RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

The green marker moved.

Matilda noticed it while the eight DASFs followed the administrative corridor away from S4-A.

It remained separated from the larger neutral concentration, several sections farther north on the synchronized map. The depth reading shifted whenever they changed levels, but the marker itself continued moving.

Specter noticed it as well.

”Weissenberg?”

”Most likely.”

They continued.

Without the ASS controlling the route, the facility was quieter. The red warning lights had returned to their normal state, and the cameras above the corridor remained pointed wherever they stopped when the kill-switch took effect.

Several security machines stood along the way, but none moved to apprehend them.

Bar passed one with its weapon still half-raised.

”Feels much better.”

The administrative section eventually joined another stairwell.

Matilda checked the green marker again. It remained up north, possibly a level above them. The structural picture was too rough to tell.

Chancel stopped before they entered the stairs.

Specter turned toward her.

”What is it?”

”The contact.”

Matilda looked back.

Chancel concentrated for another moment.

”Stronger than the others.”

”Are they hostile?”

”No.”

Specter understood first.

”Enhanced?”

Chancel nodded.

Matilda looked at the green marker again.

”Keep moving.”

The next level opened into a protected personnel section. Offices gave way to living quarters, storage rooms, wash areas, and several communal spaces connected through reinforced corridors. Some doors remained sealed, though the security indicators beside them no longer changed as the DASFs approached.

The green marker was closer now.

Vesper looked toward the right corridor.

”There.”

They turned.

Several bullet strikes covered the wall ahead. One door had been damaged around the frame, while a compact security unit lay motionless several meters beyond it. Its weapon remained pointed toward an adjoining room.

Matilda raised her rifle out of habit.

A woman stepped through the damaged doorway. Her facility clothes were disordered, and blood covered part of one sleeve. A shallow cut ran along the side of her face, but she remained standing without assistance.

She stopped when she saw the eight armed figures approaching.

”Fairy, is that you?”

Matilda lowered her rifle.

”Weissenberg?”

”Oh, thank the old gods.”

Kordula leaned against the doorframe for a moment. Her eyes moved across the two squads.

”You seemed to have found it.”

She closed her eyes briefly.

Chancel remained behind Specter. Her attention had not left Kordula.

Kordula noticed.

”What? Never seen an enhanced before?”

Chancel looked toward Matilda.

”We’ve seen plenty, but you being one is a surprise.”

Kordula chuckled. ”I had no choice. If I told you that, the ASS would have flagged it as a violation.”

”Are you injured?”

”These? Nothing important. They’ll heal soon.”

Bar looked toward the security unit behind her. Kordula followed his attention.

”These robot bastards charged inside. Thankfully, nobody else died.”

Matilda studied her once more. Kordula did not explain further.

”Where are the others?”

”This way.”

She turned immediately.

The DASFs followed.

Kordula moved quickly despite the injury, using the personnel corridors without checking the walls or signs.

Matilda glanced toward one of the sealed sections as they passed.

”What about those?”

”Leave them alone for now. I’ll explain everything once the others are safe.”

Kordula looked toward one of the inactive cameras above the next junction.

”And don’t start dismantling the disabled security units. The plant will still need them.”

”Even after all that?”

”Yes. As I’ve said earlier, it’s a long story.”

Kordula reached another bulkhead.

A local panel beside it remained powered, but her credential produced nothing when she placed it against the reader.

She stared at it.

”My clearance really is gone.”

Specter stepped forward.

”Need the door opened?”

”There’s a manual release.”

Kordula pulled open a narrow maintenance cover beside the panel and reached inside. Several seconds later, the lock disengaged.

She pushed the bulkhead aside.

”ASS-116 kept this station intact for months.”

Matilda followed her through.

”It also locked you inside.”

”Both are true.”

Kordula closed the maintenance cover behind them.

”It needs to stay offline until I can reconfigure its parameters.”

”So it malfunctioned?”

”Sort of.”

They continued north.

The larger neutral concentration on the synchronized map was directly ahead now.

A final reinforced bulkhead separated the protected living section from the corridor.

Kordula reached the manual control. Her hand remained there for several seconds.

Matilda waited beside her.

”You’ve been in there since the beginning?”

”Most of us.”

Kordula released the lock.

The bulkhead opened.

The room beyond had once been designed as an emergency personnel shelter and command-support area. Cots filled spaces that had not been intended for sleeping. Tables were covered with empty containers, water bottles, tools, paperwork, and whatever personal belongings the occupants had managed to keep.

People looked toward the opening.

Some still wore parts of plant uniforms. Others had replaced them with whatever clothing remained available. Several appeared exhausted enough that standing took effort.

”Overseer Weissenberg!”

”Overseer!”

Someone near the front looked past her toward the DASFs.

”How is it?! Is the system offline now?”

”Yes.” Kordula stepped farther inside. ”It’s offline. Everyone can finally leave.”

The room erupted.

People shouted. Several threw their arms around whoever stood nearest to them. Someone at the back began laughing while another simply dropped onto one of the cots and covered his face.

Others cried openly.

Months of exhaustion showed in every movement, but it did little to contain the relief spreading through the room.

Matilda stepped aside and opened the command channel.

”Fairy to Golden Eagle.”

Hans answered through the remaining static.

”Go ahead.”

”We found them. Multiple survivors confirmed inside the protected section. They’re alive, but they need medical support. Send the Medics and Engineers in. The route to our position is secure.”

”Received. Support element is moving.”

”Understood.”

Matilda closed the channel. By then, more of the personnel had gathered around Kordula.

One of them finally looked past her again.

”Overseer... who are they?”

Kordula turned toward Matilda and the DASFs.

”They’re the reason we’re getting out.”

That drew another reaction from the room.

Some of the survivors applauded. Others called out their thanks, while several simply looked at the eight armed strangers with visible relief.

The support element arrived not long afterward.

The veteran squads secured the route through the inactive security sections while the Medic pair entered the shelter. Several survivors were already waiting for them, and Kordula quickly directed them toward those who needed attention first.

The two Engineers came in behind them.

Kordula met them near the bulkhead.

”You two are...?”

”They’re our Engineers.” Matilda answered.

”Do they know a thing about nuclear power plants?”

”You can ask them about it.”

”Hmm.” Kordula paused. ”I need someone checking the plant before we start opening anything else. Can you do that for me?”

”No problem. We just need to ask a few questions.”

The Engineers separated without needing further instruction.

One went with the maintenance staff toward the nearest control section. The other remained with several plant operators, going through the logs and asking short questions whenever something required clarification.

Several of the surviving personnel approached almost immediately. A maintenance technician began explaining which systems were still operating normally, while another brought over several months’ worth of handwritten logs and status records accumulated during their confinement.

Kordula watched them for a while.

The questions became increasingly technical, and so did the answers.

At one point, one of the plant personnel stopped halfway through explaining a subsystem and pointed toward a schematic instead. The Engineer studied it for several seconds before continuing the discussion from where the man left off.

Kordula looked toward Matilda.

”Where did you find these people?”

Matilda glanced toward the Engineers.

”They’re ours.”

”How competent, and skilled. Strange.”

Kordula stared at her for a moment before looking back. One of them was already following two plant personnel farther down the corridor.

”They know a lot for people who just walked into a nuclear power station.”

”They usually do.”

Kordula gave a quiet laugh. ”Your army is very... eccentric, if I could describe it.”

Matilda did not disagree. The work continued from there.

The Medics moved through the protected section while the Engineers coordinated with the surviving operators and maintenance personnel. No one touched the sealed areas yet. The disabled security machines remained where they were, and ASS-116 stayed offline.

Matilda opened the command channel one final time.

”Fairy to Golden Eagle.”

”Go ahead.”

”Support element is in position. Survivors are receiving medical attention, and the Engineers have started checking the facility with plant personnel.”

”Any immediate problems?”

”None.”

”Keep the station secured. We’ll handle the rest after their assessment.”

”Understood.”

Matilda closed the channel.

Across the shelter, some of the survivors were still talking excitedly among themselves. Others had settled back onto their cots, finally able to rest.

Kordula stood near the open bulkhead, watching the Engineers disappear farther into the station with several of her people.

For the first time in months, the Nuclear Power Station was finally back under human control.