"I'm not a machine! I'm not a machine! I'm a man!" - Sergeant Alejo Murpheoso, Law Enforcement Enhancement Project, Age of Paranoia.

TREANA'AD HIVE WORLDS

It's the Builders Theory, kid.

We're all afraid of it.

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

TELKAN FORGE WORLDS

How bad could it be?

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

RIGELLIAN SAURIAN COMPACT

Nice going, you've doomed us all.

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

The lightning crackled in the sky, rippling across the heavy dark clouds with purple fury that lit up the night with bright strobing flashes. The rain poured down, driven almost sideways by the heavy winds, cold and stinging, the drops spattering off of any surface they hit like shrapnel from a mortar round. The wind and rain stripped leaves from trees and bushes, tree trunks creaked as the storm lashed at them.

Stumbling through the underbrush, panting and crying with panic driven hysteria, was an immature female Edrok, the fuzzy fur on her head and face plastered to her head by her tears and the rain. She was dressed in what was left of a shipboard child's uniform with a torn and ripped survival jacket over it. One arm hung limp, the other was cradled across her waist to hold her little brother tightly to her with a bleeding hand even as he made keening sounds of distress and fear and gripped her torn shirt with his little hands, his tail curled under him and against both of their chests.

She knew she had to keep running. That if she stopped she, and her little brother, were dead.

The idea that someone, anyone, would want to hurt her had been foreign to her just hours ago. Like every other small child, she was convinced that she was worthy of love and kindness, that everyone would like her and love her when they met her. That the entire universe loved her.

Just like she was convinced now she was going to die if she stopped running.

She and her brother were alone now.

Even their pet Numpda'awk was gone.

She knew the Awkielia were behind her. Not running, not like she was, but following all the same.

She could remember their laughter. How they had come to the planet after the escape pod had landed. How they had hurt her family, just like they hurt her clan aboard the spaceship her people had run from home that those following her had been destroying. She had seen, on the vid, that the Awkielia had blown up the sun she had played under.

Part of it, older now, awake far too early, knew that she was all that was left.

Just her and her little brother.

So she ran. Even though she was out of breath. Even though her legs and feet hurt. Even though she had already thrown up what little she had eaten.

She still ran.

Lightning flashed as she pushed through the last of the plants and stumbled forward into a small clearing.

There was nothing but rock in front of her.

She went down on her knees, looking up at the sky, then at the rock.

That was why the Awkielia had let her run. They knew the rock would stop her.

She lowered her head and started to weep. Her brother made soft noises of distress and comfort, petting her even as he cried in distress.

"Please. Someone please help me. Please, anyone," she gasped.

A light came on in the rock. Over five times her body height up on the oh-so-high cliff. It was a red light.

She looked up, feeling a faint flicker of hope. "Help, please," she whined.

A red beam of light flickered down to her. It spread out into a grid and she could hear a humming noise.

"Help me, please," she whimpered. "They're coming for me."

The light winked out.

She shuffled forward on her knees, feeling the tiny pebbles and rocks in the dirt pressing against her sensitive knees. She put her face against the stone.

"Please. Help me. Please," she said, reaching up with both hands to press them on the rock. She cried out as her injured shoulder protested. Her injured hand stung as the bleeding cut pressed against the rock. "Please, help me."

There was a flickering.

"DNA analysis complete. Cortex analysis complete," a voice in the darkness said. "Linguistic analysis complete."

The voice reminded her of the robonanny and the ship's virtual intelligence.

She looked around and saw a flickering behind her.

A bipedal figure appeared. Head, torso, two arms, two legs, it was white and featureless.

"Hostile life form check initiated," the voice said.

She shuffled around on her knees and looked at the figure. She was just grateful it was like her, even if it was almost three times her size. It wasn't an Awkielia and that's all that mattered.

"Please help me," she said. Her brother was no longer making keening noises of distress, merely rubbed his little face against her shirt and made tiny soothing noises.

"Do you need assistance?" the voice asked. The white figure tilted its head and reached out one hand.

"Please?" she asked, reaching out with her bleeding hand. "I need help. I'm scared and have ouches," she said, holding up her bleeding left hand.

The figure vanished.

She whimpered and turned back to press her hands and her face against the wall.

"Assistance request confirmed. A Tier I supervisor is being dispatched to your location. Remain at location," the disembodied voice stated.

She nodded, her face still pressed against the stone. "Yes. Please," she looked up at where the light had come from. "Can I come inside? They're going to kill me like they killed everyone else. I'm cold."

There was silence for a long moment, broken only by the crash of thunder and the flash of lightning.

The rock wall suddenly dissolved. A smooth stone hallway was beyond, ambient light coming from nowhere yet illuminating everything. She fell forward but managed to twist at the last second to land on her side, protecting her little brother.

She curled up in a ball, crying. Warmth washed over her, from further down the hall, and her injuries stung and burned.

For a long moment there was silence, just her little brother making soothing noises, the rumble of thunder, and the howl of the wind driving the hissing rain.

A thudding sound started, slowly drawing closer.

She closed her eyes and curled up tighter, protecting her little brother.

"Subject Zero-Zero-Zero-Alpha-Zero. Can you respond?" something asked. It was her language, but the voice was deep, rough, and scary.

"I'm afraid," she sobbed.

"State the nature of your emergency," the voice said.

She whimpered, then looked up.

What stood above her was a robot, but not like one she had seen before in her life. Like her, it had two arms, two legs, two eyes, a nose between the eyes, a mouth below, and a flat face. Its eyes were set close.

It was almost three times her height, twice as wide as she was.

"They want to kill me and my brother," she whimpered.

Lights came up. Dim ones. Reddish lights and she gasped, closing her eyes and curling up again when lightning flashed and revealed the robot.

It had furless skin hidden in places by ragged clothing. The skin was missing in places, obviously some kind of plastic, revealing shiny silver robotics. One eye was tiny, but like her, it had white, color, and a black pupil. Like hers, it was blue. It had fur on its head. Gold fur, cut short. The clothing was ragged and torn, a strange mottled pattern.

"External systems depleted. Three external sensors viable," the robot said. It looked back down. "Thirty higher life forms approaching. Designation of additional life forms?"

It took her a second to realize that the voice had asked a question.

"They're the Awkielia. They want to kill me like they killed my world, exploded our star, killed everyone I know, and ate my pet," they said, looking up at the robot, which was turning its head back and forth to stare outside.

The robot went still.

"Repeat last statement," it said.

She snuffled. "They caught us. Numpda'awk tried to save us, but the Awkielia grabbed him and bit his head off," she started snuffling again. "They laughed," she wailed. "The Awkies ate my 'da'awk and laughed!"

The robot held still.

"Assistance request has been moved to a Tier II supervisor," it said. "Please stand by for supervisor digital reconstruction."

She just nodded, curled up and weeping.

Her brother made slight distress sounds.

"Elaborate immature male vocalizations," the robot stated.

"It's my baby brother. He's hungry," she sniffled.

The robot stayed still.

"Key phrases identified. Request escalated to Tier III supervisor. Please stand by for Tier III supervisor physical reconstruction," the robot intoned.

Long moments passed.

"Status change. Life forms detected at maximum sensor range. Anomalous readings. Species mismatch for species requesting assistance. Presence of weaponry and explosives detected. Alerting Tier III supervisor to additional information," the robot stated. It paused for a moment. "You are in danger. Assistance will be provided."

She just flicked her ears in acknowledgement and reached under the jacket to pet her baby brother, who was making soft sleepy sounds.

More time passed.

"A Tier III supervisor is approaching," the robot said.

There was a thudding sound of footsteps. They stopped next to her.

"Warning, there are possible hostile life forms beyond the facility tertiary entryway Eight Epsilon Four," the robot intoned.

"Figures," a new voice said. The new voice was deep, rumbling, but soothing at the same time.

"Affirmative," the robot stated.

"This her, Arnie?" the voice asked.

"Affirmative," the robot said.

"And the Awky ate her 'da'wk?" the other voice asked.

She started crying louder. "Please don't hurt him, he's hungry," she cried.

"Affirmative," the robot said.

The other voice sighed. "And her little brother is hungry. Of course," the new voice said.

"Affirmative."

"Go ahead and watch her, I'll handle this, Arnie" the new voice said.

"No problemo," the robot stated.

That's when she heard it.

The high pitched noises of the Awkielia.

Getting closer.

She whimpered and curled into a tighter ball.

"Attention. Hostile organism check to be initiated," the robot intoned. "Noncombatant safety protocol initiated."

She was aware that someone or something moved past her. The floor felt strange for a moment, like it was rippling, or sliding, beneath her. The sounds of heavy footsteps receded rapidly.

There was the whip-crack of lasers and she whimpered, knowing that They had just destroyed the robot.

"Hostile organisms detected. Tier III supervisor has been alerted. Full negative stimulus repellent methods initiated," the robot stated.

Screams started. High pitched buzzing screams.

Awkielia screams.

"You are being provided Tier III assistance," the robot intoned.

She curled up tighter.

"A Tier IV supervisor is manifesting," the robot intoned. "Do not panic. You are being provided assistance."

The buzzing screams stopped.

"Hostile organisms have been eliminated or are retreating. Tier III supervisor is returning," the robot said. "Tier IV supervisor has manifesting and is approaching."

The bootsteps returned and the thunder was suddenly muted then silenced.

"Entryway sealed. Initializing camouflage systems. Do not be alarmed," the robot said.

"Take a break, Arnie," the new voice said. "Go get some maintenance, you look like shit."

"Affirmative," the robot said.

Footsteps moved away.

There was a light touch on her shin, between her hock and ankle.

"Hey, kid/child/immature one," the voice said. "Can you understand me? Sometimes the cortex scan glitches out."

She flicked her ears to signify the affirmative.

"Yeah," the voice said. "You can open your eyes."

She opened one eye and looked at the speaker.

They looked like the robot, only with no mechanical parts and their clothing was intact. They had a gun on their hip and another on their back, held there by a strap across their chest. Gold hair on the head, blue eyes, pale whitish-pink skin.

"Scans done. If you're hungry, we'll have food for you and nutrient solution for your little one very soon," the creature said.

"He's hungry," she said.

"Can I carry you? Your feet look like they hurt and the medites aren't loaded with your biocode yet," the creature said.

She nodded.

The creature leaned down and lifted her up, cradling her to its chest.

She laid her head on its chest and could hear and feel its heartbeat. A steady thumping drum that she could feel against her cheek through his clothing. He was warm, radiating heat, and she sighed and relaxed against him.

"You're just a kid," the creature said.

There was the feeling of movement for a little bit, then the sound of doors opening.

"Hello, mother," the creature holding her said. Its voice made its chest rumble and she made soft sounds of comfort.

Her brother snored.

"Hello, Johnny," another voice said. It was still deep, but she felt like the new voice was female, even though it was deeper than her mother's voice. "This our little lost foundling?"

She heard the doors close and there was the feeling of slow, controlled, downward movement.

"Yes," the male creature said.

The was a silence that was finally broken by a pinging noise when the motion stopped. The footsteps, two sets now, started again and she could feel she was being carried somewhere again.

"Let's get her in a bed. I'll run a full med-scan. She's got her brother with her?" the female voice asked.

"Holding onto her shirt. She said that he's hungry. She's pretty beat up, but nothing life threatening," the male said. "She's exhausted and terrified."

She wanted to feel afraid, but the warmth, the vibration of the male creature's voice, the thudding of his heart, and being cradled in his arms, took the fear away.

She kept her eyes closed even when she was set down on a soft bed and blankets were pulled up to her chin. She relaxed into the warmth and softness.

They didn't try to undress her or take away her brother.

"Metabolism scan is done. Go to the nutriforge, get her something warm and soothing, get her brother some nutrifluid," the female said.

"Yes, mother," the male said.

She wondered, for a moment, if it was nice to be as large as the male was.

"You can open your eyes, sweetie," the female voice said.

She opened her eyes.

Another biped, shorter than the male, only about twice her own body height, sat in a chair. As she watched, the female lit the end of a white tube with flame from a small metal box, then shut the box lid with a clink.

"So, the Awky's ate your 'da'awk and your little brother's hungry?" the female asked.

She nodded as the female inhaled on the tube, making the end glow a bright red.

The woman exhaled smoke and for a moment all she could see was the female's gunmetal gray eyes.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same."

--Excerpt from: The Devil's Daughter

HIKKEN GESTALT

What's the worst that could happen?

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

HAT WEARING AUNTIE

Oh, dear.

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

TREANA'AD HIVE WORLDS

Welp, everyone's fucked now.

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---