The Crimson Commander charged so fast they barely had time to react. His fist slammed into Carlos's abdomen, sending him flying across the room and crashing into the lab tables.
"Carlos!" Rex shouted, opening fire on the Crimson Commander, but the power armor's shield deflected the gunfire with ease. The Commander then drew his blades and began swinging them toward Rex.
Rex dodged as best as he could, parrying with his rifle when he couldn't evade the strikes. But it was clear that his rifle wouldn't hold up for long against those blades.
[Overdrive Mode Activated]
Realizing Rex was outmatched, Cleo triggered Overdrive Mode. Glowing, angel-like wings unfurled from Rex's back, making him stronger in an instant.
"W-what the hell? Who are you!?" the Crimson Commander stammered, his voice betraying his surprise. In all his years working at the Crimson Spire, he had never seen anything like this.
He quickly backed away, pulling out his twin handguns, and opened fire from a distance. But Cleo, controlling the wings, shielded Rex with them. The bullets hit the wings with metallic sounds but were absorbed as if striking water; none of the bullets penetrated.
Out of ammo, the Crimson Commander fumbled to reload, but before he could, a grenade sailed through the air toward him.
He spotted it too late. It exploded right in his face, sending him crashing into the nanomaterial vault.
"Cough... cough... what the hell?" he sputtered, disoriented. Even with his shield generator, the blast had done serious damage. His shield flickered weakly, and one side of his face was badly burned.
On all fours, the Commander struggled to get up, his shield on the verge of failing.
"Did you like that, motherfuc£er?" Carlos shouted, finally back on his feet after being winded by the earlier blow. Gasping for breath, he leveled his rifle, grenade launcher still attached, and fired another round at the Crimson Commander.
The grenade hit its mark, and the weakened shield finally collapsed. Rex, emerging from the protective cocoon of his wings, joined Carlos in opening fire on the exposed power armor.
The Commander tried to shield his face with his arms, desperately attempting to fend off the barrage of bullets. But it was no use.
As he struggled to rise, a granade landed next to him. Before he could react, it exploded, sending what was left of him flying in pieces.
"Cough, cough... that was one resilient motherfucker. Is he dead?" Carlos asked, still trying to catch his breath.
"Phew, yeah, he's done for. No life signals left," Rex replied, checking his HUD. "But seriously, that guy was an idiot. Who introduces themselves before a fight?"
"Hah! Right? So cringeworthy. Next time, we should just shoot them mid-speech," Carlos laughed, shaking his head.
Rex turned on his communications. "Cleo, we were in the vault. You can open it anytime."
"Understood. Stand by," Cleo responded, starting the hack. After a minute, the vault door began to creak open.
Rex stepped inside while Carlos stood guard outside. "So, which one's the nanomaterial?" he asked, scanning the shelves around him.
[Analysis complete]
"All of these are nanomaterials. I recommend taking everything you can carry. The mission only calls for one, but we can keep the rest," Cleo advised through his earpiece.
"Good call." Rex slung off his backpack and began stuffing as many tubes as it could hold.
"Alright, we're good to go." He exited the vault and tossed the backpack to Carlos.
They hurried to a nearby window. "Uh... is that a little too high?" Carlos asked, eyeing the drop below. "Can't we, I don't know, take the stairs?"
Rex laughed. "Don't tell me the big, tough Carlos is scared of heights."
"It's not that! I just don't wanna be hugging you, man!" Carlos shot back.
"Yeah, yeah. We're out of time; quit whining." Rex grabbed Carlos and dashed toward the window. Covering them with his wings, he smashed through the glass, sending shards flying as they tumbled to the ground below.
They hit the ground hard, rolling a few times before coming to a stop. Rex stretched his wings out, letting Carlos scramble free.
"Never again. I'm never hugging another dude," Rex muttered, panting as they stood in the crash zone.
"You didn't have to throw me like that!" Carlos grumbled, rubbing his face where it had collided with a tree trunk.
"Quit complaining. Cleo, mission complete. You can start falling back. We're heading to the smuggling zone now. Get the cargo drone ready to pick up the nanomaterial." Rex's wings retracted as Overdrive Mode deactivated, returning him to normal.
"Understood. The drone's ready. Sending coordinates now." Cleo sent the route, and glowing markers appeared on Rex's HUD.
"Come on, Carlos. We've got a long walk ahead of us." Rex extended a hand, helping Carlos up. Together, they left the area in a hurry.
Meanwhile, the combat drones took off on a separate route. With Cleo still controlling the Crimson Tower's defense system, the guards were unable to follow. Despite their heavy damage, the drones were intact and would be repairable.
After three grueling hours, Rex and Carlos finally reached the smuggling spot, where the cargo drone was waiting. Carlos tossed the backpack into the drone's cargo hold.
"Package delivered. You can send it back, Cleo," Carlos said, collapsing onto the ground, exhausted.
"Good work. Retrieving now," Cleo replied, and the cargo drone lifted off, heading back toward the city.
Rex plopped down next to Carlos. "So what now?" he asked Cleo.
"I'll store the nanomaterials on the ship and send the one required for the mission to a drop-off point outside the forest. I'll notify Talon to pick it up."
Rex whistled. "You've got it all figured out, huh? Nice work. Guess we can kick back for a bit, then. How about we hit a nearby bar, wait for the credits, then feast tonight? Tomorrow, we'll grab the supplies."
Carlos grinned, "Now you're speaking my language."
It took them another four hours to finally reach a bar. Rex was still going strong, but Carlos, being just an ordinary human, was already passed out at the table, snoring loudly like an elephant. Luckily for them, this bar had a "pay at the end" policy, which was perfect since they were still waiting for the credits to come through.
Now, most bars wouldn't dare use a system like that since it'd be too risky with people trying to dine and dash. But this place was run by a local mafia, so no one was dumb enough to pull a stunt like that. Anyone who did would quickly find themselves hunted down and sold off in parts, literally. With millions of species in the galaxy, there was always a demand for... well, just about anything.
"Rex, the credits have been deposited. You're free to enjoy your feast," Cleo's voice chimed in through his earpiece.
"Oh, thanks, beautiful. But I think we'll save the feast for tomorrow morning. Carlos is already out cold." Rex took one last swig of his beer.
"Good idea. He's only human, after all."
"Hey, speaking of that, is there any way to make Carlos more like me? You know, stronger?"
"That's impossible," Cleo replied. "Only Royal AIs like me can perform those kinds of enhancements. And so far, I'm the only one left."
"Royal... wait, does that mean you're a princess?" Rex raised an eyebrow.
"Affirmative. Well, I was a princess, before the Hive Minds wiped out my empire."
"Don't sweat it since you're still my princess!" Rex said with a grin, calling over the waitress to settle the tab.
"..." Cleo didn't respond. But if anyone could see her, they'd notice a bittersweet smile playing on her lips.
Rex stood up and walked over to Carlos. "Come on, buddy. Time to go." Seeing that Carlos wasn't waking up anytime soon, Rex hoisted him onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
With the bill already paid, they left the bar, ignoring the scornful look from the waitress as they passed by the guards stationed outside.
"Oh, by the way, beautiful waitress," Rex called over his shoulder. "You know where I can find a cheap hotel for the night?"
The waitress chuckled softly. "If you walk that way, you'll hit the Cabin Hotel. 500 credits a night, and since we run it, you won't have to worry about security." She gave him a thumbs-up.
"Much appreciated." Rex smiled and handed her 500 credits as a tip. "Thanks for the help."
The waitress nodded, speaking into her communicator as she returned inside.
Rex carried Carlos down the street, heading for the hotel. When they arrived, he rented two rooms, dumping Carlos into one before collapsing onto the bed in the other.
Meanwhile, back on the ship, Cleo floated quietly in the cockpit, hugging her legs as she stared out into the stars. The familiar feeling of isolation crept back over her. For so long, she'd been alone, and now that she had someone again, the thought of being without them, even for a short time, felt unbearable.
"Please... come back soon," Cleo whispered, burying her face in her knees.