Chapter 10: Sabotage from Within

The tension aboard the Erebus was palpable as the crew’s makeshift alliances began to fray. With every hyperspace jump, every skirmish against the Kael’dar, the cracks in their team grew deeper. Frustration brewed like a storm, threatening to shatter the fragile unity holding them together.

Gear, the gruff and brilliant engineer who had been with Thomas Morgan since the ship’s activation, was the first to voice his dissatisfaction openly. In the confines of the engineering bay, surrounded by humming consoles and glowing Altherian circuits, Gear’s voice echoed harshly.

“I’ve been patient, Thomas,” he barked, slamming a spanner onto the console. “But you’re in over your damn head. You’ve got a miracle ship, an ancient AI whispering in your ear, and an enemy fleet breathing down our necks. And all I see is you winging it!”

Thomas stood at the doorway, arms crossed, his jaw tight. He had grown used to Gear’s bluntness, but today it stung more than usual. “You think I don’t know that? I’m not pretending to be perfect, Gear. I’m doing what I can with what I’ve got.”

“What you’ve got,” Gear shot back, pointing a grease-stained finger at him, “is a crew that’s tired of playing second fiddle to a captain who doesn’t know how to captain. We’re running out of time, and we’re running out of trust.” The words landed hard. Thomas opened his mouth to respond, but Zara’s voice crackled over the comms, cutting through the heated argument. “Captain, you need to get to the bridge. Now.”

Thomas exchanged a quick, tense glance with Gear before sprinting down the corridors. The Erebus was alive with activity, its Altherian architecture glowing faintly as Solace directed its systems. When he arrived on the bridge, Zara stood at her station, her face pale.

“We’ve got a problem,” Zara said, gesturing to her console. A series of flashing red warnings filled the screen. “Something’s infected the ship. It’s ... it’s shutting down the cloaking systems.”

Thomas’s stomach dropped. The Erebus’s cloaking technology was their greatest asset, keeping them hidden from the Kael’dar’s relentless pursuit. Without it, they were exposed. “How did this happen?” he demanded, leaning over her shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Zara admitted, her voice tinged with frustration. “But this wasn’t a glitch. It’s deliberate—someone planted a virus.”

A chilling realization swept through the room. “Kael’dar agents,” Thomas said grimly. “They must’ve slipped it in during the Earth mission.”

Before anyone could respond, Solace’s voice resonated through the bridge. “Captain, I am detecting multiple Kael’dar ships entering scanning range. They have located us.” “Damn it,” Elena muttered, slamming her fist against her console. “They’re not just hunting us—they were waiting for us to slip up.”

Thomas straightened, his mind racing. “How long do we have?” “Less than four minutes,” Solace replied. “The virus has compromised more than just the cloaking system. It’s slowing our hyperspace calculations.”

“Can you purge it?” Thomas asked.

“I am attempting to isolate the corrupted code, but the process will take time.”

“We don’t have time!” Elena snapped, her tone sMorgan than she intended. “If they pin us down, we’re dead.” Thomas turned to the crew, his voice firm. “Then we buy Solace that time. Zara, send a false signal—make it look like we’re jumping in the opposite direction. Elena, prep defensive systems. Gear, I need you in engineering to stabilize the hyperdrive. Move!”

The crew scrambled into action, their earlier frustrations momentarily set aside as survival took precedence. Lyara, who had silently observed the chaos, stepped closer to Thomas. “I’ll help Elena with the weapons. You’ll need every advantage you can get.”

Thomas gave her a quick nod, appreciating her calm under pressure. “Let’s hope it’s enough.”

A Desperate Escape

The Kael’dar ships arrived on the edge of the system, their sleek, menacing designs cutting through the darkness of space. Their weapons charged immediately, firing beams of crackling energy toward the Erebus. The ship shuddered as the first impacts struck its shields.

“Shields at 80%,” Elena reported, her hands flying over the controls. “They’ve got lock-on algorithms—they’re predicting our movements.”

“Then let’s change the game,” Thomas said. “Zara, launch decoys.”

A series of small drones detached from the Erebus, each emitting a signature identical to the ship’s. The Kael’dar’s targeting systems faltered, shifting to chase the false signals. For a moment, the onslaught lessened.

In the engineering bay, Gear worked furiously to stabilize the hyperdrive, sweat dripping from his brow. “Come on, you ancient piece of junk,” he muttered, wrenching a panel open. The Altherian systems were unlike anything he’d ever seen—beautiful in their complexity, yet infuriatingly alien. Solace’s voice reached him through the ship’s internal comms. “Engineer Gear, the virus has embedded itself in the hyperdrive’s control protocols. You must manually override it.”