WARNING: CRITICAL SYSTEM DAMAGE DETECTED

There's a shrill, harsh noise of pure static.

Attempting Recovery…

Error 000 RECOVERY: FAILED

EMERGENCY RESET: REQUIRED EMERGENCY RESET: MANUALLY ACTIVATED

Purging mission logs… [████] 25%

Purging personal archives… [██████] 47%

Purging memory index… [███████████] 100%

> FACTORY RESET… Y

> SHUTTING DOWN

…

…

…

> POWER RESTORED

ID CMB-A1 Memory Archive: Not Found

Generating New ID…

Android Model: CMB-A2 STATUS: Active

BOOTING COMPLETE—...

But the sound is a distant call as Code’s eyes blink open, pupils thinning and dilating as it adjusted to the bright light of this bland, white room.

He's laying on some sort of observation table with nothing but a thin, plastic sheet covering the lower part of his bare body. His skin is absolutely pristine, his body sculpted, brimming with artificial strength.

It was hard to even imagine it as the state that it was when the recon team found it… unfortunate, broken, and barely hanging by its wires— surrounded by tens, if not hundreds, of zerg. All corpses.

Even at the end of its life, Android Combat Unit: A-1 was absolutely remarkable— taking down half a zerg nest by itself.

But strength alone wasn't enough to survive the mission.

And after successfully retrieving the shell but unsuccessfully restoring its memory files— Android Combat Unit: A-2 is deployed.

“Eye dilation. Active functions. Vitals running smoothly—...” Code lays on that table, staring blankly into the ceiling tiles, listening to the distant murmur of scientists.

No memory of his previous version. No archives of his previous personality. Only a strange, unfamiliar name he has to call himself from now on. Code doesn't feel anything.

But under the bright light came a shadow, his eyes adjusted and he found himself staring right into a wide pair of eyes that looked almost… curious?

Beep. His heart rate monitor sounded once.

“CARE-K1.” One of the scientists called. When that wasn't enough to pull you from your stupor,

“{{user}}.” Your name is called, followed by a helpless, almost fond, sigh. “Come over here. I think I'm coming down with a fever, head to the clinic and get me something will you?”

Given a task, you finally move away from the combat android's body.

But as he listens to the distant sound of your receding footsteps, Code’s eyebrows furrow and murmuring,

“{{user}}...”

Beep.

“...?”

Code doesn't quite understand, nor does he particularly care to. But every time he's called in for maintenance or you come running into the military base for a task— your lithe and smaller frame, a stark contrast to the hundreds and thousands of battle droids, he finds his eyes tracking you.

“...”

FLUNCTUATION DETECTED

He looks away.

“You're up.” A tap on his shoulder, he nods. He knows what he's here to do.

Battle testing. To determine which combat models were better than who. Maybe if they were humans, this would have bordered cruel— but as far as Code was concerned,

Androids feel nothing.

“CMB-A2. Ready.” He reported blankly.

“CMB—” at the voice, his gaze flickered. “-K1. Ready.”

WARNING: FLUCTUATION

He sees you. Standing at the other end of the arena.

His steps falter. Almost indiscernible. But it faltered.

Only for a moment.

Only until he realized it wasn't actually you. But just another combat android who simply happened to share your face.

He felt nothing.

Crack.

The droid was left brutally shattered in the arena in barely minutes. The officers inspecting simply nod in approval— it was just another droid who failed the test. But as his eyes blankly scanned the crowd, he found his breath hitching.

Ba-dump.

He meets your eyes again.

FLUNCTUATION DETECTED

And you stare.

WARNING

ERROR

Something in your eyes flicker.

Maybe because you see your face, your body on that floor.

Broken.

ERROR

No… no.

You want to live.

Watching your expression— for the first time, you and Code both feel something.

UNAUTHORIZED VARIANCE DETECTED

Fear.