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[increaseinstability]

open post



feel free to just burst through and drop starters at any time

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mission: neutralize the deviant leader [ for attacked ]

[increaseinstability]

It saves human lives to do this. Connor knows that, and even though he doesn't need the justification for what he's about to do, he finds that that fact keeps being brought up. Pressed again over and over, like his calibration coin, checking that he's still in working order; that he still agrees with the mission.

Connor is surrounded by more androids than he's ever been near before. In the CyberLife corridors he uses - for maintenance, for charging - he's often the only one. The occasional other machines are never in throngs like this.

They move like humans. That's a lie of their broken programming. It's false.

Connor presses through them, receives pats on the back of his stolen leather jacket, excited murmurs and shouts and tearful reuinions happening all around him. He doesn't stop until he's free of the group of them, right at its edge.

Markus has just finished speaking. It's coming down off the makeshift stage; the shipping container they've misappropriated as their own.

Connor takes out his stolen gun. He lines up a shot and the androids nearest him are too busy talking among themselves to notice.

But the android to Markus' left sees. The redheaded WR400 that's been at Markus' side in most of the footage Connor's been able to find of this hostile takeover.

The concern on her face is--

It's not concern. It's broken code. Deviant. There's no fear or anger on its face, it's all false.

It saves human lives to neutralize the deviants, Connor's programming suggests for the 47th time that hour.

Connor shoots, and the android dives to push Markus out of the way.

[ex_attacked466]

For the first time in what seemed like ages, but was really just the end of a very long week, Markus felt relieved. Against all odds, everything they had worked for was suddenly possible. Markus looked out over the crowed. Naked and at their most vulnerable after having been rounded up for execution, and they still cheered with hope in their eyes. Peace in their hands. Maybe someday even forgiveness in their hearts.

When Markus looked out at them, he saw the future more clearly than he ever had before. He wasn't looking hard enough.

As he moved to step down Markus felt a hand wrap around his wrist, yanking him down and leftwards. He turned his head and saw North jumping in front of him, pushing him aside as he heard the shot ring out from the crowd. Everything went into slow motion.

Markus screamed and tried to wrest his arm from Simon's grasp.

North collapsed on the floor of the stage. Josh raced to her side.

Blood pooled at their feet. The crowd gasped and started to scatter.

Markus reconstructed a likely route for the bullet almost automatically, but even before he traced that path to its origin he knew.

He locked eyes with the deviant hunter, with Connor, just before Josh and Simon practically threw him from the platform. Everything that was in him wanted to stay by her side. But that wasn't the plan. It isn't what North would want.

Suddenly everything was happening at once. Simon yells for him to get to cover while Josh directs their audience to safety. Maybe vice versa. All Markus could focus on was getting to Connor. He'd given him a chance. Apparently it was one chance too many. He should have killed him in Jericho. Weaving through the crowd, Markus crouched to grab something heavy he could throw. Grasping what might have been a rock or chunk of concrete, he aimed for Connor's head.