Cinder

34 - Sacrifice

"Say again, Red-1," the communications officer requested with more than just an edge of concern creeping into their voice. "It's a-"

"It's a fold-weapon! Spyglass made another fold-weapon!"

Barker paled at the thought, memories of the first one resurfacing in light of this new revelation; but he held himself together for the time being. "Someone throw up a scan of that thing!"

After a few seconds, a new geographical scan was uploaded and combined with the first. From this angle, he was able to see that while the ring system was still a prevalent design choice, no longer were they superimposed over one another. Instead, it seemed that Spyglass had drastically altered it; nearly two kilometers long, and hundreds of feet wide was a tubular chute with vast walkways adoring either side of it. Every few hundred feet was an enormous ring that encircled the entire structure until they reached the front of the weapon.

"What the hell does he need a fold weapon for?" he muttered aloud, shocked but confused at the AI's methods-

"Sir!" called a loud voice from behind him, accompanied by the hiss of the bridge's door opening. Barker turned around to see a Pilot walking briskly towards him- with the Architect at his side.

"Pilot? What's this-"

"Sergeant Vega, sir. The Architect- she needed to speak with you, but she kind of needs a translator."

Barker looked at the seven foot tall being. "Yeah, I remember- something about links between Pilots and Titans?"

"Sir, she says she knows about the fold-weapons; her people created them."

Barker's eyebrows shot up. "Well, normally I'm not one to be thankful for people who know how to make doomsday weapons- but I think I'll make an exception. What can she tell us?"

"The fold-weapons were called ... the 'plexus' network, according to her. They used the Arks to power themselves and bend reality- space and time, you know-"

"Yes, I do know," Barker snapped. "What about it?"

"Well, the IMC used the fold-weapon in only the most primitive way- with its space altering properties, it's actually the perfect device for transporting people and objects instantaneously across the galaxy."

Everything clicked into place. "The nanites- that's how Spyglass is going to spread them! He's going to shoot them through the fold-weapon!"

Vega looked at the Architect as it seemed she had an opinion of Barker's wording. "In the most basic sense of the word, yeah. But that's not all- she thinks she can help disable it."

"What? How?"

The Pilot paused as he awaited instructions from the alien. "She can't do much from up here with how much Spyglass changed the layout- but as the basic principles and physics are the same, she says she could learn exactly how he's rearranged the way it works if she had a hands-on perspective."

"You want us to drop you off on that thing?" Barker asked, looking at her with an expression akin to bewilderment. "With a crazy plan like that, I'd say you've been spending too much time around Four. You have no weapons, no armor-"

"She'd need an escort, but that can be arranged- the ground teams defending the transmitters in the production sites can spare a few troopers."

Barker groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "This plan keeps getting worse with every passing second ... fine, make it happen. No matter the cost, we do not let that fold-weapon fire!"