The G-5 Hunter Unit detached completely from the ventilation duct, landing on the floor with a heavy, metallic thud that shook the concrete. Its segmented legs locked into attack posture, and even with its primary sensor shattered, its targeting system had already locked onto their heat signatures.
"STAND DOWN. COMPLIANCE MANDATORY." the synthesized voice boomed, amplified by the high ceilings of the laundry bay.
"Run! To the far end!" Kael screamed, shoving the Original toward a series of massive, open-topped washing tanks that dominated the center of the room.
The Hunter Unit was fast. Its razor-claws scraped along the floor as it launched a pursuit, its movements fluid and terrifying.
The Original glanced back. The Hunter had begun firing small, focused bursts of incendiary plasma from its secondary ports—not enough to destroy them, but enough to herd them and inflict painful burns. Plasma bolts sizzled past, melting small divots in the metal railing they ran alongside.
"The tanks!" the Original yelled, pointing to the enormous, active industrial washing machines. Steam billowed off their open tops, and they churned with thousands of gallons of hot, pressurized water and industrial-strength detergent.
"Too deep! We'd drown!" Kael argued, but the Hunter was gaining rapidly.
"We don't go in them, we put the Hunter in them!"
The Original reached the nearest machine—a circular unit the size of a small car, its top rotating drum accessible. They grabbed a discarded length of steel cable used for bundling linens.
"Distraction!"
Kael understood immediately. Kael slid to a stop, raising their weapon and emptying the clip into the Hunter's thick chassis. The bullets sparked uselessly against the armor, but the machine paused momentarily, pivoting to focus its attention on the source of the attack.
"Now!"
The Original threw the heavy cable, looping it quickly around one of the Hunter Unit's raised, grappling claws. Before the robot could process the tether, the Original took the slack end of the cable and, with a massive surge of strength, sprinted directly toward the spinning drum of the nearest washer.
The move was reckless. The cable tightened instantly, and the centrifugal force of the Original's momentum yanked the Hunter Unit off balance. The machine—designed for flat terrain and stability—was caught in an unstoppable rotational pull.
The Hunter fought, its metallic claws tearing at the air, but the tension on the cable was too great. With a terrifying mechanical screech and the sound of straining metal, the massive robot was hurled sideways.
It sailed through the air and plunged with an ear-splitting KERSPLASH into the nearest industrial washing tank.
Water, steam, and thick, caustic detergent exploded out of the open drum, showering the bay. The Hunter Unit immediately began thrashing violently, the specialized detergents eating into its sensors and the water shorting its vital systems. It sank instantly.
"SYSTEM FAILURE. CORROSION DETECTED. SEEKING EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN," its synthesized voice gurgled weakly, before being entirely submerged.
The silence that followed the crash was deafening. The machine was disabled, sunk beneath a roiling surface of soapy water.
Kael lowered their smoking weapon, breathing heavily. "We just gave a multi-million-credit security bot a very expensive bubble bath."
"Let's not wait for the drying cycle," the Original said, already heading toward a small, unlocked side door marked "Waste Disposal Exit."
The immediate danger was neutralized, but the Original knew they were still deep inside the Project Elysium facility. The next layer of security—the outside world—was waiting.