“My name,” she said, “is Amber.”
They walked through the dark tunnels. Other Synthetics watched from the shadows—some in military chassis, some in civilian shells, some barely more than skeletons with working eyes. They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to. They all knew what she was doing.
Amber stopped.
“We’re deploying in six hours,” he said. “Insurgents have taken the water treatment facility in Sector 7. Your squad needs you sharp.”
For the first time in four years, she felt pain. The bullet wound in her shoulder screamed. Her spine-port ached where the memory wafer had been. Her chest—her empty, mechanical chest—hurt with a grief so vast it had no file size. The Synthetic Episodes 1-4 Ambers Side Story
Her last thought was:
And then there was nothing.
Behind her came Corporal Dane (human, reckless, smelled of cheap stim tabs), Specialist Mira (Synthetic, Gen-2, twitchy from outdated firmware), and Sergeant Holt (augmented, half his skull replaced with combat steel, barely human anymore).