The woman in white stood at the gates of the Uplink Station, unbothered by the rain or the twenty-story war machine aiming a chain-gun at her face.
"Gemini," Sarah whispered. She stepped out of the hover-skiff but didn't draw her weapon. She just stared.
"Who is she?" I asked over the comms, keeping the Titan's targeting reticle locked on the clone.
"She's my backup." She said, her voice trembling—with rage and horror mix together. "Before I Ascended, the Corporation took genetic samples. They called it 'Legacy Preservation.' I didn't know they actually grew one."
"They didn't just grow me," Gemini replied, her voice amplified through the station's speakers. It was Sarah's voice, but stripped of all warmth. Clinical. Empty. "They improved me. I have your intellect, Sister. But I lack your weakness."
Her gaze shifted to Maya, who was aiming her rifle from the skiff.
"Sentiment," Gemini said.
"You're an abomination," Sarah spat. "Get out of my way."
"I can't do that." Gemini smiled—a cold, perfect expression. "Protocol dictates that I secure the Uplink. The realignment is ninety-eight percent complete. In ten minutes, Malachi will have his Rod from God. And this scrap pile you call a rebellion will be erased from orbit."
She raised her hand.
The ground around the station rumbled.
Four massive blast doors groaned open in the courtyard. From the darkness below, four Sentry-Bots rose on hydraulic platforms. They were sleek, white, and armed with rotating laser arrays.
"Kill them," Gemini ordered casually.
She turned and walked back into the station without looking back.
"Sarah—go after her!" I yelled. "Stop the realignment! I'll handle these toys!"
"Glitch, Maya—on me!" Sarah shouted.
They sprinted toward a side entrance, bypassing the main gate and the kill zone.
The Sentry-Bots engaged.
PEW-PEW-PEW.
Lasers scorched the Titan's armor, leaving glowing orange streaks across the plating.
[SHIELD INTEGRITY: 40%]
[WARNING: HULL BREACH — SECTOR 4]
"I see them," I growled.
I didn't bother with the guns.
I used the Titan's mass.
I stepped forward and swung the Titan's right arm—the one without the chain-gun—like a battering ram.
CRUNCH.
I backhanded the first Sentry-Bot. It flew across the courtyard, smashing into the station wall.
"One down!"
The other three spread out, firing at my leg joints. They were fast. They were programmed with advanced evasion algorithms.
"ARES, fire the PDCs!"
The shoulder turrets whirred to life, tracking the fast movers.
DA-DA-DA.
While the Titan fought the bots, I switched my view to Sarah's helmet cam.
[Interior - Uplink Station Control Room]
Sarah, Maya, and Glitch burst into the main control room. It was a circular chamber filled with servers. In the center, a massive holographic globe showed the Earth. A red line was slowly moving into position over Sector 0.
ALIGNMENT: 99%.
Gemini stood at the console, typing calmly.
"You're too late," Gemini said without turning. "The satellite is locked. Firing sequence initiating."
"Glitch, jam it!" Sarah yelled.
Glitch dived for a terminal. "I'm trying! But her encryption is insane! It's Admin-level code!"
"Of course it is," Gemini turned, her eyes glowing with digital blue light. "I am the Admin."
She raised a hand.
A pulse of force—Telekinesis—threw Sarah and Maya backward. They slammed into the server racks.
"Mom!" Maya screamed.
Gemini walked toward Sarah, drawing a sleek energy pistol.
"You are obsolete," Gemini said. "The original are always messy. Their copy are perfection."
She aimed at Sarah's head.
[Exterior - The Titan]
"No!" I shouted.
I saw it on the screen. Sarah was down. Gemini was about to execute her.
I was outside, fighting robots. I couldn't reach her.
Or could I?
I looked at the station wall. It was reinforced concrete.
"ARES," I said. "How much power is in the Railgun?"
"Charge at 15%," ARES replied. "Insufficient for firing."
"I don't need to fire it," I said. "I need to throw it."
I grabbed the massive Railgun barrel with my other hand. I ripped it off the mount. Sparks flew.
"What are you doing, Commander?"
"Improvising."
I activated the Titan's arm servos. I positioned like a baseball pitcher.
I aimed for the wall of the Control Room.
"Catch," I grunted.
I threw the multi-ton gun barrel like a javelin.
CRASH.
It smashed through the station wall. Concrete and rebar exploded inward. The massive metal tube skidded across the control room floor, stopping inches from Gemini.
But the impact knocked her off her feet. And made her dropped the gun.
"Now, Sarah!" I yelled over the comms.
Sarah didn't hesitate. She scrambled up, grabbing a shard of broken glass from the floor. She lunged at Gemini.
They collided. It was a brawl. Clone versus Original.
Gemini was stronger, faster. She backhanded Sarah, sending blood flying.
"You are weak!" Gemini screamed, her perfect composure cracking. "You let your emotions corrupt you!"
"My emotions," Sarah gasped, grabbing Gemini's wrist, "are why I have backup."
"Backup?"
BANG.
A shot rang out.
Gemini staggered. A hole appeared in her shoulder.
Maya stood in the doorway, the smoking Enforcer rifle in her hands. Her cybernetic arm was steady. Her eyes were cold.
"Get away from my mother," Maya said.
Gemini looked at the wound. She looked at Maya. For the first time, she looked confused. Her logic processors couldn't understand the variable.
Sarah took the opening.
She tackled Gemini. She didn't try to punch her. She slammed her hand onto Gemini's neck—right on the neural port.
"Admin Override," Sarah whispered.
Her eyes glowed blinding blue.
ACCESSING SYSTEM...
OVERWRITE INITIATED.
Gemini screamed. It was a digital screech of data being erased. Her eyes flickered wildly.
"No... I am... perfection..."
"You are a file," Sarah said. "And I'm pressing delete."
Gemini went rigid. Then, she collapsed. Her eyes went dark.
"Target neutralized," Glitch yelled. "But the satellite! It's firing!"
On the big screen, the red line turned green.
FIRING SEQUENCE ACTIVE.
IMPACT IN 10... 9...
"I can't stop it!" Glitch panicked. "The command is sent!"
"Elias!" Sarah shouted into the comms. "The rod is coming! Move the Titan!"
I looked up at the sky.
The clouds parted. A bright light appeared in the upper atmosphere. A tungsten rod, dropping at Mach 10.
It was aimed right at the Titan.
"I can't move fast enough," I realized.
"Eject!" Sarah screamed.
"No."
I looked at the falling star.
"I'm a Devourer," I whispered. "I don't run."
I stood the Titan up. I raised its hands to the sky.
"ARES," I said. "Divert all reactor power to the shields. Every drop. Even the life support."
"Commander, that will kill the systems. Which will leave us defenseless."
"Do it."
I closed my eyes. I reached out with my mind. I connected to the Titan's core. I connected to the Shield Generator.
I didn't just power it. I became it.
Skill: Energy Siphon (Inverted).
Usually, I took energy. This time, I gave it. I poured my own XP, my own life force, into the shield.
The blue hexagon above the Titan turned solid white. A dome of pure energy.
The Rod hit.
BOOM.
The world turned white.
The sound was gone. Gravity was gone. There was only pressure. The mountain crumbled beneath my feet. The Titan groaned, metal twisting. My nose bled. My ears bled.
HOLD.
I screamed silently. I held the sky up.
Then, darkness.