"And you brought your friends. The more, the merrier for the greater good. Yippie."
I swore my heart was about to break from my chest.
Ann-Lyze hit her forehead with her palm and experienced her very own eureka moment.
"Of course. We're back at the Bulwark Cluster."
"What?"
Only Naif seemed serene, but then again, I couldn't see his facial response.
"You led us all the way from the abandoned city to here."
"That's impossible. I had no idea. I was just following my instincts."
It sounded like a protest, but I was just as flummoxed as them. I knew my intuition was swell, but this coincidence was bordering on the insane.
Ann-Lyze hugged me and cheered.
Even became a bit teary.
Happy as children.
If only for the moment.
I spun around and tried to grasp the reason behind all of this. Konforma saluted next to me and waited for another input.
I said,
"I really don't understand."
Naif patted my shoulder.
"Destiny, my brother. You were chosen."
He came closer.
"There are no coincidences in the universe. Everything was orchestrated to create this very journey."
"Orchestrated by who?"
I saw my reflection in the soldier's face shield.
Saw the mirror image of a clueless leader.
"You know the answer," he said.
Konforma's squeaky voice sounded.
"I hate to break up your little jabber session, but there's something you need to know."
All eyes turned to the little holo projection.
"I can only imagine what you had to go through to reach our glorious Bulwark, but please don't squander your resources just yet."
Ann-Lyze grimaced.
I turned to the holographic girl and showcased my smile. Konforma still played her role, and I was beginning to love it.
"Why? Are you going to punish us with solitary confinement because we're celebrating our survival?"
She closed her eyes and shook her oversized head.
"Nope. I just wanted to mention that our cluster has been compromised by the Technoids."
Pause.
Followed by a longer pause.
Followed by utter bewilderment.
I said,
"Konforma. We fell through a hole during a digging session. Escaped a sandstorm. Ran through a tunnel with a wounded person. Surfaced again only to get ambushed by snipers and berserk shooters. We lost a friend. Stormed through the tunnels again until every fiber of our body screamed in pain. And now we're back and you're cranking jokes. Please don't."
I swore, everyone looked at me.
But pushing these words out of my dry lips lightened my body.
Konforma listened patiently and answered with visuals.
The wall-screens showed ten different camera views.
The commons.
Sky Gardens.
Cells.
The main halls.
All of them: full of Bulwark hostages.
And dozens of Technoid troops patrolling the perimeter. Konforma, she looked at me with her serious face and said,
"Does this look like a joke to you?"
My spit tasted sour.
"What happened?"
"A Technoid commando had hijacked one of our Fireturtle APCs in the abandoned city and used it to infiltrate our hangar. They managed to bypass our security systems by using a superior's head to fool our metric scanners."
No rest for the restless.
I exchanged quick glances with my exhausted group. Ann-Lyze looked as if a wind blow would flip her over—she barely carried energy to comprehend my words. Only Naif's emotional state remained hidden, but even a soldier had to take a break.
"Looks like we're not finished yet."
Even though, body-wise, we were.
"Konforma, what's the Bulwark's status?"
"The cluster is on lockdown. 83% of the citizens are imprisoned in their cells, the rest is taken hostage or outside of the central cluster."
"Why don't you do anything?"
"I'm an AI. I can use the system but don't have any physical power."
My eyes scanned every camera footage. At least three dozen Technoids took control of the main floors and patrolled the entrances. Most citizens were locked in their cells or stashed in the commons hall.
Konforma was right.
The Bulwark was on lockdown.
"Where's Orden?"
"She and a handful of guards hide in the armory."
I nodded.
Soaked in the terrifying camera recordings and wiped my eyes. Four Technoid troopers used some kind of energy-based cutting device to burn through the armory's gate.
Sparks flew high.
Inside the armory, I noticed Orden, two guards and tech-kid Glitch. Taking cover and preparing for the infiltration.
"You're not going to play hero again, are you?" Ann-Lyze said.
"I don't want to."
I really didn't.
Every bone in my body wanted to lie down and sink into the ground. My mind wanted to shut off and vaporize in nirvana. But my heart, well, it bumped harder when I saw the people that mattered to me.
Camera: D023—Glitch in the armory.
Camera: E028—Ceedee and Hecto in the commons hall.
My eyes turned back to Ann-Lyze and Naif.
"We have been through hell and back, and I'm beyond asking for your help, but I'm going up there and fight these metal freaks."
They knew I would say that.
Ann-Lyze nodded, wiped the sweat and blood from her exhausted face.
"I'm not much of a soldier, but I'll help you. You led us here, you can lead us out of this situation."
Naif was last. All eyes focused on him. Despite the need, I didn't want to force anyone.
"You don't have to do this. There's no obligation."
He nodded.
"I admit, I have never met someone as remarkable as you."
Break.
"You escaped the most horrendous situations, won the most unlikely gunfights and guided us back to the Bulwark. Destiny has clearly chosen you for a greater purpose, and today just marks the beginning."
He paused, maybe for dramatic effect.
"I'd be honored to fight along your side."
I ignored the nonsensical destiny speak and welcomed him in. Truth was, I needed him more than anyone else in the team.
This was a soldier's task.
"It's a deal, then."
My focus returned to Konforma.
"Listen up. Show me the safest route to the armory. We free that floor, weaponize, get Orden, the guards and Glitch and then liberate the commons hall. Once we got enough soldiers on our side, we're taking back the cluster."
Fear and exhaustion took a triple-back seat.
Only the mission remained.
But one more question needed to be answered.