Siren horns rasped against Meher’s eardrums, every crimson strobe cutting hard across her retinas. Tariq was tethered directly to that burning circuit; if the grid detonated, the lower levels would vaporize along with him.
“The Apex Catalyst,” Meher snarled, spinning toward Ardeshir, whose usual flamboyant smirk had hardened to chalk. “We need it in the core. Now.”
“Precisely my thought, dear genius!” Ardeshir barked, already scrambling towards a hidden panel that slid open to reveal a service shaft, a gaping maw descending into the city’s foundations. “Kian, secure the Catalyst vial. Meher, you’re on comms with my central grid interface. We’ll override the detonation sequence directly at the source.”
Kian already gripped the ornate vial in his left palm, his right resting against the pommel of his short-blade. He caught Meher's gaze, dipped his chin once, and signaled toward the hatch.
“Security will be a problem,” Kian stated, his voice a low rumble. “The grid won’t go down without a fight.”
“Then we fight it,” Meher growled, her focus narrowing.
They piled into a maintenance cage, a rusted contraption designed for technicians, not high-speed descents. Ardeshir, with surprising agility for his frame, punched a series of commands into a grimy console. The cage shuddered, then plunged into the abyss. The air thickened with ozone and the reek of raw Jiva-sap, while subterranean turbines hammered through the iron cage with every meter dropped.
Two minutes and forty-five seconds. The synthetic voice continued its relentless countdown.
Suddenly, a piercing whine echoed up the shaft. Three sleek, obsidian drones, their optical apertures burning red, drifted out from a lower catwalk. They moved with predatory grace, their mounted sonic cannons locking onto the elevator cage.
“Automated defense protocols,” Ardeshir muttered, his brow furrowed. “The grid is actively purging itself.”
Before he could react, the drones unleashed a barrage of concentrated sonic blasts. The rusted cage plates warped, shrieking under the sonic distortion. A shower of sparks erupted as a critical support cable shrieked under the assault, fraying, then snapping with a sound like a thunderclap. The cage lurched violently, throwing them against the walls. The remaining cable twisted under the violent drag, then snapped with an explosive crack.
Gravity took the floor out from under their boots. Air sheared past their faces. Ardeshir barked a breathless oath, fingers hooked into the console chassis, while Kian rooted his stance against the grating.
“Ardeshir! The booster!” Meher yelled against the updraft, gesturing at the chrome flight unit bolted to the cargo frame. It was secured to a cargo rack on the opposite wall of the plummeting cage.
Ardeshir, pale but quick, understood. “It’s calibrated for flight, not a controlled descent from this height! The stabilizers won’t hold!”
“Then I’ll be the stabilizers!” Meher retorted, already scrambling across the warped floor, ignoring the sharp edges of twisted metal. She ripped the heavy thruster assembly free, cold alloy biting into her blistered palms. With practiced speed, she ripped open the back of her lab coat, revealing the reinforced harness she always wore, designed to bear heavy tools and experimental gear. She slotted the rig into place, conduits snapping into the housing while the twin exhaust nozzles aimed straight at the drop. The ballast pulled savagely at her spine.
One minute and twenty seconds.
“Hold on!” she shouted, wrenching the ignition toggle. The turbine flared alive, hydraulic tremors jarring through her ribcage. She leaned against the backdraft to guide their terminal dive toward the core nexus far below.
“Kian!” she yelled, extending a hand. Without hesitation, he launched himself towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist, his grip like iron. Ardeshir had looped an arm through a severed steel cable, riding the disintegrating platform down beside them.
Meher locked her focus entirely on the fuel feeds. The wind tore at her hair, whipping strands across her face. Atmospheric drag bore down hard across her shoulders. She flicked the needle valve with her thumb, pinning her gaze on the bio-grid's blue core. The deck plates rushed upward into focus.
Ten seconds. The synthetic voice echoed in her mind, faster now, sharper.
“Brace!” Meher roared, dumping the remaining fuel reservoir. The combustion manifold whined at peak output, unleashing a blinding white-blue plume. The sudden, violent deceleration slammed into them, threatening to tear Kian from her grasp. Tendon strain ripped through her collarbones, but her grip never slipped. The impact would be devastating if she miscalculated by even a fraction of a second.
Their boots skidded on the grated platform, sending sparks showering into the Jiva-sap-infused air. The turbine hissed out, dry of sap. They halted a handspan above the churning, luminous conduits of the central floor. Ardeshir landed beside them a moment later, breathless, clinging to a support beam.
Before them stood the primary manifold, its multifaceted consoles thrumming with raw current. But then, a shadow detached itself from the gloom behind the terminal, a shadow larger than any Meher had ever seen. It coiled out across the iron beams, its bulk plated in iridescent scales, compound eyes reflecting cold alchemical light. It was a Leviathan, fully mutated, its gaping maw dripping with toxic Jiva-sap, its gaze fixed on them, guarding the very heart of the grid.