Far below Sanctuary Isle, even lower than the Sanctum, existed the Enclave. It was a large area where maintenance and repairs were conducted on the machines imbued with the spirits of the Titans themselves. Many technicians handled the physical work, but the Enclave as a whole was overseen by the mysterious Orion.

He appeared to be in his 70s, with long, silver hair and a matching beard. But his true age was a mystery. No one now on Sanctuary Isle predated his tenure, and rumors suggested that he lived for centuries instead of decades. Some even suggested he himself was a former Knight from long ago and hence why he had a deeper connection with the Titans than anyone save for the Knights themselves—and even that was up for debate.

Orion, for his part, never confirmed nor denied any of the rumors. Around once or twice a year, someone would get up the nerve to ask him about them and he would just smile and respond with, “Wouldn’t that be something?” before walking away.

As he sat in his office, clad in a pair of coveralls, he monitored the progress on the screens surrounding his desk. He enjoyed watching the Titans being worked on. It was soothing to him. He could understand these mythic creatures and the machines that housed them. They made sense to him in a way that humans never did.

A buzzing noise drew his attention away. The only places that were truly restricted on Sanctuary Isle without permission were the Enclave and the Sanctum itself, and that buzzer signaled someone requesting access. Orion pushed a button to deactivate the buzzer and trigger a holographic projection of Marcus Kane.

“Agent Kane, to what do I owe the pleasure?” asked Orion with a sneer. He wasn’t very fond of Marcus Kane. To Orion, Kane was a washed-up soldier who’d never amounted to anything. Now he used his position in the Quantum Group to fool himself into thinking he had some merit.

“We have the new recruits here. They’re ready to meet their Titans,” said Marcus.

Orion sighed. “You know as well as I do that once the shells are operational, I’ll tell you. Did you get a message from me?”

“No, but—”

“Then you know that the shells aren’t fucking ready. Now stop distracting me and let me get back to work.”

“Stop being such an asshole, Orion. You know these recruits have to get acquainted with their spirits and you also know they don’t need the shells to do that. So open the goddamn door already and stop being a pain in my ass.”

For most of the Quantum Group’s employees, the well-being of the Knights was the primary concern. They were, after all, the warriors that defended this plane from breaches. But Orion prioritized the Titans over all else. Their mechanical shells could be repaired and Knights could be replaced, yet the spirits of those Titans were what gave form and substance to the Omega Force. Without them, there would be no Knights and no Omega Force.

“It’s better for the Titans if their shells are restored first,” said Orion.

“You want me to pull rank? Fine. This comes directly from the Tribunal.”

The Tribunal. Orion always dreaded whenever they issued their demands. But he had little choice other than relenting. “Very well. I’ll meet you at the entrance.”

Orion hit another switch, granting Marcus access to the elevator that was the only way into the Enclave. With a wave of his hands, the holographic screens all disappeared, and he stood from his desk to go meet them.

His office was on a catwalk across from the elevators. Below the catwalk was the heart of the Enclave, where the Titan shells were kept and maintained. Once Orion had crossed the distance, the elevator doors opened with Marcus and the Knights, including the two existing ones.

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“I’d like you all to meet Orion. Around here, we call him the Caretaker. He’s in charge of the Titans, which includes maintenance on their physical forms.”

“We call them shells,” said Orion. “Right now, only two of the shells are in working order. The others are still being repaired after the last battle.”

“Let me introduce you—”

“Don’t bother,” said Orion, cutting off Marcus. He pointed at Ethan. “Green.” Then his finger moved to Olivia. “Yellow.” And finally, Alexa. “Purple. That’s all I need to know.”

“Why’s that?” asked Olivia, who looked a bit taken aback by the impersonal nature of Orion’s introductions.

“Young lady, I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve seen wear those gauntlets. Some retired, some had less-than-pleasant ends. Keeping track of you by your colors is just easier,” said Orion. “Let’s just move on from here, okay? I’d like you all gone soon so I can get back to my work.”

Orion turned his back on them and strode towards the catwalk. He could hear someone behind him mumble, “what an asshole,” but he didn’t give it any mind. The sound of footsteps followed behind him, but didn’t look back at them. Orion stopped at the middle of the catwalk and gestured over the railing.

“These are the shells being worked on right now. This is the Karkinos’s shell.”

The Karkinos Titan was a massive beast of a robot, colored shades of green with some silver and gold trim. The Karkinos Titan boasted four massive legs on each side and wielded two enormous arms that ended in giant pincers.

“So this is mine?” asked Ethan as he stared over the railing.

“They aren’t things—they’re sentient beings,” said Orion. “You don’t own them, Green. The power is theirs, you’re just borrowing it.”

“Then why do you need us if they’re so special and we’re so useless?” asked Ethan.

“That’s a question I’ve often asked myself.”

“It’s a symbiotic relationship. The Titans need human hosts for their powers to be channeled, and Orion knows that,” said Marcus.

“Whatever, Kane.”

Orion turned to the other side of the catwalk and pointed down into the bay. Robots moved around, welding and repairing a golden horse-like robot with a giant horn on its head.

“Right here is the Unicorn’s shell.”

Olivia moved beside Orion. He glanced at her and saw her eyes were large with wonderment. It almost gave him a feeling of admiration for the young woman—almost.

“And if you look just back there, you can see the Wyvern’s shell.”

Alexa climbed onto the railing and peered off into the distance. Its serpentine body was being outfitted with new wings.

“Whoa, badass,” she said.

“They will be. But now, they’re basically just lifeless hunks of metal,” said Orion. “Only when the Titans take possession are the shells capable of doing anything more than just standing there and looking imposing. Without the Titans, these things would be inoperable.”

“I thought the Omega Force powers all this, but it sounds like you’re saying the Titans are the source?” said Ethan.

“The Titans are part of the Omega Force. You can’t have one without the other. The Omega Force is just the river that transports the Titans to their destination,” said Orion. “Follow me.”

He led them from the catwalk and down an adjoining staircase. As they descended towards the ground floor, they could get a sense of the massive scale of the Titans. Part of that was intentional on Orion’s part—he wanted them to feel insignificant in the presence of these magnificent feats of engineering. That sort of humility was necessary for them to understand their place in this larger enterprise.

Once on the floor of the Enclave, Orion led them across the bay and to a series of sealed doors, one after the other. Each door was color-coded with an appropriate light above it—red, blue, yellow, green, and purple.

“These chambers are where the Titan spirits reside while the shells are being worked on,” he said. “The spirits require some sort of containment or else they could dissipate into the ether. That means either the shell or this chamber.”

“Your Gauntlets allow you and you alone access to your respective Titan,” Orion explained. “The bond between Titan and Knight is an intensely personal one. Closer than even a parent and a child. They will become one with you and you will know each other’s deepest thoughts, fears, desires, and secrets. Anything other than complete trust with your Titan will result in an imperfect bond. If that happens, the results in the field could be unpredictable, if not catastrophic.”

“That’s basically just a dramatic way of saying you have to trust your Titan,” said Tom.

Orion scoffed as he side-eyed the team’s new leader. The Tribunal actually picked him over the Blue Knight. Disappointing, but not altogether unexpected, given what Orion knew of the Tribunal.

“I’ve got a lot to do today, so let’s move this along,” said Orion.

The three new recruits stood in front of the doors with their respective colors. As they stepped closer, the Gauntlets around their wrists glowed and the doors opened. Each one hesitated for a moment before stepping into the waiting darkness.