Suddenly, invisible, thousands of software programs clashed, trying to force each other's defenses through all possible channels. It was a question of disabling the enemy systems before their own fell victim to the same fate. Of course, the weapons physically helped to accomplish the task.

The surrounding ships exploded one by one, their own cannons raining their various projectiles uselessly on the energy shield of Libre's starship. The latter watched in dismay as its own weaponry reduced the small fleet of the prison department to pieces, tracing a path through their debris to leave the encirclement...

But, of this circle, there were already only a few wrecks left. Some were probably still viable, but none were in a state to set off in pursuit of him. The on-board software proudly announced (or so it seemed to him that it was proudly) that it had successfully jammed all communications during the operation, delaying any enemy awareness of the outcome of the encounter.

The Hogloo nodded with satisfaction and turned to the pale Hom who was staring at his screens in bewilderment:

“That's good: by the time their reinforcements are on the scene, we will probably have had time to teleport to the nebula and follow the diversion route there. Your software is quite powerful: I suppose that with a Hom of your rank, I should have expected such firepower rather than the regular one.”

“But I didn't give any orders!”

The mercenary gave him a surprised look, the first shred of real emotion he had shown since he had been on board. Then he shrugged his shoulders in the administrative fashion, to show that it was not his problem, before concentrating on the navigation controls.

A part of the Hom's brain was spinning in freewheeling, lost in terror and speculation. But he had been trained as a Homtest, and one of the keys to their philosophy was to always be in control. And if you weren’t, to pretend you were.

Okay, he thought, I fired… no: my ship fired on prison ships that were legally pursuing me. If my operation was supposed to be illegal, the rules required a special briefing before the mission to clearly outline the limits of such a course of action, just like for assassins from the service of the Intelligence Department. This means that I am outside the normal parameters of a mission. Why? How is this possible?

He glanced warily at the Hogloo. He probably saw his gaze even though his back was turned: it was said that his species had no blind spots, among other stereotypes that were probably true.

Could this mercenary have altered the functioning of my ship? No. This is the newest model… or at least the most advanced. Even an expert Zcarbb hacker couldn’t have taken control of such a crucial system… at least not without triggering an alert from most of my defense software, assuming first that he was a genius without equal and with new technology. The fire control and the thruster problem must have been altered before I got my ship… Yet sealed in a protective field after being checked by the maintenance teams inside one of the most secure administrative buildings in Center…

It was impossible. Absolutely impossible… He ran his software through the two systems to scan for anomalies and looked at a simplified account of events. Meanwhile, the ship was already sailing through the nebula at superluminal speed.

I see. Small software add-ons designed to trigger in this way in the event of encirclement. This doesn’t respect any security standards and is more highly illegal than the worst of my personal software. It’s a completely undetectable sabotage and inserted voluntarily after technical maintenance… so by someone with an alpha+ rank and the necessary accreditations to erase all traces… But why?

The answer was obvious though… Libre didn’t know what his hold contained, but he knew one thing: it was not to be delivered. He shouldn’t deliver it at any price!

“Are you okay? You seem worried.”

The mercenary fixed him with an implacable gaze that seemed to say “If you compromise my mission, I’ll kill you and I’ll swim through space.” Of course, it was an image… Even if, some legends about the Hogloos…

“Everything is fine. I’ve isolated the malfunctions in my system and purged them. A maintenance error most likely. I’ve ordered my algorithms to build countermeasures so that this doesn’t happen again. We should arrive at the rendezvous point within the time of the mission order: I will then take care of reporting on the incident.”

The Hogloo immediately lost interest in the agent. He seemed to accept the argument. Of course, he could not know that such a mistake was strictly impossible.

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I need to eliminate this guy. Even if he didn't know about the sabotage, he'll continue the mission he was paid for. Someone is doing something highly illegal and trying to frame me for it... Omega-Pioutrerie! It's not possible that my first mission is going like this! How do I eliminate this Hogloo? He's a warrior who clearly has high-level modifications. He would be capable of killing an entire battalion of guys like me armed to the teeth... I'd need... An idea...

The ship made a jump to another nebula, its superior sensors ensuring a perfect teleport to the coordinates. A few minutes later, moving faster than light, they finally reached the indicated coordinates. A stealth ship of a similar size to his was waiting there, revealing itself when it detected their presence. A quick exchange of codes confirmed their reciprocal identities.

The captain of the stealth ship did not open any communication channels but simply let the software coordinate the exchange. Perhaps this ship was fully automated?

“Hurry up, Hom,” the Hogloo growled, “I have other things to do.”

The warrior was growing impatient. Perhaps he was going to decide to kill him, then make a hole in the hull to manually transfer the mysterious cylinders from the hold? Perhaps he had orders to eliminate him too?

“Are you going to stay on board or should you go to the other side? In the second case, you could take the same transport beam as the packets.”

“I'm staying on board. So now hurry up: I can't wait to get home...”

Of course, if you're wanted for stealing something from the prison department, you must be eager to get to Sector H... Now I'm really sure you have to eliminate me...

“Ah… The fighting seems to have damaged the beam hatch. According to the external sensors, it’s intact… I suppose a projectile must have severed the remote opening controls… We’ll have to open it manually and keep it that way during the transfer.”

Khajraz looked at Libre with a slightly suspicious look. Whatever his abilities and equipment, he didn’t detect any lies. Homtests were trained to lie to perfection and most could fool the most advanced lie detectors. Coupled with the psychic screen that protected the agent’s thoughts, there was no way to guess his intentions.

“I’ll do it,” the Hogloo grumbled. “I’m going through the airlock.”

He had said this when he detected an attempt to teleport him. Of course, the Hogloo was also immune to this kind of technology… How did they manage to use public transportation? On his control screens, he saw the reptilian creature come out. Without a suit, he walked easily on the hull as if he were under artificial gravity.

Probably something to do with their mysterious ability to control their weight…

“Are you in position? I'll activate the unlock. On my signal, lift...”

The Hogloo growled and leaned towards the hatch that concealed the carrier beam, ready to pull it towards him. Libre smiled.

It happened very quickly. The Hom left the hatch closed, cut the safety features and set the transport beam to its maximum power, in repulsion. Trappe and Hogloo suddenly shot through space, crashing into the energy shields surrounding the stealth ship... and passing through them without a problem. The Hogloo's personal systems were more efficient than those of the opposite ship, transforming the mercenary into a real living projectile that pierced the aircraft from side to side before continuing its course at full speed through the sidereal void.

Without losing a moment, the software of Libre's ship executed the other instructions he had programmed. Taking advantage of the weakening of the enemy ship's defenses, his own weapons destroyed the other's weapons, propulsion, and communications systems.

Satisfied, Libre programmed a jump to a nebula, then a jump to a less frequented destination, at the computer's choice.

The administrative agent took a breath… He didn’t remember holding it, but he did.

He programmed his ship to continue the journey randomly, at superluminal speed and in stealth mode. Just before, he connected to the Network to check his status. His personal programs kept his access difficult to trace. He bit his lip.

Highest priority alert: rogue agent

Libre Lhom, alpha+: wanted for rebellion, murder, terrorism and confidential reasons!

This agent is considered armed and dangerous: the use of force without warning is authorized.

There was no denying it: the Administration was fast.

His wanted notice had already been distributed to all agents and, soon, it would be picked up in the official press. He filled out a brief report on the event and sent it, but he had no illusions: someone capable of sabotaging his ship would be able to erase all his messages from the reception center. That’s what he would have set up if he were in his enemy’s shoes.

The ship… He really should find a name for it instead of constantly calling it that…

Libre slapped his forehead hard.

Look here! Is this the time to think about that? Idiot! I'm in the worst possible position... I should surrender. It's the only way I could clear myself... And maybe I should go see what this mysterious cargo is: I'd understand better why I was set up. It's obvious that it's not against me: I don't have a powerful and relentless enough enemy yet... But why did they need a scapegoat?

He got up and went to the elevator section, destination down. It was time to find out why his career had been destroyed... He swallowed as pessimism invaded him:

And maybe destroyed for good.