It wasn’t hostile. It just stood there, trembling.
7Z_APPLE_CORE.log
“A what?”
He tried to delete it. It duplicated.
That was three hours ago.
“Check your fireteam,” Vance whispered.
The creature’s split jaw stretched into a grin. “ ”
Jensen’s HUD refreshed. Their mission orders had been rewritten. OPERATION: WARPED APPLE was not a pacification. It was a delivery.
Corporal Jensen stared at the dispatch screen, the words OPERATION: WARPED APPLE glowing a sickly green.
“Command,” Vance shouted into his collar. “7Z is lost. Enemy uses airborne memetic vectors. Requesting immediate—”
Sergeant Vance didn’t look up from stripping his rifle. “New pacification protocol. Sector 7Z went dark six hours ago. No comms, no drones, nothing. Command thinks it’s a logic plague.”
Vance stepped forward, face pale. “What is the harvest?”