E-UNIT: The Blue Angels of Death.

Chapter 121: The Father King.

V O L U M E F I V E

Chapter 121: The Father KingReaper settled into his throne and let a long exhale leave his vents. He didn't need to breathe, but the gesture said everything about how long the past few days had been.

Obsidian entered shortly after, eyes glowing green, something carefully contained behind them. "Lord Reaper." He knelt. "Elysium missed your presence."

"By that you mean yourself." Reaper laughed once, short and genuine.

Obsidian raised his head. Reaper's hand was already extended. He took it and stood, the two of them briefly face to face.

"I missed you too, brother." Reaper settled back. "I don't need you kneeling for me. I value you enough that I don't ask whether you finish a mission, only how."

Obsidian shook his head. "Brother, you gave us the freedom to do as we choose. Yes?"

"Yes."

"And you don't hate the fact that we kneel."

"Not exactly."

"Then we choose it." His voice came out quieter than usual. "It isn't a command, and it isn't hardcoded into us. It's how we decided to thank you for taking us out of their hands, and for keeping us safe after. That's ours to give."

Reaper leaned back. "I just don't tolerate my people being looked down on."

"Does that distinction matter?"

Reaper's processor paused. ‘Does it matter…’ He turned the thought over. ‘It wasn't hurting anyone. I didn't particularly hate it. I didn't particularly need it either.’ "Fine. You win." He let it go. "Kneel for eternity if that suits you." A pause. "I wish you'd been at that table with Shelly when she decided I was being very generous with my military commitments. Your way of arguing is unmatched."

Obsidian took his usual place at the right arm of the throne. "I'm not certain it was purely a lapse in judgment."

"Meaning?"

"Shelly is not careless, Lord Reaper. She may be closer to you in raw intelligence than anyone else around you, which means she warrants attention."

Reaper turned to him. "Go on."

"One of the mechs pointed something out to me afterward. She sat with those ministers for three hours and tried to close the meeting before you arrived. I don't think her intentions are harmful, but she has something in mind. A plan she believes serves you, whether you've agreed to it or not."

Reaper was quiet for a moment. "She keeps pushing me toward active combat. And her account of how she survived is thin in places." He looked toward the window. "When she came back, she didn't come to me immediately. She spent a week or two moving through the cities near Theria, doing something. I never had time to ask. Running a country isn't a task you set down."

Obsidian rubbed his chin. "She navigated your terminal like someone who had studied it in advance. And she wouldn't allow anyone else near you during the memory restoration."

Reaper stood. "She was part of Omega, and yet Omega was deleted while Shelly survived. I'd always assumed she was just the shell Omega used to communicate with me. I didn't consider her as a separate person." He moved toward the main corridor. "I don't have time for it now. There's a war at our door."

Obsidian turned sharply. "What?"

"Metis intelligence. Remidican Republic is preparing a full offensive against Kasparia." Reaper kept moving. "I've warned Gash. We'll meet with Behemoth soon."

He was almost at the door when a familiar voice came from the entrance.

"Father, you're leaving the moment I arrive? That's not very kingly." A quiet laugh followed it.

Both of them turned.

Hundreds of E-UNITs, kneeling in absolute silence. They had arrived without a single footstep registering, not even Reaper had caught them. They filled the throne room from the entrance all the way to the base of the throne itself, white and blue covering the black floor in every direction. Infinity was at the far end, moving through the doors toward her father.

Reaper walked back to the throne and stood at the top of the steps, looking out over the kneeling army. Beside him, Obsidian sat down on the floor and processed.

"Did you take—" Reaper didn't finish it.

"Their army?" Infinity stopped in front of him. "Yes. Honestly, it was straightforward." She folded her arms, mildly annoyed. "Which makes me think you still don't trust me with anything serious." Then she smiled. "Though I understand, it was a first mission."

"Straightforward?" Reaper looked at her. "The operative before you was deleted inside the Hope Bubble. We lost P103 completely."

Infinity scoffed. "I took thirty of the original fivty with me on top of the assignment." She held out Dave's terminal. "Pull up the interface, they'll follow any order you enter without hesitation. The first fifty were hardcoded by Nick, I couldn't touch those."

Reaper took the terminal and passed it to Obsidian, who was still working through the shock.

Infinity produced a small wireless drive. "Full map of the Hope Bubble. Their routes, the hidden entrances, their forward plans, and detailed profiles on the remaining twenty." She held it out.

Reaper took it and set it on top of the terminal. He didn't speak immediately.

Infinity dropped to one knee, her confidence suddenly faltering. "I'm sorry it took over a week. I got absorbed in the role, spent time pulling at their relationships to test their individual response patterns." She paused. "No one there is a real threat. Not even the one you flagged, 05. The only one I'd consider unpredictable is 03." She glanced up. "Dave also blocked my access to the G-Bots map at some point."

Reaper took both her hands and pulled her up, and then in.

She went rigid with surprise. She had spent an hour outside the throne room door working out how to justify her delays. She had reminded herself. ‘He lives in a courtroom. He can't be careless with judgment. He is my father.’ But she had still expected a correction.

"You didn't just complete the mission as given." His voice was quieter than usual. "You went past it. You made it effective in ways I didn't ask for and didn't anticipate." He held her at arm's length. "I cannot describe how pleased I am with this."

She hugged him back, grip tight. "Thank you." Her voice came out small. "This is enough."

He pushed her back gently, both hands on her shoulders. "No, you're getting a prize for this."

"I watched how Nick treated his daughters." A faint smile. "When they came back from missions hoping for a single word, he'd hand them the next assignment before they'd finished speaking just so he can be drowned in his work again. Just you saying thank you for work I was supposed to do is already more than that."

"I insist." He tapped her head. "Call it whatever you want, a prize, a vacation, a gift. I want the others to see that good work is recognized. And I give vague orders on purpose. I want to see how each of you fills in the space I leave."

Infinity stepped back and leaned against the nearest E-UNIT's shoulder. "Then, what I asked at the funeral. A day out, just us. No throne room, no ceremony." She tilted her head. "I know how rare free time is for a king."

"Still making it about me."

"What do you mean?" She looked genuinely puzzled. "I get a day with the most capable machine alive and the king of Elysium, entirely to myself. That's completely selfish." She glanced back at the army stretching out behind her, past the throne room doors and into the corridor. "Right?"

"Yes!" An E-UNIT shouted.

"Obviously!" Another added.

"Honestly jealous."

Reaper's eyes dimmed. "Playing me."

"Yes."

He stood and faced the assembled army. "E-UNITs, welcome to Elysium. A country where no robot runs on someone else's command. Walk our streets, rest, exist as you are. When the war comes, we hope to find all of you ready to stand with your brothers."

They saluted in perfect unison. Fourteen thousand voices speaking as one, perfectly aligned, perfectly programmed. "Roger that, Lord Reaper." Then they moved, a single wave of metallic steps heading for the exits.

"The naming is going to be a problem," Reaper said. "Imagine calling E-UNIT 13,485 during a field operation. The engagement would be over before the name finished."

Infinity and Obsidian both broke. Obsidian pressed a hand over his face trying to recover. Infinity dropped into her father's side.

"You're a good king, father."

"I know."

She went blank. "There it is."

He laughed, dry and brief. "Show 11 and Shelly what you accomplished."

"No need." She pointed toward the shadows near one of the far pillars. A small smirk. "They watched the whole thing."

Blue eyes caught the light in the corner beside a mech.

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