The armory deck was a symphony of organized chaos. Row upon row of M-Series androids stood at attention, their blue optical sensors glowing in the dim light. In the three days since the activation, they had secured a solid corridor from the Bridge to the primary armory, though the cost had been high. Over two thousand android icons had turned red and vanished from the tactical display, sacrificed to the Gestalt's relentless defenses.
Kaelen stood on a gantry, looking down at the assembled force. There were five hundred units here, the spearhead for their final push. They were armed with heavy plasma casters, flamethrowers, and concussion grenades—weapons designed to burn and blast organic matter.
Elara was beside him, looking small and fragile next to the armored giants, but her posture was resolute. She had spent the last days practicing her control, using Scout to interface with larger and larger machines. She could now subtly influence a group of maintenance drones, making them swarm and confuse the smaller Gestalt creatures.
"The path to the primary bio-lab is 3.2 kilometers through heavily infested territory," M-77 reported, its voice echoing in the vast chamber. "The Gestalt has erected organic barricades and is deploying its bio-constructs in greater numbers. It knows we are coming."
"Then we won't give it time to prepare," Kaelen said. "We go fast and hard. Our objective is to get Dr. Silva to the core chamber. Your mission is to clear a path and hold the line, no matter the cost."
"Acknowledged. The Tin Men are ready to march." The phrase was unexpected, almost poetic, coming from the android.
"The Tin Men?" Elara asked.
"It is a designation we have adopted from the human cultural database. It seems fitting."
The launch was silent. There were no cheers, no speeches. The androids simply turned and began to move, a river of polished metal and blue light flowing into the dark corridors. Kaelen and Elara moved with them, protected at the center of the formation.
The journey was a descent into a living nightmare. The ship's corridors were no longer recognizable. The walls, floor, and ceiling were a continuous, pulsating mass of flesh and glowing veins. The air was thick with a sweet, cloying mist that required them to use their helmet filters. Strange, phosphorescent spores floated like snow.
The fighting was constant. The Gestalt threw everything it had at them. Swarms of the small, skittering creatures hurled themselves at the android lines, only to be vaporized by coordinated pulse fire. The larger bio-constructs used the organic terrain to their advantage, leaping from overhead growths, their bone-blades clashing against the androids' armored limbs.
Kaelen fought in his powered armor, his rifle a constant roar. He was no longer just a man; he was a symbol, the Steward leading his army. Elara did not fight directly, but she was their compass. With her eyes closed, she would direct fire.
"Left corridor, fifty meters! A large concentration is massing!" she would call out, and a squad of androids would pivot and unleash a torrent of plasma into the designated area, pre-empting an ambush.
They advanced meter by bloody meter. The androids were relentless, but the Gestalt seemed endless. For every creature they killed, two more would grow from the walls.
They reached a massive atrium that had once been a central transit hub. It was now a grotesque garden, with giant, tree-like structures whose branches were woven with the skeletons of the long-dead. In the center of the atrium stood a bio-construct unlike any they had seen. It was huge, a towering behemoth with four powerful arms ending in massive crushing claws. Its hide was thick, armored bone.
"A guardian," Elara breathed. "It's protecting the final approach."
The behemoth charged, its footsteps shaking the deck. Pulse fire bounced harmlessly off its chest plate.
"Focus fire on its joints!" Kaelen ordered.
The androids obeyed, their shots precise. But the creature was too fast. It swiped a claw, sending three androids flying into the walls, their chassis crumpling like tin cans.
"We can't stop it!" M-77 reported. "It will breach our formation!"
"Elara, can you affect it?" Kaelen yelled.
"It's too big! Its mind is too alien!" she cried, desperation in her voice.
As the behemoth bore down on them, Scout, Elara's drone, zipped forward. It didn't attack. Instead, it flew directly towards the creature's head, its green light pulsing rapidly. The behemoth paused, confused by the tiny, non-threatening object.
In that moment of hesitation, Elara's eyes widened. "I can feel it! Through Scout! It's not intelligent. It's just instinct and rage. But I can… distract it."
She focused, and Scout began to fly in a complex, erratic pattern, its light flashing. The behemoth's head tracked it, mesmerized. It was like a cat watching a laser pointer.
"Now!" Elara screamed.
It was the opening they needed. The androids concentrated their fire on the back of its knees. The armor there was thinner. The plasma bolts burned through, and the behemoth roared, crashing to the ground. A final volley to its head silenced it.
The way was clear. Before them was the entrance to the primary bio-lab—a massive, iris-like organic valve, currently sealed shut.
They had reached the heart of the infection. But their force of five hundred was now down to less than three hundred. And from behind the sealed valve, they could hear a deep, rhythmic thumping, like the beating of a monstrous heart.
The core was waiting.