RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

The damaged security unit had started moving again.

Matilda heard it scraping along the corridor behind them, but the sound faded as her squad entered the center passage.

The red lights continued overhead.

"Security escalation authorized."

"Protected infrastructure breach in progress."

"Nuclear power plant facility in full lockdown while hostile entities are present."

"Please remain in your designated quarters."

A heavier mechanical sound answered from somewhere ahead.

Bar looked forward.

"Here come the big guns, squad leader!"

The passage opened into a wider service bay.

Two armored shutters were already rising from recessed positions along the opposite wall. The first machine emerged underneath one of them.

It stood nearly twice as high as the security units they had encountered outside, carried on six articulated legs beneath a broad armored body. Its frontal plating covered most of the sensor assembly while a heavier weapon mount unfolded from the upper section.

A second unit appeared beside it.

Matilda raised her rifle.

"Contact."

Both machines opened fire. The DASFs separated behind the concrete supports lining the bay. Rounds struck the nearest column and tore fragments from its edge before Saint returned fire into the first unit’s weapon housing.

The .338 rounds sparked against the armor.

Bar pulled an EMP grenade from his gear and threw it beneath the machine.

The pulse swept across its chassis. Several lights disappeared at once, its weapon assembly stopped halfway through another turn, and the six legs locked beneath the armored body.

The machine dropped against the floor.

The second continued firing.

Matilda crossed the open section between two supports and fired into its sensor housing. Saint shifted with her while Vesper pulled another EMP grenade free.

She threw it behind the machine.

The pulse caught the rear of its chassis. Its weapon mount jerked once before falling still, followed by the rest of the machine.

Matilda did not wait to see whether either would recover.

"Move."

They left both units behind.

Matilda reopened the command channel.

"Golden Eagle, heavier security units deployed inside Section Four. We’ve separated into two routes. Both continuing toward S-four-A."

Hans answered through intermittent static.

"Understood. Continue the objective."

Matilda closed the channel.

...

On the other side, Specter Squad had reached another level.

The right passage had brought them through two stairwells before turning west again, though the synchronized map still placed Matilda’s squad almost beside them.

Chancel stopped at the next intersection.

Specter looked toward her.

"What?"

She turned slowly between the two passages.

"Movement ahead. Multiple."

"Which side?"

"Both. Right side is closer."

A reinforced sign remained attached to the wall behind them. Most of the lettering had faded, but one line was still readable.

------

SECURITY ADMINISTRATION / S4

------

Specter looked left.

"That way."

The squad moved. The first security unit entered behind them before they reached the next door.

Warden fired twice into its frontal assembly. Harrow followed with two more rounds into the damaged housing.

The machine dropped against the wall as the squad continued.

The corridor ahead narrowed before entering another administrative section. Office doors lined both sides, most carrying only numbers.

S4-C.

S4-B.

Specter increased his pace.

"S-four-A should be ahead."

The floor shook as a reinforced shutter dropped behind the squad. Another began descending ahead of them.

"Through."

Chancel cleared it first. Warden and Harrow followed.

Specter crossed as the bottom edge reached chest height, dropping underneath before the shutter struck the floor behind him.

The room beyond was larger than the corridor suggested.

Several desks remained overturned inside the administrative area. Secure terminals lined one wall, while another reinforced door stood at the far end.

Its designation remained visible.

S4-A.

"Found it."

Specter opened the squad channel.

"Fairy. S-four-A located."

Static answered for a moment before Matilda patched in.

"Position?"

Specter checked the synchronized markers. Her squad appeared almost directly south of them, but the elevation reading remained uncertain.

"Can’t give you a reliable level. We’re inside the office."

"Proceed to step two."

"Already on it."

Specter searched the office.

A small reinforced safe had been built into one of the cabinets near the supervisory desk.

"Here."

He moved to the dial and entered the sequence Kordula had given them.

15L.

32R.

26L.

99L.

82R.

The lock released.

Specter opened the safe. A red emergency case sat inside.

He pulled it out and released the mechanical catches. A hardened drive rested inside the fitted compartment, marked with the DAEDALUS insignia and several warning labels.

"Kill-switch acquired."

The equipment-room door behind the office remained locked. Harrow examined the frame once.

"Mechanical reinforcement."

Warden stepped beside him. Both men forced their blades into the seam.

The monomolecular edges cut through the locking points faster than the door itself could deform. Specter joined them and pulled the damaged section outward.

The door opened enough for Chancel to pass.

"Clear."

Specter entered with the red case.

The equipment room was small compared with the office outside. Server racks occupied most of the available space, several carrying DAEDALUS markings and identification numbers.

One bank stood apart from the rest.

------

PROJECT DAEDALUS

AUTOMATED WEAPONRY PROGRAM (AWP)

------

The facility speakers activated.

"Critical security infrastructure breached."

"Hostile external personnel have entered protected AWP control space."

"Immediate withdrawal required."

Specter removed the drive from its case. A heavy impact struck the office door behind them.

Chancel turned.

"Something large is on the other side."

Another impact followed. The damaged entrance bent inward.

Harrow moved back into the office.

A third impact tore the door from one hinge. The armored front of another heavy security unit appeared through the opening, its weapon assembly unfolding as it forced itself inside.

Harrow fired first.

The .338 round struck the sensor housing, but the machine continued forward. Warden joined him.

"Keep it there."

Specter turned back toward the server racks.

Several maintenance interfaces occupied the AWP control bank. One recessed port carried a red emergency marking matching the case in his hand.

He moved toward it.

Behind him, the heavy unit brought its weapon around.

Harrow pulled an EMP grenade free.

"EMP!"

He threw it through the ruined doorway. The pulse caught the machine across the front. Its weapon assembly stopped.

Several lights across the armored chassis disappeared, and the machine dropped heavily against the damaged entrance.

Chancel looked past it.

"More movement behind it."

Specter reached the server.

He removed the protective cover from the emergency port and inserted the drive.

The server responded immediately.

"DAEDALUS emergency termination media detected."

The ASS spoke over it.

"Unauthorized emergency-control access."

"Remove termination media immediately."

Specter left it in place.

"Verifying commissioning signature."

The disabled machine shifted against the doorway as something heavier pushed from the corridor behind it.

Warden and Harrow raised their rifles.

"Signature verified."

"Registered authority: Overseer Kordula Weissenberg."

The ASS responded at once.

"Supervisory security clearance revoked."

A second tone came from the AWP server.

"Registered failsafe authority valid."

"Emergency termination protocol accepted."

Specter opened the squad channel.

"Fairy. Kill-switch is in."

Matilda answered through gunfire.

"Do it."

"Already running."

...

Matilda heard the announcement through the facility as the heavy unit they had left behind entered the far end of her corridor.

Another appeared from a side access point.

Bar raised his rifle.

"Two."

"Hold them."

Matilda continued toward the next administrative junction while the three DASFs spread across the corridor.

The ASS’s voice followed them through every speaker.

"Emergency termination protocol confirmed."

"All available security assets redirected to Security Administration Section Four."

Matilda opened the squad channel.

"Specter, they’re redirecting everything toward you."

His answer came through gunfire.

"Too late! The redirection is already here."

Another heavy impact struck the disabled machine blocking S4-A. The armored chassis shifted several centimeters across the floor.

Warden fired through the opening as a smaller security unit appeared behind it. Two .338 rounds struck the exposed weapon assembly and forced it sideways before Harrow finished the sensor housing.

The machine disappeared behind the larger wreck.

Specter kept his attention on the AWP server.

The drive remained seated inside the emergency port.

"Executing termination protocol."

"Emergency authority cannot be revoked by active security administration."

The ASS answered immediately.

"Failsafe invocation classified as hostile action."

"All available security assets authorized for lethal response."

Another heavy unit forced its way against the disabled machine in the doorway. Chancel looked toward the equipment room.

"Large contact pushing through."

Warden pulled one of his EMP grenades free.

"Wait."

The machine shoved the disabled chassis far enough aside for its weapon mount to appear.

"Now."

Warden threw.

The grenade landed beneath the opening.

The pulse caught the machine as it entered S4-A. Its weapon assembly stopped halfway through deployment and the forward legs locked beneath it, leaving the armored body wedged across the entrance.

Harrow shifted to the side and fired through the remaining gap.

A smaller security unit behind it lost one of its frontal lenses.

More movement continued farther down the corridor.

Specter checked the server.

"Termination sequence active."

A progress indicator advanced across the display.

"Automated weapons command isolation initiated."

"Security enforcement network disconnecting."

The red lights inside S4-A flickered.

The ASS’s voice continued through the speakers.

"Emergency termination will compromise facility containment."

"Protected personnel remain at risk."

Specter kept watching the server.

"Not our problem anymore."

Chancel glanced toward him.

"It will be if this takes much longer."

The heavy machine in the doorway twitched. Several lights returned across one side of its chassis.

Harrow reacted. "EMP didn’t hold for long!"

Warden raised his rifle. Before either fired, the server sounded again.

"Primary AWP control authority disconnected."

The heavy machine froze. Its returning lights disappeared. The smaller security units beyond it stopped as well.

Across the facility, the warnings cut off almost at once. The sudden silence reached Matilda’s squad several corridors away.

The two heavy machines approaching them stopped where they stood. One had already brought its weapon halfway toward Saint. The mount remained there for a moment before dropping under its own weight.

Bar kept his rifle trained on it. "That better be Specter."

Matilda checked the squad channel.

"Specter."

"Still here."

The answer came without gunfire behind it. A final message reached them through the facility speakers.

"DAEDALUS emergency termination protocol complete."

"ASS-116 automated security authority offline."

Then the speakers went silent.

The corridor lighting remained active.

Ventilation continued through the ceiling. Several ordinary status indicators along the walls stayed green, while the heavy machines remained motionless beneath them.

Matilda lowered her rifle slightly.

"Status?"

Specter answered.

"Kill-switch accepted. AWP server confirms security authority terminated."

"Any damage?"

"Not so much."

"Hold S-four-A. We’re coming to you."

"Copy."

Matilda turned toward the nearest administrative sign. The synchronized map still placed Specter Squad somewhere close, though the elevation remained useless.

Vesper looked toward the adjoining stairwell.

"Below us."

Matilda took it.

...

Specter left the drive inside the server.

The emergency case remained open beside the rack.

Warden and Harrow watched the disabled machines at the office entrance while Chancel remained near the equipment-room doorway.

The AWP server displayed one final status.

------

ASS-116: TERMINATED

AUTOMATED WEAPON AUTHORITY: OFFLINE

FACILITY SAFETY SYSTEMS: UNAFFECTED

------

"Let’s hope it will not mess things up."

A few minutes later, movement appeared beyond the blocked entrance.

Warden looked over.

"Friendlies."

Matilda stepped around the disabled heavy unit first, followed by Bar, Saint, and Vesper. She looked past Specter toward the server.

"All that trouble for this."

Specter pointed toward the display. "You want to complain, you can talk to it here."

"Leave it as is."

She opened the command channel.

"Fairy to Golden Eagle."

Static crossed the transmission, weaker than before but still present.

Hans answered. "Go ahead."

"The security system is offline."

"What’s the facility’s status?"

Matilda looked around the room.

The server racks remained powered. Ventilation continued. Nothing beyond the security network appeared to have changed.

"Power and normal facility systems are still active."

"Great to hear. What about the personnel?"

Matilda checked the synchronized map. The neutral concentrations remained deeper inside the station, though one green marker contrasted brightly from the rest.

"Still showing contacts."

"Secure them."

"Understood."

Matilda closed the channel.

Specter looked toward the corridor.

"Back the way we came?"

"You want to go the other way around?"

Bar glanced at the disabled machines blocking S4-A.

"Finally. No more authority checks."

Matilda stepped past him.

"Move."

The eight DASFs left the AWP control room together. The facility remained powered around them, but none of the security machines moved.

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