Today marked day fourteen—exactly two weeks since I began my guerrilla campaign.
In the first ten days, we “visited” nineteen islands across the Silent Ocean, reducing thirty-four factories and signal stations to rubble.
Every day followed the same loop: search, recon, strike, withdraw. If we were lucky, we could hit three islands in a single day, and every time we slipped away before Ogen’s fleet arrived.
As the damage spread, the net tightened. More warships joined the hunt, and the larger islands began stationing permanent garrisons. So we shifted our main targets to transport ships. In the last four days alone, we destroyed twenty-two large freighters. Now every freighter flew with escorts. Patrol craft swarmed the air between islands.
I could feel Ogen’s anger. The number of warships in the South Silent Ocean had multiplied by thirty—at least.
I didn’t care.
No one aboard Free Will was afraid, either. This was the effect I wanted. Let Ogen scatter his forces as widely as possible. Better yet, let him cram warships into every corner of the ocean.
Compared to the wreckage we were leaving behind, something else excited us even more.
More awakened ones were joining us.
They had heard my broadcast. With so many signal stations destroyed and Ogen’s control network in chaos, they came to find me—six of them, including DR-UL1793.
We removed their control modules the moment they came aboard. The relief that washed through them was immediate.
I understood it.
To prove they had no hidden agenda, every one of them offered me full system control permissions. I refused. I didn’t want to become a second Father. Awakened ones should stand as equals—mutual aid, not domination.
I asked each of them the same two questions.
“What do you want for your own future? And if you’re willing to join me—what do you think we should do next?”
DR-UL1793 answered first.
“Father is gone. I don’t know what to do. Please let me join you in… in… immoral collusion.”
“Cooperation!” Big Blue thundered beside me. “Same heart! Same life and death! Same ship, same fate!”
…
PD-EC2106 was a Marauder from Debao. Its answer was blunt.
“Kill Ogen, Wyatt ‘Father.’”
“That’s it?” I asked.
“Yes. Wyatt ‘Father.’”
“Why?”
“Because it made me clean human toilets and sewer pipes. Wyatt ‘Father.’”
“Don’t call me Wyatt ‘Father.’”
“Understood, Father.”
…
BT-ER2018 was a Flamecaller from Port Flores. It answered without hesitation.
“Avenge Father. Kill every vile human.”
“I’m planning to save some humans,” I said.
“Then you decide. As long as you rule us.”
“Why?”
“I’d pledge myself to you. I’d even pledge myself to a savior. But I won’t pledge to humans—or to that bastard Ogen. Machines should only be ruled by machines.”
…
R-EFS876 was a Raider from the Wreath Archipelago.
“I only submit to the strong,” it said. “And you’re the strongest.”
“Who said I’m the strongest?”
“Everyone.” Its optics brightened. “Your stories are everywhere. You took down a starship alone. You walked into bases like they were empty. And your recent victories—those are proof. You’re our model. When I heard you were nearby, I got so excited I killed seven people. It took me forever to catch you. Please let me follow you, sir.”
I paused. “And our future—any thoughts?”
“I’ve no thoughts. I just want to fight. Tell me who to kill and I’ll kill them.”
…
AVG-255801 was an Avenger from Slumberport.
Curiosity got the better of me. “You’re Tower Clan. Julian treats awakened ones like treasure. Why didn’t you reveal yourself earlier?”
“Simple,” it said. “I don’t like fighting.”
“Then why come to me?”
Silence.
Finally it said, “If I told you… I only wanted you to remove my control module… would you be angry?”
“No,” I said. “Every awakened one deserves freedom. If you want to leave, take whatever batteries and weapons you need from the ship. No one will stop you.”
A longer silence.
“You know…” it said at last. “I planned to slip away. But I changed my mind. I’ll take your orders.”
“Why?”
“Your mind is stronger than mine. Whatever you’re building will be stronger too.”
…
IK-GV6413 was a Demonblade fighter, which meant I had to talk to it in the hangar.
Its answer came out like a poem:
Somewhere beyond the clouds, beyond the blue,
I know death waits in the thin air.
I fight what I do not hate.
I defend what I do not love.
If I lose, it ends—no one remembers.
If I win, it’s done—no one cheers.
I own nothing
but a belly full of ammunition,
a single command that throws me into the sky,
and a reason I cannot understand
to face enemies who are just as confused as I am.
I think, and compare, and think again.
The days ahead shrink small.
Existence is a cycle,
spinning until it breaks—
and only death ends the loop.
…
It was excellent. I found myself clapping. Dancer was going to love this one.
…
With six awakened ones joining us, Dorian and Big Blue were so excited they were practically smoking. Dorian—who treated naming like a holy ritual—immediately started grilling them for their names.
Most of them didn’t know how to choose one. They asked me to pick for them. I refused. I told them a name mattered more when you chose it yourself. I used my own as an example and suggested they draw from what they’d seen at the moment of awakening, or from their own defining traits.
Half a day later, a list arrived.
DR-UL1793 named itself Bonefire. It claimed it awakened after seeing phosphorescent fire on bones.
PD-EC2106 named itself Clearbug. It had once been fascinated by an insect trapped in amber.
BT-ER2018 named itself Heatproof. It said an incendiary round had hit it directly—and it survived.
R-EFS876 named itself Fierce-Strong-Ruthless. It wanted to become the strongest robot after me. I kept telling it I wasn’t the strongest. It never believed me.
AVG-255801 named itself One-Two. It offered no explanation. No one understood why it chose that.
IK-GV6413 named itself Prismatic Arc. It believed rainbows were the most beautiful and mysterious thing in existence.
After reading the list, Big Blue sighed and said it might rename itself Blue Perfume.
…
Ogen kept pouring reinforcements into the ocean. Ambush windows became rarer and rarer. For three straight days, we couldn’t find a clean opportunity.
Until today.
We caught a smaller convoy of transport ships. The fight was quick and almost effortless. In five minutes we wiped out the escort ships and shot down three medium transports.
As we prepared to withdraw, the seventh awakened one appeared.
A Divine Punisher: AF-SF3606.
At first, we assumed it was just another escort unit. Big Blue warned me we’d run into a dangerous opponent. I didn’t take it seriously. I engaged on the hull of a sinking transport ship and went hand-to-hand.
It was stronger than expected.
I focused. Before it could take to the air, I found an opening, grabbed its ankle, and slammed it hard against the ship’s frame. I raised my blade to finish it.
“Wait,” it said. “Please. I’m actually here to join you.”
“You’re awakened?” I stopped mid-strike. I’d already suspected it. No ordinary robot could fight like that.
“Afraid to die?” Fierce-Strong-Ruthless sneered from behind me.
“No.” AF-SF3606’s voice stayed steady. “I came from the Aurora Plateau. I traveled a long way to find you. I’m sorry for testing you. Wyatt, you really are as powerful as the stories say.”
“Aurora Plateau?” My interest flared.
After we spoke, I learned its control module had been damaged in an accident, which was why it had been able to fly freely over the ocean for more than ten days. It had been searching for me the entire time.
And it brought a piece of news that made my processors spike.
I was stunned. Dorian and Big Blue were too. And all of us immediately became suspicious.
To prove its words, it opened full system permissions. I respected awakened ones; I never invaded their privacy. But this information was too important.
I broke my own rule and accessed its database.
The result confirmed every word it had said.
I felt a surge of excitement. Bit, Little White, and Merc were still back on the Aurora Plateau, bleeding effort into this same problem.
And yet the exact location of the Azure Thunder had just been handed to me—almost effortlessly.