6
Lily
Nothing like walkingon beams in total pitch-black. Athena’s infrared and sonar systems were providing me with a visual display, but it wasn’t clear.
“Athena, can’t you clean that up? I can’t see.”
“Negative, there is too much interference from their jamming frequencies.”
“Brilliant.” I took two more steps. The Titan’s left foot slipped, and I barely caught the massive body with my right hand. “This is ridiculous. Give me a flashlight and open the shielding so I can see with my own eyes.”
“Defensive shielding will be at fifty percent.”
“I don’t care. I need to see.”
“Understood.” With a few loud clicks and swooshing noises, the front shielding that covered my face slid away so that I was protected only by my helmet and the translucent canopy. Bright floodlights pierced the darkness for three to four meters in front of me, and I sighed with relief. It wasn’t perfect, but at least I could see where I was going.
“Lily, I’ve lost sight of you. Report.” Bantia’s voice gave the order.
“Line-of-sight visibility is three to four meters. Only way to see is without full shielding. Using only canopy and helmet cover.”
“Ulixes?” she asked.
“I can’t see a fucking thing. The jammers are getting stronger the deeper we go.”
“Go to visual. And be careful.”
“Copy that,” Ulixes said.
The other two Titan’s lights turned on, and between the three of us, I could just make out enough of the structure to see a spiral pattern. “Up or down?”
Light appeared behind me. I turned to find Darius in Tycho just a few steps away. “Both. Bantia and Ulixes go down; Lily and I will head up.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be out there shooting down Scythe fighters?” I asked.
“Air support from the Elite Starfighter pilots came in and wiped them out. They are patrolling the airspace. We’re clear.”
I looked at the set of lights I assumed belonged to Bantia. “We could head back out and tell the pilots to blow this door into pieces.”
“Negative. It’s too thick. We’d need battleship cannons to get through,” Ulixes said.
“And there would be nothing left,” Bantia added.
I didn’t think we cared much if there was anything left of the place, but then I had no idea how many people were inside. What if they had children here? “All right.”
Bantia leaped down three levels and caught a beam with her Titan hands, swinging to drop down on the level below. Ulixes cursed.
“Damn it, female.”
She laughed. “Keep up then.”
The two took off like bouncing fireflies in the darkness. I looked at Darius, then up. And up. We were about equidistant from both top and bottom. Jumping down suddenly seemed a lot easier than climbing. “Let’s go.”
Using my boosters for an assist, I leaped up and landed on the beam above me.
“Careful,” Darius instructed.
“You didn’t tell Bantia or Ulixes to be careful,” I pointed out, jumping to the next beam.