On Borrowed Wings

[Dusk]

recording...
location: invergordon salvage yards, inverness system
current date: 18.06.834
local time: 19:24
detected entities: locksmith

---

Several shots broke the silence in the dusty hangar, cutting through the air on their way to the target. These shots were fired by automated turrets. Simple mechanisms that had no algorithm other than shooting at a given target. There was no fault with their performance: their shooting was fast and accurate, the target was hit. Yet it still continued to move.

“Commander, hm... Not sure I can get used to it. Who would have thought that people would call me that?”

Despite his large size, the armored man moved quickly. Servomotors neutralized the heavy weight of the armor and eased the load on the muscles, allowing to move from cover to cover with unprecedented speed.

“The promotion was unexpected. Even despite the success of the operation to acquire Liberty's resources. I thought that the incident with the Corsair, whom I helped bring treatment for their people, would not please the brass. After all, I did violate their instructions.”

The armor was strong enough to ignore tangential bullet hits. And even direct hits from small-caliber weapons could only scratch the surface.

“And yet they... Approved of what I did. Because it was the right thing, promising good prospects. The risk paid off.”

He jumped over a high obstacle, taking several more bullets. Without any noticeable effect.

“Also... Yoruha seems to have become friends with Emilia. We talked. Shared our stories. It's funny, but this AI seemed more humane to me than myself. Especially after what I did.”

He was approaching the turrets. There was no cover from bullets in the last part of the route.

“And yet those people had to die. I couldn't let them come for us.”

The retractable blade, pulsating with energy, cut metal as if through butter. The turrets fell silent one after another, unable to do anything against the prototype armor.

“But now, even if someone comes, I will be ready for it.”

Standing in the middle of the turrets cut into pieces, he suddenly noticed that there was a small hole in the chest, exposing a non-critical part of the electronics. Probably from a point-blank hit. A short chuckle echoed through the now quiet hangar.

“Looks like there's still some work to be done.”

---

end of recording