[Location: Federation Flagship "The Hammer" - Level 4 Corridor] [Time: 02:15 Hours. The Breach.]
The hallway lights died. The emergency red strobes pulsed, turning the world into a flickering nightmare of blood and shadow.
HISSSSS.
The sound came from the vents. It sounded like pressurized steam mixed with a nest of snakes.
"Unit 99! Defensive perimeter!" Captain Silas barked. Her elite Valkyries formed a circle around us instantly, their white armor glowing in the dark.
"What is that noise?" one of the Valkyries whispered.
"Void Stalkers," I said, stepping forward despite having no weapon. "Fast. Invisible to thermal. They hunt by sound. Whatever you do, don't use ballistic weapons. The ricochet will kill us in this narrow hall."
Silas glared at me. "I didn't ask for your advice, traitor."
"Silas," I looked her in the eye. "In about three seconds, a vent cover is going to blow off behind you. If you don't duck, you lose your head."
Silas hesitated.
CLANG.
The vent behind her exploded.
"DOWN!" Silas dropped instinctively.
A black blur shot out of the darkness. It was a Void Stalker—a sleek, four-legged construct made of matte-black metal, with blades for limbs and a single, glowing purple eye.
It slashed the air where Silas's neck had been a microsecond ago.
"CONTACT!" Silas screamed, rolling onto her back and firing her high-impact revolver.
BANG! BANG!
The rounds sparked off the Stalker's armor. It shrieked—a digital scream that shattered glass—and pounced on one of the Valkyries.
"Help me!" the soldier screamed as the machine pinned her to the wall, its blade raised.
"Vesper!" I yelled. "My arm! Turn it on!"
"I can't override the limiter without a console!" Vesper shouted, ducking under a wildly swinging blade.
"Hotwire it!"
Vesper scrambled to me. She jammed her electric stun-baton directly into the exposed port of my Ouroboros shoulder.
ZZAAP!
Pain. White-hot lightning shot through my spine. I gritted my teeth so hard a molar cracked.
[SYSTEM REBOOT. EMERGENCY POWER: 15%.]
The dead weight of my metal arm suddenly hummed to life. The servos whined.
I lunged.
The Stalker was about to impale the Valkyrie. I grabbed its head with my metal hand.
"Get off her!"
I squeezed. The metal crunched like dry leaves. The purple eye flickered and died. I ripped the head clean off the chassis and threw it down the hall.
The body collapsed.
The Valkyrie slid to the floor, hyperventilating. "It... it was so fast."
Silas stood up. She looked at the dead machine, then at me.
"You called it," she muttered. "How?"
"I've died in this hallway before," I said grimly. "Now, are you going to arrest me, or are we going to save this ship?"
Silas reloaded her revolver. She looked at Dr. Aris, who was cowering behind a desk, then at Lyra, who was clinging to Vesper.
"The Hangar," Silas commanded. "We need to get off this boat before it sinks. Caelum, take point. If you try to run, I shoot you. If you try to die, I shoot you."
"Understood," I smirked. "Let's move."