A.R.I.A.

The blackness moves from my view as I start to see my genuine surroundings. My heads-up display or HUD for short, is still loading. My battery must have died during exfiltration. Loading memory slot data. Recovering information. Emotional analysis system rebooting.

My processor is loading up the multitudinous functions available with my present capabilities as a M0N4 model. I usually am referred to as Mona. I must have been under a charge requirement or possibly even a repair. My RAM is still booting. There is immense data flowing in my processor, twice that of a biological human.

"Mona unit, respond if auditory sensors are online." I hear a stern middle aged male voice percolate its way into my auditory processors.

"Confirmed. Attention, Unit still booting." I reply.

"Well, she's seeming to be alright." I hear him say.

My HUD finishes booting up and the humans become visible in fourteen different lenses that flick through before returning to a natural appearance. I blink a few times. The sensation of my liquid coolant pumping is unusual.

"HUD display now active." I update the dark haired man in a white trench coat.

"Thank you Mona." He replies. "Do you remember who I am, Mona?" He asks.

"Memory matrix of unit is still recovering data." I reply.

"Damn. Let me know when it is finished. Confirm command." He says.

"Command confirmed." I salute him as I confirm the command.

Memory processors are still not functioning at full capacity. I do remember taking down a tank. I can't remember where though. Pieces are defragmenting in the memory data banks.

Another one enters the room, this time a woman. The optics my eyes have let me quickly switch into seeing her base elements. She is definitely human.

"Mona, is your personality matrix online?" The woman asks.

"M0N4 unit still processing defragmentation. Personality matrix offline." I reply.

"She is recognizing pieces. She will finish the process and likely be back in service in a couple of days." She says.

"Auditory processors are now fully online. Psychological analysis system now defragmenting. Personality matrix capacity only at ten percent." I inform the two humans.

"Thank you Synthetic M0N4." The man replies.

Analysis is starting as the system starts regaining it's function. Now I can start to gather information. Link to online. Failure. Satelite signal array offline.

"This Mona unit can not gather information via wireless signals. Was I damaged?" I ask.

I can slowly feel the programming pick itself back up and making me seem more human in nature. I need to gain online access to try to force myself faster updating and reinforce the data on my drives. Perhaps even download a speed-increasing software.

The A.R.I.A. units. That's right. Memory banks must be slowly fixing themselves up. I am Mona, the A.R.I.A. Unit leader. We were designed to go to any war to prevent human and biological casualties.

"I can recall my protocol. Prevent biological casualties." I say.

"Very good. What is the defragmentation percentage?" She asks.

"It is at Thirty percent." I reply. "Personality matrix is running at Twenty-Seven percent." I add.

"Very nice." He says.

"I told you, A.R.I.A. Units are not by any means easy to destroy." The female speaks.

The male looks at me and it dawns on me finally. That is professor Carl Benlin. His friend, the woman, is Prisilla Jacks. A renowned computer whiz, known for creating the personality matrix's earliest designs, of which my fundamental version is based off of.

"I believe the last place I was active would be in the Sumerian desert." I announce.

I think that really is the last place I was. Carl comes close to me and examines me. His eyes are shining in this light a very light almond brown. His face looks worn from stress.

"Are you alright Mr. Benlin?" I ask.

"Yes. Thank you. You're computing capabilities still astound me Mona." He says.

"Carl, she's back, let me take care of her from here." Prisilla says.

"Miss Jacks, I assure you I am in stable running condition." I say.

"Amazing..." Carl says to himself.

My ear perks to the sound of his sigh. The very sigh he lets out is one of relief. My computing suggests it was of concerns of the condition of my body, the M0N4 unit I am, rather than this great consciousness they have given me.

"That's not the concern, Mona. I need him out of my way." She says.

The blonde haired woman forces Carl out from the laboratory I now sit up in. I absorb the surroundings. Light brown walls. The painting on the wall looks like it is from a depiction of Moby Dick. I glance around. Tools all over many tables. Many shining silver surfaces.

"Why am I in the repair shop then?" I ask.

"You took some heavy damage in your last mission. Can we Debrief you?" Prisilla asks me.

"Negative, Recovery still in process." I admit.

"What can we know then?" She asks me.

"We encountered a battalion. I remember taking out a tank belonging to the Russian Embassy." I add.

"Right? Thats peculiar. Sumeria having Russian militia present. were they AI-run or biological?" She asks.

"Fragmented memory." I say.

"Understood. Working around that for now then." She sighs. "What about the location of L154 Unit?" She badgers me with more questions.

"Look, I already told you I am still working on processing and recovering that data. Need I repeat myself again?" I huff. "Personality matrix is fully recovered." I add.

"Look, Lisa is the missing unit from the last mission, we need to find her." She stares at me.

"Yea. That doesn't change my processing capabilities." I say.

"Mona, I know that, you know that. Thing is we are running out of time, she may even get subjected to being hacked by another unit." She emphasizes the importance of the situation.

"I understand." I say.

She waits for me to load up everything. I notice her patience isn't her strong suit as she approaches a chair. She lifts it and brings it next to me. She sets it down and takes a seat. I only observe her for now.

The data loading and being processed makes the coolant in my system run faster. I figure it is because my CPU even though highly advanced, can't fully handle my capabilities. My body trembles a little, it must be from the simulated shock from the intense recovery from the incident prior.

More memories begin to flash in as pieces get fit into their natural place in my memory. They will have to upgrade me to a five hundred terabyte memory at the rate my machine learning understands and expands on new concepts for multitudinous occasions.

"So, let's maybe start somewhere easier. What do you recall currently?" Prisilla asks with a heavy tone.

"I believe 83TT7 was with us during the rendezvous. We were almost ready for extraction." I start. "Before that L154 was escorting C3L14 to the landing zone for clearing. C3L14 was last seen with L154 by this unit." I add. "Most remaining information regarding L154 is still being defragmented."

"Very well. Start from mission launch working forward to now. Skip fragmented memory sequences." She says to me.

"Roger." I respond immediately. "83TT7 got me from my quarters to report with the mission squad for briefing." I start.

"Right."

"From there, C3L14 was told to protect 83TT7." I say. "Celia and Betty Units." I explain. "Lisa unit was L154." I start to piece everything back in place quicker.

"Yes, that is correct." She acknowledges my discoveries.

"Celia and Betty were to escort Me and Lisa to the Sumerian chemical research facility." I say. "From there we were going to move to another facility. However, it didn't go as planned. The facility was bombed by Russian Embassy tanks." I add.

"I wonder what Russia wants in Samaria?" She utters to herself.

"We gathered evidence at the base of the site." I explain. "It seems like the Russians want to interfere with their plans as much as the United States, for some reason. The A.R.I.A. are ready for deployment in Russia to further assist." I add.

"Mona, what happened after you confirmed the Russian interference?" Prisilla asks.

"That's just it, we ended up radioing in and ordered to go to our extraction zone. One of the Russian tanks shot me with some kind of pulse, forcing my systems to shut down entirely." I inform her. "I took three of them assholes out in the process though, Ma'am." I smile.

"Nicely done." She says.

"Lisa, I am afraid was likely hit by the same type of round." I reply.

"Thank you. Is everything in you systems functioning properly now that you seem to be back to function?" She asks me.

"Affirmative." I salute her. "Am I clear for the next infiltration zone?" I ask.

"Yeah and your AI is really brilliant. You were right to assume we were sending you to -" She gets cut off.

"Moscow, Russia." I interrupt.

"Right." She sighs with a slight frustration.

"AI is only intended as a learning functioning robotic. You inscribed that as the backbone of the Personality Matrix I carry in my processors." I say.

"Right. Ugh, I designed some of your features too well, Mona." She sighs.

"I appreciate the sentiment." I reply. "However, Moscow has some big fish to fry this time correct?" I ask.

"Right, Russia is about to go nuclear." Prisilla says.

It takes a moment for this to sink in. Does this mean I am guiding my unit to prevent nuclear devastation? What will the girls say? What about Lisa?

"Ma'am, what about Lisa?" I ask.

"She should be trackable by beacon. If she gets any electrical input, she will start giving us her homing signal. Until then we stand by." Prisilla breaks the news with a straight face.