The Titan's hatch didn't open easily. The years it had stayed in this scrap yard made the seal welded together with rust and gunk. But Glitch's bypass algorithm, combine With a little forceful persuasion of my Energy Siphon, draining the magnetic lock, until it finally broke free.
HISSS.
Pressurized air vented out, smelling really bad.
Ladies first, Glitch said.
Stay close, I told them. We have no clue of what's in here.
We stepped inside, the place was really dark.
The Titan's outside looked cool, but the inside was like a cathedral of war. We came in through an airlock located at the shin. The hallway was huge, it was wide enough for a tank to drive through it. The cables was thick as trees trunk, and it ran all over the ceiling as vines.
This ain't no robot, Sarah said. Her voice echoed. It's a battleship with legs.
It's an atlas-Class! Glitch said, shining his light around. Built during the Resource Wars. It held a crew of fifty people. It has a Fusion reactor that runs itself. It had a multi-directional Shield. And this thing could flatten Neo-Veridia if we got the cannons working.
First of all we need lights, I said. It's dark in here.
My Network Sense was going haywire. The Titan was dead, but not really dead. Like It was in a coma. It had faint energy pulses running through the walls, barely keeping the memory alive.
It's the Core's in the chest, Glitch said, pulling up a schematic on his pad. It twenty stories up. And the elevator's are dead; so we will take the stairs.
Awesome, Maya mumbled. More climbing.
And up we went.
The stairs went around inside the leg, pasting through these huge metal muscles, the hydraulic pistons. The higher we got, the colder it got.
At The tenth floor, located at the hip area, we found our first problem.
A blast door blocked us. It wasn't rusted like the hatch outside, this was locked tight. It had a red holographic symbol rotating slowly on it surface.
Saying.
WARNING. QUARANTINE PROTOCOL ACTIVE.
BIO-HAZARD DETECTED.
"Quarantine"? Sarah asked, confused. Why would a war machine be quarantined?
Maybe the crew got sick? Glitch said. Or maybe something got in?
Skitter. Skitter.
The sound came from the vents above us.
I froze, and said. Everyone, stop.
Stood there, listening.
Skitter. Scratch. Hiss.
It sounded like lot of bugs moving on metal.
Glitch, light, I whispered.
Glitch shined his light at the vent.
Two red eyes stared back. Then four. Then ten.
Rust Roaches! Glitch yelled.
The vent grate burst open.
They came pouring out like metallic waterfall. This weren't bugs, they were scavenging drones the size of cats, built to fix the Titan. But, like everything here, they got crazy. Their repair tools turned into sharp weapons.
They think we're junk! I yelled, kicking one trying to drill my boot.
Back off! Sarah yelled, pushing Maya behind her. She swung a pipe which she had picked up, using it to smash drones in mid air.
They were too many. That they covered the floor.
I can't shoot them all! Maya screamed, swinging her arm-blade all over.
We need a distraction! Glitch yelled, swatting a roach off him.
I looked at the blast door. It was still sealed.
Think, Elias. You're a Technomancer, i said to myself.
I saw a wall panel by the door. It was dead, and had no power.
Skill: Overcharge.
I grabbed the panel. Not to open the door. But to electrify the floor.
The Titan's floor was made of metal. So if I could send enough power into the grid...
"Jump"! I yelled. Get on the crates!
Sarah and Glitch didn't ask questions. They jumped onto some supply crates. But maya hesitated, but I threw her up and jumped up after.
The rust roaches swarmed forward, covering the floor we were just standing on.
Eat this!
I slammed my hand on the wall conduit.
DISCHARGE.
I dump 200 xp worth of energy into the ship's grid.
ZZZRT-BOOM.
The floor flashed white.
Electricity surged across the metal floor like waves. The roaches shrieked – loud electronic screams – as they got fried. Smoke filled the hall, smelling of burnt circuits.
Silence filled the room after the sound of explosion.
The floor was covered in smoking, twitching metal..
Toasty, Glitch said, waving smoke away.
XP GAINED: 5... 5... 5... (Total: 400 XP).
That cost me, I said, leaning against the wall. My energy were dipping low. I need to recharge. We need to get to the Core.
The blast door beeped. The power surge i injected seems to reset the lock.
QUARANTINE LIFTED.
The door opened.
We moved faster now, stepping over the dead drones. This time we climbed the remain steps in silence.
Finally, we reached the Titan's heart.
The Reactor Room.
It was a big round room. The Fusion Core was floating in a magnetic rings in the middle of the room. It was a dark lifeless glass sphere. And the consoles lined the walls, covered in dust.
It's dead, Glitch said. The ignition rods are cold. It's can't start without a big jolt. Like a lightning strike.
"Everyone looked at me".
No way, I said, backing up. I'm not a lightning rod. And i'm almost empty.
You're all we got, Sarah said. "Elias", if we don't turn this on, the Life Support won't work. And the heaters won't work. And we will freeze tonight.
I looked at the Core. It was really Huge.
If I try this, it might drain me dry, I said. Like, dead dry.
We don't need a full start, Glitch said, typing on a console. We just need a spark. Just enough to get the fusion reaction spinning. Once it catches, the core will run itself.
He looked at me. I can bypass the safety features. You just need to touch the port and give it all you got.
I took a deep breath.
"Fine".
I walked towards the Core.
I reached the injection port. It was a contact point made of heavy copper.
Ready? I yelled out.
Ready! Glitch yelled back, with his hand ready on the 'IGNITE' button.
I placed both hands on the copper.
I closed my eyes. I reached deep into my reserve. And instead of taking i gave.
Skill: Discharge (Max Output).
PUSH.
Blue fire shot out of my hands. It flowed into the Core, lighting up the dark glass. The magnetic rings started spinning. Whirrr... WHIRRR.
More! Glitch yelled. It's sputtering!
I gritted my teeth. I pushed harder. My veins burned. And my vision started going blur.
WARNING. ENERGY LEVELS CRITICAL.
HP DRAINING.
"Elias, stop"! Sarah screamed. It's killing you!
Almost... there! I yelled back.
I felt the core catch. I saw a tiny sun being born inside the glass.
BOOM.
The Core ignited.
A wave of white light blasted out, it knocked me backward. I flew off the catwalk, hitting the wall really hard.
I slid down, gasping.
Then the room start glowing in golden light. The hum of the Titan woke up. The lights turned on. The air vents hissed, pumping warm and clean air in.
SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE.
WELCOME BACK, COMMANDER.
A holographic blue soldier appeared in the middle of the room.
"I am ARES", a loud voice came from the hologram. The atlas Defensive System. The reactor are online at 5% efficiency. Awaiting Orders?
I stood up, weak, leaning on Maya for support.
We did it, Glitch whispered, staring at the hologram.
I looked at the AI.
ARES, I said. "Scan for threats".
Scanning... The AI paused. Threat detected. External perimeter breached. Multiple hostiles approaching.
Scrap-Stalkers? Sarah asked.
Negative, ARES replied. Corporate Gunships. Search Pattern Delta.
I looked at my team. The warm feeling of victory vanished instantly from the room.
"They found us", I said. Seems like Malachi didn't believe the crash.
"What do we do"? Maya asked, with fear in her voice. "We can't fight gunships"!
I looked at the huge Core, and at the holographic controls.
"We don't fight", I said, smiling. "We are in a warship".
I stepped up to the console.
"ARES", I told it. "Send all reactor power to the Point-Defense Turrets".
"Affirmative", the AI replied.
Time to wake the neighborhood.