Chương 54: ****Sneak Peek**** Ch. 4 - Exit Portal

Jacob cleared his throat before speaking.

"Alright," he said.

"I'll level with you. You weren't supposed to beat it. We were going to swoop in at the last minute to remind you how dangerous this place can be. That maybe you should be doing something else. Now I'm looking stupid."

"What he said," agreed Phil.

"No offense, kid, we just operate better as a three man crew. To join us, you need some brass cajones."

"After seeing what he just did," said Eric.

"He'll fit in just fine. He's crazy! Now, don't get me wrong, I can do that too. But in a Gatherer? In THAT hunk of junk. No way in hell." There was a sense of pride that washed over Stefano. He showed that he belonged on whatever team would have him. And an experienced crew like this was more than he dreamed of. He had, of course, machinations of leading his own squad. His own team, someday. But for now, he was content earning his place to learn from those that have done it for real.

To educate himself on what the Academy couldn't teach him. Experience. Stefano's inventory bot got to work, scanning the bits of the Kabal Sentry that were strewn all over the ground. With each pass, more and more got deleted. Like the inventory bot was a cleaner, sweeping the area of clutter. One second, the metallic bits were there, the next, all the debris was gone. Stefano swiped at the screen while the rest of the squad conversed amongst each other. He ran a simple diagnostic to see where he sustained damage.

His mech couldn't take the damage Frames could. Phil ran a pulse and didn't detect anyone other hostiles in the area. He unlocked the cockpit and descended down to ground level with the retractable rope attached to the hood. He stretched his legs to get blood flow going. The rest of the squad did the same as Stefano just watched. Eric waved him to come down. Stefano took a quick look at the screen that was still running the diagnostic.

He sighed and put his mech on stand-by before unlocking his cockpit to descend down.

"It's important you stretch," said Eric. He was reaching down to touch his toes and looked at Stefano approach from the gap between his legs.

"Helps you stay limber. You never know when Phil's sister will come calling." Phil sighed, flowing to the next stretch. Stefano's gaze turned to worry that this could escalate to violence. Like the time his not yet friend, Jeromy, made a comment about his mother. They had come to blows. Multiple times. Stefano didn't remember when he got used to Jeromy's antics, but now he found himself missing his friend.

"My sister has better taste than you, Eric," said Phil, lunging his leg forward.

"Doubt it. I'm a mess. But a fun mess. Like a water balloon fight. Messy but so much fun," said Eric. Stefano felt his hamstrings contract with relief as he bent down to feel the blood flow return to his legs.

"Congrats on your first kill, by the way," said Jacob.

"How much punishment can your tin can take?" asked Eric.

"It doesn't take damage like Frames, right?"

"No," said Stefano, moving to stretch his quads. He strained to answer.

"It doesn't. For you guys. You can take damage up to zero before you have to start worrying about component damage or pilot injury."

"So, a direct hit to your cockpit?" asked Jacob.

"Yeah, no real protection. The number is just telling me what the max output percentage of energy I can use. I'm running the diagnostic to see what was scorched to try to reroute the pathway to raise the integrity."

"So, at a 100 you can use 100 percent of its capabilities. But at fifty you can only use fifty? Do the thrusters stop working or…"

"No. They just don't work as good because that would mean fifty percent of the fuel pathways are gone. In these old mechs, sometimes removing a broken limb raises the integrity."

"So, why not just get a new Frame, kid?" asked Phil.

"The loan sucks. I get it. But you're in a deathtrap right now."

"My dad. He used it and Uncle Wilhelm didn't want me to go through all that."

"Wait, Roger Wilhelm?" asked Eric.

"The Roger Wilhelm is your uncle?"

"Not really uncle," said Stefano.

"He was in my dad's squad when he…" Stefano trailed off, hoping the others would fill in the gap.

"Oh, I see," said Eric.

"Sorry." Eric straightened up to stretch his back.

"Your uncle saved my life once. I owe him." He walked over to Stefano and extended his hand. Stefano shook it.

"Let's get you some FIL." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Eric gave a small tap onto Stefano's shoulder before walking back to his Frame. Both Beast Frames on the team resembled a Panther, but they both looked incredibly different. Eric's damage was centered on close combat. The claws had a shifting color pattern dealing probably a myriad of damage types.

While Jacob's was a blend of close quarters with retractable claws and medium range beam weapons flanking its sides. Stefano returned to his seat and secured the cockpit. The screens flashed with the diagnostics having completed. He pressed on the screen to have the pathways automatically reassign themselves via the onboard computer.

[Diagnostics Complete] [-10% L Shoulder Dmg][Alternate Pathway Available] [-15% R Waist Dmg][Alternate Pathway Available] [Fuel Pathways Re-Routed] [Integrity: 95/100] [Fuel: 402/500] [Ammo: 95, 000/100, 000] His inventory screen blinked with new information. A simple swipe on the screen and he pulled up what was causing the flashing. His eyes widened as the smile crept onto his face. [Inventory] [U-Filament: 435]"Holy crap!" exclaimed Stefano.

"What?!" yelled Jacob, springing to action.

"I made FIL! One kill got me a meal's worth," said Stefano. The excitement in his voice had the squad grinning as they shook their heads.

"Don't scare me like that," said Jacob.

"Yeah, you got FIL. Don't forget that you'll need a boatload more than that."

"Thank you, sir," said Stefano. He was holding back tears, having earned his first buck, so to speak. He looked through the rest of his inventory, only seeing the single item with a number attached.

"How much fuel do you have?"

"I'm at about 80 percent."

"Then it's probably best you take it easy," said Jacob.

"Leave the rest of the fighting for us. That unit hasn't endured the kind of punishment you had it take in decades. And we still have to get to the second and third floor. So make sure you conserve your fuel because otherwise, you're not getting back."

"Fun fact," said Phil.

"When the first Delvers brought that filament back, the scientists were quick to find that it could make anything. It's used for currency in the hubs in the Dungeon. But now back home too. Some people think that it was currency before the ship left Earth. But it was actually started when so much of it was brought back from the Dungeon."

"Nerd," said Eric.

"Some of us are educated, Eric. It's hard to find answers in the bottom of a bottle," said Phil.

"Phil, explaining FIL, to the rook who has a need to fill," said Eric. Jacob and Phil both groaned. The squad continued its trek down the maze. True to their word, Stefano kept to the rear as the three others made quick work of anything that got in front of them. Their team coordination was clear. They moved off each other like gears on a clock. When a position required filling, it was filled. There was no need to communicate amongst themselves as they kept the steady pace going forward.

Phil and Eric would banter like two brothers fighting over a controller. They were light barbs and Jacob was there to mediate. Stefano didn't say much as he was still figuring out where he fit in the team. He only spoke when spoken to so as to not be an intrusive presence amongst their clearly defined team dynamics. It wasn't that Stefano didn't want to speak up, he just didn't find a good way to broach a subject. He felt awkward, being the guy supported as opposed to being the guy that was leaned on.

Still, he didn't make a fuss as he was well aware of the limitations imposed on him from his selection of mech. With no HUBs on the first or second floor, Stefano found himself getting hungrier as more time passed. No one else on the squad felt anything but it was only when Stefano's stomach audibly grumbled through the comms did they realize that they needed to stop for another break. Everyone stayed in their units, but they talked about the going-ons back home.

Stefano munched on a sandwich that his mother had packed for him. He had two meals left, and he was hoping the stretch of time between meals wouldn't be as great. Perhaps a HUB that had a restaurant.

"Your parents still working in cultivation?" asked Eric, addressing Phil.

"Yeah. It's more that they don't want to give it up. I've offered to buy them a new living unit and that I'd even make sure they got everything they needed."

"Parents. What can you do," said Eric.

"What about you, rook. You told us about your pops, your mom still with us?"

"Yes," said Stefano.

"Though, I've seen how you talk about Phil's sister. I'm not about to tell you anything about my mom."

"What?! I'm a gentleman! I've only had two ex-wives complain about me."

"You're not married," said Jacob.

"Well, thanks boss. Add that to another list of things I drink about," said Eric.

"Fine. Don't tell me about how attractive she must be. Tell me about her."

"You made this weird," said Stefano.

"Really, really weird." The squad chuckled as Eric feigned displeasure.

"She's a nurse," said Stefano.

"In Central. She had a clinic but sold it to put me through the Academy."

"That's a nice lady," said Phil.

"I wish my parents were closer to that than the pain in the ass they are."

"Amen," said Jacob.

"To family."

"So… single?" said Eric. Stefano rolled his eyes and didn't answer. Having finished his meal, they spent another hour roaming the halls of the first floor maze. The blue light of the portal hummed with familiarity. They stepped through, the blue light of the teleport blinding their eyes.