Mathias grunted as the machine’s light switched from red to green. The treadmill below him slowed down, and he slowed to a walk for a few minutes before stopping. The refrigerator held pure, chilled water. 615 had recommended the gym she installed to him one day when he was sitting around in his room. It took him a while before he understood the concept. It was not quite a training room.

He stepped into the hallway, tabbing through the tablet. There was a chat window to talk to 615. He paused for a second, standing outside his room.

Offo always acted strangely. Exacting, decisive and quiet, his actions hid logic — or at least, if they had it, they hadn’t revealed themselves to Mathias. Why had they gone hunting Qilin in the forest? At first it seemed pretty normal — a way to get XP, to get strong undead.

But Offo didn’t kill any of them. He let his mechs take the kills, mutilating them beyond what we could resurrect. Making his own units stronger would make sense, if Offo hadn’t scooped up every piece of Qilin body he could. Something was happening, and Offo wasn’t saying what. Mathias typed slowly, pecking at the keyboard to type in his local language. But when he hit send, he got an automatic message of 615 being busy.

Mathias frowned, walking through the halls. He didn’t find Offo in the workshops or design or testing rooms.

“Hey!” Mathias said, shouting at a star mech that crawled by. He sprinted after it, trying to get its attention and tapping it. The mech stopped for a second, spinning on its legs. “Are you — where is Offo?”

The mech scurried away, the mechanical whirr of its motors and the clicking of its legs its only response. Mathias ran after it where it exited the hangar, heading out onto the ground. Mathias didn’t see 03 or Offo outside. He sighed. The little mechs didn’t seem to be sapient. They were more like animated tools, performing small tasks here or there. When hundreds of them acted at once, they seemed intelligent, but it was just an illusion.

Mathias quirked his lip before heading down the hall towards 615’s body.

Repaired lighting stung Mathias’s eyes, illuminating the hallway through day and night. The internal temperature of the ship was cool and regulated, a constant indoor temperature with standard humidity. Metal creaked above where fans filled the corridor with fresh, cool air. Offo’s speed of expansion and production was even more terrifying with the presence of 615. More of the ship opened up every day, sprawling corridors that led to nowhere, filled only with eerie silence and the buzz of electronics.

Blue latticework of dungeoncore crystal crisscrossed the walls where Mathias approached the dungeoncore’s territory. Instead of being buried in the stone, the dungeon’s domain clung to the walls.

Mathias found both Offo and Tavi inside, completely silent. Tavi glanced his way for only a moment before turning back to Offo, the light of greed glowing in his eyes. Actually, no… Mathias squinted. That wasn’t greed — he was literally glowing. Had he taken Tobias’s Glory?

Mathias frowned.

“What are you doing?” Mathias asked.

//Preparing// Offo replied, his voice the typical synthetic monotone.

“Preparing for…?”

Offo turned, facing down at Mathias.

//Preparing for take off. We are going to head very, very far away.// AI615 replied.

“But I…” Mathias stopped himself. He was going to say he hadn’t left yet. Currently, his plan was still to head south through the forest, to the closest nation where he would be a refugee instead of a fugitive. But he hadn’t convinced a single Acolyte to join him. And where would he go, really? His only actual goal was still to run away.

He wasn’t even sure if he still wanted to run away. He wouldn’t find a better life in a city. The best he could do was start over as an Acolyte, a process that took years before he would find employment or graduate from the apprenticeship. If he could even find someone who would take him while he still had a contract. Orders from his original master would override any new ones, and it wasn’t as if they could know Tobias was… indisposed.

“What’s your plan? You’re just going to fly away?”

//We will build a base of power out of the Templar’s reach, then return.

“You’re just running away.” Mathias said, frowning.

//A thousand strong Templar army is approaching. We have approximately 2 days to exit atmosphere. Do you intend to head south on your own?// 615 asked.

Mathias blinked. He hadn’t told her that.

A miniature starfish mech ran into the room, stopping next to Offo.

//Query: What gives DP when destroyed?

“Anything that would give XP…?” Mathias ventured.

//Query: What gives XP when destroyed?

“Anything recognized by the system.” Mathias replied. “Anything alive, or brought back to life in a functional sense.”

//Posit: The system recognizes anything capable of autonomous action as alive. Supporting data: Hardrada, mechanical units produced by 615.

“Anything that has skills… should have a system, so it should give XP. But what does Hardrada have to do with it?” Mathias paused. “Are you saying Hardrada is… mechanical? Like you?”

//Affirmative. Hardrada’s movements are obviously mechanical. It is too smooth and direct to be organic. It is only a close approximation. Further, his voice is synthesized. However, Hardrada’s frame matches no known officer unit. It is possible he is a new design.

“That’s not possible.” Mathias said, blinking.

Offo crushed the mechanical starfish, stomping on it over and over until there was little left but scrap components, then stepped back, staring down at it. Vaguely, at its edges, smoke rolled away from where its body dissolved. Tavi startled at Offo smashing it, suddenly waking and moving as if he had been in a fugue state. Glory stirred behind his eyes, flowing through his skin like magical and glowing sickness.

“Why would you do that?” Tavi replied, his voice breaking as if he was on the verge of tears. Tavi leaned down, picking up a piece of the broken starfish mech, his face wretched, eyes creasing. He caressed the piece of black metal.

Neither Offo nor 615 replied, waiting silently. Offo shifted, then more mechs poured into the room. He stomped them into pieces, one by one.

“Stop! What’s wrong with you?” Tavi said. Offo continued smashing the robots. “Fucking stop!”

//You are in a state of emotional distress.// 615 replied. //Consider resting and waiting for your elevated state to pass.

“Fucking stop it!” Tavi yelled, slamming a fist into Offo’s chest. Offo paused, looking down at Tavi, and a scene of a beach played across the display he had as a face.

//If we reprocess half of our drones, we will secure sufficient fuel for take off tomorrow morning. Our deadline is tight.// While talking, Offo picked Tavi up, lifting him under his arms and setting him next to Mathias. Then he stepped back and continued disassembling the drones as if nothing had happened.

“Why would you do this? After you spent all the time to build those? All of this power and you’re willing to just destroy it!”

Mathias stared at Tavi. The Glory had clearly caused him intense emotional distress. How much had he taken? Even Tobias didn’t slide into instability this fast… but maybe that was because he had much higher stats. Mathias put a hand on Tavi’s shoulder, causing him to flinch.

“Let’s go back.” Mathias said.

Tavi stepped back, lips pulling back in a snarl, eyes unnaturally wide. Now that Mathias was looking at him directly, he noted the rings under his eyes and the paleness of his skin. He held up his hands in a placating gesture.

“We can’t just let him, let them destroy everything we’ve built!” Tavi said.

“They can build more, Tavi. Offo hasn’t failed at anything yet.” As Mathias spoke, he turned away from Tavi, staring at Offo. Offo’s display pointed back at him, still showing a beach. Mathias looked back to Tavi, who was staring at Offo as well. His face slowly fell from active agitation, calming, but not entirely. There was a cold calculation occurring behind his eyes. Then he smiled.

“We can come back later.” Tavi said.

Mathias only paused for a moment before leaving. He couldn’t help the intrusive thought that rolled through his head.

How much fuel was an Acolyte worth?