1 Chapter 1: Skeleton Soldier

/Beginning battle report: March 17th, 2611:

I stood on top of the hill the M1 Carrier, Designation 615, had landed on, overlooking the plains.

A delegation of exactly 7 of the unknown native species, mounted on chitin covered fauna approached the landing cordon. Classification: Sapients.

This species represented a 90% match against humans. Evaluation of threat level of local sapients put them well below any danger threshold. The AI of our landing ship, Designation AI615, predicted the chances of losing an armed engagement against this force as well below 1%. AI615 noted effective battle plans to minimize enemy casualties, a necessity when dealing with an unknown and potentially hostile force. This was just one part of the data it was processing — it was also dealing with sampling the soil, the atmosphere, radiation and light levels, scanning local fauna and creating topological maps of the region.

Their weaponry was crude. The soldiers wielded a motley mix of spears, swords and shields, which indicated the world possessed advanced metallurgy. The deeper ranks of the army carried bows of enormous size. There was a technological mismatch from known records of iron age civilizations. Genealogical enhancement should not exist for locals at this technology level.

All signs pointed to this local civilization as the remnants of a lost colony.

They spoke, gesturing wildly towards our ship and the cordon of headless mechs which secured the landing site.

System clocks indicate that the discussion lasted for approximately 9 minutes, 57 seconds. After sufficient analysis and reverse engineering, including scanning local settlements and combining the data with information collected from the ships in orbit, AI615 could create a rough version of the local language, and the headless mech at the front of the cordon translated information my way.

"—waste of time!" One of the armed sapients pulled free their sword. It flashed with alien light, glowing white, and I approached it from my post on the hill, sending out an internal message on all channels.

/OFF01 assuming political delegation responsibilities.

The cordon, a dozen ranks thick, split with a single mechanical motion. A hundred bots acted in unison, parting with a single motion that shook the ground as each moved to open a path. I proceeded through the middle, slowly, to show that I was not taking hostile action.

To satisfy human empathy requirements, officer designated mechs were granted a head with a bonus suite of sensory functions.

//Greetings native. Are you the political party in charge of local planetary administration?

The natives jumped back at my words, but I held my hands behind my back. The display in my face moved between a pleasing and relaxing pattern of colors and shapes, meant to distract and calm humans talking to me. It would work for these natives as well.

"Demon, why have you come here? Do you speak for the dragon behind you?"

/Query: Dragon

AI615: Dragon: Medieval Fantasy creature, known for avarice. Fictitious. Native Sapient is likely referring to M1 615 Carrier as Dragon.

/ACK

//I am the current representative of AI615. We have come on a fully autonomous colonization and terraforming mission.

"Conqueror! I told you. That — "one native spat to the side. "That monster is here to try to claim itself a piece of the continent. This is the fault of the Young King for breaking the line of tradition. The end is upon us all."

//Incorrect. We are not here on a conquest mission. Native. Do you represent the local planetary administration?

The seven delegates were backing away towards the standing army. The entire army was alive, twitching with a restless movement that reverberated through their ranks like a sound wave. Despite my protest, most of the delegates' hands moved towards their crude weapons.

/Request: authorization for pre-emptive strike.

AI615: Denied. Local sapients determined to be a non-threat.

My sensors followed the delegates as they retreated.

I started to back up into the landing cordon secured by ranks of mechs.

"Fire!" The word came, quick and hard, and then the world erupted in violence.

Arrows pierced through metal machines, ripping them apart with impacts on the level of rail launched kinetic munitions — mechs exploded. The ground tore itself from under me and I fell face first as dirt exploded up. My sensors detected a raining volley of arrows, and then it was over.

AI615: Retaliation authorized— all weapons, open fire.

I rose to my feet, lifting my left arm, which ended in a tall, narrow slit now burning with power, and aimed back towards the line of enemies.

A kinetic projectile bounced off the side of my head as the second volley fell, matched by the beaming noises of energy weaponry and the world exploding around me.

/END BATTLE REPORT: Sensor data interrupted.

***

//SYSTEM REBOOTING

"Fuck! Shut up!"

//DIAGNOSTICS STARTING

//SCANNING LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

//CAVERNS. UNKNOWN FAUNA DETECTED. SOIL COMPOSITION STANDARD. BEGINNING ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD SCAN. POISON NOT DETECTED. RADIATION NOT DETECTED—

"God, will you shut up! Fuck, they're going to hear before I finish animating you! Come the fuck on! Stupid ass idea. I should've just animated a fucking skeleton! No, have to be too fucking good for bones, don't I…"

//VISUAL SENSORS ONLINE.

I took in the view of an unknown sapient on top of me. He repeatedly stabbed into my outermost layer with a metal knife, carving crude figures into my arm.

//THREAT DETECTED. COMBAT AUTHORIZED. TERMINATING

I lifted my arm.

//DIAGNOSTIC UPDATE: INTERNAL MOTOR FAILURE. INTERNAL POWER SOURCE BELOW 1% AND FALLING

I failed to lift my arm as my internal motors refused to respond.

/Query: Combat Report

"I know you're confused. Listen. I need you to shut up." The figure leaning over me resembled a man, but more gaunt. His ears receded into sharp points, his features sharp and alien. "I've got three fucking Knights Templar about to slam down the mouth of this cave and stick a sword up my asshole, so I need you to shut up and listen." He whispered in a hissing tone through his teeth, and continued working the whole time, defacing my exterior with more and more symbols. As he finished his sentence, he added one last cut, and they all glowed.

"Listen. I'm going to give you just enough fucking power and a directive, alright? It's everything I got. I'm betting it all, right fucking now."

/Query: 60 seconds without response. Query failed. All contacts lost.

/Error: Sensory malfunction. Integrating new sensory source.

///SYSTEM STATUS, OFF01

///Lvl. 1

///CLASS: SKELETON SOLDIER(ERROR)

///Skills:

[ NOVA-3 PLASMA CANNON ]|[ ENERGY DRAIN ]|[UNDEAD REGENERATION]

///HP: 200/250

///ENERGY: 0/100

///Stats:

[VITALITY: 25]|[STRENGTH:25]|[ENDURANCE:10]

[WISDOM:0]|[INTELLIGENCE:50]|[AGILITY:40]

///Skill points available: 0

The alien man slammed a hand over my core. Sensors reported a steady climb in power as a single sentence flooded my sensors, overwhelming every one of them.

"Protect me at all costs!"

/ERROR: DIRECTIVE OVERRIDE DETECTED. SELF DESTRUCTION ACTIVATED

/ERROR: SELF DESTRUCTION FAILED

/DIRECTIVES UPDATED