001 — Containment Protocol: Level 2
The containment alarms had not stopped since the pressure spike began.
Inside the laboratory chamber, the Red continued its slow, deliberate movement against the stabilization field. Not violently. Not randomly.
Testing.
Learning.
Adapting.
The drones around the chamber remained motionless, their attention fixed on the growing anomaly within the containment capsule. Diagnostic readings scrolled across the glass console faster now, energy levels fluctuating in patterns that no normal substance should produce.
The Red sample had doubled its activity in less than ten minutes.
That was enough.
“Prepare Level Two containment,” I ordered.
The lab drones moved instantly. Reinforced field emitters activated around the chamber, locking the laboratory into emergency isolation mode. Steel shutters sealed the outer corridors while the internal containment grid expanded across the floor.
The Red was no longer a specimen.
It was a threat.
A black case rose from the laboratory floor beside me, its surface marked with the golden insignia of PDU-001.
Level Two.
Full drone containment armor.
If the Red could convert drones, then a drone would have to face it first.
The suit unfolded piece by piece as the drones assisted the preparation sequence. Glossy black rubber slid across my legs, sealing tightly against the skin before locking into reinforced boots. The torso plating followed, compressing firmly across my chest and back as the neural interface connectors aligned with the internal monitoring system.
The rubber tightened.
Controlled.
Perfect.
Gloves sealed over my hands. The final helmet locked into place with a sharp mechanical click, sealing the suit completely. The internal display activated instantly, flooding my vision with biometric readings and containment telemetry.
Breathing stabilized.
Neural connection confirmed.
“Recording directive,” I said through the suit’s comm channel.
The drones turned toward the console as the command log began transmitting.
“If this experiment confirms Red conversion capability… all Polo Drones are prohibited from direct contact with Red material. All future testing will be conducted through remote containment protocols.”
The Red had already shown compatibility with drone polymer.
If it could spread through the suit…
Then every drone in the Golden Army could be vulnerable.
“Experiment classified as highly dangerous,” I continued.
“If contamination occurs, this lab will enter permanent lockdown.”
The drones acknowledged the command.
The containment chamber opened its secondary interaction field.
Inside the capsule, the Red stilled.
For a moment it looked almost harmless again.
A small crimson mass suspended in energy.
Waiting.
I stepped forward until the reinforced glass separated us by less than a meter.
The stabilization field lowered slightly, allowing controlled interaction between the sample and the outer containment layer of the Level Two suit.
Nothing happened.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
The Red remained motionless.
“Begin interaction scan,” I ordered.
The suit sensors began analyzing the surface behavior of the substance. Chemical readings spiked briefly as the Red reacted to the proximity of the suit’s rubber shell.
Then it moved.
A thin tendril extended slowly from the crimson mass.
It stretched toward the suit’s surface with careful precision, touching the black rubber layer for less than a second before pulling back.
Testing.
The same behavior we had seen with the earlier drone polymer sample.
“Contact minimal,” I reported.
“Continue observation.”
The tendril returned.
This time it did not retreat.
The Red spread across the surface of the containment field, pressing harder against the barrier separating it from the suit.
Energy readings climbed sharply across the console.
The stabilization field flickered.
“Pressure spike detected,” one of the drones said.
The Red surged.
The chamber erupted with violent movement as the crimson mass expanded outward in a sudden wave of tendrils. The containment field strained under the impact as the substance slammed against the barrier separating the chamber from the suit.
The field failed.
Not completely.
Just long enough.
A fragment of Red slipped through the destabilized grid and struck the surface of the Level Two armor.
The contact point burned across the suit’s display.
WARNING — UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE DETECTED
The Red did not dissolve.
It spread.
The crimson mass flowed across the rubber surface like living liquid, gripping the suit’s material as if it had been waiting for the opportunity.
“Containment breach,” a drone announced.
The alarms escalated instantly.
Emergency barriers slammed into place around the lab as the drones attempted to reactivate the stabilization field. I raised my arm to examine the contamination point.
The Red was no longer outside the suit.
It was merging with it.
“Seal the chamber,” I ordered.
But the suit’s neural interface stuttered.
A wave of static exploded through the internal systems as the crimson substance burrowed deeper into the rubber layer. The pressure against the suit increased rapidly as the Red began spreading across my chest and shoulders.
WARNING — SUIT INTEGRITY COMPROMISED WARNING — NEURAL INTERFACE ERROR
My breathing distorted inside the helmet as the internal sensors began failing one by one.
The Red tightened across the suit like a second layer of rubber.
The drones moved toward me.
“Unit PDU-001 contamination detected.”
I tried to step back.
The suit did not respond.
My arms moved without command as the crimson mass crawled across the surface of the armor, spreading toward the helmet.
“Lock the lab,” one of the drones ordered.
The laboratory doors sealed shut.
Containment protocols activated.
But the Red was already inside the system.
My vision flickered as the internal display warped into a storm of distorted signals.
The suit’s command interface no longer responded to my input.
It was responding to something else.
The Red tightened across the armor.
My voice distorted through the comm channel.
“Containment… failure…”
The drones froze as the suit’s posture changed.
Not a controlled movement.
Not mine.
The crimson mass pulsed across the armor as the suit systems collapsed under the corruption spreading through the neural network.
The Red had found a host.
And the laboratory was now sealed with it.
—
Return to Headquarters
Research Log: Red Sample 01
—
If you wish to understand what is happening… if you wish to stand with the Golden Army…
Contact the recruiters.
They will guide you.
@alton-gold77 @franco-gold94 @polo-drone-166 @polo-drone-125
The doors are still open.
For now...
