Treasure Room

"Oh my goodness…" Jack exclaimed, fear nesting inside his chest.

Shaking the image from his head, he motioned one of the mechanical arms to peel the Wildren corpse away.

"I thought they all evacuated… How is there a body in here?" A dreadful thought crossed his mind, his brows furrowing into deep creases.

After gathering his composure, Jack continued the mission, guiding his bots through the red marker on his map and dodging obstacles with ease.

Roughly thirty minutes later, Jack arrived at the designated warehouse. A large metal door protected the treasure inside. The mech arm reached out to yank the pull-down lever, but nothing happened.

"Typical," he grumbled. The power would have been completely shut off during the evacuation.

Jack motioned for two bots to attach themselves to the metal wall. Magnetic locks spun beneath their legs before clicking into place, securing them to the surface. The mechanical arms retracted, switching into large laser torches.

The pilot flames sparked, and metre-long laser blades shot from the emitters.

With a temperature exceeding 3000 Kelvin, the composite sheet bubbled and began to melt. Jack worked slowly, deliberately, making a precise ten-square-metre cut.

He ensured his other vessels were positioned for a prompt escape, a principle his wife had always emphasised: Always find the escape first before stepping into the realm of the unknown.

The thick composite plate finally came loose, floating freely in the zero-gravity environment. A small push from the puny bot thrusters cleared the path.

"Easy peasy, lemon squeezy," Jack smiled, content with how his plan was unfolding.

Beep! A comm blinked. "Come in! Come in!" David's frantic call came through, his hologram popping into view.

"This is Jack Squire, Employee 0423 speaking. You copy?!" Jack asked, a nervous edge to his voice.

"Yes! I copy." David replied with a nod, his eyes narrowing as he read something on his own screen.

"What is it?"

"Listen, Jack… After you cut through the warehouse wall, we detected a surge of energy," David clarified, his voice shaky.

"Are you sure? I haven't been able to read anything from here," Jack replied, glancing at his blank radar.

"Be careful. There might be some sort of defence mechanism," David warned.

"Understood," Jack responded, gesturing for all puny bots to advance.

The warehouse was a vast hall, fifty thousand cubic metres lined with hundreds of rows of metal shelves. Some were packed with metal crates, all tightly secured with suspension wires. The void was thick with dust, and the faint hum of machinery echoed in the background, adding a sense of unease.

"Activate the 'Finder Keepers' protocol!" Jack commanded.

Instantly, a series of bots floated methodically through the aisles, their sensors sweeping each row. They scanned and catalogued items, their data feeds streaming to Jack's interface.

"Damn… Jackie, we're hitting jackpots! Machine parts, valuable metals, Armatus weapons..." David exclaimed as he read through the inventory list. Then his eyes widened.

"Umm… sex bots? Female-shaped, and… they've got dildos?" David raised a thick eyebrow and smirked knowingly at Jack.

"Pfft! Well, I guess the Alexandra's crew needed something to vent their frustration," Jack commented, almost unable to hold in his laughter.

"Too far from home! Hahahaha!" David burst out laughing, grabbing his belly.

"Maybe I can snatch one for you on my way out?" Jack teased.

"You are so kind! But leave the rods, okay? I'll be here for another five years or so… It won't hurt to have a bit of fun," David replied with a big grin.

"Consider it done."

"Too bad something went wrong with their campaign. We'd have completely colonised Mars by now if their ship hadn't malfunctioned or whatever—"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A frantic beeping noise reverberated through his hull.

"What?!" David gasped, hurriedly checking the status. "The arcanite engine signature is substantial! It's an Armatus drone!" he roared in panic, his fingers slamming across his keyboard.

"What did you say?!" Jack repeated, his pupils dilating in terror.

The mere mention of an Armatus sent a shiver down his spine. He was now facing a war machine capable of levelling a city in just one single day.

"Signal confirmed! It's coming in hot! You need to pull out now!" David's voice cracked, dread etched onto his pale face.

"Roger that!" Jack barked, his fingers already dancing over the controls. The puny bots immediately retreated to his flank.

"Activate shield protocol! I'll lure it out!" Jack commanded with steely resolve, his sharp jaw clenching tightly as beads of sweat poured down his face. His mind raced, every nerve alight, as he prepared for the battle of his life.

With a series of swift, decisive gestures through the glove controllers, Jack commanded his P.N.I. bots.

The engines hummed, then pulsed erratically as translucent shields materialised around them like protective shells.

On his radar, a beeping red dot escalated into an urgent, staccato rhythm, signalling the Armatus drone's approach.

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It was closing on his location, faster and faster.

It must be breaking 300 kilometres per hour, Jack analysed, a knot tightening in his stomach.

"Damn it! It doesn't even give me time to think!" he muttered, flicking his index finger.

A single scout and bait bot shot forward to intercept while the rest shifted into a full-speed retreat. Every bot ripped through the weightless space of the wreckage in perfect order and harmony, a swarm of mechanical bees.

Then, disaster struck. One of the bots snagged on a stray suspension wire, swaying a nearby crate and scattering its contents.

Amidst the debris, a strange rectangular box surfaced.

The earlier Finder Keeper protocol, still active, coincidentally scanned the object, updating the inventory list on his interface with a single, electrifying message: "Payload detected!"

"Woah!? David, I accidentally found the thing!" Jack exclaimed, his voice a mix of shock and dawning excitement.

Without a second's hesitation, he motioned for one of the bots to sever the suspension wire and secure the box.

A potent mixture of hope and delight shone in his wide eyes. Fuelled by a monumental surge of will, Jack became resolute in his determination to accomplish the mission.

"Jackie! Screw that! The Armatus is one minute away! Retreat now!" David's voice screamed through the comms, his tone stern and deathly serious.

While Jack's focus was a fractured mosaic of multiple screens, each displaying a bot's camera feed, the puny bots beneath him worked in perfect synchronisation.

They meticulously cut and reeled the treasure free from its entanglement as the scout bot he'd sent out finally captured an image of the Armatus drone.

"Damn it!" Jack cursed under his breath, biting the inside of his cheek as the dark figure of death closed in on his scout.

The humanoid drone loomed into view, an imposing ten metres tall. Jetpacks on its back and thrusters in its feet propelled it forward with unnerving precision — a terrifying ballet of power and speed. Its V-shaped visor glowed with a menacing, demonic red light that cut through the chaos like an unrelenting harbinger of destruction.

It was the stuff of nightmares, a demon incarnate wrought from cold metal and overwhelming firepower.

Armed to the teeth, it brandished an ionised blade crackling with raw energy in one hand and a plasma cannon humming with lethal intent in the other.

It lunged, nearly cleaving the baiting bot in two with a single, merciless strike.

"Argh!" Jack yelped, wrenching his bot to the side.

A sharp, tingling sensation shot through his head, a phantom pain he instantly pushed aside. His eyes flicked rapidly between the screens as he sent three more bots to intercept the relentless killing machine.

Meanwhile, two other bots worked diligently to free the box, their laser torches hissing and sparking against the thick suspension wires.

Under the intense heat, the metal bubbled and fractured, strand by strand.

"Jack! Your nose is bleeding!" David's voice crackled with agitation, his face pale and sweaty on the comms screen.

"Can't talk right now, David!" Jack snapped, cutting the communication.

The searing pain in his eye sockets was no longer a phantom sensation; it was the unmistakable agony of neural overload.

By controlling all fifteen puny bots simultaneously, the cost was clear: Jack's brain would be scrambled by the time this was over.

The Armatus moved with lethal precision.

It kicked one puny bot away with a powerful mechanical leg while firing its cannon at another in rapid succession.

The targeted bot spun wildly, narrowly dodging the scorching energy blast that would have vaporised it.

Another bot drifted in from the rear, slamming into the Armatus's back with all its momentum. The impact barely scuffed the drone's high-durability armour, but the kinetic force knocked it slightly off balance, granting the other bots a precious instant to reposition.

Jack's eyes flickered between the live feeds, his breathing laboured, the veins on his temple pulsing visibly. "Just a little longer," he muttered through gritted teeth.

The bots swarmed like a coordinated hive, each unit moving with a desperate, razor-sharp focus.

The killing machine flew toward a wall with three puny bots hot on its tail. In a masterful manoeuvre, it spun 180 degrees and landed solidly on its mechanical feet.

Bending its knees, it sprang back towards his bots, denting the wall with the force of its launch. Its ionised blade burned red-hot, poised to cleave all three in one sweeping arc.

"Shit! It outmanoeuvred me!" Jack boomed in exasperation.

The war machine lifted its blade to strike, but Jack's gambit wasn't over.

Four more bots, which he had been holding in the shadows, now flanked the Armatus drone.

He sent them in at full torque, ramming into the Armatus and intercepting its attack.

All four bots ignited their laser torches, jamming them into the enemy's torso while their off-hands clamped the war machine down. The Armatus squirmed as if it could feel pain, its thrusters firing chaotically in a desperate attempt to break free.

In the corner of his vision, the final suspension wire snapped.

The box was free.

Jack gestured for his remaining bots to transport the prize out of the opening he had created earlier. The arms of the lead puny bot secured the item, its grip steady, while the others formed a retreating screen of decoys and guards.

But it wasn't over. The Armatus spiralled with immense centrifugal force and finally broke free, sending the puny bots flying. Its frame suddenly flashed a dangerous, pulsing red.

Jack's eyes widened. Self-destruct.

He reflexively gestured for the four bots to retreat at full speed. They scrambled, manoeuvring through the debris and obstructions.

One scraped against the sharp edge of a shelf, peeling metal from its hand. "Ugh!" Jack yelped.

The pain wasn't physical, but an uncomfortable, jarring sensation echoed in his own finger — a clever system designed to intuitively alert the pilot to damage.

Then, the Armatus detonated.

A storm of pulsing lightning and fire erupted outward, obliterating everything in its rapidly expanding radius. The last puny bot raced frantically toward the gap.

"Ah! Go faster!" Jack shrieked, his voice strained with panic as the swirling cloud of destruction swallowed the bot.

Just as the shockwave seemed to have claimed it, the bot shot out from the inferno. Its shield was fried, but its hull was miraculously intact.

"Ahahahah!" Jack burst into a loud, maniacal laugh, a raw explosion of disbelief and relief.

The comm channel crackled back to life. "Geez… Jackie… You survived, you reckless fool!" David's voice came through, heavy with a mix of exasperation and awe. Any thought of reprimand had evaporated.

"Hah… hah…" Jack panted, his chest heaving as he tapped a hand against his racing heart. The adrenaline from the harrowing game of cat and mouse still coursed through his veins.

"All your puny bots made it out, too! You damn legend!" David exclaimed, his wide grin almost audible.

"Sorry… couldn't grab your souvenir," Jack replied with a weak chuckle, glancing back at the wreckage of the Alexandra.

The entire lower section, his escape route just moments ago, was gone, spilling shattered debris into the void.

"Don't worry about that, who needs a sexbot anyway!" David dismissed with a wave before throwing his head back and laughing rowdily.

"Hahahahaha!" Jack joined in, the sheer absurdity of his survival finally dawning on him. Moments ago, he could have been space dust.

David, tears of mirth streaming from his eyes, wiped them away with his stubby fingers. "I can't believe it! You really tried to fight an Armatus with puny bots! PUNY!" he stressed the word, breaking into another fit of laughter.

"PUNY versus ARMATUS! This is the stuff of legends! Absolute legends!"

To Jack's credit, the site had been a wreckage before he entered, and it remained a wreckage now. Only the scale of devastation had changed.

As Jack and his battered swarm of P.N.I. bots charted a course back to Luna Base, a quiet sense of triumph settled over him.

Yet, unbeknownst to him, the universe was poised on the cusp of an irreversible shift, forever altering the course of history.

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