The suit was heavy. It smelled of stale sweat, dried blood, and cheap oil.
Ravi trudged through the mud, the brass boots of the dead Steam-Knight sinking deep with every step. The gas mask chafed against his jaw, and the green lenses turned the world into a sickly, night-vision nightmare.
"Status," he whispered inside the helmet.
[STATUS WINDOW] Name: Ravi Level: 6 HP: 110/180 (Recovered via Rations) Active Seat: Seat 7 (Musashi) - [Inhabiting: Shadow Fang] Current Location: Sector 4 - The Junkyard.
"You look ridiculous," Musashi's voice echoed in his mind. "A King hiding in the shell of a peasant. It is undignified."
"It's camouflage, Old Man," Ravi muttered, adjusting the steam valve on his shoulder to match the hiss of the other knights nearby. "If I walk up to the gate as a human, they shoot me. If I walk up as a Knight, they open the door."
He crested the hill of scrap metal. Ahead of him, the smog parted.
The Kingdom of Steel loomed like a mechanical beast. The walls were 200 feet high, made of black iron plates welded together. Pipes leaked green gas down the sides like weeping sores. Gears the size of Ferris wheels turned slowly on the ramparts, grinding with a sound that vibrated in Ravi's teeth.
But the most terrifying thing was the Gate. It wasn't a door. It was a Face. A massive, brass visage built into the wall, its mouth serving as the entrance tunnel. Its eyes were two burning red searchlights sweeping the wasteland.
[ENTITY DETECTED: AUTOMATED DEFENSE SYSTEM] [DESIGNATION: THE GATE WARDEN] [THREAT LEVEL: HIGH]
Ravi swallowed. "Here goes nothing."
He walked onto the metal bridge leading to the mouth. He wasn't alone. Other Steam-Knights were returning from patrol, dragging carts of scrap or captured beasts. They moved robotically, their steam vents hissing in unison. Ravi fell into step with them, mimicking their stiff, heavy gait.
He reached the front of the line. The massive red searchlights of the Gate Warden swiveled down, blinding him.
"HALT."
The voice didn't come from a person. It came from speakers embedded in the wall. It was deep, distorted, and synthesized.
"SCANNING BIO-SIGNATURE..."
A laser grid swept over Ravi's body. Ravi held his breath. He was wearing the armor. He had the ID chip in the helmet. It should work.
"ARMOR INTEGRITY: 45% CRITICAL." "ID CONFIRMED: UNIT 884."
Ravi exhaled. It worked.
"ERROR." The red lights suddenly turned blinking yellow. "BIOMETRIC MISMATCH. HEART RATE DOES NOT MATCH UNIT 884 RECORDS. UNIT 884 IS LISTED AS DECEASED."
Ravi froze. Damn it. The system updates faster than I thought.
"INITIATING PURGE PROTOCOL."
Chapter 4: The Iron Gate
The suit was heavy. It smelled of stale sweat, dried blood, and cheap oil.
Ravi trudged through the mud, the brass boots of the dead Steam-Knight sinking deep with every step. The gas mask chafed against his jaw, and the green lenses turned the world into a sickly, night-vision nightmare.
"Status," he whispered inside the helmet.
[STATUS WINDOW] Name: Ravi Level: 6 HP: 110/180 (Recovered via Rations) Active Seat: Seat 7 (Musashi) - [Inhabiting: Shadow Fang] Current Location: Sector 4 - The Junkyard.
"You look ridiculous," Musashi's voice echoed in his mind. "A King hiding in the shell of a peasant. It is undignified."
"It's camouflage, Old Man," Ravi muttered, adjusting the steam valve on his shoulder to match the hiss of the other knights nearby. "If I walk up to the gate as a human, they shoot me. If I walk up as a Knight, they open the door."
He crested the hill of scrap metal. Ahead of him, the smog parted.
The Kingdom of Steel loomed like a mechanical beast. The walls were 200 feet high, made of black iron plates welded together. Pipes leaked green gas down the sides like weeping sores. Gears the size of Ferris wheels turned slowly on the ramparts, grinding with a sound that vibrated in Ravi's teeth.
But the most terrifying thing was the Gate. It wasn't a door. It was a Face. A massive, brass visage built into the wall, its mouth serving as the entrance tunnel. Its eyes were two burning red searchlights sweeping the wasteland.
[ENTITY DETECTED: AUTOMATED DEFENSE SYSTEM] [DESIGNATION: THE GATE WARDEN] [THREAT LEVEL: HIGH]
Ravi swallowed. "Here goes nothing."
He walked onto the metal bridge leading to the mouth. He wasn't alone. Other Steam-Knights were returning from patrol, dragging carts of scrap or captured beasts. They moved robotically, their steam vents hissing in unison. Ravi fell into step with them, mimicking their stiff, heavy gait.
He reached the front of the line. The massive red searchlights of the Gate Warden swiveled down, blinding him.
"HALT."
The voice didn't come from a person. It came from speakers embedded in the wall. It was deep, distorted, and synthesized.
"SCANNING BIO-SIGNATURE..."
A laser grid swept over Ravi's body. Ravi held his breath. He was wearing the armor. He had the ID chip in the helmet. It should work.
"ARMOR INTEGRITY: 45% CRITICAL." "ID CONFIRMED: UNIT 884."
Ravi exhaled. It worked.
"ERROR." The red lights suddenly turned blinking yellow. "BIOMETRIC MISMATCH. HEART RATE DOES NOT MATCH UNIT 884 RECORDS. UNIT 884 IS LISTED AS DECEASED."
Ravi froze. Damn it. The system updates faster than I thought.
"INITIATING PURGE PROTOCOL."
From the walls, hidden panels slid open. Automated Turrets extended, their barrels spinning up with a high-pitched whine. The real Steam-Knights around him stepped back, raising their rifles in confusion.
Ravi's hand drifted to his belt, gripping the hilt of the Shadow Fang hidden under his cloak. "We fight?" Musashi asked, his voice eager.
"Too many," Ravi whispered. "We die."
The Turrets locked onto him. "GOODBYE, UNIT 884."
ZZZT-POP!
Suddenly, the red searchlights flickered. The massive brass face let out a low, dying groan. "SYS... TEM... ERR... OR..."
The turrets powered down, their barrels drooping. The laser grid vanished. The Gate Warden froze, its eyes going dark.
Ravi blinked. "What?"
Something small whizzed past his head. It looked like a rusted tin can with a propeller. It was a Drone. A tiny, spherical robot, no bigger than a grapefruit. It had a single blue camera lens and little twig-arms made of wire. Sparks were flying from its exhaust port.
It hovered in front of the Gate Warden's massive sensor array, a data cable extending from its belly into the wall. It chirped. Beep-boop-whirr.
"Move, you idiot!" A hand grabbed Ravi's armor plating and yanked him hard to the right.
Ravi stumbled, crashing into a pile of crates in the shadows of the archway. Standing over him was a girl. She was short, covered in grease, wearing oversized welding goggles and a leather apron full of tools. Her hair was a messy nest of brown curls.
She didn't look scared. She looked annoyed.
"You're heavy," she grunted, kicking his shin. "Get up. The reboot cycle only lasts thirty seconds."
Ravi stood up, his hand still on his dagger. "Who are you?"
"I'm the person saving your life," she snapped. She whistled sharply. "Bit! Detach!"
The tiny drone—Bit—yanked its cable out of the wall. Weeee-ooo! It spun happily in the air and zoomed over to the girl, hovering by her shoulder like a loyal parrot.
[AUTOMATED UNIT DETECTED: "BIT"] [CLASS: SCRAP DRONE] [LEVEL: 1]
"Bit just fried the local logic board," the girl said, adjusting her gloves. "But the Warden isn't stupid. It'll switch to backup power in ten seconds. We need to vanish."
She tapped a panel on the wall. A hidden maintenance hatch hissed open. "Well? Are you coming, or do you want to explain to the murder-turrets why you're wearing a dead man's suit?"
Ravi looked at the rebooting Gate Warden. The red lights were already flickering back on. He looked at the girl. Then he looked at the little drone, Bit, which bobbed up and down and made a click-click sound, waving its wire arm at him.
"She hacked the Admin's gate," Musashi whispered, sounding disturbed. "Sorcery?"
"No," Ravi said, stepping into the hatch. "Engineering."
The girl slammed the hatch shut behind them, plunging them into darkness. The sound of heavy boots and sirens erupted outside, muffled by the thick steel.
"Safe," the girl exhaled. She pulled a glow-stick from her belt and cracked it, bathing the tunnel in green light. She turned to Ravi. She tapped her wrench against his chest plate.
"Okay, fake Knight," she grinned, showing a chipped tooth. "That armor is Unit 884's. He was a jerk who owed me money. Since you clearly killed him... I guess his debt is yours now."
The drone, Bit, hovered close to Ravi's face. Its blue lens zoomed in and out. Whirrrr? It extended a tiny mechanical claw and poked Ravi's helmet.
"Bit likes you," the girl said, walking down the tunnel. "He has terrible taste. I'm Lyra, by the way. Try not to stab me while I lead you to the Slums."
Ravi removed his gas mask, taking a deep breath of the oily air. He looked at the little robot buzzing around his head.
"Ravi," he replied.
He followed her into the dark. He had made it inside. And he had found his guide to the Machine God.