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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/BrodogIsMyName on 2025-05-11 13:29:35+00:00.

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Edited by /u/Evil-Emps

Posted from Italy!

[“Hello. Grandmaster Tzu. Grandmaster Walker. I am inoperable. Can you assist?”] came a voice that abruptly entered Harrison’s head. It was flat, emotionless, and felt like the color gray.

The engineer felt just as much as he heard the strike team step up behind him defensively, their guarded uncertainty bleeding into him. Shar put her shield just to his side, prepped to snap it in front of him at a moment’s notice, in case the motionless head of a stripped, immobile automaton dared to make a move.

He softly pressed against her massive barrier as if to push it away, taking in a slow breath. There was nothing to be afraid of.

“Hello…” He trailed off and let an awkward silence fill the air, his mind racing to find a good place to start this conversation. “It looks like you already know us… What are you?”

[“M.A.X. Number zero-one-eight-three. Generation seven exterminator. Type: Sentinel.”]

“What are your capabilities? What does ‘MAX’ stand for?” Tracy asked, stepping forward.

[“‘M.A.X.’ is the acronym of ‘Multi Armed Exterminator.’ I am uncertain of my full capabilities. I am capable of seeing, speaking, and understanding at this moment. I am incapable of my purpose.”]

“What is your purpose, then?” the technician pressured, crossing her arms over her chest.

[“Extermination.”]

“Of what? The infestation?”

[“Yes. That is why I must be repaired.”]

Harrison made his way to Tracy’s side, Shar making sure to stand right behind him the entire time. “What is the infestation? What were you fighting?”

[“The infestation is… I fought against…”] The automaton paused, a sense of confusion seeping into its tone. [“I do not know how to explain it.”]

Tracy mouthed a few silent, unrecognizable words in frustration before continuing her attempt to find answers. “What do you mean, you don’t know how to explain it? Are you unable to process it or do you have a data problem.”

[“I am not connected to the Bastion. I am severed.”]

The engineer raised a brow. “The Bastion? Which is?”

[“It is where…”]

Stumped again. The severed head of the automaton didn’t move, but he could have sworn it deflated somewhat. “What do you have stored in your local files?”

[“A standard information database is accessible.”]

“Does any of it include information about the High Spirits? The colonists?” Harrison queried.

[“Yes. There is information of the city and UPSCC’s efforts.”]

Tracy looked up at him with a look that said ‘where do we go from here?’ He returned the same expression. What did he want to know about the colony? Where did he even begin?

A soft, supple tail curled around his waist, easing his tension. He stared at the floor, rotating his jaw around in thought. Should he start with the collapse? What about the very beginning?

It was the technician who spoke up first, her sympathetic but determined eyes glancing up at the engineer. “What… What happened to the colony?”

[“What do you mean?”]

Tracy frowned, holding onto her biceps. “Why is the colony… ‘New High Spirits’ in disrepair? Is it because of the infestation?”

[“New High Spirits has fallen?”] the automaton responded in the same, flat tone, but it felt quieter, concerned. [“Grandmasters, when was this confirmed?”]

“When we landed,” Harrison stated, his voice controlled. “We’re the pioneers sent to prepare this planet for the High Spirits. We haven’t seen any activity of its crew besides the ruins of their underground facilities. There isn’t a lot we’ve explored, and there could be others. But, by now, it’s doubtful there are any at all.”

[“I see… This includes the passing of the Bastion AI and the House Divisions.”] A quiet whining noise came from the severed automaton head, as if servos and other mechanical parts within were working overtime… But there wasn’t anything like that in there. It was just wires, circuit boards, and…

The robot continued, a constant humming reverberating from its interior. [“My last orders were to clear the tram network for the engineering division’s extraction. Failure. My orders are currently null. My directive is null. My purpose is null. Grandmasters, what is my current directive?”]

Tracy frowned, a sorrowful expression tenting her brows. Harrison felt it too. It was just a machine, but the way it softly whined and listed its nullified purpose struck a chord in his heart. As much of a disappointment as it was not to receive immediate answers to his thousands of questions, he didn’t feel let down. He just felt melancholy.

Harrison only had one response for the lost robot. “Your new directive is to support this settlement and ensure it succeeds in the colony’s place.”

The technician nodded her approval, warmly squeezing his forearm—When did she get a hold of him?

[“Directive understood… One moment… I am still currently inoperable. How may I assist as I am?”]

He thought for a second. “Sebas, are you able to communicate with the automaton now that it’s on?”

Sebas responded concisely, [“I am not, sir. My injections are unable to bypass the central component.”]

The engineer exhaled slowly. Figures. He made his way to the web of wires, sensors, and other miscellaneous electronics set up. Tracy and Shar tagged along with their limbs, still attached to him, acting like leads. The technician loosened her grip, but the paladin’s grew tighter. The squad of other big girls marched behind him, taking up his flanks as if the machines would suddenly sprout up and attack him.

He gave them a curious look but didn’t complain in the slightest. It took him a moment to confirm the cable connections to the universal ports. There were two intakes that looked more like valve openings instead of wire attachment points, leaving more questions.

“Right, MAX, I need you to share your files over the connection to the module AI,” Harrison requested. Sebas’ initial assessment of the ‘unknown’ component came to mind. “Is that possible?”

[“It is. File sharing is permitted under grandmaster approval.”]

The automaton went quiet for a few moments as the data was evidently transferred, and a quick notification from the module assistant confirmed it was completed. Sebas admitted the information was stored unusually—not enough to be unusable, thankfully.

[“I was created for more than sharing information. I would be better suited with orders and the means to exterminate. I am limited in this form,”] the limbless robot stated flatly.

Harrison looked at Tracy, who absently played with her tank top’s straps. She hummed in contemplation. “I still won’t know what’s going on in its head until I get my hands on it, so I doubt we could just stuff the head into a hunter and expect it to work. I think we’d also have to look into that data and do some experimenting, too.”

She frowned. “Sorry, I don’t think we’ll be able to get anything happening right now—” her eyes met with the engineer’s. “—not until after the blood-moon.”

[“Understood,”] the robot returned, heavy with disappointment. [“If there is no need for me, I will return to a low power mode. Activate me when I am needed and operable.”]

Nothing happened after that, but it was assumed the automaton had powered off. Meanwhile, Harrison rubbed his eyes as he considered what to do next.

“Well… Sebas, do you have any more data from this?”

[“Besides the data package, there are a few other details to note. Electrical signals were detected within the central component. These were found to be similar to organic nerve signals. However, there is no organic material within. Additionally, it appears to be sending pulses similar to a wireless signal throughout its time in an online mode. The purpose or messages are unknown.”]

“…Alright. Can you make another folder for these observations? Name it ‘MAX Observations.’”

The technician huffed, offering a hopeful look to him. “Interesting, but… Damn. Looks like we won’t be getting answers any time soon. Maybe we’ll find something or another in those files?”

“Probably. I’m not sure if I want to start digging into those just yet.”

Harrison gave it one more look before turning around, noting the anxious and curious gazes on him coming from the strike team. Some looked past him at the lifeless robot, scouring it further. Most of them held their weapons at the ready.

“That thing… It speaks…” Sharky stated, subtly inching around to put herself between him and the automaton.

“Yeah, of course it does—” Wait. Harrison blinked twice before the realization slapped him with enough force to make him feel nauseous. The exterminator was speaking in his mind. It wasn’t talking. He was so used to the Malkrin voices being injected straight into his brain that he hardly even considered it out of the normal…

He paused again. The exploration team also heard it back in the ruins. With everything that’s happened over the last couple of days, he almost forgot about it entirely. God, was he losing it? Shit, maybe drinking Cera’s concoction twice in a row may have started affecting him.

Harrison looked up at the paladin, his tone lowered. “So, you heard everything here?”

Her head slightly recoiled back. *“Was I not int...

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