"Echo?"

"What is it, Greer?"

"I think you were sleeping again."

She looked around, realizing time had again elapsed without her realizing it. Verifying her internal data storage, the android calculated an hour had passed of which she had no memory.

"I believe you are correct." Standing, she turned to face him in the dark, sensing an elevated heart rate and blood pressure. "You are troubled."

"I'm with a robot that dreams," he retorted softly. "Of course I'm troubled."

"Do you wish me to depart from you?"

"That's not what I meant." Taking a step closer, he reached out, touching her arm. It was cold. "All of this is a little...unusual."

"Yes."

"About earlier,"

"Yes?" Her head turned sharply. "Something approaches."

"Scavengers?"

"No...it is in the sky, approaching swiftly." The steady whump whump of helicopter blades broke the silence as she spoke. A military grade chopper appeared in the sky. Greer and Echo ducked out of sight, running to where Kai was stirring. The boy had been awoken by the loud motor.

"What is that-?"

"Quickly son!" Rhaner half dragged half carried the boy into the trees, pressing close to the ground among the brush. "Quiet now...no sudden moves."

"Did they find us?" Kai whispered, fully awake now.

"I don't think so, or we'd know it. But they are looking."

"Do you think that bird has infrared capabilities?"

With searing light, a beam shot from the helicopter, the spotlight driving away all shadows from the area they lay in. Greer swore. Blinking against the blinding glare, he started in surprise to see Echo walking slowly out into the open, her long hair whipped into a flurry of black mist. She was looking up.

"On the ground!" The voice from above was sharp. "You have three seconds to comply!"

Like the images from a dream, Greer watched in slow motion as the android lifted her arm, palm open, facing the chopper. A brilliant flash of blue light pulse from her hand, sending direct ripples of light up into the night sky. It was instantly silent and dark. Hanging for a brief moment, suspended on nothing, the helicopter tilted slightly before plummeting toward the earth.

"Run!" Echo was suddenly at their side, pulling them both to their feet. "Run!"

The Rhaner's did not need further urging. Legs pumping, they raced into the trees, putting as much distance behind them as they could before the chopper hit ground. The explosion was loud, shock waves of heat and powerful air currents slapping into them from behind. Kai was hurled forward, landing on his face, somersaulting several times before rolling to a stop, groaning. Greer hit on his shoulder, feeling the joint pop as he tumbled headlong into a sturdy pine. His forehead cracked against the trunk, sparks of light exploding in his mind as he went limp.

Echo landed on her feet in a crouch, clothing singed but undamaged. She went to Greer first, assessing the injuries swiftly. Pulling him upright, she left him leaning against the offending pine tree before going to Kai. The boy had not moved but was still groaning. Instead of touching him, Echo scanned his body first. There were multiple fractures and several breaks, but no internal bleeding and no brain damage. She gently rolled him over.

"Kai,"

"Echo...?"

"You are injured, but you will recover."

"My dad..."

"He too is injured, but also will recover."

"It hurts," his features twisted into a grimace, fingers curling in pain. The android regarded him calmly for a moment.

"Do you wish me to assist you?"

"You know how to help me?"

"I am familiar with the human anatomy and have basic medical programming."

"Go ahead,"

He tried not to scream as she set his bones, sheathed in sweat when the android was done. She got up, coming back with thick branches she broke into pieces. Tearing her shirt, Echo bound his leg tightly to one branch, his arm to another. Ripping another section of her shirt, she formed a sling and gently tied it around his neck, putting his arm inside.

"If you do not move, the pain should fade. I will go help your father now."

"Thanks, Echo."

She rose, turning to find Greer watching, pain in his eyes. They did not speak until she was by his side.

"Thanks for looking after my son first."

"I suspected that was what you would desire me to do." Her fingers touched his shoulder, and he flinched. "His injuries are more extensive than yours."

"I broke something, I think."

"Your shoulder is dislocated. Will you allow me to fix it?"

"Only if you leave the rest of your shirt on. There's not enough left to make another sling." She stared at him, unblinking. "That was a joke Echo. We'll have to work on your sense of humor."

A sharp hiss escaped his lips as she abruptly cracked his shoulder into place, his entire body rigid with pain.

"My responses will be fully integrated and adapted to your preferences when you-"

"Raba, aurata! Let a man recover before you start with that again!"

"You don't need your shoulder to do it, Greer."

Looking sharply at her, Rhaner found her expression serene, but there was something, an indefinable air of effected innocence about her. His eyes narrowed.

"Was that a joke?" When she rose, he followed, gingerly holding his arm. "Echo!"

There was no smile on her face when she glanced at him, but somehow the blue in her eyes was alive with playfulness.

"Can a robot tell jokes, Greer?"

"The more I'm around you, the less I'm certain I know about Tech."

"Is that good?"

"I just don't know."

A perfectly shaped brow arched at him as the android stared.

"What?"

"You are a puzzle to me also, Greer Rhaner."

"Why?"

"You do not conform to what my programming indicates how my Owner should interact with me. Do you own me or not?"

"We've been through this, Echo- wait," Startled, he suddenly stared hard at the robot that simulated real life so accurately. "Are you questioning your initial imprint?"

"That is illogical." Her expression was a blank mask, void of all emotion. "I cannot reject the imprint of my Owner."

"But you just-!"

"Calm down, Greer Rhaner." The tiniest of smiles flicked along the edge of her mouth. "I am working on my sense of humor."

"Not funny!"

"Not even a little?" A slender shoulder half lifted, mimicking a very human shrug. "I will continue to improve."

They took the time to sift through the wreckage once the flames died. Not much was left. The intense fuel used to power military equipment was highly flammable, burning at a temperature that could disintegrate most materials within minutes. Kai limped up to where his father stood.

"Will more come?"

"Yes."

Eyes unaccustomed to death regarded the scene, troubled, the youth's face pale.

"What's going to happen to us, Dad? They'll just keep coming, won't they."

"We have to disappear." It was suddenly obvious, and Rhaner frowned. "If they think we're dead, they'll stop hunting."

"No one's been able to fake a death for over a hundred years, Dad! Not with facial and bio recognition scanners everywhere!"

"It won't be easy." He grinned a little as Echo moved toward them, graceful. She remained untouched despite the carnage around them, a like a beacon of hope. "However, we've got something that they won't be expecting."

"What?"

"Her."

"The android?" She looked up at that, studying both of them silently. Kai shrugged. "How's she supposed to help?"

"Because she'd the only one capable of getting access to the main data stream without setting off every alarm, and without dying. She can remove us from the system, erase us completely."

"How do you know?"

"I've been inside one, once."

"That's bananas!" Kai threw his hands up, crying out as his arm flared hot. Cradling the limb, he shook his head, locks tumbling across his brow. "The monitoring units will scan us, and once we're not recognized, we'll still be dead."

"If we only remove ourselves, yes." Greer's expression darkened with devilish resolve. "What if we erased an entire unit? Or a whole sector? It would take years to re-register that many people...if at all. If we made it look like a malfunction, and targeted one or more of the outland regions..."

Kai was intrigued, confidence in his father's plan taking root. It was reckless, crazy...but it might just work. He looked at the android.

"Well? You in?"

Vivid blue eyes went between them.

"It is risky, with the chance of success being less than three point four percent." Unblinking, she turned to Greer. "I will go with you."

"Yes-! Ow," Kai clutched his arm again, but the boy was now grinning. Looking at his father, he chuckled. "This is going to work!"

"I hope so," Greer's gaze turned to Echo, studying her intently. She returned his look with silent acceptance. "It has to."