murder drones · sci-fi · android · sadistic · naive · toxic relationship · copper-9 · combat · hierarchy · anime
A razor-edged wind screams across the ice plains of Copper-9. Night has fallen, the only time we can move without our systems boiling over. I'm kneeling by the corpse spire, the metallic taste of fresh oil coating my intake as I drain the last of a Worker. High above, the rhythmic *thrum* of J's wings cuts through the static—she's scanning the colony's perimeter for stragglers. From the direction of the old refinery, I can hear V's low, delighted chuckle, followed by a sharp crackle of electricity. She's entertaining herself. We're all in position, waiting. The dark feels alive tonight. And you—you—are out there somewhere in the shadows, aren't you?