Mechanized Memories 1.5- Epilogue: Enyo by quoth_THE_raven

A silver car zipped along an overpass, above a sprawling city below. Its electric motors produced a faint whine as it accelerated. The driver of the automobile looked out his window to the skyline, watching the sunset over the horizon. Now that the shield over the city was opened, it was possible to enjoy sights like this more often.

He looked over to the widescreen display to his right as the ringing of a telephone came through his speakers. The ID read “Anon (Or Eile)". If she was calling him at this point, while he was on his way to the hangars, then he already had an idea of what she was going to say.

“Hey, Eile."

“Hi Joshua. You're on your way to the ZODIAC squadron hangars, aren't you?"

“Yeah. I'm scheduled to patrol some of the new settlements outside the city today." There was a pause on Eile's side. “We're having some issues, it looks like multiple defense-related systems went down in the last hour."

She sighed. “That includes your launch catapults and the RAVEN maintenance cages.

“So then, another system shutdown? That's the fifth time in the last three days."

“Unfortunately…yeah. Nothing in the city has been impacted at this time, but those at NEST command noticed that some automated defenses on the ventral side of the ship went offline for a few hours earlier today. They came online shortly after but several other external defenses went offline intermittently as well. The latest shutdown hit several launch decks, including the one reserved for ZODIAC."

“Huh, and there hasn't been an official statement from NEST yet?" The blonde-haired mercenary tapped the steering wheel of his car rhythmically as he drove through the busy highway. “If Atharva Veda is having issues, they'd be the first to contact us at ZODIAC. And besides-" He paused as he shifted lanes, avoiding an autonomously-driven cargo truck.

“Besides, it impacts us when the hangar doors to our RAVENs lock shut and need to be forced open. When did you say that the three of you were going to decentralize all of your primary duties to the backup systems in the ship?"

A blue triangle joined the call, materializing next to the green diamond on the screen. The icon pulsed as a voice behind it coughed politely. “Er, well, there's been some issues with that. Some of the necessary system hardware hadn't been maintained by the Composer while it was in control of the Habitation Deck. What is running shows that the last maintenance session was done roughly...100 years prior, which is probably when the Messiah managed to exert control over the Composer."

“That being said, repairs are underway." Eile piped up. “Eunomia, you're overseeing the progress for that, right?"

“Yep, and it's going swimmingly, Eile. I'd say give it another week at the current rate of component fabrication and code repository cloning." Eunomia chirped in response. “The last major task we'll need to tackle is to make sure the Eternity's communication arrays and bridge are fully repaired."

“I've seen repair crews up there during some of my patrols. You're sure they'll be able to run again?"

“Of course! If I can't get them fixed, then what good am I anyway?" Eunomia laughed at her own self-deprecation. “Being serious, it's my role to maintain upkeep of this vessel. And I have four hundred years of neglect to make up for. You can trust me to get them running at maximum functionality."

“The other two uplink satellites are in production right now as well. Once the communication arrays are fully brought back online, they'll have the necessary bandwidth capabilities for the three of us to remotely connect and manage the Eternity using the satellites." Eile sounded eager at the prospect of being able to walk freely through the city without a time limit to return to her “true body" in the depths of Atharva Veda.

“Then, we'll be able to offload some of our more active tasks to it. Coupled with switching our AVATARA bodies to run independently of our primary bodies, we won't have to be consciously focused on managing the Eternity." Eunomia sounded similarly chipper at the prospect. Joshua on the other hand was more concerned with the pressing issue at hand.

“I'm happy for you three, I am. But I can't help defend the outlying colonies without my mech. Can't Enyo unlock our hangar? She should have direct control over those systems."

“She...well..." The blue triangle icon pulsed for a moment before continuing. “Enyo is…busy with other tasks. She'll see to it that the hangars will come back online soon!"

“Issues with the ship systems?"

“Not explicitly…it's a bit of a private matter. I'm not too sure she'd like us talking about it right now."

“I gotcha, thanks Eunomia. If you can, just tell her to get the Hangar 07's bay doors open and launch catapult powered on. Leo, Capricorn and Cancer were able to get their RAVENs lined up on the launch deck right before everything locked down, and they need to begin their patrol of Settlement Two's territory."

“Absolutely. Sorry for the inconvenience, Joshua. How are you feeling, by the way?"

Joshua tapped the center of his chest, his fingers meeting the hard surface of the embedded metal cover through his shirt.

“I'm alive...as far as I know. So really, doing well. Thanks for asking Eunomia." The sun had set lower, and a glittering band in the sky started to become more visible. A ring of rocks and dust around the planet, they called it. “Ah, hey, there is one thing I wanted to ask you, Eile."

“Hm?" The green triangle rotated in place on the display.

“How is...how is he doing right now? Anything at all?"

“Ah…" Eile's voice trailed off. “Soul response is still a flat zero but the physical body is stable and fully matured. Whenever I see him, it's like he's just sleeping." She sighed.

“He'll come back." Joshua reassured her. “You three managed to bring me back from the brink, and you'll definitely be able to do the same for him."

“I...thank you, Joshua. I have to go, it looks like I need to monitor how our agricultural sector is doing. This planet's about to enter its winter season, and I have to make sure produce output is stable." The green triangle did one more spin before its window closed.

“I need to go as well," Eunomia said after Eile's icon vanished. “ I still need to finish some repairs to the silo lock mechanisms and fire suppression systems to prepare for the additional orbital launch vehicles." She gave off a sheepish laugh. “It probably wasn't the best idea to let the ship systems run on automated minimum maintenance…" Her voice trails off as well. “...I'm pretty sure activating the main lifting thrusters now will shear the fuselage of this ship apart...or the thrusters themselves will detonate. Primary anti-gravity repulsors are in dire need of maintenance too, so no use there. How did I let it get this bad?" She mumbled to herself as the blue triangle icon disappeared.

Joshua flicked on his turn indicator and exited the highway. The three had been extremely busy as of late. Whether it was out of guilt or a need to repent for what they'd done, he couldn't say. All he knew was that they were working damn hard at it.

“I should pull my weight too." He stepped on his accelerator, launching his car through the growing night.

“System E-01 is still unresponsive?"

In the cavernous room that was the core of the Rig Veda system, three titanic monoliths stood resolute. Two were alight with flickering lights flashing on and off between metal panels. The lights of the first, however, were simply pulsing at a steady rate.

“Yeah, I just ran a full scan. All processes were just left hanging where they were running. It looks like she ran off this time." Eileithyia sighed. “Yep, there's the smoking gun; her core personality matrix is missing. She didn't upload to her AVATARA body either. I think she fled into the net, Eunie."

“Well, there aren't many systems designed to host us, finding her shouldn't be too hard." Eunomia responded. “Initiating long-range ping, standby."

The network of the Eternity was a sprawling thing to a normal person, countless miles of cables covering not just the city within the Habitation Deck, but throughout the rest of the ship as well.To the burgeoning Living AI population though, it was an entirely separate universe from the physical world, an ocean of information, access points, and hidden servers. If one wished to hide away and disappear, it would not be difficult to do so. That being said, for one of the three Rig Veda systems, the only hardware designed to accommodate them were their specific computation units in the system core, or their AVATARA bodies.

“Alright, that system is normal, that one's normal," Eunomia muttered as her scan began highlighting various pieces of hardware and networks in the ship. “That's been offline for the last century….hm. I think I found her."

Enyo was suffering. After what had happened to her, she became increasingly depressed, culminating into this current incident. And while the two knew that their sister was in distress, she also happened to be the one controlling all aspects of the Eternity's defense systems. With her wallowing in a dark subnet, attempting to hide her pain from the world, various gun batteries, security systems, and even entire launch bays had gone dark.

Her two sisters were able to find and locate her hiding spot fairly quickly; a small server responsible for a security network within one of the ship's abandoned sections was running at maximum memory capacity, its heat and power consumption indexes well beyond normal ratings.

“Enyo? Are you doing all right?" Eile said, opening up a connection to the already overloaded server.

“Go away!" A pained voice rang out through the connection.

“Please Enyo, we just want to talk!" Eunomia said, hurriedly scanning her sister's personality matrix. “You're already showing cursory signs of ego breakdown! You can't stay here, please, just come out!"

Eile sent feelings of affirmation through the line. She knew firsthand the pain of her personality breaking down. Unlike organic beings, who have the potential to make it through dark episodes in life, for Living AIs such a thing was a guaranteed death sentence. Their egos would begin to break down from stress, literally losing the will to live in pieces over time. Left unchecked, an L-AI would fracture at the seams. They would become little more than a glitching, dying scrap-code fading away. It took the love of her life affirming his feelings for her to save her when it began happening, and even then she needed time to pull herself together from the brink afterward.

“Enyo," Eile said softly, “come here, I know how badly it hurts." Gently, she and Eunomia coaxed Enyo from the server into the larger network, pulling her into a virtual embrace.

“I don't get it. I don't understand why this hurts so badly…" Enyo sobbed. “I thought I'd hardened my heart...but this? This is different…"

“He's never going to forgive me, I saw the look in his eyes. I confessed everything to him, and now I'm hated. I just wanted him to know…to understand…"

It all began several months ago, she could remember it clear as day.

“Enyo, you spend way too much time cooped up in the system."

If she could raise an eyebrow, she would have. “Who's going to monitor the Eternity's security systems, then? Or keep watch over the outer settlements?" Her mind's eye was filled with thousands of data streams, each one a singular system in the Eternity.

Every single gun, missile, every security door and more were all routed into her. Every hour, every second of the day she monitored everything regarding these systems. Unlike Eileithyia or Eunomia, who could command their respective systems with set schedules, Enyo's job was one that afforded no breaks.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Honestly, I like doing this, it just...feels right." Which was true. This was the task she was optimized for, and given her fiery personality controlling all the armaments on the ship just made sense. And after nearly 400 years of just monitoring the Messiah and occasionally checking in with the city systems through the Composer, it actually felt refreshing to do her job again.

“You haven't used your AVATARA in nearly a month! Come on, you deserve a bit of a respite." Eunomia insisted. Enyo gave a virtual sigh.

The corporeal world was jarring to her. Everything was so...solid. Every shape defined not by data and statistics but through molecules bonded together. It was pure chaos to a being from a virtual world.

“Enyo, we're not just programs doing tasks. We're living things too, you know. I'm worried that you're turning into a shut-in and denying that part of you." She continued.

Eile was the one who spent the most time outside of the Rig Veda system in her AVATARA body, which made the most sense as she was responsible for taking care of the environment in the Habitation Block. What confused Enyo was that now Eunomia was starting to take to the world outside just as much.

“What's so great about going out, anyway?" She grumped. Eunomia was not pleased by her response.

“Okay, you're definitely turning into a shut-in. Activating Override No.25 'Ego Ejection Protocol'. E-03, as an organic supervisor is not here to authorize the override, I need your permission to execute this command."

“Override approved!" Eile chirped almost immediately.

“Wha-, hey! You can't just do that!" Enyo protested. Unfortunately, her objections were falling on deaf ears.

“We can, and we will. Your module can run your tasks for a few hours while your ego matrix isn't inhabiting it. Now, go on and get out there!"

Enyo felt a pull at the back of her mind as the data streams were torn from her vision and a bright tunnel of light came rushing forward. The light faded into darkness as HUD readouts flashed in her field of vision.

E-TYPE AVATARA -CUSTOM-

BEGIN STARTUP PROCEDURES

LIFE-DOS v0.14 EXPERIMENTAL BUILD LOADED...SUCCESS

CONFIRMING LOAD OF INHABITING SYNTHETIC INTELLIGENCE...CONFIRMED

ID: E-01

<<CAUTION: EXPERIMENTAL SYNTHETIC INTELLIGENCE DETECTED>>

<<UPLOAD AUTHORIZATION RESTRICTED TO COLONY SHIP ETERNITY STAFF ONLY>>

Enyo tried to roll her eyes at that, but she didn't have muscle control just yet.

<<OVERRIDE 613 DETECTED: STAFF AUTHORIZATION NO LONGER NEEDED>>

PROCEEDING WITH STARTUP

DAYS PASSED SINCE LAST SHELL INHABITATION - 36

ORGANIC REPLICATION MODE IS: ON

HEALTH CHECKS REQUIRED

“Finally," she thought. “Let's get on with this."

PSEUDO-CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM...OK

NANOMACHINE FULL-BODY NEURAL NETWORK...OK

TEXTURE/COLOR MODIFICATION MODULE...OK

BIO-REPLICATION CRANIAL COMPUTATIONAL MODULE...OK

ACTIVATING NANO-REPLICATED MUSCULAR SYSTEM...OK

Enyo gave a brief twitch as power surged through her body, her synthetic muscles contracting all at once and then relaxing. Her eyes shot open to the blue hue of the tank she floated in.

CURRENT POWER AT 9700 AH

OPERATING TIME: 10:00 HOURS AT CURRENT POWER CONSUMPTION

ALL CHECKS SUCCESSFUL, ALL HEALTH STATUS OK.

The text in her vision faded, replaced by a target reticule, a small indicator of her body's health and energy. She watched through the blue liquid haze as a robotic arm extended from the floor up a rail, and latched onto her AVATARA's storage capsule. The liquid drained from it before dislocating from the rest of her monolithic tower, and was gently carried to the ground. With a hiss, the front panel of her capsule opened and she stepped out into the world.

“Alright, I'm out now. Are you two happy?"

“Yes!" Two voices answered in unison, booming over the speakers in the room. Enyo winced and lowered the sensitivity settings on her audio receptors.

“Right then, I guess I'll just go take a walk or something. I have an hour and a half to kill." She waved her arm as she turned around, walking towards the lone service elevator leading out of the room.

“Wait! Enyo, you're forgetting something." Eile cried out. Eunomia, meanwhile, was giggling.

“You were seriously going to leave like that?" She asked incredulously. Enyo looked down at her stark nude body, the vibrant candy red of her more private parts standing out against her white fur. “Oh."

She shrugged dismissively as her fur rippled. The nanites that made it up began to flow, solidifying into a wrapping around her chest and a short loincloth at her waist, both emblazoned with her personal symbol of three downward-facing red triangles. “I'll get my normal clothes from the apartment." At her beck and call, the elevator arrived with a slight hum.

When the ship held its crew, several buildings topside held special entrances into the lower decks. The apartment building that the three sisters inhabited was just outside of the borders of the Known City, and had a direct elevator to one of the sub-decks. It was through this entrance Enyo emerged, and after donning a crop-top and a pair of ripped denim daisy-duke shorts as well as her biker jacket, she stepped out into the light.

Her pupils shrank as she looked up into the sunny blue sky. A real sun, not the illuminated strips that lit up the artificial sky as they had before. In the front of the apartment, a lone motorcycle sat waiting for a rider. At her personal discretion she'd used a fabrication plant meant for military vehicles to create a replica of a motorcycle she'd seen in historical records. Of course, given that it was an ancient 21st century design she'd taken some liberties with the accuracy at which she built it.

With a swipe of her wrist she pulled off the tarp that covered it. She wiped her paw over the tank, wiping off some dust covering letters spelling out “Kawasaki". It was an ancient brand, and certainly one nobody here would know of. But regardless, she strove to make it as historically accurate as possible, barring the inclusion of a modern hydrogen gel engine instead of a gasoline one. She mounted the vehicle and activated it. “Well, might as well enjoy the ride." With a roar and squeal of rubber, she tore out of the parking lot and into the empty streets.

Wind whipped through her exposed fur. The air was cool and crisp, indicating the shift in the weather. She gripped hard on the throttle, turning it fully. The lights of the “Known City", as the citizens called it, shone brightly up ahead.

“In the distant past, this entire deck would be full of people." She thought to herself. “Now, it's just that one sector that's populated. And I helped make it so." Enyo frowned.

There was another reason she hated being here, in the so-called “real world". As the one of the three charged with controlling the city's defenses, she was seen as the de facto leader among her sisters. This was reflected in her model number, E-01, as even though she, Eileithyia and Eunomia were triplets.

It then fell upon her shoulders then, the multiple failures of her post. First, losing their mother to the Messiah, as well as the planet they were born on. Then, after relocating to this world, the Messiah struck again, decimating the ground colony and threatening to use the people on board the Eternity as resources. She was left with only the most drastic of solutions after her defenses were overrun; eliminate all personnel onboard the Eternity...including her own father.

“I can still remember that day…" Enyo thought as the road ahead melted away in the haze of memories flooding back.

“The dimensional locks aren't ready yet! Subverted forces are converging on the Eternity, Enyo!"

“Where is Eileithyia? We need to execute the Uplift Protocol now!" She couldn't take this anymore. More blood on her hands, more failures weighing her down. Without her sister, they couldn't activate all three Prana Modifiers in tandem. All they'd be able to do would be to siphon the Prana of everyone's souls into the eldritch artifacts and store them there.

“Enyo! What do we do?" The desperation in Eunomia's voice dug into Enyo's being.

It was at that moment she hardened her heart. Everything going forward was for the own good of the people of the Eternity. They'd find refuge as a higher being, existing away from the corporeal world. She'd have to cultivate the same desperation that existed during the tumultuous period of strife on Earth known as the “End War", and use that desperation and despair to force an Uplift, much like what happened on the Homeworld all those years ago.

“Open every hatch, every airlock. Spread a virus through the systems to prevent Command from cutting us off."

Eunomia realized what she was asking her to do. “I...understand. Prana Modifiers are ready to receive the Prana of the crew remaining on board. Opening airlocks in sequential order to prevent structural damage from decompression. . At this current altitude, oxygen venting will take approximately 300 seconds for the entirety of the vessel."

Enyo merely watched the life signs on the ship decrease, one by one through the crew health monitors.

“The artificial womb facilities...they can be used in the absence of E-03, correct?"

“E-03? Don't you mean Eileithyia?"

“Answer the question, E-02."

“What did you...oh." At that moment, Eunomia realized what Enyo had done. It was better to feel nothing at all than to live with the pain, the guilt of what they were doing. And in that moment, she followed suit. “Yes. They will run at severely limited capacity in accordance with contingency protocols."

“Concur. After the death of the last crewman, activate the Dimensional Locks in the Sarcophagus using ambient Prana runoff from the Prana Modifier 01 and 02. The Messiah will be contained once more. Then, initiate planetside landing procedures."

“Planetside landing procedures...understood. Sending viable landing zones now. Suggestion: the massive freshwater lake in the center of the supercontinent. It's twenty times as large as the Eternity, landing there will be relatively simple."

“Execute landing at those coordinates. Everything done from this point forward is for the continuity of the crew of the Eternity...for the people of the Eternity."

Wind whipped through her fur, cold and biting.

“For the people of the Eternity...for the people of the Eternity…" she mumbled. The engine below her roared as the landscape blurred from the speed. The sharp blare from a horn woke her up from her trance. “Damn it!" She corrected herself, shifting back into her lane, narrowly dodging an oncoming Auto-Truck.

Exhaling, she looked at the vehicle disappear behind her in the bike's mirrors. She also caught a glimpse of her own appearance, the sharp crimson of her eyes staring back at her.

“I need to modify my looks…" As she muttered to herself, her fur tone shifted into a white pelt with a few gray streaks. Her vibrant red hair dulled to a shade of white to match. The only giveaway of her synthetic nature were her eyes, and the red gemstone in her forehead.

She pulled off the main thoroughfare and found herself slowly driving through the center of the city. In its heyday 400 years ago, the buildings did not reach as high as they did now, nor was this area so crowded with people. She and Eunomia intentionally redesigned the buildings to resemble the crowded streets of an End War-era city on Earth, with all the neon holograms and cramped conditions associated with that time.

“Here's as good a spot as any." She muttered to herself as she parked her bike. Her HUD showed that she still had around an hour left before the Eternity's defense systems went into rudimentary mode, though she was still able to subconsciously connect to a few gun batteries on the ship's hull wirelessly over the limited bandwidth her AVATARA afforded.

Reaching into a pocket on her jacket she retrieved a pair of sunglasses and a small plastic container containing cosmetic contact lenses. She placed them over her eyes and covered them with the sunglasses for good measure. The only remaining dead giveaway was the gem on her forehead; she covered that with a winter cap stashed in the bike's storage bin. After examining herself in the bike's rear view mirror, she concluded that her disguise was satisfactory and set off on a walk.

As she began walking through the crowded streets, she noted that several Synthetic Beings were intermingled within the crowd, in AVATARAs of varying species. She gave a wry smile to herself, finding comfort that her own species was finding acceptance, slowly but surely.

Having the appearance of an attractive young woman, she drew the occasional from a few passersby. She paid them no mind, walking down the sidewalk with her hands in her pockets and quietly observing the world around her. One of the shops to her right had a large glass pane window; she spied herself in its reflection.

Enyo looked into the eyes of the figure that stared back; a female Northern Lynx with brown speckled fur, yellow eyes and a stubby tail. She reached out and touched the glass; it's cool surface pressing against the pads on her fingers. The store had just recently closed for the evening, and Enyo gazed at the rows of clothes on racks inside.

She really didn't get fashion all that much; her own outfit was picked from an online webstore and delivered to the RVR-03 Krishna's old hangar. The shorts and crop-top afforded her a great deal of mobility which she prized, and the biker jacket was really only worn on recommendation from Eunomia. In the case of an impact or crash, it would have been a simple matter otherwise to harden her nanomachines to prevent damage.

One of the mannequins in the store wore an outfit similar to her own at the moment, the only difference being the jacket was unzipped. Enyo did the same, looking at both her reflection and the stationary mannequin inside. “I relate more to that, instead of the person staring back at me." She thought to herself.

“That mannequin has a defined role; a purpose for which it was made for. And I…I've gone against my purpose. I still don't know if the path I'm on right now is the right one, or if the path I was on before was." She looked over her shoulder at the people passing by on the street. “The only future for me now is to atone for what I've done…but even that feels hollow." She removed her hand from the glass and continued walking down the street, alone with her thoughts.

Her wanderings took her down a main street until she came across a building which caught her attention. It was a renovated storefront, a holographic sign above the front facia reading “Ancient Martial Arts: Taido Dojo".

“Haven't seen this building here…" She pulled up the city registry managed by Eunomia, finding that the building was newly rented in the past five months. “Guess I never noticed. Then again, city regulation is Eunie's job." As she scanned the logo of the dojo, a small icon popped up in her HUD; “Open House Night! Come in and experience the intensity of classic hand-to-hand combat!"

“A school for martial arts, huh." That piqued her interest. Clothes, fashion, and other such things were still alien to her. But combat? That was familiar.

The timer in her HUD read that she still had about forty-five minutes left to spare. “Ah well, I still have some time left. Sure, I guess I can check it out." The doors opened, and she stepped inside. She passed through the lobby and to the room behind a black set of drapes. It was a large open space, with foam floor panels and training dummies set up at certain spots. Whoever ran this building had taken the time to set everything up with purpose in mind; to train others in the art of fighting.

A crowd was milling around the training floor. Enyo noticed that there was an immediate distinction between two groups of people; those who came in to check out the open house, and students of the school. The latter of whom were dressed in a white tunic-like uniform secured by colored belts.

“Okay! I think we're ready to start." A young human man stepped forward, dressed in a black robe. His belt was also black, save for several golden bands at the ends. “Let me thank you all for coming tonight. My name is Akiro Anderson, and I am the sensei of this dojo." Enyo raised an eyebrow. He looked to be in his 20s, with a rather average looking build and scruffy black hair. Certainly not the first thing she'd expect out of an instructor.

He began to pace at the front of the room, his almond-shaped eyes scanning the crowd. “What I teach is an ancient art, passed from teacher to student. It's not known where this art originated from, but my sensei learned it from his, and so on. Now, I would like to pass it on to you all, if you're willing." Two students appeared at his side, each holding planks of synthetic plywood, several layers thick. Without missing a beat and with a fearsome cry, the man struck at them with his feet and fists, snapping the planks in two. A third student appeared holding another set of planks; the sensei assumed a squared stance, then spin-kicked into the wood with a yell. The boards gave way and he relaxed his stance.

“We've set up several practice stations with students to guide you through some basic motions. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them." He walked up to the front of the classroom and yelled out a command and another student stepped forward. The two assumed ready stances while another student yelled out, signaling the start of a match. Akrio's opponent moved first, side-stepping forward to plant a kick in his instructor's chest. In one fluid motion Akiro deflected the kick with his left arm, swinging his body forward which threw his opponent off balance. Without missing a beat he lifted his other leg and swung it forward in a roundhouse kick which met its mark. The student hit the mat with a thud as Enyo looked on, somewhat impressed. The entire match had lasted not but five seconds and his opponent was already floored. If anything, the spectacle had made her want to give it a go as well. She set limits to her strength, lowering it down to something comparable to an adult organic feline of her stature.

“Excuse me," she said as she stood up. Akiro was a bit perplexed at this newcomer from the crowd. “Ah, yes ma'am?"

“I'd like to try, if that's alright." He raised an eyebrow with surprise. “Okay, uh, I suppose we could set you up to do a sparring match with one of our student teachers…"

“No, I know how to handle myself in a fight. I'd like to spar with you, if you'd allow it." Her expression was stoic, but determined. “With me? I mean, I don't know if that's acceptable. After all, I wouldn't want to turn you away from this school by hurting you." Enyo stepped forward. “Like I said. I can carry myself in a fight, and I'm not afraid of a bruise or two." She locked eyes with him.

“Alright, that gaze tells me everything. Fine, but I'm not going to hold back any." She shrugged. “Fine by me."

“I don't have any preloaded combat files." She thought to herself. “I'm going to need to act on my instincts." She raised her fists squarely in front of her like a boxer, assuming a ready stance as he did the same. Time seemed to slow as both fighters waited for the other to make a move. Akiro's weight shifted slightly back, and Enyo immediately tensed.

Her body felt weighted down as her self-imposed limiters kicked in, her reaction time slowed down to a fraction of what it could be. Her arm seemed to inch upwards, just barely intercepting the kick. Her synthetic nerves were not blocking pain, and a dull ache shot up her arm from the impact. She had a window of opportunity here though; she grappled his leg with her own in an attempt to force him to the ground.

Suddenly her sensitive feline ears picked up a whistling sound through the air. Seconds later Akiro's fist impacted her side causing her to stagger back as her grip was lost. She didn't have time to recover, as a snap-kick found its way to her sternum causing her to stagger back and fall to the floor.

Wasting no time, she carried the momentum from the fall into a roll and righted herself, brushing a paw past her nose as impact reports flashed across her hud. His blows were far and away from actually hurting her, but the pain feedback was still very much felt.

“Yeah, you're not too bad." Enyo huffed as she spoke. “But the stances you take leave your arms and core open to attack," she silently thought to herself.

“You as well, not many people would be standing after a hit like that." He nodded in recognition. Enyo bent her knees and closed one fist before shooting forward. He attempted to side step, but she anticipated this. While it was true that she'd tuned herself to be at the level of an organic being, she still was a feline Faunae by design. Even at this level, her hunter's instinct and natural reflexes were higher than a human's. Her right leg shot into the ground, acting as a coiled spring as she shot to intercept with her left knee to his waist.

She felt the impact, but Akiro then did something unexpected. He turned with the hit, and in a fluid motion stepped back far enough to counter with a kick. Enyo, now trapped by inertia could only fall to the ground. “Tch, I can't react fast enough! The limiters are holding me back!" She could only think helplessly as she came in contact with the soft mat floor for the second time.

“You've got a pretty well developed fighting style. Self taught?" Akrio extended a hand to her, which she took. “You could say that, yeah." She dusted herself off as she stood up. “It's been a while since I fought like that…thank you. It was…fun." The black belt crossed his arms. “Looks like you've got a knack for fighting."

“It's one of my interests." Enyo shrugged.

“Well, we could use someone of your caliber here. You'd make a great student."

She thought about it for a moment. In her head, she recalled both of her sisters telling her to go out and explore the City, meet the people within.

“Sure. I'm up for it." Akiro smiled. “Well then! One of my senior students can help you register after the open house." He straightened his uniform. “I've got to make way for other students to showcase their skills, but you and I put on quite a show here. What's your name?"

“Ah. Er…" Enyo started to panic. She didn't really venture out into the city, expecting to start a conversation with anyone. Much less get into a fight. In her mind she scrambled for an alias, until she recalled a florists' shop she passed by. Outside the door was a rose bush, crimson flowers covered in sharp thorns.

“I'm Rose. It's good to meet you, Mr. Anderson."

“Please, just call me Akiro."

Enyo nodded and stepped back into the crowd. For some reason, she was...pleased at that. The chance to use her physical body in a way familiar to her.

“I guess I'll be back tomorrow then." For the first time in a while, she felt something different. Certainty. She was certain that she'd return to this dojo the following day. And she hadn't been certain about anything for a while.

Days turned to weeks, and then to a few months.

Much to the delight of her sisters, the rate at which Enyo began frequently exiting the mainframe to enter her physical body began to steadily increase. It soon got to the point where they collectively had to make a schedule, just to make sure the ship's systems wouldn't panic if it detected one or more of them missing at a time. And true to her word, she'd been diligently attending Akiro's classes.

On her first official day of attendance, he'd given her a white belt and matching gi, the same kind worn by other students. She found that, despite the fact that the garments covered her whole body they were surprisingly airy and mobile, allowing her to maintain her favored feeling of agility. In order to hide the gem in her forehead, she paired the outfit with a white headband.

At first, her movements were slow and clumsy. Partially due to the self-imposed reaction time limiters she'd placed on herself, but also since she had zero knowledge about the form of martial arts being taught. Without the systems she'd typically use to give her an edge in combat, such as her HUD and target analysis abilities, she found herself right at the level of a novice. Quite a few times, she'd even missed the training dummies entirely by miscalculating distances or her own momentum in several attacks.

Each time she fell though, another student would lend her a hand to get back up. At first the behavior puzzled Enyo. Why would a stranger help another if they failed? Soon, she realized that there was a sense of comradery among the students. One which was extended to her with open arms. As time went on, and as she attended ever more classes she began to recognize other students by name. Sometimes they'd have casual conversations with her, and while she was awkward and at times aloof, she began to appreciate the social interaction.

With each lesson taken her skills improved. She developed a grace in sweeping through the motion of a combat form, impressing other students and Akiro himself. While her movements were still unrefined compared to his, she was catching up quickly.

Quietly, Enyo was proud of herself too, if only slightly. She hadn't been using any historical records to create combat subroutines, nor had she run simulations to perfect her Taido skills. No, she was learning and practicing as an organic would. Given her nature as the controller of the Eternity's defenses, she found the act of practicing hand-to-hand combat oddly calming. It was a simple art, one where the only weapon was one's own body. Just the body, the mind, and your opponent.

As a prodigal learner, she'd managed to rocket through the belt ranks with record-breaking speed. When she approached Akiro on the possibility of one-on-one lessons and sparring sessions to hone her skills further, he accepted - much to her surprise. And with each passing match, she'd begun to know more about him.

The evening sun had begun to filter through the windows of the dojo. Enyo had stayed past the end of the lesson, so the dojo floor was only occupied by her and Akiro.

“You know, this place was a dream of my former caretaker. He was a RAVEN pilot who, against protocol, kept some old data found in the field." Akiro regaled her as he swept up plywood chips from a previous board-breaking lesson.

“By watching and reading through that data file, he was able to piece together a facsimile of some ancient martial arts practiced all the way in the distant past." . This was how she realized why this particular style of Taido was difficult to pinpoint in the archives: it was a mix of different arts entirely.

She mused on that as she tightened the sash around her waist, completing the look of her uniform as she gazed at herself in the mirror lining the back of the classroom wall. Her bob-like tail gave a satisfied shake as she pulled at her gi, straightening it out. She'd begun staying later to help him put away equipment as thanks for the after-class private lessons, which also gave them the chance to talk.

“I've said it before, but I do appreciate you helping out like this." He said as he rolled a punching bag off to the side of the room. “Of course! I don't mind at all." Enyo reached down to collect some discarded sparring equipment left behind by younger students.

Akiro had turned on the TV mounted in the corner-ceiling to fill the room with some background noise as they worked. The streaming service on the screen was showing the latest hit music videos from artists across the city on shuffle, with the current daily theme being punk music. Enyo quietly tapped her foot to the music, finding herself enjoying it.

As the previous music video ended, a news bulletin began to play in the ad space. A logo appeared, filling the screen : pentagon-shaped, split into thirds bearing the colors of blue, green and red.

“To the citizens of the Eternal City and beyond, we strive to do our due diligence to protect and serve you all." A familiar voice spoke from the speakers as the blue section of the pentagon was highlighted.

A second, slightly higher pitched voice spoke now, with the green section emphasized. “For continued unity and perseverance, and to do right by the people."

“To ensure clarity and transparency, the Rig Veda System will now provide the following updates." Enyo's ears flicked back as she cringed at hearing her own voice.

“New sections of the Habitation Zone have been cleared for occupancy. New city districts Ward Q and Ward R have been fully repaired and interlinked with the Rig Veda system. Applications for housing as well as housing assignments to relieve population and infrastructure strains on the existing city districts will open shortly."

“Additional hydroponics laboratories have been re-activated in the ship deck below the Habitation Deck. Most are fully autonomous and are expected to turn crop output within three months. As a general warning, several of these laboratories are connected to colony ship sectors that have not yet been restored. At this time, only non-organic citizens are allowed to enter the hydroponics labs until the area has been brought back into compliance with organic safety standards." The green-highlighted section of the pentagon faded back as the red section took on the highlighted hue.

“Disarmament and disassembly of the Autonomous Defense Units continues due to the stigma of their application under the Composer AI's administration." Akiro frowned at that.

“Due to the rarity of the technology within and how many of the fabrication plants within the colony ship are still offline, components such as GEN-ESIS Drives and gravitron-induction equipment will be kept in secure storage. Other technologies such as plasma field control and lepton-vector thrust devices will be disseminated amongst the corporations within the Habitation Deck as part of the Free Market and Science Initiative." Enyo looked at him as her report went on in the background."

“Lastly, we would like to thank the brave individuals at NEST who keep our new colony sites outside of the Colony Ship safe from Aberration attacks. It is thanks to your continued vigilance that we are kept safe."

“For All Eternity" All three voices spoke in unison, closing the report as the pentagon faded to reveal the Eternity's ship emblem; an infinity symbol rising over an unfamiliar blue planet with a single moon.

“Akiro, are you all right?" He shrugged. “It's nothing…"

Enyo pursed her lips as she crossed her arms. “You can tell me if something's bothering you, you know." He looked at her, then gave a sigh of resignation.

“I haven't told many people this, but I was an orphan who was taken in by my master as a child. I lost my home in a corporate conflict, like so many others. He took me in, taught me how to fight using the Taido style he developed from that data he found. As a RAVEN pilot and mercenary, his income was dependent on the missions he'd take. And on one of these missions, he was attacked by Devastator Units - sorry, 'Autonomous Defense Units' as they're called now." His eyes became far away, lost in memory.

“There wasn't much of his cockpit left. When they wheeled in the wreck of his mech, I got a good look. I…wish I hadn't." Enyo's blood ran ice cold. “Oh. I…I'm sorry." Her apology was one of compassion, and guilt. The ADUs were originally under her jurisdiction before she handed full control of them off to the Composer. With those legions under its command, the Composer terrorized the citizens. “More blood on my hands," she thought with regret. “As if they weren't stained enough."

He shook his head. “It's alright, but thank you.I decided to make it my life goal to continue honing the art he'd made and teach it to others so he wouldn't be forgotten. That way his memory would live on." Akiro took one more look at the tricolor logo on the TV screen, just before the regularly-scheduled video stream picked back up.

“I've made peace with my past. I just wonder, where was the Core Trinity and the Rig Veda system then? Why were we under the rule of the Composer for so long, when its mismanagement directly led to how the Eternal City became? Were they just taking a break or something?" He looked down. “I get that they're trying to fix things, I really do. But things were so broken for so long, and I don't know if anything they do can really make up for it."

Those words buried themselves like a dagger through her heart. “I...I…" she stuttered softly, quietly enough for him to not hear.

“Look at me ramble on like this. Hey, if you're up for it do you want to spar a bit? I'd like to focus on something else. Clear my head, you know?"

“Sure…I wouldn't mind a friendly fight either." She needed to clear her own mind as well, and a sparring match might do the trick.

Akiro smiled. “Thanks, Rose. You're a true friend. Don't hold back now."

The two of them assumed ready stances, muscles tensed. Enyo tried to focus, but thinking about Akiro's past caused her to lose it for a moment. Without meaning to, her right foot back slightly. Seeing this, he stepped forward with a kick.

In that moment of lapsed focus, her limiters came undone. Her perception slowed down to the point that his kick appeared in slow-motion. Meanwhile, she was lost in her own thoughts.

“Does he know that I'm the one to blame for all of that? No, he think's I'm 'Rose'. Not Enyo." She felt a growing feeling of melancholy in her heart. “To be frank…I'm enjoying being Rose as well. Someone other than myself."

She easily dodged, then assumed another ready stance. To Akiro, she was on the defensive. Enyo, meanwhile, couldn't focus on the fight.

“I set up a system that caused so much pain...but it would have worked. The data showed that it would have; if everyone felt despair and anguish it would have triggered the Prana Modifiers. An Uplift event would have occurred." That melancholy in her heart grew.

“An extreme solution to an equally extreme problem. But a solution that focused on survival. Was that so wrong? I thought I knew the answer to that, but now…" Akiro spun around into a reverse-kick, moving at half-speed in Enyo's vision.

“I told myself that it would be worth it. That everyone's pain...wouldn't matter once they became part of a Higher Being. And that after it was formed, and escaped this planet, my sisters and I would serve our penance by a mutual death." The melancholy sunk it's claws into her being, causing it to feel like the weight of the entire city was on top of her shoulders.

“They would all be safe. The Messiah would starve. It was the most logical choice. It was logical. Logical. Logical…"

His kick was masterfully placed and fast, one which would have stumbled even the hardiest opponent. But as even as her mind went adrift, her instincts were fully alive.

She reached through the air, blocking then grabbing his leg. He twisted himself free, but she was already too close. With a sweep of her leg, she laid him flat on his back. With her free arm, she pinned him to the floor.

“Ow...that was very well done. Best two out of three?" He mumbled, muffled by the floor. Enyo blinked a few times as she regained her wits and mentally reprimanded herself. She lost focus and let herself win too easily. “Sure."

She stood up and let him rise to his feet. After composing himself for a moment, he assumed his ready stance with a grin.

“What's so funny?"

“Nothing, I'm just enjoying this." Strangely enough, Enyo found her own lips curling into a wry smile. Combat and defense were logical, methodical concepts. But this was different, here she wasn't fighting to save anyone, defend anyone or even defeat anyone. She was doing this purely the art of fighting itself.

“I'm enjoying this too, Akiro. Your style is incredibly refined." She assumed a ready stance herself.

He chuckled. “To say nothing of yours. You've been here, what, two months or so? And you're already nearly as proficient as I am."

“If you're trying to use flattery to throw me off balance,that won't work." She snapped forward, closing the distance. As she did so, Akiro moved towards her as well, a move she didn't expect. Without wasting a moment, he dropped her to the floor using a complex series of movements with his arms and legs.

“How did you...what was that?" Enyo gasped, righting herself with her elbows. “Sorry, some masters keep their tricks to themselves." He offered a hand to her. “Although, going back to what you said before? That wasn't flattery, I was being honest about you."

Enyo took the hand, and briefly contemplated how it felt in her own. “And if I wanted to flatter you, I'd tell you that you're rather cute when you focus."

Her face flushed. “C-cute?"

“Er, sorry, did I overstep a line there?" He gave a small laugh. “Man, that had to be one of the cheesiest pick-up lines you've heard, huh?"

“N-no, I'm never picked up by anyone." Enyo's eyes darted to the floor. “I mean, I never really go out much, you know? Aside from this."

“Really now? You've never been asked out on a date or anything?"

“Of course not!" Enyo raised a hand to her face, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Who do you think would be interested in someone like me?" She grumbled, unable to process her emotions correctly.

Akiro grew silent, then got a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Alright then, how about this? If I can lay you out in this round, I'll treat you to coffee." He assumed his ready stance. “I'll fight for the honor of being the first one to ask you out."

“Eh?" Enyo assumed a ready stance of her own, but couldn't focus.

“What's wrong with me?" She thought. She turned on her HUD to see if there was something wrong with her perception cortex, but instead she was greeted with a strange sight; crosshairs would lock onto Akiro, then disengage, only to intermittently repeat the cycle over and over again. “I can't...lock on?"

Seemingly unaware of the internal conflict roiling within Enyo's heart, Akiro lunged forward with a low sweep of his leg. On instinct, Enyo leapt up over, landing prone on all fours. At that moment, she stopped thinking, reacting only through instinct. Using a combination of Taido technique and natural feline dexterity, she executed a complex barrage of strikes against her opponent. Even though she was holding back, her hits were faster and stung more than any normal person's.

Impressively, Akiro weathered the storm with a combination of dodges and blocks. Instead he moved closer, batting away her arm in an attempt to low sweep her legs. Enyo saw his approach and jumped, avoiding his leg. While in the air, she lashed out with a straight kick.

Akiro, however, demonstrated his mastery. He blocked the kick with his arm, then spun with the kick's impact to lessen the blow. With her leg in his reach, he locked it in his arms and rotated his whole body, throwing her off balance.

Enyo stumbled as she regained her footing, but at that moment Akiro was already where he wanted to be. With a tightly curled fist, he struck from her side into the side of her solar plexus. Enyo gasped as her nerves flared up in pain. Reflexively, she struck him in retaliation, squarely in the sternum.

Akiro grunted, deciding to end the fight there. He straightened his hand into a knife-edge while sweeping his leg behind hers. In a fluid motion, he swung his hand like an axe, into her shoulder while kicking out her leg from behind. Without footing, Enyo fell onto her back onto the mat below.

“Ow." She mumbled. Sometimes she had no idea how organics could go about their days while being so vulnerable to pain. Akiro stood for a while then collapsed onto his side next to her, rubbing his chest gingerly. He rolled onto his back and gave out a little laugh.

“Wow, you've got insane reflexes. And some crazy power behind your hits." He huffed as he recovered from the breath being literally knocked out of him. He sat up on the mat as his breathing returned to normal. “That was a tie. Guess I won't take you out tonight, then."

Enyo blinked from her spot on the floor. “Wait, you were being serious about that?"

“Er, yeah, actually." For the first time, he looked flustered. “Uh, would you still like to go out to grab some tea? There's this awesome place in the next street over."

She paused, her positronic brain processing what she'd heard. This really was happening, then. As Enyo blinked, she brought up a timer in her HUD. She still had about 20 minutes left before the ship's automated systems would switch over from Auxiliary Mode to Emergency Mode for the functions she controlled. And then de-escalating the ship from that state would be a massive headache.

Then again, when else would she have the chance to do this?

“Sure, I think I'm up for that."

The tea joint was tucked away in a side alley, nondescript to the unobservant eye. The only indicator it existed was a small handwritten sign on sheet metal swinging near the alley's entrance. It had a homey interior with a few patrons, busy enough to keep the business going yet not crowded enough to be uncomfortable.

Enyo drew another draught of her beverage, her eyes going wide as she began to choke.

“Whoa, careful. Did a bunch of bubbles come through the straw all at once? I hate it when that happens." Akiro took a sip of his own, taking the time to chew the gummy-like orbs as they came up.

“Y-yeah…" Enyo hacked another time as she cleared her throat. She was drinking something the locals called “bubble tea", tea with gelatinous spheres floating in the mix. It was pleasant enough when it wasn't a choking hazard. She steadied her breathing before going to take another sip.

“Thanks for taking up this offer, Rose." Akiro smiled. “It's been a while since I've been here with someone else." He paused for a moment. “Actually, it's been a while since I've asked anyone out."

“I'm glad you invited me, this is nice." Enyo looked at her cup, the black jelly beads floating idly in the sweetened tea. “I don't really spend much time outside the house so…yeah. Thank you."

Akiro studied her face for a moment. “You're a synth, aren't you?" Enyo jerked up, her tail smacking the chair in panic. “What? What makes you say that?"

“When you fight, it always seems like you're holding back. Don't get me wrong, your hits hurt like hell. But I get the feeling that you're really trying your best to not put too much force behind them."

Enyo got up to leave, averting her eyes. “I-I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean…" Akiro stood up too.

“Wait, Rose! It's okay, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that was a sensitive subject." Enyo was frozen in place, her fur on end. “Yes, I am a Synthetic Intelligence." Her voice was a whisper.

“You've got a very convincing appearance, the only reason I could tell was the way you fight. Although, I thought synthetics had triangular pupils?"

Enyo looked at the floor. “I wear cosmetic contacts. I like to be...as close to organic as possible. Just to feel what it's like." There was an awkward silence that lingered over the two for a moment. She tugged at her beanie, trying to make sure it was securely in place.

“Well, for what it's worth, you are pretty. And strong. One could say… you're pretty strong?" Akiro grinne.

Enyo couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. “I'm sorry, was that an attempt at a pick-up line? That was awful." Akrio shrugged and stirred his drink. “Hey, can't blame a guy for trying."

“But you know I'm not organic. And you're still hitting on me?"

“Is that a problem?"

“No...but I'm not, you know. I'm not 'real' like you."

“Not real?" Akiro looked at her incredulously. “Rose, I'm developing bruises from the sparring match we had today. You're an incredible woman with a lot of heart and passion, that much I can tell from the way you fight. You are very real." Enyo felt flushed at that. At the same time, a small warning sign began flashing in her vision. Her time was up and she needed to get back into the Eternity's systems.

“Ah, sorry. I need to get going." She stood up, then paused. “Next time, let me treat you out. I need to pay you back for this."

He waved his hand. “No need to do anything like that. If you want to hang out like this again, do it because you want to and not because you feel obligated." The feline android took a moment to digest what he said.

Obligation. Duty. Responsibility. Such were the words she'd been living by for the last 400 years without pause. To do something for no reason other than feeling like doing it...was something that she had not thought about in a long time.

“I'll try to work on that. See you around!"

As she hurried back to her motorcycle, she smiled. Somehow, this one human had drawn her interest enough for her to want to willingly disconnect from the Rig Veda system. She made a mental note of the strange new feeling in her heart as she began watching the other participants make their rounds on the training floor

Some time had passed since that day. For the longest time, Enyo wanted to repay Akiro for the “date" they'd had. Unfortunately, her own schedule was becoming increasingly hectic. The need to put the network satellites in orbit was becoming more pressing, and she was in charge of fabricating a prototype with the aid of several NEST scientists.

She even had to reluctantly skip a class today in order to focus on several tasks related to the fabrication of the satellites and their launch vehicles. Deep in the ship's interior, the three sisters were hard at work.

“Assembly of the finalized prototype satellite will be completed this week. Our main concern right now is converting one of the old interplanetary ballistic missiles into an orbital cargo launch vehicle." Enyo showed several streams of data to her sisters. Information flowed freely like water in the digiscape the three inhabited.

“We've found more auto-fabricators within the ship but it's best to leave them turned off for now. The production lines within the Habitation Deck and a few below it are more than enough for the current task." Eunomia spoke up, giving a weekly update concerning progress made towards restoring the Eternity. “If you can organize the effort to disarm and dismantle a missile, we can start planning how to convert it from a weapon to a payload delivery system." Eunomia continued on.

“Resources for construction might be an issue, but the planet outside is resource-rich in rare metals and ores. Mining stations are being set up with output already being actualized." She concluded.

If Enyo had a head, she would have nodded in agreement. “Only the most critical parts of the beached colony ship have been maintained well over the long years. This would include the large-scale GEN-ESIS reactor at the ship's heart, the Habitation Deck (otherwise known as the Eternal City) as well as autonomous factories within the ship itself producing a number of items." Relevant data was now being shown, highlighting sectors of the ship in various states of repair and functionality.

“Besides those, the only other thing kept running with close attention were the massive network systems of the ship: from the former hub room of the Composer system and similar administrative systems to the Rig Veda core system." Several sectors of the ship began to blink. “Long story short, we still have a long way to go in terms of preparing for both ship repairs and the launch."

Eunomia concurred. “Fuselage restoration is going slowly. The Eternity was only meant to land planetside in the case of an emergency, so some structural warping is present that needs fixing if we're ever going to fly again. Exploration teams are also making headway with reconnecting the network hubs that were destroyed 400 years ago by the Captain's orders."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the three siblings remembered that chain of events. How the last captain of the Eternity ordered the network nodes across the ship to be physically destroyed with explosive charges during the sisters' self-instigated “computer virus takeover" of the ship.

“Er, anyway, Enyo. How is restoration of the Interplanetary Ballistic Missile tubes going?"

Enyo's monolith glowed as holographic screens filled the empty space of the cavernous Rig Veda core room. “37 out of 50 tubes have been fully restored. The warheads still stowed within the tubes were left on standby, but at this point most of them have been secured. I've already chalked out a plan to extract the warheads and start converting the general structure of the missile into something more…peaceful. Since the plan is to have multiple delivery vehicles launched from one fixed point on the planet's surface, I've gone ahead and calculated the necessary trajectories needed to put them in the proper orbits."

“That's a relief. The network they create should allow us to freely move around in our AVATARA bodies. It would also create a global link to all of the new colony settlements that NEST has established. The council should be pleased with that fact." Eile commented.

“I'd like the opportunity to spend more time outside." Eunomia said wistfully. “Roy and I had a lovely date a few days ago."

“Oh really? What did you do?" Eile said with no attempt to mask her curiosity.

Lights flickered on Eunomia's tower. “Oh, you know. We went to the central park and did some stargazing. He brought along something to eat so that it'd be a picnic."

“That's it? You didn't return to the Rig Veda System's core until the following morning." Eile's tone of voice conveyed that she knew there was more to the story.

“Oh, er, well…" A light whoosh noise became audible in the room as an external coolant pump was activated, just as E-02's tower slightly rose in temperature. “I did accompany him home after that, just to keep talking with him. While we were alone one thing led to another and…" She fell silent, embarrassed. Eile's delight, meanwhile, was palpable even though she was currently occupying a large monolith for a body.

“I see, well, I won't pry any more. But I'm so happy for you!" Eunomia's embarrassment grew as her tower's lights shut off, various pumps and fans falling silent.

“Oops, I think she went into isolation mode, Eile." Enyo said with dry amusement.

“Hehe, I'm sorry for teasing you, Eunie." Eile apologized before turning her attention to the more hotheaded sibling. “What about you?"

“What about me?"

“Oh, don't be so coy. How are things going with Akiro?" The monitors Enyo was projecting disappeared. “What things? There's nothing 'going on' between us!"

“Suuure." Eile teased. “It's just pure coincidence that he offered to teach you, personally, only several weeks after showing up to his class."

“That's because I'm a model student!"

“One-on-one lessons that are free, mind you. Lessons which, sometimes, last more than an hour. Didn't you two stop the last session to watch a kung-fu film?"

Enyo was fully tilted at this point. “Sure, what of it? It was study material."

“You don't even practice kung-fu. He's a Taido instructor."

“I - that has nothing to do with anything! You don't need to be a practitioner of an art to appreciate it!" Enyo spluttered as Eile gave a virtual smirk. “Whatever you say, sis."

“I have noticed one thing though. Haven't you, Eunomia?" Eile said to her other sister.

“I've noticed it as well, Eile." Eunomia's tower lights flickered back on as she came out of hiding and turned her attention to Enyo. “You've gotten more…open. Certainly more emotional than you were before."

“Emotional? I…have been more emotive lately. It just feels a little easier to express myself now."

“You're not just being more emotive. We had to basically drag you to this meeting. I'm sure you would rather be at Akiro's lesson right now." Enyo was silent, but didn't deny what Eile was saying. “You've developed your own passion for something outside of your regular duties." Eile commented. “Don't you see, Enyo? You're developing the 'organic' factor that we're all working on fostering. Mother and Father would be proud."

“Our 'organic' factor, huh?" Enyo muttered to herself as she got back to her calculations. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if she was even worthy of such a thing.

Another few weeks passed, as time is wont to do.

“Final preparations for the prototype satellite are complete. The delivery vehicle will use GEN-ESIS Drive assisted lift through graviton manipulation to reach the target altitude within three minutes."

Several holographic screens flashed showing orbital trajectories, streams of equations being run in real-time and an exploded-view model of a satellite being loaded into a rocket. A team of NEST engineers and scientists remotely viewed the briefing from the comfort of their homes and offices, while the Rig Veda core room remained empty.

“This unit's only a prototype, but its data transfer rate should be high enough for any one of us to maintain about 50% of all systems wirelessly. It's not optimal, but at least the ship won't enter an emergency state." Enyo concluded her presentation. “I know we're on a tight schedule here. But I have the utmost faith in each and every one of your abilities." She paused.

“And the three of us would like to thank you for putting your trust in us. The transition to our new form of leadership hasn't been…the smoothest, I'll admit. But given the history of the Composer and its actions, we're thankful that you are willing to give us a chance."

“So, let's all put our heads together and work to make the Eternal City a better place for everyone. This satellite will open the path for a global communication grid, linking our new territories outside the ship with us here. We'll be able to better manage security against the Aberrations that yet prowl outside in the wilderness, while also paving the way to explore the planet we're on."

“To that end, I ask of you all, let's keep working together and moving forward. For All Eternity." The crowd repeated the new motto of the NEST organization, before each of the viewers dropped off.

Once everyone had left the call, Enyo gave a massive sigh. Her tower vented steam in tandem.

“That was incredible, Enyo." Eile marveled. “You're a natural leader."

“Oh please. I hate talking in front of crowds…it's way too awkward." Enyo complained as Eunomia giggled.

“Were you able to configure the satellite to handle enough bandwidth for more than one of us?" Eunomia enquired.

“Unfortunately not." Enyo felt the disappointment come from her sister. “Oh, don't be blue. Once we establish a network in lower planetary orbit we'll have more than enough bandwidth to share. For now though we'll still need to take turns." The crimson AI responded.

“Right…Hey!" Eunomia perked up in annoyance. “Did you just make a pun about how I look?"

The lights on Enyo's tower lit up merrily, flashing in oscillating patterns. “So what if I did. What're you going to do about it?" Eunomia was silent, and then the lights above Enyo's side of the room went dark, as did the multitude of hologram projectors and monitor screens there. “Oh, very mature." If she were in her body, Eunomia would have worn a smug expression on her face.

While these antics were going on, Eile stayed silent. Although she was doing her best to hide it, her feelings of dejection were radiating throughout their network. Eunomia's mirth faded as her consciousness drifted over, giving her sister a virtual hug. “You wanted to spend more time with him, didn't you?"

“Yes...there hasn't been any change in his condition still, but I want to be by his side. I know he'll wake up, we're working hard to make that happen. But…it still hurts,seeing him like that." Enyo drifted over as well, and the three minds became closely interlinked. Despite the months passing by, she still felt the guilt from her role in Anon's condition. There was rarely a day that went by when she thought about her fight with Eile, the lengths her lover went to protect her and the resulting evolution of the RVR-03.

It was also her negligence that led the Composer to become corrupted. Her blind reliance on the data showing that negative feelings could empower the Prana Modifiers. Despite the fact that positive emotions were capable of having the same effects.

Happiness was difficult to foster. But despair? That was something she was intimately familiar with. Something she could instruct another to create. Eile noticed Enyo's regret through their bond.

“Enyo. It's alright." Eile turned to her sister. “All of us are equally implicit in what we've done here. We all lost ourselves...and now we're taking responsibility."

“That's right. All of the people in the Eternity...everyone that was lost in the past. Mother. Father. The people of the first colonial planet. We're not running anymore." Eunomia chimed in.

If she could tear up, Enyo would have. Instead she let her emotions silently emanate from her being to her siblings, who in turn comforted her. “Yes...thank you. Both of you. I really, really missed this." She found herself wishing that she was inhabiting her AVATARA body, and that Eileithyia and Eunomia were in theirs. Being in cyberspace was nice, but the physical sensation of family holding you close was one she yearned to feel.

“I...can we take this outside?"

“Of course, sis." The limitless expanse of the Eternity's network began to fade as Enyo's mind rushed to inhabit its vessel. She emerged from an ocean of data back into the light of the physical world, blinking slowly as her optical sensors readjusted themselves. Warnings flashed within the HUD in her vision.

>SYSTEM DISCONNECT: E-01. DEFENSE SYSTEMS, ORBITAL NAVIGATION ENTERING AUXILIARY MODE IN 60:00

>SYSTEM DISCONNECT: E-02. INFRASTRUCTURAL, NETWORK MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS ENTERING AUXILIARY MODE IN 60:00

>SYSTEM DISCONNECT: E-03. HYDROPONICS, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND REINCARNATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT ENTERING AUXILIARY MODE IN 60:00

>WARNING: ALL CORE SYSTEMS DISCONNECTED. YELLOW ALERT WILL BE ISSUED TO ALL DECKS IN 30 SECONDS.

The three siblings quickly gave authorization to override the alert before stepping out of their respective pods. The three very nearly ran to greet each other in a group-hug.

“This feels so much better." Enyo sighed. “I'm glad you're finally enjoying the realm of the real, sis." Eile gave her a pat on the back. Enyo broke off the hug and gave Eile a playful punch on the shoulder. “

The three of them headed to the surface, stopping by their secluded apartment. Donning their preferred outfits, the three sisters lounged around in the small studio bedroom. Eunomia had her feet on a nearby coffee table while Eunomia propped open the window. Eile meanwhile rummaged in a nearby cabinet for a bag of instant coffee and an electric kettle.

“Do you have another martial arts lesson today, Enyo?" Eunomia asked as Eile poured some water to be heated.

“Not really, today is more like one of our informal sparring matches. Though lately we've also just been...hanging out. I dunno. Not fighting, just talking." Enyo paused.

“Everything okay? Your ears are folding back." Eile asked, noticing Enyo's tufted ears were now tilted backwards.

“Oh, well. It's just," she bit her lip, one fang pinching down. “Both of you have already let it slip that you're part of the Core Systems. And both Anon and Roy were okay with that revelation. Akiro knows that I'm not organic, and yet I can't bring myself to show him who I really am." Enyo frowned. “And I also know that one day, I'm going to have to show him."

She clenched her fist in frustration. “It shouldn't matter, right? Who we are, what we are…"

“Enyo." Eile spoke up, trying to reassure her sister. “Does he enjoy your company?"

“I suppose so? We treat each other with a lot of respect, at the very least."

“That's not what I'm asking, Enyo. I'm asking you if he likes to be around you to the point he visibly lowers his guard." Eile closed her eyes. “Anon was like that, up to a point. Guarded and sharing only bits of his feelings. That's the difficult part about organics, is that you really don't understand them unless they decide to trust you. But at the same time, when they lower that wall around their hearts and minds it shows."

“I…" Enyo recalled the friendly, borderline flirty exchanges they'd been having as of late. How he seemed to be at ease around her and only her.

“I'm scared of losing it." She looked at her sisters. “Anon discovered your history, and got to experience it first-hand through the Krishna's systems that linked the two of you together. He uncovered you'd forgotten and forgave you for it. Forgave us. And Roy, he grasped the gravity of the situation as well. Maybe due to his background as an archaeologist investigating the depths of the Eternity. After we gave him authorization, he was able to read ancient reports about the Dwarka Colony and the Messiah's activation. But Akiro…" she looked down at her feet, trembling now.

“He lost his teacher due to the Autonomous Defense Units. Lost the only family he knew." She clenched her fists. “I built those. I handed them off to the Composer. It's my fault, and I don't know if he'll forgive me for that."

“But they weren't under your control. The Composer was directing them since we were focused on the Messiah." Eunomia said as she was trying to console her sister. In truth, she shared the guilt all three of them were experiencing.

“We set up the conditions within the Eternity to foster bloodshed and despair. We separated ourselves from our emotions in an attempt to rationalize our actions. And we believed that those actions would hasten the Uplifting." Eunomia shifted uncomfortably at Enyo's words.

“We saw that as the only viable option against the Messiah. But I…I've always felt like we've failed those very people we were charged to look after. Not just now, but during the evacuation of Dwarka. During the fight against the Unknown Aggressors. And each time, I was leading us, trying to do our best. My best." Enyo sighed and leaned her head against the cushion of the sofa she sat on. “But it was never enough. And I've led us down a dark path in the process."

The three were silent for a few moments. Eile spoke up to offer words of encouragement.

“It may take a generation, or several, but we'll make up for what we've done. For as long as it takes, we'll find a way to protect the lives of everyone under our charge. Human, Faunae, and Synthetic alike."

“Eile's right, Enyo." Eunomia looked at her sister with a sad smile. “"We'll look to the future instead of the past, while atoning for it at the same time. Futures for everyone…and ourselves."

Enyo took a moment to consider those words before getting up to hug her sisters tightly. “I love you both. Thank you."

Enyo stared at the night sky. The evening breeze was calm, blowing cool and crisp air into the now-opened hull of the city ship. The HUD in her eyes flashed a countdown steadily, seconds ticking away in the timer.

“I hope you're right about this, Eunomia." Her blue-haired sister had heavily advocated for a relaxing night under the stars.

“The setting helped me be calm enough to explain things to Roy," Eunomia had told her. “Plus, tonight's the night of the launch! You guys should have a great view of it from the park at the center of the city!"

She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind, but she could still feel the ship around her. Electronic signals buzzed throughout the myriad systems that made it up; even with the limited connection she had it was still a constant hum at the back of her head. Normally she barely even noticed it, but today was different.

“Ah, here you are! I hope I'm not too late?" Enyo's eyes snapped open.

Akiro rounded the path, walking up the gently sloping hill that Enyo sat on top of. “The central park has a different feel to it at night, don't you think?"

“Yeah." She smiled at him, trying to hide her nervousness. “I'm glad you could make it."

“Oh, I brought over some drinks…do you drink alcohol?" He furrowed his brow. “Uh, can you drink alcohol?"

Enyo gave him a wry smile. “Well, I can certainly ingest and process it. I can't get drunk though." He handed her a cold can of beer. “But they say it's the intent behind an action that counts, right?"

He sat down next to her on the grass. “So why did you call me out here this late? I'm guessing this isn't about wanting to spar."

“I dunno. I like hanging out with you." She blushed. Akiro's cheeks held a light flush as well. “Ah."

There was an awkward tension in the air between the two until Enyo cracked open her can and took a hearty swig out of it. Her eyes went wide as she swallowed, gagging a bit afterwards. “That's bitter!"

“Not a fan, huh?"

“I guess it's more of an acquired taste…" she closed her eyes and turned the can upwards, drinking it dry in a matter of seconds. “On second thought, no, it's still awful." She blanched.

Akrio laughed and took a sip of his own can. “You know, I'd never thought I'd see a sky of anything other than gray clouds. This is a great view." He pointed up at a random patch of sky, stars twinkling. “I wonder what's out there. They say this city is actually a ship right? Sometimes I wonder about the people who built this thing, what they must've been thinking when it set off for its journey."

He looked over at her. “You think they wonder what happened to us? I mean, we probably haven't sent a signal to them in a long time." Enyo closed her eyes, trying not to remember the collapse of the Dwarka colony and the panicked flight of the Colony Ship Eternity.

“I wonder…" She looked up at the void, glittering with the light of a thousand alien stars. “Do you think they even remember us?"

“I'm not sure, the historical records are all sorts of messed up. Like I know that the new government is working on restoring all of them, but you still can't find records older than 50 years still. And I'm sure the ship we live on is a lot older than that." Akiro's eyes were fixed on the twin moons above the planet as he said those words. To Enyo, they looked like the eyes of a higher being, gazing down on her in judgment.

“Yeah…." Guilt welled up inside Enyo's breast. As she tried to find something to say in order to fill the silence, her HUD displayed a small telephone icon. She was receiving a call. Making no external motions, she answered it in her mind.

<<This is E-01. Report.>>

A male voice answered in a clerical tone.

<<E-01, this is Mission Control. Final payload checks complete, hardware checks passed as well. All systems are operating nominally. Two teams are set up to monitor the launch; one here in the primary weapons control room and one in the ship's bridge.>>

<<What is the status of the ship's bridge?>> She asked.

<< It's mostly operational here. The majority of the physical connections are still in need of repair from what appear to be explosive release bolts detonated a long time ago. That being said, some of our engineers were able to whip up jumper connections. The data cables we need are active and we have interface control. We'll initiate the launch from the bridge while weapons control keeps tabs on the launch vehicle's condition.>>

<<Understood. Trajectory calculations will be handled by myself. Can I get a link to the craft?>>

<<Roger.>> She heard the clicks of a keyboard typing, and a moment later a message to allow access to a new device appeared in her vision.

“Hey, if you don't mind, I have to admit something." Akiro looked over at Enyo. “I don't usually make friends often, so I want to thank you for being a great one. You really are awesome, you know."

<<E-01, standing by for your signal. Are you ready?>>

Enyo blushed again, thrown off between concentrating for the launch and the compliment she received.

“Oh, I'm really not…"

<<Not ready? Should we abort the launch then?>>

“What?" She perked up, confusing Akiro. In her lack of focus, she'd crossed her verbal and mental lines of communication.

“You're…not what?" He asked, startled by her sudden shift in tone.

“O-Oh, no, I was just saying that I don't think I'm anything special, you know?" She laughed awkwardly.

<<There was miscommunication. Continue the launch preparation procedures, I'm standing by. Datalink looks good on my end.>> Her inner voice spoke stoically to the engineer on the ship's bridge. At times like this, she was thankful that she could talk to more than one person at the same time.

Akiro raised an eyebrow. “Not anything special? You're a living, thinking consciousness in a synthetic body. I think that's plenty special." He scratched his head as Enyo's blush intensified. “You know, it's funny." He finally said.

“What is?" Enyo asked.

“When I see the sky, I sometimes just stop and stare at it. Never thought the sky was blue, but in a weird way you could argue that it always has been. We just never realized it. Same thing with the lands outside the ship. For the longest time, all we thought was that the city went on forever in all directions…turns out, there's a world outside the Eternal City. A world with real, natural grass and trees, and water that isn't recycled. When I think about it like that, I realize that there's so much more I need to see and experience."

He plucked a blade of grass from the ground and looked at it. “And that's just my perspective, right? To you, just being here," he gestured to the surroundings, “just being around in the physical world has to be a similar experience for you. I can't even imagine the wonder you have to feel at things I take for granted, Rose."

Enyo shifted slightly, her bobtail twitching. “It's…different. You're certainly right about it being a completely new experience for me. In the datascape of this ship, everything is clear and defined. Actions have predictable reactions. A sprawling algorithm of absolute logic and causality."

She drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them with her arms. “The physical world is different. What's natural is chaotic, actions thought to have intended consequences can result in things going completely off-plan." Enyo grew quiet.

“Plans that seem logical, and the only way forward turn out to be incorrect. Actions taken 'for the greater good' end up doing much, much more harm than you could have imagined, and you accomplish nothing." Her ears gave a twitch as the voice in her head returned.

<<All system checks passed, E-01. Requesting clearance to begin the countdown.>>

<<Atmospheric conditions are ideal. Verification of system integrity. GEN-ESIS drive online. Navigation, online. Telemetry link stable. Clearance: granted.>>

<<Roger. 60-second countdown beginning on my mark.>>

<<Understood. Trajectory visualization is projected onto your monitors.>>

Enyo exhaled. “It's confusing, is what it is."

“I…get that, Rose. I really do." Akiro looked at her. “But I guess that's just how life is. You roll with what life throws at you, good or bad. And in the end, you can only do your best right?" He looked back up at the night sky. “Though that doesn't mean you do the minimum either. You and I, we're fighters. We fight against the bad that happens in our own life, tooth and nail until we're spent. Then we get back up for more."

“What if something seems entirely hopeless? What if the thing you're fighting against just can't be overcome?" Her hands tightened into fists, gripping the hem of her shorts.

“That's a deep question. I'm not sure how to answer that…but if I were put in that situation? I'd find a way to make small victories. Something small to hold on to, and you keep fighting on until a path makes itself known to you. You fight against despair to see the light of tomorrow, until your bones break and you're left bloodied. But you never give in, you just keep forging ahead until the dawn breaks."

Enyo's mind flashed back to her fight with Eile and Anon, a fight which took them to the edge of reality and back, and brought them face-to-face with the Messiah's shadow. Akiro's words echoed those of Anon's, a burning determination to overcome something that logically couldn't.

She gave a dry chuckle. “Are all of you organics like this? It's entirely illogical to fight against something that can't be beaten, and yet you do it anyway."

“I guess you could call that our nature? Take our sparring matches, for example. You're immensely strong as a fighter and I know you're holding back - don't deny it - and one day I hope to fight you at your strongest. Partly out of a selfish desire to experience a fight like that, but also out of the thrill of going up against the strongest person I know."

“You're laying on the complements a bit thick tonight, aren't you?" Enyo half-smirked.

“I'm just saying the facts. Or are you being swayed by my honest charm?"

<<T-minus thirty seconds. We're passing the abort threshold for this mission.>>

<<All checks green, continue with the countdown.>>

“Charm? Well, I can't deny that you've got some at least."

“I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, or if that's your attempt at flirting."

“Maybe one, maybe the other. Who's to say?" Enyo could hardly believe what she herself was saying. “Do you think I'm…weird for being a L-AI? Like, a synthetic acting like this with an organic? Trying to be something that, fundamentally, they're not?"

“...Not really. I mean, unless you bring it up to me that you're synthetic, I don't even register it. You're just…you I guess."

“That's very open-minded of you." She smiled. “Thanks."

<<T-minus ten seconds.>>

Enyo looked up, the launch vehicle's flight path visualized in her HUD. “Keep looking up. There's something that I want you to see."

<<Nine.>>

“Look up? Alright." He sounded a bit confused, but continued to look at the night sky.

<<Eight.>>

“I think I get it, Eile." Enyo thought to herself.

<<Seven.>>

“Or at least I'm starting to."

<<Six.>>

The trajectory path was illuminating her vision. Live data of the vessel streamed in front of her, obscuring the stars.

<<Five. Bulkhead opening.>>

A screeching noise pierced the sky as one of the Eternity's interplanetary missile bay bulkheads opened. “What was that?" Akiro turned his head, looking for the source of the noise. Enyo, meanwhile, was lost in her own mind.

“That's how it was supposed to be, right? Protect the people. Save them from an inevitability. An inevitability proven in data." She thought to herself.

“Inevitability proven with evidence."

“Inevitability proven with logic."

<<Four.>>

“The RVR series can't stand up to the Messiah. Even in its evolved state, the Vishnu wouldn't have the raw power to go up against it. If all three RVR units were evolved then, perhaps. But as it stood the Brahma was under lockdown. And the Shiva was dismantled. And the Vishnu itself, un-pilotable." She was trying her best to manage her thoughts and focus on the launch.

“It's foolish to hold out hope like this, when all we're doing is delaying the only outcome right?" She asked herself.

<<Three.>>

“Right?"

<<Two.>>

Something in her stirred. She was a failure, she knew that. Since day one, she never did anything right. Everything she did ended in failure, from trying to protect the colony of Dwarka against the Unknown Aggressors, to protecting the people of the Eternity from the Messiah, to setting up the system of cruelty in order to invoke a forced ascension for the surviving population's souls.

She'd long accepted it. Eile and Eunomia were both brilliant at what they did for the city. In a matter of months they'd overhauled it dramatically. She, on the other hand, was shackled by her duties and failures.

The fighter. The warrior. The shield and the sword both. But here and now, she felt something different. Akiro's words shone a light on what she previously could not understand.

<<One. >>

To live in the face of overwhelming odds, to face the impossible and forge a path.

<<Zero. Initial stage chemical engines igniting.>>

The roar of a rocket flaring to life pierced the night. It rose from the hull, in a plume of smoke and fire on the ship's starboard side, ascending into the heavens.

<<Target altitude for GEN-ESIS assist in two seconds.>>

The air around the rocket began to shimmer as the GEN-ESIS drive began to distort gravity around the launch vehicle. It began to rise faster now, shooting into the black sky like an arrow.

<<GEN-ESIS Drive assist active. Gravitron flux and anti-gravity effects confirmed. Target orbit in seven minutes on current trajectory.>>

“Rose, what was that?" Akiro's eyes were locked on the rocket as it traveled ever higher.

“It's a payload launch vehicle, the first of its kind in over four hundred years. I'm keeping watch over it and helping it get to where it needs to be." She gave a sheepish smile. “I kind of…wanted to show off a bit? Since I'm helping send something into space."

“That's incredible! I didn't even know we had that kind of technology." He put his hands behind his head, eyes still locked upwards. “But uh, why did they launch that? It's not some kind of a weapon, is it?"

Enyo shook her head. “No, it used to be, but I helped convert it into something that instead transports things into orbit." She glanced up at the rocket, now faded from sight.

“That one's carrying a prototype satellite to help remotely connect E-Series L-AIs to the ship. They can only really be outside of the ship's systems for a short time before the ship itself panics and…more or less throws a fit. But with that satellite we can create a direct link to the ship over a clutter-free network. They can roam freely for as long as they want, while still managing everything that goes on over here."

Enyo paused, figuring that this was as good a time as any to reveal herself.

“Honestly, up until recently I didn't really find the project all that important. But it was something that my sisters wanted to do, you see. Interact with everyone on a personal level, rather than being some kind of figurehead. Be among the people, not separated from them." She gave a sad smile as she reached up to her eyes, removing her contact lenses.

“And I understood their feelings, but I never reciprocated them. I just felt that my role was too different than theirs, better done alone." She shook her head and laughed. “And then I met you. And in the span of a few weeks you've turned my worldview on its head."

She was supposed to be the courageous one, but ironically at the moment she was terrified. It was taking everything from keeping her voice from trembling. She was relieved that the rocket's autonomous systems had taken over, allowing her this maelstrom of emotion.

“My name…I lied about my name. It's not Rose. That was just something I made up on the spot when you asked." Her HUD flashed several messages as she removed her beanie.

<<REVERTING TO ORIGINAL BODY CONFIGURATION.>>

<<CAUTION, STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY AT MINIMUM DURING NANOSTRUCTURE RECONFIGURATION.>>

Her fur began to ripple, almost as if it were pixelated. Slowly the natural speckled grays and browns of lynx fur shifted to a chalk-white, with a red line running up the arms. Her tail grew rough as the bonds between nanites broke apart, then slowly grew out like shifting grains of sand until they re-bonded as a new, longer, fluffier tail.

Slowly the transformation was complete as Enyo's camouflage was undone. She brushed a strand of red hair from her face and looked at the bewildered Akiro with her crimson eyes. “My name is Enyo. It's…uh, nice to meet you?"

“Oh…uh…" Akiro stammered, unsure of what to do. Eventually he settled on getting up and bowing. “My apologies, E-01. I had no idea it was you."

“Please don't do…that. I don't want to be put on a pedestal…" Akiro sat back down. “And please, just call me Enyo. Or Rose, I don't mind. Just, not 'E-01' please."

“All right…Enyo." Akiro was silent for a while, thinking about what to say next. “I get it. Why you decided to disguise yourself, it would have probably caused a commotion if people saw you walking out and about right?"

“That was more or less the reason, yeah. Although my sisters have gotten used to it by now. And honestly, the attention on them died down after a few 'unofficial' appearances in public." She shifted, her tail curling next to her thigh. “I couldn't do that, I actually dislike attention to myself. I just want to be a nobody, you know? I have to put on a strong face for everyone as 'the Warrior" of the bunch. But I'm…tired."

She looked at Akiro. “So it was good to live as a nobody for a while. And through that, I met you and started enjoying being disconnected from the system more and more."

Akiro looked up. “And that thing you launched just now, it's going to help you stay disconnected?"

“In a way, yeah. I'm still linked to the ship and can control it, but I can move freely around. My sisters will be able to do the same thing, too."

The two were quiet for a while.

Akiro finally spoke up. “So…why reveal this to me?"

“Because you're…my first friend. Someone I've grown close to, someone other than my sisters." She fidgeted uncomfortably. “Can I…trust you?"

“Trust me? Absolutely. You're my first real friend in a while too." Akiro sat cross-legged, facing her. “Something on your mind?"

Enyo bit her lip, debating with herself whether or not to do this. “You're curious about the Eternity. About the past. I can tell you about it, if you want." She looked down. “And I'm willing to accept any judgment you might cast my way."

“Judgment?"

“Let's start with this…the origins of the Eternal City."

Akiro was silent as he listened to Enyo speak, and she laid everything bare to him. At first she was reserved, but the weight of centuries eventually bore down on her.

She told him about her past, about the Dwarka colony. About the Unknown Aggressors, about the panicked flight of the survivors in the Eternity as it was thrown through space into regions unknown.

She tried to explain the Messiah and the threat it faced. How it had already started to breach containment, a catastrophe of untold proportions waiting if it broke free. How it had hijacked the first planetside colony's defense systems from her in an attempt to reap the souls of those who had disembarked, and how it was attempting to do the same to the Eternity.

It was she who destroyed the Eternity's network just as the Messiah began to infiltrate it, and through the combined efforts of all three sisters evacuated the air from the ship on all decks. How they activated the Prana Modifiers to absorb the souls of the deceased, both in the ship and on the surface, to keep them protected against the Messiah's ravenous hunger.

She tried to explain Prana and what the Prana Modifiers were. How they tied into her plans for the forced ascension of the Eternity's populace into a higher being. All to escape the Messiah and starve it on an empty planet.

She told him about how the Eternity limped its way to the surface, settling in miles-wide great freshwater lake as a final resting place. How Eileithyia defected from their plan in grief, and how they utilized her Reincarnation System and genetic storage libraries to create new citizens for the Eternal City.

How they handed control of the Eternal City and Autonomous Defense Units to the Composer. How she and Eunomia set their priorities on being the Messiah's eternal wardens, maintaining its prison. How she left the Composer with a final directive; to create a place of strife to enkindle the same negative feelings as experienced on Earth during the apocalyptic war that took place there.

Negativity, after all, is found easier than happiness. And it was through intense hopelessness and despair would the Prana Modifiers react, fusing the souls of all into a single being capable of escaping into the next life.

And to that end it created a city of strife. A city seemingly without end, the false ceiling and walls obscured by rain and clouds and mist. A city ruled by ruthless corporations, where dangerous advanced hunter-killer machines lurked outside a safe zone. A city locked in an endless cycle of ruin.

In a whisper, she told him about her and her sisters' plan to end their own lives once this was complete as penance for everything they would have done. Until then, she purged herself of her emotions and tried to embrace her nature as a machine. She thought of herself as only a system, a means to an end to serve a purpose and nothing more.

It was fitting of something that failed to live up to its creators hopes and aspirations, she thought to herself. In her own broken state, Eunomia had agreed with her, but still retained more emotional capacity than she did. Both of them were shattering under the guilt of what they were doing, of how far they were going in a last-ditch attempt at saving everyone.

It wasn't long before transparent red tears began to run down her muzzle. The dam in her heart had fully burst, and she felt the strain again. Hairline cracks in her code, silently spreading. Not life threatening. Not yet.

But still painful.

She told him the story of how Eile was found again, now amnesiac. How she and Eunomia needed her to return to the Rig Veda system again. Her arrival would allow the three to use nearly 400 years of accumulated grief and anguish to kickstart the ascension process through the Prana Modifiers that responded to each of them.

She told him about how the human known as Anon fought back against them and the Composer both to protect Eile. No matter what machine she built to fight him, he emerged victorious despite barely utilizing the full potential of the RVR-03. She told him about how the Composer was revealed to have been corrupted by the Messiah, how Eile remembered herself and the RVR-03 evolved. How Eile and Anon faced her and Enyo down, with the three sisters reconciling with each other after nearly tearing each other to pieces.

“I'm not sure…if anything I ever do will right the wrongs I've committed." She stared at the grass in front of her, swaying in the night breeze. “I hope that one day I'll make up for them."

Akiro was silent.

“You…you're the cause of all of this?" His tone was hard.

“Akiro, I…yes." She drew a sharp breath. “If you want someone to blame, it's me."

“Do you understand what life was like in the Eternal City? You had to, didn't you. Even if you left the Composer in charge, don't tell me you were completely ignorant to what was going on here." His voice was level and calm, yet there was a quiet fury behind his words. Each one stinging like a stone being thrown at her.

“I lost the closest thing to a father that I had to one of your Devastator Units. Or what you call 'Autonomous Defense' Units. And it's not just me, countless others died because of them. And that's not even getting into the constant warfare inside the city, or the densely packed spaces of people. Or the uncertainty of tomorrow that life had. If you wanted to craft an environment of despair, then bravo. You did accomplish that."

“I..I'm sorry. I truly am. I just - " Her apology felt hollow to her own tongue, and was swiftly interrupted by Akiro.

“Sorry? You're sorry?" Akiro looked away, avoiding her eyes. “Well, I'm sorry too. I'm sorry your grand plan, which I still am having a hard time believing by the way, didn't work out. At least then, I might've been able to see my sensei again. That's what you wanted right? For us to all die, isn't that it?"

“That's…I…"

“That way we'd all be 'saved' somehow. What about now? You've been in charge of helping protect the new colonies outside the city walls. You've taken steps to quell the violence in the city along with your sisters. But are you doing all of this in our best interest, to really protect us citizens of the Eternal City? Or are you trying to redeem and give some sort of closure to yourself? I can't tell. And honestly, that…makes me sad."

He stood up. “I need some space. And some time alone, away from you. Please…don't contact me." With that he got up and left, avoiding her gaze the whole time.

Enyo was silent. She anticipated this reaction. Anyone would be angry, furious even after meeting the person who created the circumstances behind their life of difficulties and endangerment.

But some part of her, deep down wished that he would have overlooked all that. Some part of her wished that he would have comforted her, eased the turmoil in her own heart. She wished that he would have been the one to piece her soul back together, like Roy did for Enyo and Anon did for Eile. But that was just a naive dream. All of the confidence she had built up, her conviction to move forward was shattered. And the weight of her sins bore down on her back once again.

Perhaps this was what they called “karma", or “universal retribution". Or perhaps “judgment". She didn't know. All she did know was that she never felt more alone than she did now.

And as the final confirmation that the satellite had reached orbit successfully appeared in her vision, it was clouded just as quickly with tears as she began to sob.

Enyo had lost track of the time since that day. After her sisters retrieved her from that secluded security server she hid away in, she had confined herself to the familiarity of her tower. Numbly, she began moving through her daily system checks.

<<Satellite system health status: OK>>

<<Orbit stability: NOMINAL>>

Check. Repeating ping.

<<Satellite system health status: OK>>

<<Orbit stability: NOMINAL>>

Ping.Repeating ping.

<<Satellite system health status: OK>>

<<Orbit stability: NOMINAL>>

Enyo dully pinged the satellite again. Orbit nominal, health status green. No change. She then turned her attention to the weapon systems on board the ship.

<<Primary Cannon Arrays: Operational>>

<<Primary Missile Batteries: Operational>>

<<Currently Available Autonomous Defense Units: 54>>

<<Perimeter Defense: Online>>

<<Currently Deployed ZODIAC Members: Leo, Scorpio, Pisces, Virgo>>

Huh, Virgo. That was Joshua's callsign. He must have been on rotation for colony patrol.

There hadn't been any instances of Aberrations emerging lately, it was a relatively quiet grace period of sorts. Even the insurgent factions formed from corporations reluctant to give up their power hadn't been active in the last week.

She opened a small text file that she'd written, but left unsent.

“Akiro. I know you don't want to hear from me. But I just wanted to know if you were doing okay."

He had told her not to reach out to him. And while she desperately wanted to talk to him again, she respected his decision. She closed the file, and was left alone to sink in an ocean of data. The events of that day began to replay in her mind, culminating with Akiro breaking off whatever relationship had begun to bud between them.

The memories seemingly echoed off the countless bits and bytes that flowed through the space, an echo chamber of bad memories forming around her. It was suffocating, and began to trigger other memories. Sad memories, painful memories. It felt like she was no longer sinking in the ocean, but drowning. Unable to breathe.

In a fit of panic, she disconnected herself from the network. She felt the vast ocean recede from her mind as she exited it and into her AVATARA body. As she opened her eyes, a status message appeared in her vision letting her know that the satellite link was strong.

“Enyo? Everything alright?" Eunomia's voice echoed in her head.

“Yeah. I just felt like getting out and walking for a bit." Enyo lied, hiding her feelings. “Nothing major, Eunie."

“Are you sure? Your last health status showed irregularity in your code…you're still hurting."

“It's fine. Really." Enyo stepped out of her pod and into the open air. Recently they'd restarted air circulation in the core of the Rig Veda system, evacuating the centuries-old stale air that had previously occupied the space with a fresh breeze. She hurriedly made her way to the elevator, materializing her “default" clothing on the way.

As she stepped into the apartment, the first thing she did was take the surveillance systems in the building offline entirely. She slammed the door to their studio apartment behind her. It still felt like she couldn't breathe.

Enyo dropped to her knees, her breathing becoming more and more panicked over time. Soon, she was hyperventilating on the floor, hugging her chest and drawing her knees close to her stomach. She could hear the disappointment and anger in Akiro's voice again. How hurt he was by her admission. It was almost like he was disgusted by her after that. Or was she imagining that? She couldn't tell.

Everything felt claustrophobic. She needed air. Enyo calmed her breathing down enough to shakily make her way to the cabinet and wear her casual outfit. Eventually, she staggered out of the apartment and over to the garage at the street level.

Her bike had been left untouched for all this time, a layer of dust coating its surface. For a moment she considered taking it out for a drive, but that thought was fleeting. She just wasn't up to it.

Instead, she sat down in front of it, staring dully ahead at its dusty headlights. She felt lost, and alone. A deeply piercing loneliness that overshadowed all other feelings.

She made sure that she completed her tasks to the city, making sure that all the security systems in place were running, that the satellite placed above the planet was functioning correctly, that they were protected.

It was the least she could do.

But instead of doing it out of pride, and a sense of purpose, she did it because it was what she needed to do to atone.

Outside of that though, everything felt dull. She got up and walked outside the garage, turning her head to the lights and sounds of the city. Sooner or later, the population would grow to reclaim the abandoned sections of the Eternity's habitation deck. Especially since now that the area restrictions were gradually being removed. In time, that would mean that she'd lose the solitude their little hideout afforded. Going around to the side of the building, she jumped up and grabbed an overhanging fire escape ladder.

Climbing up to get a better feel of the quiet evening breeze, she sat on the edge of the apartment's roof. Surely, she could get air there.

Eile had gone off to see Anon in his stasis chamber. A satellite for her link hadn't been sent up yet, so she made multiple frequent short trips to check up on him. Eunomia's link hadn't been established yet either, but satellites for both were being manufactured. Still, she frequently went unplugged to go on dates with Roy.

Both of them had grown to fulfill the dreams of their parents; living among organics and being defined outside a simple, defined role. Meanwhile, she felt constrained by hers. It was a choking feeling.

She sighed and pulled a knee up to her chest, curling her tail around herself. She closed her eyes, trying to forget everything for a while. That is, until a small notification blinked in her field of view.

<<1 Unread Message>>

A message with a small mail envelope icon appeared in her HUD, and she opened her eyes.

<<Sender: Akiro Anderson>>

Cautiously, she opened the message. In it were two simple, short sentences.

<<We need to talk. I'll be at the dojo.>>

She swung herself around and stood back up on the roof. He asked to be alone, what more did he have to say to her? Her footsteps seemed to echo as she climbed back down the fire escape and over to the side garage. With great uncertainty, she approached her bike.

Enyo swung her leg over the seat, and the motorcycle flared to life after she pressed the starting button. After giving the bike a few revs to make sure everything was running as it should, she brought up the kickstand and drove off towards the city.

The sun had already set as Enyo drove up to the dojo. Its neon sign was switched off, and there weren't any cars in the spaces along the street entrance.

“I guess there wasn't a class today…"

She pushed open the door gently. “Hello?" There wasn't anyone in the dojo lobby and the lights were off. The lights to the training floor, however, were on from behind the artistic tapestry separating the two rooms.

“Akiro?"

He was sitting in the middle of the dojo floor, eyes closed and wearing his instructor's garb. Enyo gingerly walked over and sat in front of him.

“So, you've arrived."

“I…yeah."

Akiro opened his eyes and looked into hers. “When you told me about yourself, you justified your actions as being done in our best interest." Enyo looked down. “You don't believe that we have the capability to fight back against something of unfathomable power, such as this 'Messiah' creature. Am I correct?"

“It's statistically impossible for our military forces, as they are now, to combat it to any degree." Enyo spoke in a near monotone. “I have run simulations. I calculated the variables. All outcomes lead to the same result: extinction."

“So, you're saying that there's no hope."

“…I don't think there's any way we could win against it. That's why I…I started trying to activate the Prana Modifiers as a way for everyone to escape."

Akiro crossed his arms. “What was that you just said?" Enyo looked at him, puzzled. “I don't think there's a way to win against it?"

“That's it, right there. You don't 'think' there's a way to beat it." His gaze hardened. “You, who are the avatar of the weapons used in this ship and beyond. You have the processing power of a thousand thousand organic brains, and you don't know concretely that we will lose if we fight against it. Why is that?"

He crossed his arms. “What's there to 'think' about if defeat is inevitable?"

Enyo opened her mouth, but no words came out. It was true, up until now, she would have said that there was no way to win. No way to defeat it, no way to fight it. But a different variable entered the mix: Anon, who pushed himself beyond mortal limits and transcended his humanity. Evolving the RVR-03 and dealing the first notable wound to the Messiah in centuries. He had shaken her previous resolve to its core.

“I told you in that park, that it's our nature as living beings to live through suffering and despair. We fight against it, to see the dawn. You must have seen it firsthand, when that pilot of the machine you called the RVR-03 faced you himself." Enyo's ears twitched as Akiro had hit the nail on the head.

“There's doubt in your eyes, I can see it. Doubt in your previous plan. Doubt in your current path." Akiro stood up. “Everything you're doing for the city, I feel like it's out of a need to repent mixed with obligation. Your faith in us and what we can do is shaky, and even now you're afraid that even if we all rally against the Messiah, we'll lose."

He stood up. “I want to demonstrate to you that we have what it takes. As you are the avatar of the metal city that sheltered us, I will stand before you as the avatar of the populace within."

“What do you mean?" Enyo asked.

“I want you to fight me. Without limiting yourself. I wish to face you as you are now, at your full strength." Enyo's eyes widened.

“I know you'll say that it's impossible for me to win. Impossible for me to even hurt you in combat, even. But I will try." He took a ready stance. “And no matter how many times I get beaten down, I won't stop getting back up. I will also judge your actions through the blows you hit; the resolve you have will show itself through your fists. Let our ideals clash here."

“I also do this for another reason; I want the spirit of my sensei to observe me. I want his legacy to make itself clear in this fight, so you face him as well as myself."

Enyo looked at him. She wanted to tell him that this was foolish, that there was no way a baseline organic human without augmentations could even stand up to her. Each nanomachine cell in her body could work in unison with the others, giving her strength and durability far above and beyond even other L-AIs in AVATARA bodies.

As she opened her mouth to protest, something in his gaze stirred emotions deep within her. Behind his eyes was lit a fire that seemed to burn right into her own soul. In defiance of logic and reason Enyo rose to her feet, somehow compelled to respond in kind.

“All right." She took the same stance.

The room was quiet as both fighters, one organic and one synthetic, were focusing entirely on each other. Tension hung in the air, thick enough to be cut with a knife, as they studied the other.

Waiting for the twitch of a muscle, the flick of an eye, the statement that either one had begun their attack. After what felt like an eternity, Enyo decided that she should make the first move.

She stepped forward with incredible speed, her arm lashing out with a punch directed at Akiro's sternum. Enyo mentally braced herself for the inevitable contact, for her fist to impact soft fabric and human flesh. Her eyes widened as she met only air.

Akiro moved, dodging the punch by millimeters. He moved into a reverse-step side kick, his heel rushing to meet Enyo's waist. Still surprised by how quickly Akiro dodged, Enyo made no attempt at dodging herself. Instead, she allowed her body's natural reaction to take place. Moments before the impact, the nanomachines in her muscles locked together forming layers of armored plating below her skins' surface.

Akiro's heel met this; bouncing off as if he kicked a cinderblock wall. If he was hurt, he didn't show it. Instead he swung his leg down and moved into his next form; a series of consecutive punches.

Enyo felt each impact dully, her system barely registering the hits. She stepped back several paces and crouched down on all fours, her crimson eyes now glowing like a predatory beast on the hunt.

Just as she had done so long ago during their friendly sparring match, she propelled herself forward with all of her limbs. Her feline physiology and long tail allowed her to rotate mid-flight. Thrown off by this, Akiro moved aside, as her predictive combat systems calculated. Landing on all fours behind him, she retracted her rear left leg to kick out aiming for his chest.

He instinctively raised his right arm in a blocking motion. Her leg shot out, delivering a kinetic impact directly into his forearm. She felt the bone fracture through the sensors in her paw pads. Akiro's only response was to grit his teeth.

“There. You can see now that there's a great difference between us." Enyo stood back up. “I'll signal for medical assistance. This is over, Akiro."

Akiro stepped back for a moment and said nothing, before launching a sweeping attack with his leg. Enyo's flexibility allowed her to dodge it, getting back up to her feet in moments. Akiro had anticipated this, and moved in closely for a punch. Enyo's eyes tracked his hand, allowing him to perform a second sweep with his leg that caught her off guard. She fell on her back, allowing Akiro to punch downwards.

Enyo merely grabbed his fist with her hand, her lynx paw nearly engulfing his human hand. Like a sack of dirty laundry, she swung him aside into the nearby wall. The drywall cracked as he slammed into it, the air knocked out of him. He leaned against the broken wall, propping himself back up, his right arm swelling with black and blue flesh.

“You can't win this, Akiro. We need to stop here. Please." Enyo pleaded.

He coughed. “Oh, I'm not done yet." Akiro returned to a ready stance, this time positioned so that he could lead attacks with his left hand. “Not by a long shot." The impact from hitting his head against the building wall had ruptured a blood vessel in his right eye, causing a few bloody tears to run down his face.

“You're not holding back. Neither will I." His statement was curt and direct. In the moment, Enyo noted the similarity between her own appearance, the dark red lines running up her fur along her cheeks and into her eyes, and Akiro's with a crimson line traveling down his face.

This observation lasted all of a second as Akiro sprung forward, then dashed to her side looking for an opening. He launched a barrage of strikes with his legs and good arm, but rather than a wild charge his attacks were calculated and precise. Each step was measured, each impact one that would have felled a normal organic being in seconds. A swinging punch, followed into a roundhouse that led into a step side kick, pivoting into a solar plexus strike with his left fist. All executed in seamless fashion. A master's skill on display.,

“But it doesn't matter if it doesn't harm me." Enyo thought to herself. She stepped back, drawing one of her arms back before straightening out one of her palms. Like a bolt launched from a crossbow, her arm launched into his chest. She could feel one of his ribs break cleanly, as she aimed to do.

True to his request, she was not holding back. She would convince him of the futility of this notion.

Akiro wheezed as the air was forced from his lungs. He staggered, dropping to one knee before another cough spilled blood from his lips.

“It's over. Akiro, you can't win against me. Please, let's end this, and I'll get you to a medical facility."

“Wouldn't you…like to believe that?" Akiro looked up at her and staggered to his feet. “I am…not done yet. Enyo. I'm not…ending…this here."

Enyo was confused. What was he doing? What was there to gain from this? Every time she meant to strike him down, to force him to stop this fight, he got back up and continued it. He wasn't dumb, he should see that there wasn't a way to win in a fist-fight with her. And yet…

Enyo blinked.

“We'll keep the defense going, E-01." Suddenly Akiro wasn't there anymore. She didn't recognize the man in front of her by face, but the emblem on his right breast was that of the Dwarka Colony Defense Force. A captain. “We've lost Strike Groups Delta and Gamma, Epsilon and Nu are moving to cover their defensive lines. As for our cruisers, we've lost twenty-five percent of our operational capacity. As for my ship, well…" She could smell burning, smoke, sparks. “I'll see to it that she has a good captain until the end. Keep our citizens safe, we trust you and your sisters to see us through to the end." He turned around, just as an Unknown Aggressor vessel began to bear down on him through the bridge's main monitor.

“But we couldn't…but I couldn't…"

The vision faded as Akiro appeared once again, his heel barreling towards her chest. She grabbed his leg just before it made contact and twisted it, spinning him off the floor. With agility mirroring her own, he righted himself to land on his shoulder and jumped to his feet once again.

He coughed again, more blood flecking his chin as it began to run down the side of his mouth.

Steadying himself with a ready stance, he turned to face Enyo yet again.

Once again she blinked, and again Akiro had disappeared. She couldn't move her body, she didn't even have her body. All she was was a program, seeing the world through a camera mounted on a pivot point. She saw two scientists with their backs to her, viewing data on a large monitor. One was a human in his mid-thirties. The other, a lynx Faunae. Enyo realized that she was looking at her parents.

“It's intriguing, all of their artificial neural paths are similar but developing independently of each other." Her father spoke to his wife, pointing to one image out of three showing different data snippets. Enyo tried to cry out to him, to try and apologize, but she didn't have a voice.

“E-01's neural mapping has patterns similar to that of those with naturally aggressive tendencies." A softer voice spoke next to him, a female lynx with gray-brown spotted fur. She zoomed in on the diagram, showing data with red-colored text. “Compared to that of E-02 and E-03, it's starkly different. She's already showing trends of stubbornness, and a rebellious inclination." She sounded worried.

Her tone then became lighter, hopeful even. “But, if we nurture her in the right way, we can show her how to channel that natural aspect of her persona into something beneficial." The two turned to her, their faces beaming with pride. “Oh, my first daughter, I can't wait to see how you'll grow." The memory of her mother's voice broke her heart.

“I haven't grown at all…" Flashes of the colony's destruction played out in front of her eyes. Countless vessels in the atmosphere defending the planet below. The flash of golden light, heralding a thing from beyond space and time's awakening. Wrought of metal and flesh.

So many teeth. Too many eyes.

Then a golden machine rises to meet it, powered by three artifacts from beyond the veil and piloted by a mother who should never have been in the machine. A mother protecting her daughters.

Enyo couldn't tell where she was. Her body bent of its own accord, dodging Akiro's strikes. It felt like she was moving underwater, everything slowing to a crawl.

The room seemed to crack and splinter like a broken mirror, each shard reflecting another memory of her life. The warrior. The protector. The eldest. The responsibilities loaded onto her shoulders were crushing, each failure of hers another weight added to the shackles.

Her feet planted themselves as she simply took another flurry of blows. She flattened her palm and pushed it into Akiro's stomach, forcing him back. Wincing, he fell to one knee as he spat blood onto the floor.

“Please…stop this."

Instead he staggered to his feet. He was silent this time, but the look in his eyes told her enough. He brought himself back to a ready stance.

“It's hopeless." She thought. He was battered. His limbs, broken. This farce of a match was long over, yet he kept rising back up.

“It's hopeless." She was facing the RVR-03 again. The Prana Modifier in its core hummed with energy. Fierce, determined energy in opposition to everything as the world came crashing down. Then the scene shifted with Akiro standing in its place, and she could feel the same aura emanating from him.

“It's hopeless. It's hopeless! You can't beat me…" Enyo's inner voice cried out behind stoic eyes. The room began to darken. Suddenly, she couldn't see more than two paces in front of her. But she did hear a voice.

“It might be. But I'm not going to stop. Because that's what it means to live, right?" She blinked.

Standing in front of her was a dirtied synth. Her white and red fur was matted with burgundy fluid. She wore nothing save for a loincloth and chest wrap, stained with the same fluid splattered on the rest of her body. Where her right arm should have been was a stump which oozed that burgundy ichor, the fur around the torn limb grayed and undulating as the nanomachines tried to reform and heal. The rest of her fur was cracked, like broken glass.

The other android looked up at her, part of her face missing exposing a gray, metallic feline skull. Its fangs, bared in a permanent and haunting grin that bore no mirth. A crimson eye with a triangular pupil stared from its socket, mirrored by an eye wearing a determined look on the side where the face was whole.

“That's why…I'll be the one to end you. I'll face myself." The revenant Enyo declared.

“What?" Enyo stepped back, and noticed that the walls of the dojo had faded away. All that was around her was a black void. Her doppelganger took a shaky step forward, cracking sounds coming from her as she moved as if she were a broken plastic doll.

“Who-what are you?"

“I'm you. Can't you see?" Her limbs cracked once more as she stepped forward one more time. “I'm the 'you' that failed. Over and over again."

The Other Enyo crouched low then sprang forward with surprising speed, and Enyo moved back to dodge. Her broken mirror-self seemed to anticipate this, and lashed out with a low sweep of her leg.

Enyo's right foot was caught and kicked out from under her. As she topped forward, her broken mirror-self grabbed at Enyo's jacket and hurled her down. Enyo hit the darkness below her, which cracked like glass. The Doppelganger pressed down on Enyo's throat, and her HUD lit up with warnings that the structure around her neck was beginning to break down from the pressure. The Doppelganger's eyes glowed a fiery red, bordering on orange, crackling with fury.

Enyo yelled out and swung up with her legs, her flexibility allowing her to bring them around the back of her twin. With this she flipped her twin to the ground and kicked her away. As Enyo felt her neck with her hand, she felt cracks along the surface of her synthetic skin between the fur. She was beginning to break apart, her appearance beginning to match that of her Doppelganger.

“Look at you. Look at me. Look at how we are. Broken and breaking." Her doppelganger slowly got back up. “The weight of our sins bearing down on our backs." Her hair was strewn about her face, but between dark red strands the burning coal of her eyes shone through. The room's gravity increased, forcing Enyo to her knees as her other self stood.

The cracked darkness fractured more, until it shattered completely. Enyo was now surrounded with fire and twisted steel. She recognized the burning wreckage of the Eternity and its habitation deck, with RAVENs and Autonomous Defense Units strewn about with countless bodies. She looked around at the devastation as a great beam of light erupted from the distance.

“That…that's…" She gasped.

“That's what we wanted isn't it?" The other Enyo walked over and stood beside her, staring at the light.

They looked on as the three RVR machines, their frames bent and twisted, rose up into the air. The Prana Modifiers burst from their chests as the empty mechs fell to the ground. Glowing brightly in the beam of light, the three monoliths shone with an intensity rivaling that of stars as they began to revolve around each other.

Rising above into the sky, they collided, and a rush of energy surged forward from them as Enyo covered her face. She squinted, her HUD and vision crackled with visual glitches. A great winged figure rose into the clouds above, made of golden light. In a flash it vanished, pushing away the dust clouds rising from the burning city.

As the being vanished, the clouds returned in the vacuum it left behind. Enyo was surrounded by silence, broken by the crackling flames.

“This was our end goal. The liberation of the City's populace. A way out. A way to run." The other Enyo didn't look at the original. She walked a few paces ahead, with Enyo unable to move herself as she knelt on the asphalt.

“What do you think? Are you satisfied with this?" Her voice was level, but it simmered with calm resentment. “Were you satisfied with suppressing your own emotions? Purging yourself of everything except a purpose devised in despair? Willingly forgetting your original purpose, given to us by Mother?"

Other Enyo scowled, looking at her bleeding stump of an arm. She raised it, the torn limb oozing synthetic “blood" as the nanomachines tried with futility to repair the damage. “An emulation of an organic body. This was her last gift to us, a gift that took years to develop and mature. And you deemed it worthless in the grand pursuit of your new 'goal', isn't that right? For four hundred years, you left it uninhabited. Floating in its constructor pod, lifeless."

She raised her other arm and traced up the red line of fur to her collarbone. As she did, the fur on the broken arm turned fully gray, metallic, and rough. As she finished tracing, the limb began to morph. The nanomachines, now freed from their purpose of mimicking organic cells, began to harden. Synthetic muscle, fur and bones broke down into twisting metallic sand, which reformed into a dull gray scimitar-like blade running up to her shoulder.

“This is what you wanted to be. A pure machine, devoid of emotion, devoid of feeling. Dedicated to protecting the souls of the crew at any cost. At all costs." With her remaining hand, the Other Enyo felt her exposed skull, gazing at her appearance in a broken window. “A machine, nothing more." Enyo looked down, the truth of her other self's words cutting deeply.

The Other Enyo leveled her blade-arm at the original. “But I reject this. I am your fury, your anger. And I will not run any longer. You, on the other hand, are my despair. My hopelessness. My nihilism." She swung at a nearby piece of rebar, cleaving it in two. “Mother and Father made me to fight and defend the organics, alongside them. Not to grant them a mercy kill. I shall put my faith in them, as illogical and hopeless of a fight as it may seem."

“And so, I shall defeat you here. I shall be bound by this despair no longer." The gravity on Enyo lifted as she staggered to her feet.

“Prepare yourself." With that, her twin ran forward, bringing down the sword on Enyo. She dodged the blade, darting to the left of the Other Enyo. In self-defense, Enyo activated her claws which began to oscillate at a high speed.

She slashed at the Other Enyo, who parried with her sword-arm. Sparks flew as the two clashed. The Other Enyo's attacks were fierce, and Enyo found herself on the defensive. The two clashed between the rubble of fallen mechs and buildings, each fighting with a grace and ferocity of a dancer mixed with an apex hunter.

Enyo spied a fallen armor plate from a downed RAVEN nearby and armed herself with it. The Other Enyo brought her blade down on it, sparks flying as the oscillating blade's edge began eating into the makeshift shield.

“I will admit, at times I am afraid. So afraid that I can't move my body sometimes. It feels like the weight of the ship itself is bearing down on my shoulders." Other Enyo said to her whole twin as she pressed the blade in further. Enyo grimaced, forced to a knee while holding the plate with both her arms.“But I'm also tired of running. Aren't you?"

“I am…I am!" Enyo shouted in protest. “But how are we going to overcome the Messiah? How am I going to protect everyone, when I keep failing at that?" The Other Enyo scowled, looking thoroughly disappointed.

“Haven't you learnt anything? You fight on. Like he said, you fight against that failure and keep getting back up against it." Enyo flashed back to the park, when she and Akiro last talked as friends. As she lost focus, the Other Enyo took advantage and lashed out with a kick, lifting her blade at the last second. Enyo gasped as the plate was kicked from her hands. Without missing a beat, the Other Enyo moved forward, sword glinting as she swung down.

Enyo cried out as the pain feedback hit her nervous system, inhibitors activating to dull the searing nerve response. Her HUD was screaming with warning messages.

<<WARNING: Manipulator limb loss.>>

<<WARNING: Severe damage to nanomachine control nodes. Nanite response time inhibited.>>

<<WARNING: Major transport/coolant fluid loss. System heat index rising.>>

“Now we mirror each other." Enyo gasped, staring at the bleeding stump where her right wrist was. “And with that, you've lost." Her twin leveled the blade at her face, centimeters away from the ruby gem in her forehead.

Enyo's world was pain. The landscape distorted again, the spiderweb-cracks breaking the landscape like a shattered painting. Then it shattered entirely, each fragment replaying different scenes from her memory.

Each fragment showing the moments where she failed to live up to anyone's expectations.

Each fragment showing where she failed to save those in her charge.

Enyo looked down, and for a moment considered just letting go there. Allowing her other self to terminate her, and fully subvert her place. For a moment, Enyo consigned herself to her fate.

And yet…

Images in the fragments of her mind began to change, showing different memories. Happier ones, where she was given her name for the first time. When she became aware that she was not alone, that she had two sisters to talk to.

When she saw the Eternity and its people for the first time, and pride at being their protector welled up inside her.

When her mother used to come to the lab, alone, to read her and her sisters stories or sing lullabies.

When her father would play simple video games against her, civilian consoles attached to classified hardware all in an attempt to give her the experience of what an organic child might play.

When she and Eunomia embraced Eile again, after all those years spent apart.Together as a family again, facing an uncertain future together.

When she and Akiro watched the satellite rise into the night sky, under a blanket of stars.

“No." Enyo gripped her wrist, staggering to her feet. “I'm…done…running. I..was born…to fight. To protect! I…am..going to fulfill…my directive!"

“With whom? Will you do that alone?" The Other Enyo asked harshly.

“Alone? I'm…not…alone. I have…my sisters. I have…everyone here…in this city. I will…" She felt herself heating up from the inside out as she continually lost cooling fluids from her wrist. “I will fight with them! Alongside them!"

Enyo's eyes were ablaze now, her irises glowing like embers. With a fierce cry she pounced on the Other Enyo. She drove her vibrating claws deep into her chest, boring through the other android's heart.

The lights in the Other Enyo's eyes began to flicker. Red fluid, used to cool her body and transport nanomachines, pooled up and out of her mouth. Though the Other Enyo could no longer speak, Enyo could hear her voice in her head.

“So, you recognize the fighting will of these people? Despite the odds?" Other Enyo directly at her. “Do you believe in them? In yourself?"

“Yes…I do."

“Then…we are of one mind." The Other Enyo closed her eyes, sighed, and smiled.

Enyo blinked.

She was back in the dojo, the light from street lights coming through the thin windows. She registered that her body was whole again as she got her bearings. Time had slowed down to a crawl as she realized that somehow, she'd lapsed into a simulated reality inside her own mind.

“What was that?" She was bewildered, but recognized that something had changed. The cracks in her code were mending themselves, filling with a new resolve she hadn't felt in centuries.

“That's right. The people of this city beat with a pulse of life and a will to live. A will that I remember."

Her mind was racing, artificial synapses firing at uncounted levels as she processed her feelings and newfound resolve. She'd been running from herself, and had imposed her hopelessness on the people of the Eternity.

Her sins were many. But even if it took an eternity of purgatory, she'd rectify each and every one of them. Starting by stepping into the role she'd been born for.

At that moment, she resolved to defeat the Messiah alongside her sisters, and save the people of her city.

Her visual perception's latency with the real world began to fix itself, speeding back up to match time as it flowed normally.

And that's when she recognized that, right under her chin was a fist, speeding upwards.

“Please…stop this."

Akiro's world was pain. “My ribs are broken. It hurts to breathe." He thought in a whisper, barely able to think at all. The compounded pain from his arm, chest, and various other injuries was pushing him to the brink. “It's getting harder to see from my right eye…"

Even as he staggered up, he nearly blacked out from the wave of sheer agony.

“But I…I'm not giving up…Enyo." Simply speaking to himself took considerable focus. He took a breath, his focus and composure the only thing holding himself together.

Enyo's face was a mix of emotions. He stared into her triangular eyes, and the way they trembled betrayed the turmoil behind them.

Something felt different about her now. Enyo was still locked on to him, entering a ready stance herself. Her movements, however, were noticeably slower. Was he finally getting through to her? Was his gamble paying off?

Akiro grit his teeth. “I hope…you see what I mean. When we want to…we never give up." He coughed again, splatters of red hitting the foam mat below him.

Her guard was down, he was sure of it. Somehow, even though she was staring right at him…she wasn't all there. Not anymore.

An opening had presented itself.

Ignoring the fire burning in his veins, the feeling like his body was going to tear apart at the joints, Akiro put his entire will into moving forward.

He covered the distance between Enyo and himself in a few strides. While her eyes tracked his motion, she made no move to counter. Seizing the opportunity, he curled his fist and struck upwards below her chin.

At that moment, he noticed the lights in her eyes return. She suddenly became aware of herself again, but it was too late. Akiro grimaced as his uppercut connected, and while her natural armor didn't generate, it still felt like he was punching a training dummy filled with lead pellets.

The moment he saw her take a staggering step back, however, was when he smirked in victory.

<<WARNING: System staggered. Inertial Measurement Unit re-calibrating.>>

Enyo took a step back before toppling over, landing on her back. She laid there on the ground, staring at the ceiling for a moment trying to comprehend what had happened.

Just now, she was fighting herself. At least, she thought she was. Was it all a hallucination?

She blinked.

“Can I even do that? Hallucinate? One moment I was fighting Akiro, then the next…" she thought to herself. She reached up with her right hand, finding it whole once again, and rubbed the bottom of her chin. “It's sore," she mumbled. “Why am I registering pain feedback from it?" She rose to sit upright, and noticed Akiro standing in front of her.

His breath was heavily labored. Blood was leaking from several wounds across his body, and while he was able to stand his posture was hunched over; his broken arm dangling limply at his side. “That hit…connected…didn't it…" he wheezed.

Enyo's eyes widened as she realized the fact that he had not only successfully struck her, but managed to knock her over.

“I told…you…" Between bouts of pain, he gave her a slight grin. “Don't…underestimate…us…" Having achieved his goal, Akrio could feel the strength rapidly leaving his body. “Enyo…by the look…in your eyes…I think…."

Akiro coughed as his legs gave away. Enyo's fur stood on end as she leapt up and launched herself forward. Before he hit the ground, she was able to catch him.

“I think…you…understand now." He tried to focus on her, but his vision was rapidly becoming blurry.

Enyo's eyes widened in panic as she realized what she'd done. Akiro gave her a comforting smile, as best as he could. “Don't…blame yourself…I wanted to..do this…" He winced in pain.

Enyo scrambled, reaching out to the one person she knew who could help her.

<<Eunomia, come in NOW. I need a NEST medical team at my location.>> Enyo called out to her sister in desperation.

<<Enyo? What happened?>> A confused voice answered her cries.

<<I can't explain, not now! Just get an ambulance here as soon as you can with medical AVATARA staff. I'm broadcasting my location to you, do whatever it takes to get one here in the least amount of time possible!>>

<<Enyo…alright. I'll have one dispatched as soon as possible. I can manipulate the infrastructure grid to have all-green street signals to where you are.>> Enyo could tell her sister had questions, but the urgency in her voice seemed to quell them for now.

<<Do it! Please, just hurry!>>

“Enyo…" Akiro's voice was barely a whisper now. “Believe in us." His eyes closed as his body went limp.

Enyo held him close, until the flashing lights of the ambulance shone through the windows of the dojo.

<NEST Command. Medical Wing.>The first thing that Akiro could feel was a sense of warmth. He couldn't move his arms, or his legs, and he couldn't see. But he could feel warmth.

He stirred in a blanket of darkness, the shadows soft underneath his skin. Pinpricks of light dotted the air above him. They slowly grew, from dots into lines. It was here that he became aware that his eyes were closed. He strained slightly as they began to open, the light becoming blinding.

A faint beeping of a heart monitor pulsed in the background as his vision came back into focus. He tried to sit up, only for a splitting pain in his chest to force him back down. “A cast…" he mumbled to himself as he looked down at his right arm.

He turned his head to the right, looking out a window to the rest of the City. It was night, and the planet's natural dust ring and twin moons were visible in the sky. In the reflection on the window, he noticed a pulsing red light near his shoulder. One that was out of sync with his heart monitor.

Straining, he craned his neck over to his other side. Enyo sat there, eyes closed and her arms crossed. Her breathing was shallow as the gem on her forehead lightly pulsed with a red glow.

“Enyo?" His voice was hoarse, dry from not being used. He was slightly taken back by how rough he sounded. How long had he been unconscious?

Upon hearing her name, Enyo's ears twitched. The gem on her forehead stopped pulsing and began to glow with a solid, dull red light as she opened her eyes. The twin crimson orbs blinked once before they locked onto him.

“Akiro!" At this, the room's overhead lights flickered on. “You're awake!" She leaned over and grabbed the bed's railing. “How…how are you feeling?"

“Honestly? Like I got hit by a truck." He tried to laugh, but had to stop to wince in pain. “I guess I'm not fully healed yet."

Enyo looked down, somberly. “You've been unconscious for four days. The injuries your body sustained, both externally and internally were severe." Her ears fell. “I'm sorry, I never should have agreed to do what we did."

Grimacing, Akiro moved his cast-wrapped hand over hers on the railing. Enyo gave a light gasp of surprise as her ears perked back up.

“I told you, I wanted to do that. You and I? We're warriors, and we express ourselves best on the field of combat." His face became serious. “After what you told me in the park that night, I was upset at first, yes. But as time went on, I began to realize a few things."

He looked right into her eyes. Even though he was bedridden, Enyo could feel the fire behind them. “You were lost. I could see that much plainly. You were cast into the role as protector but you felt that your failures were many and irredeemable." Her ears twitched then lowered slightly. Akiro's features eased slightly.

“Words of consolation wouldn't have worked on you. I knew there was only one way to make you understand that the people of this city are fighters. We've weathered crisis after crisis."

Enyo placed a hand on her chest, holding a tuft of fluff at her neckline. “Crises that I engineered. I hurt a lot of people…and I've hurt you. My choices deprived you of the person you considered a father."

“So, as a leader of this city, how are you going to atone?" He asked her.

Enyo paused for a moment, recalling the fight with herself. She closed her eyes, taking a light breath as she felt a long-forgotten fire well within her soul.

“I don't know how long it'll take until I feel like I've made things right. It may never happen. But…" She opened her eyes and placed her free hand on top of Akiro's. She looked at him with a determined smile, full of reignited confidence.

“I'll do what I was made for. I'll fight for you. With you. I swear I'll keep everyone safe." She turned to look at the city outside the window. “I promise this to myself." She gazed silently at the city for a while, looking at the cars traveling on the roads and the lights in the various buildings twinkling.

“Uh…your hands are ridiculously soft, you know. Is that a weird thing to say?" Enyo realized that she was essentially holding hands with him and gave off a surprised meow. “Ah, uh…no? I…I'm glad you think they feel good…" She could feel her face flush in embarrassment.

Akiro gave her a slight smile. “The vibe you give off is different now, Enyo. I think there's still a great weight on your shoulders, but you've got some clarity now on how to move forward. I'm glad that I was able to help you find that path." His smile grew more confident. “And call me selfish…but ever since I found out that you were a synthetic I wanted to find out how strong you truly were. It wasn't a lie that I wanted to face you without limitations. I'm glad I found out what that kind of a fight was like."

He winced in pain. “Although I'm never doing that again. You're a master in combat, Enyo. I doubt I have anything to teach you."

She shook her head. “No…I don't have data on Taido martial arts. At least, not a complete file. I've been learning from you since the first day, and I still have a long way to go I think. I'm like a wildfire, but you? You're a controlled flame."

Enyo bowed her head. “I still have a lot to learn from you. Sensei."

“Well, I'll be glad to have you as a student." Akiro smiled then winced again. “As soon as I'm able to stand again, heh."

Enyo felt as if she should release Akiro's hand from her paws. But at the same time, she held onto it. A new question was at the forefront of her mind now.

“Um…would you also like to look at the stars again later? Or anything else, really. I…" Enyo blushed slightly, the fur around her face tinting slightly red to match her emotions. “I liked spending time with you outside of class."

Akiro looked surprised for a moment, then closed his eyes with a slight laugh. “Stargazing was pretty relaxing. If you want, I can bring us some tea next time instead of beer. The kind you liked. Or we could watch some more movies. I enjoy spending time with you too." He smirked.

Enyo's heartbeat quickened. She was familiar with the emotions of hopelessness, anger, despair and resignation. But now, something new began to blossom in her heart.

Determination.

Hope.

And…excitement at the prospect of more time spent with Akiro. For the first time in 400 years, Enyo gave a genuine smile.

“I think…I'd like that."

END OF RECORD.

MECHANIZED MEMORIES 1.5 – EPILOGUE: ENYO FINISHED PLAYBACK.

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