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Chapter 36: Svara’s Tactical Pivot
"The structural integrity is failing, Jevan. If we don't breach the command console, the entire wing is going to depressurize," Svara snapped, her lead pipe digging into the floor plating."I’m working on it," I grunted, my wrench screeching against the stubborn, rusted bolts of the server room access port. "The magnetic shielding is tuned to a frequency that actively rejects my tools. It’s like the door is haunted by a very literal, very annoying ghost.""A ghost with a grudge, then," Niskala chimed in, crouching by the vent, her knife flicking through the air. "We have three minutes before the patrol loops back. If they see the dent in the blast door, we’re finished.""Tactical status report!" Elangga chirped, adjusting his bandana. "I have located a series of high-tension cables leading to the security hub. If I pull these, we create a localized short circuit. It will either open the door or turn us into human toast. I favor the toast.""Toast is off the menu," I spat, yanking the
Chapter 35: The Kitchen Chaos
The heavy metal chute slammed Jevan onto a stainless-steel prep table with a deafening CLANG."My spine is now an accordion," Jevan wheezed, sliding off the slick surface and hitting the greasy tile floor."Get up," Svara hissed, dropping beside him and hauling him by his jacket. "We aren't alone.""Tactical culinary sector," Elangga gasped, tumbling out of the chute headfirst and landing amid a chaotic pile of aluminum ladles and oversized strainers. "I smell old vegetable oil and defeat."Niskala crouched near the kitchen’s swinging double doors, peering through the small, grease-smudged glass window. "Boots. Lots of them. White Guards and heavy units. They’re sweeping the main mess hall."Jevan pushed himself up, wiping soot from his eyes. His left forearm was red, raw, and throbbing, the blueprint ink seared away into fresh scars. In his right hand, his trusty pipe wrench felt terrifyingly light—a hairline fracture ran from the jaw straight down to the handle."I can't take an arm
Chapter 34: The Drone's Mechanical Twitch
"Keep your knees locked, Jevan. You’re tilting four degrees to the left. It’s a tactical disaster.""I’m tilting because this 'interface suit' is made of recycled radiator fins and spite, Elangga. My left hip is currently being pinched by a rusted hinge.""Pain is just the body’s way of saying it’s not tactical enough! Now, chin up. Here comes the checkpoint."Jevan gritted his teeth, the metal plates of his makeshift apprentice disguise groaning with every step. They were deep in the guts of the Core Relay, walking a narrow gantry suspended over a pit of humming server stacks. Ahead, two White Guards stood like stone pillars, their pulse-rifles crossed.Between them hovered a Mark VII Security Drone. Its central lens was a dark, unblinking red, but the chassis was vibrating with a rhythmic, erratic shudder.Twitch. Twitch. Whirrr."Halt," the lead guard barked. His visor was polarized, reflecting Jevan’s ridiculous silhouette. "Identification and maintenance manifest. This sector is
Chapter 33: A Disguise of Discarded Parts
"Tactical impasse? You’re staring at a liquid oxygen suicide bomb, Elangga. Don't use the 't' word right now," I hissed, my hand white-knuckled around the pipe wrench.The Warlord’s grin widened, the hydraulic servos in the mech’s arm whining as he adjusted the nozzle by a fraction of a millimeter. Niskala’s muffled screams were frantic, her eyes bulging as the heat from the pilot light singed the hair on her arms."Drop the wrench, Jevan," the Warlord commanded, his voice a gravel-grinder through the speakers. "And you, nurse. The lead pipe. I want to see them on the floor. Now.""We drop them, you turn her into a mist," Svara said, her voice a calm, dangerous thread. "You don't want us dead. You want the aquifer codes.""I have the codes," the Warlord retorted. "I had them the moment my drones scanned the blueprints in your shirt. What I want now is a target for my frustration.""You want a target?" Elangga stepped forward, his bare feet slapping against the concrete. "I am a high-v
Chapter 32: The Apprentice’s Panic
"Thirty seconds," the automated facility voice chimed, its tone horribly cheerful against the screech of warping metal."Jevan! The vent! Do something!" Svara yelled, slamming her lead pipe into the rusted exhaust grate on the wall."I’m working on it!" I shouted back over the deafening hiss of escaping steam.I didn't have time for precision. I grabbed the final, crumpled wad of synthetic mint bubblegum from Elangga’s trembling hand, jammed it directly into the grate’s locking latch, and dumped the remaining three drops of the purple chemical reagent straight onto the wad.PFFFT-CRACK!The acid-boosted gum didn't just dissolve the latch; it ate the iron frame right out of the concrete wall. The heavy grate clattered to the floor, revealing a dark, tight shaft."In! Now!" I grabbed Svara by the belt, hauling her backward and shoving her into the narrow duct. "Elangga, move your legs!""My boots are experiencing high thermal degradation!" Elangga shrieked, kicking wildly as he scramble
Chapter 31: The Structural Lie
"If you pour that blue one into the yellow one, we either get a universal solvent or a very expensive funeral," Jevan said, his eyes narrowed as he watched Elangga’s trembling hand."In the tactical manual, Jevan, this is called 'Chemical Initiative,'" Elangga replied. He was wearing a pair of cracked laboratory goggles upside down, his forehead bunched in concentration. "Tisya said these reagents were for 'sanitizing high-density surfaces.' What is steel if not a very high-density surface?""She meant floors, Elangga. Linoleum. Not the rusted-shut bulkhead of a pressurized steam-vault," Svara snapped. She was standing by the door of the derelict lab, her arms crossed and her foot tapping a frantic rhythm against the concrete. "We’re supposed to be finding a way to the secondary exit, not playing Junior Chemist in a room filled with unlabelled toxins.""We need that bulkhead open, Svara," Jevan muttered, wiping a smear of grease across his cheek. He looked at the massive, circular iro
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