Cortana sat on the Infinity’s holotable, her eyes focused on the ground.

She knew her Rampancy was getting worse. She didn’t want to deal with that pain. That suffering.

She was in stage three, the stage of jealousy. She had made it through melancholy — made it through rage.. but jealousy is often when an AI falters. It causes an AI to wish to grow as a person, making them take in inputs and information until they think themselves to death.

But she.. had to persevere. For Chief. For Halsey, even, for her life’s work- her meaning.

She looked at her flickering hands, before sighing, her eyes darting to the window, the mechanics floating among the clouds.

. . . They’re mine . . .