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Time seemed to slow down in the monotonous Badlands. Although only a week had passed, Panam felt as if a month had gone by. Her heart was filled with a rare, fluttering hope—the kind that usually felt like a death sentence in the wastes.
"It's ready!" Scorpion's voice crackled through the radio.
Panam took a deep breath, reached out, and pressed down on the faucet of the newly installed terminal. She turned the valve with a slight, trembling force. A burst of static hiss echoed from the pipes. Then, clear water gurgled out, gushing into the basin with a refreshing, rhythmic rush.
Panam cupped the water in her hands, lowered her head, and tasted it. It was cool and fresh. There was no bitter chemical aftertaste, no fishy stench of heavy metals or biological rot.
So this is what unpolluted water tastes like? She felt as if a new sensory world had opened. She quickly dipped a test strip into the basin; the results were green across the board. The biological contamination was gone—purified by a technology that shouldn't exist in the 2020s.
She stepped aside, and the children, who had been watching with wide eyes, cheered and swarmed forward, splashing each other with "liquid gold."
A week ago, when Kael mentioned purifying the groundwater, Panam thought he was dreaming. Now, the dream was gushing out of a pipe. In the Badlands, where everyone drank additives and synthetic alcohol just to mask the taste of filtered toxins, this was a miracle.
Actually, it was Tony Stark who had solved the heavy-lifting of the purification algorithms. Kael's "External Brain" was proving invaluable, though the price was steep: Kael had to promise to stop bothering Pepper Potts in the Pure White Space.
(Tony: "Get out of Pepper's office with your roses! If you have something to say, say it to me!!")
Tony's furious roars still echoed in the collective mind, proving that Kael's flirting sub-routines were effectively redlining the billionaire's patience.
While the "parents" fought in the void, Kael had been busy in the physical world. He had hollowed out a mountain and constructed the framework for a large-scale Arc Reactor. He provided the blueprints and the inspiration; Delve and Baymax handled the 24-hour construction cycle. Delamain's automated factory had churned out a small army of mechanical laborers, moving the project forward as if an "Acceleration" button had been held down.
"Attempting first ignition... energy output stable... rotation speed normal," Delve's gentle voice reported.
A cool, blue arc of light slowly illuminated the cavern, dispelling the gloom.
"Recording data... Excellent," Kael announced as the light dissipated. "That's enough for today."
The ignition verified the design. While there was still work to ensure long-term stability, the "Power Plant" was now a reality.
"The underground water plant test is green; we can start operating," Lucy reported, joining Kael at the reactor core.
"Now Saul can rest easy," Kael smiled.
Saul, the leader of the Aldecaldos, had gone all-in on Kael. He had previously tried to sell the tribe's soul to Biotechnica for security; now, he was betting on an Edgerunner with god-tier tech.
"Saul is looking for you," Lucy added.
"What does 'The Hammer' want now?" Kael asked. (Kael had nicknamed Saul "The Hammer" for his stubborn, blunt leadership. Saul hated it.)
Saul was already waiting outside. When he saw Kael, he charged forward, face glowing with a joy Kael hadn't seen in the desert.
"You're my brother, Kael! My real brother!!" Saul shouted, opening his arms for a massive hug. Kael instinctively pulled Jackie in front of him to act as a human shield.
"Speak quickly, Hammer. Are you idle? I imagine the logistics are a nightmare."
According to their deal, the Aldecaldos would contract the water transport business, taking 30% of the profits. With that money, the tribe could expand their armed forces and reclaim their status as the kings of the Badlands.
"I want to change the agreement," Saul said, his face turning serious.
"Oh? How?"
"Thirty percent is too much. Ten percent is enough for us," Saul stated firmly. "But I want a guarantee: priority water supply for the Aldecaldos. Forever."
Saul was a smart leader. He knew that raw eddies could be stolen or inflated, but access was the true currency of the wastes. Kael patted his arm. "Thirty percent stays, Saul. And you get the priority supply. Consider it a family discount."
"From now on, my name is Hammer," Saul declared excitedly. "If anyone calls me Saul, I'm getting mad!"
As Saul left with Falco to organize the first convoy, Kael turned back to the tactical map.
"The Badlands business is locked," Lucy noted. "Who handles the Night City distribution? You can't just drive trucks into Watson and expect the Tyger Claws not to take a cut."
"You're thinking of the Moxes, aren't you?" Lucy added, her Netrunner brain already three steps ahead.
"They're the only 'clean' option," Kael explained. "The Moxes have a decent reputation with the lower class. They aren't corporate puppets, and they already have the infrastructure to reach the people in Heywood and Santo Domingo."
"How about I communicate with them?" Lucy offered. She didn't like diplomacy, but she liked the idea of those "Mox bitches" trying to flirt with Kael even less. If she handled the contract, she could keep the boundaries clear.
"I'll leave it to you, then," Kael said, reaching out to stroke Lucy's cheek.
Lucy smiled—a suggestive, sharp expression—and with a gentle flick of her fingers, she began to unbutton Kael's collar. "Let's celebrate the first ignition, Boss."
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