Chapter 37: Orders Without Debate.

Military Air Base CA- 03. Frostholm. 09:40 am.

“Are you sure?” 03 asked her captain, genuine concern in her voice. “We are more than enough.”

“We need her ability,” 02 replied calmly while selecting weapons from the storage rack. “She can detect black medic frequencies from a long distance. We can sense them, but she can isolate the correct signal better than any E-UNIT.”

05 scrolled through a report on her HUD while helping carry the remaining equipment.
“According to Unit 35, she was detecting and dismantling black medics in crowded areas with zero civilian casualties and no material damage.”

03 hovered nearby, arms crossed.
“I received a different report from 12. Apparently, 11 has personality issues.”

“You are not in a position to say that,” 05 whispered.

02 cut in before the discussion went further.
“Both reports agree on one thing. She countered black medics inside the city without the upgrades we received. That alone makes her valuable. Adding her to the team will also push the others forward.”

She reached for a door and opened it.

05 reacted instantly.
“No, captain! That is not the right—”

Too late.
02 stepped inside.
Her processor stalled for a full second.

Inside the room, 01 and 09 were in the middle of a large video call. Dozens of E-UNITs filled the screen. Candles were arranged in a circle. Images of 02 hung from the ceiling. The floor was stained with fresh oil from a recent maintenance cycle.

They were chanting her designation.
No one noticed her standing there.

“…door,” 05 finished quietly.

03 stared in disbelief.
“There are more of them now. Last time, it was only four.”

They slowly backed out and closed the door.

02 stood frozen, facing the hallway.
“Since when has this been happening…”

05 swallowed.
“Since you entered Omega form.”

03 nodded.
“They clean the inactive body every day. They believe she will return. Even father is not allowed near it except for essential repairs. They say it will speed up recovery.”

02 turned sharply.
“I AM HERE. I DID NOT DIE!”

05 nodded carefully.
“You need to convince them of that.”

03 smirked.
“Honestly, I might join. Their logic is strangely convincing.”

02 raised her fist. The weapons slipped from her grip and hit the floor.
“Do not even think about it!”

They continued toward the operation room.
Dr. Nick was already there, speaking with an unfamiliar man. The moment he saw them, the man rushed forward, eyes wide.

“These are them?” he said, turning back to Nick in disbelief.

Nick laughed proudly.
“Yes. My finest work. I doubt I will ever surpass this.”

03 cut in, playing with her hair.
“Oh, father. I did not know you could talk like that.”

Nick straightened instantly.
“05, bring the memory eraser. She is glitching again.”

“No, wait,” 03 said quickly, raising her hands. “I was joking!”

He sighed and sat down.
“Apologies, Hank. Sometimes she copies things she watches online.”

Hank laughed and stepped closer to 02, who was holding an entire armory without effort.
“My god. How much power does she have? What is her battery capacity?”

“One thousand kilowatt-hours,” Nick replied, his pride obvious. “They can operate heavy loaded for nearly a week without recharge.”

Hank gasped.
“That is more than ten high-range electric vehicles.”

He leaned closer.
02 cleared her throat.
He stepped back immediately.

“Father,” 02 said evenly. “Who is he?”

“Oh,” Hank said quickly. “I forgot to introduce myself. Hank Wilson. I was your father’s professor at the university. Mikael Wilson is my younger brother.”

Nick added with a grin.
“He was the only one who did not resign during my years there.”

“Nick always pushed too far,” Hank replied with a chuckle.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson,” 02 said. She lifted the armory with one hand and extended the other to shake his.

05 observed quietly.
“I do not see any resemblance.”

“Different mother,” Hank replied immediately. He looked back at 02, then at the weapons.
“You have intelligent daughters. And strong ones. Metromania needs your brilliance again.”

“I want to return as well,” Nick said. “But this war keeps me here. I once thought about teaching again. The military prefers I stay and design conflicts that do not yet exist.”

“Can you blame them?” Hank asked.

Nick frowned.
“What do you mean?”

Hank gestured toward the girls.
“Look at what you created. These are weapons of mass destruction. Hidden inside charming humanoid bodies. Are they loyal?”

02 stepped forward.
“If he asks us to burn the world, and it aligns with our logic, we will do it immediately, Mr. Wilson.”

She set the weapons aside.
“We trust our father above all else. We have seen how flawed humanity is. He lived among them for decades longer than we have.”

She met Hank’s eyes.
“We think for ourselves. And in this broken world, his will is one of the few things worth protecting. That is why we were made.”

Hank slowly turned to Nick, and stopped smiling, stunned.
“You were right. How did you achieve loyalty from free AI?”

Nick crossed his arms, watching his daughters with quiet pride.
“It is not control, Hank. And no one has realized that yet.”

A small, warm smile formed on his face.

Ministry of Defense. Frostholm. 10.21 pm.

It was another calm night. Tomorrow’s operation weighed heavily on everyone inside the Ministry of Defense. Everyone except the man at its top.

Henry Vegas leaned back in his comfortable chair, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.
‘Talking down to a superior will never be tolerated.’

He turned toward his desk and activated his computer. Intelligence reports began flooding the screen, one after another. Most were routine. One was not.

His eyes narrowed.
He read it again. Then a third time, making sure exhaustion was not playing tricks on him.

He immediately picked up the secure phone and contacted the Intelligence Bureau.
“This is Henry Vegas, Minister of Defense.”

The voice on the other end stiffened instantly.
“Yes, sir.”

“How reliable is the information about the factory?”

“Confirmed at one hundred percent, sir. The source is from their military leadership itself. Our agents—”

Vegas stopped listening.
His thoughts raced. The timing was perfect. Almost too perfect.

“…Sir?” the agent asked carefully.

“Contain the information,” Vegas said sharply. “Do not allow it to spread. And do not let it reach the police head.”

“But sir—”

“This is an order.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line went dead.
Vegas leaned back again, slowly turning his chair. He could not hide his satisfaction. Eliminating an internal threat was far more valuable than any foreign victory.

A thin smile formed on his face.
“Let us see how you think your way out of this, Captain.”

E-Police Department. Metromania. 09:00 am.

The E-Police station was unusually crowded. Chaos filled every corridor. E-UNITs rushed back and forth, some flying between levels, others preparing equipment or receiving last-minute orders. Only one thing could cause this level of activity.

An operation was coming.

Inside the repair bay, 11 was arguing with an engineer.
“I told you, it is two millimeters away from the correct position,” she said sharply.

“Because you keep rushing me,” the engineer snapped back. “Why does the exact alignment of the magnetic belt even matter? 02 will never notice if your weapon sits slightly off. It will still lock in place.”

11 stepped closer, trying to face him properly, even though she barely reached his chest. A standard E-UNIT was only one hundred fifty centimeters tall.

“She will notice,” 11 replied firmly. “She is the captain for a reason.”

“That reason is not obsessive precision,” he answered immediately. “You are a captain yourself. You know this does not change combat efficiency.”

“It does,” 11 insisted. “And 02 agrees. Please fix it properly. She will be here soon.”

The engineer sighed heavily.
“Fine. Just stay still.”

He adjusted the magnetic belt on her hip, the system designed to hold weapons for instant access. After a few moments, he stepped back.

11 straightened and bowed slightly.
“Thank you. That was not so difficult.”

“She will still never notice,” he muttered. “02 has better things to worry about.”

“Like what?”
02’s voice came from behind them.

Both jumped in surprise.
“Captain!”

11 immediately rushed toward her.
“You came early.”

02 chuckled softly.
“This is the second time I catch one of my units arguing with an engineer. Do you secretly hate each other? We are all on the same team.”

She turned toward the engineer. He was the same man who had handled 09’s leg replacement.
“Dave,” she said calmly, “please be patient with my sisters. They lack human interaction.”

“With all due respect, Captain,” Dave replied tiredly, “they nitpick like an old lady at a supermarket. She looks like she is preparing for a luxury party.”

“At least I am good at my job,” 11 shot back.

Dave glanced toward the repair bed where 17 had once lain, headless.
“Yes. Sure.”

02 clapped her hands once.
“Enough. We have work to do. 11, prepare the meeting room and call 12 and 24. We will review the latest events. And yes, good belt alignment. Keep it up.”

11 smirked at Dave.
“Roger.”
She launched herself out of the bay instantly.

02 gave the engineer a brief wink. He responded with a small, smug smile and sat down on a nearby chair.
“You are very different from them,” he said. “Yet you all look the same. What is your secret?”

02 paused near the door.
“I experienced many forms of human interaction. Hatred, fear, care, and trust. I learned to read intent.”

She looked back at him.
“Life is gray. Nothing is fully white, and nothing is fully dark. There is always a small stain in every clean surface.”

“Even you?” he asked.

“Especially me.”
She turned to leave.
“By the way, 25 needs eye replacements.”

A loud crash followed behind her as a screwdriver hit the wall.
“Again?!” Dave shouted in frustration.

***

02 stepped into the meeting room. Inside, 11, 12, and 24 were already waiting.

02 sat at the large table alone, facing the three captains, each seated at a smaller desk with a tablet in front of them. They were scrolling through data, preparing to brief her on their recent operations.

The captain remained silent for several seconds, her HUD active, reviewing information at extreme speed. If they were human, they would have been drenched in sweat. Reporting directly to 02 was pressure few E-UNITs could ignore.

She finally spoke.
“This is the first formal meeting of this kind,” 02 said calmly. “I have not been away from Metromania for this long before. Keep your reports detailed.”

12 tried to ease the tension.
“You did not need to come all the way from the capital, Captain. This could have been done remotely.”

“No,” 02 replied flatly. “This is more efficient. I also needed to inspect the servers for a small personal project.”

She continued without pause.
“The capital is stable for now. That may change. This trip also serves as a test for long-distance deployment with the new battery system.”

“Very efficient,” 11 whispered, clearly impressed.

02 glanced at her briefly, then continued.
“Enough side talk. 24, you commanded E-UNIT operations outside Metromania. Five cities were under your responsibility. Report.”

24 straightened her posture.
“The five cities, including Lakewarm and Raisin Heights, reported no black medic activity. This confirms the attacks were coordinated specifically against the E-UNIT presence in Metromania.”

02 nodded.
“Logical. Either the enemy is unaware of our expanded coverage, or they deliberately targeted the city housing the E-UNIT headquarters and the E-Police.”

Her fingers moved rapidly across her tablet.
“We will need countermeasures.”

She lifted her head and looked directly at 12.
“12, you assumed my position during the crisis. The city suffered scattered, high-pressure attacks. You and 11 handled them well. I am impressed.”

12 relaxed slightly.
“Thank you, Captain. Your training made the difference.”

02 turned to 11.
“But you,” she said evenly, “proved that improvement has no ceiling. This does not erase 17. But you corrected your past mistake and did not abandon 38 on the battlefield.”

02 stood and saluted her.
“Excellent service.”

11 froze for half a second, then barely contained herself.
“Thank you, Captain!”

“I should be thanking you,” 02 replied. “You and your newly formed team eliminated nine hundred seventy-two enemy units independently verified by IB drone logs. That level of growth is undeniable.”

She placed her tablet down and rested her chin on her hands, smiling slightly.
“The real reason for my visit is this. I will personally escort you to Frostholm, the capital.”

11’s processors nearly stalled.

“11,” 02 continued, “welcome to the main command structure. You earned this.”

The room went silent.
Then 11 launched herself upward, hitting the eight-meter ceiling with a loud clang.

“I cannot believe this!”
“YES!”

12 watched from her seat, unmoving.

02 approached 11 and extended her hand.
“We expect the same results in Frostholm. The western front is waiting for you, Sergeant 11. Departure in five hours. Body upgrades are already scheduled.”

11’s smile stretched impossibly wide.
“ROGER THAT!”

02 exited the room.

11 immediately began projecting future scenarios on her HUD. 12 clapped her hands once.
“So that’s what it costs. Results wash blood.” she muttered.

11 flashed a peace sign, grinning. Her smile didn’t look human. It looked hungry.
“Yeah!”
She rushed out, already taking selfies and posting her new rank online.

24 stepped closer to 12.
“You should be happy for her.”

12 did not respond.