The Warrens were a deeper circle of Rusthaven's hell, a dense maze of precarious catwalks, forgotten service shafts, and cramped living pods clinging to the cylinder's rusted hull like metallic barnacles.
The air here was even thicker, carrying the scent of desperation, cheap synth-ale, and the ever-present fear of UGF purges. Kai's Crows called this place home.
Finding them was like trying to catch smoke. Voss's sparse intel led them through a bewildering series of dead ends and ominously silent passages, each one seemingly watched by unseen eyes. Alex, hyper-aware, felt the faint prickle of observation constantly.
The Echoes were a low thrum in his mind – the Enforcer's grim vigilance made him jumpy, but also sharper.
He relied on his scavenger's senses, honed by years of evading notice. A scuffed piece of plasteel here, a faint vibration there.
He even used the weak Static charge at his fingertips to test for hidden tripwires, a tiny, controlled spark that dissipated harmlessly, revealing a nearly invisible filament in one narrow passage. Voss looked impressed.
"You learn fast," she murmured, as he disabled the crude trap.
"Or die faster," Alex retorted, but there was a grim satisfaction in successfully applying his budding abilities.
Their pursuit of the Crows eventually led them to a disused ventilation hub, the massive, silent turbines casting long, skeletal shadows.
As they stepped into the relative openness of the hub, a voice, cool and laced with sardonic amusement, echoed from the darkness above.
"Lost, Doctor Voss? Or just slumming it with new, uniquely… energetic company?"
Figures materialized from the shadows on the overhead gantries, silent as ghosts. Clad in dark, piecemeal armor, they moved with a fluid grace that spoke of experience and deadly efficiency. Crows.
A figure dropped lightly to the floor in front of them, landing without a sound. He was lean, wiry, with eyes that seemed to absorb the meager light, missing nothing.
A barely visible distortion shimmered around his form for a split second before vanishing – his Stealth Core at work. This had to be Kai.
His face was sharp, weathered, etched with the cynicism of a man who'd seen too much betrayal. He carried no obvious weapon, but his presence was a coiled spring of deadly intent.
"Kai," Voss said, her voice calm despite the Crows surrounding them. "We need to talk."
Kai's gaze flicked from Voss to Alex, lingering on him with unnerving intensity. "Talk is cheap. Especially from an ex-UGF xeno-geneticist with a walking UGF most-wanted poster in tow."
He nodded at Alex. "I've heard the whispers. Energy spikes, dead bounty hunters. You're making a mess, kid."
"His name is Alex Ren," Voss said. "And he's the reason the UGF is mobilizing half their sector fleet."
"Is that supposed to impress me or make me want to put a bolt through his skull before they level the Warrens looking for him?" Kai's voice was flat.
Before Voss could reply, another figure emerged from the shadows – a young woman with vibrant purple streaks in her dark hair, a datapad clutched in one hand, and a Mind Core pulsing subtly at her temple. This had to be Lena, the hacker Voss had mentioned.
Lena's eyes, a startlingly bright hazel, widened as she looked at Alex, a flicker of surprise, then intense curiosity crossing her face. "His… his energy signature is loud," she breathed, more to herself than anyone else. "Layered. I've never felt anything like it. It's… chaotic. And hungry."
Kai raised an eyebrow at Lena's assessment but didn't take his eyes off Alex. "So, the UGF wants him. Why should I care, beyond the collateral damage he's dragging behind him?"
"Because he can do things no one else can," Voss stated, stepping forward. "Things the UGF wants to control, or destroy."
Alex knew this was his cue. He needed to show, not just tell. He looked at Kai. "They say you're hard to find. Untouchable."
A flicker of something – annoyance? amusement? – crossed Kai's face. "I get by."
"Let me try to touch you," Alex said, his voice steady despite the tremor in his gut. He needed to prove he was more than just a liability. He needed to absorb something new, something useful. A Stealth Core would be… transformative.
Kai's Crows tensed. Lena looked intrigued. Kai himself simply smirked. "Confident. Or suicidal. There's a fine line." He held out a hand, palm open. "Briefly. And if I feel anything I don't like…" The unspoken threat hung heavy.
Alex took a breath, trying to filter out the Enforcer's aggressive Echoes, focusing on his own intent. He reached out, his fingers brushing Kai's.
The moment their skin made contact, Alex felt it – a dizzying rush, not of power, but of sensation. The world around him seemed to mute, colors desaturating, sounds dulling. It was like sinking into cool water, a sense of detaching from his surroundings.
An Echo, for sure, but this one was different – quiet, observational. The instinctive knowledge of how to blend, to become part of the background noise.
He also felt Kai's own wariness, a deep-seated distrust, and a flash of… something lost. A memory?
The contact lasted barely a second. Alex pulled his hand back, feeling slightly disoriented but also strangely… lighter.
Kai studied him, his expression unreadable. "Well? Feel anything interesting, 'Absorber'?"
Alex tried to focus on the new sensation. "Quiet," he murmured. "Everything feels… further away. Less distinct." He looked at his own hand, then at the shadows pooling in a corner of the hub.
Instinctively, he shifted his weight, relaxed his shoulders, let his breathing slow, trying to replicate the feeling he'd just 'borrowed'. For a moment, just a fleeting instant, he felt like he could melt into those shadows.
It was a crude, imperfect imitation, but Lena gasped softly. "His energy signature… it just dimmed. Not gone, but… muffled."
Kai's eyes narrowed. He hadn't moved, hadn't given anything away, but there was a new tension in his posture. He'd felt it too.
Suddenly, Lena's head snapped up, her eyes unfocused. "Contact!" she hissed, her hand pressed to her temple where her Mind Core glowed brighter. "UGF comms chatter spiking. Sector 7-Gamma. Patrols rerouted.
They're widening their search grid. Mention of 'unusual energy readings' and… 'genetic anomaly trace'." She looked at Alex with wide, fearful eyes. "They're definitely looking for you."
"Seven-Gamma is two klicks south of here," one of the Crows reported, his voice tight. "Too close."
The atmosphere in the hub crackled. The UGF was no longer a distant threat; they were actively hunting, closing in.
Kai's gaze locked onto Alex. The smirk was gone, replaced by a grim calculation. "So, you're a power sponge with the UGF's boogeymen on your six. You just painted a fresh target on my entire operation."
"We can help each other," Voss insisted. "Alex needs to learn control. You need an edge against the UGF. He is that edge."
Alex stepped forward. The borrowed Stealth sensation was fading, but the Enforcer's strength and the tiny spark of Static energy still thrummed within him. "I won't just be a target. I can fight." He looked directly at Kai. "Give me a chance to prove I'm more useful than dangerous."
Just then, a distant, muffled thump reverberated through the plasteel deck. Then another, closer. Pacifier rounds. Or something heavier.
"Scrap!" a Crow near an external sensor yelled. "UGF heavy patrol, entering the Warrens access tunnel Theta-9! They're not just scouting anymore, boss. They're breaching!"
Kai's eyes, hard as agates, fixed on Alex. "Okay, 'Absorber'," he bit out, the cynical drawl replaced by razor-sharp command. "You want to prove you're useful? Theta-9 is about to become a killzone. Show me you're not going to get us all killed."
He glanced at his Crows. "Gear up. We've got company."
The test was over. The real fight was about to begin.