Almost at the same time that the orbital strike from the Eternal Quest was about to strike and the external void shield was flashing violently, Elias Van Sauer was near the main energy distribution node K-7 in the middle layer of the underground structure of Rongker Town.
The piercing highest-level alarm for the orbital attack and the violent shaking of the structure nearly stopped his heart, but Osiris' cold commands and his own will to survive drove him to action.
Using his identity as a maintenance technician and a pre-planned route, he quickly approached node K-7 during a brief moment of chaos caused by the sudden attack on the personnel in the passageway.
The guards outside the node had been reassigned to more important areas, leaving only the automatic access control. Elias swiped his still-valid access card to open the door and slipped inside.
The node chamber was filled with the deep hum of energy conduits, and the massive array of polymer capacitors flickered with a steady blue light.
He had no time to appreciate the sight that represented the core of the family's power. He quickly took out the specially made energy disruptor provided by Osiris from his toolbox—a palm-sized device with a sharp probe.
Following instructions, he forcefully stabbed it into the seam of the main energy conduit's outer shell.
The disruptor's tip emitted high-frequency vibrations that penetrated the armor and made direct contact with the high-purity energy conduits inside.
Almost instantly upon contact, the device activates, releasing a pre-set energy pulse that simulates a severe overload fault.
The effect was immediate.
The readings on the K-7 node control console instantly spiked to red, and a piercing local overload alarm blared, even drowning out the external explosions.
The lights inside the node room flickered wildly, the main capacitor array emitted dangerous arcs, and a series of muffled explosions came from inside the conduit—the sound of the internal safety device melting due to the simulated "overload".
The indicator lights on the main power lines of the east and north defensive turrets went out instantly, and the energy flow connecting the STC power core to these external weapons was forcibly cut off.
Elias, having completed the destruction, did not linger. He quickly pulled out the burnt remains of the disruptor, stuffed them back into his toolkit, and rushed out of the node room.
Less than thirty seconds after he left, a thick plume of burning insulator smoke, with a pungent odor, poured out from the cracks in the node room door, triggering the area's fire suppression system and further exacerbating the chaos.
Instead of returning via the usual route, he immediately implemented the backup plan instructed by Osiris, turning towards the narrow passage leading to the abandoned maintenance layer at the bottom.
These passageways are like the blood vessels inside the ship—narrow, dark, filled with aging pipes and abandoned equipment, usually with only minimal lighting, and are areas that most guards and residents would ignore.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of old oil stains and metal oxidation.
Elias, gripping the cold pipe wall, moved quickly through the narrow passageway that could only accommodate one person. His feet occasionally sank into loose parts or congealed oil, producing subtle sounds that were all the more distinct in the deathly silence.
He had just crawled into a vertical maintenance well marked "No Entry Except in Emergency Situations" and was climbing down on his hands and feet when he heard hurried footsteps and shouts from above.
"K-7 node is completely down! The turrets in the East and North zones have lost power!"
"We've found the saboteur! He couldn't have gone far!"
"Seal off all exits on this floor!"
The roars of the guards and the cacophony of the communicators echoed through the pipes.
Elias immediately stopped moving, pressing himself tightly against the cold metal well wall, holding his breath.
He could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest, making his eardrums buzz.
The weakness caused by radiation sickness was exacerbated by extreme tension and the strenuous exercise just now. A wave of dizziness struck, his lungs felt like they were on fire, and he tightly covered his mouth with his oil-stained hands to suppress the strong urge to cough.
The beam of the flashlight occasionally swept across the entrance above the maintenance well, illuminating the well wall intermittently.
Footsteps echoed back and forth in the upper passageway, sometimes near, sometimes far.
Elias remained motionless until the sounds of the search had faded into the distance before continuing his ascent.
The cold touch of the well wall seeped through his thin protective suit, sending a shiver down his spine.
With his familiarity with the layout of the abandoned passageway, he quickly found and crawled into a compartment that contained old filtration equipment.
This place is filled with a large amount of discarded filter cartridges and metal debris, and fine dust particles float in the air.
He huddled in the shadows of the farthest corner, covering himself with a tattered, oil-stained rag to minimize his energy signature and sound.
He could clearly hear the guard squad running past in the passageway outside the cubicle, and fragments of their conversation came through:
"...The inside of the node was completely burned out, as if it had been overloaded..."
"...Could this be a chain reaction triggered by an orbital strike?"
"...Uncertain, but the elders have ordered a thorough search of all suspicious areas..."
"...Should we also check these rat holes?"
"...There's no time! Prioritize securing the core passage! The situation outside is worse!"
The footsteps faded into the distance. Elias breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his tense muscles dared not relax completely.
He carefully adjusted his posture, trying to find a slightly more comfortable position in the cramped space filled with discarded filter cartridges.
The pungent smell emanating from the chemical filter constantly irritated his already fragile respiratory tract, and waves of nausea and dizziness washed over him.
He endured the discomfort, burying his face in his arms, letting the air filter through his protective suit.
Time passed slowly in the oppressive silence, with only the faint tremors of an explosion in the distance serving as a reminder of the dramatic changes taking place outside.
He strained his ears, carefully discerning every subtle sound: the dripping of condensation from the pipes, the slight creaking of metal structures due to temperature changes, and his own excessively loud heartbeat. Every second felt like torture.
Hidden in this darkness, the reality of betrayal becomes exceptionally clear.
He recalled his father's withered face before his death, the indifferent eyes of the high and mighty family elders, and his own body slowly weakening from the radiation day after day.
Resentment and the will to survive intertwined, becoming his only support at this moment.
However, deep in his heart, there was still a lingering, inexplicable pain—after all, this was Ronker Town, where he was born and raised.
He subconsciously touched the jammer hidden inside the lining of his protective suit.
This cold little device is not only proof of his mission, but also evidence of the fragile connection between him and the Mechanicus Magos.
The healing and new life that Osiris promised seemed like an unattainable illusion, while the darkness and danger before their eyes were the reality.
At this moment, he was merely a traitor hidden in the shadow of his family's steel shell, awaiting his unknown fate in the cracks between despair and hope.
The roar of the external orbital strike and the paralysis caused by the destruction of the internal energy nodes together constituted a duet in the collapse of Ronker Town's defense system.
Elias, the once insignificant maintenance technician, is playing a less-than-honorable but crucial role in this upheaval.