“What do you mean we can’t blow it up? It’ll put a huge dent in their plans!”

“We don’t know what the plans are yet! That’s why we’re here!”

Zimthose and Lance were hiding behind one of the mortar cannons on the roof. They’d determined that any cameras on the roof were pointing in the direction the mortars had been launched earlier, meaning they would have no trouble wandering the roof as they decided how to get in.

First, of course, they began arguing over whether or not destroying the skeletal box was the right move. It had dozens of wires, cables, and tubing connecting inside it, attached to all manner of circuitry, hardware, and other Gremlin machinery. All of it exposed, ripe for destruction. And yet…

“Look, if we so much as touch anything directly related to that, alarms could go off and we’d be stuck fighting through hordes of Gremlins and their constructs to find the data we’re after,” Lance explained. “Plus, there’s no way this is the only facility related to Project R, so destroying it likely won’t even so much as hinder the Gremlin’s progress by a day. But by grabbing that data, we’ll be better prepared to fully stop their attack from happening!”

Zimthose grumbled his reluctant acceptance of the situation, but gazed up at the artillery right next to them.

“What about these then?”

“What about them?”

“What if we find a way to tinker with these just enough so they can’t fire again?”

Lance thought for a moment, and began circling the artillery piece. He came across a large bolt head at the base, attached to some cogs that seemed to allow the mortar to rotate in place.

“Zim, grab me a–”

Before he could finish, Zimthose was holding out the handle to a Thwack hammer. Lance nodded his thanks, and began slowly unscrewing the bolt with the back of the tool’s head. “Gremlins sure know how to make a multi-tool.” 

They repeated the process on the other three artillery pieces, loosening the bolts just enough to cause an issue without being visibly noticeable.

“Alright, that job’s done. Now if they try to fire again, not only will they have issues hitting their mark, but they’ll end up being distracted and have to investigate the fact their artillery isn't working properly.

“All according to plan,” Zimthose said with a thumbs up.

“Oh please, you just wanted to save the beasts they may or may not still have captured.”

“And?”

Lance didn’t reply, instead moving to the skeletal box that had brought them to the roof in the first place. It was resting on a platform that sat above an open hatch in the roof. The platform was propped up by two large pillars made of multiple segments, with hydraulic tubes connecting just beneath where each part separated to the next. The open hatch’s doors were open, flat against the roof, and the two knights could see faint lights from inside the facility. Thankfully, no actual Gremlins seemed to be present.

While Lance examined the hole into the facility, Zimthose walked over to the edge of the roof. He could see four new plots of scorched earth, the new fires trying to find something else to consume, lest they wind up like the flames from earlier.

“We’ll make them pay, Bigsby,” he whispered, patting his coat. He could just feel a low purr from the warm pocket. “Hey, Lance?”

“What? You about to chicken out?”

“Heck no! I just want to make sure we both know what our competition entails.”

“We didn’t go over all that during the briefing?”

“Just humor me.”

“Fine,” Lance said. “We’ve got to find the data specifically regarding Project R. Don’t know where it is, but it’ll probably be in the most heavily guarded area of the facility, on some kind of computer terminal. I’ve got a few data drives to store it on, just to be safe, and then we will wipe everything.”

“Can’t just destroy the terminal itself, huh?

“That’ll draw too much attention. But again, we’ll need to find it first, without being detected. Which brings us to the rules, I guess?”

“Right. Don’t want any cheating, or this will all be for naught.”

“I mean, I just said we’re here to–you know what, nevermind. Yes, no cheating. That means no deliberately getting the other caught, or sabotaging the other. Got it?”

“But if I move too fast for you, I’m not waiting for you to catch up.”

“That’s fine. Just make sure you don’t get caught. And, of course, if we don’t get the right data, or both get caught, we both lose. That about everything?” Lance said, wrapped up.

Zimthose paused for a moment, looking down at his coat.

“Bonus objective,” he said.

“Excuse me?” Lance asked, not sure if he heard correctly.

“I want to free any captives the Gremlins might have in the facility.”

“Zim, you know that’s too risky.”

“We can’t just leave them behind!” Zimthose insisted, trying not to raise his voice too much. Lance breathed a deep sigh. He knew there was no way for them to see eye to eye on this, but deep down he felt the same. The rational side of him was preventing him from risking the mission, but he fully understood the desire to save anyone from the Gremlin’s clutches.

“We get the data first. If things haven’t turned sour, then we can see about it,” Lance finally relented. “Or if we find them along the way. But we can’t make that our main goal.” Zimthose just smiled in response.

Suddenly, a whirr of electronics sounded from the platform. It had begun to lower.

“Alright, time to move!” Zimthose said, leaping onto one of the platform’s supporting pillars. It wasn’t a far hop, and he managed to land on the rim of one of the separated segments without issue. He reached up and held on to one of the hydraulic tubes running to the segment above him. “You coming?” he asked over his shoulder.

Lance hesitated a second before doing the same, landing on the other pillar. The platform continued to lower, and eventually the hatch on the roof closed. They had successfully infiltrated the facility.

* * *

“Status report!”

“The weapon has been successfully retracted, sir.”

“Test report!” 

“Low light environment test: three of four targets hit, sir.”

“Not good enough! Calculate adjustments and prepare for another firing test in one hour!”

“Sir!”

Gremlins were barking orders and reports to each other within the facility’s main construction zone. It was a massive room filled with tools, construction supplies, and a few dozen workers climbing around scaffolding that nearly reached the ceiling. All hands were on deck, making sure that there had been no issues on the structure of the skeletal box as it was replaced on top of another skeletal structure. The Gremlins around the edges of the room kept their eyes on monitors to verify that all of the machine’s inner workings were still in place and functioning as intended.

Most everything seemed to be going as planned.

“What are the casualty reports for the day?”

“Sir, no scuttle bots have been lost so far. We can confirm that its prioritizing keeping friendly units from being targeted, before targeting hostiles.”

“Good. When the assault begins, we need not concern ourselves with targeting specific structures or enemies, so long as our forces are not hit with our own firepower.”

“Aye, sir!”

“Now, how fair the designs? The Warmaster demands the weapon strike fear into all who witness its might!”

The director and reporting Gremlins’ barking was almost drowned out by the working Gremlin’s hammers and tools among the scaffolding, while the floodlights kept the whole of the construction area well lit.

The room’s ceiling rafters were a different story, though. 

Zimthose tossed an unconscious Gremlin’s body onto a large black sheet, rolling it up. He and Lance had leaped to other sides of the rafters, on opposite ends of the room. He could see Lance sneaking his way north, and scowled.

“Figures I would get the side with a guard.” He’d managed to pounce and subdue the Gremlin without drawing a weapon, and made sure to stuff the Gremlin’s mouth before wrapping it up in whatever material he could find next to him. He looked around.

The rafters extended all around the room, and he watched as Lance ducked through a doorway on the far end of the room.

“Damn,” he breathed.

He turned around and spotted a similar doorway down some stairs further south from his position.

“If I were a data terminal, where would I hide?” There was a soft chirp from his pocket. “Not yet, buddy. We gotta finish our main objective first.”

He patted Bigsby through his coat, before moving north through the rafters.