Chapter 30

Void Lord cackled with delight as the files he secured were uploaded to his deck. He quickly made a copy, to be stored in a small storage device, imbedded into his brain. While it may have seemed distasteful, the man was, if nothing else, pragmatic. He knew that if he was ever to be outed or caught, his deck would be confiscated and the data he took would be back in its owner’s hands.

He had several such incidents, where he’d been in some close scrapes, having to abandon his gear. Most times, Void Lord was able to recover it, but in certain instances, where he couldn’t, he’d activated the self destruct feature. Though the hardware would be lost, he would still retain the valuable knowledge he’d taken. The man smiled to himself, thinking he’d gotten away scot free, but an alert on his deck told him otherwise.

“What the ... SHIT!” he cursed after looking through the data. “Son of a ... the fucking cunt let me leave!”

The hacker fumed for maybe a minute before springing into action. Void Lord knew he had to move fast, or he’d risk getting caught. He’d evaded pursuers before, but after checking out the files of the Darkstrider crew, the man knew that tangling with them in the physical world was a fight that he’d lose. He collected everything that he brought with him and stuffed back into his bag, before bolting out of the room.

He knew the elevator was a crap shoot, so he’d have to take the stairs. He flew down the flights, reaching the ground floor in record time. The man kept going, knowing that his pursuers would likely come for him that way. He hit the first basement, then the second, before he went hunting for the vent panel. Void Lord had done his homework and planned out this route, should the worst happen.

“Fucking little cunt! I am so going to ruin her ass when I get out of here!” the man grumbled as he found his exit and dislodged the panel.

He crawled into the air vent, happy that he was a rather thin and reedy type. Had he been any bigger, this escape route would not have worked. Void Lord crawled as quickly as he was able, eventually finding his way out of the maze of ducts several minutes later.

He came out in a maintenance area that had seen little in foot traffic, as he had planned. Void Lord grunted as he brought a program from his wrist computer, securing a ghost line to Saubath. The Takharian picked up on the seventh ring, answering the hacker’s call.

“What is the meaning of this? You were not supposed to contact either of us...” Saubath started before he was cut off.

“They traced me. I got what you needed, but they traced me, and I don’t doubt that these people from the Darkstrider will find me. I need safe transport off the station, and I need it now!” Void Lord told the commodore.

“Fuck! You are not in anyone’s custody at the moment?” Saubath questioned.

“Not yet. I don’t know how the bitch did it, but she found me, and no one finds me! If she found me there, it’s only a matter of time before her and her friends get to me,” Void Lord worried.

“Make your way to the military zone of the station and head for checkpoint forty-one! I have men stationed there who will help you, if you can get there!” the commodore told him. Void Lord brought up the schematic of Veldhern station and plotted a route to the checkpoint. It was a fair distance just to get there, but it would have to do.

“I can get there! If you could send any sort of escort, that would be much appreciated!” the reedy man replied.

“Already on it. Get moving!” the Takharian ordered before he killed the line. Needing no further motivation, Void Lord hauled ass, hoping that he’d make the checkpoint before Taal’ani and her friends found him.

Jaesa had tracked the man down to his suite and accessed the security cameras in the hotel. She did so quietly, not wanting to alarm hotel security, and pulled up stills of the man’s face. It wasn’t just his face she had gotten shots of, but also his height, weight, build and his walk. Jaesa fabricated an algorithm to track the man based on these parameters and had one ready within minutes.

“Jaesa? What are you doing?” Natalya asked.

“Just finished a tracking algorithm, so we can find this ... Void Lord,” Jaesa replied with a smirk.

“You got one ready that fast?” Taal’ani asked, eyes wide with surprise.

“You know who you’re talking to, right?” Jaesa sassed, while giving Talon a look.

“OK, no need to press the point,” Taal’ani replied. “Any idea how we’ll find him?”

“Is there any way to contact Administrator Dohbalan? He could issue the order needed to find this man and apprehend him,” Jaesa replied. “Or we could go and find him ourselves.”

“We don’t have our weapons!” Natalya reminded Jaesa. “Hold up while I call the Darkstrider.”

“Darkstrider, come in. Darkstrider, is anyone there?” Taal’ani called in.

“Talon, are you all right?” Inari asked in answer.

“I’m fine. You guys still on the line with Williams?” the Fel’caan woman asked.

“Yeah! We’re trying to figure where Void Lord may have gone and who he is, but we’re coming up empty on that. There’s so little to go on, as no persons of interest were flagged over the past few days, so we got nothing!” Inari griped.

“Jaesa tracked the bastard down and got stills of him. We’re sending you a data package now,” Taal’ani stated as she nodded to Jaesa, who uploaded the information packet to the Darkstrider.

“That’s Void Lord? This skinny little shit?” Inari scoffed.

“Probably why he’s got such an issue with me handing his ass to him,” Taal’ani sniffed.

“Weak men will always fear a strong woman. Mainly because such women cannot and will not be controlled. Least of all, by men like them,” Alex observed.

“Well said! Just how much data did he get?” Priya asked, fearful of what had been taken.

“He didn’t get the full route, but he got enough where it wouldn’t take them long to piece it together. Even if they have that fragment...” Jaesa stated.

“It would mean open war with UCW, on a scale that hasn’t been seen since the Dark War with the Xuul’khan!” Williams breathed.

“We cannot let the Collective get their hands on this map! Jaesa, have you had any luck pinpointing the man’s location?” Alex asked.

“Working on finding him, but I can’t get my hands on the live security footage of the station,” Jaesa replied.

“Allow me to fix that,” Williams stated, as she put her line on hold. She was gone for a few minutes before she reappeared in the holo display. “Station security has been alerted, and I have secured you and Taal’ani access to the live feeds. Hopefully, it helps with locating the man.”

“Much appreciated!” Jaesa thanked, as she delved into cyberspace. Taal’ani was right there with her as they plugged in the algorithm. Their search was fruitless for a few minutes until they received a ping with their quarry.

“Found him! He’s in the hospitality district of the station, right by the tours kiosks! He popped right out of a vent!” Taal’ani yipped into the line.

“Dispatching security to apprehend him! We’ve got this!” Williams told them.

“Commodore, I would respectfully request that Taal’ani and Jaesa go to help with his apprehension. Taal’ani has had some experience in dealing with him, and she would be instrumental in getting him to hand over what he stole. If not, she could be essential in getting him to give up his employers,” Alex queried.

“Request granted. Ladies, make your way to the hospitality sector and meet up with Lieutenant Hardick. His unit is the closest unit that I can personally trust with his arrest,” Williams stated.

“Copy that. On our way!” Natalya stated before killing the line.

Void Lord mingled as best as he could with the crowd milling around the various kiosks. While he didn’t stick out like a sore thumb, he was noticeable, which worked against him. He kept his cool as a group of security personnel walked over to the group of tourists he was blending in with and approached him directly.

“Sir? If you will come with us, the commodore is waiting,” the officer of the group told him.

“Waiting for what?” Void Lord asked suspiciously.

“The package you promised to deliver to his hands,” the officer replied with a smile. Sighing in relief, Void Lord relaxed and allowed himself to be led away by the group of soldiers. He was happy that the man that employed him, who happened to be a commodore no less, had gotten his men to protect him. The group was making good time, heading to the military zone, when a voice rang out.

“Lieutenant Sarnoc!” the voice called out.

“First Lieutenant Hardick! What is it, sir?” Sarnoc replied as he saluted.

“That man you have with you is to be remanded into my custody, immediately!” the man stated.

“This is highly irregular and does not follow the chain of custody,” Sarnoc argued.

“Take it up with Commodore Williams, she’s the one who issued the order,” Hardick stated as she showed the hologram of the order.

“We have our orders as well, from Commodore Saubath. Thus, I have to follow my orders,” Sarnoc said with a level of smugness.

“Commodore Williams was commissioned before Commodore Saubath was and is the commander of the Second Fleet. Therefore, her orders take precedence. Hand the man over, now. That’s an order!” Hardick replied as he put his hand on his sidearm, flicking the holding clip off it.

Sarnoc looked hesitant and backed up a step, caught off guard by how direct Lieutenant Hardick was being. He turned, making a beckoning motion, before he gave his next command.

“Shoot them! Kill them all!” the junior Lieutenant roared as he tackled Void Lord to the ground and out of the line of fire.

The security guards that were with Sarnoc were on Saubath’s and the Collective’s payroll. They opened fire on Hardick and his men, driving them back and even wounding a couple of them. If it hadn’t been for the personal shield generators they wore, they would have all died in the first salvo.

Thankfully, Hardick and his men retreated and found cover before their shields were depleted. Civilians who saw the firefight start, ran and ducked for cover. Seconds later, alarms sounded through the station as the firefight escalated. Because Hardick and his men were in the way, Sarnoc and his men had to try to find a way around.

“Why Sarnoc?!?” Hardick called out, furious at the betrayal.

“Because the UCW is a dying initiative! Something better needs to replace it!” Sarnoc howled as he opened fire, giving his men the cover they needed to move.

“You’re a fool if you believe that!” Hardick fired back, breaking cover to unload his weapon on the traitorous men. The incoming shots forced the traitors to scramble for cover as some of them were hit by the spray of bullets.

“Am I? Am I a fool to believe that the Collective will reward me for bringing them something they’ve wanted?” Sarnoc shot back.

“You’re just a pawn to them, Sarnoc! They will discard you the moment they have no further use for you!” Hardick called out.

“We will see about that!” the lieutenant called out as he fired back. He just received a ping on his wrist comms, which told him about incoming squads of reinforcements. He grinned as he kept the banter going. All he had to do was keep Hardick talking and he would soon be a dead man.

“What the hell is going on?!?” Alex called out as he heard the alarms wailing.

“Weapons discharged near the military zone!” Jaesa informed him as she pulled live feed of the firefight going on, showing it to him.

“Shit! Tell Nats and Talon to hold back! They’re walking into a fucking warzone!” Alex snapped.

“Already done, sir, but they are insisting on aiding Lieutenant Hardick. There are reinforcements inbound to his location, but they are not the friendly ones. Local chatter suggests that they are backing Hardick’s assailants,” Jaesa stated.

“Damn! Jaesa, give me access to the armory, now!” Alex said as he raced for the elevator!

“What are you doing? Sir?” Inari called out after him.

“Getting some guns to bring to the ladies. You two stay here and keep an eye on the ship! In case this firefight is a distraction!” Alex ordered.

“You think they might try to board the ship if they make it this far?” Inari asked worriedly.

“We have all this advanced tech on board, and someone just stole a map fragment to try to get to the source of the tech. Do the math,” Alex rumbled over the comms.

“All Sentries, go to full defensive mode and protect the Darkstrider by any means necessary! Extreme prejudice authorized!” Inari barked. The Sentries aboard the ship snapped to attention and increased their patrols throughout all sectors, keeping a watchful eye for any potential intruders.

Natalya, Taal’ani and Jaesa were on their way towards the firefight, but kept a watchful eye. They didn’t want to get caught by any men who were loyal to Saubath as they neared the sound of guns blazing. Though the women were bereft of any firearms, they at least had personal shield generators and nanoweave vests on. They were crouched behind a planting of some of the flora and fauna of Veldhern when they received a call.

“Ladies, where the hell are you?” Alex’s voice called in, laced with panic.

“Over by the lily display, just past the food vendors!” Jaesa called out over the line.

“I see you! I’m on my way!” Alex replied. Maybe a few minutes later, Alex jaunted up, keeping his head down, his arms festooned with weapons.

“Damn, Alex! Did you bring the whole armory with you?” Natalya joked as she plucked a pistol and an assault rifle from his arms.

“I could have, if I suited up with the Phalanx. But bringing that aboard the station, having to explain it to security and the like, wasn’t something I thought was a good idea,” he replied.

“Good call! What’s it looking like, Jaesa? Are Hardick and his men still holding?” Taal’ani asked the AI as she pulled a pair of SMGs and a hand cannon.

“They are, but they’re losing badly. Several men have already fallen with life-threatening injuries, and some are already dead. They need backup and any reinforcements that Williams could provide won’t get there in time!” Jaesa reported, as she was handed an automatic pistol and sniper rifle, per her request.

“Well then, it looks like it’s up to us! Let’s go drop some traitorous scum!” Alex said, cocking his heavy machine gun as he stood up, offering the women tactical safety glasses.

“I have updated your HUDs on the glasses, so they will display hostile and friendly combatants,” Jaesa replied, falling in behind Alex as they marched.

“That will make sorting the bastards out much easier!” Natalya growled as she moved behind Alex, keeping her eyes peeled for any threats. The group continued their advance, coming closer to the sound of gunfire. They rounded a corner and nearly walked right into a quartet of soldiers who were approaching Hardick’s position. They hung back, avoiding detection as they watched the men continue forward.

“What about these ones?” Alex whispered.

“Unknown. Leaning towards Saubath I would guess, but I can’t say unless they make any aggressive moves,” Jaesa whispered back.

“Shh,” Natalya breathed, before gesturing for them to listen.

“So, we’re just to fire on Hardick? What the fuck for?” one of the soldiers asked.

“Orders from Saubath. You remember the pledge you made? To be above all races and creeds? To ensure that our mission was above all others?” the senior soldier groused, reminding his subordinate of his place.

“Yes, sir. Just seems like such a waste is all,” the private grumbled, which earned him a cuff upside the head.

“Any who don’t believe as we do must die. The Collective’s will is all that matters!” the man yelled.

“That makes this that much easier to do!” Alex bellowed as he broke cover, catching the men off guard.

The soldiers had maybe seconds to react, but they didn’t move fast enough. Alex opened fire and cut down the soldiers like wheat before a scythe. Natalya, Taal’ani and Jaesa backed him, their weapons firing in a concerted effort to bring the men down. The one soldier who questioned his orders dropped to his belly, cowering, hoping and praying that he wouldn’t get shot.

“On your feet, soldier!” Alex ordered. The man raised his hands, looking at the imposing stature of Alexander Tomisic with a mixture of fear, awe and respect.

“Well, what are you waiting for? You heard the man!” Natalya told him, pointing her rifle in his direction, spurring the man to his feet.

“I don’t know what you heard...” he started.

“We heard enough, so don’t try pulling no bullshit. You want to live, help us out. How many teams are here and where are they positioned?” Alex demanded. The man hurriedly told him where the soldiers were located and their team composition. Alex listened intently as the women took up sentry positions around them.

“That’s all I know, I swear!” the man told them.

“I believe you. Now, have yourself a good nap,” Alex stated, before he decked the man as hard as he could, knocking him out.

“Was that really necessary, Alex? What if this comes to bite us in the ass?” Natalya groused.

“You still on the line there, Commodore?” Alex asked out loud.

“Yes, I am! Got his face and have his service record in front of me. While I don’t condone traitors, maybe we can work with this one. Put him to use before we decide his fate,” Ana told him.

“Sound plan. Jaesa, best angle of attack?” Alex asked. Jaesa gave the location of the nearest high point with cover, which Alex and the ladies scooted to. They stayed out of sight, closing in on the nearest position where they could help Lieutenant Hardick and his men. Once they were in position, Jaesa informed them they hadn’t been noticed, so surprise was on their side.

“All right. Break cover and open fire on my command,” Alex told them. He counted down from three using his fingers and once he was down to zero, they popped up and unleashed their fury upon the traitorous soldiers. Saubath’s men were caught off guard, many of them facing away from Alex and his fireteam. By the time they figured out what was going on, a third of their number had already been gunned down.

“What the fuck is happening?” Hardick called out.

“Reinforcements, sir! The traitors are on the ropes!” a sergeant replied, hope lacing his voice.

“Break cover and open fire!” the lieutenant commanded.

His men obeyed, and they got up, battered and bloodied as they were, and fought back. A good portion of the soldiers loyal to Saubath fell in mere seconds, the crossfire too much for them to keep up with. The smart ones dove back into cover, trying to stay alive while a hailstorm of death came down on them.

“What the fuck?!?” Sarnoc cried out. “Those reinforcements weren’t supposed to get here until after we’d killed Hardick! How did they get here so fast?!?”

“These aren’t the reinforcements! They’re civilians!” one of his remaining corporals replied as he cowered behind a bench.

“Where the fuck did civilians get their hands on military grade firepower?!?” he growled.

“I think we have more important things to worry about!” the soldier told him, as he pointed to where Void Lord lay. The hacker was behind some cover, but he was bleeding badly. His body was riddled with bullets and his breathing was shallow. He wasn’t mortally wounded, but it was bad enough that if he didn’t get any help, the hacker would die.

“What the shit?!? Tell me the data you got is safe at least!” Sarnoc implored as he crawled up to the man. In Void Lord’s hand was his rig, shattered by several large caliber holes. The lieutenant cursed and chanced a look at their assailants and saw they were slowly closing in.

“Great! We fucking failed and we’re going to die here! All for fucking nothing!” the soldier cursed.

“No, we ... won’t,” Void Lord replied.

“What the fuck do you mean??”

“Rig is ... broken ... but have a ... backup copy ... stored ... here,” the hacker said, tapping his head.

“You memorized the intel you got?” Sarnoc guessed.

“Storage ... cortex. Just the two of us ... have to ... make it,” Void Lord told him. Sarnoc popped his head upwards to look again and saw that the reinforcements he’d been fearing had indeed arrived. With that many men, there was no way the two of them would make it. One, maybe, but not two, if any of them expected to survive.

“No. Just me!” Sarnoc growled as he moved to the hacker. Void Lord’s eyes widened as he realized what the lieutenant was about to do.

“Don’t you fucking ... nnnoooooooOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” the hacker screamed before his voice was turned into a bloody gurgle. Sarnoc’s own men stared at the grisly sight of their commander hacking the man’s head off. He severed it with relative ease, using his vibroknife, pulling the hacker’s head from his body. Once he had the head, he shouted out his command, expecting his men to obey.

“Kill them all!” he cried as he broke cover.

Sarnoc opened fire, sending dozens of bullets towards Hardick and the crew of the Darkstrider. His men joined him in his attack, trusting in the lieutenant’s actions. Some defenders dove for cover, avoiding the incoming fire, while several of the newer arrivals returned fire. Many of the soldiers who fought with Sarnoc were gunned down, as they didn’t stand a chance.

The smoke cleared a few seconds later, and the crew advanced on the enemy positions, thinking they were cleared. There were a few survivors, but they did the smart thing and surrendered, not wishing to join their comrades. The crew quickly found the corpse of the hacker they had been hunting, but were mortified to find him without his head.

“What in the name of all that is holy happened??” Alex breathed.

“Sir! Over there!” Jaesa cried out, pointing at the retreating Lieutenant Sarnoc.

“Is that ... Void Lord’s head in his hands?” Taal’ani gasped, sickened by the grisly sight.

“Void Lord had a storage cortex implanted in his brain! He made copies of the data he stole and stored them there!” Jaesa blurted out. The crew took a beat to process this information before they realized what it meant and tore after the traitorous officer.

“What the fu ... WHERE ARE YOU GOING??” Hardick called out as he chased after the departing crew.

“Going after that officer! The head has a storage cortex, which holds sensitive data!” Alex rumbled as he matched pace with the women.

“How sensitive?” Hardick shouted, barely keeping up with Alex’s long stride.

“Enough to kickstart a war over it!” Natalya called back.

The lieutenant’s eyes widened, now fully aware of what the stakes were. He controlled his breathing, pacing himself with the crew as they gave chase. Sarnoc chanced a look back and panic was written all over it. Hardick watched the man pick up the pace and the rest of them ran faster to match it. In his mind, there was no way that Sarnoc was getting away. He’d done too much evil to just be let off so easily.

Sarnoc zig zagged his way through the military zone, hoping to lose his pursuers. He cut through the checkpoint with relative ease, as they were men he knew. He’d hoped they would have gunned down the people chasing him, but several commands from Hardick had them join the pursuit. He growled as he called in to reach Saubath on the Stalwart.

“Sir?!? Are you there??” he called, hoping that the commodore was reachable.

“Sarnoc? What’s happened?!?” Saubath questioned as he saw the moving landscape around the lieutenant.

“Compromised sir! But I have the package and am on my way! Tell me the shuttle is on its way!” Sarnoc begged as he kept moving and dodging obstacles.

“It should be there momentarily! Where is Void Lord??” Saubath worried.

“Dead, but the sneaky bastard had a storage cortex in his head! I have it and I’m bringing it to you!” Sarnoc breathed.

“Good! Keep moving! You’re almost there!” Saubath urged. “I have men stationed at the shuttle! Get to them and you’ll be safe!”

“Yes, sir! Out!” Sarnoc yelped as he killed the call.

Sarnoc turned his head once again and hoped that he’d finally lost them. He was shocked and terrified when he saw his assailants were still on his tail and closing fast! ‘Fuck!! Who are these people? Galactic athletes?!?’ he thought as he kept running. Sarnoc had always been fast on his feet, among the fastest at the academy! Yet these people were still on him and didn’t even appear to be breaking a sweat!

The Collective agent kept his eyes ahead of him as he kept dodging and weaving, giving them no line of sight to shoot. He knew he was getting close, as the pre-arranged extraction point was coming up. Sarnoc tore into the docking bay thirty-nine and saw the shuttle there, waiting for him. Around it stood four soldiers, with their weapons out, ready to engage anyone who came at them.

“They’re right behind me! Shoot to kill!” the lieutenant screamed as he raced for the shuttle.

Alex burst into the docking bay and waded into a hail of incoming fire. He would have been cut down, were it not for the personal shield generator he was wearing. Diving behind a crate, the big man got a warning to those who followed him, urging them to take cover.

“Fuck! The bastard’s getting away!” Natalya screamed as she popped up and returned fire, sending the soldiers scrambling for cover. She aimed several bursts at the fleeing officer but yelled in frustration.

“What is it??” Taal’ani queried.

“The fucker is shielded! There’s no way I’ll be able to drop him!” Natalya cursed as she kept firing, hoping to cut through his shields.

“We can’t let that info get out!” Alex called out. “Ideas?!?”

“I have one,” Jaesa stated, as she cocked her sniper rifle. “Cover me!”

Doing as the AI asked, the group broke cover and unleashed hellfire with their weapons. It was enough to keep the soldiers on their heels, but Sarnoc kept moving, his shield giving him the confidence to stay out of cover. The man was moving quickly, but staggered slightly, as though winded. He neared the ramp that led into the shuttle, and the AI knew that time was short.

Jaesa sighted the man in, but then moved her gaze to the bloody trophy in his hand. Taking careful aim, she waited for the precise moment before squeezing the trigger. The round was expelled at a velocity that even she couldn’t track, but her aim was true, as she watched the head of Void Lord explode in a shower of gore.

She saw a messy tangle of wires dangling from the remains of the hacker’s head and took aim again. Sarnoc had just turned and screamed in horror at what he held before the second round was fired. It hit the remaining piece of the head, vaporizing it in a split second, leaving nothing to be recovered. The traitor stared outside the shuttle in Jaesa’s direction, before the ramp closed and the ship took off.

“Please tell me you got the bastard!” Hardick begged.

“His shield was too strong. I couldn’t punch through it in time,” Jaesa replied with a grim smirk on her face.

“Then why in the name of the gods are you smiling?” the lieutenant retorted.

“Because I shot and atomized Void Lord’s head. Unless it can me magically reconstituted from free floating atoms, then I’d say that our mission was a success,” the AI smirked.

Sarnoc cursed and groaned as he looked over the remains of Void Lord’s head. He knew that he had failed in his mission and was beside himself with worry. The soldier had no idea how he was going to explain this to Saubath. One way or another, he’d have to tell the man about it and wondered when the best time to do it would be. That decision was taken away from him, as a holocall beeped, startling him.

“You might want to pick that up, Sarnoc! It’s the Commodore,” the pilot told him. Sighing, Sarnoc knew that the best way to deal with this was now. He picked up the call on the fifth ring, letting the hologram of Commodore Saubath materialize in front of him.

“Lieutenant Sarnoc, report! Did you secure the asset?” Saubath asked eagerly. “Tell me that you at least secured the cortex!!”

“That’s a negative, sir. I was aboard the shuttle, when the damn thing was blown out of my hands by a sniper shot. This is all that remains,” Sarnoc growled, holding up the goopy remnants of Void Lord’s head.

“Fuck!!!” Saubath raged, and even though it was a hologram, Sarnoc shrank away a little, terrified of the Takharian man. “Get aboard the Stalwart immediately! We have one final card left to play.”

“Aye, aye, sir!” Sarnoc replied dutifully, saluting his superior. He wondered what Saubath had in mind, but was glad that he wouldn’t be on the receiving end of it.

Arcann Saubath growled ferally, beyond angry at the chain of events that had transpired. They had what they needed and were so close to gaining their long sought after advantage! Though Saubath wouldn’t be able to deliver what he had promised, he could at least try to rectify the situation he was in. He turned to his XO and barked a singular command.