Machine Learning (Captain Allen and DPD SWAT POV)

The Massacre (Akane POV)

"Never shall I forget the principles I accepted to become a Recon Marine. Honor, Perseverance, Spirit and Heart. A Recon Marine can speak without saying a word and achieve what others can only imagine."

I turned each screen on, the knobs clicking in place with purpose. A hum came from within before the fortified displays provided a sharpened picture as they booted to full capacity. One by one, each of the 6 screens followed.

"They don't make them like they used to." Erik patted the edge of one, "Those stupid QLEDs wouldn't last a minute out here."

"They wouldn't even make it through the flight." I joked.

"Let's keep the chatter to a minimum." Perkins sat in the middle seat with a datapad, leaving one on either side of him open.

"You're gonna have to move over." Erik crossed his arms and stood in front of him, "You're in my seat."

"Weird, I don't see your name on it."

"I promised Akane I'd sit in the middle so she didn't have to sit next to you."

Perkins looked at him, then me.

I shrugged, sniffing, "No offense...but you stink."

The marines had their surveillance building that looked like the observation deck out of an episode of Star Trek, but us "civilians" were forced to put up our own area. Supply our own equipment. Pretty much everything. We had some assistance from the local techies, but that was it. We were told we should be honored that we'd be allowed to watch at all.

I didn't argue, although, I couldn't help but wonder if things would've been different had Perkins not been there. No, actually, I didn't need to wonder at all. Erik and I would've been in that big, nice, air-conditioned building if this idiot with the second-highest security clearance on this compound wasn't here with us, the two with the highest security clearance on the compound.

Perkins jumped a seat to the right, not even trying to hide his annoyance.

"Not going to be much of a show anyway." He mumbled.

"We're here to observe, take notes, and advise if we're asked to." I sat down, unbuttoning my suit jacket, "Not to watch a 'show.'"

Before they left, David and his android team took a picture together. Him and his squad, and other androids that were reassigned from other units. Other androids that had already formed a bond with each other, their CO, and their human teammates, if there were any. All ripped away and shoved together under David Allen's command without a moment's notice or time to get to know one another's fighting tactics, personalities, traits, flaws...the thought of that equated to going in blind as far as I was concerned.

He asked me to take that picture. I stared at it out of concern before locking my phone and tucking it away.

Would they work well together? Did androids need such a grace period?

It seemed like the wrong time to find out...

But they were out of time, and so were the terrorists.

...

Logging into camera system...

Access: 2ND_MAW_MAG-14

[SCENE_001_VMA-231_R.ROYAL]
[SCENE_002_VMA-231_L.WALKER]

The screen on the left was capturing the front of a fighter jet in a mix of muted colors and night vision. A new camera being tested, perhaps. Even still, the land was hard to capture – most of it was blurred in a mess of splotches and lines. If I stared at it long enough when the plane was level, it felt like it was pulling me through a vortex. But it didn't stay level very long. If I wasn't told this camera was mounted on a plane moving over 1,000mph, I would've thought it was on a rollercoaster. The screen rocked back and forth as the pilot navigated through a ravine that, in some cases, held chokepoints that closed in to less than 500 feet. If that wasn't enough of a distraction, there was a constant buzzing as if someone in the background was flatlining. It was almost louder than the voice of the plane repeating "Altitude, Altitude" in a constant loop. Somehow, Ryan "Majestic" Royal was in full control.