“So… how exactly are we getting out of here?”

Maksim stepped up to one of the steel plates, running his hand along the cold surface.

“Good question, sis. Maybe these things will lift on their own... But we can’t afford to sit around waiting for a ‘magical rescue.’ Better find alternative routes. There could be maintenance tunnels or ventilation shafts nearby.”

Before standing, Nikola made sure Dasha was sitting steadily and wouldn’t fall.

“I’ve taken quite a few courses in corporate security,” Redhead said, moving over to join Maksim and Alisa. “They taught us both how to guard and how to break into places like this.”

She examined closely the broken, still-smoking remnants of the ceiling turrets.

“This stuff looks like old Armatek Military produce, from about the First Corporate War, if I’m remembering right. That would explain why we got off so easily. No offense, Max, but if they had been more up-to-date, I don’t think your superpower could save us.”

“Agreed. But what’s your point? You think there’s a backup control panel nearby?”

“Exactly. There has to be one for several reasons. And there might also be a service panel somewhere for maintenance. They’d need a way to perform technical support and repairs.”

“We could try scanning for something like this with the lidars on our racing drones,” Alisa suggested. “We still have three left — turns out the one Max used to ram the turret survived.”

Suddenly, Dasha jumped to the feet with panic in her eyes, as she looked around wildly, clenching and unclenching her fists.

“Damn it! This is bad timing for a breakdown!” Max reacted instantly.

“Alright, let’s move,” he ordered. “Alisa, Nikola, start the search. I’ll join you in a couple of minutes.”

Alisa gave her brother a surprised look, but the moment their eyes met, she understood. Especially when a private message flashed across her interface the next second:

[Dasha’s in serious trouble. Please give us some space. Try not to draw her attention and focus on finding that damn hidden panel.]

The blond gave a slight nod and, gently placing a hand on Nikola’s shoulder, led her away, pretending to discuss the plan in detail.

Meanwhile, Daria took a few steps backward until she got pressed against the cold wall — but couldn’t even feel it. The world around her blurred into a haze, as if it had lost all definition. Everything felt so foreign, unnatural, like she was trapped inside an illusion. Her fingers twitched nervously, searching for something to hold on to.

She inhaled. Then again. But breathing couldn’t steady her — the air felt thick, heavy, it just wasn’t enough.

Frustrated, she ripped off her gloves and threw them to the ground, as if they were an annoying barrier between her and the reality. The world around her dissolved into a chaotic swirl of noise and light. The flickering broken lamps, the buzzing of drones, the crackling of sparking wires. The sharp smells of burnt plastic, gunpowder, and scorched metal assaulted her senses. She was completely lost in this chaos. Even the sound of her own breathing merged with the overwhelming cacophony that flooded her mind.

Maksim had dealt with Dasha’s sensory overloads before, a side effect of her schizoid personality disorder. So, he knew exactly what to do. The key was to never push, never escalate her state. It was necessary to create an aura of calm and safety, diverting her attention away from the sources of noise and light.

He approached slowly, avoiding sudden movements — each step deliberate and steady.

“WonderKid,” the guy said softly, speaking slowly and evenly. “How are you feeling?”

But Dasha, as if deafened by her surroundings, continued to stare right through him. She didn’t see his face and didn’t register anything around her. His voice sliced through the distorted space like a distant echo from another world, only adding to the chaos. The girl flinched, clenching her fists, nails digging into her palms. The urge to flee, to disappear, to hide, surged within her.

Maksim didn’t rush. He crouched down slowly, looking upward, and offered gently, “Let’s sit down.”

His voice remained calm, soft, and sure, cutting through the thick fog clouding her mind.

Daria didn’t move but glanced at the floor in front of her, as if her attention had finally found something to latch onto. Max carefully removed his helmet and looked into her eyes, trying not to push or rush the events.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “Look at me. Take a deep breath… and then let it out slowly.”

He took a deep breath himself, showing her the rhythm of his breathing, letting her feel his calm. Everything around them seemed to slow, narrowing Dasha’s focus to him alone. She inhaled shakily, still not fully aware of what she was doing, but slowly starting to mirror his movements.

“That’s it, good job,” he encouraged softly. “Together. Inhale… exhale.”

Gradually, her breathing evened out, and her hands stopped trembling. The surrounding sounds no longer felt like sharp stabs, and the once-threatening atmosphere faded.

“I’m sorry,” Daria whispered so faintly it was almost inaudible. “I… I failed you all.”

“No, you didn’t,” Maksim replied firmly. “You did everything right. Thanks to you, we avoided the worst.”

Tears glistened on her eyelashes.

“I should’ve warned you… realized sooner… sensed it! We all could’ve died… yeah?”

“But we didn’t, and that’s largely thanks to you,” Max countered gently. “Your warning and your abilities saved us from that trap.”

Dasha took a deep breath, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

“I just… got so scared. All of this… it’s too much.”

“I understand,” Maksim nodded. “And that’s okay. You’re not alone. We’re a team, and we always have each other’s backs.”

[Max, we found it,] Alisa’s message came through.

He glanced over and saw the girls standing by an open panel in the wall. Nikola was holding some tools, and a drone hovered nearby, illuminating the inside of the hidden compartment.

“Go,” Dasha said, catching his glance. “I’ll… come in a minute too.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded and tried to muster a smile.

“Yeah. Thanks… for everything. Can I… can I vape?”

Max hesitated for a moment, watching her closely, then stood up.

“Sure. We’ll be over there. Call if you need anything.”

He headed toward the girls, giving Dasha time to gather herself. As he approached Alisa and Nika, he slipped his helmet back on.

“What do you have?”

“Take a look,” Redhead said, pointing at the control panel inside the wall. “Backup control system, just like I thought.”

“Great work,” Max praised. “Can we lift the plates?”

Nikola nodded confidently. “Yeah, I’ve dealt with systems like this before. Give me a minute.”

The guy glanced back at Dasha. She had settled down on the floor near the wall, gazing up at the ceiling with a blank but calm expression, as she slowly inhaled and exhaled her zero-base vape. The panic and fear were gone from her eyes, replaced by a deep fatigue.

Alisa stepped up to her brother.

“How’s she doing?”

“Calming down now,” he replied. “Vaping that basic mixture, with no drugs, is a good method of self-regulation. It’s like a meditation for slowing thoughts and keeping inner rhythm. She got overwhelmed but is managing now. Honestly, I was afraid it would be worse.”

“Dasha just needs a little time,” Alisa nodded. “She’s strong.”

“I know.”

“Done, kurwa!” Nikola exclaimed, straightening up. “This old junk is nearly thirty years old, but it still works. Let’s see.”

She pressed a few buttons on the panel. A mechanical noise echoed through the corridor as the heavy steel plates began to rise, slowly revealing the way forward.

“Excellent job, Nika!” Max smiled.

“Always at your service,” she winked.

Seeing the plates lift, Dasha got to her feet and tucked the vape into her tactical vest. She picked up her helmet and moved closer.

“You got the entrance open?”

“Yeah, thanks to Nikola,” Alisa replied. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better now,” Dasha said softly. “Sorry for… all of that.”

“No need to apologize,” Maksim said gently. “Any of us could end up in that kind of situation. It’s normal to feel fear.”

Alisa placed a reassuring hand on Dasha’s shoulder. “What matters is that we can handle it.”

“Thanks… really, yeah,” Dasha smiled shyly.

“So, are we ready to continue the mission?” Nika asked cheerfully, as she packed away her tools and checked her rifle.

“Yeah,” Max agreed. “There’s still plenty of work ahead.”

----------------------------------------

The team moved forward down the corridor, leaving behind the wrecked turrets and the signs of their recent battle. Their pace had slowed significantly — no one wanted to stumble into another trap, so the drones were scanning the area with extra care.

Maksim walked alongside Dasha, occasionally glancing at her. She seemed much calmer now, moving with confidence, alertly clutching her submachine gun, clearly ready for whatever lay ahead.

[You know,] he said in a private message, [I’m one hundred percent sure we wouldn’t have made it without you. Not before, and not now.]

Dasha shot him a surprised look.

[Why do you think so?]

[Because you can see things the rest of us miss,] the guy explained. [Your abilities and your mind make the team stronger.]

She blushed furiously at the sudden compliment, thankful that her face was hidden beneath her helmet.

[I’m just doing what I can,] the girl replied after a brief pause.

[And you’re doing it perfectly,] Maksim smiled.

She focused her gaze ahead, but a slight smile was playing on her lips.

[Thanks.]

Up ahead, Nikola came to a halt and raised her hand.

[We’ve reached the control center, but the door’s locked. Need to hack it and then send in the bots,] she said in the team conference they’d switched to after leaving the trap-laden corridor.

Everyone knew the drill — the team followed the already-practiced strategy.

Dasha, taking cover behind Big One, quickly hacked the electronic lock and then retreated. Once they all had fallen back and prepared for any potential threats, Alisa remotely opened the door with the robot. The scout drones slipped inside.

The large room was filled with server racks and consoles, shrouded in complete darkness. A few blinking indicator lights on some of the machines cast a faint glow, but it wasn’t enough, so the drones activated their infrared lights.

[Clear. I’m working on a 3D model of the room, scanning for possible hidden turrets and traps,] Alisa reported. [Give me a moment...]

Three minutes later, the drones flew out, and Big One stepped inside, flicking the light switch on.

[Definitely a control center,] Nikola commented.

[Hopefully, we’ll find more information about what’s happening at this warehouse,] Maksim speculated.

Dasha’s eyes lit up as she surveyed the equipment.

[I’ll try to access the systems. Maybe I can figure out why the security protocols were activated. Yeah.]

[Perfect,] Maksim encouraged. [If the software is intact, try to tap into the warehouse control system. That would make finishing this mission a lot easier.]

[On it,] Vasilevskaya responded confidently, heading towards the central console, holding the module for remote connecting cables to her interface implant – the one she’d earlier used for hacking.

“Uh-huh! Such a déjà vu! XCJ connectors and a hardware key for authorization again. Just like back in Uni… feels like a hundred years ago…”

Of course, she no longer had her favorite backpack that had been with her through all the trial of the first day. But she had collected all the necessary hardware into a separate box, which was now waiting patiently in Big One’s cargo hold.

A few minutes later, everything was set for the connection.

[Max, this might take a while. I assume, I shouldn’t vape anything to ‘speed it up’?]

[You can,] Maksim replied with a sigh. [You went through detox at Zelman’s clinic, even if it was the short-and-fast version. But it’s risky — who knows how it’ll mix with your exhaustion from using the “Glimpse of the Future” ability and the TACTA stimulants we gave you after that. Maybe you hold back?]

[Then I’ll just… try another way… by getting into a certain state. Yeah. Without vape.]

She placed her remote access module and the “KeyGhost” — a universal hardware key emulator — onto the console, then took a step back and closed her eyes.

Inhale… exhale… her hands moved on their own, performing the necessary tasks while her mind emptied, becoming a blank slate.

{All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream,}

she whispered, quoting Edgar Allan Poe, using the words as an activator.

Dasha had meant to simply work within augmented reality, but suddenly realized that she got deeper, fully immersed in a state of Deep VR now. More than that — much more! She could feel the connection to the system at an intuitive level, as though she had become an integral part of the digital space itself.

Her mind worked with incredible speed and clarity, her thoughts razor-focused, and vision was unnecessary. Because now, she could see without her eyes.

Only one brief oddity flashed – for a split second, it seemed like a small pink-haired girl stuck her curious nose out of nowhere, smiled broadly, winked, and vanished just as quickly.

Waving off strange hallucinations, Dasha took two steps forward, grabbed the “KeyGhost” and plugged it into the access port.

The familiar interface appeared in augmented reality, but this time, it felt different. The lines of code seemed to come alive, weaving together in intricate patterns. She could feel the information flowing through her. It was possible not to just read the program, but grasp it instantly, understanding it wholly, at once.

//SYSTEM:

New ability unlo…

“Forget that, minimize! Not now!”

The authorization module’s architecture stood clearly before her mind’s eye — its nodes, links, and subprocesses. And there it was, the access key. No need for brute force; she could just see it.

Only one focused thought — and access was granted. With another push of will, Dasha entered the virtual space of the warehouse complex.

It was a grim sight.

In the black void, only the broken remains of the AI system’s structure were visible — shattered crystals, torn threads, and a land covered in a thick layer of diamond ash.

The only thing still intact object was an old Guardian — a many-faceted crystal. It had no consciousness, just generative behavioral algorithms. In its futile attempt to defend this already dead place, it reached out toward Daria, attempting to grasp her with its digital tendrils.

But she effortlessly seized control of the crystal and quickly dismantled it into thousands of keys. While the AI of this place was long dead, the data servers still remained. Each key granted access to another storage node. She just needed to find the right ones.

The scene changed.

Now she was inside the local storage system. Files, connections between them, multiple links, and more files — unfurled like a large but poorly organized three-dimensional tapestry.

Dasha directed her mind, and at her command, the irrelevant links and data began to dissolve, leaving only what was necessary: a detailed map of the entire warehouse complex, direct control over the security system, lighting, and doors, and information about the goods stored on the countless shelves.

//SYSTEM:

Warning! Energy levels have dropped below critical!

“Damn! That’s the new ability draining me — I need to disconnect, fast!”

The necessary data structure was saved to memory, and Dasha began to breathe, forcing herself not to think about fear or emotions. She wouldn’t fail them again.

She wouldn’t fail him.

There would be no more breakdowns.

With one final breath, and she whispered firmly the lines of her mantra:

{From the lightning in the sky

As it pass’d me flying by…}