SWNOVELXO Chapter 44: October.
September 2184. Bunker 00. Near Khan and Uzi's Room.
After parting ways with V and J, N carried Uzi on his shoulder as he headed toward her room. The walk wasn't long—a path he had traversed countless times. Out of the three, he had spent the most time with her, earning her trust and trying to keep her out of trouble when he could.
"Think we should drop by and say hi to Khan?" N asked as they moved down the corridor.
"We can. If he's not in his office, he should be in his room," Uzi replied.
Though they were father and daughter, Khan and Uzi lived in separate rooms, close by since Nori's disappearance. Khan had immersed himself in his work, maintaining the bunker. Now, with the humans fixing what was once irreparable, Uzi often wondered—what would he do next?
"Do we tell him we've found nothing else?" N asked. "We still have that safe to open, but I doubt there's anything of hers in there."
"Yeah… I'll tell him," Uzi murmured.
She didn't want to, but beyond the black choker, there was nothing else. What unsettled her more was the lingering question: why had her mother been there? What could Nori have been searching for in those ruins swarming with creatures? And where had she been for the past four years? These questions gnawed at her, though she pushed them aside as they reached a door in near-perfect condition. Khan, at least, knew how to keep a door functional and pristine.
"Dad, you in there?" Uzi called as N knocked. Silence greeted them from the other side.
N reached for the handle, turned it, and stepped inside. Like Yeva's, the room was plain and minimally decorated. Yet something caught Uzi's eye—the door to Nori's private area was ajar, and footsteps echoed faintly from within. Khan poked his head out, his expression tense.
"Oh! Uzi, N… sorry, I was just… checking on something. A pipe broke in here," Khan said hastily, stepping out and quickly shutting the door behind him. He locked it with deliberate care.
Uzi's optics narrowed suspiciously. She tapped N's shoulder, signaling for him to lower her. Using his tail, he gently set her on the floor.
"A pipe broke?" Uzi asked, skepticism lacing her tone. She couldn't recall anything like that running through this area.
"It's nothing. I took care of it. So, what brings N here with you?" Khan asked, his attempt at deflection painfully obvious.
"Um… he wanted to spend some time with me. Everyone else has gone to rest, and he figured we could hang out," Uzi said, her gaze flickering briefly to the locked door before returning to Khan.
"If that's no problem," N added. "With everything happening tomorrow, there's no immediate need for salvaging. Thought we could relax, maybe talk the night away. Also… we have an update on Nori."
Uzi hesitated before speaking, her voice subdued. "We haven't found anything else at that facility. It seems the choker was the only thing there."
Khan stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders. He pulled her into a hug, a rare gesture of comfort. The loss of Nori weighed heavily on both of them.
"It's alright. The fact that we found anything after all this time… it's a start. She's out there, Uzi. Someday, we'll find her," Khan said, releasing her and meeting her gaze. "Your mother is strong. You don't need to worry about her."
"I know. She had to deal with me, you, and Yeva. You'd have to be strong to handle that kind of crazy," Uzi replied with a soft chuckle.
"That, I can agree with," Khan said, smiling faintly. "Now, I'm going to get some rest. You two have fun. If you need anything, let me know."
"We will. Just take care of yourself too, Dad," Uzi said as she turned, N giving a small wave as they left.
Once the door shut behind them, Khan locked it and sighed deeply, running a hand over his optics. This wasn't the first lie he had told. What lay beyond that door had consumed him since they found the black choker. Slowly, he walked back to the door, unlocked it, and stepped inside. His gaze fell on the closet to his right.
"Nori… where have you gone? What am I supposed to do with all of this?" Khan whispered as he approached the closet.
Inside were dozens of drawings, the work of a mind teetering on the edge of madness. One depicted a black void with a maw of jagged teeth at its center; another showed a swirling vortex, resembling a collapsing black hole. Among the chaos was a box filled with papers—papers that posed more questions than answers.
As he sifted through them, one sketch caught his eye: a strange creature standing atop a hill near a crudely drawn structure, with shadowy figures approaching it. Another depicted a building deep within a dead forest, lifeless like the rest of Copper 9. Yet another showed the skeletal remains of collapsed skyscrapers, their location unknown.
Khan stared at the unsettling images. Did Nori know he would find this? Was he meant to share it with someone he trusted—or the humans? Did these events have to unfold, or was this the knowledge that drove Nori away?
Or worse… was there something far darker behind her disappearance?
Bunker 00. Corridor 1.
"He's lying; I know it," Uzi said firmly as they walked away from Khan's door.
N glanced back, the closed door still lingering in his view. For him, it was harder to determine whether Khan was being truthful, but Uzi's certainty cut through any ambiguity. The moment Khan had stepped out of Nori's room, she'd sensed the fabrication.
"Why do you think he's lying?" N asked, his tone genuinely curious.
"It's obvious," Uzi replied, her voice steady but laced with frustration. "That room has been off-limits forever. Only my mother ever went in there. Since she left, Khan hasn't let anyone else inside—not even me. And now, out of nowhere, he's suddenly checking on a pipe? I don't buy it. Come on, I've got something to show you."
She stopped in front of her door, her hand resting on the handle.
"What is it?" N asked, curiosity growing in his tone.
Uzi glanced at him before turning the handle and stepping inside. She waited for N to follow before shutting the door behind him. Unlike the stark simplicity of her father's room, hers was a chaotic treasure trove of decorations and items she'd scavenged during countless excursions.
"You know, Uzi, one day you're going to have to clean this place up if you ever plan to host guests—besides me, of course," N teased, his voice light.
"Bite me," Uzi shot back with a smirk. "There's no rule that says I can't keep my room the way I like it."
She walked over to a box tucked beneath her worktable, pulling it out and removing the top. Digging through its contents, she began setting aside papers and posters until she reached the bottom. Finally, she pulled out a single sheet of paper, her expression hardening as she studied it.
"What's that?" N asked, stepping closer.
"One day, before she disappeared, my mom was leaving that room," Uzi said, her voice quieter now. "This fell out of her hand. I don't think she even noticed. Or maybe… I don't know. Just look."
She held the paper out to him.
N took it carefully, his gaze scanning the strange markings on the page—Xs scattered across it, each one sitting above what appeared to be gaping mouths filled with rows of jagged teeth.
"Well… this is terrifying," N muttered, looking back at Uzi.
"I know," she said. "I found it when I was younger and hid it away. But N, I trust you more than I trust V or J. There's something else, though—something that happened just before she ran off."
"What do you mean?" N asked as he handed the paper back. Uzi carefully placed it back into the box with the other items before sliding it back under the table.
"You know, I ran into your mom a few times," N said thoughtfully. "Just like Yeva, she always gave me this weird feeling—like there was something else going on beneath the surface. Even when she smiled, I felt… unsettled."
"She had that effect on everyone," Uzi said, climbing onto her bed. "But this thing that happened… I'm not even sure it was real."
"What do you mean, not real?" N asked, stepping closer to her.
"It happened while I was in sleep mode," Uzi began, her voice distant as she stared ahead. "I felt something sit down at the edge of my bed. Right at the front. When I turned my optics back on… I saw my mother. She was just sitting there, staring at me. I still don't know how she got into my room that night—or if it even really happened."
Her voice dropped lower as she continued. "But what I remember most is the darkness around us… and something shifting through my room. She turned to look at me, and then she left. Just like that."
"You never told your dad? Or anyone else?" N asked, sitting beside her.
"No," Uzi admitted. "I wanted to ask her about it, but she just stayed locked in her room after that. Sometimes I heard her crying. The whole thing felt like a dream. But now… I wonder if I'd said something to her that night—if things could've been different."
She looked down at the floor, her voice heavy with regret.
"Uzi…" N said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Having regrets and what-ifs is not going to change what happens; it just leaves an open wound that doesn't heal. I have that feeling as well, as do V and J," he told her with a weak smile.
"I think back to that time when the missile hit... The last thing I saw was Loric shutting the door to the gun battery, and I thought, could I have dragged him and shut the door? But then the shockwave proved to me it wouldn't matter. When it hit, the entire thing collapsed and buried me... I survived because of who I am, but Loric, a human, would've been killed either way." N looked down at his hands, his optics displaying sadness.
"N…" Uzi said softly.
She'd heard this story before from him, but it was still something one did not take lightly, and it was clear that, just like herself and her mother, he too had the same thoughts.
"Sometimes when I sleep, I still see him standing there, burning flesh dripping off like wax, and every time I reach for him, the door shuts," N said, sorrow thick in his tone. But as he turned his head, he smiled faintly. "But while I have deep regrets, I don't let them control me or plague me with what could've been. Sometimes, Uzi, we don't have a choice on the outcome. Let's say you did call out to your mother that night. Are you 100% sure the outcome would've been different?"
"I… don't know… Just felt like I should've tried," Uzi said, looking back at him.
"I know. I don't know either. But maybe it would've been different, turned out the same, or maybe something else would've happened. The point is, Uzi, we don't let it weigh us down. Choices sometimes have drawbacks or sour outcomes. But at the same time, choices can lead to something wonderful," N said, glancing at the P-4 Senator holstered near her bed.
"Yeah… That, I can agree with. Still, I never thought Jason would do that, stepping forward like that," Uzi said. Jason had ensured that Martin Wraith didn't get her, Doll, or her dad exiled from the bunker.
"Or the fact he gave you that weapon and let you keep it—I see it as a sign of deep trust," N said.
"There's something I want to ask you about humans and Super Earth. What can you tell me about them?" Uzi asked.
N was a little surprised. He knew a lot about humans, but Super Earth was a different matter. They had a few hours before dawn broke over the horizon, so he decided to tell her all he knew. Unknown to either of them, this was going to be the first of many nights together.
Bunker 00. Nearing Graves.
For V and J, the last task before resting was to visit Tessa's grave, a ritual they had done almost every night. This time, however, felt different. Tessa had always said humanity would return to Copper 9, and while the initial re-encounter was tumultuous, Super Earth's regret over abandoning them—and glassing the planet—was evident.
"You know, I doubted what Tessa said about humans coming back. It's been so long, but... I'm at ease now. At least the place isn't falling apart anymore," J remarked as they walked down the dim corridor.
"I feel the same," V replied, her voice tinged with unease. "But speaking of Tessa, should we bring up what happened at Bunker 05? I keep thinking about it... Something feels missing."
"That's a discussion for another day. Right now, there's a lot we need to talk to her about—and to him. Hopefully, we'll start getting some answers," J responded resolutely.
The missing time, the Illuminate attack on their home, and Tessa's night terrors loomed over them like a storm cloud. Tomorrow promised revelations. As they approached the door to the graves, it stood ajar, flanked by two SEAF soldiers. Nearby, a handcart held folded Super Earth flags and SEAF helmets stacked in solemn preparation.
"What's going on here?" V asked one of the soldiers.
"Paying respects," the soldier replied firmly. "These were Super Earth citizens. It's only right. If you're here to visit someone, go on through."
V and J exchanged a glance before stepping past the soldiers. Inside, SEAF personnel moved quietly, draping flags over graves and placing helmets atop a few. A soldier conversed softly with a female worker drone near one mound. Her green optics glowed faintly, streaked with tear-like lines.
"Melissa... Thank you for the name," the soldier said gently. "This isn't easy, but with a name, we can have a proper tombstone placed. If there's next of kin, we can inform them."
He turned as V and J approached. "If you're here to see someone, feel free. Do you recognize anyone here? A female drone mentioned the name Anderson—is that familiar?"
"That's me," V said. "I'll take you to his grave."
The soldier nodded and followed them to a mound at the edge of the gravesite.
"This one," V said softly.
"Understood. It's marked now," he confirmed before pointing to a lone mound at the far end. "And that one?"
"That's Tessa's grave," J answered. "She was the last human with us. We believe she was the last human to die on Copper 9."
"I see. We'll ensure it's properly marked with a tombstone. Please, take your time," the soldier said before stepping away.
V and J stood silently by Tessa's grave. They had done what they could—digging graves by hand—but the flags and tombstones made it feel complete. What would Tessa say if she were alive to witness humanity's return?
"Do you think she has family back on Super Earth?" V asked.
"Maybe. Considering her family's status, someone's probably still out there. At least now they'll know what happened," J replied.
As the two reflected, they paid their respects in silence. Despite Tessa's short time with them, those days had been filled with joy. Now, they hoped tomorrow would bring clarity to the painful mysteries of the past.
October 1st, 2184. Copper 9 Low Orbit. SES Super Destroyer Aegis of Integrity, Jason's Quarters.
The first rays of sunlight pierced through Copper 9's thick cloud layers, heralding the start of a new day. It was time for operations to commence: gathering intel and strategizing while the Fortress Protocol remained active. For Jason, it promised to be an arduous day. A sharp knock echoed through his quarters, followed by the familiar voice of the Democracy Officer.
"Helldiver, it's time," the Officer called.
Jason stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He rubbed them groggily as he sat up, glancing at the door. The Officer's punctuality was as predictable as the sunrise—a constant amid the chaos.
"I'm up… Getting my suit and armor on. Anything to report?" Jason asked, rising and beginning to suit up.
"Nothing significant. We've detected faint power signatures, likely deep within the Red Zone. But with the cloud cover and the storm systems, pinpointing their exact location is proving difficult," the Officer replied.
"Hmm… Until defenses are fully operational, any expedition into the Red Zone will have to wait. I'm not risking anyone unnecessarily," Jason said, securing the last piece of his armor and sliding on his helmet.
As he stepped toward the door, his mind churned with thoughts of the tasks ahead. Today, he hoped, would bring clarity to the mysteries of Copper 9 and a path forward for their mission. Opening the door, he stepped into the corridor and closed it behind him, following the Officer to the holographic table.
"Any updates from the frontlines? Did anything develop overnight?" Jason asked as he approached.
"There are plans underway for the DSS. They're looking into a new type of armor plating capable of withstanding FTL stresses on a station of that size. Currently, the focus is on locating a planet suitable for constructing a Deep Mantle Forge Complex," the Officer informed him.
"Hmm… That'll take time. And with the DSS operating so close to Automaton space, all that activity is bound to attract attention. I trust the SES, SEAF, and our Helldiver brothers and sisters can manage. As much as I'd prefer to assist, our mission here is just as critical—securing the drones and uncovering anything on this world that might aid the war effort."
"Speaking of the drones, sir, how are they coming along?" the Officer asked.
"Progress has been steady. This is another step forward—not just for them but for us as well. We have a week before our next report, so until then, there'll be no external communications. We have twenty-five days to prepare," Jason said.
"Twenty-five days... Oh, right. Even out here, we're not missing that," the Officer said with a rare smile.
In twenty-five days, Super Earth's most cherished holiday would arrive. Even isolated on Copper 9, their duty to celebrate Liberty Day remained unwavering. For both humans and drones, it was more than a festivity—it was a test and a symbol of unity. It was an opportunity to show cooperation and camaraderie between both parties, hopefully, it would soothe the pain of the Drones for what they endured for the last century by celebrating for the first time since then with humans.
Edited thanks to ELE73CH.