Vade stood dazed and confused amid a whirlwind of mayhem. He had done as he was told, spelling out the names of deceased humans in bold blue against the dark metal walls of the military base. Xavier and an AI called Madon had stood beside him, guarding him as he focused on his task. The soldiers were supposed to keep their attention on the screeching diversion at the other end of the walled fortress, but things did not go as planned. The captain herself emerged, and Xavier was not prepared to deal with her. Vade had watched him turn and run without a word, willing to abandon Vade and Madon to seek safety in numbers. The AIs and the military woman had followed him into the fray, where silent soldiers sliced with lines of light, and brash test subjects sent small explosions into the air. Vade now stood motionless in the middle of it all, defenseless, overwhelmed, and forgotten.

Colorful smoke from the test subjects’ bombs filled the air, obscuring everyone’s vision. He watched through the haze as the redheaded teen, Leonela, bashed the handle of her electrogun into the head of a nearby soldier repeatedly, cackling at the top of her lungs. A laser whipped past, giving her an impromptu haircut on the left side, and she discarded her victim to fire a volley of electric blasts in the general direction of this unseen attacker. The injured soldier crumpled to the ground at her feet. He was bleeding pretty badly. Vade couldn’t help but stare, filled with shock and curiosity, until a flash of pink entered his peripheral vision.

Xavier was locked in a struggle against Dara Kravchenko, who was taller than him by a noticeable amount. The woman’s expression was menacingingly cold as she swung what appeared to be an upgraded electrostaff, which sported a series of shiny red blades composed entirely of hard light. Xavier stumbled backward, hastily attempting to block the attack with his sword. The captain moved like a killing machine, composed and rehearsed, while Xavier scrambled and staggered, slashing his blade wildly through the air. Vade didn’t know much, but he could tell that Xavier was sorely lacking in any kind of combat training.

The captain kicked Xavier in the stomach, forcefully enough to make him double over. Before he could recover, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground. Vade could see the distaste in her eyes from a distance, when she planted her foot on the test subject’s back and readied her staff for a killing blow. Vade wanted to do something, anything to help his friend, but he had nothing to offer—any capabilities he may have had, once, were gone without a trace. So he froze, utterly helpless, hating the Explicator for stripping him of everything he might have used to come to Xavier’s aid.

A test subject from the other small vandalism group came sprinting toward the chaos, tackling Captain Kravchenko out of nowhere. Vade immediately noticed that her hair was strikingly similar to his own—short, blueish, and falling across one of her eyes. Was this the human Vade’s hair was modeled after? Would he find a human with his face here, too? For some reason, these thoughts disturbed him.

“Carys!” Xavier called out to the woman, sounding relieved. He hurried to get back on his feet, hefting his sword. Nonsensical floating bits of metal rearranged themselves along the edge of the blade before Vade’s eyes. That weapon was definitely hacked. “We’ll take her down together!”

“Don’t bother!” she shouted back at him as she pummeled Dara with her metal fist. The captain caught Carys’s hand in her own, gripping it with incredible strength. The test subject looked surprised. Dara heaved Carys off of her, keeping an iron grasp on her wrist. Carys elbowed her in the stomach and stomped on her toes, attempting to twist away, but the captain did not let go.

“You sure you don’t want any help?” Xavier shouted, sounding awfully sarcastic. He was already backing away, trying to put as many people between himself and ‘Captain Android’ as he could. A stray laser cut through his forearm, and he cursed, stumbling right into Vade. Instinctively, Vade caught him in his arms, a sensation that he would not forget anytime soon.

“Shit!” Xavier exclaimed, then turned around, recognizing the AI. “Oh, Vade, hey.” He then raised his voice, yelling out to the group, “Let’s get out of here!”

The smoke was beginning to clear. Pretty soon, the soldiers would have a much better idea of where their targets were. Xavier broke into a run, and Vade followed blindly, occasionally looking back to check for pursuers as they ventured through the twisting halls of the labyrinth. He watched an AI behind him fire a fresh billow of smoke into the air, only to be gunned down a second later. Her body disappeared into nothingness before it could hit the ground. A veritable grid of lasers streamed through the area, cutting straight through anything unfortunate enough to be in their way. Only the maze walls could stand against them. Rebels stumbled and screamed, picking up the pace as much as they could. A frantic woman shoved right past Vade, knocking him to the ground. An unfamiliar foot smashed into his outstretched hand. He lost sight of Xavier as he lay on the floor, attempting to gather his wits.

He uncapped his marker with trembling fingers and began to write. He wanted to leave a message, like the message he’d left on the soldiers’ barrier. But this message was for himself. Vade, was all he wanted to write. If he died here, if the Explicator deleted and recreated him again, he wanted there to be some indication of his existence, no matter how small. Even the barest sliver of hope for recovering who he once was would be enough.

He managed to scribble three letters before a pair of heavy-duty boots planted themselves in front of his face. Vade reluctantly glanced upward, taking in the sight of a blue-haired soldier with a pair of guns—both of which were pointed right at Vade’s head. “Hey, buddy,” the soldier purred, smirking devilishly. “Are you lost?” The fading remnants of the smoke bombs framed his tan, youthful face, which was heavily scarred across the left side from what appeared to be old burns.

A second soldier appeared close behind him. This one was blond and pale, with a double-bladed sword on her back and a nasty gleam in her eyes. “What’s this, Johdavi?” she raised her eyebrows. “Found yourself a new friend?”

“Yeah…” the soldier tilted his head. He bent down and squinted at the partially written name on the floor, keeping his guns trained on the simulated man. “Well would you look at that, Mara, he’s still writing names. Wonder if his pseudo-brain’s broken.” He raised his voice a little. “You can stop writing, buddy, you’re not at the base anymore!”

“Did the test subjects just… leave him here?” the blond snickered. She moved suddenly, kicking the marker out of Vade’s hand. As the AI hissed in pain, struggling to his feet, Johdavi slipped his guns back into their holsters, judging that he wouldn’t be needing them.

Without warning, Johdavi grabbed Vade by the throat and slammed him into the wall, knocking the virtual breath right out of him. “Why wouldn’t they?” he shrugged, then punched Vade in the nose, then the jaw, then between the eyes. A small whimper escaped Vade as the soldier kicked him to the ground. Mara joined in, burying her feet in his face and chest, as Johdavi eagerly stomped on his legs. Vade curled up into himself as much as he could, feeling each hard thud of pain jolt his entire body. His vision blurred, and he struggled to breathe. He watched through a mist of suffering as the letters he’d scrawled on the floor melted away one by one, as if they had never been written. Then he lost consciousness.

-

Cay walked silently behind Dr. Kallo, keeping one hand close to the non-lethal electrogun hidden in his jacket. Why Arilus insisted on checking in with the surviving soldiers after each foolish battle, Cay would never understand. But he would also never allow the overconfident man to make the trip alone.

The signs of a clash were obvious from a distance. Laser holes and carvings peppered the walls and ground, and wisps of smoke trailed in the air. Cay would never get used to the violence of these people. He wondered how many had died this time.

“When we get back, would you want to do a movie night?” Cay suggested, breaking the chilly silence that usually occurred throughout any one-on-one activity with Arilus. “It’s been a while.”

“No one can relax long enough to enjoy a movie, these days,” Arilus responded with a shrug. His electrostaff gleamed as he held it out in front of him. He had its built-in shield up, ready to intercept any sudden attacks.

“Well, that’s sort of the point,” Cay frowned. “Maybe if we all sat down together and did something normal, we’d be—” He rounded the corner and gasped involuntarily, stopping in his tracks. A lone AI lay on the ground in the fetal position, dripping luminescent blue from his nose and lips. His face and hands were bruised and swollen. He looked as if he had been beaten within an inch of his life. “What… what happened here?” Cay exclaimed, rushing to the unconscious AI’s side. He began to check for broken bones, though he still wasn’t sure whether AIs had bones.

Arilus had walked right past this dismal sight without so much as a sideways glance. He turned and headed back to where Cay kneeled, gazing down at the AI with an unreadable expression. “Hmm… He looks new,” he remarked thoughtfully. “How many blue ones have there been, now?”

“We should take him to Yuli,” Cay frowned, gingerly reaching for one of the AI’s arms. “Help me lift him.”

“You think moving him is a good idea? He’s in pretty bad shape,” Arilus raised his eyebrows.

“We can visit your precious Dara after we help this man,” Cay grumbled, grabbing the lifeless AI beneath his shoulders and lifting him into a sitting position. Upon being moved, the artificial man let out a cough, and his eyes fluttered halfway-open. His blue hair spilled across his face, hiding some of the damage from view.

Arilus did not acknowledge Cay’s little jab. He sighed quietly, then scooped the blue-haired AI into his arms, carrying him snugly against his chest. The AI weakly lifted his hands to hug Arilus’s shoulders, prompting a look of distaste from the man. Without another word, the two Colonists backtracked, hoping the maze would behave forgivingly on their journey home. It would be just their luck to be punished for trying to save a life.