The battle in the warehouse district continued.
Hawkeye and the automated defense turrets formed a dense web of fire, preventing the Hydra forces—disguised as U.S. military personnel—from advancing toward the Rhodes Island Industrial logistics warehouse.
But the enemy was no pushover.
Despite being relentlessly bombarded by orbital weaponry and Hawkeye Barton's precision strikes, they wielded highly advanced equipment—some of which was even manufactured by Rhodes Island Industrial.
This allowed them to pose a significant threat to the warehouse's defenses, which were not particularly formidable.
The addition of War Machine further accelerated the attrition of the automated defense units.
———————————————————————
— "Queen" Command and Control Center
A holographic display projected a three-dimensional battlefield overview.
Drones and satellites positioned in near-earth orbit and the surrounding airspace relayed real-time intelligence to Kagura, who was stationed tens of thousands of kilometers away.
"Enemy reinforcements detected. War Machine confirmed in battle. Additionally, an unidentified squad with extremely high energy signatures is rapidly approaching."
Cortana analyzed the combat situation while commanding the remaining defenses of the warehouse district.
"Oh-ho, looks like a big fish has arrived."
Kagura smiled. "I thought Captain America would show up first, but it doesn't really matter. They're all the same."
"Master, our current battlefield situation is unfavorable."
"The enemy possesses formidable equipment, including War Machine—a high-tech combat unit incorporating Stark Industries' cutting-edge technology."
"Agent Barton alone may not be able to hold them back."
Cortana issued a warning. "Based on battlefield analysis and cloud-computed projections, we should consider relocating Nick Fury and abandoning this warehouse sector."
"No, that won't be necessary." Kagura showed no concern about the increasingly dire combat scenario.
"It's not that bad. In fact, this is an opportunity. The enemy is using a substantial amount of Rhodes Island Industrial's equipment, which means I can play a little trick on them."
"Master, if my analysis is correct, the technology you intend to use is not yet fully developed." Cortana seemed to realize what Kagura was planning.
"The third-generation EE1D multifunctional battlefield dominion drone, codenamed 'Troy,' is still in its security verification phase."
"It cannot guarantee full control over battlefield equipment and may risk malfunctioning."
"Ah, don't worry about that."
"Since the equipment is on the enemy's side, even if we forcibly seize control and things spiral out of control, the ones who'll suffer will still be the enemy. No big deal."
Kagura shrugged. "Mmm, so let's deploy the 'Troy' drones and initiate 'Operation Turncoat!'"
The Troy drone, officially known as the third-generation EE1D multifunctional battlefield dominion drone, was designed by Kagura and developed by Rhodes Island Industrial as a large-scale combat drone system.
This advanced UAV had the capability to link all Rhodes Island Industrial equipment within its operational range through a cloud network, granting it the highest-level remote control authority and AI-assisted command functionality.
Compared to the earlier EE1D reconnaissance drone and its successor, the EE1DII suppression drone, Troy integrated all functionalities that required a larger drone frame, making it a pioneering model for Rhodes Island Industrial's modularized large-scale UAVs.
While its various features were still being tested, its ability to remotely access and override the control of Rhodes Island Industrial weaponry was originally designed to counter alien military forces.
For example, forces like the Vanguard, the Chitauri, or even the Ultron army—who, while not extraterrestrial, operated in a similar fashion.
In Kagura's vision, Earth's military forces would wield Rhodes Island Industrial weaponry in battle against such threats.
However, due to limitations in command efficiency and strategy, no army could fully maximize their equipment's potential.
Since wars were won by soldiers, not just weapons, the best solution was to create the perfect soldier.
Project YoRHa was one possible approach, but Kagura had also devised another—AI remote control.
Humans make mistakes, but computers do not.
In emergency situations, all vehicles, aircraft, armored units, and even soldiers' exoskeletal power armor would be taken over and connected to the Troy drone via cloud networking.
And an advanced AI command algorithms would then execute remote operations, theoretically unleashing the full combat potential of these forces.
While this feature might not be well-received by human soldiers, the expectation was that AI control would minimize casualties.
Thus, Kagura disregarded any ethical debates or humanitarian concerns surrounding the system.
After all, if the system were ever needed, it would either mean the world was on the brink of collapse—where soldiers should be willing to fight to the last—or, as in this case, Troy was taking control of enemy equipment.
"Troy drone deployment complete. Remote hacking and operational modules activated. Beginning large-scale equipment control override."
With Cortana's report, a massive drone—half the size of a football field—descended over the warehouse district battlefield.
The prototype Troy drone remained cloaked under full-spectrum optical camouflage while activating its remote hacking and control transfer modules.
'Whoooosh—!'
A special electromagnetic pulse burst outward from the Troy drone, rapidly spreading across the battlefield.
Suddenly, chaos erupted within the Hydra forces as their equipment began acting erratically.
"Oh-ho, what kind of wacky toy has you come up with this time?"
On Barton's visor display, the previously solid red enemy markers began to tremble.
Some flickered between blue and green, shifting back and forth unpredictably.
In his identification system, red indicated hostiles, blue marked allies, and green designated assets belonging to Rhodes Island Industrial or Griffin Security Services.
"Interesting… Kagura, what did you do?"
"Uh… well, believe it or not, this is actually a failed experiment."
Kagura awkwardly laughing. "I once attempted a forced remote takeover of Rhodes Island Industrial's weapons and equipment.
"But since it was my first attempt and there were too many targets, about 28% of them became uncontrollable, another 17% overloaded and were damaged, and roughly 20% lost their IFF capability—so they're attacking indiscriminately…"
As Kagura explained, chaos unfolded within the Hydra ranks.
Rhodes Island Industrial equipment within Hydra's forces revolted.
Some armored vehicles suddenly turned on their own troops.
Grenades and explosives detonated unpredictably.
Vehicles went rogue, slamming the accelerator and careening wildly through formations, turning the battlefield into absolute mayhem.
———————————————————————
"What the hell is happening to our equipment?!"
"Are you stupid? You're shooting your own men!"
"It's not me! The gun fired on its own!"
"STOP THE VEHICLE! STOP—"
"DON'T COME CLOSER!"
"I SWEAR I'M NOT PRESSING THE GAS!"
"DON'T STOP NOW!"
"WHY? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES—!"
———————————————————————
"…Pfft." Barton was speechless. "Whatever. As long as you're having fun, Kagura."
"Mmm, I know~ Oh, by the way, War Machine is headed your way, and there's also a very formidable squad moving in. They're not using Rhodes Island Industrial equipment, so I can't interfere with them."
"Got it. I've had my eye on them for a while. Kagura, is there a weapons company out there more advanced than us?"
Barton drew his bow. "Because their gear looks… kinda flashy."
"Hmm?"
Kagura enlarged the holographic recon feed. Then her silver eyes widened.
"Oh-ho…?" She smirked. "That… looks like Chitauri tech."