Dead Air

"Little Phoenix..." A small voice spoke in a most peculiar waver from the abysmal darkness of sleep. "Wake up, Little Phoenix..." The voice was strange. I had never heard anything like it before. It was that of a mare... I think. But her voice was... tiny, for lack of a better term. Higher pitched? Not the usual darker, rich tones me and the other subjects had.

"Subject 012."

I shot up as my eyes opened in a near panic.

A Warhorse unit stood in the doorway, regarding me behind blue light.

"You have been requested. Fulfill your purpose. Vector awaits. Comply."

"Affirmative." I said in a monotone, quickly getting up from bed and standing firm.

The unit stepped aside, allowing passage.

"Get moving, Subject 012."

I stepped past, back into the corridor, to which he followed close behind.

The body of the mare that laid before me earlier was gone without a trace. Not a speck of blood resided where she once cried out.

The view from the tram showed a sickly, dark red landscape, where the only lights were that of the ships and the towers in the distance. Not a single star shined through the thick blanket overhead.

The tram was empty, save for me and the unit. Which I found strange. I had been called up for sex countless times in the middle of the night, and every time I was, many others had been too. We rode the same tram to the central complex.

But for the first time ever, I rode alone. With the company of the Warhorse unit, of course.

War and Silence units stood in large numbers at the orbital platform that waited for us. It seemed they too, had been awaiting our arrival, as all of them stared at me as we disembarked the tram.

Quietly, I stepped on the lift with the War that escorted me, and then began our ascent up the central complex.

Still, all virtual eyes laid on me, standing at a distance.

It became evident that the guns built into the War units stayed on me as well...

Something was happening... This wasn't just a sex trip...

The thick, dark, ashen clouds that suffocated the planet lowered as we rose, and upon entering the smoldering curtain, did the orbital platform's walls rumble and groan in protest.

Ever so faintly, through the thick, I caught the fog lights of spacecrafts lowering into the atmosphere, safe distances away from each other. The lights would be blinding outside of the clouds, had they been aimed at me. But through the ash, I could barely make them out. The vessels that emitted those heavy spotlights were impossible to see even an outline of.

The units around me stood firm and uniform, despite the trembles of the protest.

The groan was drawn out, like a colossus breathing its last. In pain. Begging...

I heard the mare... 099...

I heard her in that groan. Screaming. Crying. Pleading, bleeding, and dying...

Standing firm, I took a deep breath of air. Had I not been made of flesh and bone, I wouldn't have stood out from the machines that escorted me.

Without any subtle change to the view, the sky opened again. Changing from scorching red to ashen suffocation to an endless field of stars over a bed of darkness.

Lightning of red lit up the plains below here and there as ships became a part of the neverending cycle of the Talon Corporation's flight schedule.

Again, the orbital platform rumbled, moments before a steel titan shot into view in a bright flash of light.

The blue radiant glow of the rear thrusters on the leviathan dimmed with a variety of rays in its wake, acting as tails that gradually faded out into the darkness of space and time.

The lights overhead flickered as the orbital platform cried out to the sudden reveal of its mass.

The bottom of the space station lowered into view, accompanied with the batteries that defended it, before the windows ceased and steel began.

A few seconds after the fact, the lift began to slow down, and a klaxon screamed in a deep, bass-filled voice that shook the ground beneath my hooves.

The ceiling above opened to the calling as we neared. A series of yellow lights flashed around the lip of said opening.

The lift came to a stop with ease at the station's bottom floor, revealing to me the company of even more Wars, Silences, Taurus', and Sentries, all of which laid sight on me as I to them.

I was the only biological lifeform in the vicinity, it seemed...

I had heard of the Sentry and Taurus units and their description of appearance, but to witness their towering, bulky form in person meant something beyond my imagination was happening. They were issued for deployment only in the midst of existential annihilation. They were the top tier of machine under the manufacture of the Talon Corporation...

What. Was. This...?

And why was I the only one on duty? Why were they all staring at me?

I stepped forward for the corridor that led to the Master's Residential Wing, as portrayed in bold yellow text.

Three units of each type followed close behind; Silence's being the closest, War's being in the second row, Taurus' in the third, and Sentry's in the back.

My heart pounded with fear of whatever awaited me...

Was I to suffer the same fate as 099...?

<>

I stepped into the room of my master, with which the Silence and War units followed. The Taurus and Sentry's, what with being too big to fit in the doorframe, stood guard outside.

Vector sat at his desk with his forehead pressed firmly against his folded arms on the surface.

"Master?" I asked tentatively, worried about disturbing him further.

He shot up and spun around in his seat, looking startled.

"012..." He sighed, before glancing at the units that overcrowded the space. "Leave us."

"Negative." One of the Wars replied. "Per Directive-"

"Override Alpha-Omega 06." He lashed out, now glaring and gritting his teeth. "That's an order."

"... Affirmative."

With that, one by one, they left the room, and with the last one out, the door slid shut and the locks engaged.

Vector pinched the space between his eyes, shaking his head and muttering to himself.

"I need a fucking drink..."

He then looked at me as he opened a drawer in his desk.

"Do you want a drink?"

"I don't know what that is, mas... er... Vector."

He froze for a moment before nodding.

"Right... Forgot about that..." He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Well, we really fucked that one up, didn't we? Alright then... We're having a drink."

I began to step forward, to which his eyes shot open wide.

"Don't." He said quickly. A silence hung between us as we both stayed frozen. Our eyes glued to each other. "... Move..." He whispered, as if he forgot to finish his sentence.

"Vector...?"

"Shh." He studied me for a moment, before closing his eyes and letting out a deep exhale of relief. "Alright... you can approach..."

"What's going on?" I asked, raising a brow as I took a cautious step forward.

"There's a..." He paused, his hand buried in the drawer as his eyes wandered to the ceiling. He resumed pulling out a glass bottle of a strange amber substance that glowed in the light of the quarters, along with two pieces of carefully formed glass. Cylindrical, with an opening in one end. "There's a sickness. Had to scan you to make sure for myself you didn't have the... uh... strain..."

"Wait, a sickness?" My jaw dropped as my mind ran wild. That didn't make any sense! "How? The showers-"

"I don't know, 012." He interrupted abrasively. "Something got through. I'm a slaver, not a scientist."

He proceeded to twist the cap off the bottle and pour the thick, amber fluid into one glass a quarter full, and then the other. He then set the bottle down beside the cap and clinked one glass to the other, before raising it to me.

"Drink. To the end."

"The end...?" I asked quietly as I took the glass in a wing.

He clutched his hand tight around his own and lifted it to his lips, breathing in through the nostrils.

"Prophecy doesn't seem to lie..." He whispered in a deep tone, just before tilting the glass to his lips and letting the contents flow in with ease.

"I'm not sure I understand, Vector."

After his throat worked down the apparent 'drink,' as he called it - a concept I was completely unfamiliar with - and a shiver escaped him, he set the glass down and started pouring another quarter.

"You will in due time, 012... Now drink..."

"You don't want to... fuck...?" I tilted my head curiously, as this was new to me. I was used to serving for sexual release. I was damn good at it, too. But this was just... weird. What did I call this?

He laughed. Not of humor, but of annoyance.

"Let's just... see where the evening takes us. Okay? Now drink..."

I cupped the contained pool of mystery in both wings as I rose it to my lips. Instantly, before my mouth could even reach the glass, a strong whiff invaded my nostrils, burning my senses.

I recoiled slightly, frowning down at it.

"Whoa, what the fuck?"

He chuckled slightly, this time with mild amusement.

"Strong, huh?" He set the bottle down and went for round two. "Hoo!" He exhaled before a grin began to form. "Better start catching up. We're here to have fun. C'mon." He nodded to my glass as he emphasized impatiently. "Drink."

"Alright..." I said softly as I lifted it to my lips. Once again, the repulsive aroma hit me in a strong wave of an unfamiliar heat.

I tilted the glass, and my throat burned with an overwhelming, foul taste that almost had me spitting it back out. As if he knew, he advised me not to, just as I took the sip.

My throat wanted to close in on itself to keep it from going any farther. To seal my stomach away in another realm just to keep it from reaching there.

My tongue felt raw, almost. Just drinking a small sip sent an adventure of feelings stirring inside me.

Regardless, to please him, I finished the glass and quickly recoiled, gasping.

"What the fuck..." I wheezed. "This... you... drink this!?"

He let out another dry chuckle. "You'll see why soon enough. 'Nother round?"

I narrowed my eyes at the bottle for a moment. I was... strangely intrigued...

"Alright..." I smirked. "Let's see what this is all about then." With that, I gave him my glass, and he poured a second round.

I downed it in one go, ending with an abrupt fit of coughing and shivering.

A warm, full feeling enveloped my gut as my lips felt... heavy. My tongue felt numb, and my saliva, thick.

"I'm starting to feel... weird." I said, swaying a bit. "Lightheaded."

He nodded with a smile. "Then it's working."

"W-working...?" I raised a curious brow.

"Don't worry. You'll be okay. Enjoy it."

With a hint of laughter, I smiled and reached my glass out.

"Another?" That smile morphed into a grin. "It's kinda growing on me."

He grinned in response as he lifted the bottle to my glass.

"Now we're talking."

With both glasses filled partially for round three, we clinked and drank.

"Round four!" He blurted behind a grimace.

"Right on!" I reached out to him again.

"Do you wanna watch something?" He asked as he poured.

"W-watch something...?" I tilted my head with wonder of what he meant.

"A movie?"

"I'm not sure what you... mean..."

"Like a book, but interpreted as if it's happening in front of you."

"Whoa..." I swayed a bit. "That's a thing?"

He nodded with satisfaction, putting the bottle down once more. "That's a thing."

"Well, what kind of movies are there?"

He handed me my glass before clutching his own. "Mystery, adventure, sci-fi, et cetera, et cetera... Romance..."

"Romance?" I was just filled with questions tonight... Questions that even he seemed a bit worried to answer.

"Not too loud." He spoke softer. "There's a reason you don't know about it... but considering..." He paused, his eyes fixated on mine. A glint of something shined within... Tears. On a Human...

I had known Humans to be cruel, violent, and needy. They got what they wanted, or no one did.

Vector, though... He was different. He'd always been kind to me. Respecting. Many times, sought to please me instead of the other way around.

But I had never seen him cry... I was unaware Humans even could cry...

"V-Vector...?" I asked softly, stepping closer to him. "Vector, what's wrong?"

His hand reached up, his fingers caressing the sweet spot behind my ear as he smiled wanly.

I leaned into his hand, closing my eyes instinctively. A gentle Human's touch in a world of violence and control... run by the same species...

That gave me hope...

I was learning a lot of new stuff today. A whole new world beyond my imagination was being unraveled before me.

But what baffled me further was seeing the emotion in Vector's face. A Human's face...

He sighed.

"012... I'm... going to miss you..."

"W-what?" I opened my eyes again, regarding him. "What do you mean? Vector, what are you talking about?"

"It's complicated, 012... Any answers I give you will only lead to more questions. And I fear I've already said too much. If word gets out about this conversation, then I'm going to be executed for treason. And you right alongside me... I broke the rules, but I'm tired of being... this person. I'm tired of being me. I'm tired of this corporation, and I'm tired of my occupation."

"Vector..." I placed a hoof over his hand. He grasped it lightly, looking me in the eye.

"I just want you to remember all the good things... I wish things could have been different..."

"I don't understand, what-" I broke into a scoff, not even sure of how to proceed with what I was saying.

He stared for a moment longer, before blinking and looking down with a weak smile on his lips.

"Ah, I'm just talking out of my ass... Had too much to drink..." He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled lazily. "How about that movie? Rule still applies with the books I've let you read. You can't tell anyone about it."