Chipping off the protocol

When he exited the confines of the charging station, he was greeted with darkness like every day. He picked up his rifle and carried on with his duties of patrol and checking on the other units. He didn't feel compelled to do so, like any other time. He would prefer to visit his recently deceased comrade, as a gesture of goodwill for his recent passing. After a couple of steps in the hallway, he stopped and looked back.

"It…would not matter if I go," Zachary whispered to himself. "Nothing has changed for close to a thousand years, anyway."

After rationalizing his sudden drive to break the pre-existing rules, he steeled his heart and walked towards the base's hangar. He spent 30 minutes traversing through empty hallways, broken doors, and watch the feeble attempt of several machines to boot up. The skeleton that burst in flames the day before laid before his empty eyes, devoid of any un-life. Its corpse sat dutifully holding the rifle, as a sign of its undying loyalty towards the master.

"Farewell, may you finally…rest in peace." He cupped his hands and bowed towards it. Zachary didn't understand his own actions, but something inside him, other than the mainframe's voice, pushed him to do so.

After a minute of silent prayer, Zachary relaxed his hands and looked at the hangar's door. Crossing it meant an un-life of freedom in the starry skies and leaving behind this crumbling place. However, he didn't feel the need to go out there, to abandon his home, just yet.

*Sigh*

With a small sigh, he turned around and resumed his duties once more. He walked down familiar hallways, looked at the usual cameras, and spoke the same words with his fellow skeletons. Nothing changed, nothing new happened, the hour or so he was late didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Zachary stood in front of the flickering screen once more, his fingers frozen in midair as he considered if it was a good idea. His recent experience told him that it wouldn't matter either, and he should do it, but his instructions clearly stated that he can't. In the middle of his internal conflict, another memory surfaced and clouded his consciousness once more.

"Please be my master!" The boy he recognized as $#%&* stood in front of him once more. This time he wore rags, had a thinner frame, his black hair was longer, and he could spot some bruises on his pale skin. "I'll do anything you need, mister! But please, be my master!"

"Oh? Why should I take you as my student?" Zachary spoke in an amused tone, not that moved by the boy's appearance. "If a strong wind blows you would go flying with it."

"I…I know that I won't disappoint you!" The boy's voice trembled, but his eyes remained shining with determination.

Something inside the boy picked Zachary's interest. He took a quick scan using his spiritual sense and noticed that his body wasn't too shabby, with proper guidance he would be a formidable warrior. Yet the calculative mind that comes with age and experience inside him wanted to reject such a brazen approach, drawing 3 possible plots towards his life in less than a second. He rubbed his chin and stared at the kid for a couple of seconds, unblinking.

"If you pass the sect's test, then I will consider it." Zachary broke the chilling silence that formed between them. He noticed that the boy sighed in relief and seemed like a boulder got off his shoulders.

"I'll pass it! And you'll be my master!"

His attention returned once more to the monitor. He was facing a different dilemma, but it felt like he was back in front of that boy. His fingers slowly moved once more to the keys as he recited that it will be ok. He wrote the password once more and the camera feeds returned.

"It should be…this…" He murmured as he began to write some more on the keyboard. It was part of the set of passwords left behind by the master in case of emergency.

The cameras flickered before they disappeared and a new image appeared before his eyes. The whole screen turned cyan, a pink eye in its center, and a rectangular box with six spaces below it. He hovered his hands above the keyboard but didn't write anything. He knew it, but it was put behind a lock that would activate only in case of a catastrophic emergency.

"…Damn…" A soft curse escaped his non-existent lips. "I need more…memories…" He sighed once more and turned off the screen. It went back to flash several colors a usual as he exited the command room once more.

Zachary returned to his room once more, feeling defeated. He sat cross-legged and started another round of meditation, hoping to find an answer to his questions. This session was unsuccessful, as even if he managed to enter the same trance and replenish his energy, no new memories surfaced.

Getting defeated twice in a row was a rather heavy blow for him, but he wasn't discouraged. He still had time to slowly figure things out and discover more about his past and the base. On that second topic, he picked up his rifle and got out of his 'room.' His usual rounds would not start until several hours later, so he would rather see the state of the base in the time being.

"It's not against…the main protocol of patrolling." He voiced to no one in particular, mostly to ease up his worries about his actions.

He passed through the dark hallways, closely looking at how time had deteriorated everything with the years. He knew that the metal used to construct it wasn't cheap, but it had a life expectancy too. Some doors needed some strength to manually open, and some locks were too damaged. Thankfully, his rifle was in somewhat good condition and served as a good universal key for those hard-to-reach places.

*Bang*

Dull bangs echoed in the silent halls each time Zachary discharged the rifle. A blinding flash of cyan would burst as the energy bullet left the muzzle, melting everything in its path before disappearing several meters underground. In this manner, he saw the kitchen full of dust, fluorescent moss, and the carcasses of two chef skeletons holding their knives. A warehouse with a lingering acrid smell from chemicals, most likely a closet for cleaning equipment. And the entrance to the living quarters.

He didn't saw a lot of things inside, just beds, crumbled pieces of furniture, and the gleaming of broken glass. He dug through the piles of rotten wood and unearthed a small disk. He examined it and prodded it with his fingers several times until the small device fully activated. A distorted hologram of a feminine figure was displayed on top, it glitched out several times before stabilizing.

[Hi, honey!] The woman inside spoke in a cheerful tone. She had a yellow dress with floral designs, a straw hat, and a pair of metallic bracers. [I hope you come home soon! Your daughter and I miss you!]

A small child ran towards the woman and hugged her leg, the woman picked her up with a beaming smile and whispered something in her ear.

[I love you, daddy!] The child said in an equally cheerful tone

[Bye-bye ~!] Both of them said at the same time and waved in front of them. The hologram then turned off.

Zachary held it in his cold hand for a while, thinking why something like that would be here. His memories of the time that the master was still among them were foggy at best. He distinctly remembered him, but other than that, his assistants, the projects, or even the usual operations were just a distant thought that his mind couldn't solidify. The only real things in his life were his protocols, his rank as overseer of the skeletons, and the fact that he isn't alive.

With a heavy internal turmoil, he put down the device and cupped his hands once more. He didn't know if they were still alive at this point, but it didn't matter, it deserved respect. After about a minute, he continued with his search of the living quarters to no avail, other than 5 bed frames and the remains of wooden furniture, there was nothing else of interest.

His final destination was a metallic door different from the rest. It opened in the middle, had a rectangular screen above it, and a pad on the right side. An elevator. He tried to pry it open with his hands, but it was sealed shut. Shooting at it would probably be a bad idea, so he just put his rifle on the ground. Help was needed to see the interior, but for that, he will need to convince the others to break away from their protocols too. It was a distant possibility, but he could only try.

"Time to return…" He whispered, making a mental note to visit here once more when he had helpers with him. Zachary picked up his gun and made his way back to the command center.