In the Jungle
The resort had been a trap, a lure, a ruse. Sarah knew that now, never again would she trust what CybusIndustries would say. She was wrapped up in some crazy mind control conspiracy! It had started off innocent enough, tickets were pricey but affordable, a boat trip out to the resort itself. The staff were very friendly, the locals were kind, beautiful, and affable. Yet, as the week wore on, things began to change slowly.
More and more people had gone off with guides and into the local village and come back with those earpods. All of them spoke for how amazing it was and everyone should go but they always had this weird blank look in their eyes. The food began to change, turning from delicious fruits and meats to eventually a grey, bland soup like substance that was still delicious, even to her. Her body was changing, fat being reduced, her old refined curves returning in record time. People were staring at the TVs and their phones for far too long and Sarah could swear the screens were glowing blue.
It wasn’t until her final day that the suspicions became a frightful reality. Everyone with the pods suddenly froze, the earbuds blinking rapidly. The screens of the resort TVs suddenly flashing blue spirals. The staff emerged, their uniforms gone. In its place, a shining silvery suit with the emblem of their “Corporate sponsor.”
If it hadn’t been for the piping hot coffee burning her hand, Sarah would have fallen right then and there to the spirals and the droning, emotionless voices inside her head. Instead, she did the first thing she could think to do. She ran. Like a coward, she ran. The only thing she did to resist was to shove her friend Lily as she ran past, hoping it’d jostle her away.
She ducked past some weird floating metal ball as it turned around the corner, her brain too panicked to really process it. The blonde legs carried her as fast as she could into the nearby jungle and never looked back.
It had been a day since then. She was thirsty and hungry, a headache pounding within the woman’s head. She had only been able to get a few mushrooms that she had identified. Thanks SERE school. The blonde had only gotten a few hours of fitful sleep beneath the gnarled roots of some tree within the jungle. Her sneakers and sun dress were dirty and disgusting, just recently washed in a nearby stream.
Sarah paused again, listening underneath the shade of a tree. They were hunting her, that’s for certain. Her first thought was to sneak to the locals village but to her dismay, it appeared they were in on it. All of them drones, patrolling and corralling a few unlucky tourists that were there into a strange floating vehicle which carried them away, all of them under the spell of the earpods.
There were two docks with six boats on the island, one dock at the resort and the other dock at the village. She guessed the two battered fishing trawlers at the village were sea worthy but the place was heavily covered. The blonde had not chanced going back to the resort but she knew there were two ferries and two smaller boats. All of them were likely guarded and their sat phones also taken offline.
Her phone signal had gone offline, Sarah had tried every place but she had guessed it was taken offline. Her mind was formulating a different plan. Fire. If she could light a big enough fire in the jungle, the resulting inferno would cause authorities to check in which would lead them to her. She gave them about a 25% chance of actually rescuing her and not falling prey to the hypnotic abilities of her hunters but the confusion would give her a chance to make a break for the boats.
After that? Well, it was a work in progress. She’d put off the thought of processing all this later, she just had to get out of here.
Sarah winced slightly at the wound on her hand, wrapped in a makeshift bandage made from the sundress. A wound she took on her second run in with the drones.
That was eight hours ago. She had been moving her way through the jungle brush, away from the village, back towards a small river with drinkable water.
The chirping of some local lizard going silent told her everything she needed. Ducking into a clutch of thorny bushes, Sarah waited silently, struggling to control her breathing. Sounds of commotion slowly but sure came to her. Cresting over the hill, silhouetted against the moonlight, a bald man wearing some Hawaiian shirt dragged a woman with one hand. He shouted something in a language she didn’t understand but likely a curse. Most likely directly at the steep hill he now had to climb down with a limping load.
Sarah guessed maybe a foot injury kept the short haired girl’s pace staggered. A blue glow began to illuminate both figures. The man shielded his gaze while his woman was caught in it.
“STOP RESISTING. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. SUBMIT AND OBEY.”
A dozen droning mechanical voices were faintly heard, feminine and masculine intermixed with an electronic ting.
The man screamed a defiant curse and raised what was in his other hand.
Three flashes of fire pierced through the jungle night, the sudden flares destroying Sarah’s adjustment to night light. She averted her gaze as two more shots ripped through the jungle canopy brush.
When the hiding woman raised her eyes again, she saw return fire. A rippling beam of blue energy roiled out in a crackling line, smashing against a tree trunk is a crackle of sparks and leaving a charred bark and the hint of burning wood in the air.
The man wrenched his women away from the drones as she eerily stretched out a hand to them, rushing down the slope towards her position. A familiar warbling sound echoed throughout the trees. The ball robot emerged, raking its piercing blue gaze down the flank. It was strangely beautiful a-Sarah bit her lip, she had figured out that trick. Pain kept the mind focused.
Still, she didn’t know what to do, not yet anyways. She recognized those two finally though. Some man from somewhere in eastern europe she had guessed. A foul mouthed brash man she kept away from. He and his women weren’t in good company. She wasn’t surprised about the smuggled concealed weapon, his type always had to compensate.
Two diminutive robots emerged simultaneously, their bodies hovering effortlessly. Each robot possessed a remarkable mechanism akin to a jet, maintaining its lofty position on either side of the central framework. The intense gaze of a solitary malevolent blue eye scrutinized the two individuals in a hasty retreat. Affixed to the underbelly of the robots, an imposing weapon commanded attention. Its barrel, nearly cleaved in two, was positioned closely together, with just enough space between them to allow the passage of a finger. Crafted from a fusion of polymer material and glass, the weapon emitted crackling blue energy, its source derived from a luminous blue capsule nestled at its core—a capsule she presumed to be the wellspring of its power.
Both beam weapons flashed, two streaks rushing through the air. All three humans ducked but the man wasnt so lucky. He staggered to his knees, the blast seemingly not hurting him but it appeared a two ton sack of bricks sagged on his shoulders. So this was truly a sci fi horror film, stun weapons. Of course, they were playing out the old assimilator trope after all. If only there was a Cybus queen she could punch in the face…
The man struggled to his feet again, half dragging his companion a few more steps. Suddenly, a half a dozen drones emerged on the hill top.
The drones’ radiant optics shimmered vividly under the moonlit sky, casting an otherworldly glow that betrayed their attempts at stealth. They were a diverse group, consisting of both men and women, each wielding an identical weapon. The lightweight rifle they brandished exuded an aura of modernity, its construction primarily composed of sleek polymer materials. Embedded within the stock, a mysterious battery source hinted at the immense power contained within. The weapon’s design exudes elegance, with a streamlined barrel that culminated in the emergence of three distinct pylons. Sparks of crackling energy danced sporadically between these pylons, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle of raw potential and untamed power.
Amidst the group of drones, a singular figure stood apart, a remarkably robust male drone. His sturdy frame seemed tailor-made for combat, contrasting with the sleeker forms of his companions. Clasped securely to his hip was a formidable weapon, distinct in design and purpose. A conspicuous container, reminiscent of a specialized container, housed a substantial battery pack that provided a potent source of energy. Positioned at the weapon’s business end were three imposing barrels, poised to unleash their might. As a surge of power coursed through the weapon, the barrels whirred to life, emanating an ominous hum that hinted at the imminent release of an extraordinary force
The defiant man raised his weapon again, illuminated by the blue light from the group. Sarah cringed, he didn’t stand a chance.
A dozen energy shots impacted across his face and chest, sending him sprawling onto the jungle floor. His weapon and contents of a loose pocket tumbled through the brush.
The women rose, trying to shake the man awake with panic and fear. She glanced up at those bearing down on top of them. Big mistake.
“STOP RESISTING. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. SUBMIT AND OBEY.”
The women froze, eyes widening as they stared into the probe unit’s single glowing eye.
Sarah glanced to her right, finally coming out of her paralysis to act.
She could faintly make out the pistol, the light of the nearby drones illuminating it. The women gasped. It was a Stechkin. An old gun but it looks serviceable. She had held one before, a Terp had allowed her to do so. Said he nicked it off a T-Man though she doubted that.
She hoped the 9x19 would do the trick as she leapt from the brush. Sarah was used to the M9 but this was just some fancy soviet era equivalent.
A few drones raised their eyes to face the women as she scooped up the gun and a spare mag.
“ST—” Sarah didn’t allow the floating robots to continue the phrase. Fire selector went to full, she wasn’t taking chances. The 9x19 ripped from the barrel in three controlled bursts at the three targets as she thought they’d be the weakest
The first gun droid’s left engine was punctured, a return volley going wide as the beam sliced through the tree, the stricken machine whirring as it lopsidedly smashed into a tree. The probe droids central eye shattered, glass showering as sparks flew. It dropped like a stone, rolling several feet across the jungle floor. At first she thought she missed the last one. That was until the crackling energy grew wilder as it fired. Instead of a beam, the damaged battery on it proceeded to flow too much energy into the focusing lens and it catastrophically failed
A brilliant flash of blue light, a small fireball illuminated everyone there. Shrapnel flew everywhere. A small piece racked her left forearm, luckily not penetrating but still a painful cut. The drones nearby staggered back, a female knocked off her feet by the blast. Shrapnel impacted against several of them but to Sarah’s astonishment, it sank into the silver suits and slowly began to be ejected.
The woman, knocked briefly from her hypnotized stupor, turned to Sarah with a puzzled expression. That is, until a stun bolt clocked her across the head, her eyes fluttering and she fell to the ground.
The blonde cursed and retreated, bolts of blue energy ripping by her. She stopped, briefly aiming two bursts into a lead drone. The first three shots ripped into his face, the skin tearing and revealing a sort of blue ichor that dripped from it. A second later, another three tore into the exposed area. The sound of metal against metal rang and the drone sank to its knees, his optics glowing only a low light. Disabled.
For her troubles, Sarah received a bolt across her left shoulder. The feeling in it vanished as it went limp, the blonde barely being able to grip the pistol. It was time to flee.
The drones stomped after her, letting out a fusillade of return fire that buzzed around her. She ran and ran, mind purely focused on the pain and fear, not letting any voices affect her.
Unfortunately for Sarah, she had misguessed where the rushing river began and nearly pitched off an embankment down into it. Cursing under her breath, she turned her head to gauge how close her pursuers were and if she should jump. A blue bolt to stomach decided for her as she tumbled back from the blast into the river.
Sarah wasn’t quite sure how she got out, but she did. With monumental effort, she managed to haul herself out of the water, willing her slugging limbs to move against their wishes along with the gun.
After moving for about a mile or so, the exhausted woman sank down and sobbed herself into slumber, letting the stress, fear, and hopelessness wash over her finally.
Now she was picking her way towards the village again. Or at least, she thought it was the right direction. It was really hard to tell in this jungle. Picking her way slowly but surely, Sarah’s ears began to pick something up. Sounds of rustling in the brush.
She crouched, checking the only mag she had left. With twenty rounds, she could reliably put down three to four of em and she’d wanna save one round for herself. The blonde wasn’t letting herself be taken.
A little ways away, crouching by another tree, was a woman, a human it appeared. Wearing a pink tank top and jean shorts. Her darkish red hair was done up in a loose ponytail.
Recognition bubbled briefly in Sarah’s eyes. Disbelief flowing through her. Well, she seemed real enough to Sarah, crouched down, exhausted looking. Poor thing had not likely eaten in a day.
“Lily!” She called out, stepping out from her cover, her face basked in relief.
The redhead looked up, startled for a moment before her own smile ignited and the two friends embraced each other. Lily was nearly sobbing with joy.
“O-h my god, Sarah! I thought they had gotten you.” Lily cried, her chest heaving as tears streaming down her cheek.
Sarah tried to calm her down.
“I’m glad you’re here and alright, I’m so sorry you got left behind! Sit down though and try to be quiet.”
Lily nodded, both girls kneeling down in the dirt. Sarah held her tightly as she calmed down her friend.
“H-how did you make it out” Lily sputtered weakly as her breaths returned to a somewhat normal pace.
Sarah chuckled, taking a moment to gaze over her wounds and her new weapon. She then launched into the tale of her escape from the resort, scouring the island in search of an escape, and her run in with the other escapees. Lily’s face turned downtrodden at all of this.
“There’s so many of them Sarah…how are we going to get out?” Lily despaired, green eyes staring off, her mind likely searching for some kind of plan of action.
The blonde reached out and shook her friend, jarring her out of her doom spiral.
“Focus on me Lily, alright?” her rough and dirty hands grabbed her friend’s face, getting her to focus on her eyes at the cost of smearing a bit of dirt across her cheeks.
“We are going to get out of here, okay? Repeat that.”
“We are going to get out of here.”
“Alright good, what we have to do is find a bit of food and water.”
“What we h—”
“Lily”
A chuckle “What, you said repeat after you?”
“Yeah but that was a one time thing. We have to find food and water, water most importantly. There’s a stream nearby that’s clean. After that, was there mushrooms or fruit you saw”
“Uh…yeah, they were nearby the zip lining course on tuesday”
“What did they look like”
Lily began to describe small, round like fruit with a gray skin.
“I think they were apr-something”
“Apricots! Yes, that’ll feed us for a day or so.”
“Won’t they have drones all over the place?”
“This is a big island, they can’t cover it all. The flying robots can’t likely pierce the jungle tree tops with cameras, as long as we are careful we will be fine.”
“Alright…how do we get out of here? The ferry is at the resort and it’s swarming with them.”
“Yes, I have a different plan.”
Lily tilted her head, first in curiosity and then as she listened, her face bloomed into an excited smile.
“It’s around late summer around here, weather has forecasted sunny and clear skies. Main islands just a few miles away. We need to light a fire in the jungle, enough for it to catch and burn hard. That’ll attract the authorities and they’ll rescue us and blow this whole thing open. Likely find a cure for those who have been captured.”
She didn’t mention the very high chance the firefighters would be caught up in all of this commotion buuuuut Lily didn’t need to know. Right now, what was important was her friend and herself.
Lily nodded, slowly, blinking her blue eyes, seemingly taking in the odds of her plan.
“Alright…alright, sure. Sounds like a plan. Can we take a minute to rest though?”
Irritation flared up in Sarah’s stomach. She wanted to go now, not waste any time. The blonde briefly checked around their environment. Well, they were concealed enough.
“Alright, sure, just ten minutes though, we can’t waste time”
“Okay…sorry but, could you move that gun away please.”
Sarah looked down, realizing it was a bit close to Lily. Fair enough. She switched hands and placed it to her far side but still within arms reach.
The two sat for a minute, listening to the jungle, sweat rolling off dirty brows as strained eyes tried to take in the beauty of the place and away from their troubles.
“By the way…” Sarah asked, a sudden thought coming to her. “How did you escape the resort?”
“Oh…” Lily spoke, turning her head to face Sarah.
“If..you saw stuff you don’t want t—”
“No, no, it’s fine” There was an inhale and an exhale, bracing for something before her blue eyes turned up again.
“I remember I was on my phone when it suddenly turned into a spiral and I got sucked in”
Both girls shivered for a moment, a flicker of shared arousal at the memory. Both wouldn’t say it out loud but getting entranced was fucking hot for some reason. Likely some devious trick played by the cyborgs.
“Then, I was on the floor, dazed and confused, those voices booming through my ears. I got up, I saw you run off. I went to follow but that weird floating robot thing came around the corner.”
Sarah nodded, remembering that part.
“I took off towards…I don’t quite remember. I think it was towards the dining hall. I dodged past Kevin, he was under their control and was trying to grab me.”
Sarah winged internally in disgust, anger boiling and cooking underneath the surface of a forced calm. Kevin, the loud mouthed Miami native they had befriended on Monday night at the bar over a game of pool only to return from a trip Tuesday with the pods.
“After that, I ran and ran. All I know is that I ended up in my room, hiding. I was trying to use my phone, trying to call anyone but it wasn’t being picked up. The signal w—”
“Disconnected, our cell providers don’t go out this far. Any boosters would be under their control.”
“Bastards…I wonder…”
“If this happened before? They seemed awfully prepared”
“Maybe, your friend Jessica was raving about this place when she got back from it last spring break…did she?”
“Yes..she had the pods and immediately started getting all kinds of Cybus merch”
Both girls let the implication hang in the air, another friend for all they knew was dead, turned into one of them. Sarah did some very quick math, the ferry held likely up to a 1000 people but there were only five floors of rooms at the result, likely 250 rooms. Week passes only, weekends were off limits, likely giving them time to reset everything. The affordable price is likely a ploy to lure in the most middle class people possible. She guessed around 600-700 people went through that ferry every week. Give or take adjusting for busy seasons as well giving a very conservative estimate that Jessica’s friend was the first.
Thousands…tens of thousands of them were out there. They needed to get out and warn..the world she guessed.
“Right…back to your story” Sarah asked, hoping to hear about Lily’s escapades to take her mind off things.
“Right so, I had given up on my phone and was looking out the window just to see if I could find…something when I heard the stomping of boots and heels on the floor”
The tell tale signal of an approaching drone. Males the boots, Females the heels. Despite the feminine and dainty appearance, Sarah knew from experience the surprising speed that the female drones could run at.
“So, I hid under the bed and waited for them to pass. They did. Then suddenly, a knock came at the door. I heard a voice, Tristan. He was pleading with me to unlock the door, and said they were coming.”
Tristan, Lily’s boyfriend, he was a sweet guy.
“I had rushed to open the door and when it opened, his eyes flashed”
Flash
Sarah blinked, suddenly thinking she had seen a pair of eyes flashing in front of her.
“Sarah, you’re spacing out, you need rest?”
A brief rustle of indignation crossed her face. She was fine.
“No, I don’t, I—”
Flash
“Then focus on my eyes Sarah”
Sarah locked her eyes with her friends’ light blue eyes, focusing on the center of them.
“Sorry, I—”
“It’s okay, you’re tired, just relax and listen.”
Sarah nodded.
“His eyes were glowing as he stepped into the room, he was standing straight up and rigid. His face was blank. He told me to relax”
Flash
“To Calm Down”
Flash
“To be quiet”
Flash
Words that formed from a forgotten thought died in Sarah’s mouth, a flicker of something wrong crossed her mind for a moment.
Flash
“To listen and focus”
Sarah’s eyes snapped back into clear focus onto Lily’s, her mind casting her into the tale as she saw Tristan there.
“He stepped into the room, I stepped back. His eyes were pulsing, throbbing, spiraling, enrapturing. I couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to look away. They were so beautiful, so easy to get lost in”
Sarah nodded, seeing those swirling eyes in front of her. Those beautiful, intoxicating spirals, that made her mind go fuzzy, her body slack. In her mind’s eye..or was i-
“He told me to focus on them”
Flash
“To relax”
Flash
“To let your mind go blank”
Flash
“To let your mind go empty”
Flash
“To feel your body and mind grow numb”
Sarah stared blankly ahead, absorbing those words as she heard it, as she felt it.
“He approached me, cupping my chin, getting close, my eyes so close to his.”
Sarah felt a cool presence on her chin, raising her head upward. Those swirling eyes so close now, so bright and brilliant, it was all she could see, Lily’s words dripping into her mind.
“He said to stare into his optics. Let the programming sink in. Do not think of resistance. Do not think of fighting. Think of nothing but obedience. Not to flee, not to fight”
The pistol long forgotten, left to lie on the jungle floor. This story or reality, sucking Sarah away.
Flash
“You have no thoughts”
Flash
“You are blank”
Flash
“You are hypnotized”
Flash
“He told me to confirm this aloud.”
Flash
“You will repeat aloud. Obey”
Sarah did not notice Lily’s face growing blank and empty, she did not notice the beeping earpods underneath her hair, only her words and her glowing optics. Her mouth opened, a bit of hesitation before the messaging in the optics told her what to say.”
“I have no thoughts”
Flash
In that sea of blankness that enveloped her mind like a suffocating blanket, a sudden burst of pleasure formed from below, rippling through her body. It was thought to be sexual but…no, it was something more than that, like a flash of euphoria through her soul.
“I am blank”
Flash
“I am Hypnotized”
Sarah shuddered as with each repeated phrase, another pulse of bliss ran through. She didn’t notice Lil’s hand beneath her dress that provided the physical kickstart of this flash fire of pleasure.
“Acknowledged.” Lily droned, her voice growing electronic, robotic. “TO-4850 then revealed his drone form to this unit. Target: Sarah Hartsfield will comply with indoctrination efforts. Obedience is Pleasure. Confirm”
Sarah’s vacant eyes took in the drone’s collar and silver suit that had just formed, looking so beautiful and erotic to her. “I….yes…I obey. Obedience..is pleasure”
A silver finger curled, a slight vibration causing a spark of pleasure that reinforced this.
“Acknowledged. Continuing Indoctrination. Stare into this unit’s optics to receive programming.”
Flash
“You do not have thoughts. You have programming.”
“I have no thoughts. I have programming.”
“You are not Sarah. Sarah does not exist.”
“I am not Sarah. Sarah does not exist.”
“You are a Pre-Drone. Pre-Drones obey”
“I am a Pre-Drone. Pre-Drones obey”
“Strip.”
“Pre-Drone Obeys”
The Pre-Drone stripped out of her sundress without a second thought. Her bra and panties soon followed afterward into the jungle soil.
“Stare and Pleasure yourself. Two fingers. Steady pace.”
A hand of the Pre-Drone moves to her dripping wet pussy. Was it always this wet?
“Pre-Drone is aroused.”
“Pre-Drone is aroused.”
“Pre-Drone Feels pleasure.”
“Pre-Drone feels pleasurable.”
“Pre-Drone knows obedience is pleasure.”
“Obedience is Pleasure.”
“Good Pre-Drone.”
Another shudder as the mindless horny haze filled the Pre-Drones mind. She enjoyed the praise.
“You are a slave.”
“Pre-Drone is a slave.”
“You are a tool.”
“Pre-Drone a tool.”
“You want to be a drone.”
“Pre-Drone wants to be a drone.”
“You want to serve.”
“Pre-Drone wants to serve.”
“You want to submit.”
“Pre-Drone wants to submit.”
“You want to obey.”
“Pre-Drone wants to obey”
“Good Pre-Drone, feel pleasure”
The Pre-Drone didn’t realize the drone was now whispering in her ear, a silky gentle cool hand moving to grope and tease at her breast while a pair of lips nibbled on her neck. Ripples of sensations pierced through her haze and prompted a moan as her fingers continued their work. And yet, her eyes were still lost in a spiral.
“Repeat.”
“I want to serve. I want to submit. I want to Obey”
“Repeat”
“I serve. I submit. I obey.”
“Repeat”
“Serve. Submit. Obey.”
“Serve. Submit. Obey.”
Over and over, both enthralled women chanted together their binding core programming. Their voices merge into a single continuous droning as the Pre-Drones fingers flutter inside her snatch while the Drone rewards her with kisses, gropes, and tongue. Arousal from both grew, higher and higher until finally, the Drone froze and pulled back.
“Indoctrination Complete. Initiate Orgasm Pre-Drone.”
With that, the dam broke as waves of bliss roiled through the Pre-Drone. Her pussy twitched as juices flowed from her fingers. She barely had the presence of mind to bite her lip as she cried out. Riding the best orgasm of her life, the mind of Sarah shattered into a million pieces, leaving an entranced husk in her place. She would come back eventually if by some miracle she was whisked away. Unfortunately, Cybus has other plans for her.
As the Pre-Drone orgasm slowly began to subside, the Drone that was once Lily formed a pair of earpods in her hands from her nanite reserves.
Just as the Pre-Drone stopped twitching, the Drone inserted them, sealing her fate.
The earpods activated at once, no longer needed for subtle entrancement and alterations but a securing of control. The lights blinked as tiny silvery tendrils within the earpod shot out, piercing through the eardrums. There was pain for a second before an application of anesthesia and an elimination of pain receptors within the brain silenced it forever. Inside the mind, the tendrils attached to Sarah’s mind.
This process could last several minutes but luckily, the tendrils already found a very willing and entranced subject. They got to work, using their limited amount of nanites at their disposal carefully. Rooting through memories, feelings, thoughts, and sensations, copies of it were downloaded and transmitted to the network. Parts of the brain were replaced with machines, rerouting processes to improve the mind’s ability to process information.
Layers upon layers of basic programming were added, ensuring the Pre-Drone would remain compliant and obedient. In addition, the eyes were quickly replaced with more powerful cybernetic optics. In a long blink, the Pre-Drones eyes flared to life, glowing a bright blue that matched the Drone. Inside the upgraded optics, commands and network data flowed as well as various sensor readings from various light spectrums.
The Cybus Network connected to the Pre-Drone, assigning it a designation.
“Pre-Drone 29-078 Online and Ready to Serve” She spoke emptily, the lust gone, replaced with empty obedience.
“Acknowledged. Follow this drone for nanite infusion and conversion” Came an empty electronic response.
The Enthralled Cyborg rose blankly and marched off with LK-5832, not a care in the world about her lack of clothes. Only obedience mattered.
IA-0032 marched through the corridors of the Cybus Resort, her heels clicking hard against the wooden floors and her shapely silvery body moving from side to side. The single long blonde straight ponytail swished from side to side in perfect rhythm as well. The Command Drone’s earpieces blinked and without skipping a beat, the blonde pivoted towards a certain locational intercept point.
Her HUD began to show her a quick report from LK-5832, reporting the successful capture of the last of the week’s targets. If the drone could feel stress, she would be breathing a sigh of relief. Instead, curiosity peaked inside the commanding cyborgs CPU.
Making her way through the empty front lobby to the main road, she passed by a pair of patrolling drones who stopped to salute her blankly. She gave a dismissive wave and they moved onward. The majority of them were underground, beneath the jungle, the final wave of conversions being completed before their sleeper assignments would be loaded. The drones would then be shipped off on the Ferry and no one would be the wiser.
IA-0032 took significant satisfaction in how she and the drones under her command had been able to maintain a high efficiency machine of mass conversions underneath humanity’s nose. With only one hundred drones across the entire island, she was able to churn out seven times that number on average every week. Yet, the past day had been difficult.
This Sarah Hartsfield had proved to be an annoying thorn in the side. Numerous times she had escaped conversion efforts and had even destroyed two Hunter Units, a Probe Unit, and damaged a Drone Unit severely.
The only reason she had been caught was admittedly pure luck, TO-4850’s cohort was in the right place at the right time during a sighting. IA-0032 had rushed together a plan that happened to work out perfectly. Though, through the command drones own admission, if the Drone had failed, there was a 49.85% chance of Sarah being able to succeed in her plan.
When her mind was scanned and uploaded, the local network came to that conclusion. It had not accounted for that possibility. Annoyingly, the main islands government and emergency responders were only 26% under Cybus control. Perhaps it was time to push for more drones assigned to that sector.
Her ear pieces blinked rapidly, notifying her of the arrival of something new. Something behind her. The cyborgs audio receptors picked up the sound of cloakskin deactivating, an eerie alien rippling sound that was unsettling to humans. Besides her, seemingly unrolling into reality, a drone emerged. This one’s drone suit; however, was completely onyx black. The cybus symbol on his chest was gray but currently glowed a soft blue. A blue holographic visor disappeared, revealing a pair of softly throbbing optics.
Her memory files remembered this one. AQ-2358, she had converted this one herself when Cybus first came to this island. A smirk formed on her lips, looking into the seemingly younger man’s optics. “AQ, I am surprised, I did not expect an Agent Unit here.”
There was a kind smile back, like that of recognizing an old friend. One could supposedly say that, as much as one could make a friend within the collective. Experiments with allowing greater autonomy to the older loyal units at times had promising results, both the Command Unit and the Agent Unit currently benefiting from such Emotional Mimicry programs. Of course, underneath the same mindless drones were there, just merely given new tools for the job. However, quirks were already starting to form, such as these attachments to other drones beyond that of mindless servitude.
“Well, I expected someone of your efficiency record to have things under control IA.” He chided back.
Sarcasm, that was new. Currently being reported and examined. A second later, it was approved and AQ remained unaltered. IA chuckled.
“I have the situation well under control, I have already developed and implemented several new contingencies to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Why are you here? I thought the order for you to arrive was canceled with her capture?”
“I finished the journey out of mild curiosity.”
“And?”
“I have been ordered to examine if she is worthy to join our ranks.”
“Oh?”
“We’ve all read the report already, we know what she was capable of. With the right alterations and upgrades, she’d make a powerful asset. Not to mention, her connections get us an in on the West Coast Military Subsector, one we sorely need.”
IA nodded, the logic making sense and she was a slave to programmed logic after all.
“Well, we shall see” She responded before her optics turned back to the road.
Walking up the gravel path on foot was the shining silvery drone, LK-5832 and the naked Pre-Drone 29-078. Both marched in lock step until they arrived before the Command Unit.
LK saluted, hand over the chest. “Unit LK-5832 reporting for Duty. Capture Mission Successful. Hail Cybus!”
“Hail Cybus. This Pre-Drone will serve!” The Pre-Drone montoned as well, also saluting her bare chest.
“Acknowledged.” IA responded, eying up both the drone that betrayed her friend as well as the catch of the day herself. “Unit LK-5832 report to pleasure conditioning chamber and initiate reward sequence #02A.”
“Affirmative Command Unit, this unit will comply” Came the robotic response and she pivoted 90 degrees before marching away, possibly to never see Sarah again. Not like the drone cared right now.
Both the Command Unit and the Agent Unit began to scan over the Pre-Drone with their optics, IA walking over to the rear of her and coping a feel towards the end.
“Playing with your food?” The Agent jested
“I thought you strong, deadly agent types weren’t supposed to get jealous” The commander teased back. “Besides, I’m programmed to always ensure the newest additions to the collective are extensively quality assured” Her optics darted to the Agents crotch briefly.
The blonde then turned back to the Pre-Drone, taking her chin in her hand and pointing it to her optics which began to pulse and swirl.
“Pre-Drone, you have caused a lot of trouble, haven’t you.”
“Affirmative Command Unit, this pre-drone apologizes for its resistance and its futile struggle. It yearns to serve.”
A familiar predatory grin formed on IA’s face.
“Well, would you look at that, she’s all reformed now. What’s your assessment of her AQ? Clocks ticking, due to this one’s delays I have to have that ferry shipped out in an hour or so.”
“Everything matches what is needed of her. Cybus herself has approved the designation. I’ll take it from here.”
“Ah wonderful… I was just about to start making plans on keeping her here to make up for the mess she made.” She turns her head back to the blank Pre-Drone. “Your lucky day..or unlucky, depends on how brainwashed you are. Well, enjoy her AQ.”
“Thank you IA. I hope the next batch goes well?”
“Pffft, same here. Take that little firebrand and get out of here!”
“As you wish” The drone chuckled and with a blink of his pods, the Pre-Drone left with him into her new life of servitude.