[Fic] The Dragon and The Phoenix - Part 3
[Fic] The Dragon and The Phoenix
[Fandom] DBSK [Pairing] Yunho/Changmin
[Rating] PG-13. [Genre] AU, Sci-fi, Action, Romance.
[Summary] Yunho and Changmin are partners fighting against the android horde.
The Dragon and The Phoenix
He and Changmin are alone in the room while he gets suited up. Changmin helps him snap the back plate into place, then holds him from behind. Yunho leans into him.
"What is the military doing sending us out here anyway?" Yunho asks. There aren't many of these augmented suits in existence, so every mission is highly classified and usually of great importance. Today, they have two main tasks. One is to send out a tunneling sensor to measure soil composition underground. The military scientists, who were also the ones that had proposed the initial mission, were very interested in what could wear down a diamond drill bit at only a 100 meter depth and had made a request for further data after Changmin had given them his report.
The team’s other task was to destroy the dud bomb from their last mission. It’s widely known that it’s dangerous to leave human technology for the androids to pick up and reverse engineer. Even the soil sensor has the ability to self-destruct given certain conditions.
Yunho gets all that, and yet he's still not sure what they were targeting in the first place.
Changmin hums, considering his original question. "Maybe looking for the queen?"
The androids have a strict social hierarchy, with no chance to upset the ranks due to physical and mental limitations made by design, and Changmin routinely compares them to ants. There was a period of time where Changmin wanted one of those ant tanks where their tunnels and behaviors could be observed, but Yunho managed to dissuade him by telling him what a disaster it would be if they managed to break out. After that, Yunho would catch Changmin watching videos of colonies instead, which was still gross but decidedly the lesser of two evils.
In terms of mental capacity, the lowest tier are the salvagers, miners, and assemblers. Changmin would put them below worker ants if such a level existed in nature. They lack any discernible AI, instead repeating the motions of their tasks in a constant, programmed rhythm. In that sense, they're more like typical machines than androids, but Changmin includes them because they can be accessed and controlled through a common network.
Beyond that are the scouts. Like worker ants, they routinely venture out of their stronghold. Tasked with finding useful salvage and evaluating the surrounding landscape, they have an assortment of sensors built in but lack any sort of weaponry to defend themselves. They are dispatched without the expectation of returning, simply sending back information until the moment they’re destroyed. Although this tier is strictly nonviolent, humans become skittish when they are spotted nearby because they are often an omen of things to follow.
After that are the soldier classes. They deviate from the ant hierarchy, instead splitting into three or four different types but still in varying gradations of strength and intelligence. Unlike soldier ants, they will travel far from the stronghold for offensive purposes. Changmin likes to apply military ranks to them.
Last of all is the fabled queen. To be honest, no one is sure if such a position even exists, and there’s debate about whether there is even a necessity for it. There is a large gap in the military’s knowledge about what makes the androids tick. They’ve been able to decrypt parts of the androids’ programming, but ultimately the trail always runs cold.
Yunho thinks the queen theory is something silly, maybe soldiers hoping that if they just bomb the right spot the war will end, but Changmin seems taken with the idea so Yunho holds his tongue. And what does he know anyway? At times, he feels like a blunt instrument hearing Changmin talk about behavioral patterns and programming. Yunho is directly in combat, and he's learned to rely on quick instinct. On the other hand, Changmin is the overseer, and, both literally or otherwise, he has a different perspective.
And if Yunho feels dull, then everything about Changmin is sharp; sharp wits, sharp eye, sharp-tongued. Hell, his cheeks even jut out a bit more after puberty. Yunho lips quirk into a smile. His boyfriend has always had the brains, but the beauty took a little while to come to a full bloom.
"What are you so happy about?" Changmin asks. He rests his chin on the shoulder plate of Yunho's armor and hides his face in Yunho's dark hair.
Yunho shrugs, but he's still wearing that mysterious grin. "Just thinking that I pick well," he replies. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Changmin's head tilt to the side, eyes curious and questioning.
The door to the room slides open, and Changmin steps back quickly. Yunho ahems and returns to adjusting his armor.
"Don't know why you bother trying to keep an open secret," Kyuhyun quips from the entrance.
Changmin looks away. "Did you need something?"
"Yeah, it's almost time. Get into position." The doors close once more.
Yunho turns to face Changmin, who briefly moves away to grab his helmet. Changmin rubs at some invisible scuff mark on its white surface, then gives Yunho a kiss before sliding it on for him.
"See you later," Yunho says with a smile, like someone leaving home for a safe, standard office job. Their clasped hands are the last to part.
Launch goes smoothly. Through the drone, Changmin watches Yunho soar through the air. He's always wanted to try that, but the two of them would be discharged immediately for going joyriding with some very expensive equipment.
"Head for the original drop point," Changmin informs. He types the coordinates in manually, and a blue circle appears on screen. “We will send the soil sensor down at the first bomb location from our previous mission. The scientists are hoping that it will be able to analyze particulate matter created by the bomb.
“Our number one priority, however, is to destroy the dud. The military has lost communication with it, so we’ll have to blow it up manually. First, we will head for the fourth drop point.” He types in another set of coordinates. “We’ve received another tunneling bomb and had it reengineered to detonate when it comes within 10 meters of its target. It will start a one minute countdown clock when in range, which will give you enough time to get away.”
"Understood."
There's not much to see in the desert, even at the drone’s high altitude. It’s a flat expanse of red dust bordered on all sides by eroded mountains. He observes the feed carefully, inspecting objects of interest. Again, there are basic foot-soldiers traversing the area back and forth, but there are only ten of them.
Something’s off. Androids tend to bolster their frontier after an attack, but from what Changmin can see, they haven’t made any changes to their behavior. Unease churns in his stomach. He doesn’t like when the androids aren’t easily predictable.
"Dragon, I advise you to be on guard," Changmin says.
Yunho is already on the ground and running. "Have a bad feeling?"
Changmin leans forward in his seat and stares long and hard at the screen. "Yeah." He always hates this next part of the mission. Changmin watches as the androids stop and chatter amongst themselves. He imagines them talking to their network, requesting precise coordinates for every local android, and soon discovering that the new heat signature in range is not one of them. Soon enough, they abandon their programmed walking patterns and begin to make their way for Yunho.
There’s something odd about their movements though. Low-ranking soldiers typically go for the “shortest distance is a straight line” approach, but today they’re showing more intelligence. A few of them are circling around behind Yunho while the rest charge forward as normal.
To use this kind of tactic is a sign that there’s a more intelligent android in the area. Changmin searches the screen for something he may have overlooked, a red circle that he had dismissed as a shrub, but there’s nothing.
He thinks back to their last mission. Perhaps there was something underground that he couldn’t see, something that the bombs couldn’t fully penetrate. Maybe the more advanced AI was hiding down there. It worried him to think about what kind of infrastructure they might be establishing under their noses.
However, his theories would have to wait until later. He had to focus on the mission at hand. He wanted the data the soil sensor would give him to prove himself right or wrong, but it would have to wait.
“Yunho, I think you should come back to the convoy,” Changmin tells his partner. He would have contact with the closest android in about half a minute. “We can have the nearby base arm the drone before we come back.”
“I can make it,” Yunho insists.
Changmin protests. “These androids are connect with a smarter AI. It will be harder for you to outrun them the closer you get.”
There’s a pause over the communication system. Yunho is considering his words. “At least let me drop off the bomb,” he compromises. “It’s just one android before the drop point, right?” Hesitantly, Changmin agrees to the terms.
Changmin catches himself holding his breath as on screen, one red circle converges upon the lone blue one. He zooms in on point where they intersect. He hears Yunho grunt and watches him get thrown back on to the ground. In his seat, Changmin clenches his fists. He hates this part too.
Yunho rolls on to fours, narrowly missing a strike. Rather than hands and fingers, the android has steel hammers at the end of arms that hang below the knees, a divergence from their generally anthropomorphic construction. Its design is a simple way to achieve greater physical force.
Over and over, the android attempts to hit him, but the weight of its own arms slows down its ability to raise them for a new swing, and Yunho is able to avoid its blows easily. He continues to roll around on the ground, all the while feeling vibrations from the strikes on either side of his head, until he finds an opening to get to his feet. At once, he charges the android and knocks it back. It staggers, and it becomes apparent that its heavy arms are making it difficult to stabilize itself while mid-swing.
The android takes a couple steps back, then falls flat on to its back. It’s almost comical, but Yunho is totally serious. He activates his laser strike, then sends his hand plunging down straight in to the android’s head, deactivating it for good. The countdown clock in the corner of his visor momentarily flickers as the suit recalculates how much time he has left to complete the mission given the charge left on his battery.
"Yunho, abort the mission," Changmin urges. "Come back and recharge. They'll have you boxed in soon."
"No," Yunho cries. "I'm almost there."
Changmin slams on the console, causing Yunho to flinch when the sound comes through the communication system. "Don't be stupid," Changmin hisses. "You can't fend off that many with only five minutes left." Internally, he berates himself for not putting in a request to upgrade his drone while they were on base.
“Turn back!” Changmin half pleas, half orders. He hits the console again, ignoring the pain while his knuckles turn white from clench them so hard.
Yunho doesn't respond, keeps charging forward silently, and in his ears Changmin is letting loose a string of expletives. The red circles form an arch in front of his eyes as the androids converge on him. He’s got the bomb right in his hand, and the blue circle is so much larger than the others. I can do this, he thinks to himself. He pushes himself harder and harder, determined to reach the set point before the androids can reach him.
Finally, the blue ring is in front of him, right there at his feet. He’s got only 15 seconds before he’s intercepted. Yunho opens his palm to reveal the bomb. Hurriedly, he presses the button until he starts to hear mechanical clicks over his own heavy breathing.
On his visor, the number 1:00 appears.
“What the-“ he gasps. The same sentiment echoes over the com system.
:59. Yunho’s mind is blank. “What do I do?” he cries. “Is it malfunctioning?” It’s supposed to be tunneling. On screen, the digital ring encircling the bomb flashes in alternating green and red.
“Just drop it!” Changmin orders. “Get out of there now!”
Yunho lets the bomb fall from his hand, then turns and runs from the androids. Meanwhile, Changmin’s fingers are flying across the keyboard. He knows military tags individual pieces of equipment for tracking purposes, and he’s also aware that it’s possible to control them remotely in the case that cargo is hijacked. The process is long and convoluted so that the technology can’t be manipulated easily, but if he can just get to it…
“I need permissions,” Changmin barks to Kyuhyun over the communication system. “Single-use expendable B0966312. Tell them it’s modified for proximity detonation.” He pulls up the remote access program. PLEASE HOLD. VERIFYING IDENTITY, the screen reads in bright red letters. Cursing to himself, he pulls down his visor and allows it to run a retinal scan.
“Shit!” Yunho cries, grabbing Changmin’s attention.
Changmin leans in to the console. “Dragon, status update?”
“I think they’ve picked up the bomb,” Yunho informs. His voice is panicked. “I thought it was just a software bug, but my distance isn’t increasing.” Changmin’s eyes flick back to the field monitor. The flashing green and red circle indicating the bomb is far from the drop point. Instead, it’s trailing behind Yunho at roughly 30 meters.
“I’m trying to deactivate it remotely,” Changmin tells him hurriedly. He’s passed the retinal scan, now he needs a higher ranking officer to approve his access and have technology support give him the passkey.
“Commander Kwon has signed off on our activity,” Kyuhyun interjects. “We’re talking to tech now. I’ll connect your line so you can hear them.”
Changmin slams his fist on the console. “I need it right now!” He can’t believe it’s come down to this. He’s shaking in his seat. 15 seconds left and he has to wait on other people.
“Phoenix,” he hears from support. “The key is wp234jk82k, all lowercase.”
“Can you fucking repeat it slower?” Changmin snaps, struggling to type and recall what was just said at the same time. Support says it once more, and Changmin finally gets into the system. A couple of windows pop on his screen, one showing him information about the bomb, including its modifications, and the other is a command prompt.
taskkill /f /pid 5093
“Changmin-ah.”
--- The Dragon and The Phoenix |1|2|3|4|---
[Fandom] DBSK [Pairing] Yunho/Changmin
[Rating] PG-13. [Genre] AU, Sci-fi, Action, Romance.
[Summary] Yunho and Changmin are partners fighting against the android horde.
The Dragon and The Phoenix
He and Changmin are alone in the room while he gets suited up. Changmin helps him snap the back plate into place, then holds him from behind. Yunho leans into him.
"What is the military doing sending us out here anyway?" Yunho asks. There aren't many of these augmented suits in existence, so every mission is highly classified and usually of great importance. Today, they have two main tasks. One is to send out a tunneling sensor to measure soil composition underground. The military scientists, who were also the ones that had proposed the initial mission, were very interested in what could wear down a diamond drill bit at only a 100 meter depth and had made a request for further data after Changmin had given them his report.
The team’s other task was to destroy the dud bomb from their last mission. It’s widely known that it’s dangerous to leave human technology for the androids to pick up and reverse engineer. Even the soil sensor has the ability to self-destruct given certain conditions.
Yunho gets all that, and yet he's still not sure what they were targeting in the first place.
Changmin hums, considering his original question. "Maybe looking for the queen?"
The androids have a strict social hierarchy, with no chance to upset the ranks due to physical and mental limitations made by design, and Changmin routinely compares them to ants. There was a period of time where Changmin wanted one of those ant tanks where their tunnels and behaviors could be observed, but Yunho managed to dissuade him by telling him what a disaster it would be if they managed to break out. After that, Yunho would catch Changmin watching videos of colonies instead, which was still gross but decidedly the lesser of two evils.
In terms of mental capacity, the lowest tier are the salvagers, miners, and assemblers. Changmin would put them below worker ants if such a level existed in nature. They lack any discernible AI, instead repeating the motions of their tasks in a constant, programmed rhythm. In that sense, they're more like typical machines than androids, but Changmin includes them because they can be accessed and controlled through a common network.
Beyond that are the scouts. Like worker ants, they routinely venture out of their stronghold. Tasked with finding useful salvage and evaluating the surrounding landscape, they have an assortment of sensors built in but lack any sort of weaponry to defend themselves. They are dispatched without the expectation of returning, simply sending back information until the moment they’re destroyed. Although this tier is strictly nonviolent, humans become skittish when they are spotted nearby because they are often an omen of things to follow.
After that are the soldier classes. They deviate from the ant hierarchy, instead splitting into three or four different types but still in varying gradations of strength and intelligence. Unlike soldier ants, they will travel far from the stronghold for offensive purposes. Changmin likes to apply military ranks to them.
Last of all is the fabled queen. To be honest, no one is sure if such a position even exists, and there’s debate about whether there is even a necessity for it. There is a large gap in the military’s knowledge about what makes the androids tick. They’ve been able to decrypt parts of the androids’ programming, but ultimately the trail always runs cold.
Yunho thinks the queen theory is something silly, maybe soldiers hoping that if they just bomb the right spot the war will end, but Changmin seems taken with the idea so Yunho holds his tongue. And what does he know anyway? At times, he feels like a blunt instrument hearing Changmin talk about behavioral patterns and programming. Yunho is directly in combat, and he's learned to rely on quick instinct. On the other hand, Changmin is the overseer, and, both literally or otherwise, he has a different perspective.
And if Yunho feels dull, then everything about Changmin is sharp; sharp wits, sharp eye, sharp-tongued. Hell, his cheeks even jut out a bit more after puberty. Yunho lips quirk into a smile. His boyfriend has always had the brains, but the beauty took a little while to come to a full bloom.
"What are you so happy about?" Changmin asks. He rests his chin on the shoulder plate of Yunho's armor and hides his face in Yunho's dark hair.
Yunho shrugs, but he's still wearing that mysterious grin. "Just thinking that I pick well," he replies. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Changmin's head tilt to the side, eyes curious and questioning.
The door to the room slides open, and Changmin steps back quickly. Yunho ahems and returns to adjusting his armor.
"Don't know why you bother trying to keep an open secret," Kyuhyun quips from the entrance.
Changmin looks away. "Did you need something?"
"Yeah, it's almost time. Get into position." The doors close once more.
Yunho turns to face Changmin, who briefly moves away to grab his helmet. Changmin rubs at some invisible scuff mark on its white surface, then gives Yunho a kiss before sliding it on for him.
"See you later," Yunho says with a smile, like someone leaving home for a safe, standard office job. Their clasped hands are the last to part.
Launch goes smoothly. Through the drone, Changmin watches Yunho soar through the air. He's always wanted to try that, but the two of them would be discharged immediately for going joyriding with some very expensive equipment.
"Head for the original drop point," Changmin informs. He types the coordinates in manually, and a blue circle appears on screen. “We will send the soil sensor down at the first bomb location from our previous mission. The scientists are hoping that it will be able to analyze particulate matter created by the bomb.
“Our number one priority, however, is to destroy the dud. The military has lost communication with it, so we’ll have to blow it up manually. First, we will head for the fourth drop point.” He types in another set of coordinates. “We’ve received another tunneling bomb and had it reengineered to detonate when it comes within 10 meters of its target. It will start a one minute countdown clock when in range, which will give you enough time to get away.”
"Understood."
There's not much to see in the desert, even at the drone’s high altitude. It’s a flat expanse of red dust bordered on all sides by eroded mountains. He observes the feed carefully, inspecting objects of interest. Again, there are basic foot-soldiers traversing the area back and forth, but there are only ten of them.
Something’s off. Androids tend to bolster their frontier after an attack, but from what Changmin can see, they haven’t made any changes to their behavior. Unease churns in his stomach. He doesn’t like when the androids aren’t easily predictable.
"Dragon, I advise you to be on guard," Changmin says.
Yunho is already on the ground and running. "Have a bad feeling?"
Changmin leans forward in his seat and stares long and hard at the screen. "Yeah." He always hates this next part of the mission. Changmin watches as the androids stop and chatter amongst themselves. He imagines them talking to their network, requesting precise coordinates for every local android, and soon discovering that the new heat signature in range is not one of them. Soon enough, they abandon their programmed walking patterns and begin to make their way for Yunho.
There’s something odd about their movements though. Low-ranking soldiers typically go for the “shortest distance is a straight line” approach, but today they’re showing more intelligence. A few of them are circling around behind Yunho while the rest charge forward as normal.
To use this kind of tactic is a sign that there’s a more intelligent android in the area. Changmin searches the screen for something he may have overlooked, a red circle that he had dismissed as a shrub, but there’s nothing.
He thinks back to their last mission. Perhaps there was something underground that he couldn’t see, something that the bombs couldn’t fully penetrate. Maybe the more advanced AI was hiding down there. It worried him to think about what kind of infrastructure they might be establishing under their noses.
However, his theories would have to wait until later. He had to focus on the mission at hand. He wanted the data the soil sensor would give him to prove himself right or wrong, but it would have to wait.
“Yunho, I think you should come back to the convoy,” Changmin tells his partner. He would have contact with the closest android in about half a minute. “We can have the nearby base arm the drone before we come back.”
“I can make it,” Yunho insists.
Changmin protests. “These androids are connect with a smarter AI. It will be harder for you to outrun them the closer you get.”
There’s a pause over the communication system. Yunho is considering his words. “At least let me drop off the bomb,” he compromises. “It’s just one android before the drop point, right?” Hesitantly, Changmin agrees to the terms.
Changmin catches himself holding his breath as on screen, one red circle converges upon the lone blue one. He zooms in on point where they intersect. He hears Yunho grunt and watches him get thrown back on to the ground. In his seat, Changmin clenches his fists. He hates this part too.
Yunho rolls on to fours, narrowly missing a strike. Rather than hands and fingers, the android has steel hammers at the end of arms that hang below the knees, a divergence from their generally anthropomorphic construction. Its design is a simple way to achieve greater physical force.
Over and over, the android attempts to hit him, but the weight of its own arms slows down its ability to raise them for a new swing, and Yunho is able to avoid its blows easily. He continues to roll around on the ground, all the while feeling vibrations from the strikes on either side of his head, until he finds an opening to get to his feet. At once, he charges the android and knocks it back. It staggers, and it becomes apparent that its heavy arms are making it difficult to stabilize itself while mid-swing.
The android takes a couple steps back, then falls flat on to its back. It’s almost comical, but Yunho is totally serious. He activates his laser strike, then sends his hand plunging down straight in to the android’s head, deactivating it for good. The countdown clock in the corner of his visor momentarily flickers as the suit recalculates how much time he has left to complete the mission given the charge left on his battery.
"Yunho, abort the mission," Changmin urges. "Come back and recharge. They'll have you boxed in soon."
"No," Yunho cries. "I'm almost there."
Changmin slams on the console, causing Yunho to flinch when the sound comes through the communication system. "Don't be stupid," Changmin hisses. "You can't fend off that many with only five minutes left." Internally, he berates himself for not putting in a request to upgrade his drone while they were on base.
“Turn back!” Changmin half pleas, half orders. He hits the console again, ignoring the pain while his knuckles turn white from clench them so hard.
Yunho doesn't respond, keeps charging forward silently, and in his ears Changmin is letting loose a string of expletives. The red circles form an arch in front of his eyes as the androids converge on him. He’s got the bomb right in his hand, and the blue circle is so much larger than the others. I can do this, he thinks to himself. He pushes himself harder and harder, determined to reach the set point before the androids can reach him.
Finally, the blue ring is in front of him, right there at his feet. He’s got only 15 seconds before he’s intercepted. Yunho opens his palm to reveal the bomb. Hurriedly, he presses the button until he starts to hear mechanical clicks over his own heavy breathing.
On his visor, the number 1:00 appears.
“What the-“ he gasps. The same sentiment echoes over the com system.
:59. Yunho’s mind is blank. “What do I do?” he cries. “Is it malfunctioning?” It’s supposed to be tunneling. On screen, the digital ring encircling the bomb flashes in alternating green and red.
“Just drop it!” Changmin orders. “Get out of there now!”
Yunho lets the bomb fall from his hand, then turns and runs from the androids. Meanwhile, Changmin’s fingers are flying across the keyboard. He knows military tags individual pieces of equipment for tracking purposes, and he’s also aware that it’s possible to control them remotely in the case that cargo is hijacked. The process is long and convoluted so that the technology can’t be manipulated easily, but if he can just get to it…
“I need permissions,” Changmin barks to Kyuhyun over the communication system. “Single-use expendable B0966312. Tell them it’s modified for proximity detonation.” He pulls up the remote access program. PLEASE HOLD. VERIFYING IDENTITY, the screen reads in bright red letters. Cursing to himself, he pulls down his visor and allows it to run a retinal scan.
“Shit!” Yunho cries, grabbing Changmin’s attention.
Changmin leans in to the console. “Dragon, status update?”
“I think they’ve picked up the bomb,” Yunho informs. His voice is panicked. “I thought it was just a software bug, but my distance isn’t increasing.” Changmin’s eyes flick back to the field monitor. The flashing green and red circle indicating the bomb is far from the drop point. Instead, it’s trailing behind Yunho at roughly 30 meters.
“I’m trying to deactivate it remotely,” Changmin tells him hurriedly. He’s passed the retinal scan, now he needs a higher ranking officer to approve his access and have technology support give him the passkey.
“Commander Kwon has signed off on our activity,” Kyuhyun interjects. “We’re talking to tech now. I’ll connect your line so you can hear them.”
Changmin slams his fist on the console. “I need it right now!” He can’t believe it’s come down to this. He’s shaking in his seat. 15 seconds left and he has to wait on other people.
“Phoenix,” he hears from support. “The key is wp234jk82k, all lowercase.”
“Can you fucking repeat it slower?” Changmin snaps, struggling to type and recall what was just said at the same time. Support says it once more, and Changmin finally gets into the system. A couple of windows pop on his screen, one showing him information about the bomb, including its modifications, and the other is a command prompt.
taskkill /f /pid 5093
“Changmin-ah.”
--- The Dragon and The Phoenix |1|2|3|4|---