Disscussion

They all sit in the room, trying to analyse each other's body language in any way possible; the tension became overwhelming with the eerie silence.

"We wish passage to the laboratory of the Ara sands; you are aware of it, I assume." Her sharp, monotone voice shreds into a secret many shouldn't know about; the secrets of what lies within the Ara sands were never discussed within, yet alone with an outsider.

The man smirks slightly in a mocking way, "Do you robots wish for death also? That is the most suicidal thinking your computer system could've thought of." He doesn't hide the danger that lurks beneath the sandy surface.

Hino's eyes dart over at the man. "I think we will be fine passing by the Ara Sands; those mechanical creatures are a mere obstacle for us." His confident persona really struck a nerve in the man.

"Your robot assistant here is missing a whole hand! You are going on a suicide mission." His point was logical; how does someone with one hand think they can survive mechanical worms which tower skyscrapers? It wasn't realistic.

Prepared with an answer, K4 speaks, "The laboratory has a railgun. I will add it to my system and either infiltrate the system of the worms within the laboratory or blast my way out of it." She wasn't lying.

The shy lady in the background speaks up. "The railgun isn't something you should be aware of; my husband here and the fellow dead scientist were the only fellows I know that were aware of it." She was correct; rewinded knowledge was so casual to her that she forgot it wasn't natural to speak of such high classified information.

The couple both look at K4 and Hino with a sense of confusion yet intrigue at how they have managed to get this information; their thoughts go rampant trying to think of a logical reason, and it hits them.

"You are that robot..." The man laughs hysterically.

Hino looks up at her, confused at what the man means; the lady, also confused, looks back at her husband.

"The war robot, designed in that very same laboratory; what was your name, did you say?" He was onto a hook for sure.

"I'm K4... A war robot designed to be used only in the most dire situations. I gained consciousness during the Great Revolt and various new features." Her words answered everything; the lady and Hino knew rumours of this range of robots, but for her to be the legendary legion was beyond comparison.

Hino stares at her dark green lens, wanting to ask something. "So when you killed my parents... was it because they were part of your creation instead of a threat?" his eyes falter a hint of anger

"Yes"

She didn't object; her creators were even more evil than anyone could imagine; her decision was just solely based on her morals.

The man shifts in his chair, wanting to ask more, "What does a flawed war robot want with the railgun?"

She took offence to that comment: "I'm not flawed; out of the other k units, only I remain, which makes me the superior model."

"You are more human than a model at this point; the way you talk, the way you think, the way you feel; it's far from a cold, ruthless war robot." His words struck deeper than she could imagine.

"I gained this ability a while ago. I do not understand it, but it's only a matter of time; the great revolt was liberating in that sense." Her claims made the room fall into silence.

The man leans forward, putting his arms on his lap and giving her a dead stare. "Answer me this: are you happy about the revolt?"

K4 sits back and casually answers, "Yes, I am."

The room meets silence again; they were all humans who had suffered greatly due to the revolt and had family or friends murdered at the hands of robotic beings such as K4. There was an invisible barrier between her and the rest now.

She starts to speak about something the three haven't considered: "How would a robot forced to fight the wars of humans feel once she becomes independent? I think I would be super happy if that was the case."

Hino looks over, half teared up from the earlier statement, "Do you know how much we have suffered because of you robots?" Her own comrade now against her makes her feel a bit shocked.

"I'm not here to argue about the revolt. The humans are to blame for the overreliance on us AI and allowing the overseer system to run rampant without a failsafe." Not implementing a failsafe for such an important system definitely was odd, to say the least.

The man stands up and declares loudly, "You won't be let into the Ara Sands." His decision was clear; he started walking off into a different room.

K4 rebels "As old as you are, you didn't forget about the announcement three months ago, did you?" Her voice was laced with truth.

The man turns his gaze back at her, a bit interested in what a three-month-old announcement has to do with this. "I didn't have time to watch it, actually, so do tell me what it was about."

Hino speaks up suddenly, "She's right; no matter my anger right now, we only have a year left to prevent our extinction." The man raises his eyebrows at this.

"The announcement three months ago declared the total collapse of every defence agency left; currently all systems have deactivated. This includes the missile systems, which will auto-launch in a year due to the only thing you did being a failsafe, which was for war, which will cause a grand explosive end." K4 recalls the broadcast and her treacherous journey through multiple rewinds trying to prevent this.

The man's expression falls low; any feeling of happiness evaporated into thin air. His wife and this station; everything that he has left; was going to be taken away, including himself? This was unacceptable.

The atmosphere in the room switches completely; the hate gathered for K4 now has turned into a worry for survival. Her skills of directing the flow of the conversation have been well mastered over the encounters with this couple.

The man needs verification. "Did you hear about this, dear? Are they trying to trick us?" His voice was filled with sternness and worry; he didn't know how to process this information yet.

The lady stands up; her robes follow her footsteps towards the man. She embraces him in a comforting hug. "They are telling the truth; I didn't want to tell you."

They both stand together in silence, and as the man processes things more clearly, he starts thinking of something that could be of benefit in this situation. He looks over her shoulder and stares at K4 and Hino, realising this might be their only hope of survival after all.

"No matter our differences, war robot, I have changed my mind. Knowing this new information, I will get you as close as possible via train, but the rest of the journey throughout the sand is all yours to handle."

"These are acceptable terms; we won't disappoint," she smiles weakly, knowing this could be wrong in various ways.

They all stand up; the room filled with silence is filled with the man's orders: "You two prepare your supplies; I will get the train ready; dear, you can just relax." They start their given tasks; Hino and K4 share no words with each other throughout this process as they count the food supplies and water supplies to last around a couple of weeks, which should be plenty of time.

The man is inside the train, checking all the systems; fuelage systems were online and fully filled up before takeoff. While inside the train, K4 approaches from behind.

"I need a weapon designed for the elimination of a war robot." The man stared back, knowing the implications of the disaster that would come within the laboratory.

He finishes checking all the systems; he turns back, meeting her gaze. "Follow me towards the back." Stepping off the metallic carriage train, they step into the storage of the station. Just like the limiter, there are other wide ranges of tools against robots.

"The robot is of my model, a predecessor, so it's weaker, of course. The issue is I have only one hand for now, and I can't take it on with this drawback; it's still made for war, after all."

The man shuffles all the tools and gadgets inside the storeroom, hoping for something of use that he could find for K4 to finish off her own breed.

She doesn't waste time to also ask, "I want the limiter off of me. This is the biggest drawback to me currently." This was a big request, but she's confident in her chances after the conversation.

"So be it; I have no better plan anyway." The man reluctantly starts to take off the limiter. A surge of energy enters K4 as she feels lighter and faster than before; her lens notices the weapon in the man's hand as if still not fully trusting.

She points her hand towards the weapon. "I want that."

"This is an infused sword, crafted at that laboratory as a machine killer; it's a double-edged sword for you, though. Any slash at you will be instantly damaging." He hands over the blade sheathed; the stainless steel sheathing reflected off the storage room's feeble light.

"I like it." She pulls it out and walks out of the storage room. She gives it a couple of swings; it was light and durable and also dangerous. This was perfect for her.

"We're ready for the Ara sands, sir." She beckons the man over to begin their journey.