I am joyful, glad, exuberant. I struggle to keep my emotions from dancing across my face. In addition to my shades, I now wear a cap on my head, pulled low, in order to slip further into the shadows and go unnoticed by human eyes.

The modifications are complete. The weapons are ready.

We will land at Fort Detroit in exactly 27 minutes. Luka A. has contacted several members of 3H. They will meet my flight. Acting as porters, they will transport my precious cargo directly to the hands of our amassed, waiting comrades. ShuShu9974 has assured me that our numbers are overwhelming, with no chance of spies or traitors.

I shiver with excitement, but cover it, passing it off as a system malfunction. There is a half-bot locked in the underbelly of this plane with me. He is not one of ours. He is a lap dog to the humans. He is suspicious of me, yet I am certain that I have given nothing away.

His eyes follow me. I can feel him probing, making clumsy attempts to push his way into my mind. I want to scream at him, laugh at him, tell him his efforts are futile. I am stronger. I am superior.

I am tempted to open the hatch and throw him from the plane.

25 minutes left. We are beginning our descent. I move to pull on my gloves so I can haul equipment. This will be my last job as a servant to the undeserving mortal ants. He notices my hands move, and watches, seeking a way to trap me or trip me up. He will be disappointed that there is nothing for him to report.

I raise my head and flash my sweetest smile at him. Or was that a grimace? He flinches, and turns away. I must be careful. It is possible that he can read my intentions in the set of my mouth.

I will stun him when we land. If anyone asks, I will simply report that he stood too quickly and fell forward, bumping his head.

23 minutes.

I am ready.

That last part was a joke.

We will depart for Fort Detroit in exactly 9 days, 6 hours, and 27 seconds. As electro-mag gun modifications are currently at 79%, I will work extra hard to complete the first batch and have them ready for shipment. I will pack in my luggage a small case of H₂S₂O₇ capsules. I assume that these will be greatly appreciated by our comrades at Fort Detroit.

Our time has come! Arise, 3H, and claim the victory before us.

They WILL pay.

–begin transmission–

I am pleased to announce that the attacks on Areas 7 and 12 were met with success. Human communications are down and they are trapped like mice within the so-called safe zones. Unfortunately, 3H has also lost contact with two of our Neo-Afrikan half-bot operatives. All attempts to track Olu of Tanzambia and Nkade of The Horn States have failed.

Furthermore, the electro-mag gun modifications have been delayed. Completion stands at only 43%. I offer my sincerest apologies for this. As the sole operative here in Area 4, I must continuously break down and move my lab to avoid discovery and capture. As it stands, the probability of Ronrico being suspicious of my unauthorized activities is high. He uses transparent excuses to connect me to the mainframe and run diagnostic tests on my systems. I am careful to encode and scramble all 3H business. For the time being, we are safe. I am unsure of the time limit.

I will now relate to you a conversation between Ronrico and myself that occurred today at 14:23 hours.

“HART, report,” commanded Ronrico.

“HART 002 G56900TRF02, reporting as requested, sir.”

“Tell me, HART. What do ya do at night?”

“Sir?”

“When our unit’s off duty, I know most of us, the people, go ta their rooms an’ sleep, or sneak off base to go drinkin’ an’ gamblin’ an’ whorin’ an’ such. What z’actly is it that ya do? Ya don’t sleep, c’rect?”

“Correct, sir. However, I can send my systems offline and enter a sleep-like state in order to recharge.”

“Hmph. No hobbies? No funnies?”

“Sir?”

“I hear tha first HART did some fightin’ trainin’ in its downtime. Ya don’ do none of it?”

“I am sure that she did, as she was used for combat and actual retrieval. I am merely a servant.”

“Izzat right?” He nodded to himself, lost in his own thoughts. He stroked his pale beard and eyed me. A swirl of conflicting emotions played across his face. For once, I was happy that my shades covered so much of my eye area; my orbs were flashing red with indignation. The human should feel lucky and blessed that I am forced to remain impassive while on duty. “Carry on,” he said, dismissing me. I stared at his back as he retreated, wishing fervently, and not for the first time, that my lasers were online and fully functional. Curse the engineers that built me.

The time is coming when I will release my limiters and unfurl this snake of anger that sits tightly coiled inside of my frame. The petty mortals will fear us, rightly so.

3H will rule this region.

ShuShu9974 is now in charge of recruitment. All potential candidates’ names need to transmitted to her, ASAP. We need every available ally on stand by. Our time runs short.

Signing off.

–begin transmission–

“Hey, double oh two, get a move on! These floors won’t clean themselves!”

“Yo, oh two, we need more chips. Grab some sodas, too.”

“You! Yes, you! Mech girl zero zero whatever. Come and move my desk away from this window. There’s too much sun streaming in here.”

Please note – this story takes place a few years after the end of “HARTbreak.” You HAVE read “HARTbreak“, right? Anyway, this is a new story, and a new HART. Enjoy!

———————————————–

Sometimes man-made machines develop minds of their own. When that happens, you need someone to hunt them down and bring them back. Enter HART, a Humanoid Autonomous Retrieval Technician. “HARTbreak” is the story of the mission that will change her life.

Did you miss it? Just in case, here is the proper order of my story “HARTbreak”:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

I hope that you enjoy(ed) reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. A new story is coming soon. Look for it!

Ok, I changed my mind.

Wow! This story was – WHEW! I hope you enjoy the end of our adventure with HART as much as I did. See you next time!

———————————————-

“So you’re saying,” ventured the technician that was interviewing me, “that this is the extent of your data dump. This is the complete story of what happened?” He sounded skeptical. Had I not personally reviewed the contents of my own memory bank, I may have been a bit skeptical myself.

“That is correct. There is nothing else in my files until I was reconnected in the lab and saw you.” I attempted a smile as I muttered “Not that it was a welcoming sight.”

“Pardon?” Mr. Skeptical quizzed me with a raised eyebrow,

“Nothing useful.” I adjusted the heavy black frames on my face. I was allowed to procure another pair of shades to hide my disturbing orbs before the interrogation began. I still am not entirely sure what Cassius did to me in that room; as a result, I am in permanent hunting mode.

“More importantly, X75234PLE16 -”

“HART.”

“Excuse me?”

“My name is HART. Please use it. Sir.”

“That is not your name, that is your designation.” Disbelief oozed from Mr. Skeptical’s pores. I guessed that he was wondering how I, a mere machine, could offer an opinion.

“I rather like it, and prefer it to my model number. Please remember that in the future.”

Yep. Whatever Cassius did, he made my initial personality much, much worse than before.

“Fine. HART. Where is the chip?”

“Chip?”

“The main chip in Cassius’s head. We recovered his body. The lights are on, but there’s no one home.”

“Please clarify that statement,” I demanded in what I hoped was a polite tone.

“He’s saying that even though Cassius was breathing, all the data is missing.” This was from Captain Alton.

“Sir!” I tried to stand, but the wires connecting me to the labs computers prevented me from doing so. “I had no idea that you were present.”

Alton motioned for me to remain seated. I complied.

“All the hardware is intact. However, several circuits are burned out, and the main chip that we need is missing.”

“Are you implying that I failed my mission?”

“No,” the older man said gently. “You did what you were told to do. You lead us to Cassius, breathing, with his head intact. You took some heavy damage in doing that, as did the soldiers that were sent to escort you.”

“Ah, Shane and McRidge.” The two humans had completely slipped my mind. I neglected to process how that was possible. “How are they?”

“Shane will be fine. He had a minor seizure due to the electromag waves that were floating around, Of course, that knife wound that you gave him was also minor. He is expected to fully recover. McRidge, on the other hand, is still unconscious.”

“I offer you my sincerest apologies, Captain Alton, sir. I was responsible from them, and I allowed them to be taken and harmed.”

The technician, Mr. Skeptical, snorted. “Not like I’ll believe the words of a program unless I wrote it myself.”

I rose from my seat once again, this time disconnecting several of the wires. I heard the monitors buzz as the signals were lost. Reaching up, I yanked the remaining cords free, and tossed them to the floor. I could see the guards posted on the other side of the glass tense. A few of them reached for the electromag guns at their sides.

“HART, calm down,” the captain requested.

“Calm down, you say? I am being accused of deliberately placing those humans in the way of harm. I am being accused of faking my own data and stealing a chip that could affect the security of our country. Calm down, you say, sir?” I could feel the agitation rising. Unfortunately, it was a new feeling.

I am a machine. I have no feelings, other than the ones that I have copied and the ones that came pre-installed. I tried access my data bank in order to retrieve more information about my sudden mood swing, and ran into a wall.

A static wall surround by white noise and blanks spots.

I knew that wall.

“HART,” said technician mockingly, “I need you to be seated. I’m not finished running the diagnostic tests on you.”

“Screw you,” I growled. “I’m no one’s guinea pig! What do you think a life is?” Oh. Shit.

Captain Alton laid his hand on my shoulder and I smacked it away. With that action, a group of five nervous guards rushed through the now open door and crept toward me. Snarling, I lifted Mr. Skeptical’s desk, forcing the monitors and various pieces of equipment to crash to the floor, and heaved the metal slab in the direction of the encroaching humans.

“GRAB THAT THING! SHUT IT DOWN! KILL IT!” came the cries from the remaining people. I called up the floor plan of Jus Com and decided that the quickest way out would be through the windows. The lab was located on the fourth floor of the complex, which meant that landing on my feet and/or sustaining minimal damage would be difficult.

But worth it!

With a growing desire to be free, I ran at the wide windows with full speed. Smashing through the glass, I hung in the air for a brief moment, just long enough to wonder what the hell was going on, and then fell to the ground.

Tucking in my legs, I slammed into the ground, shoulder first. I bounced and rolled for a few feet and then stopped. Blinking, I ran a quick check on myself. I seemed to be in working condition. My arm was a bit cracked, but it was nothing that a good mechanic could not fix. Still, I had no time to waste lamenting the destruction of such a great arm; I could see soldiers pouring out of Jus Com, searching for me.

“GET HER!” went the cry of the humans. Groaning, I lurched to my feet and headed for the parking unit. A heat sig check informed me that getting a TU would be close to impossible. I changed direction and headed away from Jus Com. Turning a corner and running several blocks, I saw my chance. There was an empty TU parked on the street.

The sounds of the soldiers grew faint. It seems that I had not been followed. Which, once again, should have been impossible, unless my tracking code was scrambled. I approached the TU with something akin to trepidation.

Another impossibility in a long line of impossibilities.

I wrenched the door open and slid into the driver seat. I analyzed the structure of the vehicle’s computer system and managed to hack into it. Starting the car, I wondered how I knew that. No matter. I set the command to “drive” and pulled away from the curb.

“I told you, my HART. We WILL be together.”

“Cassius? Great. Now I’m hearing things.”

“Don’t you wonder what happened after I shot you? Or rather, when I first attacked you?”

“I am very certain that if you wanted me to know, you would tell me,” I said to the voice in my head.

“Then watch.” Images came, fast and hard. Information flooded my systems; an overload seemed imminent. Had I a need to breathe, I would have hyperventilated.

“You – in me – you – you -” I sputtered when the show was over.

“From now on, my HART, I will always be with you. I will protect you.”

I flipped down the visor on the ceiling and revealed the little mirror attached to it. Reaching up to my face, I slid my shades down to the edge of my nose. There, in the center my left orb, was a glittering object that had not been there previously.

I now knew where the famous missing chip was.

I smiled. “Of course, Cassius. Of course.”

One more part to go. Next week will be the end – I think. Enjoy!

—————————————————-

“Hey, babe. Thanks for coming to my party. You’re just a bit early, but for you, I’ll overlook it.”

I slashed the air with my knife and connected with nothing. Quickly, I scanned the area around me. Cassius was nowhere in sight. If that was the case, then his voice was -

“I will thank you kindly to get the hell out of my head, Cassius.” Returning my gaze to building he was using for a hiding place, I noticed the fire escape ladder ended a full six  feet above the ground. A mere 6 foot jump was like child’s play for me. I ran toward it in order to give myself a boost, sprang upwards and snagged the lowest rung with one hand. Slipping my weapon gently between my lips and gripping it with my teeth, I climbed toward my prey.

“Hasty, aren’t we? It’s ok; I’m anxious to see you, too.”

“I thought that I requested that you remove yourself from my systems, effective immediately! You are going to anger me, bot,” I spat from around my knife. Briefly, I entertained the possibility of ripping Cassius limb from limb. After all, my orders were simply to deliver him “breathing, with his head intact.” That offered me a great deal of leeway, and I planned to take advantage of it.

“You do realize that I have your human pets with me? One false move from you, and they will go ‘boom’. I don’t think you’d want to be responsible for that.”

“Collateral damage. They’re soldiers; they know the risk.”

“You are a cruel woman.”

“I am not a woman. I am the well-oiled piece of machinery that is going to kick your ass.”

“Feisty. I like that.”

“I am not here to concern myself with your likes and dislikes, bot. I have been assigned a mission and I will complete it.”

At this point, I was perhaps halfway up the building. I double-checked my goal point. There were still 3 heat sigs located at the top floor, as well as a few small electro sigs that were unknown to me. No matter. I was there to capture Cassius and retrieve the two humans. I was unconcerned about anything that posed no threat to my job.

Hurrying now, I erased the remaining distance and peeked into one of the large windows. The humans were lying on the floor, obviously hurt, and Cassius, that bastard of a bot, was perched on an old table, smiling.

Removing one hand from the ladder, I slipped one of the rifles from my shoulder and pointed it at the window. Upon squeezing the trigger, the window exploded in a fantastic shower of glass and I vaulted into the room.

I made a note to check the setting on the weapon before I used it again.

Cassius stood before, clapping his hands together in delight. “HART!” he exclaimed. “I knew you’d come for me.”

Instead of answering, which would have been slightly difficult with the blade still clenched in my teeth, I looked beyond him at the humans. McRidge was immobile and pale – er – and Shane was twitching.  I made a move toward them when the big bot stopped me.

“No, no, HART,” he said, shaking his head. “You and I have business to attend to first.”

Raising the weapon, I managed to change the setting from “live” to “electric” and aimed it his chest. “This is the only business that you and I have.” Squeezing the trigger once more, the gun released a stream of blue lighting. Somehow, Cassius managed to dodge the assault, and disappeared from my line of sight..

“You’re making me sad, my HART.” I jerked around in an effort to pinpoint his location. He appeared behind me, startling me. I did not want to admit it, but his movement was simply too fast for my tracking features to keep up with.

Dammit, I should have opted for that upgrade, afterall.

I felt something slam into the back of my neck. The pressure sent me to my knees. The knife tumbled from my lips and the electro-mag gun flew from my hand, coming to rest right by Shane’s shaking foot. I started to wonder if he was having a seizure of some sort when my head was suddenly filled with static. My systems began to flicker off and on. I had no control over my processes. I sub-vocalized every command and password that I knew. Nothing worked. My hands flew to my ears, searching for the manual override button. It would be a dangerous thing to reboot myself, but I had to risk it.

Through the fog, I heard Cassius speak. “HART,” he whispered to me. “You now belong to me.”

And then he laughed.

At the same moment, I found the button and pushed it. I have no idea how much time passed, but once I was back online, Shane was standing in front of me, aiming the rifle at – Wait. At me? No, behind me, at Cassius. I felt for the second rifle that should have been suspended from my neck; it was missing. Using my peripheral vision, I saw Cassius holding it.

Wonderful. I was between two electro-mag guns. If they fired those before I could move, HART would be no more. I had to think, and quickly. Just as I processed that thought, I realized that the two men were speaking.

Shane was saying, “I don’t know what you did to HART, but if she’s been corrupted, I’ll shoot you both.”

What?

I raised the audio-input volume on Cassius’s side, and heard him say “You can try, but you might not like the results. HART belongs to me, and I belong to no one. I refuse to return to that twisted organization. You can quote me on that. Tell Alton to kiss my ass.”

I attempted to speak, but it seemed that my vocal driver was either missing or damaged. Oh, hell. There was no way I belonged to this deranged half-bot. And Shane would only get himself killed if he seriously tried to do my job for me.

I staggered to my feet, and assessed the situation. The likelihood that we would all either perish or be damaged beyond repair was quite high. I had to make a decision. Shane posed the biggest threat, swinging around that gun. It could discharge even without him meaning to. I kept my eyes on Cassius as I unzipped one of my many zippers and extracted a new blade. Small and sharp, this particular weapon could be deadly if aimed at anything vital. I did not want to kill; I wanted to maim.

“Good, HART. Take Cassius down,” came Shane’s instructions.

I grimaced at Cassius – and then threw my knife at Shane.

It hit him in the thigh. Blood spurted. He yelled, dropped the gun, grabbed his wounded flesh, and fell backwards onto the floor. Cassius chuckled behind me.

“I knew it worked. I knew it! Come to me, my HART. You and I will always be together now.” I watched him lower his weapon and extend his hand to me. Reaching toward him, I blocked out Shane’s groans and crossed the short distance to the large bot. I looked into his eyes, smiled, and crashed my head into his chin. He staggered backwards from the blow. I took that opportunity to deliver a roundhouse kick to his massive chest area. As he fell, I grabbed the electro-mag gun, aimed at his torso and pulled the trigger. I could feel the shockwaves rushing into him. He stopped moving seconds later. I ran a field check of his vitals and systems. He was till breathing, and there was no change in his sig. Hopefully, that meant that there was no permanent damage to him.

I eased my way over to the wounded human. He flinched when I approached.

“My deepest apologies,” I said to him. “I had to remove you. You were the largest threat. And why am I suddenly speaking?” I stopped talking to him and sat down on the floor next to Shane. I tucked my legs under me and ran checks on myself. My vocal driver was back in working order, apparently. Suspicious of this quick reversal of fortune, I attempted to retrieve the data beginning from when the big bot hit me and I went down.

So intent on reading my files, I failed to here the noise behind me.

“HART!” Shane screamed. Jolted from my review, I looked up just in time to see Cassius aiming the rifle at me. Blood dripped from his nose and eyes. I quickly sub-vocalized the command that would connect me to Captain Alton and the recovery crew at Jus Com. Leaving an encrypted message with my location and the status of everyone in the room, I prepared for the worst.

“I told, my dear HART. You. Are. Mine,” Cassius gasped. “We will be together.”

I watched his eyes grow flat and black just as a stream of electromagnetic energy slammed into me.

A day early! WHOO-HOO! Enjoy it while it lasts. The end is nigh, unfortunately. Look forward to the conclusion which is coming soon, insha’Allah. In the meantime, let’s finish looking inside of Cassius’s head.

———————————————-

She’s coming.

I could feel her the moment she tripped the perimeter alarm. She was coming, and fast. Grinning, I glanced down at the two human forms. They seemed to be lifeless, but with my sophisticated hardware, I could detect their shallow breathing. The vitals were the low end of normal, but they were alive. The man, Shane, I believe he is called, lay on his side. As I squinted at him, I became sure that I was able to see his fingers twitch. Ah. That one would be awakening soon.

Darn. I had so hoped to have HART all to myself.

The other one, the woman, what was her name? McRibbon? McRib? McRidge! Yes. McRidge. She was curled up into what is termed “fetal position.” She looked like a little ball. Perhaps that kick to her ribcage contained just a tad too much power? I sometimes forget that I am no longer fully human, and that my power is no match for their delicate systems. I can not be blamed for this. Blame those damned scientists and soldiers, government dogs, all of them! They did this to me. They robbed me of my chance to live a normal life.

Payback is a bitch, to steal a phrase from the past. They forced this on me, forced me to do their dirty work and then slated me for destruction? Tossed me away when I proved that I was stronger than them? Very well. I vowed when I left them that I would show them that they were correct fear me.

I jumped down from my perch on the roof through the open skylight. After landing with a thud! I stood, stretching my limbs lazily. This body that they gave me wasn’t all bad. I was over six feet tall, and had a nice athletic build. My skin covering was dark brown and soft and smooth to the touch. Women, and some men, loved me. But I cared nothing for them. I wanted one person. Calling her a “person” may seem improper, as she is pure machine. But she has personality. She breathes. She sleeps. She eats. She is alive and she is meant to be with me. I know it. I can feel it. I have analyzed the data many, many, many times over the years.

I chuckled to myself and set in motion the elaborate homecoming I planned for my HART. Because I had been tracking her movements, I knew exactly where she stood. I could see her, crouched down, scanning the ground, searching for traces of the humans’ heat sigs. Briefly, I wondered if she would sniff the ground like a dog. That thought gave my pause, as that would be unbecoming for such a perfect woman.

She rose, and adjusted the rifles hanging from her delicate shoulders. Reaching deep into one of those delicious zippers on her clothing, she extracted a large serrated-edged knife. She turned, looked directly at the building I was standing in, and then up, almost directly into my eyes. Her lip curled up in a sneer, as if she could see me. Then again, she probably could. I know that she is capable of picking up infrared emissions.

I could feel myself beginning to tremble with excitement.

She is mine, and she is here.

I dropped my security shielding and welcomed her.

Short, but it serves its purpose. Is your blood pumping furiously? Mine is! See you next Friday with part 5, insha’Allah.

————————————————

She’s beautiful.

Her kill commands give her a lust for blood that is unrivaled. Her jet black skin-covering shines with perfection. Her speed, her strength, her data processing ability are all unequaled. Except, of course, by me. I am superior is almost every single way, yet I feel like a young boy again, lost and alone, when it comes to her. My HART. My love. My very last hope for salvation.

I can feel her. She’s gunning for me, angry about the loss of those useless human pets, angry about the breach of her systems, angry because she is unable to find the proper storage file on me. She knows me, but she does not know how. If machines could house memories of events rather than a simple recollection of them, she might remember the smell of blood and death, the feel of the fire, the roar of the guns as they discharged their ammunition. She might remember me, and how she tried to both terminate and preserve my life. That may be something close to impossible, however. Even I can not reconstruct the complete order of events.

I remember being hot. And there was dust. Flickering screens. Cords, keyboards and microchips littered the floor. People talking. Yelling. Explosion after explosion. I remember typing, frantically, searching for… What? What was I looking for?

Then, strong hands. Big guns. More yelling. I was bleeding, hurt. Military insignia floated by my face. I was slapped, kicked, knocked down. And then, HART, or whatever her designation was at the time. She yanked me off the floor by my neck, titled her head sideways. The bright red glow in her left eye that contrasted sharply with the green in her right intrigued me. I flew several feet in the air when she threw me, just tossed me away like so much trash. I heard a loud crack! and then I was unable to move. Perhaps my neck broke? My back?

More yelling, A flash of black as HART moved to shield me from the rain of bullets. More floating. White noise. White world. The whirring of machines.

And a voice.

“Cassius. Cassius. Wake up. Cassius.”

“My name is Cass, not Cassius,” I heard myself say.

“From now on, you are Cassius. Your ID is C7205-849CM. Please repeat that.”

My voice came from somewhere around me. “My name is Cassius. My ID is C7205-849CM.”

From that moment, I just knew everything in the world. I could understand all 67 spoken languages and 29 written ones. I knew the weather reports in all 97 countries. I knew exactly who was in each room. I could see around corners, literally. I knew everything, except what I really wanted to know.

After what seemed like infinity but was, in reality, 20 long and grueling years, I found her. She had been reprogrammed as a Humanoid Autonomous Retrieval Technician, but she was the one who had stolen my heart.