1.7

The clinician stood perfectly still, head tilted to the side. His eyes betrayed no thought or feeling. An empty vessel.

Gradually, the weight of his head began to pull his body sideways, until he finally lost balance. For a brief moment, as he floundered—trying but failing to catch himself—a flicker of awareness returned to his pupils.

Fear.

Nori watched from behind—still ADS—as he collapsed to the floor.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Keshi stared at the technician with a look of unease. 

The man’s face appeared suddenly frozen—mouth hanging open, eyes vacant. Keshi watched as he tried to vocalize, but nothing came out—his neck muscles twitching, veins protruding.

“Hey... are you okay?”

As soon as he asked the question, the technician let out a powerful gasp for air—like a large fish out of water.

His unfocused pupils drifted across the room, passing over Keshi as if he were part of the furniture, before falling down to his left hand. His fingers twitched as he grasped at nothing.

Finally, he answered.

“Yeah... I felt that one.”

He shook his head—stunned—then locked eyes with Keshi.

“Oh, it’s you.”

The technician seemed to snap to. He craned his head forward. Keshi leaned back, trying not to inhale.

He slowly looked Keshi up and down—then winked.

“I’m glad we get a chance to be alone again, cutie.”

—Uh.

The technician made a kissy face, causing Keshi to recoil and fall back onto the floor.

The fuck?!

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The three men with SMGs lay dead at various vantage points along the main corridor. Guy and Nagasawa stood on opposite sides of an adjacent passageway, backs pressed against the wall.

Nagasawa started to advance, but Guy stopped him.

【Wait for the kid.】

Just then—a metallic, scraping sound caused Guy to turn. He watched as a small hand grenade-like object rolled into view between them.

【GET BACK!!】

The object exploded in a blinding flash.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

“Akashi, this guy’s a gold mine! He knows all about this Nous guy.”

Still on the floor, Keshi looked on in utter confusion as the technician spoke with an unknown party—pupils going haywire.

“Dunno, I’ll keep digging.”

…What just happened?

He was different—not just in his mannerisms or way of speaking. The technician’s whole persona had changed.

Clearly, the guy wasn’t well—but that wasn’t it. 

It was like…

“He talks to them. Well, some of them—in a way we can’t trace.”

The technician’s earlier warning echoed in his mind.

An eerie feeling took hold. 

Keshi felt his stomach drop.

“Nah, he’s just a grunt.”

This is someone else.

Somehow, someone had taken control of his body.

“My guess is, they’ve figured out neural comms, but on their own closed network. Those implants they’re dealing out are no bootlegs.”

That means…

“Please don’t kill me!”

The words escaped Keshi’s mouth before he had time to think. The technician turned and stared at him, puzzled. 

“Please—I don’t even know these people! I was just here for an Ichor!”

Another loud burst of gunfire rang out—Keshi grabbed his head and ducked over onto his side.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Yuki called out to Ren, eyes still closed.

“Commander Sasaki! There’s another one. A boy.”

Ren turned around with a look of confusion.

【Emi. Who’s the boy?】

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The gunfire abruptly stopped. Keshi slowly lowered his hands. The technician continued to stare at him from across the room.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s nobody.”

A sinister grin formed on the man’s face. He brandished his gun and pointed it right at Keshi.

“Why? Should I take him out?”

A bolt of lightning shot through Keshi’s body.

It was all too much.

As he stared down the double barrels of the Technician’s homemade shotgun, all thoughts were wiped clean from his mind.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Ren furrowed her brow in annoyance.

【That is a negative.】

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The gun maker advanced down the corridor, firing burst after burst from his giant rifle, sending clusters of light spiraling down the entire width of the hall—ricocheting off of the walls. 

After each burst, rainbowed mist emitted from vents in the casing.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Guy and Nagasawa crouched behind the walls of the passageway as the bursts of light whizzed past them, leaving no opening to strike. Guy held his left hand to his head. 

【Can’t see.】

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The gun maker hit a switch on the rifle, setting it to auto. It continued to fire as he let go of the gun. He reached for two pistols holstered to his torso, readying them as the rifle continued to fire.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Guy did his best to steady himself. Nagasawa signaled with his left hand.

【One second intervals. Take the gap in three.】

The rifle fired two more bursts—then another. 

On the third, Guy and Nagasawa snapped around the corner to return fire.

BANG.

The gun maker’s body fell limp to the floor between them—dead.

The technician (Emi) stood further down the corridor. He brandished his gun and winked—striking a cute pose, blowing smoke from the barrels.

【Wow, Ren, it’s almost like I’m good at this.】

Guy and Nagasawa relaxed their shoulders, lowering their PK9s. 

【...Mission accomplished.】

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Ren stared intently at the main holo-display.

【Gather up the bodies. We’ll see if we can’t squeeze something out of them in the lab.】

【Ma’am.】

【Nori, secure all implants and other contraband.】

【Yes, Commander!】

She then addressed a fourth person not in the room.

【Kaito. Thanks for the uniforms. I’ll ping you when they’re at the drop.】

A deep, weary-sounding voice replied.

【Happy to stick my neck out, as always.】

After a pause, Ren relaxed her shoulders and let out a sigh of relief. She shot a sideways glance at a smiling Akashi.

“As usual, you have too little faith—”

“—I don’t want to hear it.”

Ren turned back toward the main holo-display.

【Guy, get a bite block on Emi so we can pull her. Don’t need him biting off his tongue.】

【Uh, Ma’am?】

Emi’s voice suddenly came through the neural comms line.

【It... It... It...】

Ren whipped her head toward Emi’s body in the Archon.

【Emi! What’s going on? Status!】

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The technician (Emi) stood still in the corridor, tears streaming down his face.

“It... It... It... It... It... It…”

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

“Akashi, pull her!”

Akashi pushed Yuki aside and began interfacing with the Archon’s control system.

“She’s in a thought loop.”

“Dr. Akashi, I swear I didn’t do anything!”

【Emi! Stay with me!】

On the 3D holo-display, the smoke-like wisps of Emi’s ego signature vibrated into jagged lines—then split like cells, multiplying into smaller, morphing shapes.

“She’s being assimilated.”

【It... It... It... It...】

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The SAT squad looked on with increasing unease.

【What are your orders, ma’am?】

【Stand down!】

“It.. It.. It…”

The technician (Emi) suddenly paused—eyes clear and empty. 

“It’s beautiful.”

His head exploded into a fine red mist.

【EMI!!!】

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Ren stood motionless, eyes locked on the gruesome scene—pupils trembling, mouth agape.

Behind her, Akashi continued to frantically interface with the Archon.

“Yuki, I need you on life support. NOW!!”

Yuki brought her hand to her face, but was too late to stop the vomit. She wiped her mouth, spreading some over her cheeks as her other hand fumbled for her harness.

Atsu turned away from his monitor with a look of muted distress.

In the Archon, Emi’s eyes no longer twitched beneath her eyelids.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Keshi gripped the four-barreled handgun with both hands, lost in a cloud of unreality. 

He wasn’t sure if he meant to pull the trigger—he wasn’t sure of anything.

He stared at the strange shape on the floor in front of him. 

His eyes and throat burned as gunpowder filled his lungs.

“Agent down!”

Keshi’s ears were already ringing. The loud sound from the other end of the corridor barely registered. He might not have noticed, were it not for the bubbling, burning sensation in his stomach and back.

He looked down at a shiny spot on his front pocket. The spot appeared to grow. He reached down and touched it—his hoodie’s red color wiped off onto his hand.

He felt himself falling.