Without hesitating, Vreta switched on his plasma sword and got to work widening the hole that 595 pointed out. If he made it just large enough for himself, then the other two would be able to fit through easily. Fortunately, whatever material it was constructed from was not one that could resist his blade’s intensity. Their suits could handle residual heat from the plasma, so Vreta led the way by crawling through the opening himself.
On the other side, Vreta was not sure what to make of what he could see even before making it all the way back up to his feet. The lobby seemed like it was normally quite an open space, but it was now cluttered with all sorts of strange constructions. Spikes, barriers, and other obstacles oriented in seemingly random directions. It was chaotic, yet they all looked like they were part of the building itself. Vreta saw no bodies, though there were a few pools of an odd sludge that he spotted in a few places.
The agent approached the door, pulling a small breaching charge from a compartment on her armor that was, fortunately, still intact. The explosive attached readily to the door, then calibrated itself based on the size and detected material composition of the surface. She took a few steps back, weapon raised, then remotely triggered the charge.
While the door was reinforced, it still had little chance of holding up to the strength of the detonation. It immediately opened up a hole large enough for her to crouch through, though she started shooting first. The only light in the entire ship came from the agent’s suit, but her AI still identified multiple targets through the smoke. This was one rare time that these aliens were not immediately ready for her, as they had not been able to sense her through the door, so she was able to get shots on two of them through the smoke before they started returning fire.
As the agent did not have time for a methodical approach, she rushed through the breach as quickly as she could. The smoke did nothing to obscure her from her opponents, but moving quickly at least made it more difficult for them to target her accurately. In the larger, more open space of the engine room, she could maneuver more freely, though she took care to stay clear of the consoles that controlled the engines. She would need those soon enough. Neither the agent nor AI could readily identify which of the aliens were soldiers and which were simply crew of the ship, but all were armed, and all were firing on her without hesitation, so she was not sure that the distinction even mattered.
While the sounds of gunfire were deafening and the bullets came in rapidly, the kinetic force did not drain the agent’s shields too quickly, so she kept her focus and simply moved from one target to the next as her AI identified them. She took down the ones on the scaffolding above first, then moved on to the ones on her level. No matter how many she killed, nor how little obvious progress they seemed to make on her, at no point did the aliens show any signs of fear. They did not hesitate, and did not stop fighting until the very last was killed. The Rothians had not yet had a chance to perform much of a cultural study on these beings, so she was not sure what drove them to fight with such fervor.
Once the engine room was clear, the agent wasted no time. The enemy had not had a chance to fortify the engine room before she arrived, but reinforcements would certainly be incoming. Hopefully, they could complete their task before they arrived. The completely touch-based interface of the console was difficult for a Rothian to navigate, but fortunately, they had been able to fully decipher the aliens’ computer systems from previous engagements, so her AI could directly interface with their systems. The asteroid was already on-course for the colony, so simply disabling the engines would not be sufficient. They had to burn the engines on a new vector to redirect it away from a collision course.
After a few moments, the constant hum of the engines around them grew louder and harsher. “Okay, I’ve got the engines steadily changing the course. It looks like we made it in time; as long as we hold this room, it looks like we can pull the asteroid into a near-miss. Reinforcements are coming, so I would say you should…wait.”
“Uh, wait on what? What is it?”
The agent could feel the AI uploading more and more programs into the ship’s systems. “These fanatics set their ship’s self-destruct. If the ship blows before we can redirect the asteroid, nothing will stop it.”
The agent paced back and forth for a few moments in front of the console. “Okay…okay, what are our options? What’s the timeframe looking like? Can I get somewhere to disable it?”
“Negative, not without capturing the bridge on the other side of the ship. I have access to power systems, which is part of the self-destruct process, so I can delay if I’m in the system. For a while. You have to guard this room, though. If they damage the engines, it won’t matter.” The AI explained.
“Okay…so guard the engine room while you run interference on the self-destruct. What kind of timeframe are we looking at to evacuate the ship?” The agent asked. However, seconds passed with only silence from the AI. “Answer me, Sharah.”
“Your suit’s comm system is intact. I’ve made a connection with a receiver on the planet with enough bandwidth to transfer your mind.” The AI answered, her tone cold, but steady.
“My mind…no, no, no, no way. We’re both getting out of here, Sharah. I’m not leaving until…”
“Rhia!” The AI interjected, loudly and firmly. “The timing is going to be too close as it is. There just isn’t going to be enough time. I have to keep the self-destruct delayed until the asteroid has been redirected. You can stay behind and die pointlessly if you want, or you can get your consciousness out of here. Either way, I’m not getting out of this one. I’m sorry, Rhia.”
Rhia growled in anger, still trying to find some excuse to change the plan. “How do you even know I can upload? I haven’t been given final approval for full integration. My consciousness may still be tethered to my organic brain.”
“Come on Rhia, you know final approval is essentially a formality. No one who has come as far as you has ever failed it. You’re ready, and you can get out of this. I know you’ll miss me in Eternity, but…it’s me, or all the people down there. You know as well as I that’s not a choice, but you can keep going for me.”
Rhia growled and felt like putting her fist through the console in front of her, but regardless of what she felt, she knew Sharah was right. After a moment to catch her breath, she focused her gaze on the doors, then got to work fortifying her position.
Rhia wanted to say more, to have more of a chance for final words with her friend, but there was simply no opportunity. The enemy soon was upon them in force, and they both had their jobs to do. Rhia had Sharah’s help at first with targeting and spotting, but the more time passed, the harder it was for her to delay the self-destruct. Every second that passed had more of Sharah being put into the ship, and Rhia becoming more and more alone in her mind. Rhia fought back wave after wave, going through explosive traps, exploiting environmental hazards, and eventually running through the entire power source of her pistol to keep the engines protected. She resorted to picking up weapons from the fallen, or even her own claws when the enemy came close enough.
Sharah had given her a timer, past which it was safe for her to evacuate. When it ticked over to zero, she fell back behind the consoles and dropped into cover. Sharah was no longer monitoring her health, so she had reopen multiple wounds, and her abdomen was once again covered in blood. Her body, however, no longer concerned her. For the first time in years, her mind felt empty. Ever since she and Sharah had been joined, they had been a constant presence to one another. They shared their mind and body to become as one. Slowly and steadily, Sharah had helped Rhia’s mind to learn to use the implants in her body as if they were a part of her own brain. It was not a natural thing for an organic brain to learn, but as the Rothians had discovered, it was certainly possible. Now, piece by piece, Rhia’s consciousness was moving from organic neurons to synthetic ones. Memories, thought patterns, subconscious instincts, all leaving their original home to claim a new one. The one Sharah had left vacant for her. Rhia was surprised at how…easy it all was. After years of acclimating, it simply felt natural. Activating the program for her suit to access the receiver on the planet’s surface took only a thought.
Rhia took one final breath into her own lungs before raising up her head to speak one more word: “Goodbye.” The connection was made and her body slumped over, a shell inhabited by no mind.
Cath
Alby47
Cleveraptor
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Eviledd1984
Quest Abandoner