E-UNIT: The Blue Angels of Death.

Chapter 140: The Flesh Welcomes You.

V O L U M E . S I X : C O D E_R E S E T

Chapter 140: The Flesh Welcomes YouThe convoy moved through Bijou, the Veridian Coast's capital, flanked by military vehicles clearing the road ahead. The city looked nothing like Theria. No glass towers, no reflective surfaces catching the sky. The buildings here were low and handcrafted, four, five, six floors at most, painted white or beige, dark roofs with dormer windows pushing out from the slopes. Each one was different from the one beside it.

The streets were wide and mostly one-way, both pavements lined so heavily with trees that the canopy ran almost continuous. Tramways cut across the major intersections, which slowed the convoy by a few minutes at each one.

03 was recording through her HUD, head swiveling. "You can look at photographs of this style for years and still miss half of it. Being here makes you actually see the details, the carvings on the walls, the balconies. Every railing is a different pattern."

"These buildings aren't from this century," Delta said, trying to watch the road and the architecture at the same time. "No modern city council would approve the budget for stonework this detailed, or for those entrance statues, or for the road paving. Those are solid blue stone blocks on the pavements. That's not cheap."

"Inefficient," 02 said, reviewing footage of President Salaska. "What do the decorations actually contribute? Glass towers hold a hundred times the occupancy, they're ageless, and they're easier to clean. These buildings are maintenance-heavy, structurally dated, and the stonework is a health hazard if it starts crumbling."

03 placed a hand on 02's shoulder with the particular calm of someone choosing their words carefully. "It's alright, sister. Not having taste isn't something to be ashamed of. You're strong, smart, and exceptional at what you do. Life can't give you everything."

02 turned to look at her. "03. Would you trade your tactical plasma blade, the one that cuts through reinforced metal in a single motion, for a historically significant samurai katana that hasn't been properly maintained since the Edo period?"

03 rested her chin in her hand and went quiet, running through the scenario with visible effort.

Delta leaned back. "Do you actually need to think about that?"

02 sighed and returned to her screens. "Thank you, Delta. We're nearly at the presidential house. Follow the protocol I sent you, Salaska isn't going to be straightforward to deal with."

The trucks parked outside the building on a road that had been closed for the occasion, soldiers redirecting civilians away from the perimeter. The E-UNIT's arrival in the Veridian Coast had been kept out of the press, both to avoid alerting Elysium and to prevent the neighboring human states from making decisions before any agreement was in place.

03 leaned toward the windshield, eyes bright. "Push him to give us one of these buildings as our headquarters please. I want to work inside one."

02 smiled. "I'll do my best for my 03." She stepped out of the cab and was guided by secret service agents in black suits toward the main gate, Dave walking beside her.

03 stared after her.

Delta tilted her head. "What is it?"

"She said the thing." 03 pointed at 02's retreating figure crossing the garden. "That exact phrase. She uses it when she's trying to reassure me. How does she still have that if the memories are gone?"

Delta clicked her tongue. "Honestly, I'm starting to agree with the captain. You're slow sometimes."

"Excuse me—"

"Have you changed since the last time you knew her?"

"No."

"Has the team changed how it behaves around her?"

"Not really."

"And is she genuinely the same 02, just without access to her files?"

"I mean, technically, yes." 03 frowned. "What's your point?"

Delta exhaled and covered her face briefly. "If she's the same person, and you're the same people, and the same environment surrounds her, what exactly would produce a different outcome? You needed a confident captain before. You still need one now, for the same reasons. The only difference is that this version is trying to make sure you can manage without her."

03 caught herself before responding and sat with it for a moment. "Your delivery needs significant work. But the point is clear." She paused. "How was the G-Bot team? Similar dynamic?"

Delta threw her arm across 03's shoulders. 03 immediately listed sideways, the density of Delta's frame was not something she had prepared for. "You could say we were at least as dependent on each other, if not more so. And we were finished combat models." She looked toward the building where 02 had disappeared. "You girls are—"

"Don't."

"—clearly still in development."

"Then explain how none of you managed to survive the fight against Reaper," 03 said, still fighting the arm. "A copy of one orange G-Bot dissolved into nothing. That's your survival rate. One. Briefly."

Delta didn't answer immediately. She kept watching the building. "We weren't ready. That's all it was. She always said so. We just didn't listen."

02 entered the presidential house with Dave and the six-person security detail. The interior was warm in the way that old, deliberately designed buildings tend to be, beige furniture, soft green walls, white flooring almost entirely covered by a long grey carpet that ran from the entrance all the way to the wooden staircase. The lighting was warm yellow, low intensity, the kind that didn't demand anything from the eyes.

The upstairs hallway followed the same logic, same palette, same proportions, potted plane trees at measured intervals. At the far end, tall white wooden double doors.

One of the agents knocked three times. "Sir. Your guests have arrived."

"Send them in. I've been waiting."

The doors opened.

Salaska's office was circular, which was unexpected. His desk sat at the far end in dark wood, the distance from the door giving the room a sense of ceremony without formality. The walls were lined with custom bookcases and framed photographs of previous presidents. The Veridian Coast's flag stood behind his desk, and the windows let in natural light at specific angles that suggested someone had thought carefully about them. Heavy dark green curtains waited at either side.

Salaska was already standing, smile running ahead of him. He saluted. "Welcome to your new home, Captain 02."

02 returned the salute. "At your service."

Both she and Dave took the chairs across from him. Salaska studied them for a moment before speaking.

"Relax, David House. You look like you're expecting a verdict." He leaned back. "Now, who is actually representing the E-UNIT here? Is it 02 directly? That would make this team fully autonomous self-governing."

Dave said nothing.

"It is," 02 said. "Before anything else, thank you for the personal meeting. That alone resolved half of our concerns about the intent behind this arrangement."

"Of course." Salaska settled back. "I dislike wasting time, and I suspect you do too. Let's get directly to how this works. I think we need each other, and I don't see a reason to pretend otherwise."

"Agreed." 02 folded her hands. "For context, we have significant experience operating alongside human forces, so integration won't be—"

Salaska raised a hand. "We evaluated your team before this meeting. Your technology is years beyond anything currently deployed in the field, and that's before accounting for—" He pointed at 02 with a tilt of his head. "You personally." He shifted in his chair. "Standard crime response would be a waste of what you bring. What we need from you is different."

He stood. "An emergency unit."

02 looked at him. "That's our existing designation, Mr. Salaska."

"I know." He sat back down. "But unlike Altea's model, I don't want you spread across general policing. I want you handling the cases nothing else can touch. The Mecha-Terrorist network, for one. Organized crime using our territory as a transit route for distribution. Cases where the normal structure fails." He looked at both of them. "You'll have full access to our database. Everything."

Dave nodded slowly. "Human criminal cases aren't a problem. The robot uprising cells are a different calculation."

"I'm aware." Salaska's expression shifted. "They're embedded at every level. We can't distinguish between a factory floor operator and an active cell member, and we can't remove the robot workforce, the country depends on it."

"Understood." Dave opened his screen and started taking notes.

Salaska leaned forward toward 02. "One more thing. I need to be direct about this. The Veridian Coast runs on a due process system, and dead suspects can't be processed. Use lethal force only when there is no alternative. Don't concern yourself with the repair costs, we'll cover your parts."

02 looked at the desk for a moment. ‘ The team has been ending threats in minutes through direct force. That's the only mode they've operated in. We'll need time to rebuild how we work before we operate here at full capacity.’ She glanced at Dave's screen, he was three lines into structured notes on Veridian Coast legal procedures. ‘ Of course he is.’

She stood and extended her hand. "Working with you is going to be productive."

Salaska took it and gripped firmly. "For both sides. Take the time you need to set up. The new headquarters will take a few weeks to finalize."

"That creates a charging station problem for the team—"

Three knocks on the office door.

Salaska looked up. "Ah. He made it."

02 turned. "Who?"

The door opened.

Dave’s finger stopped mid-sentence on the screen. "Albert? How are you—"

"Dave, long time no see.” Albert stepped into the office, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp. He stopped, exercising practiced restraint to keep from inspecting 02 too closely. “Hello. Nick's finest work."

02 tilted her head. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Albert Wilson