The discovery of the Yau soldiers and advanced tech was unsettling but not a complete surprise. This was a small group we encountered in a place that wasn’t too heavily guarded inside. Should they mobilize with more troops in a ground engagement, I wondered how they would perform.

  With the advanced weapons and gear in tow, we pressed further down the path. There were no automated defenses as was present in the previous Darkkon facility we raided. A place like this ever being attacked from inside seemed highly unlikely—even impossible—but the original engineer’s lack of foresight would now play in our favor.

  My mind kept drifting to the battle raging outside the facility, but I remained focused on the task at hand. We didn’t encounter any more soldiers before we reached our destination behind several sets of doors. The sleek corridors turned into a combination of consoles and equipment embedded in the walls. Dotty pointed out a specific station to me, and the rest took up position overlooking the doors. It was a slightly larger area than where we’d come from, but just barely. I didn’t like being in a confined space for too long, especially in an enemy base. While there were no automated defenses, I couldn’t be sure if there weren’t sensors tracking our every move.

  I immediately got to work and unstrapped the container with 6653 inside and placed it on the small table before me. Running a wire from the container, I plugged it into the console and followed Dotty’s instructions to begin the datamining. There was no sure way of knowing what we would find until the process was done, something the progress bar promised to be uncomfortably long given the high-stress situation we were in. I left the container and joined the others in taking up a defensive position during the download.

  I ordered Dotty to keep all the doors open except the ones furthest from us. I planned to draw the enemy in if possible and close the doors behind anyone who dared to come in. A few enemy blips raked the far reaches of the radar, but stayed there, never wandering in far enough to show their location. I guessed that they were too preoccupied with the battle raging outside. It was impossible to tell if they had even noticed us besides the few soldiers that we engaged. We’d been in the facility now for just over ten minutes and only faced a few soldiers so far.

  Insistently checking the progress bar on my HUD, the data took its sweet time to transfer over to the storage in the container. We were in combat mode, antsy and on high alert, slowing down time itself. The anxiousness in my legs crawled up and down, pleading for me to bounce my knees or flex for some form of release. I kept the butterflies at bay, letting the combat mind guide me.

  The faint vibrations of the door nearest to me prompted me to check my HUD.

  Nothing showed up on the radar.

  The others near me felt it too, their helmets cocked to one side quizzically. I held up a hand for them to hold their positions as I adjusted my weapon’s stock firmly into my shoulder.

  Stepping away from the corner slightly, I sliced the pie for the first few degrees before I quickly leaned out to find myself face to face with a Yau soldier.

  His reaction seemed more surprised than my own, and I took advantage of it, quickly snapping off a few rounds at point blank range. He went down in a quick motion, but not before squeezing off a three-second blast from his laser rifle as he fell.

  The laser quickly swept from my right side, my shield flashing low energy warning before popping. The shield ran out as it made its way up, just glancing the top portion of my shoulder armor and burning a line into the ceiling.

  I immediately engaged the other soldiers behind him, turning into a quick and hurried firefight. Garvo swung his heavy weapon around the corner opposite of me and laid on the trigger, the deep, baritone thuds sounding off in rapid fire. Any of the soldiers caught in the hallway were cut down immediately before retaliating.

  “Are you okay, Art?” asked Ellar.

  I checked my shoulder where the laser hit, and I could feel the warmth coming off the scorched and melted plate. “I’m fine. The shield is down, but it barely touched me.” I checked my HUD. “Suit integrity is still good.” There was still another two minutes left on the transfer.

  “Dotty, why didn’t the radar pick up these soldiers?” I asked.

  “I cannot determine that at this time. Even after spotting them, I am unable to mark them on your HUD or radar,” it replied in its cold tone.

  “Something jamming the signal?” suggested Seya between snapping off a few rounds down the hall.

  “It is a possibility,” replied Dotty.

  It was clear we weren’t going to be getting any solid answers at this time. Less than a minute left on the transfer, and we had to split.

  The engagement stopped momentarily. “Gervan, scout the hall,” I ordered.

  He gave me a nod, taking out a part of the scouting spheres and tossing them on the floor. They came to life and rolled out of the room, hopping over and dodging around the bodies on the ground, leaving a bloody trail in their wake.

  “Nothing so far. I’m going to push a little further forward,” he explained.

  “Transfer is complete,” announced Dotty.

  I hopped over to the console and detached the container. “Anything useful that you saw at a glance, Dotty?”

  “It was a significant amount of data. I have yet to check their contents in detail.”

  “You can’t go through the data quickly?” I asked in surprise.

  “You fail to understand the sheer size of the data, Arthur.”

  “Forget I said anything. Come on people, we’re out of here,” I ordered. “Dotty, plot a course back to the ship. Gervan, stay a few steps ahead of us and let us know if you see anything.”

  “Understood,” he replied. “We’re clear for now.”

  “Move it,” I said.

  We raced back through the hallways, coming across some of the bodies from our earlier skirmishes. My eyes grazed the scorched lines across the walls and floor along with the bullet holes and dents left by us.

  The radar showed signs of enemy movement coming for us, and moments later Tal and Garvo’s shields caught a few rounds, quickly snatching them out of the air and dropping to the floor at their feet.

  We took a detour, Bon taking a position to fire well-aimed shots on our pursuers and slowing them down before joining us once more. We kept up our leapfrog movement, one or two of the team posting up to guard the rear and firing back at the Darkkon soldiers, slowing them down just enough to keep them at bay.

  When it was my turn to cover our rear, I lobbed two grenades down the hall and ran back to join the group with Gervan in the lead.

  “We’re almost there!” he announced, “The rest of the way is clear.”

  Dotty remotely keyed the door, and we hurried out, the gravity turning off as soon as we crossed the entrance. My suit’s propellant pushed me back towards the ground in a controlled maneuver and my boots locked in. When Tal made it through, Dotty locked the door behind us, locking our pursuers in.

  “Everyone alright?” I asked, assessing the team.

  They heaved hard from running but found their breath and gave me the okay. We floated back through the cavernous chutes of the assembly line and threaded the needle of entrances between the dividers. Crossing multiple lanes, a large movement jerked me back suddenly, barely stopping in time before the massive block shot down the lane before me.

  I spread my arms out and caught the others behind me before they accidentally flew into traffic. “Why did the assembly start up again?” I asked Dotty.

  “It appears 6653’s codes were overridden. I cannot stop the assembly,” replied Dotty.

  “Great…” I muttered. “We’re past the hard part at least. We only need to cross two more lanes. Split into two groups. First group’s with me. We go after the next block. Second group goes after, and we make it to the Dagger, got it?”

  “We’re with you,” confirmed Seya.

  I peeked out and to the left, down the chute to see the body of the next massive block coming toward us. I held out my arm until it passed us at incredible speeds. “Now!” I pushed myself off the wall, and the propellant sped up my flight and corrected toward the opening. Checking over my shoulder behind me was Seya, Garvo, and Bon, hot on my heels. We reached the cubby hole of the space between the lane divider successfully, the next block passing just seconds after Bon made it in.

  One hell of a game of Frogger, I thought to myself and looked into the next lane for our next move. The second group jumped toward us while I ordered my group to shoot for the exit.

  We were mid-flight when my stomach sank. The final door was closing on us. We weren’t going to make it. “Dotty, stop that door!” I shouted.

  “I’m locked out of the system. Someone has manually closed us in.”

  “How do we reopen it?”

  “I won’t be able to do anything on my end. We will need the assistance of The Pillar,” it explained.

  “Art, what’s going on?” asked Kayton over the comms. “The ship is moving.”

  “It’s Dotty,” I answered. “We’re locked in and need a speedy exit.”

  There was silence over the comms as I approached the large door which I took it for Kayton’s understanding. There was just enough room to stand before the door and out of the hazardous lanes.

  The rest of the group joined us near the door.

  “What now?” asked Bon.

  I shook my head. “What’s the plan, Dotty?”

  “I am going to use the ship’s main weapon to burn a hole through the door for our exit,” it explained.

  “Is this going to take long?” I asked.

  “Considering our proximity to the door and the unstoppable assembly behind you, The Pillar need only burn a small hole for you to exit. Unfortunately, as soon as the weapon is fired, the ship will attract a lot of attention. I have already sent a request for the nearest alliance vessels to cover us. Please stand to the side,” instructed the A.I.

  We followed Dotty’s instructions, all of us pressing ourselves to the side of the small shelf afforded to us amid the gigantic blocks rushing down the chutes less than a foot away.

  “Reinforcements arrived. Firing main weapon,” announced Dotty.

  “Are we going to be safe here?” asked Bon, a bit of tension creeping into his voice.

  “The Pillar is holding the laser at the opposite end at minimal input. This will be a slow process as to not bring you any bodily harm,” it replied.

  “Burning an opening for us then, huh?” I confirmed.

  It only took moments for the door to turn bright on the side opposite from us. The situation made me uncomfortable. The small space trapped us with the constant blocks moving down the chutes. The burning hole was only a few yards from us, and I constantly checked my radar to make sure the enemy wasn’t following. I rubbed my thumb along 6653’s container and the potentially important data within.

  The door burned with bright intensity, going from orange to red and eventually white. The Pillar’s red beam melted its way through, our visors completely turning black to spare our eyesight. When Dotty gave us the go-ahead, I made my way towards the large hole, not waiting for my vision to return to normal.

  Carefully maneuvering myself into the direct center, I propelled through the opening while minding the edges and waiting for the rest of the team to make their way through. Ferra was the last one to come through as we made our way toward Dagger still attached to the ceiling. The Pillar, along with several other alliance vessels, engaged in combat, firing at unseen targets just outside the limits of the tunnel.

  The point of taking Dagger for the short trip was to stay camouflaged during our approach and entry. With The Pillar in full view, we would be using the dropship solely for the sake of expediency.

  We loaded up into Dagger, barely able to put our harnesses on before Dotty took us toward The Pillar. Laser fire and missiles relentlessly crosshatched the space around the system. One of the lasers struck The Pillar, the shield absorbing most of the blow before skimming over and around the shield. Our dropship approached at an uncomfortably warranted speed. With the hangar bay open, the dropship blasted its retro thrusters, and my harness dug into my shoulders sharply before locking into place.

  When we exited Dagger, the bay door was closed, and I could almost sense The Pillar moving away. Dotty confirmed this to me before I could ask the question. “We are reuniting with the alliance formation.”

  “What’s the situation, and how are we holding up?” I asked.

  “The alliance has suffered minimal casualties with the updated jump coordinates I provided them. However, more enemy ships are jumping into the system,” it explained.

  Kayton met us as soon as the door opened. “You made it! It’s getting rough out there,” she said. “You have the blueprints?”

  “Right here,” I said, holding up the container. I stopped by the room previously assigned for 6653 and plugged it into the console. “Dotty, get to work on sifting through this data. Can we pull out of the system now?”

  “I have sent our objective completion to the fleet. Communication suggests retreating back to the fallback point after attacking the planet killers around the assembly facility,” replied Dotty.

  “Is there no way to take out the entire facility?” asked Kayton as we walked toward the bridge.

  “The planet killers are the primary target. But General Margonton and Admiral Rannek will commit the highest possible amount of destruction to the facility as a secondary target,” said Dotty.

  “And the incoming fleet?” asked Seya.

  “A minor deterrent. There are still not enough to match the strength of our forces, but the local defense system remains the main issue,” explained Dotty. “Command is ordering an attack on the planet killers and the facility now, and I am moving The Pillar to assist with the rest.”

  “Strap yourselves in,” I ordered as we entered the bridge. Having Dotty at the helm didn’t make the experience any less of a pulse-pounding rollercoaster ride.

  I took my seat in the captain’s chair, the weight of responsibility for the team creeping inside me. I knew that there was really nothing I could do when not on the ground. They understood this as well while sitting at the various stations throughout and unable to aid in the fight.

  The fleet carried out coordinated attacks on the defense platforms while others branched off to intercept the newly arrived Darkkon forces. Our ship slipped into position and helped take out the nearest defenses engaging us. The massive defense platforms lanced out with lasers closing the extreme distance in mere seconds. Vael ships guarded the softer conglomerate vessels behind them, but we continued getting attack from every direction. There was no way to clear out the entire system, so instead, we focused on this particular sector before the order came through.

  “Attack groups one through seven, engage priority targets including the facility at will,” came the familiar voice of General Margonton over the comms.

  Several other voices sounded off over the comms confirming the order, and the main portion of the fleet broke off like a school of fish following the order. We spread into a formation that allowed all ships a direct line of sight with the targets and immediately battered the husks of the planet killers with extreme prejudice. Firing as much as we could, brief explosions and beams of light, carved the thin and mostly empty hulls of the three destructive ships positioned at the end of the assembly lines. With countless missiles heading in the general direction of the targets, a significant amount of collateral damage tore the nearside of the facility to shreds.

  The remaining ships and facility broke off in countless pieces, scattering throughout the system in a myriad of directions. The continuous barrage of the alliance further pulverized those chunks. We wanted to leave nothing behind, laying down the very fires of hell on the enemy for vengeance and spite. There was no telling how many more of these facilities were in the galaxy—this might be the only one or just the first of hundreds. The Pillar struck out with everything available while the larger Vael, conglomerate destroyers, and capital ships wreaked havoc along the facility in their combined efforts.

  Suddenly, the radar lit up in pure red from the direction of the fleet engaged with the enemy. Our cameras focused, and the lens stretched. Blood drained from my face as an armada of Darkkon and what could only be Yau vessels flanked three planet killers.

  One of the ships had been difficult to combat, there was no way we could face this despite the size of our fleet.

  The attack on the facility stopped in an instant as the comms went silent, and the situation sunk in for all of us. The planet killers sat idly in the back while the armada finished off our units nearest them.

  “Reinforce the others at these coordinates!” shouted the general over the comms. The Vael ships moved obediently towards the newly marked waypoint while the conglomerate ships hesitated.

  “General, we cannot face this with what we have,” urged Rannek.

  “Are you suggesting we retreat already?” Margonton replied in surprise.

  “That’s exactly what I am saying,” replied Rannek. “We’ve accomplished what we came here for, fighting a force of this size would prove fatal to the alliance. Should we lose too many ships, the enemy could easily take advantage of whatever system they choose.”

  “I have to agree with the admiral on this one, General,” I added.

  Margonton huffed sharply and said, “Fine then, I suppose you may be right. We should proceed to the rendezvous point immediately.”

  “You’ll get your chance, General,” said Rannek. “It just won’t be today. Warping to the rendezvous point with haste.”

  We lost all the fleet sent to engage, covering us while we retreated, taking with them a quarter of the alliance’s numbers. The alliance ships warped out of the system before the enemy could get close enough to engage us. Enemy ships attempted to fire their weapons at us, but at such an extreme distance, they proved to be wildly inaccurate. The last thing I saw was the imposing armada trying to run us down in a futile effort before The Pillar warped out of the system.

  A hazy blue nebula covered most of the new system as the final vessels completed their jump. The mission was successful, but I thought about the enemy, the container with the data we procured, and the lives sacrificed to carry out such a plan.