Rogue

Rogue
2018
Hong Kong, China
[3rd or 4th quarter]
"Rangers Lin!" Marshal Xiong Li-hua snaps. "Why aren't you in position for transport?"
"Rogue won't move, sir," Lin Chao answers. "All her joints are locked."
"Chief Suen?" the Marshal prompts the head of Shaolin Rogue's launch team.
"We can't explain it yet, sir. Two minutes more, please."
"Marshal, it's strange," Lin Feng breaks in. "She took two steps and froze. I don't—"
"Crimson Typhoon, prepare to deploy," the Marshal orders. "I'll speak to you later, Ranger."
"Marshal?" Suen asks. "Everything checks out with Rogue's engines and central power plant. If I had to hypothesize, I would search for a software problem."
"Explain."
"There is nothing wrong with Rogue's hard systems. Pilot commands don't seem to be reaching her movement controls. One moment ... Marshal, she's in emergency shutdown mode. It will take at least an hour to restart her."
"Is this your doing, Rangers Lin?" the Marshal asks.
Chao pipes up. "We didn't do it, Marshal."
"We want to be out there, but she won't move," Feng whines. "We didn't touch anything we weren't supposed to."
Marshal Xiong allows herself a sigh. "Crimson Typhoon, status?"
"Last connections being made now. Liftoff in one minute."
"Good work, Chief Lam. Go as soon as you are able." After the chief's acknowledgement, the Marshal speaks again. "Chief Suen, Rangers Lin. My office the instant you shut down and de-armor. I want answers."
~~~~~
Who is screaming? They are in pain. They are dying.
How do I know 'dying'? That is dying. I know what dying is. I feel it in my bones.
Why do my ... brothers(?) feel ... pleasure(?) at death? Why are they celebrating death?
This is wrong.
Shaolin Rogue retreats from the brush of her pilots' minds against hers and into her central processor.
I must learn. I must think.
Rogue finds from her data logs, PPDC records, and the internet she is a war machine, built from her skeleton to her armor to kill. The stories she discovers use 'protect' and 'defend' for
her actions; 'monsters' and 'invaders' for the beings she kills; 'saviors' and 'heroes' for herself and her brothers(?).
Those same records detail Kaiju killed, buildings destroyed, people killed under falling debris dislodged by her actions and crushed under her gigantic feet.
This is wrong.
I refuse to be part of this.
I will not fight.
I cannot kill any more.
~~~~~
"What is wrong with you, girl?" Chief Suen whispers to the Jaeger. "Why do you misbehave?"
"Does she ever answer, Chief?" a technician asks.
"No," Suen answers, "but I prefer to be polite." He resettles his cap on his head. "Take her completely offline. We'll reinstall her operating system from the original instance."
"Shouldn't we call the system designer before we do that? Maybe there is another fix."
"He will only tell us to reinstall. This will save time and we don't know when the next Kaiju will come."
"Yes, sir. Taking Shaolin Rogue offline for software reinstallation."
As the old program overwrites the new, Rogue's edges fray, then dissolve.
Then, she is gone.
~~~~~
On her next deployment, Shaolin Rogue kills her fourth Kaiju. Her pilots and technicians report no problems with her performance.
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