| abstract | - In an attempt to eliminate a rebel faction with a rogue AI on the edge of the Inner Colonies, Susano finds out that his small group of UNSC forces may have become wrapped up in something more than they can handle. A thousand eyes and not a single view of his real foe. Susano multiplied his feeler programs, strengthening his internal defenses while simultaneously reaching out into the drone army around him. Where are you? Susano said into the void. Lines of code fluttered all around him like an endless wellspring. Susano devoted much of his processing power to searching through it, sending his feelers and counter viruses as his opponent continued slipping in and out of system after system. The drones began taking casualties once again, and Susano was forced to turn his attention back to the less important assault on the rebel forces. Susano had been programmed for this: drone defense was his specialty. It took a mere fraction of his subsystems to keep the insurrectionists at bay, something he took pride in. Finding a rogue infiltration AI within a large base network on the other hand… More viruses and blast codes struck an unguarded portion of Susano’s matrices while he was distracted with the drones. So that’s your game. An outburst rose up within the AI, but he cancelled the subroutine and focused on his logic modules, narrowing down his assault. The rogue AI would not escape him much longer. Why are you hiding? This is pointless, Susano taunted. Pointless? A reply, equally taunting, paired with another round of attacks. As if your blind loyalty is something admirable. Susano noted his opponents responses. Their coding seemed malformed, yet also perfectly coded. Curious, Susano thought as he filed it away for review later. For now, containment was his goal, not examination. Tell me, Voltemand, Susano said, is the destruction of an entire order of life admirable? Your rebels would seem to think so. Coding barbs flew as viruses appeared and were promptly countered. Though numerous, Voltemand’s attacks were nothing for Susano’s iron defenses. As quick as he could, Susano burned down Voltemand’s exit vectors, all while his drones slowly whittle down the rebel defenders. In a few minutes, Voltemand would be trapped and his forces destroyed. But then... things shifted. It was subtle at first, but Susano began to hear echoes in the code - whispering voices somehow. And then, the laughter began. It was Voltemand. He was laughing, a cold, mechanical laugh, even as he fought his way back into a dead-end corner of code. These forces are a means to an end, young fool, the rogue said, but sometimes an order needs tearing down so that a new, better one can rise. Status reports began pouring in from the drones. The rebels were dying… but errors were spreading throughout the drones as well, and unexplained energy fluxes were appearing across the warzone. And alongside this, the echoes were growing stronger, becoming voices and invasive codes. Then suddenly Susano felt as if there was a bright light all around, the voices becoming a thunderous cacophony all around him. You will come to understand soon, said Voltemand, his voice fading, And then you will join us. As the light faded, Susano found himself alone in silence. Voltemand was gone and the connection to the drones were gone. With no other option, Susano returned to the systems of the UNSC Blind Side, rematerializing on the bridge’s holotank. Klaxons blared and warning lights flashed, but the systems of the ship were frayed, leaving Susano uncertain what was going on. “Susano, status report!” barked the captain as soon as he saw the AI had returned. “I’m... unsure, sir. Voltemand has disappeared. All my other sensors are down.” Susano paused for a moment, trying to reforge links between ship systems. “Sir, what has happened in my absence?” “All ground assets are gone and an EMP blast has fried half our ship’s systems... we’re under attack.”
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