The crew reacted in different ways.
Ghostwire silently interfaced with his terminal again. This time, he didn't just focus on the drones outside as he also carefully scrutinized the frequency of a certain signal… the signal of the uncracked ancient network.
Afterall, this was the core of the whole mission, the catalyst to Talia's trial. He had to make sure that nothing was wrong with the network and that it was not corrupted.
Interfacing with a corrupted network for a trial was a sure way to die a dog's death, and Ghostwire didn't want such a pitiful fate for his boss.
His eyes knitted together solemnly, ghostly green flames flickering inside as he flirted around the boundary of the network again, trying to probe it to confirm that it was not corrupted.
While Ghostwire checked the network, Daren removed his gauntlets and unsheathed a concealed combat knife as isolating himself in a corner of the cargo trailer, he started idly sharpening the knife.
That was his tried and tested formula of preparing himself for battle.
As for Brick, the oldest in the crew, he walked to the darkest part of the cargo hold and leaned against the wall, blending into the darkness as he seemingly disappeared, becoming a black statue.
Adding this to the fact that a Synth didn't need to breathe, to Leon, Brick truly seemed like a statue as he made no sound and no movement.
Talia sat down on a stool and closed her eyes, freely resting her hands on her legs to calm her nerves. She seemed to be meditating.
As for Kain, he gestured at Leon and Rex to follow him outside. Leon already had an idea about what Kain was about to do, and he followed alongside Rex.
Once they were outside, Kain turned to look at Leon. "Unlike the others, we're builders, and builders don't have the luxury of rest during the preparatory phase before a battle," he said, trying to mask his tight nerves.
"You know, Talia means a lot to me and I've been trying everything in my power to improve her chances of success and survival".
"For the past few days, I've been working on a defense grid".
He looked at Leon with sincerity in his eyes instead of spite, surprising Leon. "Though I hate to admit it, you're a freaky Mechanist". He exhaled dispiritedly, then sighed as if he already made peace with the reality.
He looked away as he said. "Normally, I don't let other Mechanists touch my things, but you're an exception. You're probably the most talented Mechanist that I've seen. You're better than I am, so I want your opinion on the defense grid".
Leon smiled teasingly. "Finally, someone is accepting reality".
Kain snorted and led them to inspect the perimeter of the hideout. Outside, the weather was getting worse as the desert wind hissed through stacked metal walls and welded barricades that Kain already created days ago.
He flicked on the defense grid hologram, showing the layout even as he explained it to them.
There were 3 layers to Kain's defense grid.
The first layer is the outer layer, the wall, a circular perimeter of scavenged metal plating fused with molten ADE adhesive. It was reinforced with rebar and magnet anchors, and it contained rotating gun mounts powered by scavenged drone cores.
The second layer is the mid layer, a trapfield of hidden trenches lined with sharpened scrap and motion-triggered EMP mines.
The third layer is the inner layer, the cage. It comprised metal sheets that can form a dome over the cargo trailer, retractable for exit.
It has an energy shield, heat-discharge vents at each corner to burn away smaller intruders, and an ADE dampening emitter set to suppress Talia's energy surge signature for at least the first hour. It was Kain's magnum opus for this mission.
"She built her life on signal," Kain said as he laid out his plans before the two Mechanists. "And I built her a fortress of metal".
Leon nodded. He was genuinely impressed, but his engineer's instincts were already flaring again- he already noticed a few less than perfect elements.
'Am I a perfectionist?' He thought, surprised at how easily he noticed flaws.
"You built it good," he said. "But let's make it smarter".
For the next two hours, it became a case of collaboration between brilliant minds as Leon, Kain, and Rex fortified the cargo trailer, turning it into a turtle shell that had spikes and could bite.
Leon identified weaknesses in the defense grid- the unstable power flow, EMP loop feedback, and incomplete coverage arcs.
He didn't just identify weaknesses, he provided fixes to all of them, once again leaving Kain and Rex in awe at his competence, experience, and theoretical knowledge of engineering.
He didn't stop at that, he also provided small but crucial upgrades.
He redistributed energy across the turret network using spare reactor relays, he reprogrammed Rex's maintenance drone to auto-cycle the turret cooling sequence, and he created micro-tripwire detectors from a few of Talia's magnetic coils and Daren's spare gauntlet coils, all to improve the efficiency and efficacy of the defense grid.
The last upgrade was possible only after endless persuasion, and it was still with Daren's reluctant permission.
Leon also calibrated the dome vents for controlled flame bursts instead of random overheating, taking inspiration from Daren's gauntlet design.
After they were done with the fixes and upgrades, they did a test run, activating everything to ensure that they were working properly.
The calibrated dome vents for controlled flame bursts didn't work at first, but it worked by the 3rd try after some elite troubleshooting by Leon. He always seemed to know what was wrong every time, secretly leaving Kain in awe.
He sighed. 'Is this what they call natural talent?'
Only after all of this did Leon heave a sigh of relief, and with Kain's help, he put the defense grid on standby mode at the end. They finished by test-sealing the hatch of the cargo trailer and locking the internal clamps.
"Everything is in order," Kain nodded in relief.
With all the work that was done, the hideout now felt less like a shelter and more like a war machine waiting to wake.
At the end, the System HUD screen lit up again.
DING!
~----~
[Congratulations! You successfully upgraded a defense grid network!]
>Perimeter Integrity +17%.
>Power Efficiency +12%.
…
[Your Mechanist Ability has increased!]
[You have been rewarded with +5 Data Points]
[Current Data Points: 47]
…
[ChronoSystem Log: Mission Timer]
>1:56:00 remaining<
~----~
They spent approximately 2 hours configuring the defense grid. Now, there was less than 2 hours to Talia's designated time.
At some point while they worked, Daren came outside to see exactly what they were doing.
Unlike his usual easygoing self, he had a serious look on his face as he looked at the visible components of the defense grid. "Hopefully, with this, we can hold our ground for 24 hours".
He clenched his fists. "The Boss has to succeed!"
Leon looked at him. "24 hours?"
Kain who stood by the side replied. "Most Trials, especially those at the lower ranks mostly span between 12 to 24 hours even if it may take longer or shorter inside the Trial domain itself. That is if the Ascendant didn't fail the trial ahead of time, morphing into a Neon Beast".
"If we can hold the fort for 12 to 24 hours, we'd have done our part. The rest will be up to the Boss".
Leon nodded seriously. "Then let's do that".
With the hatch of the cargo trailer sealed and with the internal clamps locked, leaving only Brick, Ghostwire, and Talia inside, the other 4 members of the crew did their final preparations in silence.
At some point, Daren smiled before fishing out a crude green bottle with a brown liquid inside. "Ah!" He sniffed and salivated, then smiled.
He looked at Leon with bright eyes. "Come on my friend, let's drink! This is alcohol that was brewed in the fiery depths of the Southern Biome. I'm telling you, this bad boy is from Verdanthold itself!"
Leon cautiously took a step back as he stared warily at the green bottle. He still vividly remembered the experience with the synth-coffee.
He chuckled. "Unfortunately, I can't join you my friend. I don't drink," he shook his head and said with a straight face. "As an engineer, you have to have steady hands, so drinking is a no-no".
"Wow! So disciplined!" Rex exclaimed like he just had an epiphany.
Kain snorted.
…
Inside the sealed cargo trailer, Talia was still meditating in silence.
She had an urge to rehearse the interface sequences of the uncracked ancient network in silence like she'd been doing for the past few days.
The anxiety was getting to her, eating at her nerves like a parasite, but somehow, she managed to curb it, focusing on just breathing in and breathing out.
She knew that rehearsing this close to the scheduled time won't give her any tangible benefits. It was just like reading a few minutes to a hard examination; most times, it was a recipe for disaster.
And so she focused on just meditating and putting her mind in the right mental wavelength to tackle whatever challenge that the Trial threw at her.
Brick remained as still as a statue, leaning against the wall in silence.
As for Kain, after completing the defense grid with Leon's help, with nothing more to do, he focused on his own personal preparation.
In the generator bay of the cargo trailer, he methodically cleaned his pistols.
Just like Talia, he felt immense anxiety like he was the one about to face the trial, but each motion as he cleaned his pistols calmed his nerves.
He hesitated, then touched the engraved Freegrid symbol on his chest, muttering a silent prayer. He was an atheist, but at this moment, he could not help but mutter a prayer for a god, any god to save his friend.
At some point, Rex sneaked under the cargo trailer as he randomly started loosening and re-tightening bolts as he uttered a curse at every joint that squeaked.
His action had no real consequence, but he was also just trying to calm his erratic nerves. Everybody was tense.
Outside, Daren now sat on a rock. He already finished the bottle of Southern-brewed alcohol. The Geneforge Clans in the South were the absolute masters in wine brewery. Now, Daren could only smack his lips in regret.
And left with nothing else to do, he began sharpening his knife again. Leon stood beside the rock, silently looking into the distant neon storms.
Tick… tock…
Time moved.
Leon hesitated, but then he asked. "Daren, do you have a spare dagger?"
"Huh?" Daren looked at him.
Leon smiled. "I just realized that apart from my spear, I don't have a close-range weapon in the case of an emergency".
"Sure," Daren pulled out another hidden dagger and handed it to him.
Leon took it and silently fiddled with the dagger's handle.
An hour and 30 minutes later, Talia opened her eyes. Noting this, Brick finally moved like a robot with rusted joints, beckoning for those outside to come back in.
The crew gathered one last time at the center of the cargo trailer.
Talia's gray-green and biotic eyes were as calm as a still lake, reflecting her current emotions as she spoke in a calm voice. She had a look of determination.
"Once I connect, don't hesitate".
"If you hear me scream, ignore it. All you have to do is protect my body- protect this hideout and make sure nothing gets to me".
"And if I change…," she looked at Brick, then Daren, then Kain, and then Leon.
"…you know what to do".
The atmosphere turned even more solemn.
Tick… tock…
Time moved, and soon enough, 4 hours was up.
Talia interfaced with the network!