away on her left side. When his hand reached out and only felt one, her eyes focused in again, turning it back to the one. It didn’t seem ruined, but Saber wanted to examine it before depending on it again. With the Exact placed in her holster on her belt, Saber carefully walked to the holographic display of the black metal door. She went to her wrist display and watched as the decoding complex began discovering the passcode. Three numbers were selected, and a loud puff of air pushed itself out of the door. Saber took control of herself a moment and let adrenaline flood her body before quickly jumping to the right side of the door as it retracted into the white wall. She checked her wrist display one last time, saw she was still invisible, and decided to quietly to step into the room. It was a private office that looked down at the luxury platform of Lovelies. The room was made of some black marble that had inside it veins of blood red rock. Her target was sitting down at a desk while his girl, with Luxurious Skin, sparkled on a nearby red chaise. The man wasn’t nervous, scared, or anything. In fact, he seemed amused. Saber remembered all the information she had gathered on him. Jabez was a man who controlled a crucial part of the odalisque trade on the system Idyll in the province of DO2. He and his Mechanical Supremacists rarely left the system unless it was for something like the Coensus Plunder. He also was one of the few private owners of a Mechanical Ego. Part of why Jabez was so difficult to kill was because no machine could see him. The Mechanical Ego shrouded him from every sensor, eye, and Tracer complex. Saber needed that Ego before Divitiae rose over the Coensus horizon. She listened to his mind and found out how clever he was made to be. The man knew if he was supposed to be dead, he would’ve been shot by a rifle as he entered Lovelies. Saber had to speak with him. She hesitantly drew her Exact and then thought the shroud of invisibility away. As the scales of the projectors shuttered Saber back into reality, Jabez grinned.

“Saber, the best of the best is after me. How flattering. Why are you after me is the only question I have?” She didn’t waste any time.

“The Ego, I want it.” Jabez chuckled.

“Afraid of fighting machines?” Saber shrugged.

“A certain set of machines, yes.” By the risen brow, Saber knew she had revealed too much.

Jabez asked, “Whose set of machines? There aren’t many people with unique… oh, you either have a shit brain or a steel pair.”

Saber replied boldly, “Trust me, it’s the latter. Give me the Ego.” Jabez shook his head.

“No. First off, my ass is outside of Idyll. I’m in his territory and I’m not messing with him. Second, his machines don’t work that way. Trust me, the Ego will be useless.”

Saber got closer with her Exact as she asked, “What do you mean?”

Jabez started playing with his ring as he explained, “These machines… their A.S.I. isn’t normal. Detection, security, pursuit algorithms, travel, aggression predictions, facial decoding, body decoding, Visual and Auditory Tracing, the fact I’ve only said a fifth of what that A.S.I. can do, that’s not a normal thing. No, no, you, my dear, have to be shit brained. But that doesn’t matter.” Saber could hear the truth, both in his voice and in his mind. The Solicitor General was a strange man with powerful tools. Another thought suddenly lurched into the man’s mind. He felt relief, as something was on its way to save him. Saber pressed her weapon into his skull.

“What did you call?” The question forced a single image into his mind. A schematic flashed into her mind. In a long purple, yellow print, she saw a Cendorian Security Machine with a large caliber weapon. That was why those four spheres on the HT-Soaring had so much power. Saber didn’t have any more time to discuss. She had to run.

She sprinted out of the office towards the first elevation chamber she saw. Saber threw herself in and sent the chamber to the floor she had planned for her escape. That immense anxiety she felt in her chest was fueling her calculations of where those four machines would be. They could carry a Soaring at up to ninety miles per hour while being magnetically tethered. She had to separate herself from their range somehow. The few moments she had in her ascension allowed for a hijacking of the building’s security complex. When she brought up the holographic display of her wrist complex, she saw shadows quickly speeding through the white halls of the tower as they tried closing the distance to their target. Suddenly, her holographic went black. The S.I. of the Cendorian Machines was using the same complex to track Saber. It knew exactly what floor the chamber was speeding to and already calculated her likely escape route. She had to calm her mind these few seconds so she could plan. Saber took a deep breath and remembered something about security or hunting S.I. They favored visual targets before auditory. She could give herself a few seconds before the Cendorian Machines fired on her. Saber had never pushed the range of the Ego projectors past three feet from her, but she wouldn’t be comfortable without five feet. The S.I. wasn’t too smart. If she shrouded herself and made the projectors create a vague outline of her, the machines would shoot it. The chamber lurched to a halt and opened to a set of unoccupied offices. She had a straight line to a wall of glass windows a hundred and eighty feet away. The moment the doors opened wide enough, Saber sprinted straight at them and imagined herself running five feet behind herself. Hopefully, it would work. She could hear the metal spheres rolling across the stone floor as they closed in. She was a hundred and thirty feet away when she heard the machines on her floor. For a moment, it was only four of the same sound, the grinding of metal on stone, but she knew the S.I. decided to create a kill box when a loud shattering of glass filled the hallway. All four machines were speeding to get ahead of the projection, smashing every glass wall on either side of Saber. She had only seventy more feet before the window. Her Exact would have to shoot out the glass at the very last moment to keep her illusion going. She could see the sheen of the chrome armor in both of her peripherals as the machines sped after her projection. The loud percussion of their weapons began as they started shooting at the projection. Flashes filled the room and reflected off their chrome armor, while Saber kept sprinting for the window. Only forty feet remained, so she drew her Exact and had a bitter realization. Her original plan was to slide down the slope of the glass tower’s massive atrium for the residential spaces below. If she followed through, the security machines would roll after and kill her before she ever reached the street. Quickly, she used the last twenty feet and sprinted for the right corner of the building in front of her. Cutting such a hard diagonal forced her to shoot through the same glass walls her pursuers were crashing through. The first round broke the S.I.’s pursuit of the projection, and Saber saw one machine spilt open its section of chrome armor to open fire. She heard it fire a few rounds as she shot out the window. Saber leapt, went to her wrist display, so she could increase the power of her magnet grapple, and latched onto the massive metal column running up the corner of the glass structure. Once attached, she quickly flung herself around, giving her cover as the S.I. of the Cendorian Security Machines predicted her next move. It knew Saber would get herself to the street. Security inside the building was on high alert, and the white and neon yellow flash of Coensus Steward Pursuit Vehicles was flooding towards the Lovelies club. All the S.I. had to do was calculate her route and the machines’ intercept course. Saber peeked around the corner as she descended and saw the four chrome spheres launch themselves out of the window. They cracked the atrium windows as they landed, but the chrome spheres were unphased and barreled towards the street. Saber took away some of her magnet grapple’s power, so her descent increased. The machines would get to the street first, but they would have to round a whole street corner before getting sight of her. She looked down and felt blessed when she saw a dense river of people walking on the side path. Saber created some random citizen in her mind and finally reached the street. A few people noticed her sudden appearance, but no one cared. They were too busy, too annoyed, and too arrogant to care about anything else other than their own tasks. Saber turned and went towards where the machines would round the corner and saw the four chrome spheres appear on the side path. Their S.I. instructed the machines to search for Saber farther ahead since that was natural prey behavior. She casually walked past the machines as a well-dressed appraiser and escaped unharmed with plenty of time for her personal task.

An empty, dark glass building was in Saber’s sight. She had been undisturbed as she walked through the grounds surrounding the tower. It was tall-nearly the tallest in the Council Seat-and had a strange coil to it, making it seem like a blend of natural and synthetic architecture. Saber had been staring at it for nearly ten minutes. The moment she stepped onto the grounds, there was that Psychic Dread her Mystics mentor taught her many years ago. Something about this tower was only sensible with her mind-not her brain, not her body-her mind. It left chills on her spine as she followed the structure up to where its tip pointed towards the provinces above. Ships were flying in and out of the atmosphere above it, but they all sped away faster than most ships would. Or perhaps that was Saber’s own fearful perception. Many knew the Solicitor General’s reputation, and few had a kind view of him. His Solicitors all lived in properties he owned and drove vehicles that were completely exclusive to his company. Carter-Dixon, Malcolm Baluster, Hierarchy, all of them had a specific design that belonged to him and him alone, a galvanized armored obsidian steel hybrid. Every single vehicle had pitch black windows so no one could see business being done, and it was rumored no one could ever detect any of his assets. Saber confirmed that rumor not too long ago when she examined the building with her Hive Visionaries. There was an electrical current, but it was small, too small for the rumored A.S.I. he had present across the galaxy. Everyone under him had the same A.S.I. serving them, whether they were in the Divitiae province or the Gallance province that was at the other end of the Cendorian Kingdom. Saber wouldn’t be able to know where any security measures were, but she needed this. She took a deep breath and focused her mind on what she desired. A single number appeared in her mind: one hundred ninety-four. It was most likely a floor number. There was only one step left, entering the building. Saber knew it wouldn’t be likely, but she first wanted to try opening the front glass doors. She grabbed the handle, expecting that strong tug, only to feel the glass panel fly open. That Dread was growing in her chest, nearly crushing her heart. Every instinct told her to walk away. She couldn’t listen, though; she needed her desire. Defying every voice inside her head, Saber stepped through the door.

A nearly paralyzing chill wrapped around her. That feeling of something watching her was magnified beyond any bearable level. Those instincts screamed for her to leave, but she only had to focus on that desire. She walked further into the open lobby and felt her heart drop when a dark red line of light appeared off in the corners of the room. They shot around the perimeter of the lobby until they outlined a glass elevation chamber at the opposite end of Saber. The glass rotated behind the wall so Saber could enter. So much space between her and that chamber. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave the light of Coensus’ four moons. The moment she stepped forward, Saber would plunge into a deep shadow. Something kept focusing on her, staring, but there was no sign of any Visual or Auditory Tracers. Her desire kept pushing her forward. With a sudden quick pace, Saber plunged into the darkness, feeling that Dread rush towards her from the shadows. It gained and gained until she finally got into the elevation chamber. All the Dread felt like it was sitting outside the chamber. Before Saber pushed the display, she wanted to know if she was imagining it. She slowly reached her left hand back into the lobby. Nothing. There was no violent reaction of any kind. It just seemed like a place that didn’t trust her. She brought her hand back in and looked down at the chamber’s display, only to find a panel of marble and obsidian buttons. One hundred ninety-four was pressed, and the chamber started its quick ascension.

Since the chamber didn’t shift from its straight path, there was a normal central column that would take her to one of those twisted floors. Saber drew her Exact and felt that Dread again. She was being watched, a focused, cautious watch. After focusing her mind, she felt nothing predatory. The Dread just stayed in her heart as the chamber slowed. Finally, she brought her Exact up to her eye, and the chamber opened. A flood of pale moonslight came through the twisted windows. She could tell the floor was made of a white marble, but there were these black veins that ran through it all. Her soul just felt so uneasy. Saber stepped onto the floor, expecting something to activate. Quiet, a heavy quiet. Step after step added more weight as she pushed into the center. It wasn’t enough to pull her off her desire, though. In the open circle of marble offices, one desk in the center of four small glass walls piqued her interest. She took one step toward it and felt a sudden chill freeze her. Something quickly gave Saber the impression the moment she moved for it; whatever was lurking in a different plane would manifest. She needed that desire; it had been too much time spent for her not to take it. Saber's only decisions were taking her first step and waiting to fight whatever it was, or sprint for the desire. She had already braved the lobby. There was no reason not to brave the thing itself. Saber kept her Exact ready as she stepped forward towards the office. Something shifted in the walls.

When she spun around, two pieces of the white marble wall came down in the pale light of the four moons. Next to the chamber door came two glowing blood red lights.

Before she could react, the machines produced a menacing voice so powerful, deep, and terrifying that when it said that dreadful word, “Saber,” her blood chilled. That voice shouldn’t have known that unless it had access to the Stewards’ database. How far did the Solicitor General’s power reach? She couldn’t see what was carrying those two lights. Their speed could’ve been equal or greater than hers, Saber wouldn’t be sure. Shooting at them was pointless. A single round wouldn’t do anything based on the General’s known power. Saber made a quick decision. She spun back around and sprinted for the desk. Metallic footsteps followed her. She ripped open the glass door of the office and quickly rummaged through the desk. The glowing red lights eventually brought the machines into the pale light as they reached the office door. Saber, in a quick glance, saw they were old machines. Cogs were moving, pistons acted as tendons for the arms of the machine, such primitive technology, yet they moved so naturally. She felt her brain shutter at the sight. They moved too naturally. They opened the door as Saber found the cylindric index she needed. All that remained was her escape. She turned and shot out a window. Saber went to leap, but a giant metal shutter clamped down onto the floor before she could move. That was a standard security measure. Maybe these machines were only auditory and visual. Saber slid underneath one of their legs, noticing that neither of them went to strike as she did so, then shuttered into a projection of her surrounding environment. When she looked over, the elevation chamber was sealed shut and suddenly all the metal shutters were clamping shut. That Dread nearly split her heart in half. Saber was in pure darkness as the two red eyes were charging towards her. Suddenly, a white light in a stairwell turned on. Saber sprinted for it, hearing the metal feet just behind her. As the white light flooded over her, Saber ran down the marble-obsidian steps towards the lobby, but she heard another set of steps clomping up the stone. All she had for an escape was another floor lit only by the four moons. She sprinted in and took in her surrounds. The room was a little more intricate. There were obsidian walls she could blend into. With a pure black projection, Saber pressed herself up against the farthest wall and watched as the two glowing red eyes reached the doorway access to the stairs. The primitive cogs held still as the two eyes stared right in her direction. Saber watched them slowly walk towards her.

She just kept saying in her mind, “They can’t see me, they can’t see me, they can’t-”

Her heart nearly stopped when that deep menacing voice countered with, “False, Saber.” She drew her Exact, shuttered her projection, and pointed the weapon straight at the machines.

“Get away from me!” The two machines stopped and stared at her with their single glowing red eyes. Behind them, a silhouette of a man appeared from the bright white light of the stairwell. A man in three-piece attire walked across the obsidian floor towards Saber. He had on a white jacket, a black vest, and a grey dress shirt that seemed tied together by a thin black ribbon collar. She pointed her weapon straight at the man as he approached. The machines were unphased. They knew she wouldn’t shoot because she had said to herself that she wouldn’t. She finally screamed, “HOW CAN YOU HEAR MY THOUGHTS?”

The man held up his hands and replied, “I’m sure you know well it can be done.”

She protested, “But these are…” Saber couldn’t finish the statement. They were something else. They weren’t the manifestation of an Advanced Synthetic Intelligence; they were the manifestation of an Intelligence. These machines walked naturally, but nothing natural gives such a Psychic Dread. Saber only had one option, which was tell a truth they already knew, “This index has my father’s last mission on it. I just wanted to know what happened.” The suspicious man with amber eyes nodded.

“That’s understandable. Quite a dramatic way to get that information, though.”

Saber could tell by the man’s general confidence and prowess that he was the man everyone feared, “Your reputation didn’t make it seem like asking was a possibility.” He chuckled.

“Or did you just want to take on the challenge?” Saber swallowed her anxiety from that question. The man knew her nearly perfectly, somehow. She nodded and waited to hear the man say, “You don’t need the index. Your suspicions are right.” Saber felt a tear run down her face. Her father died nobly, like a hero. The Solicitor General was quick to say after that, “So, will you leave now?” Saber watched as the man’s hand went out graciously back towards the lit stairwell. She nodded and started walking forward. As she passed the General, he said, “May the Light Guide your Path, Saber.” The Path, the man was a worshipper of the Light, unless, of course, he knew those Boxers everyone feared, sometimes more than him.

Saber took a deep breath of relief and said, “I will. Thank you.” The machine on his left held out its hand so Saber would give back the index. She obliged and watched as the three figures started walking away. Suddenly, Saber grew bold again. She wanted to know the Intelligence these machines had. She took her focusing breath and tried finding that mind. In one quick painful snap, she felt her mind flood with a single thought: sleep.

When her eyes opened again, Saber was on her heavy fighter on a Lightway back to the Cendorian Kingdom. Her green bed sheets covered her, but she still had on her Ego Technology. She wasn’t sure how she got there. Saber got up from her bed and went over to the ship’s controls to see something suddenly flicker in her right peripheral. One of her holographic control displays had just switched from blood red to gold in a quick second. Jabez was right, that was no A.S.I. and the Solicitor General was certainly a man not to be messed with. For the first time in a long time, Saber closed her eyes and thanked the Light for this blessing of life. She felt another a flood of joy as she remembered her father. Saber felt tears fall down her cheeks as she was blessed with telling her mother the good news about her father.