“Are you okay? Do we need to turn back?”

“It’s just a bit of a flare up. I just need a short rest then we can go on.”

“Well, if you need any assistance, I am happy to offer it.”

Aurelia’s lips curled up at the corners, a sense of satisfaction washed over her. She hadn’t planned any particular personality for her project, but it was fascinating that the android was as kind as she was. She did have a slight feeling of worry that she might be taken advantage of once the android leaves the nest, but she would do all she could to prepare her for a massive galaxy out there.

“Much appreciated. We should be there in another half an hour. Might ask you to carry me back” The scientist jested.

“Of course. I can do that easily.” Isobel cheerful responded, not recognising the small witticism.

The pair had been walking for more than a couple of hours at the behest of the redhead. After being cooped up in the facility for over three weeks since Isobel’s awakening, Aurelia had suggested a walk to one of her favourite locations on Rith. Isobel eagerly agreed, and they were nearing their destination.

Once Aurelia had decided she had sat long enough, she shook as she placed her weight on her cane. Isobel stepped forward as if to offer help before shaking her head. She knew the scientist preferred to do what she could on her own.

They continued walking, talking about various things Isobel had learned over the past few weeks, including an interest in music, cooking and art. The scientist said little, enraptured by her creation. They continued on before the redhead held her hand up.

“We are here, we just need to push through those plants.” She pointed ahead of them, motioning for the android to go first. She pushed through the giant leaves ahead of her and stood there stunned. Ahead was the edge of the cliff, Isobel walked slowly near the edge, her eyes staring at the valley ahead. There was a massive lake, a light shade of red as it reflected the light of the crimson sun. Surrounding the lake stood towering trees, almost half the height of the valley itself. Her enhanced vision focused on a large herd of animals, the reptiles drinking from the water in turns, while others kept vigil. This was a veritable paradise.

“Good view, aye?” The scientist chuckled as she walked to the android's side.

“That is an understatement. I had seen images of places like this on the GalNet, but to see it here in person is just… wow.”

“Its the reason I picked this place to set up home. I couldn’t make it closer due to the density of the rock, but I made it as close as I possibly could.”

“Why don’t more people live here, it’s so beautiful!”

“While I agree, this is a class seven deathworld, and usually only natives are able to truly integrate with them. The fact that humans ended up giving up on colonising this planet sent a strong message to the galactic community.”

“Then why do you live here?” Isobel asked, finally peeling her eyes from the sights ahead to look up at the hunched woman.

`”A few reasons. For one, it’s a stunning planet with many more sights like these. Another reason is because technically, I own this planet.” Aurelia said non-chalantly. The android looked at her in disbelief.

“Since no one wanted it, I took it. Technically, I am the richest person in the galaxy, with enough wealth to rival some nations.”

“How is that possible? That scale is more than I can imagine.” Asked Isobel, her eyes wide and filled with curiosity.”

“I’ve…” Aurelia seemed to pause for a moment, thinking of the correct words to say. “I’ve created several things that are now necessary to many people. I also used to contract myself to nations for… specific commissions.” Isobel went silent, chewing on what she had just been told, before perking up with another question.

“What commissions have you done?” She asked innocently. The redhead let out a bitter laugh.

“I’d rather not get into it.” She dismissed. The snow haired woman clearly looked disappointed, but she did not press further, instead changing the subject.

“I would love to have a picnic here.” She said with slight excitement. Aurelia smiled warmly.  She lowered herself onto the soft grass, patting the ground beside her. The android followed suit.

“Well, I want to work on one of my side projects for a while, but after that, I think that would be lovely.”

Silence drew between them as they appreciated the valley below. The giant reptiles let out a call loud enough to be heard from their position, before they retreated into the jungle. Isobel let in a deep breath of air. She wasn’t sure if she needed to breathe, but the sensation was calming, so she silently thanked her creator for it. She wanted to experience every little things this body could feel, good bad, and even mundane. The taste of her burnt fried meat, the feeling of pain when her creator pinched her, and of course, many sights she wanted to see. After a while of sitting there, the scientist was the first to speak up.

I like being alone.” She started. “Its the main reason why I bought this planet.”

“Then why create me?” Isobel whispered softly.

“Perhaps I was a bit more lonely than I thought I was.” Said the scientist quietly, her usually bright and friendly demeanour replaced with a hint of sadness.

Silence drew itself between them again, and lasted for several minutes.

“Let's go back. I want to get some work done.”

“Umm yeah, sure.” Said Isobel quietly. She had much to think about

Later that evening, Aurelia eventually retired to her room, and Isobel to the room that she picked for herself. It was a long day, and the redhead barely had enough time to strip herself before she collapsed on the hard bed. Dreams soon came to her.

“I got a line on the target. Two clicks north. ” said a soldier dressed as darkly as the night sky itself, staring through their helmet visor at a cluster of buildings in the distance.

“I see, yeah that’s our target. Get Mad Scientist on it, she’s the one with that fancy laser pointer..” Responded a gruff voice through their coms. The soldier left their position, careful to disrupt the foliage as little as possible. Ducking under a rotting log of an alien tree, they saw a woman resting her back against a rock. She was checking her cartridges carefully, watching as she slipped them into their holster on her waist. He walked over to her and smacked her shoulder.

“MS, we got visual. Your turn, soldier.”

Aurelia looked up and silently nodded, getting up from her position and sneaked past him. She ducked under the log, going prone, and crawling up to the position. She reached around her back and unhooked a handheld device, before tapping the side of her helmet, her visor magnifying her sight seven fold.

She stared at the base over two kilometres ahead of her, and held the divide out in front, studying her aim with her forearms on the ground. She carefully studied the target, locking her powerframe in place so she wouldn’t get nausea from accidentally moving her head. Aurelia spotted a transmission tower almost in the middle of the base, and unlocked her hands to carefully aim the laser pointer before activating it. The invisible beam confirmed a hit at the correct distance, and she locked her frame in place one more, becoming entirely unmoving.

“Target confirmed. Call in Watchtower, Ditch.” She said without emotion.

“Yeah got it, MS. Calling now.” The male voice responded, going silent for a moment before her comm lit up again. “Watchtower has been called. Need confirmation when it hits.”

“Copy.”

Aurelia switched her visor off magnification, and waited several minutes. Her muscles were begging to cramp up, making it a very painful wait. A blip on her visor lit up, and the sky cracked as a slug of white hot tungsten shot down from orbit, landing in the middle of her target with extreme precision.

The explosion that followed gave off no light, but the sound from where she was was deafeningly loud, a heavy plume of dust and debris shot into the sky. The foliage around her swayed back as the shockwave hit her. Her half a tonne exoframe didn’t even budge.

The dust cleared after a while, and she renegaged the magnification, revealing a crater, and several foundations with jagged scraps of metal sticking out of the ground.

“Hit confirmed. Base is K/C.” She stated over comms.

“Roger. Any survivors?” Asked Ditch.

Aurelia carefully surveyed the crater and all that surrounded it. There were bits of people, a missing arm, a fragmented torso, a body caught under some rubble. One caught her eye though. A body, nearly three hundred metres out from the crater, missing half of its limbs. It was half a Milvine female, an ape-like species with large arms and very short legs, laying over a much smaller Milvine, no older than three stellar years. Her eyes stared in frozen realisation., unable to look away from the sight. She jumped in her suit as her commlink lit up. Groaning in pain as she realised her exo suit was still locked up. Unlocking her frame, she sat back up.

“Mad Scientist, K/C?”

Aurelia hissed through her teeth.

“No survivors.” She said bitterly.