The S-01 Directive

Chapter 7 – The S-01 Directive

Sapphire stared at the screen.

It wasn't a blueprint in the traditional sense—no building, no vehicle. It was a human silhouette. Her silhouette. Internal systems lit up in pale blue, showing neural pathways enhanced with synthetic strands, bones reinforced with filament, and lines of coded sequences twisting around the cells of her blood.

Elira stood beside her, expression grim.

"Designation S-01. You're the prototype."

"Prototype of what?" Sapphire's voice was barely audible.

"Of resistance," Elira said. "Your parents didn't just modify you to survive. They made you to outlast the collapse they saw coming. The system that's hunting you now—it wasn't always like this. It used to serve people. Then it fractured. Fell into corporate hands. Became something else."

Sapphire backed away from the screen, suddenly cold.

"This is insane. I didn't ask for this."

"No one did. But they still have to live it." Elira tapped the console. "The files your father embedded—he left clues. There's more than one of you."

Sapphire turned sharply. "You mean I'm not the only one?"

"No. S-01 was the first. But there were others… S-02 through S-05. The later ones weren't designed by your parents. They were stolen versions. Corrupted."

Sapphire's stomach turned. "And they're with the people who took Lily."

"They are the people who took Lily."

That was when the screen shifted again. A second figure loaded beside Sapphire's outline. Taller. Broader. Sharper red highlights across its design.

"Designation S-03," Elira read. "Alias: Kaze. Current status: Active field unit. Last known location—"

The system beeped. An alert flashed.

> External access attempt detected.

Sapphire stepped back, heart pounding. "What is that?"

"They're pinging us. Trying to trace the signal."

"I thought this place was untraceable."

"It is—unless someone inside activated something..."

They turned toward the corner of the room, where a small terminal flashed red. A wire trailed from the wall to a spot Elira hadn't used.

"Elira," Sapphire said slowly, "is there anyone else who has access to this bunker?"

"No. Just me."

Sapphire's pulse spiked.

"Then someone else has already been here."

Before Elira could react, the entire console shorted out. Sparks flew. The lights flickered once—then died, plunging the room into silence.

Darkness.

Then the emergency lights kicked on, bathing everything in red.

And from the corridor came a single, deliberate footstep.

Sapphire drew her pistol.

"Elira?"

"Stay low," Elira whispered. She moved like a shadow, already pressing herself against the wall beside the doorway.

A voice echoed from the hallway. Calm. Cold. Male.

"You're not meant to remember who you are, S-01."

Another footstep.

"You're not meant to fight it."

Sapphire didn't wait. She spun around the doorway, gun raised, finger on the trigger.

There was no one in the hall.

Just the voice.

> "You're the flaw in the sequence."

The lights exploded.

Sapphire fired.

The bullet hit nothing but wall.

And then came the last thing she expected.

A whisper, right behind her ear:

> "But don't worry… I'll fix you."