Prologue: Opposing Currents (I)

[AI-HS-4, status report]

"Reporting. Two targets eliminated. Last target is escaping to the rear of the ship."

AI-HS-4 stared at the two bodies that were strewn across the floor. Each one had a gaping hole in the center of their forehead, their eyes lifelessly staring at the ceiling. In their hands, both had a death grip on a sleek pistol with a silencer attached to them.

Both wore similar grey clothing and bore no symbols that indicated their nationalities. Only a white band on their shoulder proved that they were part of the same organization and nothing else.

[Kills confirmed, proceed with the mission. Prioritize stolen intel and capture if possible. If capture is not possible, target is to be eliminated.]

"Understood."

A quick look at the bullet counter showed two remaining rounds in the clip. Without batting an eye, she unloaded a round on each of the targets as she quickly passed them by to give chase to the last target. She was running down a metal corridor of a ship called the Sydney. At first, her mission was simply to escort the ship to its destination. The mission however changed as she was informed that spies had found their way into the ship with sensitive stolen data.

She quickly called out a mental map with her eyepiece. It showed an overlay of the entire ship. Shortcuts, stairs, and long winding corridors could be seen along with a blue dot, green dots and a red dot. The blue was her, the green were her allies while the red was the target that she managed to tag with a tracker.

She noticed that her target was moving towards a long winding area that could be overtaken if she took the stairs heading to the deck and back down. If she was quick enough, she should be able to intercept and possibly catch the remaining target.

She quickly passed through a series of corridors and found the door that led to the deck of the ship. She sprinted up and was met with cold roaring winds. The tumultuous clouds were as dark as basalt and the waves below were fierce as they crashed upon one another with a roar. The rain completely drenched the girl from top to bottom, but none of that seemed to phase her one bit.

She was dead set on tracking her target as she quickly ran across the open deck of the ship. She then found the door that led back down into the winding corridors. Since there was only one way up towards the deck, she waited as the red dot quickly made its way towards her. Soon, a person clad entirely in grey appeared and started to run up the long stairway.

In one hand he held a briefcase, while the other tightly gripped on a sleek pistol. The white band on his shoulder showed his allegiance with the other two newly deceased.

As the man was solely focused behind him, he didn't notice the lone figure atop of the stairs. He soon took notice and froze in surprise. The figure was already pointing a gun to his head. In a panic, he dropped his gun as he tried to turn around and flee from his impending death. The woman slowly pulled the trigger, ensuring that her shot would not miss in this small space. Her shot veered off the moment the ship began to shudder.

The ship was going through some minor turbulence which severely affected the woman's aim. Soon, sounds of the ricocheting bullet echoed throughout the chamber as the ship regained itself. The target, who had fumbled to the ground, used the opportunity to pick up his gun, shot several hasty shots at her before fleeing deeper into the ship. AI-HS-4, annoyed by the disturbance, was about to follow after the person when she was suddenly pushed from behind.

A surprised look could be seen on her face as she found herself entangled with another body. The two tumbled down the stairs before landing with a heavy thud. As an automata, she was an experimental unit designed to mimic human behavior. While this allowed her to perfectly blend into human society for reconnaissance, this also meant that pain receptors were active. In other words, compared to other automatas who were devoid of pain receptors, she was prone to feel pain as any other human being.

She couldn't help but groan at the pain she felt. The weight on her back was heavy, though it wasn't heavy to the point that she couldn't move it aside. After all, she retained the strength of her automaton brothers and sisters.

Pushing off the weight from her back, she found herself face to face with a person. It was a person clad in silver grey armor. With short brown hair and a scruffy face, he seemed to be a well built man in his early twenties. AI-HS-4 couldn't help but freeze.

What is a person like him doing here?

She couldn't fully process her situation, but she had to set that aside as the clock was still ticking. Putting her arm close to her mouth, she said,

"Complications occurred. Requesting for operatives to continue the operation. Target's location, aft moving towards starboard. Eliminate at all cost."

[Affirm, this is AI-EU 207. Moving to intercept, eta: 2 minutes]

"Negative, one minute max. Prioritize quick termination."

[... Affirm, 207 out]

I sighed, a rather human emotion I had acquired living in society. I stared at the man in front of me. Wet brown hair and a fairly young face. He had nothing for identification and seemed to have a sword on his hip. I grew a bit wary.

No identification, strange outfit, and a sword to his side. Foreign in appearance… maybe European. A person like this appearing out of nowhere… something doesn't feel right.

Was he an enemy? Possibly, but I have no information for that accusation therefore confinement should be prioritized.

With that she took out a pair of plastic cuffs, binding the unknown man's arms behind his back. She then waited thinking of several approaches to take, peaceful if the man complied and forceful if he was noncompliant.