The aircraft quivered violently as it deactivated its warp drives. Such turbulence was expected when navigating through illicit warp gates, yet what other choice did these marauders have in such a heavily fortified space? Athena clutched her seat, fingers digging into the armrests, as the violent shaking gradually subsided. All twenty members of the crew groaned in unison.
"I can never get used to this shit," grumbled one of the men her grandfather had recruited—a face unfamiliar to her, adding to the disquiet she always felt around strangers. But in this life, surrounded by her grandfather's enigmatic associates, who wasn't uneasy?
Her grandfather, known as Dracula—or Drac for short—was an aged figure with dark hair that had succumbed to gray at the roots. His face bore a strong jaw and a grey-black goatee, accentuating a burn scar on the right side. Clad in a senior F.A.C navy officer's coat, adorned with red symbols and graffiti on a black canvas, he exuded an air of ruthlessness and fierceness that defined Athena's current existence.
Their vessel, a pilfered P-42A Scythe-class stealth frigate, was more than a means of transport—it was their home. Painted in a striking black and red motif, the ship boasted a hammerhead-like front and was propelled by nine thrusters.
Seated in the cargo hold, everyone donned level 4A ballistic helmets, featuring black, robust exteriors and visors manipulated by neural uplinks. The body armor, top-tier and multifaceted, consisted of an outer layer of ablative armor and an inner layer of lightweight graphene nanocomposite armor, providing comprehensive protection. Boosters adorned their backs for the impending insertion, armed with an array of weapons, from Cobra assault rifles to PR-15s.
With the ship now in motion, Athena unstrapped herself, slinging her PR-15 over her shoulder. Intent on ascending the stairs to the deck, she was halted by Rowan's calls—a man a year her senior who, despite his age, seemed perpetually juvenile.
"Athena!" he shouted again.
"No need to shout, I can hear you," she replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Sorry," he said, cradling his weapon, "Just a bit nervous. Are you nervous?"
"I'm not," she asserted confidently, concealing the unease that churned within her. This mission was uncharted territory, and anxiety threatened to overwhelm her. Their target: a mining outpost in an asteroid field within the low-security region of the F.A.C's territory.
As she attempted to conclude the conversation, a single blare of the door alarm resounded, and the automatic door hissed open, signaling an arrival. All eyes turned towards the doorway—it was Dracula, adorned in armor as black as the void of space.
Athena stood upright, expecting a motivational speech. To her disappointment, none followed. "Strap back into your harnesses, men…and girl," he declared, nodding at his granddaughter. Laughter erupted in the cargo bay, but Athena remained unfazed, rolling her eyes to underscore her indifference.
"We are moving in on the outpost, right now."
Laughter dissipated swiftly, replaced by a palpable tension. "You can't be serious; we have an hour left until that navy patrol destroyer warps back into a high-security system," cautioned Jaxson, an old friend of Athena's grandfather, who exuded wisdom. Jaxson, a towering figure with ebony skin and a missing left eye, appeared intimidating at first, but Athena had come to recognize him as the kindest person she had known since her mother's demise.
Dracula leaned on the railing, grinning. "You are wrong, brother. The Federation Navy wouldn't waste their resources on a backwater outpost like this, trust me."
Locking eyes with Dracula, Jaxson finally relented. "You're the boss," he conceded, making his way back to his seat.
"Good!" Dracula shouted in a deep, gravelly voice. He tapped the side of his helmet and spoke to the pilot. "Hopper, warp in ten."
"Ten minutes?" the pilot queried, perplexed.
"Ten seconds."
"Roger, warping in ten."
"Alright, make sure you're good; this is gonna be a rough ride!" Dracula descended the steps, making his way toward one of the seats, passing Athena, who didn't let it go unnoticed.
"What?! No, be safe, no good luck, nothing?!" she asked in disbelief.
Her grandfather turned to her with furrowed brows and dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder, making her stumble. "You told me you wanted to go, and what did I ask you?"
Athena stared at her grandad under furrowed brows, knowing she was about to be berated.
"What did I ask you?" he repeated. Athena broke her gaze before answering, "You asked me if I was ready," she said, tilting her head to the right, already tired of his scolding.
"Correct!" he said, removing his hand from her shoulder and shoving her slightly with a single finger. "If you are ready, then you don't need my assurance. Remember what I taught you: stick with the group and use... your... brain. It's in your head for a reason," he said, tapping the side of his head.
"Understood?"
She sighed, "Yeah."
"Good, now go sit down!" As Athena made her way to her seat, the spooling of the engine was low and gradually became louder. Over the loud engine noise, the voice of the pilot was heard in everyone's comms. "Warpdrive engaged, jumping in 3... 2... 1." A sort of sound, as if the ship was scraping into space, was loud, and now Athena knew they were already in a wormhole heading toward their destination.
The cargo bay was in silence, except for the warp drive engines. To Athena's surprise, not even a peep came from Rowan. She sat with the people she knew: her grandfather, Jaxson, Rowan, Zav, and Axtin. Hopper's voice was in their comms again, and he said, "Dropping out of the wormhole in 3... 2... 1." They were shoved forward slightly as the ship decelerated.
Hopper spoke into the comms again, "Drac, they are hailing us, what do I do?" He asked nervously. Quickly, Dracula returned an answer, "Open communication with them, but say nothing."
"Roger," Hopper replied. He opened the communication for all of them to hear, and they listened intently.
"This is Lighthouse to unknown aircraft, do you copy?" There was silence, and they all looked at each other. Again, the operator spoke, his voice more stern this time. "This is Lighthouse to unknown aircraft, do you copy?! Unknown aircraft, you jumped in quite close and are approaching rapidly. Please stop your aircraft or we will have to open fire!"
Silence…
The operator's voice resonated once more, its deep timbre punctuated by the menacing static of the comm, sending a shiver down Athena's spine. "We will be terminating this commlink; you have sealed your fate." A beep preceded Hopper's frantic shout, nearly bursting Athena's eardrums.
"Multiple targets locked on, coming in hot on the LZ, get ready to jump!"
"You heard the man, move, MOVE!" Dracula commanded.
They lined up at the cargo bay exit, anticipation thick in the air. Dracula barked another order, "Hit it!" The man by the touchscreen control panel pressed the depressurization button, plunging the cargo bay into darkness. Red light from the rotating alarm graced them with each rotation, accompanied by hiss and smoke seeping through the cargo door.
"Mask up!" Dracula shouted.
Athena, breathless, closed her visor with a simple thought. The cargo bay shook as outpost rounds met the frigate's shields, the turrets whirring and firing in response. Hopper's urgent voice crackled over the comms, "Jump, jump, jump!" The cargo bay doors opened with a green light.
"Deploy, Deploy!" Dracula shouted. Bullets whizzed past as the team jumped, Athena moving a bit slower than her grandfather preferred. He seized her vest, rushing through the door before releasing her. As she descended, her EVA activated, and she barrel-rolled to join the team.
The frigate, majestic in its splendor, took off, weathering hits and dodging others. The team hid behind an ORCO-marked container, watching as the frigate activated its afterburners.
Dracula contacted Hopper, "Lay down cover fire!" Hopper replied, "Roger!" Dracula turned his attention to Athena, emphasizing, "Don't you ever hesitate, do you understand me?!" His shouted command distorted through the voice modulator. Kneeling and speaking softer, he asked, "Do you understand?" Athena nodded, gripping her weapon tightly. "Good, now let's move out!"
Athena followed closely, maneuvering between containers, observing the asteroid station's wreckage. The control tower lay in ruins, debris descending slowly. Beside it, a massive building with four turrets fired relentlessly at the frigate. Mining equipment dotted the surface.
A marauder signaled a halt behind crates, and Drac approached. "Three security personnel on a mining vehicle," he pointed out. "Kill or capture?" Dracula shook his head. "Kill 'em, they got a mean anti-aircraft launcher. One wrong move, and they could be firing it at us—Thank goodness for Hopper." Drac commanded, "Weapons free, fire on that mining vehicle, up ahead."
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The team propped their weapons on crates, unleashing a relentless barrage on the security personnel. Athena, surreal, watched as rounds tore them apart. A marauder launched an explosive plasma, and the vehicle exploded silently. As bodies floated into space, Athena found the scene strangely beautiful.
Drac redirected their attention to the main building. Security personnel rushed mine workers inside, and the door sealed. "Fuck!" Drac cursed. "Getting in there is gonna be a pain in the ass now."
Thirty minutes elapsed, and Athena found herself seated next to a laser mine amid the bright glow of the Lucifer sun, intermittently obscured by asteroids. The asteroid station, seemingly in motion, drew her attention in a solemn trance. A passing mining drone snapped her back to reality, its flickering lights illuminating her display. Her team huddled around the main building entrance. Frustrated with their chatter, Athena initially turned off her communication but couldn't resist tuning back in.
“I don’t care!” her grandfather's voice echoed. “Burn a hole through it!”
Recognizing Zav's voice, Athena turned her communication back on. “May I speak now? I suggest giving me time to override the lock; it may take a while, but I can get it done.”
“Time?!” Drac retorted. “We don’t have time; at any moment, a freighting ship could come out of nowhere. No! Break it open.”
Athena, compelled to act, ran in the low gravity as her comrades' voices filled her ears. “But, you’ll kill them all,” Rowan protested. A recruited man planted explosives, primed the charge, and just before he pressed the button, a comms request popped up. Athena watched them exchange glances.
Drac nodded, and static gave way to the voice of an unknown person. “This is Adam Brown, head security officer of this outpost. I come to you with terms of surrender.”
“I’m listening,” said Drac.
“You will spare our lives, and in turn, we let you into this base.”
“Deal!” Drac agreed without hesitation.
Athena joined the group, and they waited as the sealed doors turned green, hissing open to reveal a depressurization bay. Reluctantly, they stepped in. “I got a bad feeling about this,” cautioned one marauder. As the doors closed, Athena's heart raced, the red light turned green, and smoke puffed beside her. The second door awaited.
They entered to find frightened mine workers and armed security officers. Drac advanced, eyes scanning the facility. “I thought you guys wanted to surrender?” Drac asked.
“Just take what you want and leave; things don’t have to get ugly,” suspected to be the head security officer.
Drac's helmet visor opened, revealing a wide grin. He looked at his team and then back at the security officer. “Well, thank you for your hospitality. Just a little heads up, we will be taking a lot, and I mean a lot! Hope you don’t mind.” He whistled. “Alright, find any weapons—anything useful, but most importantly, your head honcho is gonna tell me where he is keeping that classified stash of his.”
The security guards raised their weapons, and Drac stopped with his arms raised. “Hey now, I thought we had something going here?!”
Adam commanded, “Lower your weapons, now!” They complied, albeit reluctantly.
“Now we are getting somewhere, jeez!”
The head security officer lowered his weapon before exhaling, contemplating whether to do this or not. His fear for his life outweighed the secret the he kept in this base, and he reluctantly replied. "Follow me."
<<<<
Athena and Rowan stood guard over the miners and facility guards. They shifted uncomfortable with boredom as they stood at their post silently. This silence wouldn't last long because Rowan was curious. "So, what's the classified stash?"
"I don't know," Athena said quickly.
Rowan scoffed, "Come on, your grandpa had to tell you something."
Athena rested her left hand on her waist, opened her visor, and stared at Rowan, offended by his assumption. "He didn't."
Rowan avoided eye contact with her piercing blue eyes.
There was silence once more, and the miners were beginning to casually walk around, but the security still stayed in the main assembly area.
Athena broke the ice. "When we're done here, how about we take a starliner to Mypso, and check out some weapons?" Athena suggested.
Rowan nodded, "Sounds good to me. I was thinking about getting a new weapon. Bring Zav and Axtin while you're at it, those two need a break."
Athena held her weapon upwards, "What is taking Drac so long?"
"Open the comms and ask," Rowan suggested.
Athena now held her weapon by the grip and scoffed, "I'm not getting screamed at over comms. Stay here, I'll be back." She said, walking off.
She passed the assembly area and reached a set of stairs leading to an opened bulkhead. She made her way through this door and into a room filled with unrefined ore in massive vehicles. Athena looked to her right and saw a map of the entire facility. She looked at the sign overhead and saw she was in the vehicle bay. Armed with that knowledge, she found the location she was currently in and then looked for where to go next. Her sight led her to the armory.
She made her way past the massive mining vehicles to another bulkhead door to her left. This door was also opened. The chatter of the marauders her grandfather recruited filled the hallway. She opened the door and made her way toward their voices.
One of the marauder's voices was deep and filled with excitement. "Look at this fucking beauty. I'm keeping this one for me!" Athena emerged at the entrance to the armory. The marauders turned their attention to her. One of them had a crooked tooth and many scars on his face. He smiled widely at Athena. "Never mind the guns, how about I take this one instead?" He said pointing at her. The armory erupted in laughter. "Better watch your mouth scarface," one of his accomplices said. "She might go and complain to Drac." They laughed once more.
"Oh I'm not gonna go complain, I just don't believe you're man enough to take me."
An audible O! was low, followed by the words, "Are you gonna let her talk shit?!"
Athena smiled and tilted her head back as she walked away. Up ahead was a junction. The ceiling lights lit a path to a door straight ahead. And it was calling for Athena to walk down its length. Her footsteps made metallic echoes as she walked toward the orange and black door with her visor opened and her weapon slung over her shoulder. She slid her hands in the handle of the door and pulled, and with a metallic creak and a slight hiss, it opened.
As she entered the door, she heard something---voices. Maybe it was all in her head, but when she closed the door behind her she heard the voices again. She took her weapon off her shoulder and walked down the second hallway. To her right was just a glass wall but as she got closer, she could see many computers, and behind the computers was a reinforced window with a view of the void. For a moment, as the light of the sun graced the window, the beauty of the scene made her feel serenity.
THUMP!...
She reeled at the sound of the unusually loud metallic thump. She walked passed the glass door to another junction.
Another thump. It was coming from the left. She held the pistol grip tightly with her right and the handguard with her left. Silently, she made her way to the junction stopping before she could enter it. She peaked in the left corner, looking through her electronic scope that glitched faintly. A massive door was left open, leading to a room that looked to be a lab lit by a pale blue light.
She approached the door with her weapon at the ready. Slowly, she pushed it open as the distant sound of metal clanging, and a thump followed by a faint moan made her heart race. Athena peaked into the room, finger hovering over the trigger guard ready to shoot whatever it was, but what she saw made her heart leap. She reeled back covering her mouth to stifle a yelp of fear.
It was blood. SO...MUCH...BLOOD. Her grandfather stood over Adam repeatedly bashing his head with the stock of his weapon. The thumping stopped and she wanted to run, but curiosity got the best of her. Adam was whimpering, "Please." Blood gurgled before he could get out another word. "Please...don't kill me, I gave you what you wanted." He gasped for breath and there was another gurgle.
Athena peeked into the room once more and her grandfather sighed and tilted his head, back wiping the blood from his face as he did so. "I know. I know. I just felt like hurting you. No hard feelings Adam." His voice was guttural and deep, and he looked villainous.
He extended his right hand for a silver hexagonal container that had a handle at the top. His fingers slipped as he tried to grasp the handle. Finally, he got it. He cradled the container tightly before speaking to Adam. "Do you believe human life is different from disease?" Adam did not respond, only the sound of heavy breathing emerged from him.
"We humans are a parasite. Once upon a time, our infection stayed on a singular body, but now, we have spread our infection throughout the cosmos."
Adam continued to pant heavily.
Drac sighed, "You won't understand, you would probably think I'm crazy."
Adam coughed blood as he began to speak. "Please...don't kill me."
Drac was silent as he stared at his bloody victim. "You should be thankful it is I that killed you because the death you would face out there would be way worse. You see, I'm doing you a favor."
Adam began to cry as the words "Please don't kill me," were repeated over and over until they began to turn into incoherent cries.
Drac's face was now contorted most uncannily. He was unblinking, his nose was flared and his mouth was twisted to one side in revulsion. "Disgusting!" He unholstered his weapon and shot Adam in the head without hesitation.
The back of Adam's head opened and a rush of blood seeped out contrasting the clear white floor.
Slowly, Athena backed away. She backed away until she reached the glass room and when she did so, she dashed for the door that led to the armory.
"Holy fuck!" She cursed as she passed the now empty armory. She emerged into the mining vehicle area and saw the marauders carrying many weapons crates. She made her way past them before one of them shouted, "Where are you going so fast?!"
Rowan chuckled, "Come on, you're not curious? I bet it's some top-secret tech, maybe even alien stuff. What do you think?"
Athena rolled her eyes, "Alien stuff? Seriously? This is probably just another base with some high-tech weaponry or resources they're hoarding."
Rowan grinned, "Well, it wouldn't be the first time we found something interesting on these raids. Remember the cache on Cygnus IV?"
Athena nodded, recalling a previous mission where they discovered a hidden cache of experimental weapons. "Yeah, but let's not get our hopes up too high. It's Drac's call anyway; we're just here to follow orders."
As they conversed, Dracula and Adam returned from their exploration deeper into the facility. Drac's helmet visor was still up, revealing a grin on his face. Adam looked visibly distressed.
"Found what we were looking for," Drac announced. "Now, let's load up and get out of here."
The marauders began to gather whatever valuable items and weapons they could find. Crates were being filled, and the tension in the facility rose as the workers and remaining security personnel watched helplessly.
Athena couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. She noticed Adam whispering to some of his security officers, and their eyes occasionally flicked toward the marauders. Her instincts were telling her to stay alert.
As the marauders continued loading up, a sudden blaring alarm echoed through the facility. Red emergency lights bathed the area in a menacing glow. Drac's visor closed as he looked around, his smile replaced by a stern expression.
"What the hell is going on?" Rowan asked his grin now replaced with a frown.
A robotic voice echoed through the facility's speakers, "Intruders detected. Security breach in progress. Deploying countermeasures."
Athena's heart raced as she realized that their presence had triggered a full-scale security response. The workers and remaining security personnel were now rushing toward evacuation routes, leaving the marauders surrounded by uncertainty.
Dracula barked orders, "Load up faster! We're getting out of here. Rowan, Athena, cover our retreat!"
Rowan nodded, and both he and Athena took defensive positions near the entrance. The marauders hurriedly finished loading the stolen goods into their backpacks and equipment crates.
Just as they were about to make their way back to the exit, the doors leading further into the facility slammed shut, separating Dracula and a few marauders from the rest of the team.
Athena's eyes widened, and she shouted, "Drac! The doors!"
Drac turned, pounding on the sealed doors. "Get those doors open, now!"
The robotic voice returned, "Unauthorized personnel identified. Lockdown in progress. Security forces en route."