The blue light of the teleport faded, and the world of Titan Hangar materialized around us. We were in our base, a fortified control room at the far end of a massive, cavernous starship hangar. Outside the reinforced windows, a chaotic battlefield of derelict ship parts, gantries, and scaffolding stretched into the distance. It was a complex, vertical jungle of rusted metal. The air was cold and still.
Our objective was simple: steal the enemy's data core. But my true mission, the one that mattered, was far more dangerous.
My HUD was a constant stream of information. I could see Anya's health bar next to mine. I could see her ammo count. We were linked, a two-person team. I watched as her name appeared on my comms list, a silent connection between us.
And I watched the two red dots representing Kain and his new partner, Goliath, as they began their charge across the hangar floor. They were coming for us. They were coming for me.
My plan was insane. I knew it. But it was the only way. I gave Anya one last, meaningful look. A look that said, I trust you. Then I slipped through the maintenance hatch in the floor and into the darkness below.
The world above disappeared. Down here, in the service tunnels beneath the hangar, it was quiet. The only sounds were the low hum of the station's power systems and my own quiet footsteps, muffled by my Ghost skill. It was a stark contrast to the battle I knew was about to erupt above me.
I could still see everything through my HUD. I was a ghost in the machine, watching the siege unfold through a pane of digital glass.
Anya did not have to wait long. Kain and Goliath reached the Blue Team base. They did not try to be clever. There was no tactical approach. There was only rage.
Anya sent her first message. Her words appeared on my screen, calm and professional.
[MESSAGE FROM ANYA: They're here. Beginning engagement.]
I saw Goliath, a mountain of a man in heavy Ouroboros armor, raise a massive heavy machine gun. The sound, even filtered through the floor above me, was a deafening roar as he unleashed a storm of firepower on the control room door. The metal screamed as bullets tore into it. Kain was right beside him, launching grenades that exploded against the reinforced entrance.
Anya was a phantom of motion inside. I saw her health bar, a steady green. She was using the room's layout perfectly, staying out of the direct line of fire. She had dragged a heavy console in front of the door, creating a secondary barrier. She had set her two grenades as traps, one on each side of the entrance. She was not a soldier who panicked. She was a veteran preparing her defense.
I continued my journey through the tunnels. Every step was filled with tension. My System Anathema status was a cold weight in the back of my mind. The System was my enemy now. I kept expecting a pipe to burst, a light to short out, a door to slam shut in my face. With every quiet step I took, I felt like I was tempting fate. I passed a junction, and a set of emergency lights flickered on above me for no reason, casting my shadow long down the corridor. I froze, my heart pounding, but no one was there. It was just the System, reminding me it was watching.
Another message from Anya.
[MESSAGE FROM ANYA: Door integrity at 50%. They're strong. Goliath has heavy armor. Buying you time.]
Her health was still full. She was holding them. I pushed myself to move faster.
The tunnels were a maze, but the diagnostic tool I had grabbed was my guide. It showed me the path, a glowing green line leading me deeper into the station's sublevels.
Above me, the battle raged. I heard the massive boom of Anya's traps detonating. I checked my HUD. One of the red dots, Goliath, flickered. His armor icon showed damage. Anya had landed a solid hit. But her own health bar dipped for the first time as Kain retaliated, spraying the room with his assault rifle. [ANYA HP: 85/100].
I reached a sealed pressure door. The datapad made short work of it. A simple puzzle, a few quick commands, and the door hissed open. I was getting closer. The air here was colder, cleaner. The hum of technology was louder. This was the high-tech heart of the facility.
Another message. Her voice was in my head, but her words on my screen were still professional, still controlled.
[MESSAGE FROM ANYA: They breached the outer door. I'm falling back to the secondary console. Don't worry about me. Focus on your objective.]
But I did worry. I saw her health bar dip again. [ANYA HP: 70/100]. She was taking hits.
Goliath, the huge Ouroboros brute, stormed into the control room. He was a walking tank, his machine gun blazing. Kain followed right behind him, providing cover fire. Anya was a blur, diving from one piece of cover to the next. She was outmatched, but she was not outplayed. She was leading them on a chase around the room, forcing them to separate, preventing them from focusing their fire on her. She was a master of defensive combat.
I finally reached my destination. I emerged from a service tunnel into a long, clean, white corridor. It was a sterile, high-tech environment, completely isolated from the chaos of the hangar above. At the far end of the corridor was a massive, sealed door. And on the walls on opposite sides of the hallway were two glowing, hand-print authorization panels.
The quantum lock.
I stood before it, my heart pounding. The Oracle's words echoed in my mind. Two people, at the exact same time. I was only one person. How could I possibly open it? My plan, my entire strategy, had led me to this single, impossible obstacle.
I looked at my HUD. Anya's health bar suddenly plummeted. A solid chunk of it vanished. [ANYA HP: 35/100]. Kain must have landed a good shot. She was in critical condition.
Her next message was no longer calm. It was short, clipped, and filled with urgency.
[MESSAGE FROM ANYA: ARMOR BREACHED. CAN'T HOLD MUCH LONGER. WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, DO IT FAST.]
I was out of time. My plan had failed. She was going to die because I had led her into this. Because I had asked her to trust me.
I opened my comms, my voice tight with desperation. "Anya, I'm here. I'm at the door." I stared at the two panels, so far apart. "But I can't open it alone. The lock... it needs two people. I need you."
My voice sounded pathetic, even to my own ears. I was asking the impossible.
From my comms, I heard the deafening roar of Goliath's machine gun, so loud it created static. I heard Anya let out a pained grunt. Then her voice came back, weak and breathless, but laced with the same defiant, unbreakable spirit she always had.
"I'm a little busy right now, Leo."
She was about to die, and I was trapped, helpless, in front of a door I could not open.