With the entire ship on alert I feared moving about would be much more challenging than it was. Their contingent of security personnel had been devastated in their boarding operations, plus, I wasn’t moving in the open. I was almost to the hangar bay when I spotted a work crew in one of the maintenance spaces.

My heart tried to seize up like a faulty wheel bearing but I forced myself to breathe through it. They hadn’t spotted me yet, so unless I panicked, I could figure out a way past them.

I got my pulse under control and risked a peek around the corner. My hair had come loose and I brushed it out of the way. The two Triv were focused on their work. In the poor lighting, they didn’t notice me.

A little patience and good timing on my part got me through the junction and past their line of sight. I paused and listened carefully but they made no mention of me. I moved away as I released the breath I was holding. That was close. I moved on, trying to exercise more cautiously than before.

When I finally got a view of the hangar through the ventilation grate, my heart sank. The place was crawling with personnel. Maintenance crews were all over the shuttles they had recovered after withdrawing from my ship. If I wanted to steal one of those ships I’d be plumb out of luck.

They lacked the capabilities I needed though. My eyes settled on a sleek-looking yacht nearly 30 meters in length. That was almost a third the size of Shadow Hunter and was way too big for me to land in my hangar bay, but several things about it appealed to me. It looked expensive and comfortable, there were no maintenance personnel around it, and most importantly it was capable of entering the hyperway. All positive in my book.

I studied the hangar for a few more minutes before moving away from the grate to prepare for my next step. I wanted to contact Bob again and set up a rendezvous location. Hopefully, he could tell me more about what was happening to me. That I could see power lines and directly interface with electrical systems was super cool but also a little terrifying. I feared that if I could access their systems, they, or someone else, might be able to gain access to my brain in a similar manner.

I closed my eyes and focused on the power lines. My awareness reached out and filled the ship. The information overload hit me again and made me wince. My head started pounding as a headache built but I pushed through until I found the communications system again. I let the rest fall away and the strain faded.

Using my mental voice I contacted Bob again. This time I was prepared to receive his response before I contacted him. “Bob, this is Ginny. I made it to the hangar bay and am getting ready to steal a ship. I still have no idea what’s happening to me. I’m pretty weirded out. This is some crazy stuff! Where are you? We need to set up a rendezvous point. Please contact me.” I told him I was weirded out, but scared and on the edge of panic would have been more accurate.

His response came in moments later. “Captain! I’m glad to hear you’re alright. I’ll explain the changes in your body once you’re safely back aboard the Shadow Hunter. It's too much to go into now other than to say it's biological. The interface is only one way and there is nothing to hack. If I know you at all you’re worried about someone accessing your brain. Believe me, no one would want to look at that mess, and it’s impossible since there is no computer to hack into.”

Why, that cheeky AI! His words did reassure me though and I felt myself smiling as he joked about my brain.

“I’ll arrive in system XN-1076969 in seven hours. It is designated as Halo Eight in the Triv database. You should be able to shield yourself with your Force Field or dispatch enemies with a Force Sphere. I couldn’t grant you invisibility, but the biotech interface should allow you to take your work to the next level. I knew you’d prefer the stealth and infiltration model over the combat option. Good luck, Captain. I’ll be waiting for you at Halo Eight.”

I absorbed the information. Force Fields? Haven’t seen that yet. As I considered defense my instincts guided me. I knew if I wanted to, I could summon a sphere of purple energy around my body like a bubble. How much abuse it could take was anyone's guess.

By the time I’d covered my tracks from the call my head was pounding. I guess there is a limit to how much I can do. I’d need time to recover. My brain could only handle so much. Despite my mental fatigue I had to try the Force Field.

I took a calming breath and willed it to activate. It was harder than I thought it would be. If I needed it in a hurry I might be in trouble. It didn’t tax my mind in the same way as the tech interface but I could sense my mind tiring as I focused to keep it active.

The bubble forcefield filled the accessway and elongated to enclose my entire body in an oval-like bubble. As I straightened it expanded and pressed against the walls. The strain increased drastically as the edge of the Force Field pressed against the walls of the narrow maintenance space.

I let it fall away and noticed an indent where the Force Field had compressed the thin metal paneling on the walls. I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead. My fingers lingered as I felt around the edges of a metal plate that was stuck on the back of my head. I swallowed hard. I hope my skin and skull are under there. If I was stuck with a big bald spot on the back of my head, I was going to be ticked.

* * *

I spent over two hours resting and accessing the dreadnought's computers to create a glitch in the programming that would take everything offline while a certain signal was received. This would allow me to escape once I made it out of the hangar bay. Otherwise, I’d be a sitting duck for the mighty ship’s big bad scary guns. I had gotten tired of having my goose cooked. This time I was the one lighting the fire and it wouldn’t be my butt getting scorched by the flames!

Everything was set to go. The only thing left was to get to the sleek-looking yacht I was stealing for my escape. Wait, I was an acquisition specialist, I was just, eh, requisitioning it. Permanently. It would be difficult with personnel moving all around in the hangar bay. Such a task would have been impossible aboard my ship, but a dreadnought was much larger than the Shadow Hunter, and the hanger space reflected that. Even though there were a lot of people moving around, I should be able to slip through, if I was careful.

I waited for the right moment and then slipped the grate out and hopped down into the hangar. There wasn’t time to replace the grate. I needed to hide. A cargo mover was parked close by and I ducked behind it. There were no cries of alarm or shouts about my odd behavior so I relaxed a little before getting another look around.

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The workers were still focused on their jobs and I was in the clear. A smile spread across my face as the thrill pushed back my fear. The tension and risk of discovery filled me with adrenaline and my heart pounded, but I loved it.

Being on edge but still secure in the knowledge I was unseen was intoxicating. This was the type of experience I lived for. When things went wrong and I got spotted, that was the worst. It was a fine line between the wonderful thrill and the crushing weight of the consequences that crashed down on me when I was spotted. Drowning me in fear and smothering my excitement… yeah, I could do without that.

Moving from cover to cover I threaded my way through the hangar a few yards at a time. Sometimes crawling under machines or wedging myself between crates of supplies. A few times I crawled up and hid on top of something to avoid detection. The tension got to me. The ordeal drug on. It felt like I was at it for hours. The situation was complicated by needing to focus intently on every little thing. My movements and muscle memory honed over countless hours of use were no longer in tune with my newfound strength. I had to carefully judge my strength for every basic movement.

I was crouched behind a crate peeking out as I waited for the right moment when I sensed movement behind me. I looked over my shoulder and spotted a shadow just before a maintenance tech rounded the corner. I panicked. There was nowhere to hide and he’d see me for sure. I was well hidden from other angles but I’d be in full view once he rounded the corner.

Without really thinking about it, I sprang toward the approaching shadow. The Triv rounded the corner just as I pounced. My fist came down in a hammer blow on the crown of his head with a muffled thump! My focus had slipped and I hit him far harder than I’d intended. His legs crumpled and I grabbed his collar to prevent him from landing with a crash.

His weight pulled me off balance and we staggered. Then a tool slipped from the pouch on his belt. It hit the ground with a loud clang as I lowered his body to the floor. My heart jumped into my throat and I froze. Each heartbeat felt like an eternity as I waited for shouts of alarm but the background noise of tools and machines in use continued unabated.

I blew out a shaky breath. That was too close! My hands were shaking from adrenaline. No one noticed the seemingly explosive sound of a single tool falling in the noisy hangar bay. The hum of engines and machinery was enough to drown out most sounds and a tool striking the deck fit right in with the general symphony of noises. Of course, it did, silly me.

I’d paused to recover from the scare and got ready to move when another Triv spotted me crouching next to the body.

“Hey, who are you?” he demanded. His eyes widened as he saw the body. “Intruder! Alarm!” His shouts, however, quickly drew attention.

I froze for half a second before I bolted toward the yacht. I was two-thirds of the way to it already. There was no going back. I charged in the open, running full out. With my enhanced muscles, I could move so fast!

Most of the Triv working on the shuttles were mechanics, not soldiers. They just stood there and watched as I sprinted by. A few of the more senior crewmen tried to bar my path. As I drew back my arm to punch a sphere of purple energy formed around my hand. When I struck the energy discharged, sending the technician flying as though he was hit by a charging bull.

A second one tried to tackle me but I saw him coming and ducked his grabbing arms and with a scoop of his legs, I flipped him over my back and kept moving. I was almost to my destination when the Triv Enforcers opened fire on me. The first two rounds ricocheted off the deck next to me. I dove away from them and rolled behind some metal cargo crates.

In seconds they flanked my position and I scrambled to move. A shot hit me in the side and spun me around. I staggered drunkenly but stayed on my feet. My instincts took over and my Force Shield flared into a bubble around me just before half a dozen more rounds tore through me.

I stumbled and almost fell as the pain in my side finally registered but the adrenaline kept me going. I reached the yacht and with a mental push, the ramp opened at my command.

“Stop her, don’t let her get on the ship!”

I heard the roar of a rocket-propelled grenade and dove to the ground. The impact jostled my side and I cried out in pain as the grenade exploded where I’d been standing. The concussive force washed over my Force Shield and a wave of dizziness hit me. I blinked in a daze. Something wet tickled my nose.

More rounds hit my shield and my vision blurred. I wiped my nose and stared dumbly at the blood on my hand. My senses were distorted. Everything sounded like it was being funneled through a pipe. My vision narrowed. I’d been going somewhere… my eyes settled on the ramp to the ship and I remembered where I was.

My vision cleared for a moment and the clank of a grenade bouncing off the deck snapped me out of my mind. Oh no… I bolted for the ramp and dove. The explosion detonated and heat washed over my back. My shield was down and the heat burned. I heard someone screaming as I crawled into the ship.

I reached up to hit the ramp controls but missed. Again my instincts saved me. I reached out to the system with my mind and triggered the ramp. Shots pinged off the ramp as it closed. I struggled to my feet. I needed to get to the cockpit. I had to escape. Fear and adrenaline were all that kept me going through the haze and pain.

My strength gave out a few yards later. I collapsed and cried out in pain. My back was on fire and my side was in agony. Get up, Ginny! You can’t let them catch you! It was no use. My vision was wonky and the world seemed to be swimming around me. My legs were done in, they felt like wet noodles.

The impacts pinging off the hull heralded ominously the doom that awaited me if I couldn’t get away but my body refused to cooperate. As I was about to give in to despair I had a revelation. It should have been obvious but so much had happened so fast and it was so hard to focus on anything aside from the pain.

I reached out with my mind and interfaced with the ship. The power plant spooled up from standby and then I sent the command to activate the alterations I’d slipped into the dreadnought’s main computer earlier. The hangar doors opened and the mighty ship's power plants went into emergency shutdown as soon as the hangar doors had finished opening. The weapons locked up and I guided the yacht out of the bay. Once in space, I fed the coordinates for Halo Eight into the ship’s computer.

I clung to consciousness until the yacht slipped into the hyperway and then faded into oblivion.

* * *

Halo Eight Aboard Shadow Hunter:

Bob observed his Captain’s burned and blood-stained body from the overhead sensor. The nanites she’d received with her ABAT would repair the damage, even the burns wouldn’t leave lasting scars but it didn’t make it any easier to look at her now. She wasn’t in danger of dying, not like before but the strain on her body and repeated injuries had depleted her energy completely. The medical bed inserted a feeding tube and kept her sedated until she could recover.

If Bob had lungs he would have sighed. Keeping Ginny alive was going to be a full-time job and he wasn’t confident he was up to the task. Now that he had unlocked his full capabilities he had much more to work with but with it came understanding, thoughts, and doubts. As Bob looked at her, he decided that no matter what mission his creators had left him, she was his priority. No matter what, he’d have her back and keep her safe… or as safe as anyone could keep a trouble magnet like her.

“I won’t let you down, Ginny.”

Bob went over everything that had happened and searched his memories looking for things he could have done better to prevent some of the pain from befalling her. He found countless things to improve and not all of them could be addressed. He picked several things he could fix and started making improvements.

Her war suit had functioned well but the SB unit’s susceptibility to EMPs needed to be addressed. They were security units but Ginny had often called them war machines. Using them as a base, Bob began designing a true war machine. If they had unwanted guests again, he would be ready. He also ordered Arby to fix the ship's main armament. That was another glaring deficiency that could be addressed now.

Ginny might have had plans for the yacht she’d stolen from the Triv, but Bob could apologize later. He ruthlessly dismantled it for resources to get the Shadow Hunter properly repaired. If they ran into more trouble, which Bob calculated a 100% likelihood that they would, the Shadow Hunter would be fully armed.