Yuren stared at the screen, unable to believe what he was seeing. The 701st's official military affiliation was removed and replaced with a private force.
He quickly searched for information about the 'Private Force' and learned they were a type of unit that existed only within the military, not outside. They were considered independent organizations and had the same privileges and rights as regular soldiers.
"Wait. This can't be right." Yuren shook his head. "This is ridiculous."
He was a reservist; how could he possibly manage the 701st by himself?
He abruptly stood up, his mind racing.
"Is something wrong, Commander?" Lina asked.
"Lina, there something I want to know. Where do they keep damaged androids?"
"Damaged androids?" Lina blinked. "Commander..."
"Where are those two being kept? They weren't destroyed, were they?"
"They are in a cold storage facility..." Lina answered.
"Take me there. I want to see them." Yuren demanded.
"Commander... you can't..."
"Now." Yuren interrupted.
"Commander, that place can only be accessed by the highest authorization level." Lina warned.
"That's an order." Yuren retorted.
Lina was silent before she sighed. "Yes, sir."
"Thank you." Yuren nodded.
He had a bad feeling about what caused the vice minister to do this. Was there some kind of plan? But why did she go through the effort to put everything under his name?
Lina led him to the hangar, and they approached the Eisendrache.
"Is the facility not on base?" Yuren asked.
"No, it's not." Lina shook her head. "It's in a location only accessable by air."
"Ah." Yuren nodded.
"Follow me." Lina stepped onto the ramp.
"Okay."
Yuren followed Lina up the ramp and into the Eisendrache. The interior was quiet, and the crew was nowhere in sight.
"Reila, our destination is Zone T431-A... Commander's orders." Lina instructed.
"Roger." Reila responded.
Yuren could feel the engines starting, and the ship began to hum.
"Let's go, Commander." Lina motioned for him to follow.
The two walked through the corridors until they reached the bridge. They sat in silence as the ship took off, the landscape below growing smaller and smaller.
"Why are we going to that facility, Commander?" Lina asked.
"There's something I need to know." Yuren replied.
"Yuren... Bei is... she isn't..." Lina began.
"I know." Yuren cut her off; he didn't want to think about it.
Lina remained silent, her expression grim.
The rest of the ride was quiet, neither one speaking a word. After several minutes, the Eisendrache touched down. "We have arrived," Reila announced.
"Let's go, Commander." Lina stood.
Yuren followed her off the ship, surprised to see the landed at the side of a mountain.
"We have a bit of a walk from here, commander." Lina explained.
"Oh."
Lina led him through a path in the mountains, and Yuren followed silently.
"It's just through this tunnel." Lina pointed.
"Alright."
They entered the cave, and the walls were damp, and the floor was slippery. As they walked, the tunnel got wider, and the ceiling rose higher, leading to a bulkhead door.
"This is the facility." Lina informed.
"What's beyond the door?" Yuren asked.
"Damaged androids are stored here. And also where they're made. I cannot enter, but I'll wait for you here." Lina replied.
"Okay."
"I'll call if something comes up, but there shouldn't be any problems." Lina reassured him.
"Alright."
Yuren stepped forward and pressed the button; the doors slid open, revealing a large chamber.
The interior was dimly lit, the air was cold, and the floor was made of smooth concrete.
Yuren entered, and the door shut behind him.
He continued walking. The hallways were wide and empty.
"Where is everyone?"
Yuren walked until he came across a pair of double doors. He pushed them open and entered the chamber beyond.
It was filled with dozens of cryogenic chambers, each one had a name plate and an identification number.
"This is..."
Yuren felt his blood run cold as he looked around the room. He didn't know where to start.
"Where are they?" He muttered.
He approached the closest pod and read the name, "Sigrid VT04."
Inside was a naked girl with silver hair; she looked like an ordinary human except for the barcode tattooed on her neck and the tubes attached to her back.
"Why would the Vice Minister have them in a place like this?" Yuren whispered.
He moved to the next chamber, "Violetta MG07."
She was a young girl with blonde hair; she also had a barcode tattooed on her neck and several tubes connecting to her back.
Yuren checked each of the chambers; all the androids inside had barcode tattoos and were connected to tubes.
"Bei... Jia... where are you two?" Yuren sighed.
This wasn't a room for the damaged ones; they all seemed new.
He left the chamber and continued his search.
As he wandered the hallways, he came across another chamber.
"This must be it."
Yuren entered and was greeted by a wall of small pods and an overwhelming feeling of resonance.
"This is... so intense..."
Each pod contained an orb; they were all different colors and gave off a powerful energy.
"Are these cores...?" Yuren gasped; the realization hit him like a truck.
The chamber was filled with dozens of androids' cores; they were being kept here.
"What is this...? What's going on...?"
Yuren didn't know what to make of the situation; this wasn't what he expected at all.
"There are so many..."
He stared at the orbs, trying to understand what he was seeing.
"Why are all these cores here...?" He wondered.
Yuren reached out and touched one of the pods; the orb shook and began glowing brighter at his presence.
"Whoa..."
Yuren pulled his hand back, and the orb slowly stopped glowing.
"They react to my resonance..." He realized.
"Why?"
Yuren walked around the room, touching the pods and observing the reactions. Then it dawned on him that these were Meteorn cores.
"why... why are these here?"
Yuren couldn't believe his eyes. The androids were made from these cores.
"How many have died to make these?"
Yuren was conflicted, the amount of power and life contained within these orbs was immense. But it also meant the androids were living things, not mere machines.
"No wonder they felt so alive..."
The gravity of the situation finally dawned on him. "All these Meteorn... being turned into androids..."
This was the true nature of the 701st; they were domesticated Meteorn. Powerful lifeforms made to do the Empire's bidding.
Yuren walked out of the chamber, his thoughts racing. He continued looking for the cold storage for the damaged androids.
"Jia and Bei are here somewhere..." He mumbled.
After exploring the area, he came across a large door sealed with several braces, and a sign warning him that beyond was a high-density energy zone.
"This must be it."
Yuren pressed the button, and the braces slowly slid open as a buzzer sounded.
The door opened, revealing a pitch-black room.
Yuren took a step forward and was immediately met with a blast of cold air.
"Holy shit!"
He shivered and took another step forward. The air was freezing. He walked deeper into the room, and it became more and more frigid.
"So cold..."
His breath formed small clouds of mist as he exhaled.
Yuren came to a panel mounted on the wall and pressed a button; the lights flickered on, and the room was revealed.
He found a room with dozens of metal boxes lining the walls, each one was labeled with an identification number and serial code.
"There should be at least one or two that have Bei's serial number on it."
He approached the closest container and pressed the green button next to its nameplate.
The box opened and revealed a capsule containing a nude body; the skin was pale, and the body had severe damage.
"No..." Yuren's heart dropped.
It wasn't Bei but another android.
"Shit." He hissed.
Yuren moved to the next container, pressing the button again.
The lid opened, and the capsule inside contained a naked body with similar severe damage, but her revealed core seemed to be faintly glowing.
Was this one still just barely alive?
He tried to find any indication of who she was, but there was nothing other than her serial number.
"Damn it!"
He slammed his fist against the wall.
"Why are they keeping you all in such awful conditions?!" He growled.
The girl in the capsule was badly damaged, and her skin was pale, her core was still faintly glowing, and her body was covered in cuts and gashes down to her frame.
Just what kind of battles have they been through?
"What's the point of keeping you alive like this?!"
Yuren grabbed the capsule and pulled it out. He needed to know the truth. He placed the capsule on the ground and opened the lid.
The android's body was cold and lifeless, her eyes were closed, and her lips were slightly parted.
"This... isn't right..." Yuren shook his head. "None of this is..."
Yuren took a deep breath and exhaled; the cold air stung his lungs. He was about to close the lid when a small voice caught his attention.
"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you."
He spun around and was met with a man in a lab coat.
"Who are you?!" Yuren demanded.
"That's my question to you." The man retorted, a smirk forming on his face.
"I'm the commander of the 701st battalion." Yuren answered.
"701st? Ah... I see... how are they doing with their cores? I'm curious to know, those cores came from particularly problematic Meteorn." The man inquired.
"What are you talking about? Just who the hell are you?" Yuren scowled.
"It isn't easy turning them into androids," he sighed, ignoring Yuren's questions. "Preparing bodies for them to fuse to is especially hard, the rejection rate is extremely high. That's why we have to keep them in a state of suspended animation with precisely controlled resonance. But even then, it's hard to stabilize their bodies. If the resonance is off by even the slightest bit, they'll die. It's a pain."
"What are you saying?!" Yuren was taken aback.
"I'm saying you should leave her alone." The man grinned. "Fallen androids can reanimate with hysteria and go into a feral defensive state, you'll get torn to pieces if you let her core absorb resonance."
"What?!" Yuren took a step back.
"Don't worry, it'll take a while for her core to reanimate. As long as you leave her in a stable environment, she'll be fine." The man reassured him. "And if you don't touch her either."
"You're sick!" Yuren spat, stepping away from the capsule.
"If you say so. But the Meteorn are amazing creatures to learn about, wouldn't you agree? They manipulate resonance so easily and transfer between bodies; the research potential is astounding. Did you know, Meteorn can instantly travel between blackout zones? It's not that they form out of thin air; they are actually teleporting between the zones. Think of the potential of human advancement if we can replicate that power. Ah! the possibilities are endless!"
"Who the hell are you?" Yuren demanded again, "you're not just some scientist, are you?"
"My name is Aiden Horthorn, I'm the lead researcher in charge of this Nova Genesis Project facility. The subjugation of Meteorn and the development of androids for the Empire. It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander Gotsutoa." The man smiled, offering a handshake.
Yuren stared at him, a chill running down his spine.
Aiden noticed his hesitation, "I see you're not the hand shaking type. Not to worry." He laughed, withdrawing his hand.
"You're experimenting on the androids?" Yuren questioned.
"It's a bit of a stretch to call it experimentation. But yes I'm looking for a more efficient way to turn Meteorn into androids."
"Why the hell would you be doing that? Aren't the 701st already plenty effective enough?"
"Effective? I'm sorry, but no." Aiden shook his head. "Those in the 701st are closer to their Meteorn counter parts, and require a leading figure just like you. Without a proper connection, their efficiency plummets, and they're far too unstable. They need someone with a powerful enough resonance to control them. This is a major problem because a high class Meteorn could take control of the androids and cause a lot of damage. So in order to create better androids I need to remove this hierarchy of theirs."
"What the hell are you saying?!"
"I'm saying if I can find a way to completely erase the hierarchy between Meteorn classes, we'll have a much easier time creating powerful and stable androids." Aiden explained.
"That's insane!" Yuren cried.
"Is it? Why would you think so?"
"They're people! How could you talk about them like they're animals?"
"People? These are lifeforms that suddenly appeared and cause massive amounts of destruction. We don't even know where they're from, and have no way of communicating with them. And now you want me to treat them like people?"
"They can communicate just fine! You just haven't tried!" Yuren snapped.
"You sound like a child." Aiden scoffed. "What is it you even came here for?"
"I'm looking for two androids. They were part of the 701st and were recently brought back damaged. I wanted to check up on them." Yuren replied.
"Hmm... first put that one you took out back." Aiden ordered.
Yuren hesitated for a moment before closing the capsule, seeing the girl twitch before falling still again. He returned it to the storage box, and the lid automatically shut. Taking a moment to consider her fate, he knew she had to have been through something awful, and the thought infuriated him.
"Follow me." Aiden commanded.
"Where are we going?"
"To the android you're looking for." The older man sighed.