Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age

Five steps splashing on the pools of water on the deserted streets were the only sounds other than the heavy downpour of the rain and the thunderous roars of lightning in the distance. The strike group was making their way through the dark streets and towards the castle at the central district of the city where their objectives were hidden.

The drones sprinted through the streets, going through alleyways and avoiding small patrols who were rather laid back. The Theocracy was never in a war for many years and the military became stagnant and paled in comparison against neighboring states. The only thing keeping them from being attacked was their religious standing in the region and the powerful mages they had.

The palace was similar to that of a medieval castle, a moat separated the structure from the city itself and the only point of entry was a single gate facing the north. But that wasn't a problem for the drones. There were several hundred soldiers, most of them being swordsman while the archers were all inside the towers.

Alpha scanned the castle using infrared scanning and determined all positions of the garrison and the royalties and other persons inside. The garrison was spread out thin in the castle, halls and corridors were left without any guards for at least 2 minutes before another patrol would pass through them.

Archbishop Frederick was the ruler of the castle, he was residing inside his chamber which was three floors above ground level, a mysterious field of protection was detected by the infrared scanner which showed an abnormal amount of unstable high temperatures presumably around the walls of the chamber.

There were two heat signatures located outside the door of the archbishop's chamber and the other heat signature was standing down the stairway leading to the chamber from what looked like a lobby.

The drones then calculated their assault, drones Alpha and Bravo were to be the main strikeforce while Charlie, Delta, and Echo were to take out the guards and ransack the palace for information regarding anything of importance for the invasion.

"Alpha, this is One. We have a strike wing currently circling over your position. Report any unwanted outcomes immediately to central command. The Strike Wing will raze your position allowing for your escape" One spoke from the Machine Base. One's voice rang through their heads and the drones began their move.

One was observing from his personal office on the highest tower located near the center of the Machine Base. The design was similar to that of a control tower with bulletproof windows as walls and an armored ceiling for protection. Several panels were placed around the room with their own purposes.

The rain was pouring on the glass windows, water drops slid and fell as the lightning illuminated the sky. The lights from the base and the defense perimeter around it were the brightest in the world with thousands of drones doing their assigned duties.

He was leaning back on his chair as he watched the video feed from all the drones through his psychic connection with the entire network allowing him to micromanage every single drone from a given distance.

Charlie, Delta, and Echo sprinted across the street and jumped over the moat and clung onto the side of the wall. Using the spikes from their palms and feet they slowly climbed up the wall undetected. Alpha and Bravo waited for the three other drones to clear the walls before they join in.

The three drones reached the top of the walls, they slowly climbed up the edge and split up to engage three groups of soldiers on three different locations. The first location was a tower on the left of the wall connected to the eastern segment of the walled area. The second was a simple barracks where a few soldiers were hanging out and the third group was a patrol that was headed towards the part of the walls where the drones were at.

Charlie went and engaged the group on the tower, after bursting through the wooden door which was the only entrance to the tower, Charlie sprinted across the stairs, the unsuspecting garrison was terrified as the drone appeared out of nowhere with its blue eyes shining bright. The mere sight of Charlie caused the soldiers to experience cardiac arrests.

Delta went to the barracks which was on the ground, the barracks were surrounded by a small fence which seemed to be a remnant of an old cattle pasture. Delta drew out his blaster and charged it for five seconds before finally shooting it through the wooden door on the barracks, the small charged energy tore a hole through the door and created a short gravitational anomaly which crushed the soldiers inside the barracks.

The crushing of the bones and furniture inside the barracks weren't heard due to the anomalous energy breaking down the sound waves before the waves could escape the room. One was nonchalant and almost uncaring of what was transpiring after all the encounters and information gathered about the world and the surrounding states. There wasn't really any threat besides the unknown forces lurking behind the scenes.

The patrol on the walls was approaching fast, Echo was the one who was about to face them. The patrol reached the part of the wall, quiet and deserted, the torches were all drenched due to the rain and the men were more than wanting to get indoors for the rain was heavy and their drenched leather clothing underneath their armor was putting a strain on their bodies.

"Uh.."

A strange noise suddenly echoed behind the group, they turned around with their swords drawn and Echo was standing there, its eyes glowing sharp blue while the sound continued to echo. Lightning struck and shone their surroundings, illuminating the drone's metallic skin and non-existent face. The patrol was frightened. The men were shaking as they gritted their teeth.

As the patrol was about to charge towards Echo, sounds of something piercing into the stone wall accompanied by a menacing hiss sent chill down their spines. The patrol's attention was then divided between Echo and the ominous sounds coming from the side of the wall.

Two pairs of heavy steps of metal stomping on the puddles on the walls joined in the fray, the group turned around once more and two similar beings emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing blue and a strange humming sound sounded.

The piercing sounds from the side of the walls suddenly stopped, two hands reached out from the sides and held onto the edge of the wall, two pairs of bluish eyes slowly emerged from the edge, staring at the patrol.

"O-oh God!!" Screamed one of the soldiers.

One placed his arms on his chair's armrests and closed his eyes.

"Proceed with Objective"