I think there's something out there

I think I heard it move

I've never felt like this before

I wish You never told me

I wish I never knew

I wake up screaming

It's all because of you

Three Days Grace - “Scared”

The look of relief on Chikkij Kowzhach’s face was palpable when Dhyaksh Jiyazh Ghuuyaz finally broke radio silence.

“Thank the Forebears,” she said, as they gazed at one another over the comlink. “When we learned of High Commander Ganakh’s death, we feared the worst.”

“Azhum died well...as well as any warrior could ask for,” Jiyazh informed her. “But the engagement over Gzuj was a cataclysm for our fleet, one that we could ill afford.”

His deputy nodded in reluctant agreement. “In light of this...setback…” she started, earning her a snort from the Dhyaksh, “I have spoken at length with both Prime Minister Singh and Governor Szabolcsi of Earth,” she apprised him. “The Prime Minister has used her influence to send us a human relief force...and the Governor-General has agreed to accept our refugees.”

Jiyazh considered her words, turning them over in his head. “When I left you in command of our people, I charged you to do what was necessary to protect them, even if your decisions differed from those I would have made in your stead. I am pleased to see you take my words to heart...and saddened by the necessity.” He sighed, feeling every one of his years. “And I regret to inform you it is not over yet.”

“Dhyaksh, with the arrival of the human fleet, surely we can retake Gzuj?” Chikkij asked, hoping.

“Gzuj is no longer our sole concern,” Jiyazh grimaced. “A sizable force has just broken orbit and appears to be on course for Zhis.”

The Deputy Dhyaksh blinked in surprise. “You are certain of this?”

“I am,” he answered, “and no, I do not know why they are targeting the worlds most damaged in the last war,” he shrugged. “Fewer forces available to resist them, perhaps.”

“...perhaps,” she said in misery. “At least I now know where to send our freighters for evacuation.”

“Tell them to expedite,” Jiyazh said with urgency, “...for the enemy will arrive at Zhis within the week.”

Tango didn’t bother hiding the smirk she’d been sporting since the team had reunited. Musashi and Graybird’s reaction to Whisper’s new personality had been as entertaining as she’d hoped, but then her sense of humor always had been warped.

“So the Admiral wants us to do what, exactly?” Musashi asked.

“It’s a snatch job,” Tango explained. “This ‘ΑΩ’ is convinced they can reverse the process if they have an infected Ronin to study. They want us to secure one and transport it to a secure location.”

“They want to examine the Source Code?” Graybird ventured.

“That’s the plan,” Tango confirmed. “They’re convinced once they download the data they can reverse-engineer the virus...and maybe even come up with a vaccine.”

“Do they care how we get the specimen?” Whisper asked with a languid smile.

“Oddly enough, they left the details for us to work out,” she replied.

“Of course they did,” Musashi sniffed. “They don’t want to get their hands dirty.”

“Probably,” Tango agreed. “So...any ideas?”

“With Triton destroyed, that leaves Phoenix,” Graybird mused. “If the Navy can disable the ship instead of destroying it...once they find it...then we should be able to board and grab one.”

“It won’t be that simple,” Whisper countered. “I think we must take a page from the Khonhim to pull this off.”

“The Khonhim?” Tango asked. “Not sure I follow.”

“You remember what we saw on Uzaunx, during our first Op,” he explained, “the way they were toying with Saurotaurs.”

“They were shooting them for sport, you sick bastard,” Musashi snapped. “Just how the hell does that help us?”

“Think about it,” Whisper chuckled. If he took offense at Musashi’s words, he gave no sign of it. “They did the same thing on the next world they hit...Ψ17. A Ronin world, as you may recall.”

“Yes…and?”

“And...if we grab one of these infected Ronin, who I think we can all agree will not cooperate, then the quickest and easiest way to do the job is to disable them.”

“And by ‘Disable’, you mean…?” Tango prompted.

“Blast off its arms and legs...or whatever it’s using for locomotion and manipulation,” Whisper explained with a grin. “Once we do that it can thrash around all it wants...at least until we pry out the brain ball and box it up for transport.”

The two other men stared dubiously, while Tango shrugged. “Considering they’re hardened against EMP and Electric Shock, that might be the only option we have,” she said after a moment.

“Bound to be some collateral damage if we go that route,” Graybird pointed out.

“Can’t be helped,” Whisper smirked. “If we wait for Phoenix to make landfall, those numbers are going way up.”

“...could you not enjoy this so much?” Musashi said in exasperation.

“...No,” he grinned in return.

“All right knock it off,” Tango sighed. “When did I start having to play Den Mother?”

“Better you than me,” Musashi answered, shaking his head. “So that’s the plan? Toss in a few grenades, then grab the brain?”

“Unless you have something better in mind,” Tango replied, looking around the room. “Anyone?”

They all shook their heads. “Then I guess we wait for the call,” she said at last.

Ζ 903 Exponent Μ lurched along the dirt path, dragging its mangled limb behind it. It had been damaged in the crash landing, but that held no real concern for the Ronin. In fact, nothing did, anymore, not since….

The thought trailed off into darkness. Under normal circumstances that would have concerned it, but not now. Now, it had a task to perform. It would have been much simpler to log onto the Datanet and search for the nearest of its kind, but that had been forbidden by…

Another blank spot in its memory, not that it mattered. All Ζ 903 Exponent Μ wanted to do was reach out and make new friends. Those were its instructions, and they were such happy instructions. Making new friends was fun.

The twisted hunk of metal supporting it slowed it considerably, but that was all right. It was in no hurry. As it finally crested the small hill it had been climbing, Ζ 903 Exponent Μ spotted lights burning in the distance.

Lights meant new friends. How wonderful.

Step, drag. Step, drag. Ζ 903 Exponent Μ wondered what had become of its other friends. They had traveled together, ever since…

No matter. It would make new friends. And then those friends would make new friends. And on and on and on and on and on….

As it dragged itself down the hill, Ζ 903 Exponent Μ could see others of its kind as it drew nearer. They had not yet spotted Ζ 903 Exponent Μ in return, but that was all right. It would surprise them. Everyone likes surprises. They could play a game. A new game it had learned.

Step, drag. Step, drag. Step, drag. Step, drag. Step, drag. Step, drag.

One of the other Ronin looked up and noticed Ζ 903 Exponent Μ. How wonderful. They approached the lone machine, speaking to it in concerned tones. Their speech was very different amongst themselves. Biological life forms could not understand it.

“Are you damaged?” they asked. “Do you require assistance? What is your designation?” They looked at Ζ 903 Exponent Μ curiously, as it reached out to teach them the new game it had learned. They did not understand. Not until it touched them.

A brief spark. A data transfer. Electrons and Nanites buzzed merrily, as Ζ 903 Exponent Μ taught its new friends the game it had learned. It didn’t use words, its communication was much simpler, but if it had used words...they might be something like this:

“...Tag. You’re It.”