Interloper-360°: Expanded Version

Trophy Mercs 10: Copilot

    The night sky lacks visible stars due to the city's light pollution. Still, all the neon billboards standing at skyscraper heights and multicolor windows of businesses and apartment complexes make it beautiful nonetheless. It even makes Malware's metal shine a little brighter, a little different.

    I remember the Vemalite book telling me that it's near impossible to tell what a Vemmy might be feeling at the moment since all of them are drastically different from each other frame-wise. If you want to read their emotions, you just have to get to know them and learn their specific ways of showing sadness, anger, and embarrassment. To me, Malware looks like he's content, maybe the equivalent of a smile. But why at such a bad time? Maybe I'm not as perceptive as I think I am.

    "Any luck filtering Bouncer's signal?" I ask. I hold his hand as I maneuver us on the sidewalk. Doesn't matter how late it gets in Xesowah, the crowds never thin out. Too much to do, and too many distractions to go to sleep.

    His visor glows blue, and his walking is clumsy and slow. He must not be able to see clearly when he has screens flashing in front of him. "His unique PVD address's first character matches several streams. I have to go through them one by one until the matches are identical."

    "Isn't there a way you can make that happen faster?"

    "I could try breaching protocol. But that risks an error and a restart. The fastest way this will get done is to let it run normally."

    My clothes are coated with bright pink light from catchy signs as we step into a more mature side of the city. Bars and clubs pump loud music, first muffled by their doors, then full blast as people walk in and out of them. I look around and notice a couple off to the side of a place, a Human and a Vemalite, kissing. I let go of Malware's hand.

    His visor goes back to normal. "Why'd we stop?"

    My eyes glance one more time at the couple, but I fully spin in place to pretend I'm scouting. "I'm thinking."

    "Care to share?"

    "Bouncer wouldn't be so dumb as to crash straight into the city, right? He must've nosedived close by and maybe wandered in here at the edge. We should check the city limit lines and keep an eye out for a crater with fire."

    "Or one of those long lines of destroyed ground. What are they called again?"

    "Canyons?"

    "Too big of a formation, but you get the idea."

    I lean against a nearby building, tired of being subtly pushed by crowds, and fold my arms across my chest. Malware does the same exact thing, the same pose too. The music being played from this place is so loud that it vibrates the wall we're leaning on. I catch myself tapping my foot to the beat.

    "How long will the signal tracker take to finish its subroutines?" I ask.

    "Hmm..."

    "Hmm?"

    His visor glows blue again and displays a digital frown. "Bad news. I flipped through the whole list and Bouncer's identity isn't listed. His PVD isn't sending a signal at all. Is he dead?"

    "Maybe. Maybe his PVD got fried only and he's still walking around."

    "Nev, that was the closest thing we had to track him down quickly. What are we supposed to do now? Call his name like some stray dog up and down the street?"

    I raise my arm and get my PVD real close to my mouth. "I'll radio the boys, tell them we can't find Bouncer and we'll be there soon."

    Malware suddenly puts a hand on my wrist and lowers it back down to my hip. I stare at him, and my jaw hangs open, as he stares back at me. The lights of the neon signs mix with the gentle blue glow around his body to make him look almost holographic.