Siege of the Crimson Spire (1)

"Cleo, should we do something about this, or just leave it?" Rex asked, watching the few survivors left, all of them badly wounded.

"It's better to take care of them. Don't leave any witnesses. I'm sending some cargo drones to loot the aftermath, so make sure no one's alive to interfere with the drones."

"Well, you heard the lady," Rex said, glancing at Carlos while removing the safety from his rifle. Together, they ended the suffering of the last survivors with a single bullet to the head.

"Did the trucks get damaged? We're broke, and we can't afford repairs!" Rex grumbled, starting to inspect the trucks for bullet holes.

"There's nothing on mine. How about yours?" Carlos replied while checking his own truck.

"Phew, nothing here either. Cleo, reload the drones with the cargo bot, and we'll move on."

"Got it." Cleo started rearming the drones with ammo and missiles, which took about ten minutes. After that, the drones returned to the trucks.

Rex and Carlos hit the road again. Luckily, no more bandits crossed their path. When they were about 10 kilometers from the city, they pulled over and opened the cargo.

"Alright, Cleo, it's your turn now. No way we're driving into the city with this much firepower. The guards would arrest us on the spot."

"You give them too much credit, Rex," Carlos chimed in. "I bet we could bribe them and they'd look the other way."

"Bribe them with what? Your charming smile? We've got barely 1,000 credits left out of the 50,000. Having a wife at home who takes all your credits... that's rough."

Cleo overheard and couldn't resist. "Ha! If it were up to you, all that money would go to nightclubs and booze. Do you think I don't know what's going through your heads?"

Rex and Carlos exchanged awkward glances before bursting into sheepish laughter. They knew she was right.

A few minutes later, they finally reached the city and, thankfully, entered without any issues. They returned the trucks and picked up their car from a rented lot.

"Hey, Rex, my stomach just reminded me we haven't eaten all day, and it's already 2 p.m. How about we grab something?"

"Yeah, we can get something cheap at the food stalls in the commercial zone." Rex paused for a second, then added, "Hey, Cleo, from now on, after each mission, set aside 10,000 credits so we can treat ourselves to a fancy dinner!"

"That's doable. I'll adjust the shopping list to 90,000 credits."

"Mmm, I knew you were the best."

"Best sister-in-law ever!" Carlos chimed in.

"..."

Rex drove them to the commercial district. There, they found some food stalls selling hand-sized, nutrient-packed jelly snacks for 100 credits each. Rex bought five for himself and five for Carlos.

Since the jelly was easy to carry, they hopped back in the car and ate while driving.

"This tastes like shit, bro..." Carlos muttered, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I know, man. Even the slop at the mining colony was better than this," Rex groaned.

"You two are so dramatic." Cleo couldn't take their whining anymore.

"When you get a body, this will be the first thing you eat! Let's see if you keep talking then!"

"Alright, enough whining," Rex cut in. "Cleo, send the coordinates for the Crimson Spire. Is it time to start the operation? Also, are the drones inside the city yet?"

"The coordinates have been sent. As for the drones, they're already en route to the Crimson Spire. Those smuggling points we set up are really coming in handy."

The Crimson Spire was located near the heart of Zone 4 in the megacity. It was a heavily fortified tower, protected by layers of security, armed guards, drones, and automated defenses. Inside, the corridors were sleek and high-tech, filled with security checkpoints and nanomaterial labs.

Infiltrating the tower was practically a death sentence. The real danger wasn't just the tower's defenses but its proximity to the guard headquarters. Reinforcements could arrive in minutes if things went south.

"We're in position, Cleo. Let's get started," Rex said, eyes scanning the surroundings.

"Understood. Deploying jammer drones now." From the combat drones, smaller ones detached, scattering in all directions.

"All signals inside the perimeter have been successfully blocked. Moving to phase two," Cleo reported. The combat drones began advancing toward the Crimson Spire, launching missiles at various targets as they neared.

The explosions rocked the tower, and the alarm blared loudly. Almost instantly, guardian drones deployed from the tower, rushing to engage the combat drones.

These guardian drones were fast and lethal, armed with laser turbines and EMP disruptors. They patrolled the hallways, and if not destroyed quickly, they could summon more reinforcements. But with the alarm already wailing, it was a full-blown drone war in the sky.

The combat drones, guided by Cleo's precise commands, skillfully dodged enemy fire and took down many of the tower's drones in return.

"Phase two is complete. Proceeding to phase three," Cleo's voice crackled over their communicators.

"Roger that," Rex responded. "Let's move, Carlos."

The chaos outside worked in their favor. As explosions rang out and drones battled overhead, the workers in the tower scrambled to seek shelter. Rex and Carlos slipped inside along with the panicked crowd, blending in easily.

Inside the Crimson Spire, it was just as chaotic. Guards were struggling to contain the workers and civilians who were trying to flee deeper into the tower for safety. Amid the commotion, Rex made his way slowly toward a terminal.

Once he reached it, small needles extended from his fingertip. Rex looked over at Carlos and gave a slight nod. Carlos tossed several smoke grenades in all directions, one landing right by Rex.

"Everyone, stay where you are! DON'T MOVE!" the guards yelled as the smoke quickly filled the lobby. With visibility low, they pointed their weapons at the workers, forcing them to stay in place.

In the confusion, Rex connected his needle-tipped finger to the terminal. Cleo quickly hacked into the tower's systems.

"Phase three is complete. Moving to phase four," Cleo's voice came through again.

Upon hearing this, Carlos pulled out his handgun and fired several shots toward the ceiling. The smoke made it impossible to see, and the workers immediately assumed the guards were shooting at them.

"They're firing at us! Fight back!" Carlos shouted, adding fuel to the panic. The workers, driven by fear, rushed at the guards, throwing the entire situation into chaos.

Carlos and Rex joined the chaos, pushing their way through the panicked crowd and heading straight for the stairs.

"We're on the stairs, Cleo. You can start phase five," Rex said, racing up the steps two at a time.

"Got it. According to the data, the nanomaterial vault is on the 8th floor."

"Thanks, sweetheart. You go have fun while we die climbing these damn stairs," Rex muttered sarcastically.

Outside the Crimson Tower, things were going south fast. The Sentry AI Units had arrived, and the battle was escalating. Cleo was working overtime, dodging enemy fire and keeping the drones alive. But now that the Sentries were in play, it was only a matter of time before the combat drones were wiped out.

The Sentry Units were massive, towering bipedal robots covered in heavy ballistic armor, armed with rocket launchers that were a great treat for the operation, but Cleo had a backup plan ready.

"Activating Crimson Tower defense systems," Cleo announced. Thanks to the jammer drones she had deployed earlier, all external signals were blocked, allowing only her own to control the tower's systems. With Rex's help, she had hacked into the defense grid, and now she had full control.

Turrets and laser cannons mounted on the tower came to life, turning their firepower on the guardian drones and Sentry Units. While the Sentries weren't affected by the jamming due to their basic AI, their limited programming made them easy to counter. They started attacking the tower's defense systems, unaware they were fighting their own.

A full-scale war erupted outside, with turrets firing at drones, and Sentry Units launching rockets at anything hostile.

Meanwhile, Rex and Carlos finally reached the 8th floor. They burst through the door into what looked like an ordinary lab. Shelves were stacked with equipment, materials, and devices used for nanomaterial production.

"Well, well. I knew some rats would sneak in eventually," a voice echoed through the room, making Rex and Carlos tense up immediately.

They scanned the area, weapons drawn, but didn't expect the attack to come from above. The enemy was hiding in the ventilation system. As they passed under, two energy blades slashed down, barely missing Rex's head.

"HAHAHA! So you can dodge that! This is going to be fun!" A figure dropped from the ceiling, landing with a heavy thud.

Standing before them was a humanoid figure clad in advanced combat armor, with cybernetic enhancements on his arms. Two glowing energy blades extended from his wrists, crackling with power.

"Let me introduce myself," he sneered. "I'm the Crimson Star Commander, in charge of security here. And now that I've found you, I'll kill you both and collect a nice fat bonus. Ready? Come at me!"