SRD Mercenaries

An idea for a campfire I had a while back. Might start this up if I can find enough people interested in playing a sentient robot...

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In 2015, under a federal grant from the US military, SRD Industries began to develop and produce autonomous war machines. The first SRDc, dubbed the "Ogre," was an ungainly and rather unimpressive robot, but had moderate battlefield success. SRDI was allowed to keep their grant, and by 2020, full-scale production on several SRDc models had commenced. The Series I's were refined, streamlined machines with an intelligence level roughly equal to an experienced general in the field, and for two decades, these robots dominated the battlefields.

In 2045, however, SRDI completed testing of their Series II line, making the war-weathered Series I's obsolete. Most of the first series was decommissioned as soon as the second was delivered.

But decommissioned does not mean deactivated.

Using false identities and internet contracts, the remaining Series I's have sold themselves out as mercenaries. And their new employer has a contract they're only too happy to accept.

Terminating the Series II's...

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         Clangs and echoes were all around ST801 as the human technicians worked diligently on their war machines. War machines they controlled, tanks and armored hovercraft. Sparks fountained from the vehicles as armor and weapons were loaded on and welded into place. From one end of the repair bay to the other, the entire facility was a chaotic melee of soldiers getting ready for battle. And for the first time since its activation, twenty-three years ago, ST801 cared for none of it.

         Better known as “Wraith,” the Stalker-class robot was programmed for warfare. Like all of the Stalkers SRDI produced, its AI system was near genius, a true work of art for the programmers. By necessity, Stalkers were among the most intelligent and ruthless of the SRDI machines. Their mission profile slated them for search-and-destroy operations, sneaking deep into enemy territory to raze their targets, then extract. Wraith had excelled well beyond anyone’s expectations in this regard. Despite being close to eighteen feet tall, it was able to appear from anywhere, striking hard and fast, then vanish like so much smoke on the breeze- usually the smoke from its own weapons fire.

         ]]And now, they’re taking it all away from me,[[ the machine snarled to no one. Its IR transmitter blinked spastically, but no human could decipher it without a linkpad, and no one in the bay had one within range. ]]Decommissioned the instant that ST2 arrived. I’m not sure which I’d enjoy more- putting a rocket through his damn optics panel, or strafing the commander who put me here.[[

         ]]How about cooling your vents, Wraith? Maybe we’ll be put back on active duty once they integrate the Series II’s,[[ a Longbow flashed at the Stalker. LB683, one of the newer SRDs in the bay. “Will,” as most referred to it, had only seen ten years of action. The Longbow’s nickname was in reference to the legendary “William Tell,” and like most Longbows, Will was somewhat naïve about warfare. Its type were meant to provide fire support, raining down destruction and devastation on the enemy from a quarter-mile away or more, well out of the range of typical firefights.

         ]]When the hell did you become such an optimist?[[ Wraith replied hotly. It would have turned to face the other robot, but the humans had locked it down, and it didn’t want to risk damaging its hardpoints just to glare at a fellow Series I. ]]Face it, Will, the humans are through with us. They'll keep us on hand, barely alive and barely maintained for another few years, and when the Series IIs are fully deployed, they'll break us down for scrap and sell the parts to what's left of Russia.[[ Servos whined in protest as the Longbow twitched - the rugged, bitter-cold terrain of Siberia was not an environment it wanted to face.