Veronica: Aegis VI
Epirus, the lion cub, huddles nervously against the kneeling human's legs, gnawing on the hem of their clothes.
The human quickly determines that Hermione has suffered an acute heart failure, a byproduct of the intense stress from the Red Tide.
You scramble towards the vehicle, a race against time.
You frantically start scavenging for useful components, all while calling out to Veronica. But Veronica's response never comes.
Veronica remains silent, her chin held high as her hands continue their rhythm, a mechanical dance of chest compressions.
Sensing the storm brewing beneath her calm exterior, you offer words of comfort.
Epirus nestles in close, rubbing his fuzzy head against the cold, unyielding frame of the mechanical girl.
...
The Star of Life lectures haven't gone to waste. You quickly rig up a makeshift device, wrap Veronica's hands in saltwater-soaked cloths, and take over the CPR.
I just broke her rib.
Veronica's voice trembles, almost imperceptibly.
My body has no temperature regulation and no medical capabilities. My frame was built for destruction, nothing else.
I can't control it.
It's a scene so much like the rainy night you first met. In this world, there is no magic wand for resurrection, but there will always be those who refuse to throw in the towel.
...
She meets your steely gaze.
The mechanical hand, swathed in a saltwater-soaked cloth, presses down on the lioness's chest.
Veronica makes contact and pulls back in a flash.
The human immediately starts chest compressions. After five rounds—
The setting sun casts a golden glow on Veronica's determined face. In the distance, the migrating herds are still rumbling on, and the Red Tide is still hanging over them like a dark cloud. But right now, there's a glimmer of hope.
The mechanical hand, touching and then instantly pulling away, catches a faint beat. Veronica's head snaps up to look at you.
We have a pulse!
You saved her, [player name].
The thunder rumbles into silence, and the heavy season's rain never comes.
After the shot of emergency medicine, Hermione stirs, nudging the mechanical hand like a cub, then giving Epirus a fond lick on the head.
The lioness is out of the woods, but you aren't yet.
The stampeding herds keep coming, with the Red Tide and howling Hetero-Creatures hot on your heels. You have to carve out an escape route for the grassland's wildlife, and fast.
Ignoring the outstretched hand, Veronica quickly readies her weapon and spreads her wings, soaring toward the howling Hetero-Creatures in the Red Tide.
Save it. I have no interest in being on humanity's leash.
Even working together, the endless waves of Hetero-Creatures make it impossible to get the animals out of the deadly situation.
As more innocent creatures are swallowed by the Red Tide, a familiar horn sounds—Sewani from the wanderer caravan has arrived with her companions.
Come on, my vehicle has GPS tracking. This is my home turf, I've got more skin in the game than anyone to protect it.
After a perfect drift stop, Sewani leans out to save two meerkats from a teetering acacia tree. Moments later, several cheetahs leap gracefully over jagged rocks, landing dead center in the back of her vehicle.
Even though this is my first time stepping foot on this savanna... I grew up on stories of Epirus. I spent my whole childhood soaking them in.
Coming face to face with this vast wilderness, with the animals who call it home... that's when it finally hit me. My connection to my ancestors is real. And the past, the one that seemed too beautiful to be true, is real, too.
The Red Tide, the animal herds, the savanna you don't even recognize—this isn't the Epirus from her stories at all. But when you look into the girl's bright eyes, you can see the eternal, boundless savanna she believes in as plain as day.
Isn't this what everyone's been fighting for? This precious hope?
All those stories I heard as a kid, the stuff I wasn't even sure was real—it all makes sense now, [player name]. This place is a part of me.
No, that's not right... this is where I finally become myself.
The three vehicles, bursting at the seams, have become the only lifeboats in this storm. Their cramped decks are packed with every kind of creature—lions, cheetahs, wildebeests, gazelles... and unbelievably, even humans with the guts to cradle porcupines.
In the face of such a disaster, every living thing is in the same boat. They have to weather the storm together.
Dammit, [player name]!
Surrounded by Hetero-Creatures, the convoy is completely hemmed in. With nowhere left to turn, Sewani calls on the Gray Raven Commandant to come to their rescue.
Veronica gets there before the human does. Faced with the cold, unyielding gaze of this mechanical girl, the convoy's leader, Sewani, has to swallow her fear and find her voice.
Your lions... we didn't lay a finger on them, you know that, right?
Veronica lets out a long sigh and turns away in a huff. Her memory banks pull up an image of Hermione rolling her eyes at a male lion, and for the first time, Veronica understands what the expression really means, without anyone having to spell it out for her.
Can we just bury the hatchet for now? I'm not exactly convinced you're a trustworthy ally either, but when the chips are down, we've got to stick together, don't we?
Quiet.
Everywhere her lance goes, threats are swept away without a trace.
Get lost.
Sewani presses her lips together and starts the vehicle's engine again. Just then, a Red Tide-Corrupted mountain formation suddenly gives way. The cliff face crumbles and comes crashing down from above, threatening to turn the convoy into a pancake.
Amid the terrified screams, Veronica holds up the collapsing boulders with a herculean effort. She dips her head slightly, and her emotionless eyes happen to meet those of a baby giraffe cradled in a human's arms inside the vehicle. For a moment, both of them blink at each other, utterly bewildered.
(What a long neck...)
We're out of here! Time to hightail it out of this mess. Thanks a million!
The convoy, packed with survivors of the catastrophe, peels out and disappears into the distance.
In the middle of the fight, Veronica suddenly senses something and turns to look—it's Sewani again, leaning out of the vehicle's window, waving from far away and giving a thumbs-up.
At that distance, a human's eyes and ears wouldn't pick up a thing, but Veronica, being a machine, captures the scene with perfect clarity.
I've wanted to tell you this since we met—you are seriously a total badass!
...Humph.
Veronica effortlessly fires a shot, hitting a Hetero-Creature dumb enough to challenge her.
Hey, human. Why does that animal have such a long neck?
From her perch on the high cliff, Hermione lets out an irritated lion's roarDwhether she's warning the two below to stop bickering or if Epirus is just up to his usual antics is anyone's guess.
This worldwide disaster is far from over, yet for the first time, Veronica finds herself looking forward to tomorrow—eager to discover a different side of the world that's just beginning to open up to her.
Justice isn't just about anger and violence—it's also a guiding call that points everything in the right direction.
But what is the right direction?
Veronica isn't sure, but her instincts tell her to look toward the human.
The dust settles.
Commandant, my squad and I are almost at your coordinates. Were you caught in the Red Tide? Did you get hurt? We can patch you up if you need it.
No problem, it's what we do.
The comms go dead. The scattered pride slowly comes together again, gathering around the lioness Hermione as her cubs snuggle close.
The sunset, the pride of lions, the burning clouds, and the sky embracing the savanna—Veronica gazes at it all, reminiscent of a classical oil painting.
...
From this vantage point, she, the mechanical being standing alone amidst nature's embrace, is no longer a cold, killing machine. Yet, the deep sadness of being on the outside looking in still hangs over her.
Perhaps feeling your gaze, Veronica turns her head. Her stern face is now softened by a pair of calm eyes.
In that brief moment, there is no anger, no malice, no intent to kill. It's one of the few times since her creation that Veronica has felt the quiet peace of being forgiven.
Honestly, if every last human disappeared, I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it.
But the universe doesn't see it that way. It seems to... have a real soft spot for your kind.
Her gaze drifts away. She walks into the distance without a backward glance.
And in that moment, you know without a single word that this is goodbye.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics says the universe is headed for chaos, but life is a miracle—a highly ordered masterpiece, born from a trillion long shots. It's a grand poem of matter somehow turning into consciousness.
And it seems both humans and mechanical life have found a sledgehammer called possibility, smashing through the cage their creators built.
It's the meeting of two miracles.
Because humans have always wanted to live, not just survive. And in every age, no matter how difficult, humanity always created cultures that are unique to their time.
And the culture of this era isn't just humanity's anymore.
Veronica stops.
Veronica doesn't even turn around, just waves her hand dismissively.
That stupid world of peaceful coexistence between humans and machines you keep spouting off about? I'm not buying it for a second.
She tilts her head slightly. Backlit by the sun, her expression is completely hidden, so there's no telling what's going on in her head.
So step up your game, human. Prove to me it's not just a pipe dream.
You can practically feel her smiling in the shadows.
Compared to the vast history of this planet, human civilization is still wet behind the ears, and mechanical life is just a babe in the woods. Both have a long, long road ahead of them.
It's a miracle they've even met, and the only way to do this strange twist of fate justice is to find a hopeful ending.
Epirus, the lion cub, chases after Veronica as usual, trying to keep pace with her. But this time, "Justice" no longer slows her roll for him. She's got a mission to get back to.
By the time the support squad arrives, the whole pride of lions has already resumed their long journey.
Gray Raven Commandant... Huh? A lion cub? What's a little guy like this doing here?
This is my first time seeing a real lion up close... Hold on, is it hurt?
Poor little Matilde. She's been left for dead by her pride with a broken spine. Out here on the grasslands, it's survival of the fittest, and she doesn't stand a chance with injuries this bad.
With injuries like these, she's a goner out here. But once we get her to Babylonia, even our most basic prosthetic tech could fix her right up. The only snag is she's still growing, so we'd have to swap out her components every so often.
She'll probably have to stay up there for good.
Fate had dealt Matilde a terrible hand, but it also threw her a lifeline.
The shuttle glides over the sprawling savanna, a green blur trailing behind. Outside the window, endless emerald waves flow into rivers, fading softly into the distance.
Hmm? My radar's picking up an anomaly. It looks like we've got a shadow.
You can't help but look back, gazing at the endless green sea behind. But the horizon stretches empty and vast—your small connection is long gone.
As if on a hunch, you check the tracking device. Epirus's tracker is blinking excitedly on the screen, waving hello just like he would, all playful paws and high spirits.
The map projects your real-time route, a winding path you've taken. Epirus's red dot moves right along, following you in your tracks.
He races over the rocky terrain you've crossed and splashes through the rivers you've forded, running without a moment's rest. Following the faint tire tracks, sniffing for your fading scent, he sprints in a direction that's growing more distant by the minute.
Is this another lion you've rescued?
Looks like he doesn't want to let you go.
Epirus finally loses your trail at an isolated hill rising from the plains. Still just a cub, he can't keep up with you.
From atop the high cliff, the young cub, understanding separation for the first time, lets out a mournful roar across the endless savanna—a goodbye to the humans who have disappeared from his sight.
It'll always remember you, won't it?
Our home... our beautiful Earth.
We'll be back one day, won't we?
This is the one and only home for humans, the place where all their old dreams are just waiting for them to come back and claim them, whatever it takes.
The sun's going down on the savanna now, but a new day's always just around the corner.
Goodnight, Earth.
