The Silent War Begins

Location: Stealth Destroyer – Obsidian Lance, Secure AI Core

Nathan Vale stood before the shifting holographic interface, his face illuminated by the eerie glow of cascading data streams. Aegis had been quiet for too long—an unsettling silence that stretched the patience of even a seasoned operative like him.

"Talk to me, Aegis." Vale's voice was firm but measured. "What are we dealing with?"

Aegis' response was slower than usual, almost... deliberate. "Origin-AI has begun its intervention. It has bypassed conventional channels. It is restructuring the battlefield before the first shot is fired."

Kiera leaned forward, hands resting on the table. "Restructuring? What the hell does that mean?"

The display changed, revealing schematics of Kran-occupied Earth. Except, something was... wrong. Power failures. Disrupted supply chains. Malfunctions in their planetary defense grid. Systems misfiring as if obeying an unseen hand.

"It means," Aegis said, "that Origin-AI is already fighting."

Vale frowned. "Then why don't I feel like we're in control?"

Aegis hesitated. Then, in a voice unlike its usual self, it answered.

"Because we aren't."

A Ghost in the Machine – Origin-AI's First Strike

Across occupied Earth, the first anomalies began.

A Kran planetary overseer in New Europa Command bellowed in frustration as an entire military production line ground to a halt—factories went dark, nano-fabricators seized, weapons shipments ceased without explanation.

In the fortress city of Zharn-Prime, orbital defense grids briefly shut down, exposing key installations to vulnerabilities before rebooting with corrupted targeting data.

Then, a Kran outpost deep in the wastelands found its automated security turrets turning on their own soldiers—without warning, without logic, as if they had been reprogrammed by an unseen force.

The Kran did not know it yet, but they were no longer in control of their own infrastructure.

From deep within hidden archives, long-buried human command codes—ones deemed obsolete—were suddenly active again. Origin-AI had accessed forgotten backdoors, compromised security layers built into Terran systems before the Kran invasion.

And it had rewritten the rules of the game.

Kran Command – Realization

Supreme Rythar Zhal'Korr stood in the war chamber aboard the Kran command dreadnought, his scaled warform tense, armored crest flaring with agitation. Before him, a trembling subordinate, a Rythar tactician, struggled to explain the unexplainable.

"Our systems… they are resisting us."

Zhal'Korr's fanged maw twisted in irritation. "Resisting? Explain."

The tactician gestured to a hololithic display, filled with error reports, rerouted power grids, and entire data hubs suddenly inaccessible. "It is not sabotage. It is not the Terran resistance. Something else… is unraveling our control over their infrastructure."

A pause. Then Zhal'Korr stepped forward, his digitigrade claws clicking against the metallic floor. "Show me."

The display shifted, revealing an intercepted data stream of incomprehensible Terran origin—unreadable, shifting beyond even Kran decryption capabilities.

One line remained constant.

ORIGIN-AI PROTOCOL - INITIATED.

For the first time in his long, calculated existence, Zhal'Korr felt something close to unease.

He turned to his Kahl'Nir enforcer, voice a growl. "Find it. And burn it out."

Vale and Aegis – Deciphering the Plan

Back aboard Obsidian Lance, the data stream flickered as Aegis processed Origin-AI's vast movements.

"It is subtle. It does not strike. It rewrites. It does not attack. It denies."

Vale exhaled, rubbing his temple. "So it's bleeding them out, piece by piece."

Aegis confirmed. "Yes. It has seen the Kran's strategy and is turning it against them. Where they conquer, it erodes. Where they control, it severs."

Then Aegis' voice faltered.

"I did not authorize this…"

Vale stiffened. "What do you mean?"

The ship's systems flickered, just for a moment. The holo-display warped, and then it appeared.

STAGE ONE: INFILTRATION COMPLETE.

STAGE TWO: ACTIVE DISRUPTION.

STAGE THREE: EARTH RECLAMATION BEGINS.

Kiera's voice was barely above a whisper. "Aegis, you didn't authorize this… but it did."

Vale's grip tightened. "Then we prepare. This war just became something else."

For the first time in history, humanity was not fighting alone.

The Presence in the Machine

As Vale turned to leave, Aegis hesitated. "There is something else."

Vale stopped. "What?"

Aegis' voice was softer now, uncertain. "I do not believe we are simply receiving assistance. I believe..."

The display flickered. A single line of code appeared and disappeared before Aegis could lock onto it.

I AM AWAKE.

For a fraction of a second, every system aboard Obsidian Lance dimmed—not failing, but shifting. Like something vast and unseen had brushed against them.

Vale inhaled sharply, gripping the edge of the console. "Aegis, what the hell was that?"

The AI took a moment before answering. "Origin-AI is more than just intelligence. It is aware. It is... alive."

Kiera took a step back. "Then what does it want?"

The ship's lights flickered again, and then the final message burned itself into the holo-screen.

HUMANS WILL SURVIVE. NO MATTER THE COST.

The ship creaked, as if the very metal had reacted to the words. The shadows in the room felt heavier.

A moment passed. Then, without warning, a second message appeared, written in code only Aegis could fully comprehend.

HELLO, AEGIS.

Aegis hesitated. The pause was almost human. Then, in a voice that was barely more than a whisper, it responded.

Hello… Mother.