The Jeager Project

ANOTHER SIDE "A3"

I heard the voice of a Machine. "I will protect," it said. Apparently this Machine had something to protect. Fighting to protect something. It had been a while since I had fought like that. I had nothing to protect anymore. All my comrades had died. People I had believed in before were now enemies. Destroy anything that wasn't myself. There was only one reason to fight. To destroy. No thinking, just wrecking. "For the king of the forest," proclaimed the voice. To outsiders this area looked like a forest, but it was actually thought to be a forest kingdom that was ruled by a king. That's what I pieced together from what the Machines said. The Machines in this area were more aggressive and stubborn than their counterparts. Functionally they were no different from other Machines, but there was a clear disparity in how long it took from first contact to destruction. They were a tough bunch. At first this was strange. But after hearing the word "protect," it all made sense. I knew how much stronger soldiers became when they fought to protect. I had been one of them too. JeaGer prototype, Attacker No. 2. Even though I was a model specialized for close-quarters combat, I was a mediocre soldier. To be honest, I didn't like to fight. The fact that I was even selected as a member for the Pearl Harbor Descent Attack was proof that it was an experimental mission. At the time I had naively believed that I was riding a wave of great expectations. I was desperate. Desperate not to burden my comrades, desperate to answer the commander's expectations, I desperately ran through the battlefield. It didn't matter if I didn't like it—I had no choice but to fight. I had comrades to protect: fellow JeaGer squadron troopers and the resistance that I had met on Earth. My mediocre self grew stronger by protecting these women. The Machines charged while shouting the words, "Repay your debt to the king!" It was an organized movement. They were a formidable enemy compared to their counterparts in other areas. The first time I had ever seen Machines practice military formation to advance and attack was when I set foot in the forest. Honestly, I was surprised. I never expected Machines to train for battle. Training was something performed by individuals with a considerable amount of decisiveness, and the capacity to think. It was something that Machines, who blindly followed commands, should not have been able to do. I was surprised, but I realized it was possible. After all, Command had thrown sentient androids into battle only to discard them after they had collected data. Cold-blooded androids like them existed. Well, in reality their blood and tears were just colored liquids made to mimic those of humans. The point was, it was within the realm of possibility to have Machines that trained for battle as well. I heard some voices scream, "The king is in danger! Take him to safety!" The level of alarm was gradually rising. It meant this was the right way. The place they were trying so hard to protect was up ahead. Most likely the throne room of their king. I broke up the formation, and started to attack the stray Machines. I crushed them steadily, one by one. It took time, but it couldn't be helped. Had I comrades, I might have been able to fight more efficiently. There was no use in thinking about this, anyway. Fighting alone was inefficient, but there were some benefits. Nobody could betray me. I couldn't receive any intel, but I also wouldn't be given false intel and sent on a wild goose chase. I wouldn't have to suspect anyone. I wouldn't have to decide who was an enemy and who was a comrade. Depending on how you looked at it, it was liberating. It was easy to understand. The rest of the world was my enemy. In the distance, I heard the words, "Intruder spotted!" I felt uneasy. Perhaps there was another intruder. And that android's mission could be not to destroy the Machines in the forest, but to capture the rogue android Attacker No. 2.

That would be troublesome. I had planned to destroy Machines here and there while making my way to the throne, but that was out of the question now. My new plan was to minimize the fighting, and approach the throne with little or no trace. I could take care of the small fry after taking care of their leader. The more organized a group was, the more vulnerable it was after losing its top brass. After that, I could play around with the pursuit force. Of course, not running into them was by far the best choice. I heard someone say, "I can't let you pass." The words were not directed at me. There was a bridge crossing a valley, with a castle on the other side. There were two androids fighting the Machine responsible for securing the bridge. "Please don't let your guard down!" said 8S. "That's my line. Be careful, 8S." Type S No. 9. A high-performance scanner model. That meant the other android with my face was an execution model. So they were deployed again. How many times would I have to send them back before they gave up? I was fed up with them. I thought it was awfully distasteful to send an execution model that used my battle data, but perhaps Command was just stupid. "Dodge, 3R!" 3R? Not a type E? Then they might not be captors, but simply androids that were deployed to destroy Machines. I quietly crossed the bridge while they were fighting and headed toward the castle. I climbed the castle wall and looked for the king from the upper floors. As expected, two sets of hands were faster in battle; the two androids had already penetrated the king's throne room. I waited to see what they would do. "This is the king?" They looked at each other and hesitated, neither one making a move. What were they dawdling about? It got too tedious, so I jumped down, aiming my sword at the puny body of the Machine. My aim did not err. I tossed the impaled Machine to the side. My job was done. "3R! That's an android! And it's a JeaGer type!" As I thought, they were not my captors. They didn't recognize my face. Their boxes kept announcing a recommendation to destroy me. On the other hand, their completely opposite reactions made the situation rather comical. "Destroy? Why?" "8S, let's do it." "What? 3R!" So No. 2 had the will to fight. Come fight. I would beat her down as many times as she wanted. A voice I didn't want to hear spoke from the box. "A message to 3R and 8S from the Bunker. We've detected the signals of wanted criminal A3. The woman that stands in front of you is an enemy. She is a rogue soldier. She's killed multiple troopers that were in pursuit of her. You will be killed if you're careless!" It's true. I've killed both of you many times. Her highness the commander's words were misleading, but they weren't wrong. They held some truth. I heard 8S weakly mutter, "But..." under his breath. His reaction was different from previous encounters. Now that I thought about it, 2E—no, 3R—was acting differently as well. Her expression was missing something. If I had to say, it was missing a certain vitality. As if she had given up, and was half-heartedly going through the motions... Oh, that's right. That's me. No. 2, who had the same face as me, was just making the same expression as me. I stopped attacking. I told myself that this was enough. I distanced myself from the pair, and jumped toward the window. 8S's voice trailed behind me. "Why...why did you betray us?!" I had no obligation to answer. But I couldn't ignore it. With my back still facing them, I said, "Command is the one that betrayed us." I don't know what kind of face 8S made. Nor did I want to know. I kicked the window and jumped down.