02130

"Chief," Nyx said, looking up from the station he'd now sequestered as his central command. "Coded transmission, emergency frequency."

Lev was still watching Derek and Captain Crai through the viewport as their crews coordinated damage assessment. "Source?"

"Unknown, but the encryption..." He paused. "It's Peyton."

"Put it through."

Nyx activated the display, showing the coded message alongside her analysis. "

PRIORITY TRANSMISSION

To: Frost Employee 1817

From - Chief of Engineering FK202

Nyx - Foundation stress fractures accelerating beyond projections. Power load increased 400% in thermal management systems.

Blueprint holder extraction proceeding maximum velocity. Structural collapse imminent - estimated 2 hours maximum before total foundation failure.

Cannot delay demolition for consultation arrival. Proceeding with emergency intervention protocols. Foundation integrity requires immediate action.

Heavy equipment detected on site. Military-grade reinforcement crews arriving ahead of schedule.

Engineering proceeding without backup.

Engineering out.

END TRANSMISSION

"Doesn't make sense to me," Talia said, with a shake of her head.

"The translation?" Lev asked Nyx.

"It's a consciousness extraction facility. With a hybrid AI development. Their using stolen human minds. Dr. Martinez confirmed alive . Timeline critical—completion estimated hours, not days."

"What the fuck is consciousness extraction?" Derek asked.

Captain Crai looked between them, and she paled. "Consciousness extraction?"

"If I am reading it correctly," Nyx repeated. "it means they're stealing people's minds," Nyx said.

"They're turning them into what, AI?"

"They can't, can they?" Talia asked. "Lev, they can't, right?"

Lev didn't answer her. "Are you listening, Dr. Chen?"

"Yes," came his reply.

"Is it possible, that they can steal minds?" Lev asked.

"Dr. Martinez is a genius. I've seen her papers."

"Is it possible?" Lev asked again.

"Very theoretical, but yes. It is possible."

"And they've been perfecting it where no one would suspect, in the dark," Talia said.

Lev tapped his comms, clicking several names. "Meet us in briefing room three, priority one," he ordered.

"I'll be there as quick as I can. Just need to finish this operation."

"Shit," Lev said. "Sorry."

"No, sorry, just closing up now."

"Tee," he turned to her. "Get our ships' fuel tanks full."

"What have you got?"

"We're burning pure grade."

"All the way?"

Nyx answered for her. "To get to the Faulkner in time to be of any use. All ships will have to burn, and likely burn out."

"The cost," she paled.

"Fuck the cost," Lev said.

***

The room filled quickly. Dr. Chen arrived with Miss Avast, he quickly had several medical displays on the main viewers.

"Dr. Martinez is a genius," Dr. Chen explained. He turned to Lev, "If she's in there, at all. Please…"

Lev noted the extra worry in the man's eyes, he glanced to Miss Avast. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I--"

"Please, be honest. We need to know."

He lowered his head. "I'm a very happily married man," he said and lovingly looked to Miss Avast. "My first child on the way..."

"You had something with her?" Lev asked.

"A long time ago, yes."

"It's alright," Miss Avast said. "We both have a past. Please talk."

Dr. Chen nodded, but was stumbling his words. "I—"

"Just tell us how real this is?" Talia asked.

"She's a genius." He repeated, beaming. "She and I spent a decade talking about it. Conciousness harvesting that is. If she really did figure it out.... well, she's the only one who could."

"But in the wrong hands…"

"Brakers, of course. Well, she's likely the only one who could stop it too."

"You couldn't?"

"I loved her theories," Chen said. "But I could never follow where she was pulling them from. I am afraid if we lose her, and this is alreaady near completion stage. We've lost… everything."

"Let's concentrate on getting us in the dark, fast."

Lev moved to the screens. "Nyx?"

"Cooridinating now, you need to move in thirty minutes."

"How many victims do you think are there at Kepler?" Captain Crai asked.

"Unknown," Nyx replied. "There's been several cargo and insertion requests over the last year."

Captain Crai studied the tactical displays. "And the Faulkner is planning to infiltrate now?"

"It looks that way," Nyx replied.

"How many of them are on the Faulkner?"

"Possibly five crew who are combat operational," Nyx said.

"Avery small team against military-grade defenses," Lev confirmed. "They need support."

"What kind of support?"

"The kind that requires a full fleet ships and a thousand personnel,"Lev said.

"We don't have a full fleet," Derek said.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Chief," came Captain Keating's voice through comms. "Iron Covenant requesting permission to dock. I've got Luna and her crew aboard—they're asking to speak with you."

"Granted. Bay 7, please." Nyx replied for him.

"They can help here," Talia said, "The station will need it if you're taking the fleet."

"I just said we didn't have a fleet."

Talia tapped the side of her head. "All ships. Prepare for immediate departure."

Captain Crai did the same. "Lt. cycle the tanks, we're leaving. Full burn."

"You're with us?" Derek asked.

"Braker Corporation killed our parents." She replied, her voice low. "It's time we returned the favor."

Less than five minutes later, Captain Keating entered the room with Luna and another miner. Luna moved carefully, obviously in pain. Her medical support brace visible under her work jacket.

"Chief," she said without preamble. "We heard about the mission. Consciousness theft at some research station in the dark?"

"You have mighty big ears for a miner," Lev replied. "You should be recovering in medical."

"Who can rest if Braker's are stealing people's minds?" Luna's voice carried controlled fury. "We want to help."

"This isn't mining work, Luna. This is a military infiltration."

"Mining operations and research stations use similar infrastructure," said Commander Torres.

"Power distribution, life support systems, emergency protocols," Luna said.

"Exactly," added the other miner. His name tag flashed up. Kai Okafor. "Research facilities are just fancy mining operations with labs instead of ore processing."

Lev waved them in further. "Okay, what do we know?"

"The station's layout will follows standard protocols. Buthere's their power distribution network." Torres highlighted several sections on the viewer.

"That's not normal fuel consumption. The power scale is off the charts."

"What they're doing will likely require massive resources," Dr. Chen confirmed. "Quantum mapping alone costs me a small fortune. Fos something the size they have on the go. Astronomical."

"I've never seen backup power system like it either," Torres added. "They've got triple redundancy here, here and here. But only standard backup for levels one through six."

"What does that mean for us?" Lev asked.

"Well, they're prioritizing power to the extraction facility over everything else," Talia said. "If you can isolate those feeds, you can cripple their operations without affecting life support."

"How?" Derek asked.

Luna's finger traced power routing on the schematic. "Every facility has an emergency power isolation protocol. Primary feeds, backup feeds, emergency feeds. They're usually controlled from one central distribution centre. That's usually on level two or three."

"But there will security personnel on surely?" Sinclair asked.

"Likely standard corporate security, sure," Torres replied. "We've been dealing with corporate 'safety protocols' for decades."

"And miners know how to work around power systems." Luna added. "Trust us."

"This is a lot to take in," Lev said.

"Ships are refueled," Nyx announced. "They're waiting on you."

"Five minutes. We move." Lev replied.

"Chief, we know station infrastructure. Power systems, environmental controls, structural weak points."

Lev studied her, seeing determination mixed with something else, anger. "This isn't about credits or contracts for you."

"This is about stopping corporations from treating people like disposable resources," Luna said.

"Personal stakes?"

"Eighty people were still trapped because Braker decided our mining operation was inconvenient," Torres said. "They used sonic charges to collapse our tunnels with people inside. Four died."

"So, revenge?"

"Not entirely, no. Why are you doing it?"

Lev frowned. He didn't have an answer for that.

"Revenge?"

"Not entirely," he answered honestly.

"We know exactly what corporate 'accidents' look like," Crai said. "This is worse than anything they've done before."

"You're technical support only," Lev finally decided. "No combat roles."

"Understood," Luna dipped her head to him.

Captain Keating stepped forward. "Iron Covenant will provide close support for extraction operations. Void Walker for medical support."

"Chen?"

"They might need immediate neural stabilization," Dr. Chen replied. "We can coordinate treatment remotely, but they can cope."

"Fleet integration?"

"We'll coordinate from Iron Covenant's bridge," Captain Keating confirmed. "Luna's team provides infrastructure support. My crew can the handle tactical operations."

"Establishing protocols now," Dr. Chen confirmed.

"Five minutes are up," Talia said.

"Fleet composition is confirmed," Nyx reported. "One of Captain Crai's ships aren't fit, but the others are. You have ten ships."

That filled Lev's veins with promise. They had a chance. "Then let's move people." He ordered.

As Derek headed for the door, Captain Crai lagged behind.

Lev glanced at Talia, "Go."

Talia glanced between them but dipped her head and left.

"Chief," she hesitated. "There's something else. Something I need to tell you before--."

"What?" he asked, giving her the once-over. She was sweating. Why?

Crai glanced toward the door.

"They're out of hearing distance," Lev said. "What is it?"

"I was running supply contracts to facilities I never questioned with Tim when Derek left."

"Don't tell me Kepler Station was one of them?"

"Yes," she confirmed.

"It was classified mostly. Specialized medical supply runs, personnel transport." Her voice dropped. "I've been there six times in the past year. I know the facility layout well."

Lev closed his screens. "What kind of equipment?"

"A lot of it was stuff I didn't recognize. Neural interface components, quantum processing matrices, medical pods. Really high-tech stuff. They even upgraded my ship for it. Special weapons. Fuel that would last forever." She paused and lowered her head, heat flushing up her neck. "And--people. Scientists, doctors, specialists who were 'relocating for new positions. Whole families."

"Fuck, how many?"

"The station itself is like Ring-14. Huge. A good few thousand. We took more there. I never questioned why no one came back with us."

Lev could see the shock in her eyes.

"I ferried them to their deaths, Chief, how can I live with that?" Captain Crai's fists clenched.

"The same way, we all must. By fighting."

He moved to stand before her. "Where is this Tim of yours now?"

"I left him there with a high-priority patient."

Lev swallowed; he knew. He just knew it. "The one you and Doctor Hinada were escorting?"

"No cost was out of bounds; we burned fuel like it was water."

"You're telling me, Braker Senior is at Kepler station?"

She nodded and wrung her hands together. "I'm sorry."

Lev straightened himself up. "Peyton doesn't know or suspect anything. If he goes in...."

Lev started to move, and Captain Crai followed.

"I need everything else you know, now."

"We can play this," Crai said. "I have up to date access codes for all their systems. Service elevators, maintenance tunnels, emergency access routes." Once in the nearest elevator, she activated her datapad.

"You should have told us sooner." His anger wasn't unwarranted, but he felt the sting in his words.

Crai shied back from him.

Lev held his hands up. "Please, I'm sorry. This is a lot for you to swallow, isn't it?"

"The man I thought I knew, I didn't. I put him above my family. I gave him everything."

"Not anymore," Lev said. "Now no more wallowing. Tell me what you're thinking."

"We will be faster than the Manta-S. Premium fuel even the coalition doesn't know about."

"Got any to spare?"

"Not if you want us to get to your friends in time."

Lev sighed but nodded.

"Here is where service level four connects to sublevel seven through these two large cargo corridors."

"These are up to date schematics."

"Tim provided them so we could deliver fast and get out fast. I've used these tunnels a lot —I know every access point and security checkpoint."

"They have guard rotations?"

"Their shifts changes every eight hours. Most of their security is focused on escape, not on infiltration." She highlighted several points on the schematic.

"You mean they'll never expect someone like you to turn against them."

She faltered then. "No, they won't expect it. I…"

"Will you confront him?"

"I— will do everything in my power for your friend." Lev watched her hands tremble. "Then I'm going to take him down."

"Tell me about the cargo tunnels?" he asked.

"We were given access to use service elevator seven for transporting human cargo. From there we had access from docking bay twelve to sublevel seven. That bypassed all main security checkpoints." Her expression darkened. "Tim specifically requested we use that route for 'sensitive transfers.'"

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Most of Kepler doesn't know what's happening there. We were to take people in the quietest way possible. Only core team members knew about us."

"How many were in the core team?"

"Twenty people maximum. Research staff, security specialists, medical technicians." Captain Crai scrolled through personnel files on her datapad. "I transported most of them at various times. I have their faces, their roles, their clearance levels."

"And Dr. Martinez?"

"I transported her on our first mission out there. She was taking a senior research position, and very excited."

The elevator stopped. "What about when you were last there?"

"Two days ago.

"Super fuel?"

She nodded, "We can be there and back in a day."

Lev shook his head. "Damn, we need to get on that shit."

"It won't last long, but I can pull enough from their depots with my contacts."

"And get it to Ring-14?"

"I'll call it in now." Captain Crai met his eyes. "I helped Tim build a horror show. Let me help tear them down in the best way possible."

"How many contacts do you have?"

Crai smiled then. "You don't know much about Pirate code do you?"

Lev shook his head, "Should I?"

"Was always that saying, 'honour among theives."

"I'll take your word for it. But if you have people you do trust, and I mean with your brother's life, and…"

"I trust them. They've been thinking they've been running legitimate contracts. When they find out the truth." She paused. "They'll be as pissed as I am. Maybe more so."

"Bad pissed?"

"Pirates hate being lied to."

Lev struggled to hid his chuckle.

"I know, but believe me. We take pride in doing a professional job. W have never taken to murder." Her voice hardened.

"Not one job was a hit?"

"Never," she said. "People might have died because of what we did, but we never went into a job knowing there was death."

"Never thought it possible," Lev said.

Lev's comms pinged. "They're waiting on you, Chief something wrong?"

"We're coming," he replied and opened the elevator door.

"I've spent three years thinking I was building something legitimate with a man I … . A real operation, real security for my crew, I wanted to bring Derek back in." Her expression was grim. "Instead, Tim turned me into an accessory to… fuck. I have four hundred and sixty-three people under my command who trusted me to keep them on the right side of the line."

"And now you're volunteering for the most dangerous part of this mission."

"I'm volunteering to fix what I helped break." Her voice carried steel. "Chief, when my people see what we've really been doing... they're going to want blood."

"Then we make sure they get it from the right people."

Moments later, Lev and Captain Crai entered the docking halls and split. Once aboard the Manta-S, Lev called. "All ships, final departure sequence."

It wasn't long before the ships were in the dark and speeding away from Ring-14.

"Fleet status?"

"All ships are maintaining formation," Derek reported. "Fuel consumption within acceptable parameters for emergency operations."

"ETA?"

"Seven hours, forty-one minutes at current acceleration."

"The Faulkner?"

"They'll reach the station five hours before we do."

Derek leaned against the tactical display. "Five hours is a long time to be in a dangerous situation."

"Peyton's not stupid." At least Lev hoped he wasn't.

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