The foundry lay before them, a skeleton of rusted metal and broken glass. It pulsed with a feeble energy from ancient machinery. Broken furnaces threw a reddish glow, warping the crew members' silhouettes.
Kai led first, his eyes sweeping the smashed metal floor and leaping shadows. The vent had gotten them here, but the silence was almost too good.
Ash adjusted her visor and grabbed faint energy pulses. "They're close," she breathed. "Someone's triangulating on a signal. It could be drones or sensor satellites. We have minutes, seconds."
Nyx knelt, rifle ready, eyes blazing in mortal furnace light. "Do we move or find cover?"
Cover first," Kai said, gesturing to a half-fallen catwalk above. They climbed in silence, neither of them wanting to rattle the wretched footing beneath. Sparks rained down from severed cables, and the bitter flavor of ozone clung to the air.
Raze lagged behind, turning his blade aimlessly, but his pace was subdued. His smile had faded. He had stopped playing, and the air between them thickened and acriminated.
Kai gazed down the chamber again. Red streaks of ceiling heat sensors flashed, and red, gentle hues tracked the paths they had walked. Envision tracked them with greater accuracy than ever.
"They're using predictive modeling," Ash knelt down next to him. "Not just drones. Whoever is in charge has our most likely paths charted."
Kai nodded, his heart pounding. "We have to keep moving and be as random as possible."
A hiss shattered the silence, a warning shot. A mini but lethal drone hovered at ground level, plasma emitter alight.
Nyx managed to get the first off, sending it sideway. Sparks flew when it hit the wall. Kai rolled into place, sidearm at the ready, taking out another that was trying to flank them from a catwalk.
"Two more on the other side!" Ash shouted. She fired, getting one in flight as Kai leapt over rubble to block the last one.
Raze zipped around out of sight, his blade slicing through a drone in two as it whirled. None of them spoke or gave a pause. They moved as if the foundry was part of them, as if habit guided each step.
Kai paused near the top of a catwalk, his instincts picking up the faraway whine of an incoming larger drone. Their beacon followed by Envision. The AI whispered to him.
"Left corridor. Emergency exit. Danger low. Proceed."
He led the crew with confidence. They moved along into a narrow service passageway, steam pouring from burst pipes. Their progress was slow but unseen, the wail of faraway drones fading into the distance.
But their peace did not last long. The vent thrust them into a lower room, and all surfaces were covered with energy sensors, lingering testament to Envision's use.
"They're shifting," Ash growled. "There's something following our residual heat signature. They'll be on our tail."
Kai thought fast. Each turn, each shadow, and each movement was planned out. He knew the crew wouldn't last if they weren't accurate.
"Two drones in front, three seconds to clear direct line. Jump left and crouch low."
He brought them exactly as ordered. They landed on the floor just as plasma bolts singed the metal behind. Sparks cascaded down their backs, but nobody was hit.
Raze halted in mid-step, regarding Kai with an unreadable face. "How do you always get there first?"
Kai remained silent. He never spoke. No more. He just moved, keeping them alive as Envision's net tightened.
The tunnel arched, ending in a shattered maintenance shaft. Rusting ladders offered the only route to the foundry proper. Plasma fire snapped at their backs as the drones rappelled down, scanning.
Kai sprang onto the first rung, pulling Nyx up behind him. Ash climbed gingerly, and Raze sprang nimbly to sit atop a superior step.
The vent shaft shook as a lone drone tried to follow. Raze sliced it in two, sparks and wires flowing everywhere.
They climbed to the top of the ladder and spilled into the central room of the foundry. The scarlet light of burning furnaces reflected off broken machinery and twisted metal, so that the room appeared almost alive.
Kai held up his hand, ordering the others to stop. Their breathing was rough, arms moistened with sweat and dirt, but the room was clear.
Ash played through the sensors. "They're still tracking lingering signals.They ard tracking heat and motion patterns. If we go any higher, they'll have us bracketed again within minutes."
Nyx gazed at the shadows, rifle at the ready. "I don't like this silence."
Raze leaned back against a pillar, resting his hands on his hips. "Calm's for the dead. I prefer chaos."
Kai swept his eyes over the room, already planning the next move. "We take ten minutes to rest, then move through the inner foundry. Improved cover, improved vantage."
"A squad will take the east corridor in five minutes. Keep low. Shadows are your friend."
He shared no more than necessary. They all moved silently, crawling along the metal beams, melted glass crunching softly under their hands.
Kai's mind buzzed with static, the AI feeding him every pulse, every motion, every likely strike. He guided them without words, every step measured.
"They won't stop until they find the core source," the AI whispered.
Kai's stomach tightened. No one knew. Not Nyx, not Ash, not Raze. Only he could see the path. Only he could protect them.
The crew reached the inner foundry chamber. Massive machinery stood like skeletons, molten metal flowing in channels below, casting dangerous shadows across the floor.
Ash finally exhaled. "We're safe, for now."
Nyx's eyes scanned the ceiling. "For now."
Raze's smirk was dark. "Safe is relative. Enjoy it while it lasts."
Kai said nothing. He simply stared at the shadows that danced and the delicate lasts of Envision's signals that vanished temporarily.
The AI spoke a last note, gentle but persistent.
"They will regroup. They will adapt. Your next action guarantees survival."
Kai shut his eyes for a moment, muscles clenching. The bright stillness in the foundry was only an appearance. A facade. Below, the hunt was never truly over and the crew depended on him keeping this one secret completely hidden.