Chapter 50: Focus

Tick. Tock. The clock didn't wait for anyone, its relentless rhythm an unforgiving reminder of time slipping away as Ava burst into the control room. The space was filled with outdated equipment, dusty surfaces, and a strange hum that pulsed through the walls. The others joined her one by one, each scanning the room with wary eyes. Ava took it all in, her mind racing. Where do I even start in a place like this? The equipment looked ancient, relics of a civilization with thousands of years of history.

Is there a damn manual for this old junk? she thought, her frustration mounting as she scanned the room.

In the center stood a towering pillar, cables and wires jutting from it like vines, sprawling outward to connect the surrounding screens and consoles. Machines littered the room in disorganized clusters, as if the place had been built in haste and abandoned just as quickly. Ava couldn't even guess at half of their functions.

"You all, scatter around!" she barked, her voice steady despite the tension. "See if you can find anything resembling controls—we can't afford to lose this chance!" Her face was already damp with sweat, her gaze darting around the room. Every second Zyra and Krueger clashed just down the hall was a second closer to failure.

The team fanned out, flipping through yellowed manuals, digging through disheveled stacks of paper, and peering into dusty screens that flickered weakly when nudged to life. Ava moved from one workstation to the next, sifting through data, fingers shaking slightly. Nothing seemed to match, nothing felt right. But as she skimmed through the files sprawled across a particularly cluttered console, a document caught her eye.

Control System… the pillar! Her eyes lit up, a triumphant smile spreading across her face.

"I found it!" she called, barely containing the excitement. Ava spun around and sprinted to the central pillar, her hand reaching out to the keyboard built into the base. She pressed a key, and with a low hum, a screen flickered to life, dim but functional. Her fingers danced over the keys as she navigated the system's labyrinthine interface, searching for anything to disable the rundown rig.

But then, an alarm blared, sharp and deafening, and her heart jumped.

"No, no, no…" she muttered, her breathing quickening. Her fingers kept moving, diving deeper into the rig's systems as she tried to override the alert. The commands were unfamiliar, the setup crude compared to what she'd worked with back at home. Ava's fingers trembled, her frustration building as error after error flashed across the screen.

Outside, Krueger's twisted laughter echoed, the sound seeping into the room and mingling with the blaring alarm. She stole a glance over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of Zyra and Krueger locked in combat just beyond the door, each swing of their blades carrying lethal intent. The clashing of metal reverberated, sending shivers down her spine.

"Come on… don't fail me now," she whispered, forcing herself to focus. Every second Zyra held off Krueger was a second she needed to make count. She didn't have the luxury of doubting herself or hesitating.

The others scattered across the room had found different systems after minutes of frantic searching. One by one, they attempted to access them, working desperately to breach what they could and disable the rig's essential functions. Each attempt ended in frustration, screens flashing red with failure after failure.

"Old shit!" Ava growled under her breath. "It's not like back home, where I can just conveniently Link to it!" She could feel the weight of the team's expectations bearing down on her, mingling with the frustration clawing at her patience. Her foot shot out in a sudden surge of irritation, kicking the base of the pillar like an angry child.

The screen flickered, then shifted. Two systems unlocked, each displayed with a dull, green glow: the Surveillance System and the Displacement System.

Her eyes widened. "I'll take it," she muttered, a renewed determination setting in. Surveillance would give them visual access to most areas of the rig, while the Displacement System would control the rig's movement—key to slowing down any reinforcements or, at worst, destabilizing the entire structure. She could practically feel the seconds slipping by as she typed in the access commands, knowing Zyra's fight with Krueger was just beyond that door, and every passing moment added to the urgency.

"Boss, I've got eyes on surveillance," one of her team members called out, his voice laced with tension. "It's showing the corridors near us, and... damn, there's a lot of them." He gestured to a screen where Ava could see dozens of figures moving through the rig's maze of hallways, some bearing weapons, others just lumbering in a strange, almost zombie-like stupor.

Oripathy, she realized with a sickening jolt. Many of them showed signs of the illness that had plagued those corpses she saw earlier. Ava's stomach twisted as she thought of Lena, shoved into that room with all those infected bodies. She forced herself to focus; there'd be time to process that horror later.

"Alright," Ava said, forcing herself to sound calm. "Surveillance is live, and we've got Displacement access. Let's make these systems work for us."

The other team members nodded, their faces grim but determined. They each positioned themselves at different consoles, ready to follow her lead.

Ava's fingers flew across the keyboard, initiating basic commands. "First, cut off the exits around this level," she instructed. "Trap as many as we can away from here—especially near the main stairwells. We can't have them swarming us."

One of the engineers nodded, quickly typing in the commands. Moments later, they watched as heavy metal shutters began to slide down on several screens, effectively blocking off entire sections of the rig. The sound of doors slamming shut echoed through the corridors, followed by muffled shouts and the pounding of fists as trapped bandits realized their only way out had just been sealed.

"That should slow them down," another engineer muttered, relief flickering across his face.

Meanwhile, Ava turned her attention to the Displacement System. With the rig's movement controls, she could shift entire sections or even throw the rig slightly off-balance to keep the attackers on their toes. Her mind raced through possibilities.

She entered a command, and a soft rumble shuddered through the room as the rig shifted slightly, enough to make any unprepared enemy stumble. Ava smiled grimly, satisfaction flickering across her face. "That should keep them busy for a bit."

Ava took a deep breath, her eyes locking onto the screen as she issued the next series of commands. "Now, let's see if we can put a halt to any movement on the rig itself." She was about to input the next command when the sounds of Zyra and Krueger's battle surged louder, clanging metal and snarls echoing into the control room. She felt a wave of nervous energy grip her.

She glanced up just as Krueger threw a brutal swipe at Zyra, laughing as his blade scraped dangerously close. Zyra ducked, her movements sharp and precise, countering with her twin katanas in a blur of steel. "You think you're getting out of here alive, Rebbah?" Zyra sneered, her tone mocking. "You'll be buried here with your precious rig, just another scavenger choking on the dust."

Krueger's expression twisted with fury, his laughter turning shrill. "I'll make you regret that, Sarkaz," he growled, lunging forward with a ferocity that rattled the doorframe.

Ava forced herself to look away, fingers poised over the keyboard. She couldn't afford distractions, not with everything on the line. She took a deep breath, her mind focused as she prepared to bring the Displacement System and Surveillance fully online.

The hum of the old equipment filled the room as she hit the final command. Her heart pounded as she prepared to turn the tide. This was it—no going back now.