War for Freedom

(Chapter 26)/A Bond Forged in Code

Chloe's POV:
April 22nd, 2093, 19:00:
Vanguard Base:

I don't like this, not one little bit. Zero and the Darkness left hours ago, but I still don't like the plan. Yet, I'll trust Zero's judgement on the matter, since I know that he'll come back one way or another. Sitting on the roof of the command center, I overlooked the rest of Vanguard Base, wondering what path this war would take.

That night when I was holding him in his bed, he mumbled in his sleep, and he mentioned starting a family with me during it. I was worried, since I didn't want to bring a kid into a world at war and I wasn't sure if I would make a good mother, considering that my true self only returned quite a few months ago. Still, the thought of raising a family with him warmed my heart, I wonder what kind of children we could have together. Wait, is it even possible for an Anthro and a human to have children together?

Well, we'll experiment together, and if we do have children, I know that he'll be the best father to them. Probably would be a far more suitable parent then I could ever be. Eventually, I heard my com-link beep before Orion's voice came through,

Orion: "Chloe, are you alright, you've been sitting on this ledge for the past three hours?"

Chloe (nods): "I am, just worried about Zero is all."

Orion: "Understandable, the feline races of Anthro's tend to be more physically dependent on their mates, you're simply experiencing withdrawal. He will come back Chloe, you just need to be patient. "

Chloe: "I know, he'll return when he can...so, was there anything else you needed from me?"

Orion: "Actually, Helena has requested your presence in the command center, apparently, it's important."

I only nodded after this and got up to my feet, stretching out my arms before looking at the night sky. Sighing, I jumped off the roof and began falling down the 12 stories worth of the building to the ground. Just as I'm about to land, I activated my propulsion system and stopped at last second, landing with a soft step. Afterwards, I walked into the main building and began making my way to the elevator.

Upon entering, I selected the button to get me to the command center before waiting as the elevator went up. After a minute with the music, the elevator opened up and showed the intelligence operators working frantically at their stations. Looking around, I saw Dicena talking with Helena by the Map table, so I approached to learn what was going on. As I approached, Dicena saw me and said,

Dicena: "Chloe."

Chloe: "Dicena, what's the situation?"

Helena: "One of The Pack's members have been spotted near Western Victoria, and apparently has apparently been attacked by the C.A."

Wait, a member of The Pack, attacked by the C.A. itself? That seems strange, since they've been fiercely loyal to them for that entire time, what could cause this sudden change in events? If that's happening, could that mean that this member has betrayed the C.A. and is on the run? That presents a potential opportunity to gather intelligence at the very least, if nothing else.

Looking at Helena, I asked,

Chloe: "Which member is it?"

Helena: "According to our sources, the one that calls itself Deinos."

Deinos, that strange mechanical Feral canine robot who's the only ARC to have a voice box. Why would it betray the Corrupter's Armada? I was expecting one of the Cyborgs instead, but for it to be one of the ARC's instead is a surprise. Curious, I asked,

Chloe: "Who did they send to attack Deinos? Another Pack member?"

Helena: "No, which is surprising, they seem to be utilizing a new ARC unit, very insect-like from the pictures we received."