As the Aegis units closed in, I reflected on the problem. All things considered, I’d rather be working with Aegis. With my uberhacking talents, I could probably do a lot of good in this secret war.

The problem was, it wouldn’t be as simple as just surrendering and saying, “Hi, I’m actually the victim of a Marauder who took over his body. I want to join Aegis.” There was no way they’d believe me—I know I wouldn’t. The best I could expect was to be popped out of the body, scanned to see if I was telling the truth, and then shoved in their library so a more experienced soldier could be given the automech. I didn’t fancy that. But I wasn’t going to join the faction that had a habit of chowing down on helpless humans, either.

It was so ironic—after all this time of lying my way into computer systems, I wouldn’t be believed the one time I really wanted to tell the truth.

There was only one thing I could do: try to get away, and contact Aegis on my own terms later. I only hoped I’d get a chance.