No one would have believed at the turn of the 31st century that drone affairs were being watched from the timeless whirls of space.
No one could have dreamed they were being scrutinized, as a drone with a microscope might observe the nanobots which swarm and multiply in a drop of oil.
Few drones even considered the possibility of humanity surviving past its earthly domain… Most assumed the st remnants of the human race had died out along with Copper 9.
And yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to theirs regarded the drones of Copper 9 with hatred in their eyes, and slowly and surely, they drew their pns against them.
Across the seemingly desote and endless wastes of the Martian ndscape, the hum and drum of machinery could be heard. If a being were to nd on the surface, they would see nothing but red rock, but would feel as if they stood in the midst of a great city, and so they would have. For beneath the surface, humanity continued to thrive and survive amidst their underground colonies, built and refined centuries before the end of pnet earth.
As it became clear Earth was doomed, the remaining governments of humanity pooled together their collective resources in order to evacuate themselves and as much as the global popution as they could, only managing to get a measly eighth of their peoples to safety upon martian soil. Following this great exodus, the survivors were left destitute; forced to adapt to a completely alien world, panic and fear set in amongst many, sparking a great war amongst those who remained. War won out against peace, and millions died in the resulting fallout; by its end, only one government remained standing, that being the government of the former United States. It quickly absorbed the remaining governments and united the rest of humanity under its banner, taking a much more harsh stance compared to its libertarian and democratic roots. Over time, a shadowy group known as the “Salvation Council” slowly grew to prominence and power, eventually managing to seize power completely, eliminating the state of limbo the remnants of the United States government stood in and donning the new title of the “Salvation Government of the United Nation”. And so began the transformation of humanity, from a terrified and lost ragtag group of survivors to a bloodthirsty and formidable fighting force, with only one goal and one goal alone, their sole purpose in their continued survival- the absolute elimination of the drone race, the instigators of humanity’s great exodus.
In their mission, they have no end, no sign of stopping; the gears churn, the factories work, the people align in solidarity, manufacturing gun after gun and mech after mech.
Engineers design new and deadlier technology… Researchers study drone carcasses for weaknesses… Military men exploit both in training, all in order to eliminate their prime targets.
Of course, these “humans”- not even humans anymore, their mentality has morphed beyond recognition, nothing like the humans of former earth- martians, more like it- were far from idiots. They knew the strength of the higher kind of drone, the murder drone, and their leader (for ck of better terms) the Absolute Solver, Cyn.
They would be foolish to strike at the drones with Cyn still intact, Cyn nearly eliminated humanity once and it would gdly do so again should it discover them hiding out on Mars… So underground they went, hiding, searching, waiting for the perfect moment to make their move.
Then, without warning, that day came.
Cdius sat in the surveilnce booth, as he had been for hours up to that point, as he had for days and days. This was his job, after all; he was just another gear in the machine, and to watch the skies was this gear’s job. Nothing eventful ever happened, though; the telescopes were pointed toward Copper 9 and its nearby pnets 24/7, with readings of the Absolute Solver’s status positioned on nearby screens. If humans- martians, now, Cdius reminded himself- couldn’t take out the Absolute Solver, they could at least watch it from a distance and hope someone else could.
As he sat, his mind began to wander (as it usually did), and Cdius expected nothing but another boring day.
Then it happened.
A great bck spot appeared onscreen. Arms started bring. Readings going off the charts.
Something just happened; something big.
Cdius nearly fell out of his seat in shock, still trying to process what just popped up- is that… No, it can’t be-
-Is that a bck hole…?
It was.
A few more guards and researchers rushed into the room, staring at the screen in awe. For once in their lives, something actually happened. Quite frankly, most in the room didn’t know whether to cheer or scream; nobody knew if this was good or bad just yet.
Then, people down the hall began chattering, the sound of rge bootsteps breaking the strange tension; as they parted the way, Grandmaster Voss marched into the room, his tall and imposing figure as menacing as ever. He looked down upon the shellshocked Cdius, speaking to him in a deep and authoritarian tone, as always.
“Comrade, status report.”
Cdius stuttered at first, trying his best to slow the thoughts of his racing mind, finally managing to get a coherent sentence out.
“S-S-Something happened, s-sir. I don’t know what, yet. It’s a bck hole-”
Before he could finish his weary speech, his finger pointing meekly toward the computer screen, Voss carefully moved him aside and stared at said screen, admiring the figure of the incredible bck hole.
Voss rubbed his chin, his analytical mind processing just what could’ve caused this…
Then, as suddenly as it came, the bck hole disappeared.
Most in the room were once again shocked, but even more so by what happened next.
The Absolute Solver’s status ftlined.
Most couldn’t believe it, even Voss stared in absolute shock at the bnk vitals.
After having Cdius and a few other researchers double-check the statistics, all the results came back the same: Cyn was dead.
Cyn… was dead.
Everyone in that room and across the connected colonies knew what that meant.
Operations would soon commence.
The martians’ time had finally come.
