PS: Please support me on patreon there 125+ chapters there)
https://patreon.com/BX_XDS
The low hum of the laboratory was almost soothing.
Inside the prototype chamber, the Aegis-03 stood suspended under pale blue lights, cables feeding into its chest like veins. Atlas worked in silence, tightening a sequence of internal fiber conduits while holographic displays scrolled across the air around him.
He was so deep in concentration that he barely noticed the faint chime echoing from his wrist console — a priority alert from the Division's Quantum Computer.
"Director Li," the calm synthetic voice said through the intercom.
"Unauthorized replication detected in Research Node 17-C. Source unknown. Access level exceeds local clearance."
Atlas froze. Only a handful of people had clearance high enough to even view Node 17-C. That node contained core schematics — the Aegis design matrix, energy core blueprints, and segments of alien-derived data.
He straightened slowly. "Run a trace," he ordered.
"Tracing... Source partially masked. Origin: internal network. Encryption pattern resembles Federation protocol, but with foreign modifications."
Atlas frowned. Federation protocol mixed with outside encryption? That meant someone inside was trying to move data out.
Before he could respond, the lab door hissed open. Lucia hurried in, expression tight, a tablet clutched in her hands. Ethan followed close behind, eyes darting nervously.
"Atlas," Lucia said quickly. "You need to see this."
She projected a hologram into the air — streams of red text flashing across a schematic of the Division's data grid. Several nodes blinked violently.
Ethan pointed. "These packets started duplicating themselves ten minutes ago. They're being copied to a remote terminal inside the administrative block — the one reserved for senior research staff."
Atlas's eyes narrowed. "Who has access?"
Lucia hesitated. "Technically? Only four people… but one of them is Professor Giordano."
The name hung in the air like static.
Atlas set down his tools. "Seal the network. Lock out all administrative accounts except mine."
"Acknowledged," the AI replied. "Network lockdown engaged. Intrusion containment active."
The lab lights flickered once as the Division's entire digital grid shifted into isolation mode. Around them, systems rebooted, security drones activated, and the soft clank of automated locks echoed through the halls.
Ethan swallowed. "Atlas, if Professor Giordano really is behind this—"
"He's not working alone," Atlas interrupted. "Professor Giordano doesn't have the technical skill to breach the Quantum Core. Someone's helping him — maybe someone outside."
Lucia's brow furrowed. "Do you think Federation involvement?"
Atlas nodded slightly, voice low. "Or one of the rival corporations that tried to be involved in Alien tech years ago. They'd give anything to steal this technology."
Later that night the Division felt smaller, the corridors darker. Atlas walked beside two armed security officers, their boots soft against the polished floor as they approached Research Node 17-C. The steel doors slid open, revealing rows of holographic terminals — one still active, screens cycling aborted transfer packets.
Atlas stepped closer, his reflection faint on the glass.
"Transfer destination located," the AI reported through his earpiece. "Encrypted Federation channel rerouted to private servers in the corporate sector. Owner: Novacore Industries."
Atlas's jaw tightened. "Of course."
Ethan's comm hissed. "Atlas, security drones picked up movement on Sublevel 4 — someone's attempting to exit through the maintenance tunnels."
Atlas didn't hesitate. "Seal all exits. Lock the tunnels. Bring them to me."
He felt the familiar, efficient snap of command — security moving like a shadow over the Division's bones.
The maintenance tunnel was narrow, pipes along its walls sweating condensation into the dim light. A single security drone swept the corridor with a pale beam; its lens reflected the fear in the footsteps ahead.
Two figures tried to move quickly, one supporting the other. Guards closed the tunnel behind them like clamps.
"Freeze!" one officer barked. The pair stopped. The younger man — thin, shaking — tried to bluff a smile. The older man kept his head down.
They were handcuffed and escorted up the service stairwell, hands clamped together by magnetic restraints that snapped with a hollow sound.
Atlas watched them approach under the cold fluorescence of the stairwell lights. Up close he could see the panic in the young man's eyes and the stubborn set of the older one's jaw.
They were led into the small interrogation suite off the security wing. The room smelled faintly of disinfectant and metal. A camera blinked red above the one-way glass.
Atlas sat opposite them at the metal table. The younger man's hands trembled, one of the system engineers Atlas had trusted with minor AI calibration — stood pale and silent. His name was Dr. Harris Lin.. The older man — Professor Harold Giardano— looked exhausted but furious, his lab coat rumpled, silver hair asking for composure that didn't come.
"Start at the beginning," Atlas said. He didn't raise his voice. He never needed to.
Giardano spat a laugh that had no humor."You came in here and turned this Division into your personal empire. The Council worships your name. You think that's not going to make enemies?"
"So you tried to move classified schematics out of this Division to Novacore," Atlas said. He watched Giardano closely. "Why? For money? Power?"
Giardano's face hardened. "They offered what the Federation never could — freedom to research without your rules. Without you standing over us."
Lucia, standing in the corner with Ethan, folded her arms. "You set up a secure transfer channel that mimicked Federation encryption, then routed packets to Novacore's private cloud. That's not freedom, Professor. That's theft."
Atlas turned his gaze toward Harris. The younger man wouldn't meet his eyes. "And you?" Atlas asked softly.
The younger man — Dr. Harris Lin — finally spoke. His voice was small and cracked. "They said no one would get hurt. That it was just data sharing. I… I didn't know they'd go this far, they also promised mentorship, resources… a chance to be noticed. I thought… I thought it was a research partnership."
Atlas watched him. The kid looked close to tears. Harris was one of the junior system engineers who'd been eager, quick, desperate for recognition.
"You sold our research," Atlas said quietly. "You sold your colleagues' work."
Harris's shoulders slumped. "I was just jealous," he whispered. "Everyone looked at you like you were some kind of hero. I just wanted to prove I mattered."
For a moment, silence filled the room. Then Atlas spoke — calm, but with a cold edge beneath.
"You mattered the moment you decided to build, not betray."
Giordano's jaw tightened. He looked like a man who'd been used to getting what he wanted and found the ground pulled out from under him.
"Are you prepared to face the consequences?" Atlas asked.
Giordano laughed, hollow. "You'll demote me? Freeze my grants? Paperwork won't stop real science."
Atlas folded his hands. "Issue an official report to the Federation Internal Security Bureau. Professor Harold Giordano will be stripped of all credentials and remanded for espionage. As for Dr. Harris Lin — suspended until further instructions, subject to tribunal review."
For a long second Giordano stared at him, incredulous. Then the anger collapsed into something tired and old.
Harris began to sob quietly. "I'm sorry," he whispered again and again.
Lucia stepped forward. Her voice was steady but soft. "You were trusted. We taught you. You didn't have to steal."
Atlas listened. He felt the weight of the division in that room — trust violated, the danger of greed and fear. He also felt a cold certainty: the Division had to be protected, even from its own.
He looked at them one last time. "You'll have a tribunal. You'll answer for your choices. And to everyone listening: this division exists to advance humanity, not to enrich corporations or senior egos."
He stood. "Secure their personal devices. Dragnet transfers to Novacore for the last three months. Notify Internal Security. And put a hold on access for any account that's had unusual behavior."
The guards moved. Giordano continued to rail, but the words fell flat in the clinical room.
By dawn, the news had spread through the Division. Voss's lab was shuttered; his name removed from the project boards. Harris Lin's desk sat empty, a thin layer of dust already collecting.
Lucia found Atlas in the Quantum Core chamber. The blue light pooled across his face like water. "You handled it," she said.
Atlas turned, tired. "We handled it. But this is only the start. If a corporation like Novacore has contacts in the Federation and the Science division — or if more people think selling out is their shortcut — we'll see more attempts."
Ethan slid into the doorway, rubbing his hands together. "The security report says Novacore had unusual IP pings two weeks ago. We'll trace everything."
Atlas nodded. "Good. Step up network monitoring. Increase physical patrols in the admin block. And schedule mandatory integrity briefings for every staff level — from janitors to senior professors. No more assumptions."
Lucia's expression softened. "You don't want to ruin people."
"I don't," Atlas said. "But I will protect the work. If that means making an example, then so be it."
Outside, the Division continued to hum, but a new current ran through it now — wary, watchful. The message was clear: the enemy wasn't only across the stars.
Later, when the official Internal Security teams arrived to take Voss and the documents, they moved with grim efficiency. The Federation's stamp fell heavy. Sanctions were announced. Voss's reputation crumbled in days.
Harris Lin was given a suspended sentence and a chance at redemption through supervised research — but not before he watched colleagues' trust cool into indifference.
Atlas watched the proceedings with the cold patience of a surgeon. He had cut out a tumor — painful, messy — but necessary. He returned to Aegis-03 and his components, hands steady once more.
The Quantum Computer's voice chimed softly as it updated the incident log.
"Incident resolved. Unauthorized replication halted. Network integrity restored."
Atlas exhaled. "Good," he said quietly, more to himself than to anyone else. "Keep watching."
The hum of the lab returned to its earlier steadiness, but now the sound carried a new tone: alert, determined, and ready.
The shadows within had been exposed. Now the work of keeping them from growing back began.
PS: Please support me on patreon there 125+ chapters there)
https://patreon.com/BX_XDS