The airlock hissed as the team in form-fitting exo-suits finished their final checks.
Eve, Skybreak, Sappherine, Kayden, Zohan, Aura, Tina, Zara, and Axel stood on the launch deck. The Soul Drifter flew silently toward the massive Thelarian dreadnought in stealth mode, fully cloaked.
The covert insertion had to be swift and precise. There was no room for mistakes.
Dr. Aris Thorne remained aboard the main ship, ready to assist the team from afar.
Close to the hull, the door opened. They all shot out from the launch deck in exo-suits and space helms, jetting toward the ship's metallic walls.
Axel expertly guided them to a lesser-used cargo bay hatch. "Brace for micro-breach."
A concentrated thermal lance from his laser gauntlet tore a small, clean circle into the hull's alloy.
The team, propelled by their thrusters, surged into the cavernous bay.
They moved in a wedge formation, covertly taking down the guards and Thelarian soldiers on patrol. Finally, they reached a surveillance room. They knocked out the staff inside, and Tina hacked into the system.
Now they had tactical schematics, maps, and blueprints of the ship displayed live on their visors. "Three levels down, starboard," she said, looking at the screen. "There!" she pointed.
The screen showed a 200-meter-tall monolith inside a huge hall, guarded heavily.
The team split up.
Aura, her majestic wings folded tight, moved with Zohan, Zara, and Kayden toward the engine's core. They began setting up the charges.
Skybreak, Eve, Sappherine, Axel, and Tina advanced toward the Monolith Chamber.
A door opened to a hall leading to a metallic ladder that descended a hundred meters through several floors.
"The bomb has to be installed right at the monolith's base," Eve whispered.
Tina: "But there are so many soldiers."
Skybreak: "We have to create a diversion. Axel, come with me."
They left to take cover while Eve and the others slowly tiptoed toward the center, avoiding cameras and the eyes of the guards.
They reached close enough and hid behind a crane.
Eve: "That's the machine." She pointed toward a huge glass chamber. At its center was a device that printed Sable's body. It was empty.
Eve: "Kayden, Tina, you take care of the machine. Sappherine and I will set the charges on the monolith."
They nodded and moved out. Eve led, and Sappherine followed her toward the towering alien structure.
They took cover behind a pile of crates.
Eve: "Too many guards. We'll wait for Sky's signal."
A minute later, multiple explosions shook the hall. Eve raised her head to take a peek. Skybreak and Axel jetted through the hall, shooting at soldiers below. Several compound buildings were on fire.
Eve ordered, "Go now!"
They moved toward the base as Thelarian soldiers rushed to contain the infiltrators. Alarms screamed everywhere.
The bombs were in place, but they couldn't contact the other half of the squad. Comms were useless since the Thelarians tracked all frequencies.
The plan was to blow the monolith first, then rendezvous at the hangar bay. Regroup, steal a Thelarian ship, escape, and detonate the charges on the engine's core once they were at a safe distance.
They set a one-hour timer in case remote detonation failed.
Eve and Sappherine raced for the exit. The map on Sappherine's visor guided the way to the hangar.
Skybreak spotted Eve mid-flight as she reached the exit. He fired several rounds. "Axel, time to roll!" They hit their thrusters and flew toward the nearest exit door.
Eve waited at the door for Skybreak to clear the hall. Once he did, she hit the detonation signal programmed into her wrist module.
The hall didn't just tremble; the entire ship swayed to the side. The explosion was massive. The chamber burned in fire, several decks took the impact, the floor fractured, and the monolith broke apart into several pieces before sinking beneath the structure.
The hull was breached in multiple places. Air was sucked into space as doors connected to the destroyed chamber automatically closed to maintain pressure.
Eve and Sappherine raced through the corridors, fire chasing them as they shot soldiers who tried to block their path.
...
In the engine section, Kayden braced against the wall as the ship tilted and shook.
"I guess that's our guys," he said.
"Let's get out of here," Zara replied.
They zigzagged through the corridors.
"Hangar's two levels up. Hurry!" Tina shouted.
Thelarians spotted them and opened fire. They defended themselves without slowing down. Axel's precision shots and Kayden's careful aim carried them across multiple blockades.
When they finally entered the hangar, Skybreak, Axel, Eve, and Sappherine were already causing havoc, jetting through the massive space, jumping from platform to platform, ship to ship.
But the hangar was becoming overcrowded as more enemies poured in from every entrance. Many units wore jetted exo-suits.
Kayden: "Hit those thrusters. Let's join the party."
As they jumped into action, Eve spotted them and regrouped.
The battle intensified as they exchanged words between the chaos.
Kayden: "They're swarming us! What now?"
Eve: "We have to get the hangar doors open before we can take a ship."
Kayden: "How?"
Eve: "I don't know, but we have to hurry before Sable shows up."
Zara: "Why can't we storm the room that controls the gates?"
Sappherine: "Because they'll override all hangar stations from the command bridge even if we open them. They're watching us right now. We're too loud."
Axel: "I could link to the Soul Drifter and operate it remotely if there were a way to transmit."
Skybreak: "There must be a comm room near this section. Take Kayden with you."
Aura: "I'll go with them."
Eve: "No, we need your wings. Zohan, you're up."
Zohan fired and hurled debris telekinetically at enemies while Kayden and Axel provided cover.
Aura's wings slashed through enemy armor like blades of chaos.
Skybreak was Eve's shield through it all. He used his Timecop suit to glitch through space, disappearing and reappearing in bursts, taking enemies by surprise.
Sappherine, Tina, and Zara backed each other as they fired in all directions.
Eve: "We can't stay in the open. Find cover. Use the ships."
Eve, Sappherine, Zara, and Tina moved from cover to cover, providing support fire while Skybreak and Aura wreaked havoc.
Just then, a massive inner gate lifted, and from the other side, mechs marched in with ground vehicles and flying soldiers.
Zara checked the countdown on her wrist console. "Thirty-five minutes. At this rate, the core will explode without external detonation."
Eve: "Sappherine, Tina, we need you on those mechs. Zara, stay with me."
Eve Andromeda didn't have her powers, but centuries of experience and sheer grit showed. She fought through enemies with unbreakable resolve.
Visions of K'thaar, Volrag, and Voila still haunted her. She couldn't lose more friends.
She moved with agility and precision, sliding under mechs, leaping over vehicles, her dual guns blazing nonstop.
Axel led his unit as they stormed a comm room and disarmed the guards. Zohan and Kayden fired from behind the doorway while Axel injected his cables and hacked into the system.
"I'm in, but I have to maintain the connection."
The Soul Drifter emerged from stealth, firing its cannons at the dreadnought. Its unmatched speed cut through enemy fire as Axel maneuvered it, targeting the hangar's side cannons.
Back in the hangar, Tina and Sappherine expertly piloted the mechs. Tina, being more tech-savvy, gave the Thelarians a hard time. She screamed from the cockpit as the external doors opened. "Axel did it!"
Thelarian ships launched to intercept the Soul Drifter.
Eve turned. "Alright, Tina, march your mech to the nearest ship. Get in, we'll cover you."
Tina climbed into the cockpit. Being an expert gearhead, she quickly assimilated the alien ship's controls. The engines roared as she watched her team jetting around her, diverting enemies and keeping her protected from every side.
Axel watched the hangar through his screen. "Somebody has to stay behind. The ship's ready. You guys should go."
Kayden: "Cut the crap and get the Soul Drifter into the hangar. We leave together."
The Soul Drifter entered the hangar, providing massive fire support. Axel flew her through both sections, taking out ships, vehicles, and hoverbikes—anything that stood in their way.
Skybreak: "Sappherine, Zara, get inside!"
Sappherine: "No, we can use all the guns we've got until everyone's here. We have to protect the ship."
Skybreak: "Then do it from the cargo bay."
Zara: "That, we can do."
Axel connected to Tina's ship through the enemy comm network. "Zohan and Kayden won't leave."
Tina: "Of course they won't. Put the Soul Drifter on Auto-Engage mode and get your asses out here."
The Soul Drifter now fought on autopilot. Still efficient, but without Axel's finesse, it was becoming an easy target for enemy cannons.
Sappherine: "I'm not leaving without you."
Skybreak: "She's in good hands."
Axel, Kayden, and Zohan returned.
The Soul Drifter was burning, fighting through its final moments.
Enemies concentrated their fire on the stolen ship.
Tina: "Engage comms. No asses are out here anyway."
Aura: "Good call. I'll guard the gates and board once the ship is clear."
She flew toward the gates, slashing through ships and jetpacked soldiers.
Everyone was aboard except Skybreak, who stayed behind to protect the vessel. His Timecop exo-suit was drained.
Tina took control of the ship and engaged its cannons, firing as she headed for the gates while the rest of the squad covered from the open bay door.
Tina: "We're close to the exit. Put on your helms and brace yourselves."
The Soul Drifter lost balance and crashed into the hangar wall in a massive explosion. The squad watched in grief.
Eve: "So long, my friend."
As the ship shot through the gate, Aura tried to dash inside, but an armed Thelarian woman grabbed her and tried to pull her back into the dreadnought.
It all happened so fast that Eve barely had time to react. She leapt after Aura, catching her leg, pulled her into the bay and threw herself on the Thelarian woman, freeing Aura from her grip.
Aura fell inside the cargo bay.
The team was out, except Eve... was still inside the hangar.
Skybreak jetted toward Eve.