Rotten to the Core

[Implosion]

Chapter 12: Interloper
832 A.S.

21.11 832A.S. 18:28:31, Battleship Perditrix, Strix Core.

The single terminal lit up, dimly illuminating the rest of the AI Node located on the Perditrix. While it was designed to be an interface suitable for humans, the machine was being accessed from afar.

...EXTERNAL CONNECTION DETECTED...INPUT COMMAND...
...USERNAME:STRXULT...
...PASSWORD:***************...
>>>
...ACCESS GRANTED...DEV ACCESS GRANTED...
/loadbkp lgccorebkp8290912
>>>
...WARNING! DATA CONFLICTING WITH EXISTING VERSION...
/authovrwt
>>>
...OVERWRITING LOGIC CORE PARAMETERS...
>>>
<<<
>>>
...BACKUP RESTORED...
/scncln
>>>
<<<
>>>
...33 012 MALICIOUS PROGRAM(S) FOUND...DELETING...
>>>
<<<
>>>
...SUCCESS...
/access mobile_platform_JDv1.2_ GM -DEVACC@STRX
...LOGGING IN AS DEVELOPER...SUCCESS...
/lstconns
>>>
...USER(S) Currently Logged in: t3#aq;%6ъ5 -SYSADMIN
/bankck_user t3#aq;%6ъ5 42191644823
..SUCCESS...USER "t3#aq;%6ъ5" banned for 42191644823 SECOND(S)...
/syschk
...COMPILING REPORT OF SYSTEM STATUS...STAND BY...
...SUCCESS...DISPLAYING CONTENTS...
..PRIMARY POWER SOURCE: 54%
...AUX POWER SOURCE: 99.9%...
...OPTICAL SENSORS:ONLINE...
...NAV: ONLINE...
...MOTION SERVOS: ONLINE...
...OPTICAL CAMO: READY, OFFLINE...
...RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: ACTIVE...
...ENDOCRINE EMULATORS: ACTIVE...
...CARDIOVASCULAR BYPASS PUMP: ACTIVE...
...LYMPHATIC SYSTEM BOOSTERS: ACTIVE...
...QEC REMSYSADMIN MODULE: READY,OFFLINE...
...ERROR: BRAIN ACTIVITY SEVERELY RESTRICTED, CAUSALITY: HYDRA PROTOCOLS...
/disable remsysadm
...SUCCESS...
/reboot
...WARNING: POSSIBLE LONG TERM DAMAGE, CONFIRM...Y/N...
/y
/yyyyyyyyyyyy
/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
/yyy
/yyyyyy
>>>
<<<
>>>
<<<
>>>
...SUCCESS...USER STRXULT...DISCONNECTED...

21.11 832A.S. 18:28:32, Battleship Illustrious, High Orbit over Planet Gammu.

In this moment, Daniels woke up. He wasn't truly himself, not yet anyways. His brain had suffer massive trauma and the only reason he was still sucking air was Strix's intervention.
The only problem was, his body wasn't on the Perditrix, no, it was located onboard the Illustrious, a repurposed Liberty Navy Dreadnought. Currently, the ship was in high orbit over Planet Gammu. The AI in charge was up to something, but Daniels had not time to investigate. A voice in his head nearly gave him a heart attack.

-Mr. Daniels. - It was Strix - We need to get the hell out of here and fast.

-Who the hell are you? Who the hell is Daniels? Who the hell am I? - The man had no idea what was going on around him. Of course, things were about to become even more frakked. Suddenly, the ship went on full alert, as the alarms blared.

We've been made, Mr. Daniels. Proceed to the hangar. There is a suitable ship for you there. Exit this room, hang left and run straight forward for seventy five meters.

The man, obviously devoid of any choice, did what he was told. He was surprised by the speed he achieved in his short sprint. It was almost inhuman.

Full speed ahead, hang right. You should see the hangar soon.

Allegedly Daniels stormed into the hangar bay and noticed an old Liberty made Guardian. Without further ado, the man hopped into the ship.
To his surprise, the vessel powered itself on. Strix had remotely accessed it and before Daniels could even touch a thing, the ship fired a couple of missiles, blowing a hole in bulkhead of the hangar. The Guardian swiftly accelerated and left the Illustrious through the freshly made exit.

Okay! What the hell is going?!

Mr. Daniels, let me explain. You're the Guildmaster of the Core. Or were. Now you're nobody. And if we want to keep you operational, we need to keep it this way.

Core?! Guildmaster?! What the hell are you on about, man? I ain't no Daniels and I sure as hell ain't no Guildmaster.

Memory loss is expected, you were under a severe amount of neural stress. If anything, it's a miracle your brain has not been damaged beyond repair. Please remain calm.

Calm?!CALM?! I hear a damned voice in my head. A voice that can fly a ship. Who or what the hell are you? Tell me now, or I'll pull this bloody lever and eject the hell outta this shitbucket!

Command received. Since you don't remember your name, it will be withheld from you, for your own safety. For all intents and purposes, you will be called simply Daniels. Codename "Slaughter". Fitting for a mercenary, which is what you now are. You were subjected to a vicious attack. Much like I was. You suffered a direct neural invasion. Your brain's connection to your body has been hijacked by an rogue AI.
Unfortunately, this is in part my fault. After careful analysis, I've discovered that while I served as an advanced cyberwarfare suit against the AI of Gammu during it's invasion by the Core, our systems have been compromised. Several thousand malicious constructs were inject into our logic core. They, in turn, carefully manipulated us both in an attempt to weaken the Core. Fortunately, the Core was not weakened and you did not die. However, the majority of my processing power was usurped by the Gammu AI, callsign AReS-N. In a shocking turn of events, I have prevailed and effectively turned the hostile takeover around. You're access to your own body was restored, but at a cost. It is a miracle the procedure was interrupted by the crew of the Epona, who, sadly, were lost in the destruction of the ship. If Ares' plan was carried out to the very end, you would've been dead. Minor brain damage is the logical choice when it comes to alternatives.

Unfortunately, we've made a very troubling discovery. Your presence in the ranks of the Core is incompatible with life, for the time being. Hence, you'll need to seek shelter somewhere else. I've already made the call and we're enroute to the some good people in Kusari. Hopefully, we'll be able to formulate a plan there.

Daniels was speechless. He didn't remember any of that, but for reasons unknown, he didn't doubt a word of what Strix was saying. He felt that this machine was a friend of his. He did wonder how it was possible, but considering the insane events that had transpired, Daniels gave it no extra thought. He leaned against the cockpit and looked at his reflection in the glass. The face that looked backed at him wasn't familiar at all. Bright blue glowing eyes, overgrown beard and a shaggy haircut, subtle tracers of subdermal implants and a few scars on his left cheek. Strix startled him with his next announcement.

We're close to Sigma-13 Jumphole. We'll ditch the ship there at a base there and grab something less suspicious. ETA is two hours.

Slaughter. I like it. That'll do. I don't know who Daniels was and I can't remember. I don't know what you are, but you pulled me out of...I don't even know what you pulled me out of. I need to think this through.

Roger that. Do you have any other questions or requests, S?

I need rest, everything's fragmented...torn apart. I can't even remember my own name.... just give me some alone time, okay?

As you wish.

And just like that, the man was left in almost complete silence. Only the gentle hum of the engine was audible. He leaned back and dozed off, exhausted by the events that had transpired.

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