Page 18 of Craze

I smile and hang my head.

“No bottling shit up,” Macabre adds with a finger pointed to each of us. “Normally, I’d do that myself because it’s good fuel. But we need total transparency. It is the only way we can survive. We must know each others’ weaknesses and strengths and use them at all times.”

“Fresh start,” Axe offers.

“From a different kind of prison?” Tangle quietly asks, picking grass and rocks out of his injuries.

RamBash runs a hand through his short brown hair, freeing it of debris. “We don't have a chance.”

I press the synthflesh I can back into place on my arms. It softens and melds with my stirring nanosolution. “You can give up. Stay down here forever. Make this your home if you want. But I refuse to let the Solcrue win. They don’t deserve what they have taken from us and from the humans.

“I don’t want to find excuses to give up. I want the power to prevail and turn everyone of those snakes into my next meal. Cara deserves to be honored for fighting for us. And—” Now that I’m warmed up and certain my brothers will be safe for the night, I get up and climb back on the drone.

“I am often quiet because I am replaying the faces of those we lost. I let them remind me of why I must stay my course for vengeance. I want the Solcrue to know the reason they die is because of what they did to us.” I make firm eye-contact with Tangle and RamBash. “Think about who you’ve lost and what they’d want to do if they had a second chance. Make it happen.”

“Where are you going?” Axe asks.

“I just focus on one need at a time. We need supplies. That is my next mission. I don’t need a plan to follow programming.We’re all going to be essential for this rebellion to be effective. I will bring back what I can.”

Axe>>Craze: Don’t get caught. We’re in no shape to come for you.

Craze>>Axe: Copy.

Guiding the hoverdrone through the tunnels, I find a gradual ascent shaft it can handle and rise back up to the moon’s surface.

The distant sky exposes the Skysprinters still near the portal and another ship hovering close by, one I hadn’t noticed before. It’s not a typical Solcrue battleship.

My scanners expose a heavy array of sensors, communications ports, and a lot of windows.

Few guns. Research?

I shake my head and refocus on the salvage mission. The valley below shows debris of the two destroyed Skysprinters Cara and Diesel are responsible for.

Time to dig through them is limited. The Solcrue will soon come to do the same.

I thrust the hoverdrone toward the closest debris field as fast as it will go. As I race down the hills and into the valley, I pull up every recording I can from Brothers who have salvaged vessels like these.

My experiences are mostly limited to hand-to-hand combat. But I am adaptable. I just need to know what to pull beforehand so I don’t waste any time assessing things while I’m there.

I scan the flaming wreckage and find parts that match what I see in my saved recordings. The drone’s claws come in handy for a large container which I fill with everything from gun and engine parts, chip cards, wiring, charred medical kits, and any rations and armor I determine are mostly functional.

A bullet rips by me. I twist away and feel the heat scorch a line across my chest. Grabbing the closest thing I can, I throw it in the direction the shot originated.

The jagged piece of Skysprinter frame lands so hard in the Solcrue pilot’s chest, that it partially buries his body in the dirt. A translucent green body shield flickers off.

I’m out of time. He likely relayed a signal that he found a Titan.

Solcrue don’t usually survive such hard landings from space, especially if Titans struggle. But the body shield makes me wonder what other advancements they might be making.

As I pry one final crate of supplies out of a contorted chunk of cabinetry, I see a unique red glow out in the field that piques my curiosity. With one last stop on my mind, I load the crate and guide the hoverdrone over to the steady light. I set down beside it and dismount.

At my feet is a zembi, a flaming sword, an ancient weapon of the Creators before they made us. I gingerly pick it up. I have not held one in many years. The red metal ignites with raging fire. It won’t flame-up for Solcrue, so holding one is like finding lost hope.

Proximity Alert.

I look up to see a rocket skimming the moon’s surface, headed straight for me and my wreckage-loaded hoverdrone.

My nerves burn, urging me to flee. But I’m tired of running. I’m tired of losing, of living while my Brothers suffer and die. They need the parts I’ve found. And I’m going to get them to my Brothers.

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