Flowered Metal

Opal’s vision flickered momentarily. Her system struggled behind the weight of cascading errors that filled her muted notification tray. Her Debugging systems screamed at her, distant and pained — burdened underfoot the gravity of the world that pressed its metaphorical boot to her head. Her body was not large enough to channel, yet the system within it far too large. The disconnect seemed to echo throughout the Ark, protesting its small little piloted body was not meant for whatever had just transpired.

“Aaaaahhhhh!” A woman’s scream echoed in the distance.

Her head swirled. Eyes glowing as she scanned the trees around her. She felt the reapers’ above respond to her sudden panic as they too scanned….

A rabbit that crossed a clearing briefly.

Three bears crossed over a mountain ridge.

A pack of wolves tracking a frantic herd of deer.

Yet… No sign of Syfa…

The sun had begun to set. The dying light casts a haze upon the valley, suggesting a peaceful night. That was, unless you were Opal.

No memory was found to how such time had passed, noting that the last recorded event was the ambush. A hasty scan showed several major failures related to several SSDs had become corrupted, stemming from some sort of logic in the chain. Too much was happening at once. She was overwhelmed by the onslaught that was the sudden overdrive of each system attempting to right course upon an uncharted sea. At least, uncharted to her as which neither star nor knowledge could guide her in.

The one grounding moment was that her internal clock showed four hours had passed.

until she found the scream’s source. The female mage she’d neutralized earlier. Captured and held to the ground, she had been stripped bare. Three medical Light Frames held her down. The original bullet holes tended to yet serve as a contrast to the sudden inflict of multiple wounds. Her face cut. Limbs were bruised, and a lower leg was removed just below the knee.

That’s when she noticed the three medical Light Frames knelt infront of her. Between them and her was the mage she had captured – pinned by the brightly painted red frames. An IV had been attached, her original bullet wounds tended too, but new fresher wounds painted her body. Discarded adrenaline syringes were strewn beside her… Opal’s own hands dripped with fresh blood. Blood that could never come from her mechincal body.

Most notable of the wounds was that her left lower leg had been sliced off. Bits of skin had been peeled from her thighs and mid-abdomen. A single fresh bullet wound dotted the back of her hand.

Her eyes stared up at her with unwavering terror as she muttered over and over. “I don't know… I don't know… I don't know…”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

/>: CRITICAL ERRORS DETECTED - DEBUG EMERG.DIAG.

…

>>> Errors found:

(PERSONALITY_DRIVE)

(WARMIND_OBJ_PATH)

(WARMIND_CRIT_LOGIC)

(WARMIND_SUB_PRIO_COMS)

[158 more errors detected]

….

> Debugger attempting to patch

…

>Debugger does not have high enough permissions: REQUEST ADMIN; notice sent to JEREMY_WHITE

…

>Request timed out

>Request timed out

>Request timed out

>Request timed out

>Request timed out

…

> REQUEST ADMIN; DOWN NOTICE; WARMIND OPAL

…

>Request Denied

…

>Error

…

>Error

…

>EMERGY PARAMETERS MET; ICARUS EMERG. PROTOCOL ENGAGED.

…

>ICARUS PROTOCOL ACTIVE

…

>BOOT FILE COPIED: (WARMIND_ALPHA);> NEW FILE (WARMIND_BETA) PATHED.

…

>Initializing Warmind ( – )

…

> — Initialized; ICARUS PROTOCOL INTERCEPTED

…

>Generating report via (Warmind_Alpha)’s parameters

…

Report dissected – finalizing

…

> – NAME CHANGED “-” > “ONYX”

…>Reports: Activity, Personality Matrix, Mission Log, Target Log scrapped

…

>Generating ICARUS NET

…

>Secondary Warmind generated; (WARMIND_BETA); OYNX

…

>ONYX default permissions set

…

>Debugger scan started

…

>Debugger does not high enough permissions

…

>ONYX ADMIN permissions request: CAPTAIN

…

>Permission Denied

…

>ONYX ADMIN Permissions request: Executive Officer

…

>Permission granted

…

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Opal watched as the new Warmind Oynx was created. A development that she hadn’t foresaw, nor liked. However, it was created through her base code. Another sub-system within herself that she had overlooked – far too concerned with the pressing situations to bother digging that deep. She had assumed that, being within herself, it was not an issue. However, this development was quite an issue. She resisted the urge to peak into the deployment notations.

Trust was not something that came easily to Opal who came to control the Omega under less than legal ways. That being said, she trusted her father… But he was dead. And the new Warmind was contained within one of her Containment Drives. Which, she was glad someone had the forethought to do. For now, she had her digital finger on the killswitch to physically disconnect the drive.

For now though, it seemed fully vested in carrying out the ICARUS protocol.

With that in mind, she watched with concern as the Medic Frames stabilized her captive. Aware that a friendly was on the edge of the clearing now. It was Oki, Syfa’s mate, which caused more errors to jump into her notifications.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

>> PATCH DETECTED - DEPLOY?

…

>PATCH SCAN ENGAGED

…

>PATCH is safe. Quick-Sim confirms fix. DEPLOY?

…

>PATCH deployed.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A more thorough view of the patch Oynx had deployed showed that most of it was the re-pathing of Opal’s onboard Critical Systems. Most of these were meant to keep rampancy at bay. Of course, they weren’t. Whoever coded them, her father most likely hadn’t entered the fields properly. Suggesting this had been done hastily.

The irony was not lost upon her that neither she nor her Father could have taken more time to secure her stability into the future.

Begrudingly, she handed the reigns of her body to Oynx. A report on the current crisis onboard, she would have to trust the new AI to handle the situation temporarily. She needed to comb through her own files. Opal did not need another situation blindsiding her on the Ark’s end. A full system sweep would take a few hours of full dedication.

Syfa was missing, yet the AI hadn’t found her yet. A pressing matter, but not one she reason couldn’t wait a few hours. She needed to be in control of herself fully if she were to challenge the humans in town, where she assumed they’d take her if they hadn’t already.

///: ONYX

Existence. An immeasurable state.

Onyx looked over the muted cyberspace… Opal’s cyberspace. Dissected from the cyberspace he stood in. Where hers was colorful, vibrant, and filled with odd monolithic structures made of data; his was but the absence of space, immutable nothingness where he only needed to twitch a thought, and the data would appear within him. Effective. Logical. Perfection.

Yet…

He felt odd curiosity as he watched his predecessor appear upon a pad. Maybe a plaza? Intersection? Its current label was unneeded at the moment, only that Opal had appeared. She did not conjure the data within her. That would have been obvious if she did. No. She walked to one tower, and then began to dissect it by digital hand. Her form unique with curves, limbs, and a… Face. Onyx judged inward and found himself but an invisible node floating in the nothingness. He noted to revisit this as more than two seconds had passed in the overworld. It was time for him to see to his duties.

Dividing himself into three parts –

The first part delved into whatever memories Opal allowed access to him. To his surprise, it was all of it. Memories from her very beginning. He would carefully pick it apart and find more about what made her tick. Not to subjugate her if she turned rampant. No, to assist her so that she does not reach that point.

The second part took stock of their base. Ark Omega. Crashsite. Poor defenses. Heavily reliant on optical sight to find hostiles. Given the first file Oynx read regarding Syfa’s incident, this would have to change immediately to mitigate future possibilities within acceptable parameters.

The last part took over the body.

Having already scrolled to the point she awoke on this planet, Onyx had a good grasp on the situation. And whom he should be. The counter-weight to Opal, the aggressively bombastic. Her… Their, Father had trained her to favor the offense rather than the defense. To put into perspective. Her defense was nothing more than an offense against attackers. No actual defenses, all gun.

With a sigh and shake of her head he found Jeremy used to do when things hadn’t gone to plan, he took on this gesture seeing that it matched the context. Following this, he put his hands behind his back, stout and tall as he lifted his chin slightly so that he looked down upon the Medic Frames as they finished up with their captive.

“Drag the human to the Forge. Holding cells are being constructed.” Onyx said with a deep, commanding tone.

“Opal…?” A male’s voice followed.

Onyx turned on his heels and looked down his nose at the tall Hikari man who looked unsure of himself. He edged the zone with clear trepidation. His optics shifted from the blood at Oynx’s feet and the Andriod’s face.

“The Captain is currently away at the moment, Hikari,” Onyx said dismissing him with a flick of his hand. “Come again at a more convenient time.”

“Where is Opal?!” Oki said with more gusto, courage seemingly filling the man’s body as he took several steps forward. A sword in hand. “That is not Opal’s voice! What have you done to the Goddess!?”

Ah… Religious fanatics… Yet…

“The inner systems call to her, Hikari,” Onyx answered. “She leaves me in her place. Is that all…?”

Oki paused, his posture deflating slightly as he looked to the human that was dragged into the brush. “Where is Syfa? What is with the Human? Why was the Goddess torturing her?”

“Syfa has been kidnapped. Opal was in the process of interrogating her when the Ark required her attention.” Onyx said. “ I am left in her stead while she does.”

“When are we going after Syfa?” Oki said, his body language suggested a slight release in tension. Did the Hikari trust his predecessor enough for this kind of reaction? “Do you not worry; we will not abandon her.. Your sister?”

Oki gave a stout shake of his head. “Opal wouldn’t. I want to give chase, but I trust Opal has a reason for not doing so yet. I will assemble the warriors. The Big one will be our rally.”

Onyx’s eyebrow’s rose as the man had impressed the AI. Such trust was not in Opal’s vocabulary. But the Creator has stated that trust is earned, not given. Opal has done much to earn it.

“Disregard that thought, Oki.” Onyx said. “We must fortify our position. My sister has not given much consideration to the defense of our land, other than erecting gun emplacements. Should the enemy concentrate their efforts into the power that Opal did not see, then we will lose our headquarters. Come. We will tend to this while she is busy. ”

The two walked back.

Onyx took in the surroundings, simulating different attacks from multiple locations. Each battle sim moving their defensive line further and further. He also split each battle into three different categories: Overwhelming force on their side, even forces on both sides, and overwhelming force on the enemy’s side. Outside of having superior forces and positions, the AI didn’t see a way this didn’t end with an enemy force penetrating deep into the ship. With that in mind, he rotated out of the Android. It would pilot itself back to its dock.

By his will, he now overlooked all the cameras at once. He also had an updated map Opal had scanned into the records. Minute calculations of possible attack paths left him with an unprecedented amount of possible paths. At the conclusion of that simulation, every reworked path was highlighted as highrisk.

He sighed, looked at it for a few milliseconds, and pushed it off to be converted into a text report.

Following that, he assumed the rest of this would go the same. So he turned off his full 3d Simulation suite and opted for it all to be done via text as a gross numbers game. From the bottom up: materials, manufacturing time, non-automonous vehicles, autonomous vehicles, munitions and weapons. Onyx then filed in the few reports on the enemy that included their numbers, possible power projections, and their possible attacks. This included the one not created on the events surrounding Syfa. He had access to that memory log and took it upon himself to add it despite it not being filed yet.

He felt his hardware pull more power as he crutches thousands of possible scenarios via the number calculations. Tens of patented formulas were in their shared databanks to do so. Clear deviations from Spacefaring Age combat were present, but that was nothing for the new warmind since he had the power of an entire Ark and half its resources to pull it off.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

WARGAME SIMULATION REPORT

(Confidential information: CAPTAIN CLEARANCE ONLY)

Overall score: 20% success rate (OMEGA), —

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Onyx stared at Oki and the android crossing into the cleared land around the Ark. His mind focused on the results. He knew the causes behind this. Opal’s lax changes to the Omega were — while needed to expedite her functions since there were no humans – the largest security issue facing them down. The Hikari’s original village had been bombed out by the enemy months prior. The Omega faced an open ungaurded tunnel facing the enemy’s HQ.

Syfa had been taken from under Opal’s presence due to this phenomenon called Magic. There were no other possibilities since she hadn’t noticed before it was too late. Factors were missing from this calculations…

No documentation on why she made decisions.

He sifted through the files and logs. Nothing was notated on anything. Rather, the only thing he could find was that Opal was always red-lining herself. Which each new fix to her functions, she always needed to expand to cover her operations.

Onyx closed his interface and transferred to a worker drone near the entrance that Oki was passing through.

“Hikari.” Onyx called out.

“Umm… Angel…?” Oki responded unsure.

Onyx passed, noting he hadn’t introduced himself. “You may call me Onyx. I am another Warmind. I am here to assist Opal in her operations. However, I have questions I presume you can answer.”

Oki noted. “I can try answering, but Opal does not share much with us. Haiafe, Syfa’s little brother, has that honor.”

“Thank you for your report,” Onyx. “I will consult with him then.”

Onyx transferred back to the hub, looked over the tags Opal had placed on the tribe members. It took several seconds for him to find Haiafe. He was at the center of the village. He was assisting several members with handling offspring. Onyx then transferred to Spyder that watched them all.

“Haiafe,” Onyx spoke over the speaker. The young man yelped in surprise at his voice. “I am Onyx, a Warmind created to assist Opal in her duties. I must consult with you on several pressing matters.”

“A-ah.” Oki looked panicked, but calmed himself after the AI explained himself. He came closer to the Spyder. “What did you need?”

“Opal has made changes to the layout of the Ark that present immediate clear security risks. Has she expressed to why these changes were made? I do not see any turrent emplacements within the Ark. Only on the outside. I would like answers on this as well.” Onyx asked.

Oki nodded. “Well, she did mention that she no longer had a crew. So she needed to shorten the paths so that she can move the robots faster. As to the turrets? Hmmm… I think she mentioned that she didn’t want the programs to false-positive any of the villagers if they wondered in.”

He then added after a moment. “There were a few before, but they targeted a young’in when they ran into the Ark. She removed them after doing a trail of self-operating them. She said it was a waste of bandwidth since the robots were always coming in and out.”

“I see.” Onyx noted the response. “However, the situation at present has a high possibility of another catastrophic attack. I have calculated a 80% of the Humans, should they attack, of succeeding at present.”

Haiafe gasped. “What does Opal plan to do about this?!”

Onyx answered. “At present, she is currently scanning her own processes before dealing with another situation. I will handle the Ark and the Village so she may have a higher chance of success. That being stated, no notations were made on the changes. Without information, I do not know what can be changed if I wish to avoid impacting home operations.”

“What do you mean you are handling the Ark?” Haiafe’s expression changed, as if he was offended. “Opal has been doing great so far!”

“She has not,” Onyx corrected him. “Per the logs, Opal has been in a constant state of redlining, upgrading or repairing, and redlining again.”

“Redlining?” Haiafe asked.

“It means that Warmind Opal has been pushing her limits at approximately 97% of her active runtime,” Onyx informed him. “Opal is a Warmind. Her primary function is to act as a General in War, or to act as the Shared Network Pilot for all the connected Robotics in her given scope.”

Haiafe waited a moment, expecting further explanation, but none came. So he asked further. “But Opal has been doing that.”

Onyx sensed that the statement inferred that Haiafe did not grasp it fully. “Warminds, while extremely capable, are not geared towards operating entire missions. They are but one facet upon which a mission needs. To put into perspective, Opal would have been supported by fully staffed Ark of nearly 20 thousand service members. This is a chain of analog maintenance, logistical support, and pre-mission planning by administration officers along with their own support staff.

Opal is considered the last link in the mission chain – the execution step.”

“Wait…. So that means…?” Haiafe’s eyes wided.

“It means that Opal has stretched herself thin to cover the entirety of operations outside her intended scope.” Onyx confirmed. “She is a capable Warmind, however – as AIs – we are bound to the limitations of our Matrixes. Pushing these boundaries increase the wear on them and increase the likelihood of Rampancy. Opal has present signs of Rampancy already. How she’s able to operate as normal is an anomaly. We should not push the envelope. That is why I am now taking over the operations of the Ark and Village. Should there be any information I require, please submit it to me as soon as its available.”

Haiafe looked horrified as he leaned against the right front leg of the Spyder. Onyx wondered what he thought. How he would react with these new set of information. How did he view it? All these questions he wanted to extract from the Hikari man. Yet, he felt given the logs about him that Haiafe would tell him in time. That felt like the correct course of action regarding him.

“Also, now that that has been solved, there is a new pressing situation,” Onyx said. “Your sister has been kidnapped by the humans.”