Tales of Unity - Arc I - Jaded Ether [Eteru/Iammelon] [Dropped/Recton]

Lincoln ‘Abraham’ Zvonimir let out a sharp hiss of pain under his breath as he strolls down the sidewalk. His bruised side continues to dully throb every now and then. The neon glow off the towering spires above gave him visibility of the street he was walking down on. It was fairly early in the morning with plenty of traffic coming and going on the road beside him. The city life never rests after all. The air was nice and cool at this time. Better than the increasing heat over the course of the day as hot air gets trapped in the concrete jungle. Blue eyes stare ahead a bit absentmindedly. Last few days or rather the last few months had been a chaotic upheaval of what was once his stable life. As stable a homeless person could be.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a holographic wanted poster for Vega Orstire. It was a common article to see but this time it stirred heavy emotions in his gut. The most prominent being guilt. It had been many years since he had seen him.  He could still remember their illegal racing days. Then he left to seek higher thrills with Apex. Leaving him behind, too soft to be a part of such a gang. Forward several years to when the civil war was in full swing. As if he was a literal specter of his past coming to haunt him. Lincoln was hunted down by someone who was neither Vego nor Commander Velocity. Somehow by the skin of his teeth he survived the game of cat and mouse solely as a result of Vega ceasing to go after him.

The whole ordeal has left him truly homeless. Any connection he had to his life on the streets became collateral damage in the chase. On top of it all he is plagued by paranoia of Vega or someone else going after him. Unease and fear linger in the back of his head. As much he wouldn’t admit it but he is afraid of being taken. Even before this he had an irrational fear of being taken. To be trapped by someone and be helpless to do anything to protect himself. His nose wrinkle in slight annoyance of letting himself be overwhelmed by his emotions.

Letting out a sigh to calm his nerves. His blue eyes sweep across the many buildings around him. Looking for anything that can offer him any opportunity to start over. To give him a door for him to leave the smoldering remains of his old life behind. What that may be he doesn’t know. He had dreamed of the stars all his life. But never knew what exactly he wanted in such a wide galaxy. There was something missing in him. A gaping hole in his heart that never seems to heal. It was this sense of emptiness that held him back from trying to escape the life of poverty. Now his hands being forced he had no other choice but to take the step to find a sense of purpose in the world.

The danger of poverty and homelessness was a constant one in these poor sections of the Avalantus underbelly. Far under the colossal skyscrapers, bustling markets, and busy starports on the bright surface, this urban underbelly often became so literally. Multiple areas were quite literally underground, connected by large and undergrounds highways and rail systems. Plenty of those roads and tunnels had been left behind as they became outdated, unneeded, or simply forgotten, and it was in those tunnels that Abraham would know Apex liked to lurk, the same places that held the illegal races. Not all of these underbelly locations were poverty pits however, some were rather nice areas with middle-class communities, or even in some cases some military districts where the planetary militia elements based themselves, safely underground and keeping the local area safe.

Abraham was not fortunate enough however to be in one such sector. This area, referred to by the locals as "The Broken Hold", once held within it an underground fortress used by the old Avalantine Republic, before the Zantines had absorbed it. By now however it was long, long abandoned by its original users, and was now another underground city area; one where the poor had been pushed. Apartments build into the old walls were poorly upkept, and other buildings were not much better. A good place to hide, for sure, but not a place to make a new life.

But there were some beacons of hope Abraham could look to, with some oddly well built and shining buildings glimmering with functional lights and with big signs. The first was an odd one for a place like this, an office for the RSJD, or Republic Security and Justice Department, the federal police of Iammelon who answered to the federal courts rather than the executive branch. They had taken over the hold keep of the Broken Hold, turning it into a respectable fortified station where they could keep watch over the community, but also get recruits and informants.  The second notable building was another odd one, for it was an office building. The sign over head of it identified it as a building belonging to Agricorp, of all people. It was not one of their large grocery stores, just a simple office building where they handled matters other than their main business, though it was still oddly placed. Finally, there was a building that was a bit hidden, but still noticeable due to being in a much better state than the others in the area. Built into one of the walls was a building belonging to Grand Hunt, a bounty station. The professional hunters of both men and beasts were here for an obvious reason, to take advantage of those with bounties on their heads in the underworld, and of course many of the grudges around here. Abraham would also know they were waging a small, shadow war against Apex, targeting their smaller gangs, but the reason as to why was not known.

There was a fourth building, but it was a place nobody really wanted to approach. An old Omnipo facility, a shadowy place that had been abandoned after the Confederacy's final defeat in the Civil War. Before the war, it had a reputation for secrecy, but now it was a place avoided after rumors of it being haunted spread. Unfortunately no Anubites had come to debunk that, so nobody decided to risk it for now.

Avalantus was a world he spent a few years living in. Every now and then across his lifetime he migrated to other worlds. Mostly as a result of a strange job dragging him there. While he may not what people would call squeaky behind the ears he’s not much of a threat either. A stringbean punk at a solid six feet that one would typically see behind a counter at a gas station. Drifting along with the wind. Not thinking about his own future a short while ago. This has what set him apart from Vega and led to their eventual split.

Back then and certainly in the present, no one would ever imagine that long ago they were once friends. Vega was cruising the stars with his merry band while he was down here. Far beneath the glimmering towers of metal and glass. Walking down a sidewalk riven with potholes and cracks. A street lamp above him flickers. Cold air left his lips as the morning air crept through his brown pilot jacket that had seen better days. His black jeans faded and worn from age.

In a way he could agree with people who say that down here there isn’t much of a home. No one ever deserves to live in squalor. He had met so many people, some he became friends with whose warmth and kind soul were out of place down here. Fallen down the cracks by a small stroke of misfortune or some other tragic affair. Despite what people might think he made a semblance of a home here. It took a lot of effort and heart into making it work. Then he came along and burnt it to the ground. For what reason he had spent many sleepless nights stewing in misery about it.

His wandering gaze caught the signs of the police department and the bounty station. But paid no attention to them. Many would claim that those would have been an obvious choice for him. That if they were in his place they would have strolled toward either of him. But he isn’t them. He never was. And while he is still confused about Vega's actions. There is a sense that he knew it to. That he was still soft as he was so many years ago. Too much of a weak stomach to make the hard choices.

Heavy emotions continue to froth in him. Half of which were directed at himself. He leaned a shoulder on the rusted street lamp. Taking a moment to catch a breath. He has been walking all night across the underground levels of the planet. Half amazed that he had no incident as he would expect in taking a jaunt through here. And half too tired to have much care in it. He had spent the last months running through this labyrinth of broken dreams. He just wanted to lay his head and rest. But his paranoia prevents him from even the mercy of a good sleep. A shiver went up his spine when he took a glance at the abandoned Omnipo building. Even if he never heard the rumors he is still afraid of the darkness in the windows.

He didn’t want to spend another second near it. Leaning off the lamp he continues to walk down the sidewalk. The next building to grab his attention was the office building belonging to Agicorp. If he was more alert he would have been suspicious of the odd nature for them to be down here. But after everything with the universe seemingly trying to break him down. Desperation runs his thought process. His stubbornness in refusing to compromise his values was an old barnacle on his soul. Forcing his feet to move he went to the front door. With a gloved hand he pulled the handle and stepped inside.

The Agricorp Building was one that anybody who saw it would swear it been transplanted from somewhere else entirely, as it did not match its surroundings at all. Compared to the buildings around this simple office building, it felt as if it were from a far more wealthy district. It was tall and had clean, white walls, a great contrast to the consistent gray and dirty hodgepodge of the other poorly built structures here. It had clear windows, unstained by dust or muck, and wore its company identifier proudly with big, bold letters across the top of the building. A little candle in the darkness, which made it so very odd that nobody had yet tried to put it out, although that was perhaps helped by the fact it was rather close to two different militarized locations that had an interest in disposing of the very same sort of people that would try to extinguish this flame. The doors themselves continued that, being clear glass ones, unlocked and even having a nice little mat in from that had the word "Welcome!" on it.

Once getting inside, the atmosphere it displayed to the outside world was consistent. This first room was a waiting room, of all things, with a clean lobby filled with comfy chairs, desks, and a secretary in the back. Of course it was also clear that the ones who worked here were quite aware of the community too, as notably there were two armed guards in the lobby as well, positioned to ensure any who entered was quick to notice their presence. They wore light armor with simple helmets, all colored green to identify themselves as security guards for Agricorp. They only had pistols at their hips, and would certainly be no match for a proper attack from an organized gang or pirate group like Apex. But their open and clear presence was important less for their actual ability to defend the building, and more as a sign that they would resist any such attack or attempt to rob this building, and given the close proximity of more heavily equipped groups that could be called upon to assist, the simple prospect of resistance that could delay until Grand Hunt descended from above or RSJD Tacticals rolled up in armored vehicles was more than enough to convince most criminals that this building was simply not economical to try and hit.

The secretary, behind her work-desk, was a female Ialao simply checking through a computer. Besides the two guards, Abraham and her were the only two here, so she quickly noticed the increase in local population density in the room. Perking up, she waved to the new arrival and spoke out in a chipper tone, "Oh, hello! I don't recognize you, are you here for business reasons? Didn't think there were any visitors today, and you certainly aren't an employee I recognize. Unless, are you here for a job? That's the usual reasons strangers end up here." The two guards, while not speaking themselves, also both turned their attention to Abraham, just to make sure he knew they were watching him.

The pair of guardsmen would get a good sense of Lincoln just by looking at him. They would see that he wasn’t carrying anything from how thin his clothing was. So much so that they could tell he was scrawny and most likely malnourished given his impoverished appearance. It felt that all it took to knock him over was a stiff breeze. The subtle stiffness in his gait was a telltale sign that he was in pain of some kind. Given his expression it seems like he was used to being in a state of near constant discomfort. It’s a rough life out on the streets. Even in this world. One positive that the guards would tell was that he didn’t seem to be an addict of any kind. He simply comes off as a bloke who hasn't had a good sleep in a long while.

The abnormal cleanliness of the place made him more self-aware of his appearance than usual. A gutter rat scuttering across polished tiles. It was not due to a lack of effort either to try to become more presentable. There was not much he could do to fix himself up. Especially when his safehouses were torn down by Vega. All his belongings were burnt beneath rubble and debris. Years of memories reduced to ash. And he didn’t want to think about his other friends who were unfortunate enough to be in the middle of the warpath. Odd yet there were those who weren’t near yet were hunted down by Vega. In the midst of his hazy emotions he is perplexed by why he would go after them. Why them. They didn’t have anything to do with this. At least, that is what he thinks.

He sauntered across the lobby to go up to the receptionist desk. Tired yet amiable blue eyes take in the Ialao appearance. It was the first time he saw a Ialao in person instead of through television or word of mouth. From what he knew it made sense. The Ialao prefer a different type of jungle to live in. The thought made him a bit curious why she would choose to work down here. Granted knowing the location of the place it did seem like a quiet place to work at. Those thoughts aside he gave a friendly look to the secretary. “It’s pleasant to meet you.” He politely greeted in turn albeit with a hint of a meek and mild mannerism. As if he was a skittish mouse feeling exposed in the open pasture.

“You’re not wrong, miss. The repercussions of recent times have been felt down here. I’ve been forced to look for new ways to get a steady income. That meant finding a job. I...know I don’t seem like much. Nothing to show for that matter. I…” Internal turmoil was brewing in him and it showed in the shadows of his expression. Fear slowly seeped into his voice. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry...I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have bothered you. I’ll...I’ll just leave. I’m sorry. H-have a good day.” His feet started to inch away. Everyone in the room would be able to tell that him backing down all of the sudden was not out of cowardice but trauma. They could easily let him leave. But as he is now he very well not live long enough to see the next sunrise.

The guards were visibly unconcerned with Abraham, not seeing him as any real danger as he lacked a weapon and didn't seem like the sort in a mood for a fight, so they quickly stopped caring. They weren't paid to to be concerned about every last person who came in here after all, only the dangerous ones. The secretary meanwhile was a more friendly person, the Ialao being a rather positive person. She waved to Abraham as he said hello, and was about to respond before he turned to try and leave. She could tell that he was rather troubled, and she didn't want to let him go just yet. As such, she called out, "Hey, wait! Come over here! If you're looking for a job, we do have openings! After all, this is a recruitment office!" 

She then smiled, "Now, let's do proper introductions, right? I'm Excela! Just the secretary here at this Agricorp Office, a native to Avalantus myself. Born in Treetown! That's the neighborhood's name, it's up towards the surface, got some parks! Not a real forest however, those ain't common here as I am sure you know. Anyways, you don't need to worry about not knowing much! Agricorp has plenty of low-skill job positions to fill in! There's a lot of components to farming after all. So please, calm down, take a seat, and tell me more about yourself! I am sure we can find something for you." Her smile still on, Excela was a clearly positive-minded individual. She had seen people like Abraham before, and she always wanted to try and help them.

The Ialao attempt to dissuade his mounting panic was too little, too late. The flight instinct kicked in. He was out the door before she could even properly introduce herself. Gone with the wind. Awkwardly running away to who knows where. Not even he knew where he was heading. There was nowhere for him to go. To run was the only thing left that his brain could perform. The surrounding shadows seem darker, more prominent to him. Dark specters loom in the corner of his eyes. Damning him, mocking him, accusing him. The street lamps above him feel too crooked and distorted. Chest flares in pain from the sharp intake of cold air. Direction was meaningless. Anywhere he would go brings him back to the same spot he was before. Nowhere. For he has nothing.

’This reality Lincy’ The hallucinatory voice of Vega mocked him from behind. Phantom cybernetic eyes boring holes in his back. ’This is what the world is like. Cold, dark, uncaring. Nothing lasts forever.’ The dark emotions in him began to finally boil over. Eyes clench but any tears he had left fell a long time ago. Gradually exhaustion finally started to overpower his panic. His movement became sluggish. A vertigo spell struck him. Falling against the side of some building in an alleyway. Legs gave out beneath him. Sliding down the wall onto his rump. Blue eyes dart around him. The scenery is not familiar. The panic blinded him.

On the dirty ground he just sat there. A soft ringing bouncing in his head. He felt numb at that moment. A strange sense of clarity befell on him. ’Is this...the end? That dangerous thought floats there. Looming above him like a guillotine blade. Memories of his brief encounters with Vega went across his vision like a film reel. He had been called too altruistic, dangerously self-denying, a link is useless without others to support it. In that moment he can’t muster the energy to deny his words. It repeated over and over within him. Shaking his head he somehow found a minuscule of stamina to get on to his feet. Passing out here wasn’t something he wished for people to see. Panting he caught sight of a side door that led into what seemed to be an empty building. Normally he would avoid dark places but in this moment he wants nothing more than to find a dark spot to lay down.

Unbeknownst to him as a result of his resignation. He just entered the abandoned Omnipo facility.

Excela was rather surprised that Abraham ran off so suddenly, watching him run off into the distance. She was a bit concerned, but there wasn't much the Ialao secretary could reasonably do, after all she wasn't capable of running after him. She sighed and sat back in her chair, looking to one of the security guards and speaking, "We should probably call the police, he looks likely to get into trouble like that, probably needs some help. He ran off towards the old facility... Hope he's alright." With that, she had to return to her work, with one of the security guards sighing but nodding to Excela, as she did have a point. The crazy fellow had run off in a dangerous direction, so it would probably be a good idea to inform the local authorities about that in case something happened.

As for Abraham, he had wandered into a place that was quite empty, and very dark. There were no lights on in this building, and the windows near the entrance were blocked by metal plating from an old lockdown protocol. The main door was wide open however, so he could wander inside. With no light, he wouldn't even be able to see much of the interior of the first room he had entered. All was quiet, and for the first few minutes he would have his peace in the dark.

But after those first few minutes, his continued presence seemed to cause something to spark back to life. A tiny red light appeared, connected to one of the walls. In the dim light it gave off, it revealed that the light was connected to a security camera, and it slowly turned to look at Abraham. The lens focused for a moment, and the red light turned orange. He would hear behind him a clang of metal, as emergency lockdown doors closed off the entrances. Emergency lights activated, allowing him to finally see the room he was in; a ruined reception area. The reception desk had been torn up, and there were the scars of plasma bolts throughout the room. On ruined furniture were signs of further battle damage. No corpses, at least not those of a living nature. There were a few wrecks of Omnipo Security Droids, laying limp against the wall with holes and cuts. One of them was missing an arm, which had found its way on top of a desk. With the lights on however, he could see that there was a door behind the reception desk, marked "Employees Only", slightly creaked open.

The camera was still squarely focused on Abraham, and from it came some sort of garbled speech. Or at least an attempt at such, as it was entirely unintelligible. One of the less damaged droids fidgeted, sparks coming from its ruined torso, but it failed to return to life.

If he was more lucid the scene would have spooked him. Instead he felt himself transitioning into a odd dreamlike state. The sensory deprivation amplified his already exhausted mental state. The security camera was making garbled noises yet he was hallucinating a sharp string of sounds in his skull. ’01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00100000 01000010 01110010 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010’ Lumbering forward across the lobby he walked right into the reception desk. Falling upon it he tumbled over. Shadows and red light swim in his vision as he fell onto his back. Now laying between the broken desk and the door. The series of sounds rang in his head. Even in such a unstable mind state he knew the sounds were not real. They always came on rare instances when he was near broken machinery.

Unconsciousness finally begun to take hold of him. Eyelids becoming heavier with each passing second. The hallucinatory sound circle above him like stars. It of the corner of his eye he thought he saw something green. But when he shift his dimming gaze there was nothing but darkness. Darkness that finally consumed him. Sending him far deep into the realm of sleep. Where he would dream a strange dream. He was above ground in the suburbs that you would only see on less populated worlds. In a two story house he was eleven years old again. Playing in a room with someone else. She was small. Most likely only three years old who wore a green turtleneck sweater and pink pant. There was a glare obscuring her face. But he doesn’t seem to mind. Nor was he bothered when she only spoke in strange sounds. All that mattered was that he was with her. It’s strange. He doesn’t even know who she is. So why does it feel like he should care? His dream self didn’t paid to much thought on it. Instead kept playing with the strange child.

The camera followed Abraham's fatigued movements, silently tracking him as he moved across the room. As he fell upon the desk and blacked out, the camera still kept itself focused on his unconscious form. After focusing again, repeating the same incomprehensible garble, its light went red again. With a small beep, the camera deactivated, although the area remained in the lockdown mode with the red emergency lights. As silence reigned for a few moments, the employee-only door's creaking sounds interrupted it. It carefully opened as it was pushed from the other side, a form looking down on the dreaming Abraham. After observing him for a moment it reached out and took hold of him, lifting him up to carry him through the door, and deeper into the facility.

---

When Abraham would next awake, he would find himself in a very different location. He had been laid down upon a couch, with handcuffs upon his wrists, and another set restraining his ankles. Though oddly enough, despite the restraints, his clothes had been replaced with a new, clean set of simple white cloth and boots on his feet. Directly in front of him was a small table. It had a plate on it, with a small loaf of bread placed upon that. Next to the plate was a bottle of water, the cap off and just simply sitting there.

Looking beyond those immediate surroundings, the larger room he was within seemed to be a security center. There was a weapons rack to his left, although it lacked any weapons to stock it. Equipment lockers were here as well, and they too were entirely empty. The door to the room was a reinforced metal one, locked shut. But the most striking feature was the large set of monitors and security equipment at the other side of the room, the primary security control desk. The monitors were all connected to security cameras across the facility, one of them even displaying the reception area Abraham had been in before. The chair to the desk was however off to the side, not in use, as the one observing the screens was standing. It was an OMNI Hoplite, a robotic soldier type used by Omnipo before and during the Civil War, and entirely discontinued when that conflict ended. A common sight before the war at Omnipo facilities, but Abraham would know in the modern day that seeing one outside a museum was certainly unusual. This one however certainly had its own scars, as it was missing the plasma gun that normally made up its right arm, only having a stump after the weapon had been severed. Looking at it from the back, it had plenty of small dents, and most notably a combat knife embedded into its lower back, never removed.

The droid was busy intently looking at one of the screens, constantly replaying something, although Abraham could not see exactly what it was repeating on the screen from this distance. The droid was unaware of him waking, sticking to its task.

The sense of time is often vacant in dreams. As such he doesn’t quite know how long he had been sitting on this bed with the little girl sitting across from him. Both playing on a smart screen device placed in between them. His gaze focused on the screen. Never once did he question the oddity of the game they were playing. 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel. He never played a game so incredibly convoluted and obtuse. Hardly ever if at all played regular chess. Yet here he was.

Playing the game in a melodic manner. It was hard to describe how he felt playing it. It did look difficult. You can strategically manipulate alternate timelines, you can end up with entire boards full of queens, bishops, and rooks in the present, making huge defensive walls that span multiple timelines. You can win a game by placing a rook on the space that the enemy king started the game in, thereby checkmating a king in the past, from the present. In spite of such imposing intricacies the moves came naturally to him. He was having fun, especially with the little girl.

His attention broke when he heard the little girl create the same strange sound. ’01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101101 01100101’ It sounded somber. He didn’t know why. On top of all he felt helpless in not knowing what to say in response. They continue to play through a few matches. In the end they took a break from playing the strange game.

The little girl hopped off the bed and walked out of the bedroom. Leaving him alone in a room that suddenly seemed smaller and drained of color. For what felt like a minute he heaved off as well. But when he turned to face the door it was gone. Panic clawed up his throat. The light in the room dims. The shadows grow and elongate into crooked limbs of metal. Tips with spinning saws and cruel knives.

He darts around the room like a trapped animal. Looking for any opening to escape through. But he only found more twisted instruments. One snagged his ankle. Sending him tumbling over. In a heartbeat the dark machines descended upon him. They bend around him. Caressing him like a snake. Some uplift his raw, dripping red form into the air as blades continue to make their incisions across him. Even when there was no meat left. No sinew to cut. No bones to grind. They kept diving into him. Then they pulled out. Dropping what semblance of him remained to the unforgiving ground below.

The impact with the ground awoke him with a jolt. Cold sweat coats his forehead. Confusion befell on him when he realized he was not in the same spot where he passed out. It took a moment for him to assess his situation. He didn’t feel numb or hurt more than usual so his organs were not harvested. Which kept him more confused and in a way disappointed that he was still alive. From what his body is telling him he had a good rest. At least seven hours. Bad dreams are a dime a dozen so he was physically used to them by them. Letting him get sleep in spite of it.

Getting into a sitting position he looked around. The OMNI droid was a strange sight. He had never seen one in person before. This close that is. Taking a look down on himself he was perplexed why a droid would change his clothes. Sure one could take the low hanging fruit and say poor people were filthy, disease ridden pests. But for one, he wasn’t in Bezannia. Secondly he doubts a droid would care much about other people's personal hygiene. What made it more strange was the tray placed before him. To an impoverished individual like himself. Clean water and not moldy bread was a luxury to him. Absentmindedly he reached out to drink a bit of the water before focusing on the loaf of bread. If he was more bright he would have questioned where fresh bread came from. But he was too hungry and focused on the droid to paid heed to it.

The Hoplite continued to watch the computer screen, letting the video repeat itself one last time. Once it was done, the droid used its remaining hand to press a button, pausing the video. This was when it finally turned around to acknowledge Abraham, and granting the opportunity to observe its front. Portions of its metal plate were burnt, scarred by plasma blasts that had hit their mark but not brought it down. Its single blue eye was dim, but still glowed with electric life. The mechanical cyclops looked over Abraham from a distance, and then began to move towards him. It actually had a limp in its walk, as its left leg was partially damaged, but it managed well enough. The droid, while crippled, was still an intimidating sight in its own right. It stood taller than an average human, a design feature so it could intimidate, and it was far from defenseless. Even without its right arm, and therefore its main weapon, the left arm was completely fine, and its mechanical hand was more than enough to crush a human skull, especially if they were in a disadvantaged position like Abraham's. But of course, it did not wish to kill him, as it had plenty of chances to do so before without any struggle.

When the droid got to the other side of the table with the food, its eye looked over Abraham once last time, nodding to itself, "Conscious. Good." Its voice was mechanical, but it appeared to be trying to replicate the voice of an organic being. In this instance, what sounded like a male human with a deep voice. Although it could not entirely shake the synthetic feature of the voice as it underlined every word, not to mention the completely flat tone, "Eat. Drink. Sustain. Return to functional state. Then you will work." Anticipating that Abraham would likely ask what it wanted, it used its remaining arm to point at Abraham's new clothes, the white set, "Iammelonian law dictates the conscription of civilians for essential purposes. This facility has..." It paused, a small spinning sphere appearing in the center of its eye as it calculated, disappearing again when it spoke once more, "Zero living personnel, rendering it zero percent effective. Protocol allows conscription to maintain facility functionality. Identified as Avalantine Citizen, eligible for service. Processing welcoming... Welcome to Omnipo, new employee. Training is postponed due to emergency. This base must be returned to functionality. Relevant authority grants are given to restore facility functionality, and then await new orders." With that said, it simply turned around again, looking back to the security console.

He gave a blink. Quite taken aback by the turn of events. Taking a few seconds for him to mentally process what was plopped on his lap. Not knowing how to feel about it. If he was anyone else they wouldn’t be too keen to work here. As it offered them nothing. But to him it seems to provide him food, water, a roof over his head, and a couch. For squatters this was a jackpot. Typically one doesn’t squat in places that used to be owned by a hostile party against the current regime. He didn’t know if being involved here was legal or not but it did feel a bit dirty. But what choice did he have? It’s not like people will worry. What could he possibly do to fix an entire facility? He was a mere scamp hanging out in an abandoned facility. The negative thoughts were brushed away with an inquisitive mindset. He felt an uncomfortable sense of familiarity with the droid. Not knowing how to move on just like himself. Perhaps this was a fitting place for people like him. With a sign of resignation he placed the water bottle down and stood up.

It was when he was on his feet that it dawned on him that he didn’t know what to do next. He was still bound and while he did have his gift to break free his stamina is a precious, finite resource. And a loaf of bread doesn’t do much to give him energy in the long run. Looking to the door he saw that it was still locked. With nothing else in the room he looked back to the droid. He gave a pitiful look at it. “Um. Thank you for employing me...uh. Do you wish for me to start repairing you? I’m a mechanic in a unorthodox sense. I used to repair machinery back when I partook in racing. I have a uh unexplained mutation to fix stuff without the use of tools. If that’s not allowed then...what exactly is my assigned duty?” He inquires meekly. He was still not fully sold on the idea of working but he felt it was the best he got compared to before. Street life is rough. So much so that homeless people would intentionally commit a crime just so they can go to jail with a roof over their heads, air conditioning, and three meals a day.

The Droid paused once he spoke up, turning around to face Abraham. It spoke in its synthetic voice again, pointing with its arm to the screens, "Orders are not given by security unit, repair procedures are standard protocol. Please look to screens to get orders and instructions. Do as is needed until instructions are provided by a superior officer. Security Units do not lead, we follow orders. Organic entities and standard protocol provide orders." The droid was of course going through its programming, and it was clearly not fully prepared for the situation at hand. It wanted Abraham to take the lead here, as he was now an organic employee.

It then paused again as it fully processed his officer, "Repairs without tools? This is not provided for. Magic? Not standard procedure for security unit repair. Analyzing..." After thinking for a while, likely weighing protocol and the drastic nature of the situation, it then nodded, "Consent for magical repair granted. Exemption provided due to extreme circumstance and lack of acceptable replacement parts and droids. Releasing binds." It walked over and crushed the chains in its remaining hand, simply snapping the bonds in a display of strength, "Motor functions restored. Please proceed."

Another blink. The prospect of him taking the lead in anything was a uncommon scenario. More used to working for other people or doing scavenging trips to provide for the local homeless community. The choice to find a job was one of the few moments of taking initiative. A sense of self-doubt weighs on him. Can’t complain all that much given he got what he wanted. Just wasn’t expecting to be given the remains of a company and told to fix it. Whether or not he can wasn’t something that was on his mind. For he doesn’t really believe he’s competent enough to do much. If anyone were to find out they would just see him as a diseased lunatic tinkering around in an abandoned facility. “It can’t be helped then. I’ll take a look after I fix you up.” By then hopefully he’ll get a semblance how deep of a pool he is diving into. He doesn’t even know there are any superior officers.

The chain now crushed he looked up to the droid towering above him. An intimidating sight for sure. “It’s...hard to describe it. I don’t really know myself. I had a friend who helped me years ago and came back a while ago to really push what I know about it.” He first met Vega when the latter was searching for a mechanic to do work on his ride. He heard of an abnormal mechanic going by the street name Link. When they first met he showed off how he could absorb energy and matter. Making it easy for him to work on live parts without getting hurt. His friend was immensely intrigued and wanted to see what else he could do but Lincoln being Lincoln he didn’t know much else at the time. It’s not like the underground harbors people who deal with the arcane.

After interacting for a while they teamed up. Going on to partake in races together. One time Vega had him in a car with him. Clocking at really high speeds down a strip of road with neon signs hanging off the buildings on either side. At that moment something weird happened. He let himself be drowned in the vibrations, of how space and light seem to distort around him from the speed. In that moment he felt himself become one with the car. Vega was shocked but first took note of how supercharged the car seemed at the moment. Taking advantage of the moment he pumped the gas and they soared first across the finish line.

Later when Vega drove the car back to the garage with his friend still fused to it and didn't know how to get out. Once that problem is solved, Vega becomes all the more fascinated with his friend and the beginning of his annoyance of the fact that his friend is ignorant of just how much implication his power has. It was Vega’s ingenuity that helped broaden his understanding of his power over those short years. He learnt that when he fuses with something inorganic he amplifies the qualities greatly and when he separates himself he can leave the object in a superior state than before but not near the level when fused. On his other application he learnt he can reverse the way he interacts with matter. Exerting his consciousness through it to alter the shape and substance of an object without having to fuse with them. Vega noted that this reminded him of those fancy psionics he heard about but considering they are street thugs such knowledge is way beyond them.

For the droid he would have to fuse with it as consciously altering something requires him to have some understanding of the basic structure, composition material, and all the other complexities. While in fusion it seems like he skips that process. He doesn’t even think about it. It just happens. No time like the present he concentrates on the memory of driving. Remembering the vibrations of the vehicle. The way light streaks across his vision. How the speed made him feel he was flying. And he clings to that sensation.

Orange light fills the room as his form changes. Crumbling away into a floating river of light that mimics the soft colors of sunrise. The droid would have strange readings if it tried to scan it. Some of the variables that it produces are “Unidentifiable” and “Not a number”. The energy was of some matter that hasn't been discovered before. Which is feasible considering the amount of hidden mechanics that are speculated to be in physics.

The ribbon of liquefied sunlight (Vega mockingly nicknamed this state Lincolnlight much to his chagrin). He then spilled himself onto the droid. Filling him like a cup as his energy like state seems to sneak into the droid. Saturating it with exotic energies. For a brief moment an orange flash fills the room before fading away. Standing where the droid was is the same droid but entirely different. Its bronze plating gleams in the light of the room. Sparkling polished as it just came off the conveyor belt. There was no indication it was ever damaged. It was leaner, the joints more fluid, more human. The short stump of an arm was now a whole arm blaster again. The gun seemed alien in design in comparison to the old version.

It was hard to describe what the droid AI felt. For its comprehension is far limited in comparison to full intelligence. It can tell that something changed. That this energy like organism flooded its systems in a way it shouldn't. Meshing into the coding and algorithms. The system felt it was being expanded like a balloon a hundred fold. In that brief instance. That sliver of time in its elevated state. The horizon of its understanding expands into infinity. And the once cheap Hoplite understood the implication of this strange occurrence while Lincoln continues to blind himself.

A split second pass. The droid glowed as Lincolnlight sloughed out of it. Pilling onto the desk chair next to the computers. Coiling back into his human form. Leaving the OMNI Hoplite back in its normal state but still looking brand new, even has its blaster arm back. The overall quality of it is several magnitudes greater than the usual standard. And while not as high as it was in its fused state with Lincoln. Its efficient processor, logic engine, learning algorithm, calculation speed, and all its other programs underwent the same jump in quality. Equivalent to a century or two worth of improvement and technological advancement funneled down into one brief second.

The irony here is that Lincoln doesn’t know any of this. All he knows is that whenever he exists stuff he leaves it better. He doesn’t understand just how much he improved it. Not seeing that he had rebuilt the droid from the ground up. It’s this sheer ignorance that held him back so much and the droid understood that more than Lincoln realized. When their ‘thoughts’ mesh for that one moment it gleaned information from him. Some memories even. The droid now knows his name, how many worlds he's been on in his life on the road, the people he met along the way, how much his personal issues hold him back, and possibly the most intriguing information of all.

Lincoln ‘Abraham’ Zvonimir wasn’t human.

The memory was of someone called Vega pinning Lincoln to the floor. Casually holding down a video device to his face. On the screen was a feed of a seemingly abandoned room. The timestamp indicates this was twenty-eight years ago. There was nothing there. Then in the corner came trickles of glimmering light. Amber cracks growing across thin air. A current of orange light blows out of it. Pooling into one spot as it coalesce into the shape of a figure. The light recedes to reveal a eleven year old boy sleeping naked in a fetal position. Lincoln doesn’t have amnesia. He just never existed until that point. He came from seemingly nothing. Continues to believe he is nothing despite the world shattering truth bomb that was forcibly shoved down his throat by Vega. It left him so confused. And uncertain.

The droid would see the new employee a bit slumped in the chair. His cheeks are a bit rosey. If he was in top shape he wouldn’t feel as tired. But with how low on food he was living off in the last weeks and still feeling the repercussions of the massive strain Vega made him experience a few months ago. It leaves him a bit winded. Thankfully he doesn’t have to get up at the moment. Using his feet to scoot closer he pulled his attention to one of the screens to find what the droid was talking about. He had no clue what he was doing but in times like this it was always best to take things one step at a time.

The Droid was of course quite confused by what happened, as this was by no means a recorded and recognized repair method for an OMNI Hoplite-class droid. It had a difficult time processing what exactly was happening, as the scan of course failed, and then suddenly the now energized Abraham had seemingly been absorbed. The confused droid understood it had been improved greatly, and it sought to discover the true depths of the change, and more importantly how this was happening. It began to run a diagnostic upon itself to analyze the improvements, which it could tell was substantial. It was in this state still when Abraham left, fully processing the changes and the new information it had gained. Still being a droid, it didn't fully grasp the significance of many things it knew now, not to mention it also didn't really care in other ways. It looked over its weapon, powering it up and nodding, accepting the new armament.

It finally turned back to Abraham to speak, "Oddity. Systems report improvement on multiple levels. Repairs are complete, as well as upgrades. Unexpected, unexplained. Draft Employee Abraham has exceeded expectations. Added to employee record for further examination by superiors. Expanded work is recommended. For now, work continues." He directed Abraham to the screen.

The security console was primarily feeds for security cameras, however most of them were offline. One that was active was the camera for the lobby, where Abraham had fallen unconscious. There was a notice saying "EMERGENCY: POWER OFFLINE. EMERGENCY POWER ACTIVE. REACTOR REQUIRES REPAIR!"

Besides the singular active security camera screen, there was one other view screen that was active. It was a paused video, on which was pictured some interesting things. It was two Watrike Warriors within the lobby, paused as they were cutting through a batch of OMNI Hoplites, inside the reception area. Presumably, they were the ones he saw destroyed across the room. The video was paused as one Watrike as cleaving through one with the Bayonet on its plasma rifle, and the other was blasting a droid entering the room. There was no notice as to why the droid was watching this, seemingly on repeat.

Rubbing his chin he thought he looked over the screen. It was not much but he figured he should have expected this. There was an inkling of a feeling that he might not have an easier time to use this facility as an easy place to live in. The droid is certainly smart enough to realize someone if they are just taking advantage of the privileges. This is not something he can walk out of. That’s not how responsibility works. Leaning back in the chair he thought he felt like speaking to the droid. Talking in general helps with the thinking process. “It’s odd is it not? I can’t explain it. I don’t even have to think about it. It just does. I never really found anyone that could help me understand it. It’s beyond me.” Such as repairing a reactor.

One could say he could simple fuse with it but there lies the problem. He can fuse an object individually but not when it’s a part of a greater system. The reactor would become incompatible with the rest of it. It would be similar to trying to put a modern day engine into a car model made millennia ago and expect it to work with it. He’ll have to fix the reactor the manual way. And for that he needs an instruction manual.

A series of objectives come to mind. Half of their purpose is to stall for time for him to process just how deep of a pool he’s wading into. He went over these with the droid. First thing was doing an inventory check. To have an understanding what parts of the facility have power and is still open to his clearance level. Find out what the food supply is like. Check how much damage there is. And most importantly find some drawer or shelf that has employee manuals as well important books of interest to guide him through the process of repairing anything. Oftentimes he would bring the droid over to have him explain a big word he doesn’t know.

This would have taken the rest of the day which wasn’t much since he collapsed early in the morning and slept through much of the day. It was late at night now. He was now back in the security room with hopefully a stack of books on the deck to leaf through. The stack of thick volumes was daunting. It drove home the feeling that he’ll be here for a while. A thought arose. Prompting what he planned to do with all of this.

Sad to say he doesn’t know. He has no clue on the basics of running a business. What did he think would happen? The droid expects him to restore the facility. And then what? The more he thought about it a reasoning came together. He’ll stay and fix the place up then hand it over. That’s only proper right? It’s his fault that he ended up here and he doesn’t like the prospect of being a bother to other people. They have better things to do than worry about some old facility.

The last thought begged the question. “Hey, so what was this facility about when it was running properly? When did it go downhill?” He inquires as he glances over to the screen with the Watrikes. The screen could contain any context. Watrikes were a race he had never seen before but did hear of. They could have been a part of the police force or simply bounty hunter beating on poor robots. Abandoned robots that still function were common target practices for bored people who wanted to take potshots at something.

The Hoplite was unresponsive to his general talking, as of course the droid didn't understand Abraham's power fully yet either. If he said it was beyond him, the droid accepted it. It was not like it was going to have initiative to try and push Abraham onwards, it was simply expecting that he would lead on and do what he knew best. Instead, it helped him find the manuals, and so it began the tour around the area of the base they had access to, explaining functions as it could and assisting in collecting data.

And so, Abraham would get a basic overview of the facility available to him. The security lockdown due to the combined defensive lockdown and low power had locked off a majority of the base to him due to large, reinforced bulkhead doors. They had slammed down, and could not be raised on emergency power. Fortunately for Abraham however, he had a decent amount of area to work with. His available area was focused around a central large hallway, with six doors leading to six rooms that weren't locked off. The hallway was rather wrecked, with more bodies of destroyed security droids laid about. Still no corpses of people, only destroyed droids and smashed furniture. A janitor cart had survived however, along with its mop. One of the doors actually led back to the reception area Abraham had blacked out in, and it was unchanged, still entirely locked off from the outside, so he couldn't get out. The other five rooms however had more useful elements.

The first door was to the security room, of course. With a closer examination of it, he would be able to find that not all of the equipment was missing. In one of the lockers he would locate a combat knife that had been left behind, but more importantly he would find a set of night-vision googles. They were rather compact, more comparable to sunglasses in their design, and they could also be switched to a thermal viewing mode. The night vision mode would be handy due to the general darkness, left behind by the fact that the emergency lighting wasn't very good. 

The second door led to a very important room, a kitchen. It was simple and compact, but it had things of importance to an organic like Abraham. Food was stored here, and in a few varieties. He would find that there were plenty of ration packs here, containing military food that was quite sustainable and could be trusted to endure for time without going bad, although nutrition paste was hardly tasty. It would keep him alive however. More appetizing food was here as well, with some bread, cheese, crackers, and even some apples. There were also fully stocked tanks of drinkable water. Overall, he had about three months worth of food and water, so he wouldn't need to worry about starving to death anytime soon. There were some appliances here, like a toaster and oven, but they currently lacked power.

The third door was an interesting room, a small barracks. It had about four bunk-beds, with small chests in here to store personal items. The chests were however empty except for one, in which Abraham would find a left behind notebook and a pencil. It was empty and new, which was why it had been left behind. The beds however were good for Abraham, as they were a place to sleep.

The fourth room was what Abraham had first step out for, as it was a storage room. The door was actually initially locked, with just a simple physical lock, but the Security Droid was able to provide the key for unlocking it. Still, that lock was concealing a room that was the least looted of them all. It was not a large storage center, but it had important things in it. There was a bookshelf that had the books he was looking for, including various repair manuals for standard issue Omnipo equipment, from their pistols to larger things like a reactor. Just what he needed, once he ate up the knowledge. It also had various repair kits and small components in storage, enough to handle various bits of minor damage and a couple major components in backup. With creativity however, these small components could be made use of. Importantly, the room also had a hazard suit, for use by mechanics to protect themselves in their work.

The final, fifth room was the most important one at the current time; the reactor room. The reactor, as the Droid explained, was not the primary one for the base. Abraham did not have the clearance for that, even if they could actually get to the main reactor. Rather it was actually just a regional reactor, meant to give power to this area of the facility to ensure it could keep functioning fully. Regardless, it was still damaged. It seemed that a small explosive, probably a grenade, had damaged a major component and disabled it. It would need repairs, but with the manual he would know he had the components he needed in the storage room, as well as the protection, Abraham simply needed to put in the time to do it. 

Returning to the Security Office, the Hoplite took its position near Abraham as he sat down to read. It processed his question, and then responded curtly, "Facility Purpose... Access denied. Insufficient authorization. Providing corproate-approved explanation... This is a research and storage facility for OMNI Innovations Branch, a Branch of the Omnipo Corporation. Mission Statement: OMNI Innovations seeks to improve upon existing technology to ensure products are always at the cutting edge of innovation, providing the best service possible for Omnipo customers and advancing the cause of science in general. This facility became nonfunctional... Three months ago." It then noticed he was looking at the screen with the Watrike, and responded accordingly, "Explanation required? Species is Watrike. Designation; enemy soldiers. Assumed mission; destruction of this facility. Motive unknown. Status unknown. Lost track of them as facility went into lockdown. Last sighted... Three months ago, moving towards main reactor."

Shoulders tense in unease at hearing they were never seen again. He has heard plenty of horror stories involving people never being seen again after entering an abandoned location. It didn’t help but remind him of the ghost stories about this facility. Now he’s becoming paranoid if this means there is validation to it. Sure he heard stories about the Anubites. Hard not to when they are one of the oldest nations in the nebula. He just never gave the paranormal much thought before.

Brushing his hand through his white hair he let out a sigh. If nothing else despite the ominous omission of details this gave him a facet into the wider picture. From what it sounds this facility was functional before the war or was repurposed during it. Now that makes him wonder if the droid knew if the war ended or not. From what it sounds it doesn’t know that Omnipo was dismantled into smaller companies. For now he doesn’t wish to give the droid an existential crisis.

He looked back to the screen in thought. It still felt weird. Even if Watrikes were supposed to be as badass as the stories say. A two-man team doesn’t feel right to undertake a mission on their own. It made him rethink his assumption on what the droid meant by soldiers. As it didn’t say they were from the Union. Not only that but it gives weight to the idea that the droid doesn’t know about the war. In the end he’s still making assumptions.

There’s so many unknown variables at play it makes him feel like a fish out of water. Leaning back into his chair he looked up to the ceiling. The weight of everything began to finally sink into him. He was in deep. Very deep. Massaging his temples he diverted his thoughts to something else.

Setting his attention on his droid companion in the room he thought about the mission statement. Innovation wasn’t much of a specific trade. That phrase alone could be applied to any of the companies. So if he would ever become serious with this masquerade it helps them get some legroom in the market space. Of course that’s to say that he has a good understanding of the economy which he doesn't. Especially not on a galactic level. That is one of the many things he needs a crash course on if he wishes to remain afloat in this very big sea that is life. And to think he thought his life was complicated before the facility. Looking back at it makes him feel a bit petty.

What is done is done. The only thing he can do now is get to work. Distinctly now there is a lingering sense of paranoia in his head about things crawling in the vents. As much he hates to admit, fear is a good motivator at times. His head finally settled; he focused his attention on what is available to him.

What was left in the security room is a good find according to his standards. Having a combat knife on his person will give him something metallic to mimic within reach in case he can’t get to a droid. The night-vision goggles are good. It’s more than certain that he may be going through a lot of dark places down here. If it wasn’t already a sci-fi horror flick already it sure is now.

He waited after he took a good night's sleep on the couch to start working. The first thing on his agenda was deep cleaning the place. He may be impoverished but most people on his level of the social ladder know the importance of sanitation. And he too takes it seriously. So much so that Vega once made a running joke that he was a house husband which he couldn’t find in him to disagree with much to Vega’s amusement.

Walking to the janitor cart with a sense of purpose. He strapped on the gloves, got some clean water, got the bottles ready, and began to scrub things down. The cart of course had to be clean first. Then he went to work on the rooms. Typically a half an hour for a room warrants this amount of time to be cleaned by one cleaner and that’s if only it had been kept up with on a weekly basis. If a space wasn't maintained, it takes an hour or more.

The security room wasn’t too bad. Took him less than an hour for him to give it a good clean. Thankfully he didn’t have to clean the hoplite. In the meanwhile he wondered about the droids scattered about the place. The unsettling lack of bodies aside he needs to repair them first if he wants to give the place the proper treatment. That’ll have to be later however.

Next was the kitchen which was a pleasant sight to see the first time and still is. He was awestruck at first when he saw the food hadn’t gone bad yet. Then thinking about it he figured if this food came from Agricorp. The food they make while natural and fresh are genetically produced to have a long shelf life. Making food like cheese and the apples last longer when they would have most assuredly already gotten bad. He ran by his observation with his companion just to be safe.

Overall the kitchen took much longer to clean. A good three hours was spent cleaning the cabinets, oven, fridge, microwave, and all the other crooks and crannies. Feel pleased with himself to have made the kitchen spotless he awarded himself to lunch. Not too greedy of course. His background taught him the value of making food last. As he ate and for every time after that he would be reading the manuals to make progress in understanding more of the things he needs to do.

After that he went to the barracks. It was okay for his standards but he’ll want to find some sort of cleaners in the facility. For now he has to hand wash all the sheets. Safe to say this took the rest of the evening for him but he managed to get every clean and dry with his ability. However he still went to sleep in the security room out of continued paranoia. He doesn’t do well with spooky places okay?

In the morning he spent some time on the blank journal. It will become a very important outlet for him in the coming weeks. Something to jot down his ideas and thoughts. He made a map of the facility so far. A bit rough but it serves to help him get a grasp of the size. It was a scary thought to think the reactor was only a regional one. As it implies the facility was quite larger than he first assumed. One thing he wrote down was a roadmap with the end date being three months away. It wasn’t a big deal for him to go out to search for food. The big deal was that it meant three months till he has to leave the facility to leave for supplies unless he finds something to set up an indoor garden.

Afterwards he went to scrub down the storage area. There is good stuff to be found there. Repair kits and the components are good stuff to have. While he doesn’t necessarily need them he doesn’t trust himself enough to mentally follow the blueprints to the letter. The only thing he is confident to repair with just his power are car parts. And nothing here is related to automobiles. Giving the room a good scrub he went out to the hallway and looked at the reactor room. Not wanting to fix it quite yet.

Yes he’ll say it again if he has to. He’s a bit afraid of what might be behind the locked doors that lead deeper into the compound. The fact that Watrikes of all people never returned wasn’t very assuring to dispel his irrationality. So he settled on leaving, fixing the reactor for last. Till then he went through the process of fusing with each of the droids to repair them to functionality and have it so he is not forced to clean around them. He paced himself so the process took all day.

By the evening he retired back to the security room to rest. Reading the volumes and engaging in nonsensical chatter with the Hoplite. A thought came to him which he spoke about. He made the request to give them names for both his sanity and a way for him and the other droids to know who he is referring to.

The next day was a busy day. He could now fully clean the hallway and reception area without the once ruined droids in the way. The Hoplite saw him use the other application to his strange ability. Whenever he places a hand on a surface it results in waves of translucent orange light rippling outward akin to the sea catching the light of the rising sun. It moves along the object or surface. Scans would indicate that his exotic energy was also going across it deeply as well. Every atom was being saturated with energy.

The result was visible. The reception desk and all the furniture changed into pristine condition. Dents and bullet holes vanish. Torn carpets were restored. By the end of the day (Most involved cleaning) there was no indication that a fight had ever broken out in this part of the facility. It gave Lincoln some sense of pride seeing the progress he made.

It also made him confront the fact that he has nothing more to stall himself from fixing the reactor. Even if he has a small group of droids that were now centuries more advanced than they were previously. He was just not used to venturing down to the belly of the beast. It doesn’t help that as somewhat of a geek he had seen one too many horror flicks. At the very left he just hopes the next sector he opens up is not too bad.

Waking up nice and early on the fifth day into his employment. He got himself a good breakfast. Round up the gang to have them near the locked doors just in case something bad comes out. Adorn the hazmat suit. While he doesn’t need it the suit helps him focus more fully on a task without having split his attention on absorbing any leaking material.

Grabbing some of the books, the components and repair kits. He finally headed to the reactor room. First he went to look around to check if there are no live wires or other broken things damaged by the blast. Once that is done he squats down as he places a hand against the side of the reactor. For the next hour or so he was in this spot. Leafing through the pages, rechecking the steps, and moving the components over to the reactor which the Hoplite would see seemingly orange static dance across the orange film on the reactor. They moved a bit too slow for it to be normal electricity. A few arcs reach up to grab the component and submerge it into the reactor like it was in some form of liquid state despite scans showing it was solid.

The droid would also witness the same restoration effects here as well. Metal plates moving in ways they shouldn't back into their original place. Wires move like tendons. Space moving in paradoxical ways. It was a bit before noon when Lincoln took a step back and looked at the reactor. From the outside it seemed to be perfectly restored. “Now for the moment of truth.” He said to his droid companion. His gaze betrayed his calm demeanor. There was nervousness in them. But knew that he now stood at the true precipice. Taking a deep breath he stepped forward. With a hand he flipped the power switch. And opened Pandora's box.

Abraham had gotten himself a total of thirteen droids, all of which had a rather similar attitude to the first Hoplite he had met. They quickly accepted his position as a draft employee and were quite willing to follow his lead, so long as he stuck to his authorization and worked to return the facility to full functionality. He would find that they had no opinion on the matter of names, informing him that the droids would accept any names he decided to give them and answer to them when called. They decided to inform him that, if he further wished to identify them, they would be able to modify their voice synthesizer to suit his liking, for the sake of boosting his comfort and work effectiveness. He could also give them markings if he would like using some simple paint in the storage room.

Otherwise, while Abraham was doing his various works, most of the droids simply took up security positions, the same ones they had held before the facility was abandoned. However if Abraham asked any of them for help or started talking to them, they would answer. The first Hoplite however seemed to have attached himself as Abraham's personal guard, and kept closeby to him, allowing the other droids to handle the job of lookout and patrol duty.

In the reactor room, the Hoplite watched passively as Abraham did his work, not saying anything unless prompted. It watched as the reactor's switch was thrown, and it looked to the regional reactor itself, "Power surge detected. Restoration of regional power imminent. Please wait."

The waiting period was quite short, as soon the reactor roared to life. The effects were instantly noticeable, as the lights came on and now properly illuminated the hallway. Other important things were back online as well, such as most of the security office from before. The cameras turned on again, although noticeably some of the screens displayed errors indicating that the camera they were connected to prior had been destroyed. The lockdown procedure was still in place, and so the reception area blastdoors could not be lifted. But, with some important keypads now having power, one droid informed Abraham that there was one door he could now access. It was a large security door that had been impossible to open prior, as it needed power to lift its reinforced metal self. There were others like it Abraham had seen, but the panels to control them were on the other side of the door. Only one was now accessible to Abraham. A door that went to a section of the base with two distinct labels; "Bio-Research Section Beta" and "Droid Power Bay Beta".

The keypad to this section of the base could only be opened using a keycard, but fortunately for Abraham one of the droids he had repaired had the keycard. It was technically only supposed to be given to security personnel for the facility, however the droid deemed that Abraham would be therefore given the rank of Provisional Security Officer until they could locate an actual member of OMNI Security to take over the role. In the meantime, Abraham was entrusted with the protection of the base and all important assets within that belonged to the company. It was quite clear that the droids hadn't the faintest clue Omnipo had been officially disbanded, but regardless it handed over the security keycard to Abraham, allowing him more access to the base, not to mention additional control over the console in the security office, where he could look through the files if he wished.

Lincoln let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Nothing was exploding yet. A good sign so far. “Good. That’s good. We’re making good progress.” He mumbled to his droid companion. Watching the reactor hum with power. There was still a sense of cluelessness weighing on his shoulders. That he didn’t know what he was doing with his life. There is too much to think about. Collecting up his stuff he went back to the storage room to store them and the hazmat suit away. Feeling off the whole way there. Could be that the stress and paranoia were finally getting to him. Wouldn’t be the first time nor the last that he worked himself to the bone.

With that done he went to check on the status of things. Eyes squinting a bit as they adjust to the bright lighting. The lockdown procedure still being in place wasn’t too bad. More of a blessing for the time being. There’s already a lot on his plate so he doesn’t want to have to worry about people coming in. It dawned on him that he may be being a bit selfish. Treating this isolated place as a safe haven. Rubbing his head at his thoughts he wished he had someone genuine to talk to. Someone to help him figure out himself.

For now he just has to settle with his now small group of droids. Spending the rest of the evening setting up their voice modifications and giving them designations. The first droid he met was named Alek. He seemed to understand his place as a bodyguard for Lincoln who was happy that he was being one step ahead of him. While he got an inkling, he doesn’t have a full grasp on just how much the Hoplites evolved due to his ability.

The twelve oher Hoplites were divided into three units. A four man fireteam. He planned for them to help sweep the facility for unwanted elements. Rationalizing it to them that the Watrikes could very well be still alive. So he didn’t want them to be caught off guard when they might come from out of the facility depths. Like Alek he named the twelve as well.

One unit was dubbed the Scarab Brothers. Made up of Themistokles, Morris, Tanashiri, and Mancalagon. He didn’t really know where he got the theme and names from. It just strangely came to him. An odd thing he notices is that he doesn’t know if it’s his imagination or not. Is that the droids were beginning to show a bit too genuine social kinks. Mancalagon gives him psychological tests on his rational conclusion that an employee psyche must be monitored to ensure no degradation in efficiency. Tanashiri nudged him every once in a while that he should start planning ahead on the company finances. Themistokles cynicism on human societies. And Morris who for some reason seem to get picked on.

The second unit he brought together were the Cleansing Sunbeams. The thoughts about his ife purpose were still on his mind at the time. And were rolling over loft concepts he never really thought about before such as religion. So the unit theme became an outlet for them. Nasir, Tergal, Tallico, and Jack. The trend of subtle signs of irrationality continued with them.

In the last batch he realized he was being a bit too heavy on giving them male names. So he made the unit an all “women” team. Named the Arcalite Ration, a supposed special number that he read in some of the texts and thought it sounded cool. He centered them on Anubite Empire aesthetics. While he doesn’t really know anything about them he was a fan of their culture from what he saw. These four droids were named Midge, Menna, Horase, and Isabella. They showed hints of organic mannerism as well.

On the sixth day he took a day of rest to prepare for tomorrow where they’ll venture into the unlocked portion of the facility. Most of his time was spent painting the droids manually instead of using his power. It was more therapeutic that way. As well he was a decent painter. Having given plenty of paint jobs to cars in the past.

Alek was given a black, gold, white color pattern. The Scarab Brothers were detailed to look like scarabs but with a small individual touch to them. Morris looked like the skeleton of a beetle. Mancalagon was given a pattern of golden dragon scales, ect. Cleansing Sunbeams was a bit tricky as he really didn’t know much about religious iconography. In the end he felt he did a decent job on them. The Arcalite Ratio was easier. He has seen artistic stuff about Anubites before to give him an alright understanding on how to design his droids. They all sported a black and gold design with Anubite symbols and individual racial patterns to them.

All in all he was proud of himself to have done so much in a day. He was a bit worried that the more complicated patterns would take a while. But they haven’t all that much. Doing some last polishing with his ability he ensured the paint will stay on for quite awhile. For he doesn’t have pain sealant on hand. That done he went to head back to the security room to retire for the day. Spending the rest of the evening looking over the unlocked files to learn everything he can. Once he learned all he could he went over to the couch and went to sleep.

He got up bright and early on the seventh day. It took him a moment to comprehend all that he had done in the past week. He doesn’t remember the last time he was this productive. It was a strange feeling. Pushing that feeling aside he went to business. Donning his night vision goggles he rallies the crew to the door that leads to the new area of the facility. The labels were not very comforting to Lincoln. The droid power bay felt alright but the bio-research part reminded him of a lot of sci-fi horror movies.

With a gulp he used the keycard to open the door. As the door hiss in activation the units would know the plan. A standard perimeter sweep that all security units are programmed to know. Scanning the halls and going room by room if they were open to ensure everything was clear. Lincoln hung in the back of the pack with Alek nearby. Close enough to instantly fuse with him if the situation calls for it.

The Droids readily accepted the names he gave out to each of them, as well as the voices and later paint jobs. Notably, their quirks only seemed to develop after they got the names, as the droids themselves had made a realization. Abraham wanted some individuals to speak with, for the sake of his sanity. Being protective of him, as their only living employee, the droids went along with it and even played into it. As such, they developed their pseudo-personalities to diversify themselves and stand out more, for Abraham's sake. While still certainly not people, and very much dedicated to their jobs, they put in a good effort to make a genuine appearance of individuality. Alek also took on the role of Lieutenant in addition to his job as Abraham's bodyguard, keeping everything organized and handling the more in-depth bits of unit commands. Although he still mostly leaned on Abraham for actual initiatives and orders. 

When Abraham was finally ready to advance into the next section, the Droids grouped up into their units and took on a standard formation. The Scarab Brothers would take on the role of Vanguard, going first and sticking in the Hallway, entrusting other units to sweep the rooms. The Cleansing Sunbeams would take on the left, while the Arcalite Ratio would handle the right side. Alek in turn stayed in the back on Abraham's wishes, fully embracing the bodyguard role. With the door open, they advanced. 

The first discovery was quite early, being a door on the left side that led into a bathroom. A very thankful sight, as it had full power and running water. But it did not just have a toilet, it had five of those, but it also had two showers, five sinks, an air-dryer, and notably a medicine cabinet. The cabinet was not exactly groundbreaking in its contents, but they were important. Antibiotics, headache medicine, medicine for the cold, cough drops, and even some sleeping pills. A useful assortment for Abraham, able to handle basic issues, although still not quite a full medbay. 

Next, they would find another large security lockdown door, but Abraham would find that his card lacked the authorization to open it. The droids had no cards to open it, nor the ability to upgrade Abraham's authority to allow him access. It would remain locked, for now.

Past this initial bit, they'd finally enter the real bulk of the new section. And this hallway was as messy as the first one when Abraham first had gone through that one. There were four more destroyed Hoplites, slumped against walls as battle scars had rendered them non-operational. There was an additional droid causality here as well, a drone. Alek would identify it specifically as an OMNI Attack Drone, an unusual choice for security in an underground facility, as they relied on free movement and speed to avoid destruction but likely activated as the Watrike rushed through this area in a desperate defense attempt. It had of course failed however, as its weapons were destroyed and it was laying as a wrecked heap on the floor. 

But there was one more fallen body in here, the first corpse of a living creature Abraham would have seen. It was an OMNI Protector, the standard biological security for most Omnipo facilities. It was a human, and they were quite dead. There was a hole in their chest, created by a plasma blast, and a knife in their throat. Although they still gripped their pistol tightly in their right hand, they had gone down fighting at least. The shields they usually carried however was nowhere to be seen, not even a wrecked one thrown to the side, it had been taken. Alek moved over to the body, kneeling down to inspect it. He then stood up, "Dead. Estimated time of death... Three months ago. Equipment is missing. Handheld Comm-Unit, security keycard, shield, grenades, all unaccounted for. Name... Rayin Venmaro. Noting for the record." He then simply waved for the Hoplites to continue the search, leaving the body alone.

The next room they would come across was the aforementioned Droid Power Bay. It was actually a rather simple room, containing just a number of large cylinder tubes that a Hoplite could enter, as well as a number of ports were the Attack Drone seen earlier could be charged. But there was one larger cylinder in the back, which was clearly meant to house a much larger droid, twice Abraham's height. However, while the restoration of the regional power plant had reenabled everything, there were no droids here. His droids could use that to recharge when they needed it, but there was nothing in here to add to his ranks. Although said power bay could be used for other things if he every needed it, and there was of course the uncertainty of what would need the larger recharging station. Alek and the other Hoplites were unable to provide an answer for it either.

Next, they got to the Bio-Research Section, which was split up into two different rooms. The first door led to a hydroponics bay, which seemed to be growing a variety of different fruits and vegetables in a controlled manner. Alek would explain that the purpose of this room was to grow genetically modified plants, as an attempt to try and create more suitable foodstuffs. Upon creating something of interest, like a very tasty sample or one that had a much longer life cycle, they could then sell the development to companies focused on agriculture, like Agricorp, so they could produce and then sell it. It was more a passive thing the facility did, otherwise primarily using the products here for food. 

And then, the final room for this section. It was apparently a research room, but of a more experimental variety. In here, the same genetic research they applied to the plants in other room was actually theorized and created, with a number of scientific instruments for in-depth analysis. And, notably, multiple others for genetic manipulation to try and create the results. But they didn't just have plant samples, they had samples of what were likely organic, animal matter. Alek, upon scanning some of it, confirmed that there were samples of genetic material from Humans, Taurus, and Arachain here. There was one storage section however that looked like it was meant to preserve more samples, but it had been broken into and the contents stolen. Alek was unable to identify what genetic data had been stored there. But, the most notable feature of this room was that it was powering a large stasis field in the back, with multiple research tools trained on it, reporting readings of something within.

Lincoln was on guard as his posse made their way into the newly opened section. The discovery of the bathroom was a warm sight to see. It has been a bit too long since he has had a proper shower. He’ll definitely take one after this. The simple medical supplies were a plus. Pressing on they come across the large sealed door. It wasn’t too bad that they couldn’t access it at the time being for he wished to secure this section first. On the other end it didn’t help his fears that there could be something or someone on the other side.

It wasn’t hard for him to notice the strewn of robotic remains down the hallway along with the first corpse he'd seen down here. The sight of it gave him a cold, visceral sensation. Seeing corpses never got easier for him. Especially for a body in an advanced state of decay. Laying in a dry, liquefied puddle of organs, muscles, and skin.

Alek gripped his bicep after giving him the analysis of the late Rayin. “Possible exposure to dangerous blood borne pathogens present. Risk to organics. I advise you to go back and put on a hazmat suit before advancing further.” That was logical. He knows enough that it wasn’t safe to breathe around a body this badly decomposed.

After a short trip back to suit up he met up with the rest of the group a safe distance away from the body. They didn’t want to be exposed and pose a risk to Lincoln after all. Either way they will be cleaned regardless after this. Alek spoke up once more as he looked onward. “Suggested course of action. Cremate the body with concentrated plasma fire. Danger to this is that there is a possible release of more pathogens into the air. With lack of ventilation there is no easy way to get rid of the contaminated air” The option prompts a frown to appear on Lincoln's face. Not finding the idea of just burning someone’s remains a pleasant thing to do.

A thought came to Lincoln. Squatting down he pressed his fingertips to the ground. The hallway crackle with brief static of orange energy. The strip of the hallway that the skeleton was present in began to ripple. Sliding out of its place as it shrunk around the area Rayin was in. Folding inward to create a metal coffin. The outside surface of the coffin became flatten given it’s the inside of a wall. An impression of Rayin’s full name appeared across it.

The gaping slice of the hallway closed akin to flesh. Wires and metal plates growing to reconnect to each other. The exotic energy ceases. Leaving behind a hallway looking a bit cleaner now there wasn’t Rayin remains coating it. “Efficient as always, comrade.” Alek quipped.

Two of the Hoplites went to carry the coffin back out to the reception area placed against the side wall. In the meanwhile he fused with the broken Hoplites to repair them. He thought it was lucky that there were four exactly to make a new squad. Naming them and painting will have to wait tomorrow. Noticing the droid he didn’t feel the need to repair it right away. For even he could tell it’s not meant for tight spaces. But it’ll be good in the future if he needs something fast to scout ahead. Requesting Morris to pick it up they headed inside the Droid Power Bay.

Morris set the drone atop a nearby table, the others took a look around the room. Lincoln was glad they found a place early on that can provide the Hoplites power whenever they need it. The larger recharging station intrigued him. His imagination running wild with what OMNI has that could possibly go here. The floor of the station most likely opens up as he doubts anything this size could move around well in the underground facility.

Once everything seems cleared they continue to the next area of interest. Mancalagon noted that since the removal of a distressing element he has been showing signs of easing the tension in his body. Lincoln didn’t notice but felt it was true. In fact he felt a sense of growing giddiness. Thinking about it he supposed he was starting to enjoy seeing fancy new things. Everything is pristine, clean, and new. Strange machines gleam and glimmer. It was fun to see a facility like this. The places he had been in the past were either rundown or put together with scrap parts. It felt like he was entering an alien world.

The hydroponics bay is an example of how new and pleasantly alien this place was. It was cool to see that plants could be grown without soil. It gave him a tiny thought that with a food source he could stay in lockdown indefinitely. A tempting idea and wholly selfish one. Oddly he didn’t feel the need to isolate himself as badly in the first days he was here. It didn’t have any weight to it anymore. That small thought became drowned out by a stream of brighter thoughts. A cloud of ideas of what possible route he could take this facility in. So caught up in his musing that he didn’t realize he regarded the facility as his facility.

The final room was more creepy than intriguing. Seeing stolen contents wasn’t pleasant either. Whether it was stolen or broken out were both terrifying prospects. Alek’s lack of insight didn’t help. Near the back he saw the stasis field in the back. Sauntering over he saw the top half of something laying on a metal table within.

There were warning documents nearby on a sign that told him that to keep the field on irregardless there are signs of activity or not. Looking over to a chart near a computer he gave a quick glance. The field was preserving a torso and head of a synthetic-organic being. Further inspection revealed seemingly dead nanites in the cybernetic bloodstreams. To negate the risk of it possibly spontaneously reactivating it’s to be kept in a stasis field at all times.

Looking up he gave a small jolt. Its rusted eye was looking at him. The sensitive tools didn’t detect any movement or spark of power. But he swears the thing wasn’t looking at him a second ago. Stories of the facility being haunted came flooding back to him. Cold chills going up his spine and arms he skirt away from the field. He didn’t want to be in the same room as it. Stepping out he forced himself to think on the positive.

This section didn’t have anything bad happen yet. For the time being he viewed it secure. Afterwards he took a much needed shower before spending the rest of the day cleaning the new section of the facility. Beside the hallway and the droid bay, the research rooms weren’t as dirty given they were kept much more clean in the past. One thing of note that whenever he cleaned by the stasis field, even if he was not in its line of sight he felt something was looking at him intently.

The next day was spent putting his personal touch on the fourth new squadron, the Crimson Castellans made up of Abis, Asuga, Merlene, and Sherwin. All painted in various shades of red. Red makes them go faster after all. Yes he’s aware it’s an old racing joke but he still likes it. Beside that he spent writing down the stuff they have around the new section. Using the time to think about the future of the facility. So far he wasn’t having much luck in having a solid idea but he supposed it just takes time. You don’t pull out a seed when you just plant it to check it after all.

A new day came. Cleaning day for the first section of the facility. Didn’t take too long as there wasn’t any need for deep cleaning. His team going on about their patrol he wanders around the new facility. It was becoming the least productive day so far. Not a bad thing as Mancalagon pointed out. It was healthy for employees to take a break day to take things easy and unwind. So that was what he did. Lounging in the security room reading or poking around in the droid bay. By evening he would come back to the security room with a startling discovery. On one of the terminals he got a notification for mail.

Sitting in the chair he clicked to open it. Revealing it to be an email by a Omnipo official high up in the chain of command. Thanking him for his contribution to their company and that he took on the responsibility to tend to the facility needs. In light of recent events they have the manpower to spare a bright young scientist to be stationed at this facility to aid Lincoln in understanding what he is handling. If replied with acceptance of the offered assistance. She’ll arrive tomorrow evening via teleportation into the reception room to join him in his restoration efforts. Alek would find that the mail credentials were legit. Nothing was off about it. Of course, in the eyes of a droid that doesn’t know the fate of Omnipo.

Lincoln was conflicted. He did need the help and would love to accept it. But this felt very off. He can make the assumption that Alek make reports to a server so it makes sense if someone were to know about him and his situation. But who was this? Looking back at the email the scientist to be stationed here if he accepts was Dr. Lisa Eocene. It gave him a tingle in the back of his head when he read it. Something was familiar about the name. Alek shared that there is a registered Lisa Eocene in the employee files. A young human woman who is a near-omnidisciplinary scientist that took part in several big projects for the company. There is no further intel than that.

His mental debate came to a close. If these people held hostile intentions it made little sense to throw on a masquerade. They could have easily come in here with or without his permission. Hands hovering over the keyboard he wrote up a response and sent it off. A few short moments later he got a reply thanking him for his cooperativeness. He’ll surely be awarded for his efforts in the future. Creeped out by the mail and what tomorrow could bring he decided to go to sleep early. Drifting to a strange dream. He was playing with that small girl again in an arcade which was already strange. He has never been to an arcade before. By the second half of the dream the arcade was soon filled with flame and smoke.

Waking early in the morning he went around to tidy the place up now there’s going to be someone one beside him living here. In some moments he started to panic a bit. Breaking out in cold sweat with self-doubt. The gang helped him calm down when this happened. He was too fidgety to do anything else but wait till afternoon for the supposed arrival. By then he was standing in the reception area with Alek. That was probably one of the longest moments in his life for some reason.

Then he felt an odd vibration that Alek didn’t detect. Before them in the center of the room a pocket in space appeared. A doorway sized hole punched in the fabric of reality. Stepping out of the doorway was an adult human woman. Dressed in what he assumed to be standard Omnipo scientist uniforms. Perched on the bridge of her nose were glasses with extra-thick round lenses. In terms of height he was taller than her and her form was petite.

They made eye contact. Dr. Lisa Eocene held an apathetic expression. Stoically looking over him before briefly looking around the room. The strange doorway folded into nonexistence behind her. “Apologies if I came late. I had to do some last minute business. With that said, the facility had been reported to be in a state of disrepair. To have performed feats of reconstruction with limited tools at hand is not to be discredited. For an employee supposedly with a less fortunate background you possess above skills above the norm.” Lisa made the observation with a strange voice. She spoke with a lisp. Tone consistent and monotone. It was strangely calming, hypnotic even. Pulling her attention back to him she spoke once more. “I’m Dr. Lisa Eocene.” Nothing more was spoken. Creating an air of awkwardness between them.

Fumbling a bit he managed to find his voice. “Um the name’s Lincoln ‘Abraham’ Zvonimir. You can refer to me however. It’s pleasant to meet you.” He held out a hand for her. She continued to look at him with a composed gaze. Something felt strange about how she looked at him. There wasn’t a trace of emotion yet for some reason he felt as if she was drinking him in. He slightly flinch when he didn’t pay attention to her returning the hand shake.

“I’ll call you by Abraham then.” She noted. An odd choice to him as people typically refer to him by his first name. Not to say it was uncommon for someone to call him by his middle name. Just didn’t happen often. She gave a ghost of a smile. “I look forward to our partnership. As a Provisional Security Officer you are my superior. But do note I’m assigned to be the facility physician. So for matters that come to your health I temporarily outrank you. Other than that, care to show me around?”

Lincoln did just that. It took awhile for him to get comfortable around her. Leading him about what parts of the facility were open to them. Lisa didn’t comment much. If she did it was often about himself. Small, harmless inquires. The tour was done and he brought her to the kitchen to cook up dinner for the two of them. They stood next to a counter as they ate. Nonsensically chatting with one another. Once that was done Lisa offered to clean the dishes. Speaking with a tone that gave the impression it was final. Not wanting to argue with someone he just met, he backed down.

They then migrated to the security room. Lincoln takes the desk by the consoles while Lisa hovers near the couch with the table in front of it being covered with textbooks. His notebook on one of the piles. She nonchalantly picked it up. “A note taker? You have been hard at work even with studying.” His notebook wasn’t even open yet she knew the purpose of it. Her gaze moved to lock with this. “Do you mind if I take this to bed with me?” That was an odd request. But he couldn’t bring himself to deny her. It made rational sense in his head. She was someone who knew a lot more about this stuff that he did. So he wanted her on the same page as him. They were going to be partners after all.

“Oh? Sure, sure. I don’t mind Lisa.” Something flicker across her eyes. Too fast for him to notice. Giving another ghost of a smile she thanks him as she went to retire for the night. Leaving Lincoln alone in the security room. Letting out a sigh he slumped in the chair. A bit exhausted from welcoming her to the facility. But it raised questions he was too skittish to give just yet. She seemed nice so he doesn’t think she has any shady agenda. On that thought he got up to lumber over to the couch to head to sleep as well.

The next day started a bit peculiar. After a pleasant breakfast together, Lisa dragged him to the genetics area to give him a physical on the basis that employees need to have their health checked at least once to determine what they can be exposed to or not. Or if they have health problems that can be a deterrent to their labor. It all made logical sense to him so he has no problem with it. He did hear about check ups before but never had one himself. Which pretty much an obvious reason to do so.

The droids, even Alek didn’t follow given it was a private procedure but at least stood outside the door to the room. Since Lincoln has never had a physical before he can’t say what was normal or not. Beside the awkwardness of being told to undress he never felt pressured and was always reassured that if he ever wishes to stop all he has to do is say so. Her voice helped make him feel relaxed.

There were some moments where it felt weird. Not anything sexual but rather how long it took. One instance was when she was using a stethoscope to listen to his heartbeat and then his breathing for what felt like several minutes. Yet he trusted that she was being a professional.

She constantly converse with him. Asking questions that sound they were something he expected from a doctor. Did he had any history with alcohol, did he have sex, did he do drugs, ect ect. The overall process was fairly long. An hour and ten minutes. By the end she took a blood sample from him to give it a test later on. Till then she congratulates him for showing good health so far. Afterwards they went to the droid bay. Lisa was interested in seeing this ability she has heard thus far.

A tad flustered to do it in front of another person he went with her request. Looking over to the drone he shifts into his Lincolnlight form. Fusing into the drone. Transforming it into an alien drone that now hovers in the air with energy propulsion instead of propellers. Far more compact than before. Then Lincoln split off from it. Returning it to a functional state that resembles the OMNI drones yet kept the new form of movement. And instead of a gatling gun it’s now a gatling laser. All the while Lisa gave an intense analytic gaze with a stoic expression.

Lincoln reformed back to normal before her. Despite the size difference he felt small. Like a student who went up to the board to answer a question and was waiting for the teacher to day how he did. “Um...Have you seen anything...like this before?” He ask meekly. Her gaze still squarely focused on him.

She let out a brief hum in thought. “Does the term quantum mechanics mean anything to you?” She spoke simply. Her voice is still soft. It was hard to tell what she was feeling.

“Not really.” He admits. Very much aware that he was out of place in a facility that used to be run by people far more intelligent that he was.

“No worries about that.” She gave a short wave to dismiss that issue. “I was merely making sure. It’s evident that you weren’t given the privilege of proper education. I’ll have to tutor you. It won’t be an issue. In fact I would take a sense of pride in teaching you. A facility centered on innovation requires bright minds after all. So on a later date we’ll sit down and plan out the next eight years for both High School level education and later higher learning courses. But that aside.” She brushes aside that topic. Ignoring the curious look that Lincoln gave. He was surprised that Lisa was already planning the long haul with him. He didn’t know how to feel about it.

She took a breath through her nose. For some reason he felt he was about to be castigated but she kept a calm composure. “I can’t be 100% certain without doing tests with the proper machinery. But there is little doubt in me to make the assumption of what you turned into. Quantum foam, the fluctuation of spacetime on very small scales due to quantum mechanics. Supposedly according to the theory of quantum gravity, it is impossible to be certain what spacetime would look like at small scales. However, there is no reason that spacetime needs to be fundamentally smooth. It is possible that instead, in a quantum theory of gravity, spacetime would consist of many small, ever-changing regions in which space and time are not definite, but fluctuate in a foam-like manner. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle might imply that over sufficiently small distances and sufficiently brief intervals of time, the "very geometry of spacetime fluctuates". These fluctuations could be large enough to cause significant departures from the smooth spacetime seen at macroscopic scales, giving spacetime a "foamy" character.”

Lincoln took in the detailed explanation he was given. Most of it went over his head. But he got the sense he was sitting on something far bigger than he had thought. “In short Abraham. You can turn into the smallest level and foundation of reality. You are the theoretical made tangible.” A cold wave of goosebumps went across his body.

“That...that sounds pretty serious.” He shakily laughs halfheartedly only to shut himself up when he sees a flare of annoyance across her once calm face before reigning in her emotions. Shame befell on him. Much harsher than it normally would. His blue eyes are messy with emotion. Lisa seems to see his buckling composure. Letting out a sigh as she gave him a more gentler expression.

“A gross understatement Abraham. If Vega’s Cyboar superiors knew exactly what they were trying to capture. They would have sent a full on invasion force to Avalantus and raze it to the ground in order to get to you.” Lisa blunt yet honest words hit him like a truck. The veil of his ignorance torn away. Now finally realizing that he had put a lot more people in danger than those that were close to him. He shuddered in thought of what would have happened if he had gone to Agricorp. How many lives would he have put in jeopardy?

Lincoln was so caught up in the bone chilling revelations he didn’t notice Lisa coming close to him .Knees bucking he knelt on the floor. Soft hands cup his face. Tilting him up to look into the looming face of Lisa. If he was paying more attention he would have noticed the strange glimmer of cybernetic light in her eyes. “Ssssh…..Ssssh.” Lisa whispered sweet nothings as she hugged him to her chest. Threading his hair with a hand. “No need to fret my dear Abraham. Yes, I won’t lie that what you did wasn’t wrong. But you’re not a bad person are you? No, of course not. You are simply innocent. Never having anyone to teach you any better.”

In that moment he wept. A child in a man’s body that never had such physical comfort before. Never had someone held him like this. Holding onto him when he felt he was being blown away by a storm. “I need you to understand this. Reality is cruel. It will abuse us...betray us...use us for their goals. But you’re not alone anymore. We’re partners in this. All we need is each other now. We don’t need anyone else.” Don’t need anyone else. Her hypnotic words echo in his head. It felt right. He needs her. He...doesn’t want to be alone.

They stayed like that for a bit. Hugging each other till he calmed down. Lisa helped him up to his feet. The scientist sporting a genuine smile. “We can take care of this. For now lets us have a break. I’ll get us some snacks in the kitchen and meet you in the security room.” Giving a sound of agreement they left the droid bay. They meet back up in the room. Both sitting near the terminals with a bowl of chips and cups of coffee. To distract him, Lisa directed him to look through the files he unlocked a few days prior, together.

The arrival of the apparent Omnipo Scientist was something the Hoplites were quite unsure about. Not due to her claims, uniform, or mannerism, but rather just one thing that did not match up at all with all protocols they were aware of; her arrival itself. Alek found it irregular, as it did not match up with what he knew. First of all, a scientist going alone to a facility in need of repairs was not fitting to protocol, a repair team was required as well as additional security to shore up the defenses, as the enemy's position was still unknown. Secondly, her method of arrival was non-standard as well. That form of teleportation technology was not known, and such specific utilization made Alek believe it was not OMNI-Approved technology, and therefore noteworthy for security reasons.

He spread this concern to the other Hoplites while they were waiting for the medical checkup, and got general agreement that Lisa was quite irregular. They agreed that due to her unnatural existence, she would be monitored for the safety of the facility and all other personnel, which as of current was just Abraham. As such, when they emerged, Alek informed Abraham that the new squad, the Crimson Castellans, would be assigned to guard Lisa, as of course it was important to ensure that there was a scientist present in the research facility so it could resume proper functionality. Alek decided he would withhold his particular concerns to Abraham for now, only tell him when they were alone. For now, they would accompany him to the Security Room.

When they got to the Security Room, the console had been updated in a number of notable matters. With power restored, it had regained access to more features. For one, the security cameras were working together, although not entirely. Most of them were broken, reporting interference. Alek explained that this interference could mean one of three things. First, access was being remotely denied by another security console. Second, something unknown was interfering with the connection and preventing access. Third, the cameras in question had been destroyed. The console was unable to determine which, and in turn that meant each possibility could be applied to each camera. Consistency was not guaranteed.

But they did get access to three new cameras. One was watching the other side of a locked security door in the first area. From it Abraham could observe that there were more destroyed Hoplites there, five of them. But oddly the lights at the end of the hallway had been destroyed, creating a large patch of darkness that he could not peer into. If he watched closely however, he could occasionally see something moving in the dark.

The second new camera was not too useful, as it merely provided a view of the bathroom Abraham had just gotten access to. But the third camera was more interesting. It gave a look at the locked security door in the second area, near the Droid Power Bay. This hallway was, notably, clean, except for one thing. There was a trail of blood straight down the middle, as something had bled as it went through. The blood was long dry, so it could be assumed to be from three months ago, but it still stained the floor. But there was no droid wreckage there, or more corpses. And at the end of the hallway was a door, one that was currently closed but the signal lights on it showed that it was unlocked. There was some danger however, as in the ceiling there was one robotic thing, and it was not broken. It was an automated sentry turret, armed with a precision laser and a small plasma gun, given power once more by the reactor. It was marked with red lights, with Alek noted as "fire at will". He advised that it would be likely hostile due to Abraham and Lisa both lacking the pin to be marked as friendlies to it when in this highly aggressive mode, and the Hoplites would be fired upon as well due to their upgraded designs. As such, it would be safer to neutralize if they went that way.

But of course, what they were here for were the files. The security console, now re-powered, could access its datalogs. Unfortunately a great deal of it was corrupted due to damages and a lack of upkeep, as the long while without power had left its mark. Alek noted that, in particular, the override code for the security lockdown was corrupted beyond use, so the lockdown could not be lifted from here. Such was the same for most of the codes in here, except for two. One was the security code for the security door near the Droid Power Lab, meaning that Abraham and now Lisa could access that part of the facility when they were ready. The second code they had was for something called "Mutation Control Center", which could open that room's doors, but of course that room's location was not yet known.

Besides the codes, there were other things in the data. There were some various guides for new security officers, which would be handy for Abraham. Most of it was rather simple, primarily lessons on how to operate their gear, use a gun, formalities with superiors, and so on. It was rather generalist and had nothing pertaining to this specific facility, rather just being the usual guide they gave out to security in general. But it did have a special reminder attached, indicating that only senior security staff and those personally granted permission by the Security Chief of the facility could go beyond the door labeled, "HIGH SECURITY ZONE". Failure to do so was to be punished with suspension or even termination of their employment, and lower security was advised to report any trespassers passing through, but not to pursue. They were not allowed in unless given permission, even under emergency circumstances.

Then there were the security report files. The majority of it was corrupted, but there were two records left. The first was marked from three months ago, in time with the fall of the facility. It was rather small, reading simply,

"Security Beacons have detected the movement of three hostile entities, which have already clashed with patrols for other facilities. Based on reports from surviving security personnel, enemies are three Watrike. Two are identified as Watrike Warriors, displaying full Trikorn-style training, although lack any markers of the Union or Excave. Third Watrike was reportedly wearing gold, purple, and black armor of unknown make, helmet was reported to be in the shape of a snake. Also lacked factional markings. Unknown capabilities, treat with caution. Watrike are in route, likely to assault this facility. Their motives for why are unknown, so we will presume destruction and data collection. Automated defenses are to stay and fight. The scientists say their experiments are too important to lose, and so we are under orders to evacuate them as well as their project, so we are preparing to do so. We believe the droids should be able to defend the facility, as there are only three hostiles, but caution is being practiced. All data from the experiments is being purged once it's copied, as well as sensitive info. The scientists and their work will be evacuated to the shuttles, as will the rest of the facility personnel. We'll move everyone to a more secure, still-secret facility.

PERSONAL NOTE: I ain't been a fan of the work here, I think it's dangerous. The scientists are moving too far in two different directions. When you read this, commander, I hope you push to get this all shut down. Perhaps this incident will convince the higher ups that this really is too much trouble. We already had to deal with their rogue tech, and now Watrike? You know damn well why they're here. Just keep that in mind. - Senior Security Officer Ruthlo Venmaro"

The second security log was quite odd, as it was apparently logged as being from seven days ago; when Abraham arrived. It was a small message, with no marker of who had made it: "AWAKEN. ASSIST. OPEN VAULT. PRIMARY GATE. UNLEASH. SPEAK. HELP." After that, it left behind a small string of numbers, "000.13.B". Alek did not know the meaning of the numbers, but he surmised that the vault in question that it was talking about was the Primary Security Center, deeper into the facility, which had control to facility wide security. This office was merely one center that coordinated with it, giving regional security reports. Alek had never been over there himself, only ever being in this sector, so he could not say much more.

The pair looked over the discoveries with varying levels of interest. Lincoln is unsurprisingly put off by the alarming elements. Lisa is mildly intrigued at what could have ever occurred here. But doesn’t seem to put more thought into it. Rather she seems more focused on her partner. Coffee in hand she leaned back in her chair. “Let’s take five. There are a few things that need to be addressed before we venture further.” Lincoln looked at her a bit quizzically. Still he didn’t feel like disagreeing with her.

She requests for Alek to call in a few other Hoplites. Namely Mancalagon, Nasir, and Midge. Deeming this discussion would benefit with differing input. Shortly the room became more busy. The pair are still sitting in their chairs now facing the semi-circle of Hoplites.

Lincoln fidget somewhat. This felt a bit like an intervention. His hunch will soon turn out to be somewhat correct when Lisa starts the conversation. “Abraham is for the most part a picture of good health. While the variables to his biology are in question. There are other things I wish to talk about. I know you may not want to address it, let alone acknowledge it. But we care about you. I may only know you for less than a day. And despite it I came to feel as if I came to be imprinted on you. Just as these Hoplites here. We’ve all made critical observations that in one way or another came to the general conclusion.”

Mancalagon picked up where she ended. His voice modulator gruff akin to a dragon. “Your employment is evidently improper. It came to be as a result of desperate circumstances. An entire process skipped. That process exists for a reason. For this discussion, the major thing is to take the mental well being of a potential employee into account. Not only determine that they could perform duties but to take the initiative and make independent choices when the time calls for it.”

Lincoln shifted in his chair. He figured it was only a matter of time that they confronted him on his issues. Began to feel defensive. Typically one would put on a mask of hate to give them the false illusion of being powerful. But he lacked the spark to hate. No, that was wrong he mused. There’s an inkling that he’s capable of hating something. But it’s distant. A star of wrath so far in the inky blackness that it’s only a twinkle.

Letting out a sigh he gave a quiet response. “I’ve been kicking the can down the road for as long as I was able. Am I really that big of a mess?”

The golden droid looked at him. “The term mess is too harsh of a word. Rather the problem lies in you simply not knowing yourself.”

Midge took the ball of the conversation to speak up. “There is a sense of contradiction in your belief. You expressed worry of not knowing who you are yet from what I’ve analyzed I hypothesize that you’re already at peace with who you are. Otherwise you wouldn’t use your anomalous nature without reservation. You simply cling to the thought to solely distract yourself. To stall.” The final phrase wasn’t spoken in accusation that Lincoln felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“That brings up a question I wished to propose to you.” It was Mancalagon who spoke again. “Simply put. How do you define yourself? You toss around words without real depth to them. Let me rephrase the question. What does the word Humanity mean to you?”

Lincoln opened his mouth to speak but found that no words came to him. Eyes widen in light of being stumped on how to respond. “I...don’t really know.”

“No shame in that. To admit you don’t know means you open yourself to learn.” Lisa quipped. Sipping on her coffee. Having watched the exchange with subtle interest. “Now, your answer is not a bad one. In fact it’s fairly popular which I feel even you recognize given your lack of coming up with a definition. In an isolated community that has no knowledge that aliens exist. Humanity means benevolence, care, compassionate, sympathetic, and/or generous behavior. It’s a universal concept. But when that community is open to the wider galaxy. All of the sudden that word is not special anymore. No longer unique anymore. They share the same qualities and potential to be good with many other species in the galaxy. And this is how Iammelon stays together. If a race believes they are morally superior how could they work with others? How would they accept outsiders into becoming like them? A human could view himself as an Anubite and vice versa.”

Lincoln rubs the back of his neck. Already knowing the pressing question. How does he define himself internally and not the stuff around him. He shifted his gaze away. Not feeling like speaking up. This time it was Nasir who spoke up. “All we wish is for you to self-reflect what you came to confront today.”

Lisa gave a curt nod. “Let’s continue this conversation later. We’re not asking you to change overnight Abraham. No, we did this because you needed to be aware of it. You entered a whole new world that you needed to see before it swallowed you whole. With that said, let's take the rest of the day to prepare.” The group gave a unanimous agreement. The Hoplites went back to their patrol and Lisa left the room to do an inventory check of the genetic lab again. Not minding that a few Hoplites went with her. In fact she had wanted to converse with them.

In the room she went around. It was evident that she wasn’t putting much effort into it. “Albis right?” She spoke up. Glancing over to the scarlet Hoplite. It gave an affirmative gesture. “What is your observation of Lincoln? Namely his overall physiology.”

The droid cock its head. “I’ve detected signs of PTSD and symptoms relating to the supposed mid life crisis. Along with other minor things. But most noticeably there are deviations of normal traits commonly associated with his social group.”

Lisa gave a nod. Looking over to the blood vials she used to store the blood she drew from him. Not surprised it was empty for she saw it dissipate into energy when Lincoln first left the room. “The mystery intrigues me. Lincoln wrote that Vega stripped him bare. Took his home, his friends, any semblance of life. And yet. Yet despite the fact that anyone in his position would devote their entire existence exacting revenge. He doesn’t seek violence even when he is unsure whether Vega is at fault or not.”

“To quote a fitting passage. A very good measure of how good your friends are is how much you can insult them without them taking offense. But when taken to the extreme. Even if one subscribes to the ‘You can love them and not forgive them’ it’s unnatural to not have strong emotions on the matter so soon after the ordeal.” Albis noted. Taking note of the different tissue examples across the room. “Are you thinking he is perhaps wired differently?”

She stroked her chin in thought. “It’s not out of the picture. Every species is built differently. While not cemented, individuals are more inclined to develop certain mental traits than another race. It would be akin to a Watrike child feeling lost and confused about who he is in a human environment with no one telling him how different he is. That said, I would like to have him take some tests when we find a proper medbay to perform it in.”

As Lisa droned on the droid held a sense of contemplation. “Our observation will be ongoing. But there is something I wanted to mention, Dr. Lisa. You referred to Lincoln by his first name. Yet all other times when you’re in his presence you only use his middle name.”

She looked at Albis with a stoic expression. The question elicited no physical response to it. Remaining cool as always. Giving a light shrug of her shoulders as she responded. “I suppose I did.” Albis could tell in her eyes that the observation seemed trivial to her. That it wasn’t something worth the energy to talk about it.

Or so it seemed.

Back in the security room, Alek expressed his observations to Lincoln. Who felt a bit awkward all things considered. “I share the same perspective. But I feel it’s a risk worth taking. You took a risk taking me in right?”

“The difference here is that you are more honest. While I did look through the old archives stored here. Any warrant you had were of nonviolent crimes. Speculated, old rumors of being involved with heists aside. You’re not a major threat to the security of an institution. There are other things that led me to this conclusion. But to bring up something else. Something that needs to be mentioned.” Lincoln raised his eyes in puzzlement.

Alek continued. “You’re more strong than you realize. All organic beings have the instinctive need to survive and protect themselves. The desire to live as bad they want to breathe when underwater. What happened when you first came in here is merely your sheer exhaustion talking. You never wanted to die. In most cases an impoverished citizen is statistically more likely to cower and curl into a ball when a force like the Cyboar hunts them. In your case you fought back by running away. Do you see? You’re not running out of cowardice. No, your subconscious mind is simply still fighting.”

The realization dawned on Lincoln when he gave a thought that it sounded like PTSD then it hit him. Was that what it was? That even when he was surrounded by darkness he chose to run rather than crumbling to the ground? He’ll need to think about that on top of everything else today. Still not having anything to say in response he lumber over to his couch to lie down. Quickly drifting off to sleep.

Morning of the twelfth day came. Lisa and Abraham were having breakfast in the security room. Going over their course of action today. They possess the code to unlock the door that opens to the bloodstained hallway. With the aid of the Hoplites it wouldn’t be hard to neutralize the live turret present there. Unless he wanted to use his power they couldn’t go through the other locked doors. Lincoln preferred to go with the turret obstacle. Still a bit scared of whatever is hiding in the darkness of the other hallway.

Coming up with a plan they set it into motion. Lisa would hold the base in the security room with Albis and his squadmates. While Lincoln would get in his hazmat suit and march to the door with the rest of his men at his heels. They both got into positions around the door. Lincoln put the code into the panel. With a push the door opens and the plan commences. When they defeat the turret and mend any damages, they would proceed to enter the unlocked door at the end of the hallway.