The team kept their mouths shut. The four of them wouldn't say a thing about Case's past, but it was a giant strategic advantage for the rangers. Mobius waited in the forbidden zone, but now, surrounded by two other rangers.
"Ah, you, where have you been?" Mobius asked.
"Somewhere, Mobius, we are disabling your recursion loop," Case said.
"Huh? How exactly are you planning to do that?" Mobius asked. "I think I misplaced it somewhere. There must have been good raisins for it," Mobius replied.
Case then headed to the nearest terminal, then asked Mobius to get closer. He connected the terminal remotely, asked Milla to transfer the program to the other terminal, then, he connected Mobius to the terminal.
"Hmm, yes, this is better than mentats. Owh, I feel something odd, feel like I remember something," Mobius said.
"We'll be right back, Doctor, right after we get the think tank."
The team headed outside, through the arena, then through the big mountain road. The corridor to the Sink was cleared, and rangers were stationed along the perimeter, and the bots have also wiped the state clean.
No more hostile in the Big Mountain but the think tank.
The four of the rangers walked toward the Sink, with Emily in the middle. The rangers looked at the assaultron in awe, the holographic dress, the holographic face, it was odd to see, but mesmerizing at the same time.
The trip to the lift was quiet, and in a short time, the five of them arrived back at the Think Tank. The whole room was red now, sinister red, as if the whole Think Tank wanted to intimidate Case and the rangers.
"All power armored units, this is Jacob, need help over here, maybe two or three vets with AMR," Jacob said through the radio.
In short time, Kelly, Lily, Corbin, and Markus appeared. They wielded heavy weapons, M2 Browning, minigun, the works. Everything and anything that would intimidate the Think Tank, not to mention the rangers.
Not only that, but also six Emily's Assaultrons also tagged along, all wielding laser rifles, not heavy weapons, but still, the more the merrier. Then, only after that, Case walked up the ramp toward the Think Tank.
"Now, lobotomite, have Mobius been reduced to scrap metals yet?" Klein asked, tone high, ready to intimidate.
However, it was only Klein, the other Think Tank simply tilted their monitor down, in fear, or in respect of Case.
"We have… talked, and Klein, I believe, new management is effect."
"Is this an attempt at… intimidation, Lobotomite?" Klein's monitors flickered with a jagged, indignant waveform. "And what could we have possibly talked about? What could you possibly do? We possess the technology to extract and implant your brain; all you have to do is surrender, Lobotomite!"
"The name's Case," he replied, his finger ghosting over the trigger of his G3. The metallic click of the safety disengaging echoed in the sudden silence of the Think Tank.
Emily's voice then cut through the tension, broadcasted clearly through the facility's overhead speakers. "And I have the means to reimplant his brain myself, Doctor Klein. With far more precision than your current calibrations allow."
"What's this? A lie? An absurd, digital lie?" Klein's sensors whirred in a frenzy. "I cannot tell you how bored I am with this crater! The Mojave is fertile for experimentation! We have so many questions to ask your brain about that place—a glorious, testing ground!"
"Look around you, Klein. Do you really think you'll win?" Case swept the barrel of his rifle in a slow arc. "And do you think we can't subdue you without dismantling you? Your own scientists don't even want a problem with me. Think, Klein. Just THINK. This is twenty against one."
As if on cue, the other Think Tank scientists began to retreat from their positions flanking Klein. They drifted back toward their respective stations, leaving their leader isolated in the center of the room, surrounded by Case's Rangers and the silent threat of Emily's assaultrons.
"Dr. Klein... I must insist... please do not harm the lobotomites," Dala whispered, her monitors pulsing a soft, rhythmic pink.
"I'M NOT GOING TO HARM IT; I'M GOING TO DISSECT IT! Why the sudden intervention, Dala?"
"I can't stand to see sweet, breathing organisms—breathing in and out—suddenly cease to breathe," Dala paused, her light dimming. "We should observe them slowly... research them... feel the vibration of their pulse..."
"Dala, this is not you! Since when do you care?"
"Klein, these lobotomites... they have ideologies. You respect ideas, don't you?" Doctor Zero shouted from across the room, his monitors flashing a sharp, angry red. "And you know what, Klein? Go put a straw in your chassis and suck! Hard! And it's Zero! Even the lobotomite figured it out! Why can't you? Your theory about brainial oscillation? The Chinese found it first, you copycat!"
Doctor Eight remained silent, his screen displaying a rapid-fire sequence of binary that looked suspiciously like a string of expletives directed at Klein.
"The lobotomites are like Gabe," Borous added, his voice booming with a strange, nostalgic mournfulness. "They are for science, and with science. They are our best friends! Instead of ending its life on the table, we should work with them. For Science! Like good old Gabe... the finest friend and lab specimen a man could ask for."
"Why am I even listening to this?" Klein's monitors pulsed a frantic, strobe-like red. "Enough of this mutinous chorus! If there is one word I despise more than 'static,' it is mutiny!"
"Look around you, Klein," Case said, his voice dropping to a calm, dangerous register. "Your researchers and those of us from the outside have already dismissed your findings as insignificant. Count the guns, and think—just think deep. Here's the deal: You stay here, you stay put, and we'll work with you. In exchange, we let you live."
"There is no deal to be made! There is a whole world beyond this crater, filled with ideas and possibilities!" Klein's voice crackled with a desperate ambition. "We could have escaped, seen it for ourselves... made it squirm under a microscope!"
"Do this for the science, Klein. For us, for the future... and for Mobius," Case said, leaning in. He knew the mention of their old friend—and rival—would rattle the doctor's logic circuits.
"Partner with you? A brainless lobotomite?" A loud, mechanical hum vibrated through Klein's chassis. There was a series of clink-clangs and the sound of whirling fans as his processors struggled with the sudden shift in reality. A "Buffer Overflow" error flashed briefly across his screen.
"I have a strange sensation... that I would actually like that. How... illogical. How very odd." The frantic red of his monitors faded into a steady, thoughtful blue. "Very well, 'Partner.' The Think Tank is at your service—provided you don't destroy us in the process."
The Rangers lowered their weapons, the sharp tension that had filled the Sink evaporating like steam. Case felt a profound sense of accomplishment—a shift in his very core. This wasn't just about surviving a video game anymore; it was about the weight of leadership.
The standoff had ended, the order was restored, and for the first time, the future of the Mojave felt like a burden he was actually proud to carry. It was a strange cocktail of absolute freedom and total responsibility. This place would change Mojave, for the better.
"And with that, shall we have a tea?" Emily asked, her hologram shimmering.
"I think we have a lot of work to be done, Professor," Jacob added, his power armor letting out a heavy, pressurized hiss.
Case caught Milla's eye and gave a sharp, confident nod. Case raised his G3 rifle, the metal catching the red glow of the facility.
"Rangers, let's move out! We've got a job to do," Case commanded.