Maine took a deep breath, suppressing the chill that spread through him at the thought of the Corp involvement in this gig, and focused all his attention on the holographic map before him.
The complex structure of the underground facility was like a cold metal behemoth, lurking beneath their feet, every shadow seeming to hide an unknown threat.
"Alright, Chooms, check your rigs, keep the channel clear. We're going down."
Maine's low voice echoed in the team's comms, and he led the way toward the southeast maintenance vent shaft entrance Osiris had indicated.
Heavy tactical boots crunched on the desolate concrete floor, making clear, solitary echoes. Dorio followed closely, shouldering her heavy iron, its muzzle unconsciously shifting, scanning the surroundings.
Falco adjusted his sensors, the data stream on the screen reflecting on his focused face. "Rad levels are zeroed out, no wide-area life signals detected yet... but the interference here is gnarly, strong local shielding."
Pilar checked his sidearm: "Hey, this place gives me the creeps, like crawling into the steel guts of some old monster."
Rebecca chambered a round with a sharp click, responding impatiently: "Then zero your mouth and don't attract its digestive fluids."
Sasha silently brought up the rear, her hooded gaze sharply scanning every detail of the environment, missing nothing abnormal.
Two crudely built, cold-looking Servitor units followed silently at the end of the team, their heavy machine guns and grenade launchers gleaming dangerously in the dim light.
The ventilation shaft cover had already been opened by Osiris's servo-skull, revealing a rust-covered ladder extending into the darkness. A cold draft, a mixture of stale air, oil, ozone, and an indescribable chemical stink, surged up from below, carrying the unique chill of the deep underground.
"Skull first, full environmental sweep. All-around." Maine ordered.
The replica servo-skull's optical sensors lit up with an eerie blue scanning beam, and it silently flew into the passage like a ghost, transmitting real-time images and data to everyone's HUD.
Below was a spacious pipe junction, a hub of the old ventilation system. The space was large but cluttered with discarded pipe parts and equipment casings, the floor covered in thick dust, and cobwebs linking rusty metal structures everywhere.
"Initial scan: No immediate heat signatures, no movement. Atmosphere: Standard mix, but trace volatile organic compounds and inert coolant residue detected. Recommend keeping the mask down." The replica skull reported the data through the Maine Team's internal channel.
After confirming no immediate life threat, Maine led the team down. The ladder groaned in protest under their weight. They landed on the dust-covered metal floor with dull thuds.
The air was thick and cold, broken only by the faint hum of the servo-skull, the team's suppressed breathing, and a nearly imperceptible vibration from the deep pipes.
"According to the structural map, a left turn ahead should be one of the channels leading to the main research area," Falco said in a low voice, adjusting his handheld scanner. "The interference source is spiking; gotta be some old, active shielding field."
The team advanced cautiously in a tactical formation, the two combat Servitor units providing rear and forward vigilance. Pilar attempted to bypass a data port on the wall but shook his head: "Flatlined. Physical interface damage. Looks like something... violently ripped it out."
They passed several rooms, most of them looking like they were emptied in a hurry—overturned furniture, shattered glassware, and scattered paper fragments. Some terminal screens were scorched black; others had melted holes.
"Looks like a thorough looting job," Dorio commented, pointing her gun at a heavily pried-open locker.
"Or an internal clean-up," Maine countered, vigilantly observing every corner.
Just as they passed a fork in the road marked "Servitor Maintenance Passage," the floor plates of the wall suddenly slid open, revealing hidden, honeycomb-shaped firing ports! Heavy gun barrels extended from within! Without warning, a cold kill-protocol activated.
"Cover! Automated defense!" Maine roared, throwing himself behind a thick cooling pipe.
Boom boom boom boom boom—!
Deafening gunfire erupted instantly! A dense barrage of large-caliber kinetic rounds instantly sprayed out like a metal storm, slamming into where the team had been, sending debris flying and twisting metal! Ricochets screamed in the confined space!
Dorio couldn't dodge in time; her shoulder armor was grazed by a ricochet, emitting a harsh scraping sound. She grunted, quickly rolling behind heavy cover.
"Goddamn turret!" Rebecca cursed, just poking her head out from behind a large equipment casing to return fire, when another wave of deadly rounds pushed her back, wood splinters flying from her cover.
"Combat Servitor! Suppress and purge!" Maine shouted into the comms, his voice almost drowned out.
The rear combat Servitor reacted instantly. It barely dodged, its frontal composite armor eating several large-caliber rounds head-on, leaving deep dents and spitting sparks. Its shoulder-mounted grenade launcher quickly cycled, and with a dull launch sound, a high-explosive grenade accurately struck the defense nest still spitting fire.
Boom!
The violent explosion turned the weapon station into twisted scrap metal, parts scattering wildly, a flash of fire momentarily illuminating the channel before plunging it back into darkness, leaving only the smell of gunpowder and hot smoke.
"Target neutralized." The combat Servitor's cold synthetic voice reported, as if it had just completed a minor maintenance task.
"Good work." Maine sighed, gesturing to Dorio. "How's the chrome?"
"A graze, the armor held." Dorio moved her shoulder, the adrenaline still spiking. "Nasty welcome party, Boss."
"Stay alert. This place is not welcoming guests." Maine checked his ammunition. "On your feet. We keep moving."