TCS: Fate Of The Cosmos

Chapter 22: Terminus

The journey through the deep dark of the corrupted genesis colony ship was long and dreadful, a sense of impending doom looming over their shoulders for the entire duration. Every step they took, drew them closer and closer to an abattoir, and there was no turning back now.

Years of struggle, battle, and survival lead to this very moment, and everything they had done for the past month would set the scene for the final showdown, where our beloved heroes would have to face the ultimate evil, and stop it from overthrowing all of existence. The story that began on a mysterious island many years ago would come to an end on this very day, and the eternal rivalry between old friends would be put to rest.

HLNA, carrying Helena Walker's legacy, would be there to intervene the best she could, and although she was not her creator, she knew all about the past the former survivor had with Sir Edmund Rockwell, and what the two had been through. She knew about how Helena cared for him, and how she with all her heart wished him the best, until the day he went out of his way to harm her and her friends. The day Rockwell turned into that twisted monster he had become now, the formal gentleman Helena had known for so many years on the ARKs died.

Locke tried his best to sympathize with each one of the sides, as he knew the story just as well as HLNA did. Neither of them was present at the time, but what the survivor and the AI shared was that faint connection to the pioneers who were there before them, and now, they were both here to fulfill the wishes of someone who lived a long time ago. Locke would once and for all finish this nightmare, and carry out his final task as the chosen survivor, and HLNA would succeed in making sure everything went to plan, and that the survivor would make it to the very end.

Both of their tasks were at the wishes of Helena Walker.

The exo mek continued marching and stomping its way through the dark, Locke having discreetly activated autopilot a long while ago, so he could sit back and reflect on the past few years in peace. A hundred small lights flashed at him within the cockpit of the larger suit, buttons he didn't even have a clue what did, but despite that, the interior was still somewhat dark, and he could sit there comfortably, protected by large powerful metal plating and a strong exoskeleton.

TK lead the way as they began venturing deeper and deeper into the corruption, soon, small patches of meaty and fleshy growth turned to large regions of plain meat, and veins and tendrils stretching all across the walls, sealing in and tucking away the blue light the tek infrastructure provided, and as they neared their destination, it all turned to meat. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, everything had turned into flesh.

This entire ship was slowly turning into a horrific bio-mechanical construct, slowly merging with Rockwell's body. There was no saving it, Locke realized, and even if they'd had more time, some parts of the ship wouldn't even be salvageable- It was already doomed to be destroyed, or turn into something much, much worse.

The survivor thought back on everything he had done for not only his loved ones but all of mankind as a whole. Was it worth it? If he knew how his life would've ended, would he have lived it any differently? Would he try to avoid the inevitable? Possibly. These were all questions that Locke just couldn't get himself to answer, as desperate as he was to do so- But standing in harm's way of reaching his family was something he would never regret, ever. It was worth every pain he had to go through, knowing that his children would be safe, and that the love of his life would remain untouched and just fine.

Through all of this, he also wondered what TK was thinking of all of this. His closest friend, a brother he wouldn't exchange for any other, someone who was part of his closest circle, his family. It had been so long since the two had more time to talk one-on-one, and he was worried his AI creation might be going through as much struggle as he was, which was very possible as TK wasn't like other AIs.

Just like HLNA, he too had emotions, something many pieces of artificial intelligence lacked as one would see it as a hindrance to the machine's task, but Locke didn't see that, and apparently, Helena didn't either, when she created HLNA.

Although he could not tell what the AI felt, he knew that he was content with his plans. It was interesting to see TK this confident in himself, but it didn't surprise the survivor much. After all, taking on this ultimate task was part of his existence, his very core systems ran on it. Rockwell had to fall, and this time, he wouldn't let him escape, not again.

"How is that exo mek suiting you?" TK asked, to break the deafening silence. HLNA hovered between him and the exo mek, quietly thinking to herself whilst they made their way to the bridge of the colony ship.

"Eeeerhh, its alright. The technology is way more advanced than what the Orion used, but I'm getting adjusted to it. These things don't even use joysticks..."

"Good. That mek right there will be the only thing protecting you from the army of corrupted freaks and monsters on the bridge. Rockwell is expecting us, we know that much."

"How much left is it till' we reach the bridge?" HLNA asked.

TK came to a halt the second she uttered those words, and he slowly turned his head around to face her and Locke in the exo mek. "We are three doorways away from it. I'm surprised you remained quiet and patient through ninety-nine percent of the journey." He responded, and raised an arm to point at the gargantuan doorways before them, at the other side of the fleshy hallways. That door was the only part of the environment that had yet to be overtaken and corrupted by the growth surrounding its frame.

"O-oh." She muttered in a low and quiet voice.

When he approached the door, TK lifted his hand to the surface and with only the touch of his fingertips, the red lights that dotted the door flashed vigorously flashed before fading to green. Both Locke and HLNA were slightly shocked, exchanging a glance from each sides of the exo mek's cockpit canopy at the rather surprising little act the superior AI had performed. How much of the ship's still functional controls had TK already adjusted himself to?
In a swift move, the large doors parted and slid out of the way of the trio, and they were let into a room teaming with lights coming from all directions.

To say the area was large would be an underestimation- It was enormous. Hundreds of screens littered and lined the walls around them, and between pillars holding up the megastructure, were consoles projecting holograms that were flashing in various different colors. Some were blue, some were green, but the terrifying majority was made up of dark-red light projections, picturing parts of the genesis colony ship.

Making their way through the empty antechamber, an eerie sense of abandonment and dread washed over them. Something they all found quite peculiar, was how this room was completely purified of the corruption, unlike the hallway that lead here, as if the corruption had simply failed to reach this room. At least they thought so, but that was proven wrong as only its physical form had been locked out by the countermeasures the federation set up.

It had seeped its way through the walls, into the ship's systems, many of these consoles weren't even functional anymore, and some had collapsed in on themselves as if someone or something tried to stall their respective functions.

"What is this place, TK?" Locke asked through the speakers of the exo mek.

"Secondary control room. It seems that the federation set up countermeasures so the corruption couldn't completely take this place..." He explained, approaching one of the many consoles around them. This one was projecting a cyan-tinted hologram of a set of rings; up to five or six of them at the very least.
"And for good reason too... The genesis simulation's primary systems are in here."

"Thats where all the colonists are right now... Stuck in the simulation, waiting for 'The Arrival'.", HLNA noted, reminiscing of their past stay in the simulation.

"Huh. Would you look at that, your friends are still holding out in there." TK added.

"Ooooh the group of survivors who helped us escape it!" HLNA lit up, hovering over to the console eager to take a look at its code.

For a long moment, Locke didn't say anything, and what neither of the AI could see from outside the exo mek, was that the survivor was dragging his palm down his face in slight frustration, quietly groaning to himself about the matter before making the comment:
"...I promised I would come back for them."

"Don't mind it. They seem to be doing just fine in there, and because of the countermeasures set up by the Terran federation, the corruption has been unable to reach them while they're inside the simulation. They'll get deployed onto the new planet with everyone else once this is over." TK comforted Locke, knowing his creator would feel guilty for the promise he would have to break.

"Yeah... They'll get the happily ever after that they deserve."
Steam poured out of the exo mek as the cockpit canopy opened up and the chosen survivor stepped out. This was where they would set everything up and prepare for what they were about to get themselves into, the very final confrontation with Sir Edmund Rockwell, the corrupted element.
Landing on the metallic floor with a thud, Locke circled the exo mek, looking up to make sure the bomb was tightly strapped onto the back of the machine, and TK was already getting to work on a handful of blue hologram displays that were forming all around him.

"Alright, the bomb is secured onto the mek. We're good to go."

"Good, now come." TK began, reaching out a hand to the survivor, HLNA following close behind Locke. "Give me your element core, I'll need it to launch protocol judgment."

"You sure you'll be fine?"

"I'm certain, it's just going to take a lot of energy. With both the element cores, I'll be drawing all the element I can get out of the walls of this ship... But it will very likely take me some time, so you'll have to hold out in there until I'm ready."

Tightly grasping the core on his chest, Locke tugged hard to detach it before handing it to the AI.

"So, uh, remind me, how are we going to go about this again?" HLNA quizzed, her tone of voice expressing confusion and uncertainty.

"You and Locke will rush onto the bridge with the exo mek, and take on the corrupted forces sent your way. Do not worry about the bomb, Rockwell's smart enough to know that if that thing goes off, he's fucked." TK explained, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath. "Once I've formed judgment, I will join you in battle, and provide cover so you can make a run for it and detonate the bomb at Rockwell's base."

"Hmh..." Locke mumbled to himself. "So its a fail-proof plan then. Even if the bomb were to go off prematurely, it would blow out all of the ship systems, and judgment would deal with what's left of Rockwell..."