"... I mean, can't we just disconnect it and shut down this stupid lair," Jacq paced back and forth as he said that.
Cassie disagreed...
"No, we can't. We should not. The lair will crumble to dust if we so much as touch it. And we can't remove it. The orb has a mind of its own, have you noticed?" She paced restlessly too.
"But you said you know what to do... Forgotten?" Jacq fired at her.
Cassie sat down for a while, trying to gather her wits together. She knew what to do. She has the plan all ready in her head. But...
"It could be dangerous," she said softly to Jacq. "It could be dangerous," she repeated.
Her first plan was to run up the wall with her superhuman speed and strength, and disconnect the orb like Jacq said. But, the whole lair would shut down and it could mean the death of everyone inside. The two of them included.
Her second plan was to channel the energy from the orb to a maximum level, in the direction of the door to eliminate the incoming soldiers.
That could prove destructive too. She doesn't have a full idea of how the blue orb works. She might loss control and destroy everything.
Another round of thrumming began again, breaking Cassie's thoughts.
The orb... It senses two living matters down below. And it is reacting to the aura they gave.
Cassie knew the soldiers are close now. She could feel it with her advanced superhuman sense. She heard the sickly sound of metal boots marching in sync and in formation.
She stretched her arms and made a popping sound from her neck as she stretched. She's not going to go down do easily, like Jacq said.
The boy had inspired her more than she could admit. He has shown braveness and every bit of calmness in those dangerous situations they've encountered. He has come up with escape plans twice and he has bought them more time before dying. He is not a superhuman, yet he has superpowers.
I've failed myself, Cassie thought to herself. Now is the time to redeem her flaws.
Her father can go to hell for all she cared. She's not doing to budge any longer.
She reached into her belt pocket and extracted the only plasma gun she has. She walked up to the nearby shelf and picked up a plasma sword that is made from an incredibly hot gas but powered and perfected by the electrical power of the orb. It is the closest thing to a proper weapon against the metal suits of the soldiers.
She walked up to the wall serving as a door and poised.
Half crouched, and sword in hand, she waited patiently.
Jacq who understood that their death is nigh, went to the shelf and picked up the last plasma sword too. He didn't know what they hoped to achieve against a hundred soldiers and half their number in drones... But he joined her anyway.
He broke a sweat.
When they waited for about a minute and nothing appeared, Jacq grew tired and said, "they are probably preparing something big. Let's use the orb, Cassie. Let's try, please."
"And how do you hope to use the orb, Jacq?" Cassie questioned.
"I... I... Don't know... It's..." Jacq stuttered and was cut short.
"They are coming," Cassie warned.
She tensed as she gripped the hilt of the plasma sword more tightly.
Jacq simply walked away from her side to stand behind her. He rolled the plasma sword in his hand.
He felt like Darth Vader from Star Wars.
Give me his mask and his black cloak... And I can become the key to tipping the balance... Ahaa.
The key... The key...
Jacq burst out, "Cassie, the key! It's with you, right?"
"She looked back, eyes glinting wildly. "Yes, it's with me. Don't worry... I've set this suit to self destruct of I die. It'll burn itself with the key."
She faced the door again.
"No. You can use it, Cassie. Can't you see? Use it on the orb!"
Cassie looked back in late realization. Bee eyes showed a little bit of hope. Then, she gave up again. "It's too late," she said.
"Then, fucking give it to me, and buy some fucking time for me!!" Jacq yelled at her. "Give it to me!!!"
Cassie relented and brought out the key from an enclosed space in her suit. She threw it behind her towards Jacq. He caught it and ran behind the shelves immediately, aiming to start the climb for the orb.
He opened the case holding the key and had a quick look at the content.
It was a light quantum chip not bigger than an SD card, but with complex details. The key is light blue in colour and it contains intricate lines and shapes resembling a maze of quantum circuit, coloured in shades of black.
These circuits are made of superconducting materials and it has a built-in wireless connection that allows it connect with the orb thereby unlocking it's full powers.
Jacq looked up and saw a series of steps by the wall to his right each leading up but only one connected with the cage housing the orb.
Without thinking, Jacq took his first step up the nearest ladder. He's taking no chances and he hopes to find the right ladder once he's a safe way up above.
He climbed up the fleet of rungs at a fast pace at first, but later on, the ladders started getting all curved and twisted as he advanced.
He paused and tucked the key safely into his pants' pocket before climbing up the twisted steps.
Down below was another scene entirely...
The had burst into the lab armed with the best weapons they could lay their hands on, and firing plasma shots sporadically as they moved.
Cassie on the other hand, had activated the special skill she unlocked when she was raised to be a commander – The Holographic Decoy.
This skill enables her to be in multiple locations at the same time, thereby confusing her attackers about her actual location.
She hid behind a large metal shelf as she projected her Holographic versions of herself holding plasma sword and running towards the soldiers.
They looked as real and opaque as a normal human would. And this gave the soldiers a little scare. They shot at the holographic figures continuously but the plasma bullets only went through them.
They came close and the soldiers got the surprise of their life. The decoys can cause damage to them.
The first decoy sliced a soldier's arm in half with the plasma sword, slicing through metal and flesh and bone.
Twenty holographs of Cassie caused a whole lot of damage to these intruders. They wielded the plasma sword with an athletic touch to them, pulling stunts and stylishly causing drastic losses on the enemy's side
Their leader realizing what was going on, called on the drones to scan the lab. He realized that eliminating the girl is the only way to stop the decoys from killing them all.
At once, a score of drones sped out, buzzing in different directions, pointing red beams of light around the lab.
Cassie unsheated her gun and shot two nearby drones. They scattered in a shower of metals and wires.
She ran from cover with nimble steps and shot another one above her. This time, the other drones picked up her signal and they all sped to where she stood, pointing their nozzled ends down in her direction.
The thirteen drones all turned red as they started shooting down at her.
Cassie activated her super reflexes and took off towards another deserted part of the lab.
Cassie darted through an empty space, her heart pounding as she weaved between the lasers fired by the pursuing drones. She ducked, rolled, and leaped over the incoming fire, her movements fluid and precise, like a ballet dancer dodging bullets.
She could feel the heat of the lasers singeing her bare face, but she kept moving, relying on her superhuman reflexes to stay ahead of the drones.
The chase intensified as the drones redoubled their efforts, swarming around Cassie like a hive of angry wasps.
She dived into a narrow disconnected ventilation duct, sliding through the cramped space as the drones buzzed overhead, their weapons ricocheting off the metal walls. Cassie emerged from the end of the ventilation duct and sprinted towards a heavy blast metal shelf, sliding under it just as a barrage of lasers struck the surface, sizzling the metal where she had just been run by.
Her breath ragged, Cassie turned and faced her pursuers, her eyes narrowed with determination. Her senses peaked.
She got a hold of her plasma gun one more time and shot at the drones from this safe angle that she stood.
She turned a dead shot in an instant...
With squinted eyes and a focused mind, she shot at the drones, left to right. Her shots never missing the target.
She shot four drones down in the blink of an eye.
Cassie moved away from her cover as the drones started another shower of lasers. She looked upa tiny bit and saw Jacq still struggling with the ladders high above.
I hope what you're planning works out, Cassie thought bitterly to herself. Time was running out.
The drones damaged the metallic shel with their lasers and it's time for Cassie to be on the run again.
"Stupid drones!"
She ran off towards another end of the lab, away from where the soldiers are battling her decoys. She slid through low spaces and jumped obstacles so she could find another clear spot to shoot the never relenting drones.
She got to a corner and maneuvered around a stack of barrels to hide behind a shelf. But, it was a dead end.
Cassie stopped right in her tracks as the realization dawned on her. She turned slowly to face the drones loomiadvancing. Her gun is out of charge.
As the drones advanced on Cassie, she raised her voice to test if she can still control them. They had all been under her command before but she knew this is just a wasted effort. They would have been reprogrammed, she knew but still wanted to try.
"Stop!" She yelled.
They kept advancing.
Then suddenly, the drones halted their advance and hovered in place, their weapons trained on her. They glowed red again in readiness for another laser shower.
Cassie closed her eyes as she heard the first whistling shots.
Nine whistling shots...
Everywhere grew silent at first, then the sound of metals hitting the ground erupted.
The world went dark, but Cassie opened her eyes. She's not dead... The drones are.
K-43 and K-44 appeared before her, mask down with their advanced guns blazing hot in their hands.
The middle aged man was grinning down at her, while the blond boy just stared with blue eyes and an empty face.
"We couldn't allow you have these fun all to yourself," the middle-aged man with pointed nose said, still grinning.
Blond boy murmured, "Commander Cassie."
Cassie stood on her feet and ran to thank her two subordinates who appeared to save her life.
She was happy for a moment before remembering something.
Jacq.
She ran out into the centre of the lab and looked up towards where the orb was caged. There was no Jacq.
Cassie panicked and called out his name at the top of her lungs.
There was a slight movement from the cage, and then...
A blast...
A deafening blast. The whole lab shook.
A brilliant flash of blue light, like a miniature sun exploding in shades of blue, was the only warning they had before the shockwave spread out to every corner of the large lab.
The blast radiated outwards with the forced of a small supernova, painting the metal walls of the laboratory with a shifting otherworldly hue.
Jacq being so close to the orb was knocked full force out of the cage. His limp body travelled thirty metres in the air before landing with a loud bang on the floor of the lab.
A loud, "nooooooo..."
A sickening crunch...
A fading world...
Jacq breathed his last.