“Take a look at this,” Big D said, his voice low as he scrolled through the logs on the lab's central console.

  Locke leaned over, glancing at the data streams. A chill ran down his spine.

  “Performance logs—deployed ‘Initiative Alpha’ on Val ‘Dara,“ Locke muttered, squinting at the screen.

  Big D's gaze drifted to the victims on the tables, mechanical implants protruding grotesquely from their bodies.

  “Guess that makes them ‘Initiative Alpha',” he said.

  Locke approached the pods, his breath fogging the glass on one. Behind it, a figure twitched, wires imbedded deep into their skin.

  “Do you know how these work?“ He asked, tapping a terminal display. It flashed error messages as he did.

  Big D rested his hand on Locke's shoulder.

  “Even if I did, what’s the plan? You want to carry them out? They’ll check on these poor bastards any second.”

  He gestured toward Valis’s body, slumped near the Revenant wreckage. Crimson streaked through amber hydraulic oil pooling beneath her pale corpse. “And then there’s that.”

  Loud foot steps echoed into the lab from the main corridor, blending in with the whir of Revenant servos. Locke's breath froze as the sound drew closer—louder.

  “You should just stop talking,” Locke said as they slid back into the utility tunnel, crouching against the door holding their breath.

  The lab door hissed open. A massive figure stepped through, clad in black power armor that gleamed under the light. His eyes swept across the lab, settling on Valis's body.

  He stood over her—staring. Then he spoke, his voice guttural and commanding.

  “Process what you can. Toss the rest.“

  One of the Revenants moved to Valis, gripping her arm. It dragged her bloody body across the floor, the sound of flesh dragging against concrete. The other Revenant bent over the disabled unit, its servos whirring as it hauled the broken shell through the passageway.

  Silence.

  The man stood alone in the lab, his back facing the utility door. He moved to the console, scrolling through the data. His figure seemed to grow darker under the lab's lighting. Locke and Big D crept back into the lab, their footsteps slow and silent. Their rifles were low ready as they advanced toward him.

  The man straightened suddenly, tilting his head slightly to the side—eyes covered by his long, dark hair. Locke froze, his heart racing.

  "Do you know what they feel, trapped in their wires? I do.“ His voice was a deep, guttural snarl, dredged from a place of unrelenting torment.

  The man turned around slowly, embedded wires and modules marked his face. His silver eyes pierced into Locke as if he could read his thoughts. “You should've ran.“

  The room seemed to shrink around them, the air becoming suffocatingly hot. The man stepped forward, curving his lips into a faint smirk—promising pain. “But it wouldn't have changed how you'll die.“

  Before Locke could raise his rifle, he was already on top of him. He kicked Locke across the room, his rifle spiraling through the air.

  Big D raised his rifle, but the man grabbed him by the throat. He hurled him into a console with a crunch, sparks illuminating the room with orange light as they spilled out of the wreckage.

  Locke staggered back up, drawing his pistol. He fired a desperate shot, but the man caught the slide—crushing it. The metal groaned as it crinkled like paper.

  Ripping it out of Locke's hands, he struck him across the face with it. Locke's legs buckled beneath him, crumpling to the floor.

  The man grabbed Locke by his leg, dragging him to a table. His fingernails tore against the concrete, leaving faint trails of blood as he clawed for freedom. The man slammed him onto the table, pressing on Locke's chest to hold him down.

  Locke flailed his hands, finding a bone saw on a surgical tray. He gripped it tightly, driving it into a joint in the man's armor. Sparks burst from it, the man growling with frustration.

  Big D stumbled back onto his feet, then charged at the man. He slammed his fist into the back of his head, barely budging him. Locke rolled off the table, yanking Big D back to the utility tunnel.

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  The two fled, running as fast as they could through the narrow corridor. Their boots slammed into the ground, the pounding of their footsteps hardly a concern anymore. They blended with the guttural laughter from the lab—his voice chasing them through the passageway.

  They didn't look back.

  They burst through the corroded metal door into the main tunnel, full sprint as the Revenants fired on them.

  “The cargo ship!“ Locke called out, heading to the ramp.

  He didn’t slow, vaulting over debris and into the cockpit with Big D close behind. Flickering red emergency lights painted the cramped controls in a hellish glow. They dropped into the worn seats, slapping at switches and stabbing buttons.

  Locke fumbled with the controls, “There’s gotta be a start sequence,” he muttered, scanning the dashboard.

  Big D leaned over, his voice sharp. “You mean you don’t know how to fly this thing?”

  Locke shot him a look, sweat trickling down his face. “Not the time, D. Help me figure it out.”

  Big D’s hands hovered over the console, hesitating. “What are we even looking for?”

  “Anything that says ‘go’!” Locke barked, slamming a fist on a panel. The ship groaned as the engines roared to life, their vibrations shaking loose icicles from the hull.

  “Lucky guess,” Big D muttered, gripping his seat as the ship rattled violently.

  As they gained altitude, the cabin lights flickered and the engines sputtered with a gut churning whine.

  "What's happening?" Big D's voice cracked.

  Locke’s jaw tightened as alarms blared. “Nexus rigged it to fail. They don’t like thieves.”

  Big D gripped the armrest. “Great. Got any bright ideas?”

  “Yeah,” Locke said through gritted teeth. “Don’t die.”

  Snow and wind hammered at the canopy. Visibility dropped to zero. The ship bucked wildly, alarms wailing in their ears.

  "Brace!" Locke shouted.

  The cargo ship slammed into a mountainside, the impact throwing their bodies forward. Metal screamed as the hull skidded over ice, throwing sparks into the snow. One of the stabilizers snapped off, sending the ship careening sideways.

  They ground to a halt, buried in a snowdrift. Everything became quiet, save for the howling winds outside.

  Locke groaned, blood dripping onto his hands as he pushed himself upright. “D?”

  A low cough answered him. "Still here. Somehow. Who was that back there?“

  Locke was looking at the broken mess around him, recovering his senses.

  “That must have been Arcturus. Valis mentioned him back on Epsilon,” he answered voice shaking.

  Big D spat blood. “We survived him this time. I don't think we’ll get a second chance.”

  Locke nodded, reaching for his gear. “Then let’s make sure we don’t stick around to find out.”

  “That name sounds familiar,” Big D muttered, kicking out the canopy glass.

  >>>>>***********************<<<<<

  Aetherveil stormed into the command center. Slung over her shoulder was a dead cyborg, its limbs dangling over her blood streaked armor. Lilyon was standing in front of tactical displays. She turned sharply at the sound of Aetherveil's boots thudding against the deck.

  The cyborg hit the ground with a thud, its body sprawling across the metal floor. Aetherveil knelt down and began tearing off its plates with feral intensity, each piece clattering against the bulkhead.

  She pointed to the unsightly amalgamation of flesh and machinery. “Look at what they're doing!“

  Wires weaved in and out of the cyborg's mutilated torso, its remaining human skin severly scarred. It's hollow chest cavity barely concealed its grafted mechanical core. Aetherveil grabbed the cyborg's head, digging her fingers into the exposed metal beneath it's jaw. She turned its face toward Lilyon.

  “They're trying to make me!“ she shouted, her voice trembling with rage. “This is what they're doing to people. Why?“

  Lilyon retched, a small stream of bile escaped her mouth.

  “How do they know? Nobody…been able to translate…Architects—not even Psionus.“ she said, each phrase caught between dry heaves.

  “They haven't,” Aetherveil replied. “These are cheap copies.“

  She released the cyborg's head, letting it thud against the deck. Her gaze was fixed on the holographic galaxy map. She rushed over to it, tracing her fingers across the sectors. She looked back at the abomination.

  “No,” she muttered, her voice barely audible. “Set a course for Luminaria, now!“

  The helmsman hesitated, his hands hovering over the controls. “Setting a course for Luminaria,” he finally repeated.

  Lilyon wiped her mouth. “What's going on, Aetherveil?“ Lilyon demanded. “Why Luminaria? What did you see?“

  Three. Two. One.

  The Veilbreaker completed it's jump to Luminaria. Aetherveil strode out of the command center. She made her way to her quarters, leaning into the mirror.

  “What is the Nexus doing?“ she whispered, unease in her voice.

  “The Nexus is a tool, not a conqueror,” Cryptorax's voice said in her mind.

  Her grip tightened around the edge of the table. “What the hell does that mean? He didn't put you in my head to—”

  She froze. A faint vibration passed through the ship, the hum of the systems faded to silence.

  “You already know,” Cryptorax’s voice continued.

  Aetherveil’s reflection flickered, or so she thought. Her breath hitched as she glanced over her shoulder, but the room was empty.

  “Who are you talking to?” Lilyon asked.

  Aetherveil flinched, her gaze swinging toward Lilyon. She stepped closer, her eyes searching Aetherveil’s face.

  “Nobody,” Aetherveil said, turning away. “What do you want?”

  Lilyon's brow furrowed as she stepped closer. “Are you—”

  “Don’t,” Aetherveil interrupted. She pressed her fingers to her temple. “Just don’t.”

  Lilyon’s lips parted as if to say more, but she stopped.

  “Did it work?“ she finally asked. “Do you remember now?”

  Aetherveil’s eyes narrowed as she slowly shook her head. “What did you do, Lilyon?” she asked. “Thalor?”

  Lilyon’s shoulders slumped, her head bowing. “I don’t know. I—I was—”

  Aetherveil grabbed her by the chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

  “Lilyon, the Nexus is coming here,” she said. “We needed the coalition.”

  “They were going to hurt you!” Lilyon protested, her voice trembling. “I couldn’t let them—”

  “That wasn’t your choice to make!” Aetherveil shouted, her voice cracking.

  Lilyon’s eyes filled with tears. She looked down, her words barely a whisper. “I—I’m sorry.”

  “I'm going down to the surface. Stay here with the fleet.“ Aetherveil blew past her—her shoulder shoving her out of the way.

  The door hissed shut behind her. Lilyon looked back at the empty room, her eyes lingering on the mirror.