Zeros entered Erebus’ atmosphere like a burning meteor.
Phoenix raised energy shields, protecting both the Iron Wraith’s body and the Reaper’s suit.
While the psycho-droid tore through dense atmospheric layers—plasma trail, shockwave, the scream of overheated air—
Blindy walked back into the cockpit and dropped into the pilot’s seat.
“Alright, Rusty… um… I’m at the controls—”
He leaned in, gripping them like muscle memory might kick in if he just committed hard enough.
“—so where we goin’?”
His eyes flicked down.
“Down? Oh—no. No, no, no—
not down—”
He froze for half a second, then forced a nod.
“…okay, maybe down—
but like—controlled down—
not down down, yeah?”
A quick breath.
“Shit—don’t freak out—
I’m not freakin’ out—
you’re freakin’ out—”
He tightened his grip.
“You good—down, then not down—”
He snapped his head slightly, like bracing for impact that hadn’t happened yet.
“READY—just—just say the word.”
He nodded again, sharper this time, fully committed to whatever that plan was supposed to be.
Didn’t matter that the controls weren’t even his anymore.
Phoenix replied instantly.
“Captain. Remove your ass from that seat and return to the navigation terminal.
Ship control is fully under my authority.
That thing under your hand no longer does anything.”
Blindy froze. The disappointment hit like his personal horse had just told him to go fuck himself.
He stood up, snorted, and walked toward the center of the ship, stopping at the holographic terminal.
“Okay… what we lookin’ at, Rusty?”
He rolled his shoulders, like resetting himself, then leaned in just a little too confidently.
“Captain Blindy… on navigation duty now…”
A small grin crept in.
“Mastermind in action… heh.”
He tapped the console lightly, like sealing the act.
“Yeah… yeah, that’s more like it.”
The map vanished.
In its place—a holographic surface of the planet:
darkness, dense atmosphere, bursts of thermal signatures.
And a point—rapidly approaching the surface.
Phoenix said:
“While Zeros and I are down there, you and I will observe and assist from here.”
Blindy scratched his stomach, frowning.
“Wait—hold up… what you just say?”
He leaned closer, pointing vaguely between the hologram and the void.
“You down there… and you up here…?”
A pause. Brain buffering.
“How the hell that even—what—?”
He frowned harder, like effort alone might solve it.
“So you… what—split yourself?
Copy-paste?
Or you just… everywhere all the time or some creepy shit like that?”
He blinked, then shook his head.
“Man, I don’t understand a single damn thing you just said…
not one piece…”
The answer came instantly:
“Yes, captain. I am not human.
And, as your First Officer would put it—’not a piece of rotten meat.’
Operating across hundreds of instances simultaneously is standard for me.
I am here with you.
And there—with him.
Now shut up and focus on the mission.”
A short breath. Then, quickly—defensive recovery:
“—Ah… yeah. Yeah, okay… I get it…”
Why didn’t you just say that, you damn bastard?
You fancy.
You… multi—multi… whatever the hell that was…”
He waved it off like it wasn’t worth thinking about.
“Cool. Great. I’ll… yeah… I’ll observe the hell outta it.”
He leaned back slightly, crossing his arms like he’d already accepted it.
“Just tell me where to look, Rusty.”
Meanwhile, the Iron Wraith activated its underbelly anti-grav—
a stream of bluish light softened the descent.
The bike hovered a few feet above the ground,
vibrated, bled off speed—
then dropped, kicking up a dense cloud of black dust.
Zeros instantly slammed the throttle.
The bike shot forward—
like an arrow fired from a steel bow,
leaving a long tail of dust behind it.
Phoenix checked the data:
“First Officer, confirm: do you see navigation?”
Zeros’ inner pupil flared—
the HUD filled with the jagged terrain of Erebus,
a route line, and mission parameters:
TARGET: 52 miles
SPEED: 400 mph
ETA: ~7 min 30 secZeros replied:
“Yeah, I see it, and just call me Zeros.
I’m already sick of your ‘First Officer.'”
Phoenix answered with faint, controlled defiance:
“Understood, Zeros.
Full control of the bike is yours.
I will only apply micro-adjustments to keep movement… optimally comfortable.”