|Author POV|
The Bunker—YoRHa's orbital headquarters. From here, androids are deployed to scout, gather intelligence, and reclaim territory from the machine lifeforms in the unending war to retake Earth.
Typically, the Bunker is a place of perfect order. Androids wait patiently for assignments, operators monitor the battlefield, and missions proceed with mechanical efficiency.
But today is different.
The cause? A broadcast showing a massive battle between machine lifeforms and the androids defending an isolated fortress. There are numerous automated turrets and drones fighting alongside androids against the wave of machines.
The broadcasting drone, one of the androids turned on a few hours ago, shows a battle straight out of a movie. Bullets, lasers, and even plasma get thrown around the battlefield like fireworks. The battlefield turned beige from the massive amount of sand and dust from the battle.
Androids around the world often broadcast their battles as a way to leave a record of their existence in case they fall. However, this battle is different for one reason.
Simon Blackmore, the Lone Human.
A human fighting at the front lines among androids. A human commanding them. His voice carries across the battlefield, and the androids under him follow every order with unwavering devotion.
It is a devotion that she has never seen in her life, and she knows the reason why. All of the androids in that battlefield fight alongside a human. A human commands them. It is as if a God descends from heaven and directly gives them a command.
At first, the androids watching feel nothing but jealousy. Any android would give anything to serve a human. Receiving a direct command from a human induces an euphoric surge they cannot replicate.
But that feeling lasts only seconds. Jealousy vanishes, and is replaced with something else.
Now they feel only fear—fear for his safety. Fear that he will die. The thought of witnessing a human dying before their eyes is unbearable.
That fear is why the Bunker has descended into a single word:
Chaos.
Androids rush around in panic. Others record everything he does. Some shout. A few even faint. Commander White herself needs a couple of minutes to regain composure before issuing orders and regaining some kind of order in the Bunker.
"How long until the squad reaches the battlefield?!"
White shouts while her eyes remain locked on the massive central monitor.
"They're encountering resistance, ma'am!" one operator replies. "Hundreds of flying machines have intercepted them! Estimated arrival time has doubled!"
White curses and turns sharply to another station.
"What about the ground forces?! How long until they arrive?!"
"The nearest Resistance group is Captain Anemone's, ma'am. According to 2B, who is accompanying them, they will arrive in one hour."
"One hour… too long. Tell them to increase their speed if possible."
"Yes, ma'am!"
White turns back to the screen. A swarm of drones dominates the feed, clashing with countless machine lifeforms. These drones resemble YoRHa pods—only sturdier, faster, and more heavily armed.
But what truly captures her attention is the Fabricator: a massive construct producing hundreds of drones in mere minutes. If Simon had multiple fabricators… the war itself could shift.
It's because of that single group of Fabricators—plus a few hundred androids and one human—that they've managed to hold back over a hundred thousand machines attacking the fortress.
White and the others watch helplessly as androids, drones, and tanks unleash everything they have. Simon briefly retreats into Ares, the massive battle tank—and the androids silently thank every deity they've ever heard of for it.
Even with his armor, humans are fragile. They need protection. That is what is inside their mind. They do not know that Simon is a special case. He is more durable than even a peak human.
But after ten minutes, he emerges from Ares once again—surrounded by a dozen Builder Drones.
White grits her teeth. Frustration burns through her. She wants to scream at him to retreat, to hide, to let every android die for him. She wants to tell him he is the last human alive. She wants to tell him he cannot risk himself.
But she cannot break the lie now—not when the hope of all android-kind stands right before them.
They cannot let that hope die.
For the first time in her life, Commander White begins to pray.
'Please… Please let him live.'
==| Line Break |==
|Simon Blackmore|
Twenty minutes. That's how long it takes Simon to finish crafting everything he needs for the new weapon they need in this war. When he's done, he creates another dozen Builder Drones and sets them to work constructing the foundation. He moves toward a Fabricator and begins issuing commands.
Another dozen Builder Drones emerge within a minute. He uses them to construct three more Fabricators.
"Two minutes… that should be enough to make the parts needed for the fabricators."
He mutters to himself as he manually assembles additional components. He attaches them to the new Fabricators, connects power conduits, and activates each one. Then he orders the drones to start building a Solar Farm—helio arrays as many as they can to support more fabricators.
He needs power. A lot of power.
Even while working, he monitors the battle through Ares' live feed. Maintenance Drones patch up damaged androids. Scavenger Drones hold back any machines that manage to overwhelm defenders while the Maintenance Drones are working.
Right now, he's assembling components for a Cold Fusion Reactor—the heart of the project he has in mind.
He turns and sees the small army of drones finishing the foundation. Time to install the reactor and integrate safety systems. He connects the power lines and triple-checks the seals. He needs to make sure it is safe for anyone piloting this thing.
What is he making? He's building a mech.
Not a Gundam-style mecha—more like a walking weapon platform, reminiscent of an Imperial Knight from Warhammer 40k… with several key improvements.
It can jump. It can sprint faster than an Imperial Knight. It carries more weaponry. The only limitation? Simon cannot pilot it at full power—he lacks a Neural Port. He will ask the twin to perform a Cybernetic enchantment on him, but it will be later, after he gets more charges for his specializations.
In the end, he's not building it for himself. He's building it for Devola.
She will pilot it against the colossal walker advancing in the distance.
Simon works without pause. After thirty minutes, the mech is ninety percent complete. It is a ten-meter-tall robot. Heavily armed and have armor so thick that only a very powerful attack can punch through it.
Its right wrist houses a Mega Plasma Lance for mid-range devastation, and its right hand holds a massive high-intensity sword beam for close combat fights.
Its left arm carries a Mega Bolter. It is a twin-linked massive bolter that fires enlarged bolts. Each of the bolts will explode and cause a ton of damage to the target. The Mega Bolter is capable of firing shells at a rate of 300 rounds per second, making this weapon an extremely effective anti-personnel weapon.
Its shoulders host even more: a Hydra-Heavy Missile Rack firing Krak and Frag missiles, a massive Laser Cannon, and twenty automated turrets—ten Tarantula-style heavy turrets and ten autocannon-based CIWS for intercepting missiles and fast-moving aerial units.
A powerful barrier projector creates a dome-like shield around the mech located in a secured compartment on its back.
He decides to do one more check before he asks Devola to pilot this mech. Every system is functional. Generators are stable. Armor coated in a defensive compound. Drones finish the plating and reinforcement.
He steps back and taps his comm.
"Devola, come to me. I need you to pilot this mech."
A moment later, he sees her fire one last plasma shot before leaping off the wall and sprinting toward him.
"Sir!"
He ignores her formal tone—time is too short.
"Take command of the mech. Use the Command Throne and connect the neural link. We need a distraction. Force them to split their army. That's your task. I will make more drones and take command of them to support you."
"Yes, sir!"
She climbs the mech, enters the rear cockpit, and connects. Moments later, the mech comes alive. It tests its limbs, then leaps from the wall and lands with explosive force—crushing dozens of machines beneath it.
The mech turns toward the incoming walker and opens fire. The roaring of missiles, the bark of bolters, and the sizzling sounds of plasma can be heard throughout the battlefield.
The battle begins anew—this time with overwhelming firepower on their side.
Quantity versus quality. That is what is happening in this battle. His side has the quality, and the machines have the quantity.
He admits that quantity is a form of quality… but Simon intends to prove which one wins today.
With renewed determination, he begins working on something new. It's time to step back from the frontline—not to rest, but to produce even more tools, more weapons, more innovations.
He will create faster than the Machine Lifeforms can adapt.
And he will win.