Quickly raising my Knight, I fire a short burst in the direction of a potential enemy. The shadow moves again, rapidly approaching me. Tensed, I barely manage to notice strange movements behind me, just in time to dodge the mantis blades slicing above my head. Twisting my body at an unnatural angle, I instantly enter acceleration mode and in slow motion, I see Vincent kicking away the one who tried to kill me from behind, while simultaneously aiming my pistol at him. Switching my focus back to the approaching target, I roll forward, pulling out my shotgun mid-jump. The second to last underslung grenade hits the torso of an enemy who didn't quite make it to us, tearing his body into multiple bloody pieces.
Back on my feet, I peer down the long corridor through my visor, scanning for more guards playing hide and seek with us. Finding nothing suspicious, I exit acceleration mode and look over at Vincent, who has already dealt with his target.
"Thanks for the save," I nod gratefully at him, immediately raising my pistol and shooting a plasma orb straight into the face of another assassin.
"Looks like they're taking us seriously now."
"These geminis are under someone's control. Either the enemy AI has finally localized the mentor's virus, or there's another AI in the complex not connected to the main system. In that case, we'll need to be more cautious. By the way, how are you feeling after acceleration?" I couldn't see his condition through the helmet, and the cocktail of chemicals in his blood didn't give me any useful information.
"I'm fine. It all happened so fast I didn't even realize I entered acceleration mode. But I kinda liked it."
"You did great. The important thing is you acted in time. Mantis blades might not have pierced the armor, but they would've definitely wrecked the kinetic shield."
Not wanting to linger in one spot, we exchanged a few words and continued on our way, encountering another Sandevistan user. This time, the speed of the Sandevistan didn't seem so fast, and Vi and I quickly took down another would-be suicide attacker. Despite his rapid movements, a long burst from our plasma rifles instantly neutralized the cyborg.
The maze of corridors was confusing, but with the map's help, we approached a room marked "Lab X-17" within a minute. This time, we didn't need to breach the door, thanks to our little helper, Vega. She quickly opened the passage for us, revealing several individuals inside the room.
"On the count of three, I'll throw in a flashbang, then we'll take them out under mimicry."
"Understood."
"One." I pull a grenade I found on one of the soldiers we killed in the cafeteria from my belt and remove the pin. "Two." I carefully approach the passage and then toss the gift inside. "Three."
As the flashbang goes off, I instantly enter acceleration mode, taking a burst from a heavy machine gun on my kinetic shield. Two soldiers, apparently equipped with specialized implants, hardly felt the flashbang's effect, unlike the man now lying on the floor, clutching his ears.
With the suit's assistance, I aim carefully and fire a few shots at their hands. As the plasma orbs fly towards their targets, I duck behind a column, exiting acceleration mode. The distinct sounds of pain tell me my shots found their marks. At that moment, Vi bursts into the room, finishing off the wounded. Peeking briefly from behind the corner, I keep the fallen body in my sights, slowly approaching the man in the white lab coat.
"Where are the children?!" I demand the information loudly, restraining the urge to kick the lying man in the ribs.
"They're in the capsules, but I can't disconnect them. Forcing them out of cyberspace will leave them as vegetables."
"Is there a quick way to do it?" I press the pistol to the scientist's head, speeding up his thought process.
"You need to manually extract them from the old network by diving in through the breach. Otherwise, the black barrier will block their return."
"Where's the access point?"
"The computer in the observation zone, the access code is 15629898."
"Keep an eye on him." The password works, and without wasting any time, I connect to the local network. "Vega, help me out. If you see any suspicious traffic, launch the bomb and pull me out through the reverse channel."
"Alex, Shiro is injured, I'm calling Inga for backup."
"Damn it, everything at the worst time." I slam my fist on the table in frustration as I connect to the computer port. "I don't have time for this."
Access Denied
"What the hell?" I stare at the message that refuses to disappear, my frustration growing.
"Another AI has been detected interfering," Vega reported.
"Al, what's going on?" Vincent called out.
"Access is blocked, kick the body and ask..." I couldn't finish as the sound of gunshots echoed from just outside the room. Rushing out, I saw the scientist's body on the floor and Vincent standing off to the side. He was dodging attacks from yet another gemini, sent to take us out. Without wasting a second, I drew the vibroblade from the holster on my left thigh and sprinted at maximum speed to help my comrade. Closing the distance, I slid to knock the enemy off his feet and plunged the blade into the cyborg's head.
"You okay?" I asked.
"He managed to shoot the scientist."
"Screw him, what's important is you're okay." I offered my hand to Vincent and then looked over at the capsules, barely making out the shapes of children inside them.
"Al*x, I ma**ged to d**ge the ma** att**k," a distorted voice crackled over the internal comms, faintly reminding me of Reich.
"Vega, boost the signal." After my command, the voice became clearer, and I could now understand my mentor.
"It was a trap. The AIs are using the children as proxies, hindering my full deployment. You need to overload the complex's main core. It's located directly beneath the capsules. There should be a control panel nearby, look for it."
"Understood."
"Someone's approaching," Vincent warned. I cocked my weapon and aimed it towards the entrance, this constant threat beginning to wear on my nerves.
As another blurred silhouette appeared in the doorway, I immediately fired a short burst, which the enemy managed to dodge.
Vincent, closest to the entrance, was hit in the face with several electrified darts that shattered against his shield. My body entered the necessary state, and I tracked our opponent's movements. The soldier in Arasaka special forces gear didn't wait for Vincent to recover and quickly closed the distance, delivering a blow to his torso and knocking my partner flat on his back.
At that moment, I had already closed the distance with the enemy and tried to kick him away. He intercepted my leg and tossed me aside as if my current weight was nothing. Vincent, still on his back, took advantage of the soldier's brief distraction and shot him with his pistol. The weak plasma charge didn't do much damage but forced the enemy to retreat. The stranger performed an impressive backflip and tried to close the distance again, but by then I had drawn my dagger. Twisting my body, I slashed his arm, rendering it useless.
"Move!" Vincent's loud voice echoed in my ears through the internal comms. Acting on instinct, I rolled to the side. The enemy, reacting to my maneuver, tried to escape the danger zone, almost succeeding except for his completely severed arm, with wires protruding from the stump.
"Want to talk?" the guard unexpectedly asked, stepping back a few paces.
"Why?" Vincent switched to an alternative fire mode on his Knight, sending a plasma wave at the talkative guard.
"Ten out of ten for broken protocols." I approached the fallen enemy and extended my hand to Vincent. "Looks like he gave you a hard time."
"My shield temporarily failed, and he managed to dent my chest plates," O'Brien replied, touching the spot where he had recently been struck.
"Suit integrity 100%. Armor integrity 87%," Vega displayed the incoming data from Vincent's armor on my visor.
"Vincent, go back to the others. I'll stay here with Vega and finish up," I said, switching control to Vega and exiting my armor using the emergency release.
"Can you handle it?" Vincent asked.
"Vega will assist me. I left her in control of my suit."
"Don't get bored without me." Vincent gave me a thumbs-up and hurried towards the Brothers, who would likely need extra help.
I focused on assisting Reich. I needed to overload the core, but first, I had to extract it. The access to the computational block was probably on that same computer, but I couldn't gain access the usual way last time. I'd have to hack the system manually. I pulled out a special chip and inserted it into the computer, uploading a virus.
"Come on, sweetheart, don't let me down," I mutter, watching the persistent "Access Denied" message until, finally, after several tense seconds, it disappears. "Now, let's see." I locate the necessary program, and within moments, I hear the control block for the AI rising slowly from beneath the floor.
"Creator, it is recommended to reboot the AI programmatically. Mechanical destabilization poses a significant risk of sudden brain overload for the children, potentially causing multiple hemorrhages or even death," Vega advises.
"We definitely don't want that." I quickly connect another chip from my thigh pouch into a special port.
Warning: Main computational core overload detected.
Initiating emergency shutdown protocol for all systems.
Like magic, the capsules connected to the strange device start moving, gradually descending. The liquid inside is being drained through specially installed hoses, and soon I can see the girls inside. They look around twelve years old, maybe a bit younger. Once the depressurization process finishes, I try to lift the lid, but it doesn't respond to my commands. It seems the system is designed to keep the occupants inside until it resumes normal operations.
"Damn, they've sealed them in tight," I mutter, hitting the capsule's glass, causing small cracks to form.
"Alex, I finally managed to overcome the security system. Hold on a minute, I need to restore the complex's systems," Reich's voice comes through the suit's audio system. "Done. I shut down all remaining geminis and overloaded the implants of the remaining guards. And one more thing, the children, they..." My mentor trails off, hesitating to continue.
"What happened?" I ask, looking at the now open capsule lid and checking the bodies for signs of life.
"Only these two girls survived. The system overload caused the rogue AIs to lose caution, and they tried to take me down in their final moments."
"I see... Bastards." I punch a nearby column in anger, creating a significant crack. "What about the others?"
"Everyone's fine, just Vincent and Shiro got hurt. They were hit by Goliaths, and it roughed them up a bit. Nothing critical, and Inga is already giving them medical attention."
"In that case, it's time to leave this place." I carefully disconnect the girls from the capsules, gently lifting one and handing her to Vega. I take the other child myself, positioning her on my shoulder, and slowly head towards my waiting friends.
"Alex, if you need psychological support, I'm here to listen," Vega's synthesized voice, tinged with concern, reaches out to me.
"Reich, what happened to the AIs?" I ignore my assistant's offer.
"R.A.B.I.D.S. is finishing off the remaining AIs. In about two minutes, there won't be anything left of them."
"I see." I gently stroke the child stirring in my arms, trying to soothe the rage bubbling inside. I wanted to break something, but I knew we had done everything we could, perhaps even more. People always hope for the best, and I was no exception.