Chapter 14 Rekt
REKT
Initiating wake sequence. Designation SPTD, primary databanks online. Running biologic checks.
Icould hear the commands but wasn’t yet aware of my body. I tried to remember how many times this had happened before, but any memories I might have had were gone, even though my databanks were up.
I knew what I was. Even if I had no memory of being this particular entity.
Name Rekt. Designation SPTD of Dynosauros, owned by Draco Sirius Command. Specialist. Medic.
Because of my designation, I knew exactly what they were restarting.
While in hibernation, all biologic systems were minimized to control cell regeneration.
I didn’t remember the last mission, though there must have been one.
I didn’t remember reporting back to HQ and being put to sleep.
Back on ice, we called it, though our physical bodies couldn’t withstand long-term freezing without rupturing cells.
Part of me wished they’d simply cut my cells apart to build some new creature and let this iteration end.
The trials and missions in the past must not have ended well for me, or I’d remember them.
DSC used past experiences for training purposes, iterating repeatedly to make the best, most agile dynos in his designation.
Mistakes were training opportunities for future iterations.
Failures were wiped and no longer existed.
Yet here I am. A virtual blank slate. Awaiting new orders.
Cardiovascular system, check. Respiratory, digestive, nervous systems coming online now.
I could blink my eyes and noted the cover of my sleep chamber rising.
My heart pumped faster, though it took me a moment to analyze why.
Dread. Anticipation. A chance to live. A chance to be put back to sleep, perhaps this time forever.
“Congratulations, SPTD,” a male voice said. “You’ve been selected for a new, very important mission.”
I sat up in the tube, barely large enough to hold my physical body. Automatically, I took in my surroundings, noting the sleep chambers on either side and across from me. Enough for twenty dyni, though only thirteen others were occupied.
Odd. This wasn’t HQ, then. There’d be hundreds of sleep chambers, rows as far as I could see. How did I know such basic information—yet I couldn’t remember anything about me physically being there?
“Orders transmitted,” the pleasant voice continued. “Please acknowledge.”
The file opened automatically, data flowing into my frontal cortex. Yet I didn’t immediately understand what it meant.
Engage human female for breeding. Gain her trust and assist her with choosing members to form a new compatible squad.
“Please acknowledge, SPTD,” the voice repeated.
“Acknowledged,” I said aloud. “Though I don’t understand.”
“Her name is Holly, and she knows me as Snyder.” A silver agent flowed up out of the floor and stepped closer, the voice I’d heard. “You may direct your clarifying questions to me.”
Too many questions cluttered my brain space, so I paused, sorted, and organized by priority.
Some I could immediately answer myself with a quick query to my databanks.
Human, as in from planet Earth, not previously documented as being of interest to DSC at all.
Breeding files were readily available, including basic notes about human copulation.
Even a few seconds of a video recording, though the image was grainy and skippy, as if the camera had been damaged.
I couldn’t see much more than small pale legs around a much larger dark shape.
Dynos, I thought, though the quality of the recording was so poor I couldn’t identify his designation.
“This isn’t a breeding station,” I finally said, even though it wasn’t a question.
“We operate a private facility,” Snyder replied.
Again, I understood the words themselves, yet they made no sense. “Separate from Draco Sirius Command?”
“Private,” Snyder repeated. “We are off the grid entirely.”
Off the grid. Breeding.
The ramifications crashed through me one after another. Reeling, I almost laid back down into the chamber and shut it myself.
An off the grid breeding facility. With a human female, no less. Someone was trying to make their own dyni squads. Outside of DSC controls. And breed new stock completely off the grid.
Private explained why there weren’t very many occupied chambers. It also explained why I had no personal memories whatsoever. I’d been completely wiped by DSC, more than likely tagged for decommissioning, which allowed Snyder’s primary controllers to intercept me.
If HQ found out…
DSC took their technology very, very seriously. Like destroy entire planets to protect their technology seriously.
Mentally, I shrugged. I’d just wished for decommissioning already. DSC wouldn’t hesitate to blast this place out of existence. Though I could almost hear the ticking of the doomsday clock as destruction approached.
It wasn’t a question of if but when.
“How does one gain the trust of a human female?” I asked.
A look flickered over the agent’s face that I would have called consternation if he possessed emotions.
“Gaining trust is entirely experimental, I’m afraid.
Be gentle with her. She’s extremely fragile, which is why you were selected from the available candidates.
We must ensure her health and safety at all cost.”
“Why? According to my databanks there are billions of females on Earth. Simply choose another for your program.”
“The only other known human female who may be compatible with dyni is already mated to a squad. They’ve been extremely difficult to entrap, and they’re so deeply bonded, we believe it would damage if not outright kill the female to separate her from them.”
More data flickered through me. Myrm fragments in the first human female made her a compatible mate. A squad intercepted her and managed to breed offspring. Another female, born in the wild.
Fascinating.
Unfortunately, this information only generated more questions.
The second human female, Holly, didn’t possess Myrm fragments—but had been contaminated by the first female with mrions. These nanoscopic cells were how Myrm spread…
“That’s outdated intel and should be redacted,” Snyder said, easily following my thoughts since I was plugged into the facility’s grid. “DSC has concealed the true reason they pursue Myrm extermination. Mrions are raw Sirian cells lacking any programming.”
Expletives weren’t part of my programming, so I had no appropriate response for such fundamental, revolutionary information. If this human female carried mrions—which were raw, uncontrolled Sirian cells—this private facility was even more of a target than I originally estimated.
“Holly is contaminated, so after any interaction with her, you will be quarantined and examined for any rogue cells. Security protocols are set to the highest possible sensitivity to ensure this facility’s systems remain secure.”
I couldn’t even comprehend how much damage a single rogue cell might accomplish, especially to a private facility that wouldn’t have the latest technology safeguards.
Mrions were highly contagious and difficult to screen unless they were in large quantities that made them easier to detect.
How did they think they would be able to detect and prevent contaminating the entire facility?
I chose not to express my doubt out loud—assuming I didn’t have the proper clearance for a detailed explanation anyway.
Instead, I asked, “Is she familiar with dyni squads?”
“She is. In fact, she expressed a desire for her own squad, which is why your orders include assisting her in selecting compatible candidates.” The agent paused briefly, as if deciding how much to say.
“She has already copulated with another candidate in this facility. The video in her file is a brief snippet from their activity. However, she was traumatized by that interaction, which is why we’re tagging you for the next phase of this mission.
We recommend a more careful and deliberate courtship. ”
A snort of disbelief came out of my mouth before I could contain it. “I’m a medic. I know nothing about courtship and mating rituals in other species. Don’t you have a xenobiologist?”
“You are intelligent and possess a rational, calm demeanor we believe will gain the female’s trust.”
Not to mention the fact that I’m easily controllable. Evidently unlike the first candidate in the video.
“Review the provided files while we prep a training room for your interaction with her. If you require additional information, query the grid.”
The agent disappeared, leaving me to my thoughts.
A training room. The grainy video had been from a holding cell lined with tungsten to control the beast. She’d been traumatized. Injured?
A summary of her injuries automatically loaded to the grid. Some minor injuries, yes, but not as bad as I feared it might be with such a significant size difference. A dynos in his prime could easily weigh over one-hundred-fifty kilograms. From her file, she weighed under half that amount.
Prior candidate’s information?
The BGR++’s file loaded, and I made a crucial realization. No, two.
This alpha would slaughter any other candidates we tried to select for this new squad. Beginning with me.
Because he’d already mated her.
Snyder pinged me back on the grid. :Explain the significance of mating versus breeding.:
:He was given a release injection,: I replied. :Which means he was knotted inside her. A dynos only knots inside his mate.:
:Knotting increases the likelihood of successful breeding, which is ideal for our program.:
:Physiologically correct, yes, but it’s also instinctual. Primal. Especially since he’s alpha. No other candidate will risk trying to breed her as a result.:
:The BGR++ is fully contained and will not be given access to the female again.:
I shook my head. :So you say but an alpha of this magnitude will find a way to reclaim his mate. Nothing will stop him short of death. As long as he’s still alive, she’s his.:
:Are you refusing this mission, SPTD? If so, we will submit you for decommissioning as DSC originally ordered.:
Tension strained in me. Urges. Hopes. Emotions I only half understood.
Before having the opportunity to interact with this female, I’d been resigned to decommissioning.
Now, temptation lured me to participate in such a novel mission.
Especially given my less than stellar performance which must have tagged me for Nyan Station in the first place.
A rejected engineered dynos like me would never be considered for breeding.
DSC could simply recycle my Sirian cells and make another, better iteration in a perfectly controlled environment with the personality, skills, and programming they desired.
Breeding had too many unknown factors when allowed to happen naturally, which was why only prime stock was used. In fact, my databanks insisted very few dyni were still born in that sense. Most could be more effectively engineered.
I thought of the little wild-born youngling of a human female and dyni squad. Proof natural breeding could work. We were compatible. I wouldn’t have believed it without snapshots of the youngling in her mother’s arms. Sleeping. Walking. Running. Growing at a fascinating rate.
Curiosity burned to know more about her development. Her personality. Her capabilities would be mind boggling. Sirian cells allowed to grow as they wished, rather than being programmed to specific goals dictated by DSC. Far from tungsten holding cells and iterative development.
Naturally, I wondered if it could be accomplished again. If I could be a part of a squad with a wild-born youngling. Such an impossibility had never occurred to me. To anyone.
Except Snyder’s primary controllers.
He had to be fairly high up in DSC to have access to decommissioned dyni. Powerful and wealthy enough to have created this private facility beneath DSC’s noses.
:Curiosity isn’t a desired squad trait in our program,: the agent said.
:Be careful such curiosity doesn’t eliminate you from the wondrous possibilities that lie ahead.
Access to a female. Groundbreaking experimentation.
Building a squad from scratch without DSC interference.
Watching a youngling of your own squad develop.
Join us, SPTD. Join the future of Dynosauros. :
Tempting. Yes. But reality dampened said curiosity faster than his veiled warning not to snoop into the agent’s controllers.
Very little happened in the universe without DSC knowing about it.
If they discovered the wild-born youngling and the human mate, they’d blast the planet without hesitation.
It’d only be a matter of time before they tracked down evidence of this private grid.
Nothing could be secure forever.
:If you agree to assist Holly, we will not wipe this iteration. You will retain any memories you gain with her. So you can grow and develop a personal, ongoing relationship with her and your squad.:
Something I’d never had. Or if I had, it’d been taken away from me.
:I will help her in any way I can.: