Capítulo 2: Lyra
Kordelia yawned, boredom creeping over her as she reached her arms behind her torso in a warped stretch. She and the others had disbanded shortly after Alekai had left the mess hall, leaving her to follow Wolfe down to his dungeon. Dungeon might not be the proper description. It was a laboratory. Most base dwellers had never even entered its tresses. Only Major General's like Kore, Commander's like Alekai, or even Jac himself could gain access. Wolfe's lair was one of a kind, and it was a dying breed.
Shortly after Egraria had taken over Eden, technology came in short supply. The Automaton's had retrieved almost every scientist and all of their equipment within a couple of years, forcing labs like this underground. Wolfe was proud of his work. He loved his job within the base, and focused most of his attention trying to improve on every weapon used on the battlefield. He was respected and loved by most, girls drooling after his charms and wit. He was a smart kid.
"So. I created a pin-needle port that theoretically, once inserted, should be able to connect directly to the mainframe of your optical. Its connected to my database, and I will be able to decode its core structure, dismantle it, and rebuild it better than before. It will give your specs a faster firing time, giving you optimal time to calculate your opponents foreseeable moves. Therefore, you should be aware of what they are going to do, before they do it." Wolfe stated proudly, dragging forward an intimidating looking machine.
Kore squirmed in her seat, tensing as the machine lined up directly with her optical. A too-thin needle protruded from its arm, thick cords lined the entire back that retreated to the floor and escaped to the darker corners of the lab. Computer screens were lined against every wall with various messages and programs running simultaneously. The whir of motors and machines filled the air. As much time as she had spent with Wolfe here, helping him derive weapons from old blueprints, this particular visit had her on edge.
"Wolfe..." She whispered, the sound small and breathy.
"Whoa. Whoa. Calm down, Kore." He gently patted her arm, then giving it a warm squeeze. "I wouldn't try this if I didn't think it would absolutely work. You shouldn't feel a thing." He looked down at the floor a moment. "But I will have to use a speculum to keep your eye open. It might be slightly uncomfortable, but that's all, I swear."
She responded with a curt nod, her toes twisting in her boots as she gripped the arms of the chair a little bit tighter. Wolfe abandoned her arm for the table beside him, bringing the speculum forward.
"Okay. Here's the hard part. I just need you to relax and breathe. Think about something else, anything else. And do not flinch." He instructed.
Kore could do that easily enough. As soon as her human eye glazed over, Wolfe let out the breath he had been holding. She was gone, and he knew it. The militia still trained the General's in disassociating to avoid giving away military secrets in case they were captured and tortured. In this case, it would help Kore get through this.
Wolfe began to hum while he worked, gently pulling her top eyelid forward and inserting the clasp, followed by the bottom. He squeezed the instrument, causing her eye to safely stay open, whilst the other casually blinked. Slowly he pushed forward his creation, and pressed a button along the keyboard. The needle began to move forward slowly, and Kore's optical began to focus on the incoming intrusion, circling slowly but gaining momentum as the needle gained more ground.
And then like that, it was secured. The needle directly pierced the middle of the optical, and Wolfe glanced at Kore's vitals on a screen across from them. Her heart rate and blood pressure were reading completely normal, maybe a little lower, almost the same signs as one who might have been asleep.
Wolfe retreated to his main computer, confident that Kore was stable, and booted his software programs directly connected to her. His eyes widened when the program finally listed the results of her mainframe's design, and he coughed to clear his throat and set to work.
***
Kordelia blinked once, twice. Her vision was blurred around the edges, but slowly it came back into focus...to a worried Wolfe. Disassociating always left her exhausted afterwards, but the look on Wolfe's face spiked adrenaline throughout her body, instantly throwing her senses into defensive mode.
"Wolfe. What's wrong?" Kore instantly went for the hunting knife sheathed at her side, gripping its hilt tightly.
"Kore...." The worried expression never left his face. "I know who did this to you."
Her eye narrowed, not quite understanding his meaning. She relaxed her position and ran her fingers through her ruby curls. "What are you talking about, Wolfe? Who did what to me?" Her thoughts were clouded, finding it hard to string together full sentences, a dull headache forming at the back of her skull.
"The extraction of data was complete. You have been completely updated and encrypted. But the old algorithm...it had a stamp of ownership just like any other code, Kore."
She pinched the bridge of her nose, finding it hard to focus again, so she simply closed her eyes and sighed. "And?"
Wolfe began to wring his lab coat in front of him, nervous. "And it's come to my attention..."
"Spit it out, pup." She growled with annoyance.
"It's was stamped by L.Y.R.A., Kordelia." He finished quietly.
***
"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Kore grumbled, her vision and focus having came back in full force. She had taken to pacing the lab.
"It's not as bad as it seems, Kore. I decoded everything they programmed and completely reset it, while upgrading. There's no trace left of L.Y.R.A. in your optical." Wolfe tried to calm her, ever the optimist.
"It is that bad, Jeremiah." She stopped pacing long enough to shoot daggers in his general direction, then started up again. "L.Y.R.A. is the organization behind the Automaton Army, if you don't recall. They did this to me, pup." She gestured harshly to her optical. "Who knows what else has been inside my programming all this time. Why did they do this to me? They cut me open, implanted this-this THING inside me, scarred me, and took away my memories. Why?"
"I...I don't have those answers, Kordelia." Wolfe looked defeated. "But we won't be able to find answers tonight. So please, just calm down. I won't stop until we do find them, but can we just worry about your updates and make sure your optical is running properly?"
Kore shook with anger, but forced herself to take deep breaths. Subjecting Wolfe to her anger was the last thing she wanted to do. It wasn't his fault. He has only ever tried to help her. He held out his hand to her, with a bare smile, and when she took it, he led her to the room just adjacent to the lab, where they tested all of his weapons.
"Alright, now we have to test it's effectiveness, but we're going to have to hurry. It's just past 18:00 and I don't need the Commander coming down here to knock all my stuff around." Wolfe huffed. "So, I'm suggesting throwing knives. Is that alright with you?"
Kore grunted. "Lay it on me."
Wolfe approached the shelf at the corner, arming himself with dozens of daggers, as Kordelia adjusted her wrist cuffs, slinging them outwards so that each one released their own set of hidden daggers, about four inches longer than those of Wolfe's.
"Testing in three...two..." Suddenly a knife darted across the room with blinding speed, Kore glancing up just as it reached her, and slapping it out of midair.
The onslaught that followed gave her no reprieve, her optical focusing and refocusing on every incoming threat, Wolfe's program sending specs across her vision. The height, the distance away, the incoming speed, the angle, the order the knives were coming; he had planned for it all. With inhuman speed, Kore's optical gave her the ability to knock every single knife from her path, slicing them down with ease. She focused on the five daggers headed in her direction, but studied on Wolfe's movement for only a second. The program gave her the upper hand, sliding her left hand down to grab her hunting knife and throwing it directly at Wolfe, simultaneously knocking the five daggers to the ground. Wolfe gasped, looking upward where the arm he was about to throw his last dagger with, was pierced to the wall with Kore's knife.
"It worked!" Wolfe almost gushed with pride. Kore let out a laugh as she caught her breath.
"Alekai will be in shock tonight." Kore laughed again, sheathing her weapons back into her wrist-lets. "Let's get going before we're later than we should be."
Kore gathered herself, adjusting her fatigues, heading for the door, before the sound of Wolfe clearing his throat stopped her.
"Ahem. Kore? Could you get me down first?" Wolfed grinned, motioning towards his pinned arm.
Kore let loose another laugh before trotting over to his side and yanked her knife from the wall, releasing his entrapment. "You did good, pup." She complimented, ruffling her hand through his hair. "Now let's go."
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder