We got back to the Titan like kings returning to their castles, but, you know, If only kings carried buckets of radioactive waste and walked through mountains of trash.
The storm had finally passed, and the Rust Sea was bathed in this odd orange glow from the sunrise filtering through the smog. The Titan just knelt in the distance, it looked like a dark shape against the bright sky. It seemed asleep, but to my Network sense, It was humming with this low, hungry anticipation.
"We have the heart," I said, tapping the canister strapped to my back. "And we got the brain also."
I tapped the pocket where the Logic-Core from the Butcher was stored.
"Let's wake it up," Glitch said, grinning like a maniac despite his limp.
We entered the airlock. The vibe was different now. Before, it felt like a cold, dead tomb. Now, with the emergency power running, it felt like a waiting room. The air was clean now, and the lights were also steady.
We headed straight to the Reactor Room.
"clear the area," Glitch said, standing at the main console. Radiation shields is active. Elias, you're the only one who can touch the rods without growing a third arm.
"understood."
I walked to the Core. The glass sphere was pulsing softly from the jumpstart I gave it yesterday. It was now hungry for more.
I opened the first canister.
And a soft blue light spilled out, lighting up the grimy walls. The fuel rod was a cylinder of purified uranium, humming with stored energy.
I slid it into the injection port.
CLUNK-HISS.
The Titan shaked. And a deep bass thrum vibrated through the floor.
"Stability at 25%," Glitch called out. "Keep going!"
I loaded the second rod. CLUNK.
The overhead lights got brighter. The air vents kicked into high gear, blowing dust everywhere out of it corners.
I loaded the third. CLUNK.
The gravity plating stabilized. I felt normal weight again. And the dizziness from the radiation faded away as the Titan's internal scrubbers cleaned the air.
I loaded the fourth.
CLUNK. LOCK.
BOOM.
The Core ignited for real this time.
The glass sphere turned blinding white. A shockwave of raw power went through the ship, knocking dust off everything. The hum became a roar, then settled into a smooth, powerful purr.
"Reactor Output: 100%," Glitch yelled over the noise. "We're good to go! We have power!"
"Now for the brain," I said. "Let's head to the Command Deck."
We ran up the stairs. The elevators were working now, the lights strobe upward, but we were too pumped to wait.
We burst into the Command Deck (The Cockpit).
It was located in the Titan's head. It was a round room with a wide view of the Rust Sea through the armored visor. In the center was the Pilot's Chair—a huge throne of leather and steel, surrounded by holographic emitters.
"The interface is here," Glitch pointed to a slot in the main console.
I pulled out the Level 5 Logic-Core. It pulsed in my hand, eager to connect.
"Do it," Sarah said.
I slotted the chip.
CLICK.
The room went dark.
For ten seconds, nothing happened. The only sound was the rain hitting the windshield.
Then, a voice spoke. It wasn't the robotic voice from before. It was smooth. Deep. And intelligent.
"System Reboot Complete," ARES said. "Logic centers integrated. Tactical subroutines online. Personality matrix... stabilizing."
A hologram appeared in the center of the room. It wasn't just some basic soldier anymore. It was a detailed— Spartan warrior in Greek armor, burning with blue digital fire.
The avatar looked at me. Then at the others.
"Commander Elias," ARES said, bowing his head slightly. "I see the world clearly now. The fog is gone."
"Report status, ARES," I said, walking up to the Pilot's Chair.
"Reactor at full capacity," ARES listed. "Shield generators are charging to 100%. Main Railguns are online, but we're out of ammo. Point Defense Turrets are fully operational. Self-Repair nanites are deployed to fix hull breaches."
"Nanites?" Maya asked,with her eyes wide. "It can heal itself?"
"Yes," ARES said. "I am a siege weapon. I was built to survive the apocalypse."
"What about the Fabrication Bay?" I asked. "This was the most important."
"Fabrication Bay is online," ARES said. "I can process the scrap metal from the surrounding into ammunition, armor plating, and drone component. How ever, i require blueprints."
"Glitch has the blueprints," I said.
Glitch walked over, plugging his datapad into the console. "Uploading schema now. Corp-Sec standard rifles, basic ammo, and... oh, let's throw in some Hunter-Killer drone specs I stole from the Penitentiary."
"Processing," ARES said. "Fabrication initiated. Time to full ammo restock: 4 hours."
I sat in the Pilot's Chair.
It shifted to fit my body. Screens lit up around me, showing 360-degree views of the Rust Sea. I saw thermal feeds, radiation maps, and the topography of the surrounding.
I felt... Power.
For the first time since waking up in Server 9, I wasn't running. I was sitting inside a god of steel.
"ARES," I said. "Scan the area. At Long range. I want to know if Malachi is watching."
"Scanning," ARES replied. The holographic map zoomed out, covering a fifty-mile radius.
Red radar waves pulsed across the screen.
"Contact," ARES said, his voice got deeper. "Multiple contacts."
"Gunships?" Sarah asked, Nervously.
"Negative," ARES said. "Seismic sensors detect heavy ground movement. Sector 1 border."
The map zoomed in on the bridge connecting the City to the Rust Sea.
I saw them.
Not gunships. Tanks. Huge, hovering siege-tanks in the Corporation's black. Behind them marched rows of heavy infantry—power-armored soldiers called the Iron Legion.
And above them, floating like a bad omen, was a Command Cruiser.
"That's a Crusade force," Sarah whispered, her face pale. "Malachi isn't sending a hit squad. He's sending an army to wipe Sector 0 off the map."
"He knows," I said. "He detected the reactor signature. He knows we have a Titan."
"How many are they?" I asked.
"Twelve Siege Tanks. Five Hundred Infantry. One Cruiser," ARES reported emotionlessly. "Estimated arrival: 1 hour."
Maya looked at me, with fear trembling in her eyes. "We can't fight an army, Elias. Not even with the Titan. They outnumber us 100 to 1."
I looked at the screen. I looked at the approaching darkness.
I felt the hum of the Titan around me. I felt the energy in my veins.
"We don't need to beat them," I said, with a cold voice. "We just need to break them up."
I turned to Glitch.
"Is the Fabrication Bay working?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Print mines," I ordered. "Hundreds of them. EMP mines. Explosive mines. Noise makers."
I turned to Sarah.
"You know the terrain. Where's the narrowest spot?"
Sarah pointed to a canyon of crushed skyscrapers leading to our location. "Here. The Steel Gorge. The tanks have to go through in a single file."
"Then that's where we kill them," I said.
I stood up from the chair.
"ARES, engage camouflage protocol. Make this Titan look like pile of junk until I give the signal."
"Affirmative, Commander."
I looked at my team.
"They're coming to exterminate us," I said. "They think we're rats hiding in the trash. But rats carry disease."
I pulled my new rifle from my back.
"Let's go give them a fever"
My wrist-comp beeped.
QUEST ALERT: THE WAR FOR SECTOR 0.
OBJECTIVE: DEFECT THE IRON LEGION VANGUARD.
DIFFICULTY: IMPOSSIBLE.
REWARD: ???
I smiled.
"Impossible," I muttered. "I like that."