It was indeed Gunmetal dragging himself towards the city. His suit was badly damaged, taped together with an emergency patch kit. He walked with a limp, and a crude splint had been fashioned from scrap. He was dehydrated, delirious and passed out the moment he was put on the truck.
Everyone wanted to see the action, folks even dragging themselves out of bed to watch. Max and a team of guards created a perimeter to keep people from crowd from rushing the injured man. They were told to disperse while the recovered hero was brought back to the med bay for emergency care.
Even Orion was turned away. Dr. Birchett gently informed him over private message that there was nothing anyone but her team could do for him, and it would be best for Gunmetal if he wasn’t mobbed by ‘lookie loos’.
Baffled that a Zylvaan would know that turn of phrase, Orion found himself with nothing to do. He could prepare for his trip, but with all the excitement he wanted to blow off some steam first.
Whenever he needed to relax, there was only one thing to do. Orion made his way to the surface and picked his way towards Bite Rock. He’d made several tunnels in the black boulder, which was so large it protruded through the Floor One basement ceiling. He’d been chipping away at the rock topside when the weather permitted, trying to avoid another cave-in.
Along the way he ran into Barnad and Random, both looking similarly restless. They struck up a conversation about the excitement. When Barnad asked Orion what his plan was, the answer was simple.
“The only thing I can do right now,” Orion stated, pulling his pickaxe out of his inventory. “Work up a sweat and not think about it.”
Barnad rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “Do you wish for company? I am a bit of a miner myself.”
“Really?” Orion asked, intrigued. “You’re a Machinist, like me?”
Barnad shook his head, “Gemologist, actually. Is hobby of mine. I used to make trinkets for my daughter.”
“Aww!” Orion cooed. He pulled the Ducal Friendship Ring out from his collar, “So you made this yourself?”
“Yes, in fact. The earrings were made by me.” Barnad boasted, “It was easy enough to modify once it was cleaned up.”
Orion gave the bite wound in Barnad’s ear a worried glance, “I don’t know if I ever apologized for that. Sorry.”
Barnad waved the apology away, “This is nothing. If I wish to have it regenerated, I have the option. Neesya says it is giving me the character.”
Orion chuckled as he started to walk again, “How’s that going, by the way? You two seem to be getting close.”
Barnad followed, Random content to ride along from the top of his jetpack.
“She is the gentlest woman I have ever met. Beautiful inside and out. I adore her.” Barnad said dreamily. His tone became more somber, “I do not know what she sees in me.”
The memory of Neesya in her
He had to admit, the soft spoken, or at least soft telepathically projected woman was a sweetheart. Even timid for someone her size. And with her empathic ability to read emotions, a good judge of character too. Barnad made a bad first impression when he woke up, trying to conquer Phoenix with force and threats. But since then he’d proven himself not only contrite but loyal to a fault.
“Neesya cuts through the bullshit,” Orion said after a moment. “If she sees something in you that she likes, you know it’s genuine. Besides, I know you’re a good dude. After the duel you’ve been one of my best friends.”
Barnad relaxed, “And you mine, friend.”
Random cast a sidelong look down at Orion from his perch.
“Don’t worry, Random. You’re one of our best friends, too.” reassured Orion.
Random punched the air victoriously with all four arms. Yes!
The decontamination room activated, removing foreign particles and the entrance doors opened. A few minutes of conversation passed as they walked towards the large dark boulder at the south end of the courtyard.
Cyclone jogged past, singing an old army tune, which was summarily repeated by the soldiers following him. They waited as a line of soldiers marched in front of them, training already for the potential threat facing them.
Orion looked worried, “Do you think we stand a chance?”
Barnad scoffed, “Against Viceroy Bitterling? Were I not worried about repercussions with the weather machine, or whatever it is, I would take him down myself. This city has faced far greater threats than that fascist old corpse. We have the numbers, we have better technology, and seven warriors with almost maxed out levels. What could possibly threaten us?”
Orion started moving as the last soldier, a wheezing Jo’Qin dragging rubbery arms behind him, staggered by. Orion’s exposed skin cooled as he stepped out of the glaring desert sun and into the nearest cave he had carved into Bite Rock.
“I hope you’re right.” Orion muttered.
Barnad paused as he walked into the entrance, almost having to duck at the low ceiling. Random climbed down from his back and both stared at the tunnel with open-mouthed wonder. Orion knew Bite Rock was one of the stranger landmarks of Phoenix. It looked like a massive boulder that had been tossed into the ground near the city, possibly sent there by the meteor’s impact. Orion had spent many an hour compulsively mining it whenever time permitted.
The tunnel was a mostly straight line dug into the stone. There were small discs of LED lights mounted on the walls to illuminate it. A few larger holes had been dug out in the sides, containing chests for materials and extra picks. There was even a water station and a crafting table in one of the nooks, giving Orion a place to rest, craft replacement tools and refreshments without leaving the cave.
“You did all this?” Barnad marveled.
Orion shrugged, “I had a lot of time on my hands between building survival structures. Grab a pickax if you feel like taking a swing at it, I’ve got plenty of backups.”
And with that, Orion pulled out his pink cassette player and slipped the headset over his pointed ears. He rubbed his hand together and grabbed his personalized pickax and started swinging with gusto. The sharp point of the pick rang off the stone, a mining minigame appearing in his vision. Holographic dots appeared in his vision like a game of whack-a-mole. Strike the spots and the cracks got bigger. With the third struck, the chunks of rock glowed red, pixelating before teleporting into his inventory.
Barnad smiled and hefted a spare pick and started to mine as well. With his height, he had to swing it like a baseball bat instead. At Barnad’s trade level, it took only one more swing to break down the stone wall, and he started carving out a tunnel parallel to the first.
Random noticed the issue. While Orion could do an overhand swing, Barnad couldn’t. The Hiver pulled out four Multipurpose Universal Tools and aimed them at the ceiling. While it took longer, with four MUTs focusing on a spot, Random was able to start digging a higher ceiling.
The three men worked together like this companionably for an hour. Barnad had to take frequent breaks, his BioSuit causing him to overheat faster. Random joining him out of sheer boredom. Orion continued to plug along, merely stripping down to a white tank top and jeans as he worked. With his jacket removed, it was easy to see where his implants were starting to grow over the fleshy of his body. The living cybernite metal was creeping over his shoulders and biceps, the skin swollen and irritated at the site. The rest of his body was perspiring heavily, sweat rolling down his forehead and cleavage. Steam was literally coming off of him, hissing from vents in his cybernetic back plates to keep him from overheating.
Barnad shook his head with awe, “Your stamina is truly impressive.”
Orion heard the comment and paused to remove his headphones. It took a moment to process what was said, and he responded, “Oh, yeah. I’ve got abnormally high Endurance. Well, that and the Org regeneration. I get tired a lot slower, and at this pace I sorta get my second wind pretty quickly. I can do this for hours without stopping.”
Random kicked his legs, Don’t get bored? It repetitive work.
Orion shook his head and turned back to the hole he’d been working on. This one was giving him some trouble.
“Not really. I have my music, which is awesome.” Orion said. “It’s like exercise. I just zone out and let my muscles work.”
Barnad chuckled, “But why? Why spend so much time here by yourself?”
Orion gave this some thought, “I don’t know, I kind of just…feel compelled to do this.”
The fur on the back of Barnad’s neck stood on end. Orion’s voice had an echo to it, a synthetic reverb that layered over his words. The Kreelux stood slowly and gripped his pickax, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.
Orion turned back to the wall, his movements became more frantic. Glowing cracks spread along the rock, sparks kicking up as metal struck stone. With an auto-tuned grunt, Orion swung hard and the wall exploded outward.
Flecks of golden light illuminated the dark inner walls of the tunnel like a miniature sun. The crumbling stone fell away to reveal a pyrite-like crystal big enough to fill the entire passage. Black veins of metal pulsed along the crystal, orange lights burning under the oily surface. The effect was immediate.
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Orion screamed and his body twitched robotically as his body responded violently to the exposed ERROR Ore. His implants started to bubble like boiling water. Blue blood splashed on the floor and walls as metal tendrils stretched from the mutating implants, burying themselves deep into Orion’s flesh. A barbed shell formed along his right arm, encasing around the pickax. Bones popped and crunched as the malformed limb became a giant pickax. His left leg became encased in a truncated foot, scythe-like claws sliding out of the boiling metal. Orion threw his head back in a strangled scream as his brain implant buried spikes into his cheek and neck.
Barnad frowned and walked to the center of the tunnel, grabbing a second pickax as he blocked the exit. A circle of light spread out from his feet as he activated [Indomitable Aura].
Random narrowed his eyes and stepped into the shadows, vanishing from sight.
Orion convulsed with pain, vomiting up blood and oil. He looked up at Barnad, his right eye a glowing laser pointer. When he spoke, his voice rasped, larynx damaged.
“Puh…leesh…don let…me hurt…a-a-any-” Orion pleaded through too many fangs.
Then with a howl, Orion attacked. In the cramped space, he clearly had the advantage. Lifting the spiked club his arm had become, Orion swung it with unnatural speed. Barnad deflected with one pickaxe and buried the second one into Orion’s thigh, connecting with bone. Orion leapt away like a cat, landing on all fours like a wounded animal. He lunged again, kicking up sparks from his mutated foot. The mad cyborg swung wildly, all power but no finesse. Barnad casually stepped back as the attack went wide, the tip of the pick wedging itself into the wall. Orion yanked but he found himself suddenly stuck.
Barnad grabbed the handle of the pick in Orion’s thigh and kicked out with his foot. The blow sent Orion tumbling, ripping the pick out and snapping the tip of the spike off in the wall.
Orion landed awkwardly on his back, the weird bumps and distortions from his back plates leaving him as helpless as an overturned turtle. As he frantically flailed to right himself, Random appeared through the shadows and buried 4 poisoned daggers into his exposed belly. Another synthetic shriek bounced off the walls as Orion swiped at the Hiver, who spun away into the darkness.
Barnad strode forward with the calm of a seasoned soldier. With little ceremony he struck down with one pick, pinning Orion’s hoof to the floor. Another quick went clear through his left arm. Orion wrenched his body, but he didn’t have the leverage to pull the spikes out of the ground. His teeth gnashed as he bit at the air, as if trying to savage the very universe.
“I’m sorry, my friend. But I will protect our people.” Barnad promised.
With one swift movement, Barnad pulled a guitar out of his inventory and brought Show Stopper down on the thrashing Org in a vicious overhand strike. The guitar clipped the newly raised ceiling, but it barely slowed the deadly arc. Metal and bone shattered under the blow, followed by a sonic shockwave of discordant music.
Orion barely had time to cry out before his body pixelated and faded into twinkles of light.
[Orion Starbeard has Died]
With the threat gone, Barnad wiped his face with a bloody hand. As he stared at the huge chunk of ERROR ore, even the blue bloodstains vanished from the glittering surface.
Random appeared at his side and looked up at Barnad worriedly. The Kreelux patted Random on the head to reassure him.
Barnad sighed, “I think we just discovered what’s been poisoning Orion,”
Half an hour later, Xing and Professor Queebeax joined them in the cave. Both of them had equipment and monitors testing and taking data from the huge chunk of uncovered ore. Phish, Xing’s ichthyosaurus AI companion, was swimming around in the air to help analyze data.
Barnad fidgeted while he waited. Random had called in more of the Construction Union, who were using their MUTs to widen the tunnel. Smaller shards of Error ore were starting to be unearthed from the stone walls.
Xing shot the Professor a worried look, “How much time has Orion been spending in here?”
“It’s hard to tell,” Queebeax sighed. “Mining was his go-to activity whenever he got some free time, hoo hoo.”
“He said he ‘felt compelled’ to do so,” added Barnad. “In an echoey robotic voice.”
Xing shuddered, “That’s creepy.”
Queebeax tapped his BioSuit visor, “Indeed! But it matches the behavior we saw down in the crater. Perhaps all the Cy-Orgs are compelled to mine for this strange mineral. We’re just lucky there was a large source of it near the base, don’tcha know? Otherwise Orion may have wound up deep underground, forever harvesting ore. Or worse, sending it through the Gate below, twisting into some hideous mutant.”
This was met with stunned silence. Even the construction workers had stopped to listen with horrified expressions on their faces. If not for Bite Rock Orion may have wandered off without ever freeing a single colonist, trapping them in eternal cryo sleep.
Queebeax continued to ponder this when he noticed the silence. He looked around at the shocked faces staring at him and shrugged.
“Obviously we have to get rid of it now.” Queebeax added. “It’s outlived its usefulness, and could very well permanently damage Orion’s body and mind.”
Xing closed her HUD windows with frustration, “Orion’s even been carrying a chunk of this stuff around with him. No wonder his implants keep acting up!”
Barnad stood and walked closer, “Do we know what this ore is? I’ve got a pretty high level in Mining, and even I can’t identify it.”
What about grungy black stuff on crystal? Random danced, Could that affect the Queen?
Xing walked closer to the strange wall. She opened up a HUD window and tried to pick up on anything she missed. There seemed to be some kind of signal emanating from the veins of black metal. She compared it to the corrupted code she picked up from Rusty’s implants. It was a match. She hadn’t been able to translate it yet, but she was sure that this is what was sending out instructions to the Cy-Orgs.
Queebeax picked up the chunk of ore Barnad had obtained and scanned it with his staff’s MUT. The portal on the bifurcated tip of the staff swirled, bringing up information. After a moment, the screen went blank, unable to discover any more information.
“It’s clearly not native to this world or any other that I know of,” Queebeax said. “If this is a chunk of the meteor like we suspect, it’s a safe bet it’s from another dimension. We need to study it to find out what it is.”
Random argued, We know it dangerous. Construction Union break down rock, toss into crater. Let Cy-Orgs have it.
Barnad folded his arms, “Is that the best option? Without the ore here, would Orion try to find more underground?”
Xing screamed, her cry reverberating in the cavernous space. Barnad looked up in alarm as she tried to back away from the exposed crystal. Fear bristled his fur as she tried to tug herself free.
The black metal reacted to her, tendrils whipping out from the crystal and coiling around her left arm. Orange lenses opened across the surface and stared like malicious eyes, casting eerie specks of light across the walls. There was a hiss as the sharp tentacles punctured her suit, shredding it to the elbow. The metal started to meld with her prosthetic, creeping up her forearm like a spiderweb.
Xing had the foresight to disconnect her arm, which popped off at the shoulder joint and slid out of the ripped sleeve. She fell back in a tangle of limbs and tail, her suit quickly depressurizing. Phish was swimming in a frenzy, shouting ‘Alarm!’ as Xing dragged herself backwards.
It all happened in a matter of seconds.
Barnad grabbed a shovel from one of the nearby stacks of tools, Random snatching a hammer. The two rushed in, smacking and pounding on the black metal to disrupt the assault. Queebeax rushed in and pulled out a repair kid from his inventory, patching the suit before the toxic air poisoned Xing. Even the construction workers had rushed forward to help drag the Jrassk back to a safe distance.
As Xing was pulled out of range, the black metal became less aggressive. It didn’t seem to register the attack as a threat, and it simply settled back into place across the ERROR ore.
Panting from the sudden exertion, Barnad and Random fistbumped.
Queebeax examined Xing for injuries, “Are you injured?”
“No, but the new arm you built for me is ruined,” whined Xing.
Queebeax sighed with relief as he stood, “I’ll make you a replacement. In the meantime, we’ll need to rope off this area until we can dispose of the ore. No cyborgs should be allowed near it, hoo hoo!”
Barnad stood up and finished his thought, “Still, is maybe good to keep some of the ore on hand in case-”
Xing’s discarded arm was still dangling in the grip of the inky web. With a hum, an orange lens opened on the palm of the hand and bathed the startled Duke in fiery light. The arm suddenly jerked on its own accord, then reached out to grab Barnad with needle-like claws.
“Aaah!” Barnad screamed. He swung down with the shovel and knocked the arm to the ground. He and Random pulverized it with their tools until the grotesque appendage stopped twitching.
Barnad took a steadying breath, “I take it back. Bury it.”