Joshua and Darthenu reminisced about their past adventures for a few minutes before Darthenu asked about the elephant in the room.

“So, Lucent said you’ve got a job for me?” Darthenu asked as he returned with another round.

“Yeah, not exactly. Less single job hires and more an invitation to join my crew. I need a second, and you’re my first choice.” Darthenu was known as a fixer and an arms master. He could get his hands on almost anything and was an expert in personal firearms and armaments. He also had several underworld contacts, which would likely prove vital in the future.

“You know I don’t join permanently. I hate being tied down, and dancing to the tune of others is not my idea of a good life.”

“I know, but this is an opportunity. I’ve gotten my hands on a Lorune scout ship and some intel on a location they found interesting. It’s deep in the uncharted regions, and I’ll need a crew I can trust. We’ve saved each other’s lives enough that I trust you, and if this pans out, it’ll be far more lucrative than any one-time job. Anything we find, we split.”

Darthenu sat silently for a few minutes, ruminating, and Joshua didn’t interrupt. He’d made his pitch, and now he just had to wait, hoping Darthenu took the bait. There was a risk, of course, that Darthenu would take off and sell him out, but Joshua meant what he said; he trusted the merc.

“Lorune, you say? The Connection researchers? Di… Hold on! Are you Connected? Holy crap, man. I didn’t notice before, but your eyes, dude! You found nanites?”

“Shhh, quiet down! Yes, I sort of stowed away on a merc ship that found a base and stumbled onto some good nanites. I’m hoping to find more, and if you join, it would be in my best interest to have more Connections on my crew, right?”

That seemed to get Darthenu’s attention, which was no surprise. Everyone wanted to get Connected, as it was a chance to improve every aspect of their lives. Power, longevity, wealth, and influence were some things one could gain from a Connection. Even better if you could get it without selling your soul to the factions. Joshua leaned forward and continued the conversation in a hushed voice.

“Of course, I’m the captain and the crew leader, but you’re the first hire and the only one I feel I can trust. You’ll be my second and the first to get a Connection if we find any extra nanites. I’m interested in getting more, but I haven’t maxed out the potential of my first batch yet.”

Darthenu kept quiet for another few minutes before he nodded, and his expression turned resolute.

“Alright, you’ve got yourself a second. I just need to settle a few matters here, and I’ll be good to go. Anything we’ll need except more crew?”

“Well, I’d love a bio-lock for the ship, but those are hard to get.”

“No worries. I’ve got you covered. I got my hands on a good bit of tech a few months back, and I’ve been waiting for things to cool before unloading it. Consider it an investment,” Darthenu grinned as he clinked glasses with Joshua and downed his drink.

“Awesome! Anything I can help with?”

“Actually, yeah. If I’m gonna leave this place, and join you permanently, there’s one guy I want to take down. He’s been moving on my turf for a while, and if I leave, he’s gonna ramp up his efforts. If we want to use my connections later, we’ll have to deal with him sooner or later. I’d prefer sooner.”

“Sure, lead the way.

***

“I thought you said one guy, not a small army!”

“Yeah, yeah. Semantics. Let’s just deal with these goons and get going! Now, stop talking, and start shooting.!”

The two of them had traveled deeper into the depths of the city, entering a somewhat lawless district, where Darthenu led Joshua to an area with several warehouses built around a small square. The warehouses were the base of operations for one of the crimelords of the Onerak underworld, and people swarmed out of the buildings the moment they arrived.

Joshua was currently taking cover by the corner of a building as plasma bolts blasted past him. A moment of calm allowed him to peek around and fire a few shots, and he could feel his Accuracy stat working as his bolts unerringly struck true, and three men dropped dead. That still left over a dozen to open fire again, though, and Joshua had to scramble back into cover.

“Fuck! I’m pinned down here,” shouted Darthenu from his position a few meters ahead. He looked back at Joshua and subtly pointed to a door not too far away. Joshua nodded and moved to it.

The door was locked, but with his experience in the research base and Claire’s help, hacking it was a minor hurdle. Joshua drew his new plasma rifle, courtesy of Darthenu, and entered. The door led to another warehouse, but this one was empty, and he saw more doors on the other side of the large open area. He quickly went through the building, stopping only when he found another exit. This one led to a side alley between the warehouses, and he heard the firing of energy weapons.

He made his way to the mouth of the alley and looked out on the same square from a different angle. He’d successfully flanked the gang members and didn’t waste a moment before he opened fire.

The full-auto plasma rifle heated up rapidly, but the goons dropped even faster, and in seconds, all but two of them were dead. Darthenu rose from cover and took those out as Joshua replaced the power cell for his weapon.

Plasma weapons packed a punch but took a lot of power, and the power cells weren’t cheap. He’d hoped to save this one, but reality rarely considered one’s wishes. Rather than head into the square, Joshua retook cover in case more of them showed up. Darthenu made his way over to him before dashing toward the main warehouse, which seemed to be the headquarters. Joshua covered him before they swapped roles, and he ran across the square.

The last warehouse was full of more gangers, and the two of them barely made it through the door before they were faced with a hail of red bolts. They dove to cover outside the door, and Darthenu grabbed a round object from his belt. He grinned at Joshua, squeezed the ball, and threw it through the door. The people inside exclaimed in shock but didn’t have time to react before the grenade exploded.

Joshua and Darthenu used the explosion as cover and dashed inside, guns blazing. Almost a dozen gangers died before the two were forced to duck behind some crates for cover again.

Joshua made some signs to Darthenu, and he nodded before crawling toward the right-hand wall, while Joshua did the same for the left. Three enemies had tried to flank them, and Joshua spotted them between covers. He dove and rolled while shooting, and once again, his Accuracy proved its value, as three bolts hit three heads, and they fell.

Joshua wasted no time and scrambled to his feet again before advancing further along the wall. He heard the shots from the other side, knowing Darthenu was doing his part, and the two of them systematically defeated their opposition.

A few minutes later, they stood outside a door leading into the main office of the warehouse, and Darthenu stood at the ready while Joshua hacked the door’s console.

The door opened moments later, and Darthenu fired into the room. After a few seconds of firing, and he entered. Joshua followed and found the corpse of a corpulent man against a wall, riddled with blaster wounds.

“This the guy? Are we done?” Joshua asked while looking around. The walls were bare, and the room was spartan to the extreme. The only thing in the room was a desk with a computer, and Joshua approached it while Darthenu spat on the corpse.

“Yeah, that’s him. Good fucking riddance!” he turned back to Joshua while dragging his hand through his hair. “Can you do anything about the computer? If we can access his files, we might be able to usurp some of his contacts.”

“I’ll try. It should be doable.”

The computer was encrypted, and quite capably at that, but with Claire’s help, he cracked it in a couple of minutes.

“Hurry up, dude! I’m not sure if we got all of them, and the enforcers could show up any minute now.”

“I’m working as fast as I can!” Joshua retorted while pulling out a memory stick. Rather than pour through the files then and there, he transferred the entire storage onto the memory stick. “Alright, let’s go!”

The two made a hasty retreat, and not a second too soon, as an enforcer truck pulled up just as they left the area.

They didn’t stop until they’d returned to the upper area of the city and headed to a safe house Darthenu had prepared. It was hidden behind a market area, allowing him to come and go without suspicion since it was always busy.

The apartment was sparse but had all the necessities, and the two cleaned themselves up before Darthenu led him around the city, gathering up some items he wanted to bring, one of which was a large crate he had delivered to Joshua’s landing platform. They also took the time to stock up on some necessities, like ration packs.

All in all, it took a couple of days to gather everything, and by the time they were done, they had to head off quickly, as some of the crime boss’s allies had gotten close to tracking them down. They chose to wait to install the bio-lock, as they couldn’t risk the time expense.

They broke through the atmosphere and took a few random jumps to put some distance between them and any pursuers. With some security, Joshua and Darthenu settled in the living area and discussed the future.

“So, where are we heading?” Darthenu asked as he took out a ration bar. “You said you wanted more crew members, but I’m unsure where we’ll find them. I don’t know anyone I’d trust, so we're stuck unless you have some ideas.”

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“Well, there are a few, but they’re hard to pin down, so we’ll have to keep an ear out. As mentioned, our destination is in the uncharted regions, but the path there isn’t mapped. I’d prefer to have someone who could reliably chart paths through hyperspace, but we can make do. It’ll just take longer. Alternatively, we could seek out some of the explorer HQs and see if we can gather some maps, though I’m doubtful we’ll find any.”

“Right, so what’s there? In the uncharted regions?”

“Not sure, really. I found mention of a point of interest to the researchers in the base I found the ship, but there was no more info on it. If the Lorune found it interesting, then it should be something good, but it could also be hazardous… No risk, no reward, right?” Darthenu’s eyes narrowed.

“You found mention in the ship database? How?”

“Haah… Alright, full disclosure, I guess,” Joshua took a bite of the ration bar before he continued. “I found an AI in the base, designed to go along with their nanites, and that AI found the info.”

“An AI?! You know how that ends! Every time someone messes with AI research, it ends in disaster!”

“I know, alright, but this AI is dependent on me. It won’t go against my best interests, as our interests align.”

“How so? How wou- No way! It’s in your head?”

“Yeah. It was integrated with the nanites, and it hasn’t done anything too bad so far. I trust it. Furthermore, if we find more nanites, we might be able to get more out of them, thanks to it.”

Darthenu grumbled for a while but eventually shook his head.

“Alright, fine! I’ll trust you for now, but if this turns sideways, it’s on you.”

“That’s fine. When have I ever led you astray?” Joshua grinned.

“Athori, Nendra, Propross, Jerach, should I say more?”

“Alright, alright. I get the picture.”

It took some more time before Darthenu settled, and Joshua breathed out in relief when he consented. They talked a while more before they decided to see how far they could get into the region on their own. It was a risk, but they wouldn’t have to share with others if they found more nanites. They set off a few hours later after finally installing the bio-lock, which would secure the ship properly when Joshua wasn’t around.

He locked in for a long-distance jump, sat back, and brought up his profile.

Joshua Reed

Class-1

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 14

Endurance: 9

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 6

Accuracy: 13

Speed: 8

Toughness: 8

He’d made progress in most stats, and it brought a smile to his face. Especially in Accuracy, which made sense since he’d been shooting quite a bit during that fight in the warehouse district. He still had some way to go before he reached his current limits, but he knew he should get closer, at least, before taking new nanites. That would allow him to know where Claire should guide them and thus make the most of the nanites.

The current jump would take almost a day, and Claire would warn him about any complications since she was connected to the ship, so Joshua decided to train a bit. He needed to increase his strength and endurance, which were easily done. He could simply exercise since those stats didn’t require any special equipment. Equipment would help, but he’d make do without.

Darthenu joined him for some exercise, but he wasn’t as invested since he couldn’t see his progress like Joshua, but he still wanted to get in the habit of it since they both expected him to get his own Connection sooner rather than later.

The days passed, and jump after jump brought them closer to their target until they reached the end of the mapped regions. They stopped while Joshua and Claire ran some scans, hoping to discover a good route.

“Alright, so… As far as I, we, can tell, there are three options. One of which will lead us away from our target for now. The other two go in the right direction, but there seems to be some disturbance that keeps us from getting a good picture. Alternatively, we could try to go without the hyperlanes, but that’s suicide.”

“Mhm. What about the option that takes us away? If that path is clearer, then it should be safer, right? We could skirt around the disturbance and then plot a course in the right direction once we’re past it.”

“True. That would be the prudent thing to do. What do you think, Claire?”

“You’re right, it’s the prudent thing, but I have a sneaking suspicion that our target is the source of the disturbance. I recommend we take some parallel jumps to discover the radius of the disturbance, but the fact that it’s in the center of the uncharted regions, and they’ve remained uncharted, seems to point to the same conclusion. Whatever is in there can scramble sensors and maybe other systems in a massive area.”

“Yeah. That’s an issue. I agree with the suggestion, though. What do you think, Dar?”

Darthenu agreed, and they set off again.

It took three weeks before they felt certain; there was something in the center of the region that scrambled sensors. With that, they didn’t dare head in, so they kept skirting around it until they discovered a signal.

Claire picked it up as she had tuned her sensors to pick up signs of the Lorune. It had been a long shot, but it paid off since they discovered a signal after another month of travel. The signal led them to an abandoned world, where they found an underground compound. Based on the available data, this world had been mostly ignored since it was barren and far away from any inhabited worlds. It was in a region where the Lorune operated, but the galaxy was massive, and there were places where no one traveled. That gave them some hope that they were the first to discover this place and that they might find something interesting.

The planet wasn’t habitable, as the atmosphere was toxic to most living things, so they were forced to break out their vacuum suits. Joshua landed the ship, which they had called the Seeker of Profundity, near the ridge of a deep chasm. They had traced the signal here, and a deeper scan revealed a hidden entrance at the bottom. They had to make it down there on their own, as the chasm was much too narrow for the ship.

The planet’s gravity was very strong, so the climb down was challenging, but with their gathered equipment, it was doable. They fastened ropes as they climbed down, and several ledges let them rest, though Joshua’s endurance was getting high enough that he’d be fine. Darthenu didn’t have a Connection and thus was restricted to regular human limits, so he had to take some time to regain circulation in his arms.

They reached the bottom after a few hours of careful descent and sat down for a few minutes before setting out. The bottom of the chasm was littered with debris, but they navigated it quickly and soon stopped before a small metal door hidden in a crack.

There was a console beside the door, but it was broken, and nothing they did could restart it, which meant they had to pry the door open. This was not an easy task since these doors were usually made to last and to hold against most attempts to break through. They were lucky, though, as there was no power to the door, which meant whatever held it back couldn’t hold against their efforts, and they eventually got it open.

Inside was a long corridor leading further down into the darkness. The two shared a glance before they started walking. The base was obviously abandoned, but there remained a slight chance of active defenses, so they kept their guards up as they walked, but nothing interrupted them, and they soon reached an open space with several branching corridors. They could have split up, but both had enough experience with seemingly safe environments to shake those thoughts. Neither wanted the other to get the nanites on their own either. Not that they didn’t trust each other, though. It was more that they both understood the temptation involved. Neither would blame the other one but would prefer to avoid any bad blood. They both stood to gain more from cooperation, anyway, so they came to a silent agreement to stick together.

They explored empty room after empty room and came up with nothing until they reached the innermost part of the complex. Everything had deteriorated or rotted away, leaving most of the place barren. They had seen signs that people once lived and worked there, but nothing of substance.

The door they reached was huge, and it was the only thing in the base that retained power, making Joshua and Claire think all energy had been redirected to this door or the room beyond. That was fortunate, as they had no hope of prying this door open since it looked heavily armored and secured. The console lit up at the slightest touch, and Joshua needed only a few minutes to hack it. His experience with Lorune tech had proven useful.

When the large door opened, air rushed past them into the room, revealing a sizable research lab, just as they had hoped for. It was a strange thing about the Lorune that every base that had been discovered had a research lab of some size. The size varied, but every base had one, and this one was among the largest they’d heard of. A circular area of workstations surrounded a recessed area in the center, where Joshua saw three large vats of silver liquid surrounding a dense, black orb. They felt a pull immediately as they entered, as if gravity was pulling them forward, and the two of them immediately activated the magnetic soles on their suits.

Secured to the floor, they looked at each other and wide-eyed glanced at the black orb in the center of the room. It was as if the light was removed or swallowed into it, like a black hole.

“That can’t be… Right?” Darthenu asked with a shaky voice. “I mean. That has to be impossible, no? The entire planet, no everything in the sector, should have been swallowed if it’s that.”

“Yeah. Uhhh. I have no clue. Claire?” Joshua pushed the question to the Lorune AI but received an uncertain response.

“I mean… Uhm... No, I don’t think that’s an actual black hole, but maybe something that replicates the effect on a far smaller scale? I might find an answer if you connect me to one of the workstations or the mainframe.”

Joshua took a breath and started walking toward the closest console and had Claire connected soon enough. While she was looking through the research data, Joshua and Darthenu looked around the room and spotted a single door leading to the side of the room. Joshua noticed the look of hunger in his ally’s eyes and spoke up before he could do something rash.

“Patience. Nobody else is here, and who knows what security measures this place has? Let’s wait for Claire to find out what’s going on, alright?” Darthenu seemed to face some internal struggle but nodded nonetheless.

“Good news and bad news. This place was set up during the latter stages of the war against the Lorune and after most data had been scrubbed. This is why many research bases remain undiscovered, mind you. They wanted to create new and better nanites by tapping directly into the Great One’s power and partially succeeded. The good news is that it isn’t a black hole. The bad news is that it’s a direct portal to the Great One’s realm, and the pull is far stronger near the orb. There seems to be some form of test or trial, and only those deemed worthy can approach.” Claire’s voice came from the speaker of a nearby console, allowing Darthenu to hear her.

“What do you mean? We came here with the prize right in front of us, and we might not be able to claim it?” Darthenu asked, incredulous.

“I’m pretty sure Joshua will pass, as there are hints that I was created through a similar method. My presence will likely grant him access. I’m less sure about you, though; as far as I can tell, the only way to find out is to try. None of the Lorenu who tried succeeded.”

Joshua looked at Darthenu and worried about the resolute look in his eyes, but he understood. This was a make-or-break moment, the chance of a lifetime. Joshua knew his old pal had been through a lot and had done very well for himself, despite not being Connected, but he’d reached his limits. He’d reached a point where most of his opposition was Connected, and he had no real chance against them. He needed the strength a Connection would bring if he wanted to bring his business any further.

“Go ahead. If I’m secured, then I can wait. Is there anything in the files to indicate I can’t help?”

“Not specifically, but the Lorune thought it was tied to personality or personal strength. Helping him reach it might be seen as weakness, and him being unfit.”

“So, I’m on my own? Fine by me. That’s how it’s been all my life. Still worried about the portal, though. You sure it’s not dangerous?”

“Oh, it’s very dangerous, but only if you fail the test. If you’re found worthy, it’ll be harmless. Just… Don’t put your hand in it.”

Darthenu didn’t hesitate and started making his way toward a set of stairs leading down to the central area. His steps were labored as he had to ensure he wasn’t pulled in. Meter by meter, he stepped closer until he hit the bottom of the stairs, where Joshua could hear him grunt from exertion.

“You have to reach one of the tanks and place your hand on the spike near the console. It will inject the nanites into your bloodstream.”

Claire got no response, but Joshua saw Darthenu look at the spike in question and start moving with newfound vigor. Being this close was likely providing him with far more strength than usual. Just as he got within three meters of the tank, it looked like the pull had disappeared, and Darthenu stumbled but remained on his feet.