Frontline

“This galaxy is vast. The Empire is constantly discovering new worlds and encountering new races at a regular rate. It is important to remember that despite the size and prestige of the Empire, it is highly likely there is another power out there that could rival it, as we discovered with the Imperium.”

-Excerpt from The Newcomer’s Guide to the Empire

Ansaria awoke with a gasp. Her dreams (nightmare, really) had been a jumbled mess of images and feelings. The last thing she remembered was the face of the Jukai King leering out of a hole in reality. One by one, her friends had disappeared in a flash of blinding light. That horrible reptilian visage had turned toward her, and she was engulfed in that light before she woke up. She wasn’t sure if it had been her nightmare that had awoken her, or the steady beep of her TIGG. She checked it, and saw that Slog was contacting her.

“Go ahead, Slog.”

“Sarge, we have a…situation. You should probably come to the cockpit.”

Ansaria groaned. “I’m on my way.”

Since leaving Myrthal, they had been traveling through Z-Space for more than a day. Slog and Tread had been taking turns at the helm throughout the journey and Slog was there now. As Ansaria opened the cockpit, she was briefly overwhelmed by the light suffusing the small room.

The craft was parked in real space near a massive gas giant. The planet was a wash of red and orange gases, which reflected the light from the system’s star and bathed everything in sight in a fiery light. A ring of rocky asteroids orbited the planet; the remains of a moon that had suffered a cataclysm eons ago and been reduced to debris. On a particularly large rock was located a small Imperial outpost within viewing distance of where they sat.

“All right Slog,” said Ansaria. “What is it?”

Slog rotated his seat to face his CO.

“Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that we’re making excellent time, and should reach the staging center at about the same time as the Throneship. The bad news is, we need to refuel the Z-engine, and the only outpost on our route is….not responding.”

Ansaria pinched the bridge of her nose. Great, another problem.

“Ya know,” she said. “One of these days we’re going to go some where in the Empire that’s actually working like it’s supposed to. Is there any word from the outpost?”

Slog shook his head. “’Fraid not, ma’am. I’ve been hailing them since we dropped out of Z-Space and haven’t gotten so much as a peep out of them. There’s also no hint of a distress call, live or automated. It’s like the whole place just shut down and everyone left without a word.”

“Can we find another place to refuel?” asked Ansaria, already knowing the answer.

“At sub-light speeds, the nearest refueling post is three days away. We’d never make it there and reach the staging area in time to rendezvous with the Emperor.”

“Of course not. Can we refuel the ship without on our own?”

“The station looks like it’s completely shut down, so we’ll have to get inside and switch what we need back on, but once it’s up and running, we’ll be good to go…assuming the lugs didn’t take all the fuel with them when they went wherever.”

“All right Slog, take us in while I get the others up to speed. And let’s hope they did leave us some fuel.”

Slog turned back toward the controls.

“You can say that again, sarge.”

The craft glided into the docking area before coming to a stop with a dull thud. The craft’s docking tube extended to the base’s door. Tread went in first to do a preliminary sweep and get the door open.

Tread’s voice came over the comm. “The facility is powered down, but the gravity and life support are both still on. I won’t be able to get more information until we’re inside, but it looks like everything is intact.”

When the door was opened, Ansaria led the others across the tube and into the facility. All the lights were out, but the viewing windows were still open, allowing the Jovian-light to illuminate the interior. The sound of the squad’s footsteps echoed throughout the silent building, putting Ansaria further on edge. Despite the seeming peacefulness of the quite facility, none of this was right. Something had happened here, and it probably resulted in deaths.

After walking down a long hallway, they reached a door that lead to a room that branched off deeper into the facility. Ansaria called a halt.

“Tread, I want you to see if you can call up a schematic of this place. I don’t want us wondering around blindly. Find the main control room and then we’ll--”

Ansaria’s words were cut off by the sound of footsteps marching in the opposite direction from the way they came. It was hard to tell because of the echoes, but Ansaria was pretty sure they were headed in their direction.

“Defensive formation!” Ansaria hissed.

The squad scrambled to take up positions in the limited cover that was available. Ansaria wearily eyed the viewscreen to their right. These things were built to withstand impacts from microdebris and asteroids, but she doubted they would hold up well from a stray plasma shot.

The seconds ticked by as the squad waited for the owners of the footsteps to reach them. Finally, the door leading to the hall was pried open and two armored and armed figures stepped into the room. Ansaria tightened her grip on her rifle.

“Halt! Identify yourselves, in the name of the Empire!”

The two figures leveled their weapons at her, their heads moving slightly to scan the room but never taking their aim of Ansaria. When neither of them spoke, Ansaria addressed them again.

“Identify yourselves, or we will open fire!”

Instead of one of the two answering, a voice came from behind them.

“Hold your fire! We mean you no harm!”

A hand appeared on the shoulder of the soldier on the right. He turned ever so slightly to look back at the figure, before he and his partner stood to either side to allow the speaker to approach.

The owner of the voice strode forward followed by two more armored figures. The group was all dressed alike, with heavy, smooth black armor that completely covered them, with their luminescent blue eyes the only thing that stood out. Their weapons were long and sturdy, with a rectangular shape that ended in a double barreled muzzle.

The speaker, while wearing the same armor with the glowing blue eyes, was slightly different from his compatriots. While the others were large and bulky, he was slightly shorter and thinner, with a long midnight-blue cape that brushed the ground. Instead of the large rifles the others carried, he had a pair of similar looking pistols secured to his hips.

As he entered the room, the speaker held up his hands to show he was unarmed.

“We have not come here to fight, soldier; I am sure we can resolve this peacefully.” He gestured to his comrades, and they all pointed their weapons away from Ansaria, though they did not loosen their grip any.

Ansaria considered the situation for a moment or two before she also lowered her weapon. She gestured to her own people who did like wise, though all of them kept their weapons on hand, just in case.

“All right, we can talk. Why don’t we start with who you are, and what you’re doing here? I don’t recognize any of your gear, which means you’re not Imperial, and since you’re dressed all in black and not trying to disembowel me, then you’re probably not with the Imperium, so who are you?”

The speaker slowly lowered his hands, though he took care to ensure he never moved like was going for his weapon.

“My name is Eberius. We are explorers from another system. We have been investigate the surrounding area and found ourselves in need of supplies. We found this facility, and when we received no reply after contacting it, believed it to be abandoned. We came aboard a few hours ago to get what we need before leaving.”

“We didn’t see another ship when we arrived, where did you park?”

“In the hanger, on the side of the base we came from. We were unable to find away inside, and so were forced to venture outside our craft in order to successfully dock and make our way inside.”

“Have you found any evidence of what happened here?”

“We found a couple bloodstains in the area leading to the hanger, but we had no way of knowing if they were recent, so continued with our salvage operation.”

Ansaria mulled over Eberius’ answers. They all seemed plausible, and they hadn’t encountered anything to suggest these…explorers had had a hand in shutting down the base. If they weren’t the enemy, then they could get back to their own immediate concerns.

“Tread, have you pulled up a map of this place yet?”

“Yes ma’am. The main computer is located deeper in the facility and a floor up. I’ll need to access it in order to determine what happened here, as well as to get the systems we need back online.”

“Good. M, you take the others and get to the computer. Eberius, you and your people can go back the way you came and leave.”

“If I may…um…you have not told me your name?”

“Sergeant Ansaria of the Xenlongian Imperial Military.”

“Ah, Sergeant Ansaria, if I may, we have not yet finished gathering what we need, and I believe having the system back up and running would benefit us both. Might I suggest that some of my men accompany yours to the computer, in case there are any hazards on the way? You and I could remain here for the time being and discuss are current situations.”

Ansaria considered the proposal. She wasn’t sure why she should trust this outsider, but he had been amenable to everything so far, and his suggestion did have merit. Besides, this would give her an opportunity to find out more about these explorers.

“All right, Eberius, you’ve got a deal.”

“Excellent,” He said. He gestured to his men. “Captain, you and your men are to accompany the Xenlongian soldiers while I remain here with the Sergeant.”

“Sir,” said one of the armored figures that Ansaria was the captain in a terse and deep voice. “We cannot leave you alone with an unknown combatant. We have our orders.”

Eberius tilted his head in an apologetic manner.

“Forgive me, Sergeant, but my men are extremely dedicated to their task. Would it be possible for one of them to remain here while the others accompany your troops?”

Ansaria thought it over before answering.

“That seems fair: three and three, keep it nice and even.”

Critter spoke up.

“Yes, but I doubt they have some one your size, Critter, so for all intents and purposes, it’s even.”

“Are you sure about this, sarge?” said Alvara, the concern plain in her voice.

Ansaria slung her rifle before answering. “Two on one is almost decent odds for them. I’m sure I can handle myself if anything were to happen.”

Eberius gave her a small bow. “Excellent. Captain, you and two others are to accompany the Xenlongians. Work with them, and contact me if anything happens.”

Neither side moved for several moments, so Ansaria spoke up.

“Time’s wasting, Alvara.”

“Yes ma’am. Let’s move squad.”

Alvara led the others down the hall, while Eberius’ people brought up the rear. The sound of their echoing footsteps filled the room until it gradually began to fade.

Eberius’ guard took up a position by the door they had entered, while Ansaria and Eberius remained where they were. Ansaria decided to break the silence.

“So you’re explorers, huh? Where are you from?”

Eberius fiddled with the clasp of his cape before answering.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you. I was given explicit instructions to preserve the safety of our homeworld.”

“Ok…why are you out exploring?”

Eberius tilted his head in the apologetic manner again.

“No answer, huh? Ok…how long have you been exploring our region of space?”

Eberius’ silence answered for him. Ansaria was beginning to get frustrated. She made a small sound of annoyance before turning to look out the window. After several moments of tense silence, Eberius came over to the window with her.

“This view reminds me of home. Not the asteroids and debris field though, but the glow. Of course, we’re used to a vibrant shade of blue, though. It’s rather nicer than this unappealing red.”

“So you can talk. That’s good to know.”

“Indeed. Might I ask what you and your squad is doing here, Sergeant Ansaria?”

“We’re on a mission. Top secret.”

“Ah. So we have more in common than overly protective subordinates.”

Ansaria had to laugh at that. She was glad Eberius had been able to share something after all.

“That blue light does sound nicer than this red one. My planet has mostly shades of purple; that is once we got rid of all the green smog and brown sludge.”

“That would explain the lovely shade of your eyes.”

Ansaria gave Eberius a sideways glance before looking away.

“I do hope our troops our getting along,” she said, to fill the silence.

It seemed to Alvara like she had known nothing but anxiety and dread the last few days. Between being constantly hunted by a killer bot, encountering a planet isolated by a scientist with dreams of becoming a demigod and fighting monsters from another dimension, she was surprised that they had made it this far, let alone that they were so close to the end of their goal.

But now she had a new reason to worry: a refueling station mysteriously empty, outsiders who just happened to be here when they were, and to top it all off, a trio of unknown and possibly hostile soldiers brining up her rear. This mission just got better and better.

She shot another look at the black clad soldiers accompanying them. If they did decide to start a fight, she wasn’t sure if they armor and weapons would give them an edge, but she was loath to test it. After everything they’d been through, she knew she and the others could hold their own in a fight, but these guys had an aura of deadly confidence about them. She’d’ve felt better if Ansaria were here, instead of with Lord Enigma.

As they traveled down the hallway, they finally began to signs of what might have occurred. They found dried streaks and puddles of blood in varying shades on the walls and floors. Here and there were pockmarks from weapon fire. It looked something had occurred here, but whatever it was had been swept away. It made Alvara all the more paranoid of their ‘companions’.

They finally reached the stairs that led to the next level and headed up. Ansaria allowed Tread to take the lead so he could take them straight to the computer. He lead them a short distance before reaching a room with a large, secured door. He inspected it.

“It looks like whoever was here before us locked down the mainframe room. It’ll take me a few moments to get it open.”

With that, he went to work. The room was quite aside from the sounds of Tread’s work, and Alvara kept glancing at Eberius’ men. None of them had said a word this whole time, at least not to them; it was possible they had a private helmet comm. system and could be talking to each other at this very moment. Alvara was getting more and more anxious. Nothing here added up.

Finally, the doors slid open and Tread led the way in. He reached the computer and booted it up. After a few moments, he was in the system.

“It seems that whoever was here before us wiped the records and logs before they left,” he said.

“Can you still get the system back on line?” asked Alvara.

“Working on it,” He typed away. A few seconds later, the lights came on, followed by the ear splitting shriek of alarm sirens.

“Tread, what is that!?” shouted Alvara so she could be heard over the noise. He gestured at the screen as he frantically continued typing.

Automated Defenses Activated.

Security Bots Deployed.

COMMAND: Eliminate targets.

COMMAND: Preserve the silence.

COMMAND: Ensure the arrival.

Alvara keyed her comm.

“Sarge! The saboteurs infected the system! We’ve got incoming!”

Alvara’s voice filled Ansaria’s ear with the news of their discovery. Ansaria had unslung her rifle as soon as the alarms had started, and was unsurprised to see Eberius wielding his pistols. They weren’t pointed at her though, rather held at the ready for whatever was about to happen.

“I need you to clarify, Alvara,” Ansaria shouted. “What’s coming?”

“The automated defenses have been activated, and security bots have been deployed. I think whoever we’re trying to stop turned this places weapons against itself!”

There was a sudden flash of energy and a small explosion above her. Ansaria dropped to a crouch to get her bearings. In the ceiling above her was the remnants of a security turret that had descended from a compartment above her. Eberius was pointing his pistol at the spot.

“Looks like I owe you one,” she said loudly.

The sound of multiple doors opening was briefly audible over the alarm. Ansaria didn’t know how many security bots this place had, but it was apparently enough to kill the entire crew and whoever else had had the unfortunate luck to be here when it had happened.

The first security bot was a pair of floating spheres. Ansaria recognized them as Tialian Shock Spheres, non-lethal security that delivered a debilitating shock to intruders and whatever target they were programmed to subdue. They came racing down the corridor Ansaria and her squad had come from. She opened fire. The first two shots missed but the third caught one of them dead center. The orb exploded in a shower of sparks and pieces. Eberius fired off two shots from his pistols, the bright blue energy lancing through the remaining sphere and obliterating it.

She swept the room from new threats. Eberius’ guard had was watching the hall he and his entourage had come from. Three orbs came racing toward him. He destroyed two of them with a blast from his heavy rifle, but the third managed to get in close enough to zap him. The guard grunted in pain and surprise and dropped his weapon, but lashed out with a fist that struck the small machine and sent it whirling away. Eberius destroyed it with his own weapon.

“Are you all right?” he asked the soldier as he bent to pick up his weapon.

“Yes sir, my armor protected me from the worst of it, but it was enough to knock my weapon from my hands,”

Ansaria briefly wondered how her own squad was doing, but those thoughts were cut short by the sound of clanking footsteps from down the hall leading to the stairs.

Alvara squeezed her trigger and a floating turned was reduced to slag. They’d been pinned down in the computer room as soon as the security system had booted up. One of the black armored soldiers had been hit by a turret that had come from the ceiling, but his armor had absorbed the worst of the damage, and one of his comrades had destroyed the weapon.

After that, a half dozen floating turrets had come zooming towards their refuge. Tread was busy trying to get the system to respond, so that left the fighting to herself, Slog and Eberius’ men. Alvara had to admit, they were good shots, as they took out four of the turrets while Alvara picked off the rest.

From out of a room towards the stairs came a trio of diamond-shaped bots, propelled by a trio of metallic tendrils from beneath them. Their top casings opened up and began rapidly firing energy blasts at them as they slowly came down the hall.

Slog dropped to the ground and peeked out of the room as far as he could. He opened fire and destroyed the lead machine, but was forced back into the room as the remaining two targeted him.

“Anyone have any grenades?” asked Alvara over the ear splitting clamor of alarms and weapon fire. One of the black armored soldiers pulled a small, pill-shaped device off his belt. She nodded at him. He gave the device a twist and then threw it into the hall. An instant latter there was a brilliant flash of blue light and the gunfire stopped. Alvara poked her head out and saw the semi-melted remains of the machines, as well as the surrounding walls and floor.

“Ok, I’ve got to get me some of those,” she said, though no one apparently heard her over the noise. From the opposite direction she heard more noise, and turned to see humanoid forms heading toward them. They were bulky, with bullet shaped heads, wide shoulder armor and a repeating plasma blaster in place of their hands. Alvara had encountered newer models of these during training.

“Zeta bots!” she shouted. The machines seemed to take that as the signal to open fire, because they did, once again filling the hallway with energy blasts.

“I hope Sarge is ok down there!” shouted Slog as he reloaded his weapon. Alvara silently agreed.

The Zeta-class defense bots, model two relentlessly marched toward Ansaria, Eberius and his guard. Thankfully, the safety glass was apparently strong enough to survive any handheld weapon fired at it, because the rounds from the bots were striking the glass without leaving so much as a scorch mark.

The trio had been forced to split up, with Ansaria and Eberius taking cover in ‘her’ hallway, while the guard was on his own in ‘his’ hallway. While the droids continued to pour on suppressing fire as they made their way toward them, Ansaria and the others were forced to wait for a clear shot.

They didn’t have to wait long. As the first bot came into view, Ansaria opened fire. The shots to the machines torso only slowed it down, but when she fired at its head, it exploded in a shower of sparks and metal. The body toppled over with a metallic crash while the next one simply stepped over its fallen comrade. Ansaria gave another silent thanks; these model twos had thick armor on their torsos, but their heads where relatively fragile to a direct shot. If they had been model threes, like the ones she and Alvara had fought in basic, they would’ve required an entire clip to drop just one.

Eberius took out the next one. While the machine paused to scan the room for a target, Eberius opened fire with both pistols. The first destroyed one of the machines weapons, while the other lanced through its head. The machine was pushed out of the way by the bot behind it, which began firing at Ansaria and Eberius’ position.

Eberius’ guard used this to his advantage, firing at the Zeta-bot with his weapon. The heavy bolts struck the security bot in its back, denting and warping the armor. As it turned to fire on the new threat, Ansaria fired at the new weak spots. The blasts penetrated the metal and caused the machine to explode, pieces of it flying through the room.

The next bot to emerge was scared by the explosion, one of its glowing red eyes now dark and cracked. This time all three of them worked to take it down. The guard hammered the body with his weapon while Eberius blasted it in the head. Ansaria finished it off by firing at the weakened areas and for a second time an explosion filled the room with parts and pieces. The last machine to emerge was reduced to one weapon, its right hand blaster sparking as a piece of shrapnel extended from it. Ansaria almost casually fired at its head, eliminating the target.

“It’s hard to believe these machines are the cause of all this,” said Eberius loudly over the alarm. Ansaria was about to reply when the guard behind her cried out in pain.

Eberius’ men were proving their worth. Their weapons were keeping the Zeta-bots at bay, while Alvara picked them off with headshots. When she had to reload, Slog took over, his shotgun proving effective at penetrating the machine’s armor.

When the last Zeta-bot fell, Alvara contemplated heading back downstairs to check on Ansaria, and asking one or two of the black clad guards to accompany her. Before she could enact her plan, the sound of heavy, mechanical footsteps thundered over the piercing alarm. Alvara stuck her head out just enough to see into the hall, and from the end opposite the stairs came the owner of the heavy footfalls.

It was the same height as Slog, with a massive, spherical body. It advanced down the hall on four, crab-like likes. At its sides were two large plates that stuck out from its body. Each plate had three weapon barrels in it, while its singular, large, red eye scanned for targets. It caught sight of Alvara and opened up with a barrage of blue energy beams that left smoking holes in the wall.

“Slog, you’re up!” shouted Alvara.

Slog threw himself to the ground and crawled to the doorway. Not risking sticking his head out, he instead blindly fired in the direction the blasts were coming from. Alvara could just barely make out the dull thud as the shots hit the heavy metal body of the machine, but the constant stream of fire did not let up. She turned to the black armored soldiers.

“Got another grenade I could borrow?”

One of the armored figures detached the small explosive and handed it to her. She twisted it like she had seen them do last time, and then threw it into the hall. The laser fire stopped and instant before the explosion filled the hall way. After what she felt was an appropriate amount of waiting, Alvara peeked her head out. The hallway was a mess of melted metal, with several wholes having been burned into the floor and walls. The killing machine was intact, but had curled up into a ball, with the plates covering the spot where its eye was. The front of it had been charred black, but it appeared to be intact. As she watched, its legs began unfolding and it rose into a standing position, before the plates slid apart to reveal its glowing optic.

Before it could take a single step forward, Alvara took aim and fired at its only apparent weak point. The beam went straight through its eye, leaving a smoking black hole in its place. The machine remained standing for a moment before it tottered forward and hit the floor with a booming shake. When she was certain it wasn’t getting up, Alvara exhaled the breath she hadn’t been aware she had been holding.

“Tread, get this system under control now,” she said with an edge the others weren’t used to hearing.

“I should have control in a few moments. The infiltration is proving difficult to pin down and purge,” said Tread.

Alvara turned back to the hall, preparing herself for whatever was coming next.

Just hold on Sari…

Ansaria and Eberius wheeled around to find out what had happened to his guard. A long, thin blade had been jammed into his side, the metal penetrating one of the small gaps in the armor. A metallic hand appeared on the guards shoulder and pushed him to the side, pulling him free of the blade.

Standing in the hall was a tall, metallic gray machine. In its hand was a long, thin blade, the top third of which was slick with dark blood. Its face was blank except for the two red eyes that were staring intently at Ansaria and Eberius. Standing just behind it was an identical unit. As they watched, it raised its weapon into an attack position.

“So, it’s gonna be like that, is it?” said Ansaria. She slung her rifle and drew her own sword. Electricity crackled along its length as she assumed a maturing posture to the machines.

“Eberius, check on your man. I’ll handle this.”

Eberius looked from the blade bots to his fallen comrade.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Trust me,” was all she said.

Eberius holstered his blasters than dashed towards his guard. As soon as he moved, the lead attacker sped in his direction. He lashed out with his sword, only to have the blade blocked by Ansaria’s.

“Think again, junk heap.”

Ansaria forced the blade back before going on the attack. She rained down a trio of blows, each of which was blocked by the machine. The second blade bot finally made its move, racing out to finish what the first one had started with Eberius. Before it could reach the two black-clad figures, Ansaria telekinetically shoved it, knocking it into the wall. Before she could fall up on her attack, her original opponent went on the offensive. Now it was Ansaria’s turn to block and deflect the blows, the thin blade striking with far more force than she felt was possible.

The second machine had recovered and rejoined the fray. It came at her from the opposite side as its counterpart, forcing Ansaria to block and dodge even faster. Unfortunately, she wasn’t quite fast enough, as the second attacker drew first blood. The incredibly sharp blade bit through her arm and drew a long, thin gash on her arm. Ansaria hissed in pain before using the injury to fuel a counterattack; she lashed out with a heavy, horizontal strike that forced both machines to jump backward. Before they could regain their footing, Ansaria hit her first attacker with a telekinetic blast that sent it flying back down the hall from which it came.

Ansaria heard the impact of the bot as it hit the ground, but didn’t wait to see what had happened to it. Instead, she turned her attention to the machine that had wounded her. She unleashed a flurry of blows that the machine expertly blocked and dodged. Ansaria feigned an attack on its empty hand before redirecting the blow towards its sword hand. Her heavy blade sliced through the bots thin arm. It barely had time to register the lost limb before Ansaria decapitated it, her blades electrical current frying its head before it hit the ground. Its body crumpled to the ground, its neck smoking and sparking.

Ansaria didn’t have time to celebrate her victory as she heard the rapid metallic footsteps of the bot she had knocked down the hall coming towards her. The machine was running full out towards her, its blade angled to spear her through the middle. She spun to the side to avoid the attack, before quickly assuming a defensive position. The pain in her arm was becoming acute and she could feel her muscles shaking from the pain and strain of the fight. She had to push the thought out of her mind as the bot went on the attack, the thin blade jabbing out at her at a rapid pace. It was all Ansaria could do to deflect the rapid strikes.

She was being driven back when her foot caught something, causing her to tumble over backwards; the fall saved her from being skewed by the blade, though it left her with a long, thin cut along her cheek. Her mind briefly registered the body of the fallen bot as what had tripped her, and a plan blossomed in her mind. She quickly rolled away to keep from being stabbed while she was on the floor, then lashed out with her mind. The limp, mechanical corpse rose in the air and shot toward the bot. Ansaria quickly assumed a crouched position before leaping toward the bot. The bot was distracted by its fallen ally and it batted the body away with a swing of its sword. That action left it open just long enough for Ansaria to drive her blade through the machine’s torso.

Her blade’s electricity coursed through the machine, turning the wound into a killing blow. Its eyes flared briefly before its systems overloaded and they went dark, the machine going limp along Ansaria’s sword. She pushed the deactivated machine off her weapon, and an instant after it hit the floor, the alarms finally stopped.

At last, silence filled the room as the shrieking alarms went quite.

“The system has been purged of the infiltration, and we now have complete control,” said Tread. If he’d had the capability to sweat, Alvara bet he would’ve been wiping his brow now.

“Good work, Tread,” said Alvara, sighing in relief. Her momentary relief gave way to slight panic as she remembered Ansaria.

“Slog, you and Critter stay her with Tread, I’m gonna go check on Sarge!”

As she slithered out of the control room, she heard the sound of heavy boot steps behind her, she looked back to see one of the black guards following her.

“I suppose you’ve got to check on your CO as well,” she said.

All she got in response was a nod.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs and reached the room where the halls converged, she saw Ansaria sitting against the viewscreen, injured, but moving.

“Sarge! Are you alright?”

Ansaria got to her feet, then winced and grabbed her arm.

“Aside from a couple scratches, I’m fine.”

The black clad guard raced over to his leader and wounded comrade.

“Sir, are you injured?” he asked.

“I’m fine as well, thanks to Sergeant Ansaria’s superb swordsmanship.”

Ansaria caught Eberius’ eye and the two shared a look for a few moments before looking away.

Tread got the system up and running while Eberius’ men tended to their wounded troops. Alvara helped Ansaria bandage herself up before Tread and the others rendezvoused with them.

“So, another Imperial outpost sabotaged by this hostile force,” said Ansaria, she gingerly adjusted the bandages on her arm. “And nothing in the system to add to the info we have on them?”

“Afraid not, sergeant. This incident appears to be identical to the ones Agent Rall investigated,” said Tread.

Ansaria sighed in frustration. All this death and destruction, and they still barely knew anything about this menace. With any luck, the Emperor would know what to do, which meant they needed to get going.

“We’re all fueled up?” she asked Tread.

“Yes, ma’am. I also programmed the distress beacon to activate in two hours, which should give us more than enough time to be out of the system.”

A thought crossed her mind and she turned away from her squad. She went over to Eberius was overlooking the supply list while his men brought the materials to the ship.

“How much longer do you think you’ll be?” she asked.

Eberius looked up from his list. “Shouldn’t be more than an hour. We’re down two men, so it’s taking bit more time than I’d like to search the facility for everything we need, but we’re coming along nicely.”

Ansaria suddenly found she was unsure how to proceed; she fidgeted with one foot before continuing.

“Well, we’re all fueled up, and need to be going. Tread set the distress beacon to go off in two hours, so make sure you’re gone before then. I’d hate for an Imperial warship to come along and disintegrate you.”

Eberius bowed slightly. “Thank you for the warning…and the concern.”

“Well….I guess this is good bye then. Good luck with…whatever it is you’re doing.”

“And good luck to you as well, sergeant.”

Ansaria stayed where she was for another moment before reluctantly heading back to her squad.

“Alright everyone, let’s go. We’ve got an Empire to…”

“Ansaria, a moment,” said Eberius. He had hesitated a moment before following after her. “I would like to give you something, a token to remember our meeting by, if you would accept it.”

Unsure of what to say, she nodded.

Eberius reached down and pulled up the hem of his cape. He tugged on the material until it finally started to rip, and he tore a long strip from the material. He gently took her hand and placed the strip of cloth in her palm.

“I know it’s not much, but I hope you will keep it as a memento of our brief time together.”

Ansaria didn’t know what to say. She was acutely aware of her squad standing right behind her. Her mind was spinning and her face was…was she blushing?”

Oh my lord, I’m blushing.

Ansaria racked her mind to think of something to give in return. She couldn’t peel off a piece of her armor, and she had nothing on her person that felt would match the gift she’d been given. She was beginning to panic slightly when she remembered a story from her youth: a band of heroes journeying to a dark land briefly stay in a forest kingdom. Before they leave, the ruler bestows upon them gifts for their quest. One of the heroes asks instead for a single strand of hair from her head to remember her bye. She gave him three.

Ansaria reached up and grabbed a lock of hair. Using her telekinesis, she cut the lock form her head, before tearing the strip of cloth she had gotten from Eberius in half. She deftly tied the strip into a bow, then took Eberius’ hand as he had taken hers and pressed the gift into it. Eberius gently closed his hand around the lock of hair before bowing deeply to Ansaria.

“I shall treasure this gift forever more. If the universe is kind, our paths shall cross again one day, Lady Ansaria.”

“I sincerely hope they will,” she said, her voice wavering juuuust slightly. With that, she turned and headed down the hall back toward her ship, her squad following at her heels.

The ship arrived to the silent and empty refueling depot. Both squads of soldiers had already departed the Imperial investigation forces still some time away. The ship’s occupant was the only one there.

Reno stalked along the halls Eberius’ men had used when they arrived. When it arrived at the observation area, it surveyed the carnage before it. The walls were scarred and pitted from the firefight, the reinforced windows scratched and scorched, but still intact. Pieces of machines littered the floor, left where they had fallen, only moved if they in-convinced the soldiers in their work.

Reno’s enhanced senses led it to two machines in particular. They had both been dismembered and shoved in the corner of the room. What interest the hunter were not the machines themselves, but the evidence they bore. Saber-class Close Quarters Combat Defense Bots both equipped with a single, long, wickedly sharp blade, and both of them with signs of a recent encounter.

Reno analyzed the pair’s discarded weapons. One of them was coated in a blood type that did not match any in Reno’s database. The other, bore blood from a Xenlongian female.

Despite Reno’s abilities, and despite the fact that it had already triumphed over one of the Empire’s best, it had been outmaneuvered and defeated time and again by Empire’s lowliest warriors, nothing more than grunts. And yet here, a basic security bot had managed to wound what Reno itself had been unable to eliminate. Perhaps it was time to reconsider it’s strategy. After all, it had a mission to complete, and Reno was designed to never fail.

COMMAND: Eliminate target{s} and destroy data.

COMMAND: Preserve the silence.

COMMAND: Ensure the arrival.