I take his hand and place the jerky in it. “Fucking insane. I need to have a chat with a Titan designer.”
“They’re all dead,” Armor says.
“Doubt it,” I offer. “I’m certain there are a few out there still. You think I became a Gray by chance? No. By design. Someone somewhere always has a plan.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because no one survived outside the last city of Naryth without a very detailed plan and backups for backups. We might’ve served Solcrue, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have an underground where we trained for the day we would break free.” I march myself to the next Titan.
Catalyst hustles along the tunnel and picks up another unit I don’t catch the name of. I find another red unit named Javelin. He’s a slender Titan with pointed fingertips and sharp angles at every joint. “Armor?”
He quiets as he walks up to us.
“Are you giving them some sort of update when they wake?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Processing that takes energy. How about you do a group update later? Just get a few with updates to guide the others for now.”
“It is protocol.”
“Survive first, or protocols won’t matter,” I mutter. “I’ve sacrificed a lot to stay alive. But surviving is essential to continuing my work.”
Javelin pries a rock out of an ear. I help him to his feet. He polishes his digibadge with a hand like every Titan seems to do when they wake. My first thought is that it helps them see. But I know they have scanners like I do in my goggles, likely more. And by the tender way they do it, I think it means something more to them. They treat it like a symbol, like the torch pendant I keep against my chest.
Perhaps it is their hope. But I think, more than anything, it is a reminder of their purpose.
I motion Armor to the next Titan, half-buried in loose rock. I brush the dirt from the sides of a large, bulky Titan. Armor’s wings twitch behind him like he’s irritated. “Speak your mind, Armor.”
“You touch us with such care when we are machines,” Javelin remarks.
I connect Armor to the dark Titan.Bruntlights up in deep violet shades on the Titan’s chest. “You are sentient. You were once human. To me, you are more than we will ever become.”
Armor helps Brunt to his feet.
Brunt’s body looks like it’s made of stacked metal boulders. He polishes his digibadge with a hand. “Thank you. I was going crazy recirculating memories to pass the time. Most are not ones I wanted to replay, but there’s little else to do in a mud tomb.”
I draw in a deep breath and think of my days hiding when I knew I couldn’t leave if I wanted to stay free.But I had a choice. They didn’t.
Armor’s wings launch into an umbrella shape, shielding us as dirt rains down.
“Son of a mother...”
Armor chuckles, draws me under the shield of his body, and folds his wings back. A cyborg sides off his wing to the floor in front of us with a mound of rock and dirt.
“Motherfucker!” The unit stands, holding his hand. He’s hunkered with bright blue eyes, pointed teeth, and claws for hands. “Wolf nearly took off my favorite finger. Look at this fucking mess!”
Karambitshakes his hand, his middle finger hanging on by a single cable. “Punk ass mutant.”
“Look who’s talking,Karen.”
“Oh, ha-ha. Hello to you, too, you hull plate of a Titan. No one ever calls me Claw. It should have beenClaw, not this monstrosity or a name. Does anyone even know what a karambit is anymore?”
I motion for his hand. “Let me look while we move to the next, please. I’m low on energy.”
He jerks it away from me before he looks and suddenly takes a knee. “Ow.”
Armor hangs his head and sighs. “She is my Bonded, Karambit. Let her help you.”
