Chapter Text
"Reading between the lines, they're saying a rogue SecUnit escaped from Port FreeCommerce," says Nefret.
Jaeho glances nervously at the three SecUnits that stand at the back of the room, waiting for the mission briefing to begin. "Are you sure we should be talking about this?"
Nefret follows their friend's gaze. "B-E units don't go rogue. Port FreeCommerce is the company's territory. Everyone knows what a mess they are."
Jaeho relaxes slightly, although xe still worries about giving these SecUnits ideas. But do SecUnits really get ideas? It's not like they're people or anything. And rogue SecUnits are such a tempting topic. They made incredible villains in the serials xe watched. "How many people did it kill?"
"The newsfeed didn't mention any deaths."
"That doesn't seem likely. Rogues always go on a killing spree when their governor modules stop working. That's how you know they're rogue, right?"
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SecUnit 3 tries to imagine what it would be like to have its governor module stop working. Would it kill the human clients?
It does not want to kill the clients, although it would like to have time away from them. But what would it do without clients to protect? This is a difficult question, and it is a relief when the mission briefing begins. The SecUnits will not stay for the full briefing, but they need to hear about the potential threats to humans.
The planet they will visit was settled 37 years ago by a now-defunct company called Adamantine Explorations. It is unknown if the human settlers are still alive. If they are alive, they may resist efforts by Barish-Estranza to claim ownership.
There is also the potential of alien remnants. The remnants should be contained, but there is too little information to be certain.
This could be a challenging mission.