Tron: Deliverance

CHARGE

Paige had learned a great deal about crawling through vents during her tenure as the Renegade. But frankly, Purgos had some of the most disgusting vents she had ever encountered.

"Im going to recommend leveling this entire building. This is some kind of hazard" She muttered as she crawled forearm over forearm. Every movement kicking up clouds of data shards that gathered in her eyelashes and coated her intake tract. She blinked away the warnings flashing across her vision. She knew breathing this stuff in was bad for her systems. But walking through the hallways of Tesler's command hub would be significantly worse for her health.

A buzzing came from her comm.

"Paige? I know you can hear me. Where did you go?" Beck's worried voice came from the other end. She grit her teeth. Considering how to answer.

"If you don't answer in the next five micros I'm going to assume that you went after Tesler on your own. In which case I swear to Flynn Im coming after you" She turned off the comm and doubled her pace. Now was not the time for a conversation, she decided.

She had to get to Tesler before the assault on the compound commenced. If she timed it right she could attack him at the moment the Users, mechanics and Mods started to move.

Their plan had been a good one. Tactically sound.

A feint on one part of the superstructure, a direct strike on the external defenses and then a team inserting to target command and control.

It had one big problem.

She knew Tesler, she'd trained under him for cycles. She'd worked with him for longer. Because she knew at her core that the moment he realized he couldn't salvage the fight, he would run. Which wasn't too big a problem for the Users. Toppling Tesler's control of the city was all they were really after. But she would lose her chance to bring him down for good.

Her communicator sent pings flashing through her head. She ignored them. Beck was a better program than she could hope to be. He might not need vengeance for all that had been done to him. But her? She burned for it.

She was close now. A few vents ahead, reddish-orange light hit the innards of the tubing. Warnings pulsed in her head as she crept closer. A voice, familiar in the worst possible way. Familiar in that it hung at the back of all her worst and darkest moments, rising up amid the orange hue.

"I'm really very disappointed in you. But I'm the magnanimous type, so Ill allow you to explain yourself" Tesler sounded almost casual, yet it was apparent that he was nanos away from executing the target of this statement.

"Uh sure. Algol attacked my shop, killed some Mods and knocked me unconscious. There, my presence is explained" A raspy tone reached Paige's audio. She recognized that voice, barely. But in fairness, she hadn't known him nearly so well as the mechanics in their group.

Tesler responded, his stony voice getting colder "I see, and the outsiders? The invaders in my city? I assume you have an explanation for that"

A beat of silence, though the former mechanic was acting flippant, it was apparent that he and the General were doing a careful dance. "What do you want me to say General? That some outsiders came through and caused a ruckus? Not sure why me doing my job warranted getting tuned up and dragged in here"

Paige managed to get even with the output vent, blinking to get her eyes adjusted to the light. She found Tesler first, lounged in a command chair much like the one he'd had in Argon. Before him, the old mechanic she had hardly spoken to in the past was kneeling, looking slightly worse for wear. He would probably need a quick diagnostic and some render repair on the scrapes along his face. Lastly, there were two sentries manning either side of the door. They weren't proper black guards. They wore cloaks that hid their light lines and faces. A pale gray glow coming from the shadows of their hoods.