Silence finally enveloped the ship, just near Velastra's orbit, now shrouded in storm clouds. Within the ship's belly, amid the scattered and tossed remnants of laboratory equipment, an old metal capsule blinked with a faint pulse of yellow light.

  A mechanical creak echoed. Something moved inside.

  Slowly, the capsule lid opened. Cold air hissed out, releasing a mist of white vapor that began to sink. A mechanical body, rusted and dull in several places but still functional, emerged. Its eyes, two pale yellow lenses, glowed faintly.

  It stood. Its body began to move, its first steps resembling a toddler learning to walk. Its mind was flooded with knowledge bit by bit, like a game loading. Then, a single instruction was etched into its mind:

  "Protect her."

  No other memories, no identity. Only the mission clung to its metallic thoughts. "What am I supposed to protect? Who is it? Why does everything feel so slow here?" muttered the worn-out robot within its mind.

  In another room of the ship, Emma sat on the floor, her back against a dead panel. Her gaze was blank, her skin covered in oil grime and dust, her silver-ash hair unkempt.

  Emma's hand reached into her pocket, pulling out a device containing her father's log entries. It still held the memories they had shared while working on their project.

  "Why did all this happened to me?" she whispered to herself, struggling to hold back her tears.

  No response. Only the sound of an old machine approaching slowly.

  Emma looked up.

  There, under the ship's dim light, stood a confused metallic figure. It's an old bot. Cracked. Dirty. But... alive.

  It stared at Emma with curiosity, tilting its head slightly, as if trying to understand who she was.

  "You..." Emma whispered in shock. Her father's logistics bot was supposed to have been destroyed along with him during the previous anomaly.

  The bot slowly raised its hand, placing it over its chest, and stood tall. It's metallic mind focused solely on the girl before it. It wanted to ask questions, but all it could manage was:

  "What are your orders?..." it said in a neatly composed mechanical voice. Inside its mind, it wondered, "What's wrong with this voice? Why am I saying that to her? I just want to know who I really am."

  Emma froze. Shock and confusion flooded her mind. Her father's final project, Project Peacebringer, an AI system meant to manage the world's order through networked thoughts, was supposed to have been destroyed along with him.

  Tears welled up in Emma's eyes. In an instant, memories of her father's mad experiments overwhelmed her mind and heart. This machine, meant to be their new hope, was now the only thing left—her father's final legacy.

  Reading the faded inscription on the bot's chest, "OR-715," Emma said, "From now on... I'll call you Ortis," lifting her face to meet the pale yellow eyes.

  Inside its metallic mind, questions mixed with a sense of gratitude and calm: "Ortis...? That's... an interesting name."

  "Come with me, Ortis. We have to descend to the surface," said Emma.

  They walked toward the ship's cockpit, sitting down like a pilot and co-pilot. Emma glanced at the seat beside her with teary eyes, remembering her father's warm company. Now, it was occupied by someone not even human.

  "Destination set. Target: Planet Velastra, Bravilla Complex. Ortis, help stabilize the secondary engine, access is on the front monitor."

  ***

  Arriving over Velastra, rain pouring down, two white patrol ships with "NEB" emblazoned on the sides approached, ready to inspect Emma's ship.

  "Remain calm, do not move. We will scan your vessel..." said the patrol officer.

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  With slight irritation, Emma muttered, "Hah, formalities. You really think this junk heap is important?"

  Ortis, confused by her attitude, thought, "What is wrong with this girl? Is she a criminal?"

  After a few moments, the patrol responded, "All clear. Welcome to Velastra. Report to the nearest Neburon facility if you have other matters," and then drifted off to another ship.

  They landed at docking station number 3, just outside Bravilla Complex, and disembarked, weaving through the filthy residential pathways. Velastra was no haven for low-class workers, unlike the elites lounging comfortably in the floating cities.

  Here, amidst heaps of electronic waste and ruined buildings, humanity clung to survival like parasites at Neburon's fringes. Emma led the way, her face hard though her steps were heavy. Ortis followed, his movements emitting soft metallic creaks.

  They reached an all-purpose store owned by Naren, an old friend of Emma's father.

  Naren squinted upon seeing Emma.

  "Haha... look who showed up. You're late, little girl. Where's your father now?" he called out loudly.

  Emma answered softly, "My father... I want to have him cremated properly."

  Naren looked at her for a long moment, sadness in his old eyes.

  "Alright, I'll handle it. Wait a second... KINA!! Emma's here. Anyway... you want something? Drinks are over there, just ask Tirta-bot. If you want food, wait a bit, Sammy's handing out food to the kids outside."

  Outside, Ortis watched small children playing in the dirty streets. A man offered them canned porridge from metal crates.

  Ortis scanned the food and detected it was unsafe due to the temperature. Moving carefully, he extended a small welding pipe from his arm and released a soft flame, warming the food.

  The children cheered with joy. From inside the store, Emma watched with a mix of emotions. There was something strange about the bot, it wasn't just following orders. There was... initiative. But she brushed the thought aside; other matters were more urgent.

  Naren approached Emma. "Emma... sorry, this might not be the best time, but you're a good kid. I'll be straight, your father promised to pay for some supplies a few days ago, but it seems he forgot. Could you settle it today before you leave? As a bonus, you can use the Virtumunch as much as you want today."

  Emma activated her Neumon band, projecting a hologram of her Neuchip account, and connected it to Naren's Neuchip to pay the credit.

  "Fine. I don't want to eat bland canned porridge anyway," she muttered.

  "Thank you, Emma. You're truly a good girl," said Naren warmly.

  That night, in a small side room reeking of oil and hot metal, Emma spoke with Kina, Naren's daughter and her friend since arriving at Bravilla. Kina wore tattered overalls, her limp from an old injury still noticeable.

  "What happened to your leg? Hunting Wedhs again? Those things can flip your ride with a single charge," Emma said, half-joking.

  "Yeah, something like that. Don't worry about it. But are you sure you want to go to the Neburon facility?" Kina asked, voice full of concern.

  Emma nodded. "I have to surrender Ortis. It's the only way I can get back into the floating city."

  Kina sighed but said nothing more.

  ***

  The next morning, they boarded Naren's old cargo truck. Ortis sat silently at the back, eyes always watching Emma.

  Upon arriving near the facility, they walked a bit, but Ortis continued observing Kina's gait.

  "She seems troubled by her leg... maybe I should offer help." He analyzed her movements, quickly diagnosing a minor joint dislocation.

  "Miss, you appear to be in discomfort. Allow me to assist you." He made a polite gesture.

  Kina hesitated, but Emma reassured her. "Let him."

  They stopped for a moment and let Ortis treat her. With a practiced move, Ortis pulled Kina's leg, resetting the joint. Kina cried out in pain briefly, then looked surprised.

  "The pain... it's gone. It feels much better," she murmured.

  Emma frowned, even more unsure about her decision.

  The Neburon facility stood amidst ruins. There was no warmth, only efficiency, bots and concrete shielding surface resources destined for the floating city.

  Emma surrendered Ortis to the two lightly armored security officers.

  "Officer Dornan here. What's your purpose at this facility?"

  "I wish to hand over this bot to Neburon, Division Draco Security," Emma answered nervously.

  Officer Dornan nodded slightly, then said, "Alright, but unfortunately, this is Neburon Vela Biological Division system territory. You'll have to wait a few hours for Division Draco to arrive."

  Another officer added, "For now, fill out this report and check in with the administrative Minis-bot."

  Ortis grew even more confused. "What is Emma doing? Why is she giving me to Neburon?" Before he could think further, the officers forcibly applied a seal, forcing Ortis into sleep mode. He collapsed, his lights fading.

  Emma walked away, her body heavy. In one hand, she clutched the submission report; in the other, her father's log.

  "May he always protect you, Emma, even after I'm gone..."

  Tears blurred her vision.

  Outside the facility, sitting on a cracked sidewalk under cold neon lights, Emma stared at the artificial sky of the floating city hanging above.

  Kina approached, carrying two cans of water.

  "So this is the soon-to-be elite citizen of the floating city? Why are you crying instead of celebrating?" Kina asked sarcastically.

  Emma remained silent, head down.

  "I thought we were supposed to hug and say goodbye," Kina teased.

  Emma clenched her teeth. "But at what cost?"

  She stared at her father's log. "I handed over the only thing he left for me... to them."

  Silence fell.

  "But you just handed him over, didn't you? Why not just tell them you changed your mind?" Kina said.

  Emma looked up. "You think Neburon is like your dad's store? Where you can just return something you don't want?"

  "Okay, sorry. Maybe you could sneak him back somehow. Anyway, let's head home. I've still got work to do. You want to wait here for hours?" Kina said, trying to cheer her up.

  But a new resolve was already burning inside Emma.