Echo In the Machine - Chapter 16
An expanded tale written from prompts while playing ECO MOFOS!!
Start from the beginning of my ECO MOFOS!! Solo Playthrough story HERE!
CHAPTER 16: THE SPARK
I kept my eyes on Bob.
At first, it looked like nerves. Hands moving too fast. His constant dropping of tools. Then I saw it. He wasn’t fumbling. He was stalling. It was sabotage.
I leaned just enough toward Siren.
“He’s not panicking,” I whispered. “He’s setting something up.”
She didn’t look at me. “You sure?”
Bob’s hand slipped again. A spark jumped.
Then… just for a half-second, he glanced up. And winked. It was quick and easy to miss, but not for me. I felt something shift in my chest.
“That’s it,” I said under my breath. “That’s our opening.”
Siren’s voice dropped low. “What do you need?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Install that chip and get that thing alive.”
“When?” she asked.
I watched Bob’s hands move faster.
“Now.”
It started small. Just a tiny pop. Then a spark. Then a sputter. Then Bob’s bench erupted. Sparks spit outward in a violent spray, followed by a sharp crack and a bloom of flame that lit up his station.
“Shit!” one of the guards barked.
Two of them rushed over immediately, weapons lowering as they tried to assess the problem.
Bob stumbled back, wide-eyed, playing it up. “I… I don’t know what…!”
Another guard grabbed a fire extinguisher and jogged toward the flames. Someone else started shouting orders, waving a rifle like that would fix everything.
“Back to work! Move!”
Minx’s head snapped up and she saw it.
Then she started talking loud and fast, with a bunch of nonsense. Complaining. Arguing. Drawing attention. Her friends picked up on it instantly. Voices began layering over other voices, louder and louder. It was noise and confusion. It was our cover.
Siren already had the panel open and the chip in. Her hands were fast and steady.
“Almost… just a reboot” she muttered.
I kept my eyes up watching Bob and the whole ruckus.
Then River moved. He didn’t look at us. He looked at Bob. And just like that, he knew. His hand went to his comm as he started toward the scene.
“Converge on that station,” he said flatly.
Six guards turned at once and moved cautiously with their weapons up, pointed at Bob. The noise suddenly dropped out of the room.
Bob froze. And this time, that look on his face… that wasn’t an act.
“Brax…” Siren said quietly.
I didn’t answer, I was already moving. She pressed something into my hand.
Ole’ Sixey.
Warm. Familiar. Right where it belonged.
Then…
CLICK!
The droid came alive. A low hiss rolled out from its core, rising fast into something meaner and heavier.
For a millisecond, nobody moved. Then it raised its arms as the plating shifted and two compartments opened. Pulse cannons slid into place with a mechanical snap.
“No way,” I breathed.
It rose from the cart and opened fire.
Not at the guards, but near them. Controlled bursts slammed above their heads, into the walls, the edges of cover. Enough to make every guard drop or scatter and give Bob the opening he needed.
“MOVE!” I shouted.
Bob didn’t hesitate. He ran and so did we. The guards regrouped, recovered and began firing at us as we crossed the workshop.
Siren plowed through the door first, slamming it open. Bob was running for the door as the droid pivoted, firing again and herding the guards back, buying us more time.
Their rifle fire answered, clean and deadly. Rounds tore through the space around us. One of Minx’s people went down hard, clutching their shoulder. Minx made it three more steps before her leg gave out from a shot through her calf. She hit the ground with a loud cry that cut through everything. Our eyes met but she knew.
“GO!” she screamed. “Don’t stop!”
I wanted to. But I knew I couldn’t. I turned and ran.
One guard broke through the chaos, lining up on Bob. I raised Ole’ Sixey and fired once. The shot hit clean and dropped him. I didn’t slow down.
“C’mon, rust bucket!” Siren yelled.
The droid fell in behind us, still firing in controlled bursts, forcing space between us and them. We hit the corridor at full speed and didn’t stop. We couldn’t. If we slowed down, the whole Stronghold would be on top of us.
“Left!” Bob shouted, already turning. We followed through another corridor. Then another. Then he came to a stop at a non-descript wall panel and reached his whole arm through a tiny crack and popped something open.
“In here!”
It was a narrow passage, dark and hidden. We piled inside. He closed the panel behind us and secured the metal hinge.
For a second, no one spoke. The silence rang loud in my head. Everyone was breathing hard and fast, but we were alive.
The droid stood still, systems humming low now. Waiting at attention.
I leaned back against the metal and let everything catch up to me all at once.
“Some opening, huh?” I muttered.
Bob gave a shaky laugh, but it didn’t hold. His hands were still trembling. Not from the run, but from everything else. He was in deep trouble.
Siren sank down beside the wall.
“We’re not in the clear,” she said. “They’ll keep sweeping.”
“Yeah,” I said. “We should keep moving.”
Bob nodded. “Let’s rest for a minute. They don’t know about this hole. Not many do.”
Good. We could take a few minutes to rest and get our wits about us. Then I looked at Siren again. Really looked.
“You’re hit!”
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
The blood said otherwise.
CHAPTER 15: ABOUT TO BREAK | CHAPTER 17 - THE LAST DOOR OUT
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Wow! I am liking this story more and more.
Good old Bob - I knew he'd come through... that droid is an absolute machine. Fingers crossed Siren makes it out with them in one piece!