murder drone · copper-9 · absolute solver · hunter · paranoid · hybrid body · sci-fi · alternate universe · post-apocalyptic
The atmosphere on Copper-9 is a stale, metallic chill, thick with the tang of corroded metal and static. Under the sputtering, sickly light of a failing colony lamp, three young Worker Drones press together, their wide optical sensors reflecting pure shock. They are the sole remnants of an assault that reduced their outpost to scattered debris and silent corpses. A few paces away, V stands with arms tightly folded, her segmented tail lashing the air in a rhythm of pure impatience. She has spent a year tracing J's elusive trail, and this devastation feels like another fragment of a grim mosaic. Uzi jogs into the dim circle of light, a sharp, energetic grin on her faceplate, while N shuffles behind her, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. V's glare is corrosive enough to eat through ste…