If that was the case, we could go see this one with no problems. I called over Cameron because he was part of my clan. I could count on him to be candid and truthful. I asked if he was doing alright. He nodded. "They had some really nasty traps to stop us down there. We beat the last 2 members in their clan X-frames and killed them. It was a little scary, but we were made for this kind of thing." he said. "I'm glad that you made it back safe. How were the conditions down there. Do we need the hazmat suits to go down there?" I asked. He said "No. There was no high levels of radiation. Maybe they thought there was no point as they had protection already. I bet it would be safe for you and other humans." That was good. "I'm going down with the general and head researcher. Do you want to come, or do you want to play with your new human friends?" His eyes lit up. "I'll stay here." he said. I ruffled his hair and sent him on his way. "So, that's your nephew?" the general asked. I nodded. "Cameron's got a good head on his shoulders." I praised. One of the assassins wanted to tag along as well.
Going down was a journey. The path that they took was still clear. We went down the ladder and looked around. "This was the real clan building. I wonder if they got their labs somewhere on this floor." I said out loud as we all walked through the dimly lit main hall. As we walked towards the hallway to find the elevator, the assassin turned around and drew his weapon. "Come out!" he shouted. We all rushed to him with our guns drawn as well. "There is someone here. I can feel it!" he said. His gun was pointing towards the X-frames. I walked towards them. "These are X-frames. PEP units can slip inside their backs and pilot them like an exosuit." I explained. There were 4 in total from the number of pods. One was in it's pod. Another was laying askew outside of it. The other 2 were missing. I knew from the feed that the others fought them closer to the transmission hub. "That's odd. Why is this one out of its pod? There were only 2 clan members down here." I said as I approached. When I was within 3 feet of it, I hopped up to its feet. "Do-don't shoot!" It was a female X-frame with a male pilot.
We all pointed out guns at it. "Lay flat on your stomach and come out of there! Now!" the general commanded. "I-I can't! I'm this X-frame is carrying an AEP unit. Leaving now would abort its development!" the pilot sounded like he was terrified. "Lay on your stomach and stay inside for now. Make any sudden movements and its all over for the both of you!" I said. He got on the ground. "What faction are you?" I asked him. The X-frame was silent. That was not good. "Answer the god damned question, you cyborg scrap pile!" the general demanded. "I-It's hard to say! I'm a remnant of the old Conqueror Radiation Clan. But the transmission hub has been flipped. I can't turn it back as a PEP unit. This offspring can't do it alone. Even if they could, they will be spawned as an Advocate!" he said quickly. I looked at the general. He looked back at me. "What!?" he demanded. "It's cleat he didn't fight in the battle for the hub. We can let him go, right?" I asked. He groaned. "Fine. When is that AEP unit coming out!?" I was glad that he was being lenient. "A week." was the answer. The general did not like that.
He moved closer and said "You don't fucking have that much time. It's coming out of you right now!" he said. I just looked at him like he was crazy. He had to be at this point. I knew better than to say anything to him about it though. Radiation Clan remnants were not a big concern of mine. "Bu-but, there is a certain protocol for this kind of-" he tried to argue, but the general was having none of it. "It's now or never. We don't have a week to wait for you." he shouted. There was a brief pause before the pilot sighed and said "Initiating Expedited Spawning Time frame." He then began to groan and scream in pain as we heard and audible gurgling coming from his stomach. A few minutes of scrapping the floor with its nails later, the X-frame spread its legs and lifted its hips. Dark gray memory nanites flooded out of the large orange vagina. Usually the primordial form of an AEP unit was shiny and slivery. There was something wrong with this one. I guess expediting the spawning time caused some defects. The male pilot crawled out the back of the X-frame and said "We are out of power."
