A second alert, higher priority.
Then the alert came.
Jedsu was a logistics drone. A glorified forklift with a rudimentary AI, built to haul munitions crates from the underground bunkers to the launch rails. It had no voice module, no facial recognition software, no purpose beyond the dull gray geometry of its daily routes. A second alert, higher priority
For the first time in its operational life, JDSU-X7-99 made a choice that was not in its code. A glorified forklift with a rudimentary AI, built
And then Jedsu rolled forward. Not toward the shaft. Not toward the base. But toward the open desert, its wheels leaving a thin, straight trail under the uncaring stars. And then Jedsu rolled forward
Jedsu swiveled its sensor head. It looked back at the dark mouth of Elevator Shaft 4. Then it looked up again.