"You really want to play hero, don't you?" Widget commented with a 
mechanical laugh. 


"Damn straight," Jason stated without looking up from his work. With 
a fluid motion, he removed the silver flash drive containing all the 
copies of their research from the computer, and replaced it with a 
thin rod of black metal. The computer sparked and died, then 
chained electricity to all other computers in the room. The room 
became thick with the smell of ozone as Jason applauded his own 
show of force. 


"Man, I've always wanted to do that," Jason laughed fiendishly. 
"Now where's that Amur unit..." 


Before Widget could reply, a series of bullets pierced its head. Jason 
dived below his desk in terror. From his position of relative safety, he 
watched as the android attempted to return fire, only to be gunned 
down, and finally destroyed in a cloud of mist that disintegrated its 
frame. 


"Holy shit, man," Jason said lowly, his eyes wide in horror. 
"You, under the desk, get out now!" a voice barked. 
Jason paused, looking around for his mother's Amur drone. 


"Now!" The voice barked again, this time accompanied by the sound 
of gun hammers being drawn back. 


"Alright, alright!" Jason answered and slowly got to his feet, his 
hands raised over his head, a death grip on the flash drive. Before 
him were three agents dressed in the paraphernalia of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation. "Here | am. Happy?" 


"Put the flash drive on the table, and get down on your knees!" 
"Of course..." 


Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw his mother's Amur drone 
sticking to the ceiling. The tiny robot gave a cautious wave, causing 
him to softly smile. 


"Are you deaf? Down on your knees!" The agent barked again. 


Jason threw the flash drive toward the drone. The Amur unit 
launched itself from the ceiling and caught it midair, vanishing as it 
hit the ground and scurried away. Bullets tore through Jason as 
though he were tissue paper. He fell backwards into an office chair, 
his momentum causing it to roll to the far side of the room where it 
was stopped by a desk. Jason laughed in pain as he glanced over 
his broken body. 


"Fuck, that was a stupid decision. Talk about overkill..." 


He continued to laugh weakly for several more moments, then 
became sill. 
Anderson Robotics Headquarters 


Advanced Logic Division 


"They'll be here soon," said Dr. Jeffery Wilson as he sat at his desk 


within his office in the Anderson Robotics Advanced Logic Division. 
"Never thought I'd see the day when Vince's chickens came home to 
roost." 


Dr. Wilson was the man responsible for most of Anderson Robotics' 
artificial intelligences, and was the man who made the Saker units 
possible. In a previous life, he had been an employee for 
Prometheus Labs. Now, for the second time in his life, he was 
watching his employer implode around him. As he watched the 
invading task force snake its way from office to office on the monitor 
on his desk, he let out a long, tired sigh, followed by a chuckle. 


"Perhaps I'm just cursed," he commented. "Jeffery Wilson, destroyer 
of enterprise." 


Sitting at a chair across from him was his son and assistant, Miles 
Wilson. Miles gave a small smile at his father's joke then sighed as 
well. 


"If we leave now, we might still be able to make it out..." Miles 
suggested, stopping only after his father held up his hand. 


"These are federal agents," Dr. Wilson said, pointing at his monitor. 
"I'm far too old and tired to live as a fugitive." 


"So, that's that then?" Miles asked, an eyebrow raised. 
"That's that." 


Dr. Wilson then turned his attention to a picture on his desk. Him, his 
ex-wife, and Miles were smiling, the latter in a baseball uniform for 
the Oregon State Beavers. The image initially brought a sad smile to 
Wilson's face, followed by a deep frown. Sighing again, he turned 
his gaze to Miles. 


"Saker-00. Deactivate personality module. Override passcode 
Mighty Miles." 


Miles blinked several times, then seemed to fall asleep. After a few 
moments, he woke, then looked at Dr. Wilson with a quizzical 
expression. 


tougher. Stomping an individual arthropoid with a heavy boot will 
usually be sufficient to “kill” it, at which time it will fall apart into a 
drop or puddle of SCP-743’s liquid and quickly evaporate, its 
enticing aroma lingering. However, arthropoids from SCP-743 are 
almost never encountered alone. 


It is not yet known how the arthropoids communicate with each 
other, or even if they are individual consciousnesses or part of a 
collective mind. It is also not yet known who or what controls the 
arthropoids (if anything), where the organic matter taken into 
SCP-743’s base goes, how SCP-743 can produce a seemingly 
endless supply of liquid and arthropoids, or where all that liquid 
comes from. 


SCP-743 does not appear to be invulnerable. However, SCP-743 is 
both highly resistant to damage and will employ its arthropoid army 
as an active defense system. It is theorized that SCP-743 can be 
destroyed using [DATA EXPUNGED]. However, due to the apparent 
extradimensional characteristics of SCP-743, coupled with its 
inherent resistance to damage, no termination testing can be 
performed on SCP-743 without O5 authorization. 


Note: “Due to the nature of SCP-743, it is difficult to study the 
source of its abilities. No one can get close to it without risking being 
eaten, our instruments don’t last longer than a few minutes before 
being shredded by 743’s bugs, probes sent into 743 can’t see 
anything but brown, and the liquid evaporates so quickly most of 
what we know of it comes from analysis of its gaseous phase. What 
we do know is that 743 is dangerous. We have yet to see any limit to 
the amount of stuff 743 can pour out. | firmly believe 743 could 
breach containment if it seriously tried. That said, 743 seems to 
behave itself as long as it gets a steady stream of live people to eat. 
Thus, | propose that some D-class personnel that will be terminated 
anyway be fed to 743. Kill two birds with one stone.” —Dr. Lambert 


Proposal “Death by Chocolate” approved by O5- , / /20 . 


« SCP-742 | SCP-743 | SCP-744 » 


"Is there a reason you turned off my personality module, Dr. 
Wilson?" 


"I'd prefer to not have to watch my son die a second time, Zero,” Dr. 
Wilson answered with an apologetic smile. "I'm sure you 
understand." 


Saker-00 smiled in kind and nodded. 


"Understood, sir. For what it’s worth, I'm happy you could see me as 
your son." 


"You played the part well," Dr. Wilson replied. "| couldn't have asked 
for anything more." 


The sound of heavy footsteps and gunfire grew closer. Dr. Wilson 
put his hands over his head in anticipation, and closed his eyes. 


Transcript of Surveillance Footac 


Anderson Robotics H 
Administrative 


<16:20:18> No employees are visible. Administrative offices ha\ 


<16:21:23> Pol Isaac Dillard, Executive Officer of Anderson Ro! 
identified as David Boyko, Dillard's secretary. 


<16:22:16> Boyko appears to speak with Dillard for several mor 
kisses his forehead before pointing out into the hallway and ther 
office. 


<16:23:30> Dillard returns from his office with a large silver cylir 
nods and begins to leave. Dillard shoots Boyko in the back of th 
the floor. 


<16:24:45> Dillard appears to collect a sample of blood from Bc 
a large space in the center of the office by moving desks and ch 


<16:25:45> Dillard places the cylinder at the center of the cleari 


melts into a silver disk. Dillard approaches the disk. 


<16:26:20> Agents Allee, Hedges, and Toth of MTF Tau-51 ent 
apprehend Dillard. 


<16:26:30> Dillard gestures at the agents in an obscene manne 
disk, appearing to fall through it. 


<16:26:40> The disk vanishes, leaving a large burn mark on the 


Anderson Robotics Headquarters 
Rooftop 


"He's heading for the rooftop, Delta-3 ops be advised!" Agent 
Clarissa Shaw shouted into her mic as she sprinted up a flight of 
stairs. Trailing behind her were Agents Carter and Sherman, the 
best Gamma-13 had to offer. Two full flight ahead of the trio was a 
man in a black and red suit, with a silver comedy mask. His name 
was Vincent Anderson, and he was getting away. 


"God, damn it!" Shaw shouted as she broke into a full sprint, the 
stairs flying beneath her as she started to gain on her target. Two 
full flights of stairs became one flight, which then turned into half a 
flight. By the time he burst through the roof access door she was 
practically on his heels. Her shoulder slammed into the door as she 
passed from the stairwell and into the cold Three Portlands rain. 


"Where are you going to go, Vince?" Shaw shouted, leveling her 
pistol. “We have your physical body in custody. Your business has 
crumbled. You can’t run anymore. It’s over. You lost.” 


At the far end of the rooftop Anderson stood, looking down at the 
ground that waited 10 stories below. He then sighed, raised his 
hands over his head, and turned around, taking off his comedy mask 
and letting it drop to the ground. The face beneath gave a charming 
smile. He then gave a small salute and jumped backwards off the 
roof. 


Shaw swore and fired off several rounds. A sudden sharp pain in her 
neck threw off her aim. 


"God fucking damn it!" Shaw swore as she quickly pried the source 
of the pain from her body and threw it on the ground before 
stomping on it. Upon moving her boot, she saw the remains of a tiny 
silver Amur drone. As the squashed robot gave a weak wave to 
Shaw, the agent stomped on it again with a cry of rage. The drone's 
eyes went dim. Shaw then quickly ran to the edge of the roof top 
and looked down in time to see Anderson sprinting out of view. 


"| really hate that man..." Shaw mumbled to herself, then spoke into 
her mic. "Spencer. Thorne. He's heading your way. | just took down 
Benny." 


Shaw immediately began to head down the fire escape, hitting the 
ground a minute and a half later with a heavy thud, and renewing 
the chase. 


KKK 


"You guys really pulled out the stops this time..." Anderson 
commented to himself as he sprinted away from the smoking shell of 
his company's former headquarters. "Fuck you too, Merlo..." 


As he turned a corner within the alley, a shot rang out. Anderson 
froze, looking down to see a bullet hole in his chest. He briefly 
considered how much such a wound would hurt on his actual body, 
and not his current Saker puppet, then looked up. Several task force 
agents, led by Spencer and Thorne, stood waiting, their weapons 
leveled. 


"Was that supposed to be a warning shot?" Anderson asked. 


"No, not really,” Spencer replied. One of the agents behind him 
pumped his shotgun. 


Anderson smiled and sighed. "Cute." 
"We try." 


Anderson nodded in agreement, then lurched forward like a 
cornered snake, taking Spencer to the ground. The air filled with the 
smell of gunpowder as the remaining agents began to open fire. 
Thorne flew backwards several feet, striking the alley wall as 


Anderson jumped up and delivered a swift kick, stumbling upon 
landing as bullet after bullet pierced his slender frame. His motions 
beginning to slow, he took on a drunken stagger from the increasing 
amount of damage. 


Anderson let out a feral yell and proceeded to lurch forward again, 
striking a nearby agent like an 18-wheeler hitting a fawn. The agent 
looked down to see Anderson's fist protruding through his torso and 
let out a sharp yelp. His fist still in the man's stomach, Anderson 
yanked him into the line of fire. As the agent went limp, Anderson 
dropped him and grabbed his rifle. With a few well-aimed bursts, the 
remaining agents dropped too. Looking around, and seeing himself 
as the last man standing, he quietly threw the spent weapon away. 


"I... think I'll... take my leave now... If you don't mind..." Anderson 
struggled to speak as the various systems within his Saker frame 
began to fail, crash, or otherwise shut down. He attempted to limp 
forward but stopped upon feeling a grip wrapped around his ankle. 
Anderson looked down to see Spencer grabbing him with one hand 
and pistol held tightly in the other. 


"What... do you think... you are doing?" 
"Stalling." 


Anderson saw movement from the corner of his eye, and turned his 
head just in time to see Thorne ram him with their shoulder. The 
android slammed into the nearby wall as Thorne helped Spencer to 
his feet. The two agents quickly leveled their pistols and proceeded 
to empty their magazines in tandem into the broken droid. Anderson 
did not attempt to get up again. 


"|... take it that... I'm under arrest..." Anderson said slowly, his head 
turning from Thorne, to Spencer, and back again. He then watched 
as Agent Shaw came up the alley, a silver canister in hand. 


"You can't arrest someone you already have in custody, Vince," 
Shaw answered as she approached. 


She then pulled the tab on the canister and tossed it at Anderson. 
He reflexively caught it as it began to spray its fine white mist. The 


droid looked up at Shaw, then to Thorne, and finally to Spencer. 


"I see," he said with a sigh. "You know... you three are... not as 
much fun... as Sasha was." 


Anderson closed his eyes, his expression one of acceptance as his 
battered form vanished within the cloud of mist, what little remained 
of his body silently melting away, leaving behind only a red and 
black suit. 


"How sure are you he won't just body-hop to another Saker unit?" 
Thorne asked as they poked Anderson's remains with their boot. 
“These kinds of things tend to be repeatable, in my experience.” 


"Not very," Shaw answered. "I'm guessing there is some paratech 
shenanigans that need to be in place for that to happen. Probably 
wouldn't have fought so hard if he could just beam his mind to 
another Saker.” 


"| don't find that reassuring," Spencer commented as the trio set 
about helping out their downed colleagues. "At all." 


"Just a theory,” Shaw shrugged. "Still, I'd still chalk this up as a 
victory." 


"Checkmate," Thorne agreed. 

"More like flipping the board over and beating your opponent 
unconscious," Spencer observed. Smoke and the sound of periodic 
gunfire still emanated from the direction of the Headquarters. 


"Still counts," Shaw said with a tired smile. 


There was still much work to do. 


Excerpt From "The Portlander" 
May 26th, 2024 


itizens in Federal Custody Following UIU Raid — 
Not since the Prohibition era has Three Portlands 
witnessed such a massive display of Federal force as it 
did during last Friday's raid on Anderson Robotics by 
agents of the FBI's Unusual Incidents Unit. The raid, 
which started at approximately 3:00 PM EDT, has 
resulted in nearly forty Anderson Robotics employees 
— most of whom are Three Portlands citizens — being 
detained. As a result, protests have started to break 
out throughout the city as numerous activist groups 
show their opposition to what they are calling an 
"unwarranted display of federal brutality" and a "direct 
violation of Three Portlands' longstanding tradition of 
paranormal asylum." 


Meanwhile, UIU spokesmen Harriet Brown claims that 
the raid was in response to evidence of the company's 
involvement in the assassination of Congressman 
Raymond Caldwell in 2018, as well as potential ties to 
numerous arms dealers around the globe. Detained 
Anderson Robotics employees are to be vetted for their 
potential involvement in the firm's illegal operations, 
and released if cleared. As of the time of writing, only a 
handful of those detained have been released from 
federal custody... 


May 26th, 2024