Project Prometheus Ch. 02

“Are you serious?” came Natalya’s incredulous voice over the intercom.

“Come on up and see for yourself,” Inari replied, her voice still quiet. The clamor of movement from behind her let her know everyone had left their posts to get a good look.

“Oh, my God!” Priya and Natalya said at the same time. The lights were still flashing across the hull from their position, but the name of the ship was clear as day.

“Looks like those legends you told me about are true Nats,” Korsa said.

“Yeah,” Natalya squeaked, still in disbelief, “But I never thought we’d be the ones to find one of the lost ships from the Prometheus Project!”

“OK, time out,” Taal’ani interjected. “It seems that I’m the only one left out of the loop about this. Could someone please explain what exactly this ship is and why it’s so important?” Everyone else turned to look at her, not believing the words that spilled out of Taal’ani’s mouth just now.

“You never heard the legend of Project Prometheus?” Natalya gasped.

“No, what was it exactly?”

“Let me tell you what it was,” Natalya smiled as she put her arm around her Fel’caan crewmate and guided her back to the lounge, Korsa following along in their wake. As the three women retreated to the rear of the ship, Inari spun back to the controls and moved the Darkstrider along the length of the Leviathan class ship.

“Pree, I need active scans of this thing!” the captain commanded.

“Aye, captain!” Priya said, as she went back to the radar holo. A question popped into her head, which she then asked. “I’m curious though. What is our plan?”

“The sheer value of such a ship is beyond what any of us here can imagine! We can’t trust this to anyone else, so find me a hangar bay. We must board this ship and find a way to power it up again,” Inari continued. “If we can restore power, then we could take it back to Federation space ourselves. Who knows? This might be the big score we’ve been looking for!”

******************************

In the lounge, Natalya sat down and gestured for Taal’ani to do the same. “So, are you going to tell me about this legend of yours?” the cat girl asked impatiently.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of Earth and much of its history, yeah?” Natalya probed while leaning forward.

“Bits and pieces, here and there,” the Fel’caan woman replied.

“I’m guessing that you’ve heard about the Unification War?” the engineer quizzed her friend.

“Yeah, where humanity put aside its differences for the common good. It wasn’t easy though, what with the greedy elitists trying to keep everyone divided for their own gain.”

“That’s right,” Natalya said, eager to continue the story. “It was after the war, when humanity had finally unified, that they made a discovery. In the Aegean Sea, beneath nearly a kilometer of rock, coral and sand, we found remnants of a massive ship.”

“Like the one we found just now?” Taal’ani interjected.

“Similar, yes,” Natalya continued. “It was this ship that changed humanity’s role in the galaxy. Aboard it was all sorts of technology that far outstripped our own. Also, aboard the ship was a data archive of sorts. The language was ancient and would take time to decipher.”

“I take it, it was as old as the ship?”

Natalya huffed at being interrupted again, but Korsa’s hand on her shoulder calmed her down. She looked up at the elder woman as Korsa said, “Short version Nats. You have the history file. Make a copy for Talon if she wants the details.”

Natalya pouted but nodded in acquiescence as she turned back to continue her tale. “So, humanity tried for the longest time to figure out the language, but it was proving to be impossible. Someone had the brilliant idea of mixing mathematics into the language programs to try to figure it out and we finally made progress.”

“Eventually, we cracked a portion of it. It was less than ten percent, but it was enough to decode a few thousand petabytes of the logs and schematics. There were many technological wonders that had yet to be discovered, all chronicled within it. Soon after, using what we had learned, we entered an age of peace and prosperity,” Natalya said as her face had taken on a faraway look, imagining what it must have been like to live in such a time.

“So, where do these ships fit in with this?” Taal’ani asked.

“Not long after they cracked the archive, every entry recorded and cataloged, the Earth High Council unanimously decided that it was past time that humanity reach for the stars,” Natalya went on. “We had grown enough as a species where we saw the universe as a place of learning, not as some conquest.”

“I really wish that more humans could adopt that attitude these days,” Korsa said offhandedly as she went to pour herself some vodka into a glass she had retrieved. Natalya grunted noncommittally before continuing.

“Using what we had learned from the archive, eight massive ships were constructed at the Armstrong shipyards, located equidistant from both Earth and Mars. They were designed for deep space voyages to take humanity out amongst the galaxy. Thus, Project: Prometheus was born.”

“Their primary mission was to explore the space surrounding Earth and beyond. To catalog and mark everything they encountered as they voyaged through the galaxy. Much of the galaxy was still unexplored and unknown to us. Though there was a map in the archive, it was dated to millions of years before.”

“So, everything about star positioning and what the galaxy was like was rendered useless,” the Fel’caan woman supplied.

“Exactly, but we could still use the star charts as reference points. These ships weren’t just designed as colony ships. They also carried all the knowledge we had massed in our time, so the colonists would have access to everything they would need. They were also classified as flying space stations, as they were equipped with on board foundries, machine shops, hydroponics, you name it, it was on there.”

Taal’ani blew out a low whistle, “Sounds like they designed these things to be self-sustaining battle fleets!”

Chagrined, the chocolate-skinned woman progressed with her tale. “That was one use that they made it for, but not its primary purpose. The weapons it was armed with were designed to defend, and the ships it would create could fight if needed. Just because we had become more peaceful, it was foolish to assume that the rest of the galaxy would be.”

“What weapons was it armed with? What were the specs on it? Where were they headed?” Taal’ani yammered excitedly.

Gesturing in a calming motion, Natalya finished up the story. “No one really knows, as nearly everything on them was highly classified. After they had launched, the ships had been gone maybe twenty years before we lost all transmissions. Soon after, we made first contact with the Xuul’khan.”

“Well, we all know what happened after that,” Taal’ani said rather darkly.

“Indeed, but now we may have answers!” Natalya jabbered.

“If story time is over, I need you back in your suit, Nats,” Inari’s voice came in over the ship’s comm system. “You too, Talon.”

Rising from their seats, the trio made their way to the cargo hold. As they descended, Natalya called out, “You found something, captain?”

They all hit the deck, eager to be getting out there and exploring this marvel from the past. Natalya was still in her suit, so she walked to where her helmet and gauntlets were, having divested herself of them earlier. While Korsa helped Taal’ani with her suit, their captain continued.

“A way in. There’s a hangar bay on the starboard side that looks like it’s been pried open a little. I need both of you out there to open it fully so we can get in.”

Natalya’s eyes widened in anticipation. “We’re boarding?!?” she cried out gleefully.

“That we are, and we need all hands on deck.”

“You can count on us, captain!” Taal’ani replied, her excitement clear in her voice.

She had donned her suit and was busy latching her arm computer onto her gauntlet. Then she grabbed her thruster pack and Natalya’s. Hurrying over, her mag boots clomping on the floor, she helped Natalya with attaching it to her suit and then turned around. The human woman then did the same for her, ensuring they fit properly with it. Double checking that she had missed nothing, she grabbed her helmet and secured it in place.

“Slow down there, Talon! We’re not on a clock here,” Korsa chuckled as she finished helping her crewmate secure her vacc suit.

“I know! But even so, this is something beyond exceptional!” Taal’ani was practically bouncing, she was so excited. Natalya had finished locking her helmet and gauntlets into place and re-ran another vacc test. Smirking, Korsa looked at them both and shook her head.

“Like kids on Christmas morning,” the Khontaran woman giggled.

“Can you blame us, Mama? This is something that no one else has found yet and we are the first ones to find it!” Natalya enthused. Korsa thought about it for a second, then nodded.

“Fair enough, but don’t take any unnecessary risks. You have everything you need?”

“If we need anything, we’ll give you a shout!” Taal’ani piped up over the comm, the helmet muting any sound she would have otherwise made. Walking over to the door controls, the Khontaran woman activated the containment field by the bay doors.

“Seals good?” Korsa asked once more before opening the bay doors.

“Yeah mama, we’re good,” Natalya replied, both women giving Korsa the thumbs up.

Seeing they had both uploaded their test results to her console, the large woman checked them out. Noting that they were green across the board, she opened the doors, allowing the women to step out into space. She then closed the doors after they had cleared the field. Sighing, Korsa couldn’t help be excited herself, as what they were doing was literally a historic event.

**********************

Coasting along towards the center of the Perseus, both women had launched themselves from the hull of their freighter. Using their thrusters, they closed the gap to the derelict ship, eager to get inside. Flipping about to land feet first, the crew mates fired their thrusters briefly to slow their velocity. Floating along, they neared the hangar bay doors that their navigator had spotted. Once they were a few meters away, they activated their mag boots, instantly clunking onto the hull of the Perseus.

“OK, we’re on. Heading towards the doors,” Natalya reported.

As they moved along the length of the ship, both women couldn’t help stare in awe and wonder at the relic they stood upon. Their movement towards the doors was slow, but they didn’t have to go any further. As they approached the doors, the ladies couldn’t help notice the sheer size of them. They were easily large enough to accommodate a destroyer, possibly even a heavy cruiser.

“These things are massive! Any idea how we will get them open, Nats?” Taal’ani asked.

“All human tech has always had a manual override when something can’t or won’t function. We need to find the correct panel where it’s hidden.”

“Makes sense. Where do you need me?” the Fel’caan woman queried.

“Once we find the switch, see if you can find a data port or something you can manually link into,” Natalya replied. “Any help you can give in opening these doors is welcome,” she finished as she continued her search for the override switch.

“You got it!” Talon chirped as she kept her eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. They rounded the edge of the door, still looking for their way into the gargantuan ship. Though the doors had been opened a bit, it wasn’t enough for anyone to squeeze through. Taal’ani noticed a few points that looked like they might be viable candidates for where the switch would be located.

“You see these recessed panels here, Nats?”

“Good eye, Talon! Check each one and see if they open,” the caramel skinned woman responded.

Getting to work, they spent several minutes trying to pry the plating away from the ship. It wasn’t until Natalya tried with a plate in the dead center of the bottom half of the door frame. The panel popped up, then split in half, like a set of double doors, revealing both the manual switch and an interface.

“Found it!” Natalya shouted triumphantly.

“Excellent work, Nats! Can you get it open?”

She stared at the switch for a moment, noting a glaring difficulty. “It looks like it’s locked into place.”

The two-handed switch was locked down by a brace of titanium bands, which prevented it from being used. Next to it was a digital interface of sorts, which Taal’ani had spotted and immediately brought up her cracking programs.

“I may have a way in, ladies,” Taal’ani spoke as she concentrated on her digitized hacking deck. “Stand by.”

She pulled up every program in her arsenal, linking with the Darkstrider to provide her with the boost of power that she needed.

“Looks like the power levels here are weak. I might be able to undo the lock, but that’s it. Anything else, I will have to physically get inside and try my magic that way.”

“As long as you can get it open, we should be able to work around the rest,” came the eager reply of their captain. The cipher on this security node was annoyingly complex. The form of it shifted every thirty seconds, which prompted Taal’ani to start all over in bypassing it. Nearly ten minutes later, she was still having issues trying to get past it.

“Do you need me to get any closer, Talon? The link to your system might need a boost.” came Inari’s concerned reply over the comm.

“The signal is fine; I’ve just encountered nothing quite this intricate!” Taal’ani retorted.

The Fel’caan woman cried out in frustration, angry that she couldn’t bypass a simple security protocol. Forcing herself to calm down, she closed her eyes and looked at the program. She knew this would be complex, but this was proving to be something that might be beyond her abilities. Then, for a moment, Taal’ani spotted what looked like a repeat in the code structure. Surprise flitted across her face and as she studied the code further, she saw the hidden pattern within it.

“It can’t be…… a Skorean code??” awe replaced her surprise as her eyes danced across the screen, following the code trail.

Natalya turned to look at her crew mate, “What’s a Skorean code?”

Her head suddenly racing with a solution, Taal’ani dove back into the code frame with renewed vigor, babbling as she worked. “A Skorean code is a security code structure that employs multiple programs, all running at the same time. Each program is different, though, the structure of each one, unique. It runs each one for a brief amount of time, before switching to a new program entirely, making a hack nearly impossible.”

“So, you can crack it?” came Priya’s voice over the comm, laced with hope.

“I don’t know,” Taal’ani replied. “No one has tried, because it’s still theoretical. No working prototypes exist.”

She followed the code pattern as best she could, continuing her trek through the differing programs, spotting the points she needed to change in the code. Once the changes were made, the code simplified, changing at slower intervals. Heartened by the progress she made, Taal’ani continued to delve into it, making additional changes needed to slow the code shift.

‘One more and I should be able to cut through,’ Talon thought to herself as she advanced to the last stage of code. ‘A few moves here, a change or two there…… and….’ the code shift stopped then. Exclaiming in disbelief, Taal’ani then initiated her protocol breaker. The interface, previously lit in red, switched instantaneously to green. A moment later, the bands holding the manual override switch in place clunked back into the ship.

“Now Nats! I don’t know how long it will stay unlocked!” Talon yelled.

Not needing to be told twice, Natalya grabbed it with both hands and pulled with all her might. The switch resisted at first but gave way after a three second struggle. As it clicked outwards, the doors opened. They groaned, as though in protest at their rest being disturbed, though they did not slow in opening. As they slid into the ship’s recesses, several large chunks of metal flew away from the doors. Those chunks were the reason they were partially open.

“Outstanding job, Talon, as always!” Inari cried out in jubilation, as she guided the Darkstrider into the now open hangar.

“Hey, I aim to please,” Taal’ani fired back nonchalantly, still not quite believing what she had done.

Raucous laughter answered her over the comm as the freighter glided right over the space walking women and settled into the bay. Landing gear out, it set itself past the doors, landing lightly. Following the ship in, both women cleared the doors as they walked over to where the ship was parked. As they reached the halfway mark between the ship and the doors, they heard the familiar groan of the bay doors. Turning, Natalya and Taal’ani watched as the hangar bay doors closed.

“Shit!” Natalya cursed, as she ran as fast as she could back to the doors.

“What’s happening?!?” came a worried question.

“The doors are closing behind us! I’m going to stop them!”

“Nats, you won’t make it! They’re closing too fast!” Taal’ani warned. Try as she might, Natalya couldn’t get there in time. The doors closed just meters in front of her face, only this time, they sealed shut properly, internal locks clunking into place. Screaming out in a rage, Natalya pounded on the doors, as though her meager show of force would open them.

“Did we get locked in here??” Priya asked over the comm.

“Looks like,” Taal’ani responded. “Though this time, the doors are completely closed, so we won’t have to worry about getting sucked out. There’s no air out here, though. You’ll all have to suit up if you’re going to step outside.”

“Copy that. We’ll be along in ten minutes,” Inari declared. Taal’ani walked over to her distressed friend with the aim of getting her head back in the game.

“Hey,” she whispered, while grabbing her friends’ arms and hauling her to her feet. “There’s nothing you could have done. We’re in here now, so we should make the best of it and try to find a way out of here.”

“You’re sounding more and more like Mama K,” Natalya scoffed dejectedly.

“She does have a lot of wise teachings that are worth learning,” Taal’ani laughed softly as she led her friend back to their ship.

“Sometimes, it’s easier said than done,” Natalya laughed bitterly.

“Oh, believe me, I know,” the Fel’caan woman said off handedly, reminiscing on her own past.

“So, any ideas, now that we’re stuck here?” the cat girl asked as they waited for the rest of their crew.

“Well, first we have to find our way to engineering,” Natalya asserted, sounding more confident than she felt. “Pree picked up power readings, so the reactor to this place isn’t completely dead. I should get all of my tools, so that whatever we may need, we have, without having to run back and forth.”

“What did you have in mind?” Taal’ani asked, intrigued.

“Whatever this reactor is, human hands built it. Since that is the likely case, I should be able to either repair it. Or at least give it the jump start it needs to climb back to full power,” Natalya stated hopefully.

The darkness of the hangar bay hung over them, like an oppressive shadow, waiting to devour them. The lights from their ship kept it at bay and illuminated the immediate surroundings. Many sorts of garbage and debris littered the area, making it appear as though they were standing at the bottom of a trash compactor rather than a hangar bay.

Along with the various items that appeared to be broken tools and ruptured containers, there was also a smattering of what seemed to be frozen human body parts. ‘Poor bastards,’ Natalya thought to herself, shivering involuntarily. Imagining dying in such a manner was almost too much for the young woman to bear. A loud hiss interrupted her speculations as the doors to the Darkstrider opened and the ramp slid down.

“A good plan, by the sounds of it. Hop inside and get what you need. We’ll secure the area out here. Talon, think you can get us inside?” Inari stated as she stepped up to both women, resplendent in her Mark three marine suit.

“I don’t think that will be a problem, but I’d better grab my portable rig to be safe,” Taal’ani said, as she admired the form her captain cut in the power armor. Though the suit was an older model, it still looked fearsome. It transformed the look of their kindly captain into that of a hardened warrior.

Night blue, interlocking armor plates covered most of the black vacc suit underneath. It was coupled with military grade mag boots and a supply pack on her back, which contained extra magazines and grenades. The helmet was designed to look both faceless and fearsome, sleek angles and smooth contours. Combined with a solid black visor, made it look like something that was more machine than human. The effect, though, couldn’t be denied, as chills involuntarily shot up Taal’ani’s spine.

Korsa looked no less awe-inspiring, as her interlocking armor was gold and gilded in silver overlay. The design of the plating was both alien and familiar, with her helmet being both simple in its design, yet elegant. The flowing form of the armor made it appear that she had emerged from some ethereal dimension.

Made from a metal native to her system, it was more resilient than titanium. One of the most notable differences was that it was far lighter and tougher to bend or dent. It was also nigh impossible to acquire, as that was one of the few things the Khontaran Empire kept strictly for themselves. Despite many ridiculously one-sided trade proposals, the Khontaran people refused to trade it to anyone, even their closest allies.

Priya’s suit was similar to Inari’s, but an older Mark two model, which had a similar effect on the cat girl. The color of the armor was red, and the black suit underneath almost made their navigator look like some sort of ganger. It was pitted and pocked with bullet impacts, but each one of them had been patched up, so the armor would still work. Another thing the crew had been meaning to do was get their hands on some better armor, but funds had been tight lately.

Priya and Inari were armed, Priya with her Night Hammer sniper rifle and a pair of pulse pistols. Inari bore her signature weapon, the Ravager auto rifle, a heavy beast of a weapon. In her lower arms, Korsa held a pistol in one hand and a pair of SMGs in the other. Lobbing them to Taal’ani and Natalya, she crossed her arms, while pulling her Thuun’tara blade out of its sheath on her back. Gripping it with her upper arms, she stepped away from the group to practice some sword forms with it.

“This thing is a derelict. A massive one, but any threats should be long gone,” Natalya said, eyeing the weapons that both women held.

“While we were looking for a way in, I noted some oddities in the hull of the Perseus,” Priya stated as she checked the sighting on her weapons.

“Weapon impacts?” Taal’ani asked.

“Boarding pods. The impact sites were patched up, but the outer markings were still visible.”

“Any idea who or what attacked them?” Natalya inquired.

“None, but it’s obvious that they weren’t friendly. We don’t know what we’ll find here, so it’s best to be prepared,” Inari finished, with the confidence and experience of a woman who had done this before. Nodding grimly, both Natalya and Taal’ani checked their weapons, set the safeties and holstered them.

“Need to run to my quarters for a moment to grab something. Talon, mind loading the grav-sled?” Natalya queried.

“Full load out?” she asked.

“Yup. I’m going to need everything if we’re going to both restore power and get out of here,” Natalya called out as she disappeared into the ship.

Sighing in exasperation, she called out to Natalya’s retreating form, “Grab my rig while you’re up there! It’s in the green case!”

Taal’ani then went to work, loading the all the tools and equipment that belonged to the Darkstrider’s engineer. Taal’ani had just finished loading the cart as Natalya slid down the ladder, bouncing over to where her friend waited. The green case that Taal’ani had asked for was slung on her back, which Natalya promptly removed and handed to the cat girl. Looking over the pile on the sled, Natalya tsked and walked away to a pair of large blocky cases.

“You forgot these,” she said as she hefted them, one at a time, to load them on the sled.

“Are you sure? The last time you brought those along, you nearly put a hole in Pree’s ass,” Taal’ani said as she frowned dubiously. Feeling embarrassed, Natalya straightened out the payload before strapping it down. After locking the straps in place, she stepped behind the sled.

“It’s OK. I fixed what was wrong with them. They won’t cause any problems since you rewrote that targeting algorithm,” the caramel skinned woman asserted, defending her project.

“At least, I hope they won’t,” she added too quietly, even for Taal’ani’s enhanced ears to hear.

“OK, let’s get going,” the young woman said as she pushed the sled out of the Darkstrider and down the entry ramp. As both women stepped away from the ship, they located their crew mates, their suit lights shining against the inky darkness. They likewise activated their own suit lights, making their navigation across the hangar floor far less foreboding.

As they approached, the three women were standing by a door which led to the aft of the ship. A small terminal was wedged into the wall to the right of the door. Taal’ani stepped towards it, opened her case, and pulled out the computer deck that was nestled within. Using the mag harness that was built into the frame of the deck, she activated the clamps, temporarily bonding it with the wall beneath the terminal.

Punching in a few keys, the deck then powered up, its green holographic display brightening the area around the five women. Inari and Priya had assumed a sentry stance, keeping their eyes and weapons trained on the cavernous gloom surrounding them. Korsa stood a few paces behind them, maintaining a vigil over her daughter and the sled.

“Can you speed up the process any Talon? This blackness is giving me the chills,” Inari said as she tightened her grip on the Ravager auto rifle.

“I have to cut through another Skorean code here, and this one is giving me more trouble than the last one,” Taal’ani growled as she worked on the pattern that would grant them entry into the derelict.

“Just hurry it up, please. By Shiva, it almost feels we’re being watched,” Priya stuttered as she held her ground, looking in as many directions as she could.

“Not helping!” came the cat girl’s anxious reply. Fifty seconds later, the final sequence came into play, which Taal’ani pounced on, unlocking the door with a loud clank.

“OK everyone, clear the door and lock in,” Taal’ani said, stepping far enough away from the terminal and deck, where she could just reach it. Everyone else followed suit, stepping away from the door, readying themselves for the decompression. They all kneeled, grabbing what ridges and handholds they could find in the floor.

Stretching out, Talon reached over and pressed the activation key on her deck, opening the doors. They opened slowly, and a small blast of air escaped, which then became a large one as the doors further separated. While mighty, the air flowing into the hangar bay wasn’t enough to knock the women over, though it jostled them fiercely.

Just as quickly as it washed over them, the blast of air faded. In three minutes, it went from near gale force wind to a slight breeze. Standing, all five women approached the door, looking into the corridor that lay ahead. Stepping forward, her rifle pointing ahead of her, Inari took a few tentative steps into the murk. When nothing happened, she signaled the rest of her crew to follow.

“Form up, ladies, and look sharp. We’ve been lucky so far, but we do not understand what caused this ship to become lost in the first place. Stay frosty,” Inari said.

“Aye, captain!” the other four women chorused as they formed up. Priya fell into step just behind Inari, while Taal’ani stayed with Natalya and the grav sled, with Korsa bringing up the rear. Cranking their suit lights to maximum illumination, they began their foray into the ship.

The corridor they walked into spidered into an entire labyrinth of passageways. Most led to either living quarters or what seemed to be recreation areas. A few small offices that looked to be reserved for deck officers. Their lights bounced off the white walls and dark gray floors, dust motes scattering wherever they trod. Korsa had brought up a holo display on one of her arm bracers, going through a scan of some sort. Looking behind her, Natalya broke the ominous silence.

“What you doing, Mama K?”

The large woman looked up from her holo, “Running a scan of the air quality, just to see if there’re any clues that way.”

Inari stopped, peering back to where Korsa stood, and breathed, “Anything worth noting?”

“The air is clean, though it might be thin. I recommend we use our air filters, at least until we can restore power to the ship,” Korsa reported, as the scan came up lime green in color. Nodding, Inari switched from her own air supply to the filtration system built into her helmet. Taking a deep breath, she smelled and tasted a faint trace of mustiness coming through her filters.

“Ugh! Smells and tastes like week old ass!” Taal’ani grumbled as she made the switch with the rest of her crew.

“How do you know what week old ass smells like?” Natalya asked, giggling to herself. The cat girl turned to face the woman, and though her face was obscured by the tinting of her helm, the engineer knew the look that was on her face.

“Don’t ask.”

Shaking her head, Natalya continued pushing the sled forward, heading towards the aft of the ship. The corridor system they were following abruptly opened out into a wide, expansive room, filled with many kinds of advanced computer and scanning equipment.

“What is this place?” Priya asked, looking at the cavernous room, the ceiling of which was at least several decks higher than it should have been. Walking towards the equipment, Korsa looked it all over and took everything in before responding.

“This was a hospital of some sort. A lot of these things are medical scanners and treatment pods. But…. the shape and sizing of them differs from anything I’ve ever seen,” Korsa replied. Bewildered, the Khontaran woman meandered through until she found something that left her awestruck.

“It can’t be…. a Regen pod?!?” Korsa gasped. Hearing these words, Natalya scampered over to see what Korsa was looking at.

“One of those pods that mends and repairs damaged tissues and bones seamlessly?” Taal’ani wondered as she, too, ambled over to get a look at the pod.

The pod was open, appearing as it hadn’t been used, looking nearly as pristine as the day it had been crafted. Inside the pod was an intricate, crystalline lattice that shimmered in the light from their suits.

“I’ve heard about tech like this on the black sites that I frequent, but it’s only rumors and hearsay. I’ve heard vague descriptions of these things, but nothing concrete,” Taal’ani said as she stared at the marvel before them. “OK, before we go any further, I need to know something. What sort of ship was it that was found at the bottom of that sea on Earth?”

“No one really knows. The story goes that it was made by those that we call The First Race. The rest of the galaxy calls them The Primes,” Natalya said, recalling the tale as best as she could.

“What?!? Are you telling me that humankind found an intact Prime ship? That this is a replicate of Prime technology?” Taal’ani gasped.

“That is the story. No one really knew for sure, except for those who were on the Earth High Council and the top military leaders of the time,” Natalya answered. “It would explain some things we’ve seen here, especially that code you said wasn’t supposed to exist.”

Nodding mutely, the cat girl glanced around the deserted med bay. It was truly a marvel, seeing this wonder of technology that human hands had crafted. To be standing on a ship of legends and folklore was almost too much to take in. Shaking her head, Taal’ani came back to her senses.

“We should really keep moving. We can catalog everything once we have power restored,” Inari spoke aloud, jarring everyone from their introspections.

“Aye, captain,” Priya said crisply. Taking a longing look at the Regen pod, Korsa tore her attention away from it, promising herself to come back to it later. Shouldering their weapons, the team walked over to the major exit point of the med bay, a set of wide doors at the rear of the facility. Taal’ani was there first, checking the console that lay by the door.

“Dead. There’s no power here, so we’ll have to pry this door open.”

Korsa chuckled as she hefted her Thuun’tara blade, stepping forth while the rest of the crew gave her a wide berth. Her fingers played along the hilt and grip, finding hidden catches in the weapon. Once she found them, the six-foot-long blade came apart into two. Each sword maintained its length but was a slight bit narrower and thinner than the whole.

Carefully, the Khontaran woman placed the tips of both blades along the central groove of the door. Once aligned, she shoved them through and slowly wedged the portal open. It gave way slowly, inching along towards fully open. Once the door was opened wide enough, Korsa let go of her blades with her lower arms, gripping the edges of the doors instead.

Once she had a firm grip, she dropped the swords completely, using all four arms to push the doors open. As the Thuun’tara blades clattered to the floor, the rest of the Darkstrider crew stepped in to help. With two on each side, pulling and pushing to clear the entryway, the way forward was soon laid bare to them.

“Odd that there would be no power on these doors, being so deep in the ship,” Priya commented.

“Power is probably allocated to more essential systems that require it, but that’s just a guess,” Natalya replied.

“Makes sense,” Inari nodded. “Let’s keep moving. The sooner we restore power, the sooner we can get to the bottom of this mystery.”

“Agreed,” Taal’ani chirped as she hoisted her SMGs to a combat stance. Korsa bent over to scoop up her swords before stepping back into the rear guard. They fell into formation again, marching through the door, but stopped in their tracks at the sight that lay before them.

“No fucking way!” Natalya cried out in awe.

In front lay a massively cavernous room, stretching from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. The room was filled with cryo pods, clustered together, with walkways and gantries crisscrossing each other everywhere. The sheer number of pods was staggering to see. What they could see was far beyond count. The rest of the group were staring, overawed by the sheer immensity of this hold.

“How many people are in here?” Nats wondered aloud.

“Thousands for sure,” Inari mumbled. “Dead most likely though.”

Walking over to the nearest pod cluster, Inari looked it over, as though she was looking for something. The cluster was dimly lit, each pod emitting a minimal glow from within. With clear crystalline lids, the humans sleeping in them were visible. The light framed the faces of their occupants as though they were ghosts.

“Aha! Found it!” Starwitch cried out as she stood before a large readout panel set into the cluster. Dusting it off with her hands, she got a good look at the readouts of the pods.

“Impossible!” she exclaimed as her face was etched with incredulous awe.

“Cap, what is it?” Natalya asked, stepping forward to see what had her friend in such a state. Looking over the panel, Natalya’s face soon took on a similar look to her captains’.

“How can that be?? They’re still alive? After all this time?!?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought I heard you say, ‘They’re still alive.’” Korsa queried before ambling over to see the readout for herself.

“According to this Mama, these people sleeping in this pod cluster are still alive, after six hundred years!” Natalya intoned quietly.

“What?!?” Priya choked out.

“Let me have a look,” Taal’ani said as she came towards where her crewmates were standing. Gesturing for them to give her some space, she brought up her arm deck and input several commands. She stared at the holo and watched it go through its routine checks. Pinging with a green light, the scanning program confirmed Taal’ani’s suspicions.

“This readout isn’t malfunctioning; it still works properly like it should. These people ARE still alive, but by these numbers, it doesn’t look like they have much time,” the cat girl went on.

“How much time?” Inari asked.

“According to this, they have days, maybe weeks at most,” the Fel’caan woman replied.

“We’d better hot-foot it to engineering then!” Natalya piped up, already behind her grav sled, impatient to get moving.

“Form up! Keep your eyes open, ladies!” their captain barked as she assumed point position. Everyone went back to their posts and as one, they continued on, deeper into the bowels of the derelict.

“Lights up!” came a familiar command. Every member of the crew with guns activated the lights attached to their weapons. As they progressed, they noticed what seemed to be a group of figures ahead of them.

“Hold your fire and advance slowly,” Inari commanded steadily.

Gripping their weapons tightly, the all-female crew walked forward cautiously. The figures turned out to be humanoid machines, all standing still. Their stances were indicative of a battle that had occurred before they were deactivated. Several of which seemed to have been badly damaged by weapons fire. Others had large chunks missing, as though they had been cleaved apart.

“What are these things?” Taal’ani asked, looking at the skeletal shape of the robots.

“Sentry-Bots. Designed for security aboard ships, they could also be tasked to do a variety of things, provided you had the clearance to issue them orders,” Inari supplied while looking them over.

“You’ve seen these before?” Korsa asked.

“Yes, but only on ships that were cruiser class or larger, and even then, they were still in the prototype phase. That was before….” Inari trailed off, the memories still a bitter pill to swallow.

“Hey, don’t worry, love. We’ll get that bastard,” Priya consoled her lover. A single tear escaped, crawling down Inari’s face. Sniffing for a moment, she took a deep breath and centered herself.

Focusing back on the present, Inari directed her team to keep moving, edging around the Sentry-Bots. Several meters from the collection of sentries, they saw the reason behind their state, lying on the metal ground. The remnants of humanoid beings were strewn about the ground, having been gunned down by the now frozen Sentries.

The beings had been long dead, given the state of their bones that littered the floor, and the craters that had riddled the skeletons. What they did not expect was the telltale protrusions on the skulls, shoulder blades, and the shape of the leg bones.

“Xuul’khan!” Korsa spat, instantly recognizing the species. “Is there nothing they haven’t tried to destroy?!?”

“Whatever they tried to do to here, they failed. Just like they failed with your people, Mama,” Natalya sympathized.

Korsa growled as she grimly circled the remains, locking her blades together into a singular sword again. The so called “Demons” were a touchy subject for Korsa, as the Xuul’khani people had nearly wiped out hers. Only now, hundreds of years later, the Khontar recovered from the genocidal war that had seen millions of their people slaughtered.

“We need to keep moving. Korsa, can you keep a cool head?” Inari queried. Nodding, the Khontaran woman straightened from examining the remains.

“I’m OK, captain. I just didn’t expect these Dershou’kaht (Pieces of shit) here!”

“None of us did. This day has been a mix of exciting and strange, with a lot of questions that need to be answered. Let’s go find them,” Inari said, gesturing the rest of the group forward.

Collecting themselves, the crew of the Darkstrider pressed on. They came across similar scenes of battle, each one indicative of a hard-pressed conflict on both sides. They saw what seemed to be groups of intact Sentry-Bots, frozen in mid-stride, as though they were going about regular patrols and ship business.

“What do you suppose these guys were up to?” Taal’ani wondered as they walked by the frozen robots.

“Probably fixing the hull breaches and jettisoning the boarding pods, though not necessarily in that order,” Priya guessed.

“Would make the most logical sense, since the air quality hasn’t dipped any,” Korsa said, as she had brought up her scanning holo again, checking the atmosphere for any irregularities. As they continued, the clash sites became more apparent and frequent, the closer they moved towards Engineering.

“Interesting,” Inari commented off-handedly.

“What? What’s so interesting?” Taal’ani asked as she kept probing the dark with her lights, fearful of any hidden surprises it might conceal.

“From what I’ve seen of these battle points, these Xuul’khan were attempting to cripple the Perseus, rather than outright destroy it,” Starwitch murmured thoughtfully.

“What makes you say that?” Natalya asked from behind her sled.

“Most of the points where they engaged the bots were of tactical value. Capture and hold these points along the various gantries and hard points, and you can control the flow of the fight,” the captain finished, gesturing to the cluster of bones lying by what looked to be a security station.

Made up of several podium consoles, there were large reflective plates that ringed the consoles. They appeared to be half buried in the floor as though they had come from a concealed hiding place from beneath.

“Hold up,” Korsa said as she bent down to examine the bones on the ground.

“These weren’t Xuul’khani,” she mumbled faintly. “They were human.”

Kneeling in front of the remains, the Khontaran woman was as gentle as she could manage. She fished a silvery piece of metal out of the bone meal. The metal was tarnished, and the stamping was worn, but she could still read it.

“Lieutenant Marcus Ramsey. Born zero-eight, zero-three, twenty-one forty-four.”

Standing from the remnants of bone, power armor and defunct weapons, Korsa clutched the tag in her fist, eyes closed in prayer. Taking the cue from their shipmate, the rest of the women took a moment of silence for the fallen.

“Rest easy, soldier. Your watch is done,” Korsa intoned respectfully. Taking a deep breath, she stood, tucked the tag into one of her holding packs, and rejoined her crew. They progressed onwards, wary of where they stepped.

“So, you’re theorizing that the Xuul’khan tried to overtake the Perseus, rather than destroy him?” Priya questioned.

“That is my theory, yes. You note that many of these pods weren’t damaged or scratched and the only actual damage done is where they met resistance,” Inari surmised, while she kept her focus on what the dark may be hiding.

Just ahead of them, through the sea of cryo pods, there was another doorway. It was like the one they left back in the hospital area, only the way before them lay closed. The amount of clutter that lay in front of the doors suggested that a massive firefight had ensued here.

Firearms, hand to hand weapons, armor plates and bones of both human and Xuul’khani littered the ground. After scanning the area and finding no life forms, the crew finally relaxed, having made it to the Engineering section, encountering no hostiles.

“Looks like these marines made their last stand here,” Korsa noted, stepping gingerly around any remains she could identify as human. As reverently as she could, she cleared a path for Natalya to push her grav sled through. Once the way was clear, both Taal’ani and Natalya moved to the door, eager to get through.

“There’s power here, but thankfully not much. I should be able to get through this one in short order,” Talon said, as she set up her deck to work the door console.

As promised, they didn’t have to wait long; the console chiming with an accept prompt. Tapping a few more commands into her deck, the door slid open effortlessly. The interior of the engineering deck was dark, like the rest of the ship, save for a couple of panels flickering here and there.

With some trepidation, the crew of the Darkstrider moved forward, intent on their mission. They scanned the large room for any potential threats, but saw none. Slowly, they inched into the decrepit area, eyeing the discarded equipment. The lights from their suits and weapons played along the bones and uniforms of the fallen.

“No Xuul’khani in here,” Korsa observed.

“Whatever their play was, they didn’t pull it off,” Inari agreed as they further braved the murky darkness. Multiple consoles and workstations dotted the area, all of them abandoned. The crew did their level best to avoid all the remains that littered the area.

“Wait,” Natalya called out, stopping her sled. “Pree, mind giving me a hand please?” the young woman asked her crew mate. Eyeing the two crates that her friend was hunched over, the East Indian woman walked forward to help.

“I’m getting at least fifty feet clear before you power these things up,” Priya declared before stooping to help with the first crate.

As they carried the first crate over to the left side of the doorway they came in, Korsa hefted the second crate, stationing it opposite to the first. As they set it down, Natalya stripped down the exterior casing, exposing the inner skeletal structure. Once the casing was apart, she quickly reassembled it to form a defensive bulwark.

The titanium armor plating would protect the base and the power source from enemy fire. Korsa had mimicked Natalya’s movements, having her crate stripped and reassembled mere seconds after Natalya had finished hers.

“Powering up. You should have ample time to step away, if you want Pree,” the dark-skinned woman joked, as her machines slowly expanded to their full size.

The small tripod of legs plonked down into the blocky, treaded base, the magnetic grips activating instantly. The large cylindrical post lifted the blocky turret on well-oiled hydraulics, to where the barrel just cleared the metallic bulwark in front. Three large metallic arms raised up out of the post and shot out, attaching themselves to the bulwark in front of them.

The power source, set into the base of the post, thrummed to life. As promised, Priya was at least fifty feet away from the turrets before they were fully extended. Natalya had produced a small tablet from her sled and set about to linking it with the turrets.

“Syncing…. and we’re live!” she cried out when the signal went green, showing that she had full control.

“Is it safe to come out now?” Priya asked, hiding behind Inari, while peeking out dubiously.

“It’s perfectly all right now. The targeting algorithm was written by Talon here, so there won’t be any mistakes in the IFF system,” Natalya said proudly. Treading forward cautiously, the rest of the crew approached the turrets with some trepidation.

“Here, try it out yourself,” Natalya said, while holding out the pad to whoever wished to take it.

Inari stepped out and took the proffered electronics, looking over the system as she tested the weapons movement on their swivel mounts. Showing the system to her lover, the cameras mounted on the turrets allowed them to see what exactly was being tracked. A green X highlighted each one of the ladies present, the captain checking that no mistakes had been made.

“Really, captain?” Taal’ani huffed in annoyance. The Fel’caan woman holstered her SMGs, crossed her arms and slouched, as the turrets cycled between each one. “You really think I’d make such a careless mistake?”

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Starwitch cautioned as she continued her testing. Priya grunted in agreement as they finished up. Rolling her eyes, Taal’ani stood straight and drew her weapons, training them on the dark ahead. Inari handed the tablet back to Natalya, satisfied that all was well.

“Glad you finally asked for help in making these work,” the captain disclosed gratefully.

“I figured it would be handy to have something keeping our rears safe,” Natalya conveyed, as she set the turrets to track and fire on any movement that wasn’t them. Priya snorted at the double entendre, bearing the scar from Natalya’s last attempt to make the automated turrets work.

“There’s a light just ahead,” Korsa said, gesturing with her massive sword. Snapping their attention to the light source, the rest of the women looked.

“What is that?” Priya asked, as they approached the door which the light was hiding behind.

“Let’s find out!” Natalya chirped exuberantly.

She took position by the right side of the door with Taal’ani as Korsa went to the left. Gripping the door by the central crack from which the soft light poured out, they heaved. At first, the door jumped open in brief increments. Then it shifted, the sound of metal grinding filling the air as they forced their way through. They walked into the reactor core at the ground level, awe gripping the crew at what they saw.

In front of them lay a large spherical chamber, taking up several deck levels in its immensity. A large, clear, crystalline shield sealed the chamber, with various readouts, podiums, and consoles surrounding it. Lining the crystal were large metallic beams, dotted with what seemed to be large sensors. In the chamber’s center was an intricate metal cradle, supported by various struts and beams. Power arced between the cradle and its mirror image just above it.

In the center of the cradles seemed to be a ball of pure orange fire, about the size of a large boulder. The ball flared and flexed in the air as though it were alive. Some minor flares would shoot out of the ball, racing to the edge of the cradles, seeking a way out. But the arcing energy kept it from proceeding any further, killing the flare before it went any further. Natalya’s eyes were wide as saucers, as she stared at something she believed to be a hallucination but knew it wasn’t.

“Nats, what is it? Nats? Nats?!?” Inari asked, waving her hand in front of their engineer.

“Sorry captain! I didn’t expect to find this!” Natalya started, blurting her answer out.

“What is it exactly?” the dark-haired woman grunted in exasperation.

“I think it’s a Solaris reactor!” the chocolate-skinned woman murmured. Taal’ani was the first to respond.

“Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?!?” the cat-girl blurted out. Nodding mutely while stepping forward, Natalya moved as though she were in a drunken haze.

“A Solaris reactor?” the captain queried. Excitement coursed through Natalya as the shock of this new discovery wore off.

“A Solaris reactor is a theoretical device which can create and maintain a form of nuclear fusion, equivalent to that of standard G-type main sequence star,” she explained excitedly.

“So, like a miniature sun?” Priya asked tentatively.

“Exactly!” Natalya squeaked as she advanced towards the consoles and dusted them off.

“Wait, you said this was a theoretical device?” Inari asked as she stepped closer to the crystal dome, eyeing the fiery sphere.

“Yes, I did. The way it was described, how it should be built and what we would need, differs slightly from what I’m seeing here. But essentially, this is what it appears to be,” Natalya responded as she finished dusting off the console. Shaking her head in disbelief, Inari turned to regard the ship’s engineer as she worked on the consoles.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” she asked worriedly.

“Some of it. I’m trying to figure out how to jack up the power levels,” the chocolate-skinned woman replied as she worked. Her hands flew over the holographic displays in hesitation, unsure of exactly she needed to be doing.

“Anything we can do to help?” Korsa asked, sheathing her Thuun’tara blade. As Natalya worked, she encountered prompts for her to enter her authorization code.

“Talon, mind helping me get past these security blocks?” Natalya asked.

Cracking her knuckles, Taal’ani stepped next to her friend and set up her hacking deck. Within seconds, she was locked in and plowing through another Skorean code cipher, determined to punch through this as she did the last few.

“Hold on for just a few more seconds……. got it! You should have unrestricted access for the moment, but I don’t know for how long. I’ll keep working to give you as much time as I can,” the cat girl chirped as she continued working at her adjacent console. Sure enough, the security prompts faded and Natalya could delve in and look for the information she needed.

“Anything yet?” Inari questioned as she paced behind the busy women.

“Stand by,” Natalya answered as she continued her search through the engineering logs. “Nothing…. nothing…. nothing…… wait! Here we are! According to this,” she gestured to the readout in front of her, “the hydrogen needed to continue this reaction was limited. They have burned most of it up as fuel to sustain the ship.”

“So, this thing is exactly what has been keeping all those people out there alive?” Starwitch asked, still slightly overwhelmed by these facts.

“Yup! Though from I can decipher here, this sun is nearing the end of its life span and will have to be jettisoned soon,” the young engineer supplied.

“Why is that?” Priya asked in curiosity.

“When the hydrogen of this ‘mini sun’ burns out, the nuclear fusion aspect that powers the ship will have ‘dried up’, so to speak. The fusion of all the elements that make up this little guy,” Natalya gestured to the shining ball, “will have stopped. Shortly after that, the core of the sun will collapse, because it won’t be generating as much energy as it was before.”

“From there, the instability will cause it to bloat, sending into its Red Giant phase,” Taal’ani finished for her friend.

“Exactly. Even something this small will expand to a considerable size and will have to be jettisoned before it grows that much,” Natalya went on.

“How big are we talking?” Korsa asked. Natalya did mental calculations, doing odd little ticks with fingers as she went through the mathematics.

“About six to seven times the size of this ship and that’s being optimistic,” the chocolate-skinned engineer confirmed.

Following a collective gasp, Priya then piped up, “How long do we have before we should jettison it?”

“Two, maybe three weeks, if we’re lucky,” Natalya said, her voice confirming their current predicament.

“Isn’t there any way to slow it down? Give it more fuel to burn?” Inari asked.

Sighing, Natalya continued to deliver bad news, “It would be like throwing a glass of water into an empty swimming pool and even then, it wouldn’t work. It would just make the reactor burn that much faster and we’d lose time as opposed to stretching it. Which brings me to the worse news.”

“Which is what exactly?” Inari worried.

“The power estimates we saw out in cryo storage were off,” Natalya said, dread lacing her voice. “The reactor has already started cooling, which is why the power has been sporadic since we boarded. We don’t have days before the power is out. We have maybe a few hours.”

A somber mood descended on the crew as they realized what it would mean. All those people would die in their cryo pods, one by one. With no power, there seemed to be little hope.

“Hold up,” Taal’ani interjected. “A ship this size would have more than one reactor, wouldn’t it?”

“I must be having a brain fart! A ship this big would! Maybe one of them is offline?” Natalya cried out, smacking herself on the helmet. Diving back into the console, Natalya blazed through torrents of holographic information until she found what she was looking for.

“There are at least two more reactors of similar size of this ship and a fourth that is classified as an emergency reactor that can be activated if needed!” the young woman said happily.

“Can you find it?” the captain asked, a trace of hope lining her voice.

“I can do one better,” Natalya went on cheerily. Entering what seemed to be several commands, before a progress bar appeared in the interface, rapidly filling out.

Natalya then entered several commands to her arm console, which linked to her in-suit interface. A small pinging alert then sounded on every crew member’s HUD in their vacc suits. Before anyone could ask what it was, the young woman answered.

“It’s the map of the whole engineering section, with the directions to the other reactors!”

Hearing this, each woman opened the file that was sent to each of them. Sure enough, it displayed a map showing their current location, along with directions on how to get to the next reactor in each HUD.

“I also found a brief about the Solaris reactors!” Natalya chattered.

“A brief?” Taal’ani questioned.

“A basic rundown of how the reactors work and the theory on how they can be activated. Hopefully, it’s enough to turn one on!” Natalya jabbered.

“We can only hope,” Inari muttered to herself.

Natalya all but ran back to her grav sled and pushed it towards the nearest doorway, which was slightly ajar. Talon quickly packed up her hacking deck, stuffing it back into its case and slinging it over her shoulder. Wasting no time, each woman stepped back into formation, eager to get the ship back online. Korsa went to the door, using her considerable strength to pry it open further, so the crew of the Darkstrider could walk through.

The door gave with minimal effort, this one apparently more well-oiled than the previous ones they had forced their way through. The crew of women walked into another large and open section of engineering, tools and implements scattered across the floor. Dust motes flew away from them in their wake as they progressed deeper into the ship.

“About five hundred meters through that door and we should come to the secondary reactor,” Inari announced, gesturing towards the door on the far side of the room.

When they came to the sealed door, everyone stopped. Except for Natalya, who walked with her sled right into the door, nearly clipping Korsa. Slamming into the sled knocked the wind right out of her as she nearly went right over the push bar and into her gear.

“Watch where you’re going, young lady!” Korsa snapped as she cuffed Natalya upside the helmet.

“Sorry, Mama!” the young woman wheezed. “Just studying up on the reactors so I at least know how to start them up.”

Crossing her arms, Korsa responded, “Fair enough, but watch yourself. You almost hit me.” Feeling abashed, Natalya backed up the sled and let Korsa do her work to pry it open. They opened the door in short order, leading to a wide and long corridor.

“Nats, get on the sled. You need to study up on what you found,” Inari commanded. “Korsa, you push the sled; Pree, take rear guard; Talon with me on point. Let’s hustle, ladies!”

The entire crew jumped to obey, everyone taking up their new positions. The crew double timed it through, coming up to another door, which was slightly open. The reactor room was on the other side according to their HUDs, but no light was coming from the room beyond.

“Think it might be dormant?” Natalya tittered as she waited for the door to be opened.

“We’ll find out in a few seconds,” Korsa said through gritted teeth as she pushed the doors open.

Their suit lights bounced off the various consoles and beams that made up the command center of the secondary reactor. It was a mirror image of the primary reactor, though the major difference was that where the Solaris reactor should have been, there was nothing. Both halves of the cradle that kept the primary reactor stable, and the various support struts were gone.

“What do you think happened here?” Priya queried as their lights passed through the space where the reactor should have been.

“No idea, but we should head to the Tertiary reactor and pray that it’s still there,” Inari replied as she turned everyone about to head back the way they came.

With the doors stuck in the open position, the all-female crew had little trouble making it back to the primary reactor room. Before Korsa could step up to pry the doors open, Taal’ani’s arm shot out, stopping the Khontaran woman in her tracks. Gesturing to the terminal next to the door, alight with trace amounts of power, the cat girl unslung her case and pulled out her hacking deck.

“I think I have a quicker way to get there,” the Fel’caan woman declared as she placed her deck next to the console. Once she had a link established, Taal’ani worked furiously, powering through the ciphers of the Skorean code. After nearly four minutes, the crew was getting worried.

“Are you sure that…” Inari asked as looked at Taal’ani working. The captain didn’t finish her sentence as the door and every door down towards the Tertiary reactor opened and locked into place. Chuckling, Korsa put away her sword and smiled widely.

“Saves me the effort, so no complaints here.”

The rest of the crew giggled as they marched down the path to where the Tertiary reactor was located. As they arrived, they saw that there were running lights on most of the consoles and the reactor itself appeared to be in a dormant state. Natalya immediately bolted from her seat on the sled to the main panel, eager to get started. Yet again, she ran into the security blocks.

“Talon…?”

“Don’t worry, I got it,” the cat girl stated, walking over. After placing her hacking deck, she got to work, cracking through the code to give her shipmate the access she needed. Soon enough, the security blocks disappeared, and Natalya could finally start her work.

“OK, I will need to focus to get this done,” Natalya said as she went through the various procedures needed to get the reactor started. As she worked, the main cradles were currently joined together, looking like one giant steel ball of spiderwebs. Slowly, they pulled apart and widened, encompassing the entire chamber.

Everyone stood deathly still, not understanding the science behind what exactly was happening, but trusting in their ship’s engineer to get it done. Various gasses and what appeared to be dust slowly filled the chamber. It all continued to flood in, becoming more and more opaque as it saturated the chamber. The first thing the rest of the women noticed was that the temperature climbed.

“Nats, what’s with the heat?” Korsa asked, concern in her voice clear.

“Temperatures in the star’s formation will rise as it gets closer to solid formation. Activating heat shields!” Natalya said almost robotically as she hit a separate command sequence from what she was doing.

“You’re going to want to step it up, Nats! This code is evolving! I’m keeping up with it, but just barely!” Taal’ani warned.

“Going as fast as I can! Do what you can, I’m getting close!” the dark-skinned woman continued.

Her hands moved in rapid succession over the holographic console, each movement quick and precise. The next thing they all noticed was that the gasses and dust had clumped together to form a sphere roughly in the shape of a baseball. More gas and dust flooded the compartment, all of it being drawn towards the sphere.

More and more it drew until everything being pumped through the hidden vents was then being sucked out at an exponential pace. There was rattling and shaking in the surrounding supports, but otherwise, nothing else moved. Slowly, the sphere got larger, and it glowed. First, it was a cherry red, then it brightened to a blazing orange.

“Activating the solar shield!” Natalya called out behind them, jarring them from the light show. The light got dimmer until the glow was muted to a dull reddish orange.

“Nats, I can’t hold it much longer! The system is going to throw me out!” Taal’ani cried out frantically.

“Hold on for just a few more seconds! I’m nearly done!” came the fiery reply.

The light from the sphere continued to get brighter, hitting a bright orange that was nearly yellow. Its mass continued to increase until over three quarters of the crystal chamber was filled with it.

“I’m getting booted out of the system! Whatever you’re going to do, do it now!” Taal’ani practically shouted, making everyone wince inside their helmets. Natalya raced through the last commands, entering them just moments before being locked out by the security blocks. Screaming in frustration, she then turned to the newly crafted star that lay before them.

“Come on, come on, come on… please!” Natalya whispered and nearly chanted as she watched the star continue its growth.

The supports glowed as the heat intensified, and they would melt at any moment. At the rate the star was growing, it would consume the chamber, then them, in a matter of minutes. Just then, a wind blasted into the chamber, swirling around the star in a vortex. The stars’ growth slowed, then eventually halted, occupying nearly ninety percent of the chamber. The wind continued to lash at the star unabated, and then the star shrank. Letting out a sigh of relief, Natalya collapsed to the floor, laughing hysterically.

“I did it! I actually did it!”

She continued laughing as the reactor hummed to life, already drawing energy from the newly formed young star. Lights around them turned on, consoles formerly off, now powered up. The entire ship hummed as though a sleeping giant had just been awakened.

The laughter that emanated from Natalya cycled through the crew, each one of them joining the chocolate-skinned woman in her mirth. They honestly couldn’t believe they were here, doing this and everyone was still alive! They kneeled on the floor with their ship mate, hugging each other as they were all grateful to be alive.

Alarms sounded from the consoles and podiums, though for the moment, the women ignored them. Most of the alarms that lit up the displays were minor, as the more serious ones had been attended to by the ship’s Sentry-Bots. Another type of alarm was activated, though. A silent sensory alarm, which had detected intruders on board the Perseus. Once activated, it began its protocol of waking the marines stationed aboard from cryo sleep.

******************************

The auburn-haired woman stared out the Victorian-styled archway, a light summer breeze wafting through the open doors of the house. The warm wind kissed her skin, soothing her senses as she closed her eyes and relished in the smells borne in the air. Her pristine white heels clacked on the hardwood floor as she moved to stand under the sun’s light.

Her purple eyes opened, taking in the clear blue sky and lush green forest that surrounded this ancient house. A smile played along her lips as she enjoyed the sight of her home. Turning to go back indoors, she admired the lavish décor of the room, styled in the fashion of old Victorian England. As she surveyed the surrounding splendor, she caught a glance of herself in a tall, gilded standing mirror.

Standing at six foot one, her dark red tresses hung in ringlets down past her shoulders, framing her unique face. The blend of her features made her an exotic woman among many. The high cheekbones and strong jawline were indicative of her father’s Scottish ancestry, while her eyes, chin and nose were more like her mother’s Japanese bloodlines. Beneath her short and pert nose, her lips were the plump and kissable type you saw in magazines.

Her figure was lithe and athletic, but it retained all the femininity that would often drive any man into a series of lustful thoughts. Her wide hips and thick, with solid legs encased in sheer white stockings and a garter belt to match. Her womanhood, covered by a white lacy thong, showcased her forty-five-inch ass in a way that seemed like a master artist sculpted it.

Her bountiful tits, which were classified as a small D cup, were tucked away in a classical white lace corset. Moving her powerful arms to cup them, racy thoughts charged through her head. ‘I really hope he likes this!’ she worried inwardly. Taking a deep breath, she smelled him before she felt him step close to her.

“Mmmmmm!” his thick, masculine voice carried on behind her. “Looks like I found something that needs unwrapping,” his powerful arms encircling her waist. She moaned at his touch, shivers of pleasure coursing through her body.

“I sure hope you plan on taking your time unwrapping your gift,” she said, her voice taking on a sultry, smoky edge as she spoke.

“Oh, be sure I will, and I’ll make you beg for mercy before we are done,” he whispered into her ear. His warm breath on her neck was too much, and she turned to face him. Dark brown hair, cut short in a classical style, outlined his face. A strong and handsome face, marked with a solid nose and a strong jaw, completed with brown eyes, twinkling with both lust and mischief.

His six-foot six frame towered over hers, wide, solid and hard. Unlike her, his ancestry was purely Slavic, though she had yet to ask exactly where. Tucking that question away for later, she focused on his mouth as she pressed her lips to his, drinking deeply. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, inviting a challenge, which he accepted. His tongue soon joined hers, each one caressing the other as their kiss deepened.

He broke the kiss first, coming up for air and breathing raggedly. Smiling to herself at his apparent excitement, she snaked her arms around his broad shoulders, drawing him down for another kiss. Pressing her supine form against his, she moaned even more excitedly as she felt his rock hard dick pressing back against her covered pussy.

Grinding against him all that much harder, she pushed her soon to be lover back towards the elegant four-poster bed that was centered in the spacious room. Intent on pushing him down to the bed, she squeaked in surprise as she was suddenly hoisted up by her ass. Her legs splayed out as she was pushed further upwards, her throbbing pussy now dead center with his face.

Spinning about, her back was now pressed against one bedpost, which she gripped for support. Taking a firmer grip on her ass and legs, he licked through her moistened panties. Breathing in shocked, excited gasps, his tongue played across her panties, teasing as much as they touched. Slowly, he continued his assault on her womanhood, eliciting more passionate moans escaping from her throat.

For a moment, she felt his hand slide across her ass. She was confused for a moment until she felt him grip the back of her thong. With a firm pull, her panties tore and dropped away, exposing her to him fully. The large man dove back into her waiting cunt with total abandon, placing his mouth over where her clit was located.

“Oh my God!” she cried out breathily. His tongue swirled and flicked around her inner and outer lips, hitting points that sent fireworks along her nerves. When he finally probed her clit, she exploded, arching forwards and screaming wordlessly as the orgasm hit her.

With her eyes closed, she slowly came down from the high she was on, only to find herself riding a small set of mini orgasms. He hadn’t stopped and showed no signs of slowing as he fervently licked her love canal with more intensity than she could believe.

‘Holy shit! This man knows how to eat a pussy!’ she thought as she relished in the staccato bursts of pleasure that ran through her. He continued his assault on her clit, his tongue flicking and darting to it, making her squirm in delight at every touch. He reached up and grabbed her arms, prying them from the post as he balanced her precariously for a moment.

After a split second, she went from balancing on her lover’s shoulders to landing on the pillowy softness of the bed. Giggling in surprise, she gazed at this gorgeous man before her as he slowly removed his shirt. His body was sculpted like that of an Adonis, truly perfected masculinity. Her mouth watered at the sight and she whimpered, aching for his touch. In mere moments, he was on her, his pants already loose as his raging cock strained further against the confines of his underwear, begging for release.

Jumping back to her pussy, his tongue quested for her clit again, finding her sensitive pearl with relative ease. Gasping quickly, she rushed to the brink of another colossal orgasm, before deciding to turn the tables on her sexy man. She clamped her legs around his head, catching him fully by surprise and slowly twisting him around until she was sitting on his face.

She then ground her already dripping pussy into his face, her demanding need driving her to take what she wanted. Without missing a beat, his hands gripped her hips like an iron vise, fully burying his face in her hot and steamy cunt. His tongue alternated between her clit and her love hole, where she was begging to be filled. As it probed deep into her, bliss threatened to overwhelm her as she stood on the edge of another orgasm.

One of his hands relaxed its grip and probed up her ass crack. Momentarily, it found the knot of tissue that was her anus, gently probing it with one of his fingers. The combined sensations were far too much for her to withstand. She then exploded in another orgasm, her wails echoing throughout the house.

As she relaxed, she slithered back semi-consciously and pulled both her man’s pants and underwear down. He protested, but she looked at him, wordlessly shutting him up as she freed his cock from its prison. She was astonished at his size, easily being ten inches long and just over two-and-a-half inches thick. The head was an angry purple, inflamed at being ignored for so long.

Settling the matter in a moment, she engulfed the head in her mouth, liberally coating it with saliva, sucking lightly. The moan that escaped his lips as his head thrashed above let her know she was doing exactly what he wanted. She continued sucking the head while using her tongue to tease the slit of his dick.

Popping it out of her mouth, she then used her tongue to lick the underside of his shaft, occasionally sucking on the thick vein, drawing out excited gasps from her man. Using her right hand, she started pumping his shaft slowly, smearing her spit all over it. With her left hand, she played with his large balls, both of which were the size of tangerines.

As she reached the base of his cock, her tongue darted out, flicking and licking his balls, as he cried out in ecstasy. She continued pumping his dick, using both hands now, as she brought her mouth back to the head and resumed sucking. She slathered his dick, sucking harder than she was earlier, drawing more blood into his tool. The result was that she was making it thicker and harder than she thought possible.

Removing her hands, she then attempted to deep throat him. His head popped up, incredulous at what she was trying, but lacking any real will to stop her. She hit a gag reflex when she was just over halfway, but quashed it and pushed her mouth closer to the base of his cock. Her nose had just reached his pubic hair when she couldn’t take any more and backed off quickly.

Catching her breath, she smiled, their combined juices dripping from her chin and landing on her tits. Sitting up, he reached for her, grabbing her by the front of her corset. She pulled herself to him as eagerly as their lips met once again, their passion overriding any concerns that they may have had.

His hands were on her back, pulling at the catches that held her corset in place. One by one, he undid them, until the last catch sprang free, opening her up like a gift. As the corset fell away, her breasts sprang free, which he latched onto like a man dying of starvation. Closing her eyes at the sensations, she felt him lick and suck at her. First her small areolas, then her more sensitive nipples.

As he played with her, she slowly inched forward, lining up her soaking pussy with his throbbing dick. He was unaware of what was happening, until he felt her grip his angry member with her right hand, guiding him to her slippery cleft. She felt the tip spear her entry, showing that she was where she needed to be. Looking up into her eyes, he then slowly pressed her down onto himself, the electric sensations dancing between them both.

Moaning in passion, his large cock, feeling deliciously wonderful at the sensation, slowly filled and stretched her. He encountered resistance as he pushed her down onto himself. He looked at her, an unspoken question in his eyes, to which she saw, and nodded, urging him to continue. He pushed himself further into her, stretching her out in the most delicious way.

As he bottomed out in her, his pubic bone meeting hers, they both gasped in unison at the feelings coursing through them. She took a moment to get accommodated to him, not having taken anyone so large as him before now. They kissed, their passion now fully engulfing them both, as she rocked back and forth on him.

Taking his cue from her, he thrust into his new lover. Slowly at first, but picking up with the tempo of her body was demanding. Breaking their kiss, they looked into each other’s eyes again, love and lust overflowing from them both.

“You have no idea… how long… I’ve wanted this,” she said between breaths as he was driving into her.

“You and me…. both,” he replied, concentrating on his rhythmic pounding. Each push into her drove them both mad with desire. She pushed him down, so he was lying flat on the bed, spreading her legs further apart as she gained a better purchase on the mattress. Leaning back, she then rode him to where she was doing a full cowgirl, her arms behind her, giving the woman support as her tits bounced.

The large man grinned as he enjoyed the view she was giving him while relishing the sensations rippling through him. The red-haired woman then leaned forward, balancing herself on her man’s cock. She then reached for her flopping breasts, gripping and caressing them as she continued to ride him. Pushing one up, she bent her head down and gave her nipple a quick lick.

Seeing that was enough to drive her man into a frenzy, which increased the pace of his thrusts drastically. He tried to sit up, but found himself pushed down yet again. His woman then stood, her pussy reluctantly releasing his cock. The puzzled look on his face changed to approval as she turned around and squatted on his cock once more, giving him a perfect view of her beautiful ass.

He held his cock up, making it easier for her to place it back home, into her slit. As she sat back down on her love’s pelvis, she bounced up and down. She regretted the emptiness inside her when she lifted herself upwards, but enjoyed the fullness when she brought herself back down. The give and take of their carnal actions set her alight in absolute bliss.

Her man’s hands gripped and caressed the soft, pliant flesh of her rear. He kneaded it, bringing it close to him every time she pressed downwards. The feelings that cascaded through him brought out his lust and desire in waves, wanting to do more. Smiling devilishly, he sat up quickly, gripping her tits as he brought his arms around her torso and dragged her down to him.

She squawked indignantly as her back was pressed to his chest. His dick popped out of her slit and she was about to chastise him, until he flipped over with her, setting her on her chest. He rose and lifted her by her hips, bringing her ass up into the air. Spreading her legs, he then gripped his cock and pressed the head into her pussy.

Her laugh of delight turned into a scream of pleasure as he plowed into her in one stroke. His iron grip on her hips tightened as he reamed her out, each thrust carrying enough force to break her. She cried out, wailing with each slam, as he ravaged her. His balls slapped hard against her pussy lips, the sensuality of their coupling driving her ever closer to another orgasm. She then felt a sharp sting across her cheeks, hearing the sharp crack of his hand as it slapped her ass.

“Oh, shit!” she cried out.

“You disapprove?” he growled as he then tanned her other check with another slap.

In response, she shimmied her ass on his cock, begging, “Please, sir, I want another!”

With a feral grunt, he then slapped her ass again, then again, alternating between each cheek. After the fourth slap, she pulled herself forward, off his shaft, and turned around onto her back. Grabbing her legs, she pulled them up, presenting her soggy pussy to him in invitation. Not one to hesitate, he drove himself into her hard, mercilessly pounding into her.

A high-pitched keening started in her throat as she was continuously savaged, her slit weeping as her juices gushed forth. It reached a fever pitch, then she bucked, shrieking like a woman possessed, as her third orgasm blasted into her. Her pussy clamped down hard on her lover’s dick as she rode the tidal wave through her senses.

She was still breathing hard, her chest heaving as her tits still jiggled with the force of his thrusts. She looked at him through hooded eyes, knowing he was close. Knowing what she wanted and craved, she goaded him towards his release.

“That’s it lover, pound that little pussy, make it yours, make me your little bitch.”

His baritone voice rose, harsh and guttural, “You want this cock, don’t you, you little slut?”

“Yes sir, I want that cock deep inside me, stretching my poor little pussy, filling me up with every inch of your dick!” she breathed lustily, knowing he was on the verge of release.

“Fill that pussy with your cum, sir, breed me, make me yours!” she screamed. Hearing this was almost too much, and he teetered on the brink as he his pounding became more insistent and primal.

“You want that cum, my little cock slut?”

“Yes! Give it to me, mark me, use me, BREED ME!” she howled. Roaring in complete ecstasy, he came into his woman, slamming into her with all the force he could muster. His cock erupted, seeding and saturating her pussy and womb with his cum. He shot into her, once, twice, losing count at six times, before his senses could no longer cope with the pleasure that coursed through him.

He collapsed onto her, catching himself before he crushed the red-haired seductress with his weight. He grinned as he looked at her, her face etched with pure adulation as she kissed him. Returning the kiss, they both sighed as they enjoyed the afterglow. He pulled out of her as he shifted to lie next to her.

Her nethers were a hot mess from their lovemaking, running down her leg and dripping into the bed. She didn’t care as she buried her face into her man’s chest. Breathing in the scent that was him had her floating on cloud nine. His left arm came down to bring her closer to him, and she welcomed it.

“Kasumi,” he called to her, sounding like he was far away, “It’s time to wake up.” She shot up and saw his face, which was deadly serious.

“What?” the woman asked, sounding horrified. Her vision blurred, and it looked as though everything around her was fading.

“It’s time to wake up. Wake up, Kasumi, wake up!”

******************************

The loud hiss of a cryo pod de-activating sounded in Kasumi’s ears. She felt a slight pinch in the side of her neck as her body fought against the effects of the adrenaline injection. Her eyes were forcing themselves to open as her surroundings became clear to her.

The pod hatch had reached its end, leaving her plenty of room to step out. Almost mechanically, she stepped out of the curved pod and collapsed onto the metal decking. Breathing in hard, her mouth curled in distaste at the stale, musty air. Shaking the cobwebs from her mind, she recalled her dream with perfect clarity.

“It all felt so real, but it wasn’t,” she growled frustratedly, feeling the heat in her loins. Knowing she could do nothing about it now, she stood, her gait a little wobbly after her confinement in cryo sleep. Wiping her hands on her black, form fitting bodysuit, she went to the command console, the palm scanner confirming her identity.

“Welcome back, Commander Kasumi McKenzie. Query?” Straightening and popping her joints and bones around her body, she replied.

“Hello Jaesa. Why was I woken from cryo sleep and how long have I been out for?”

“An alarm was triggered in the Engineering section of the Perseus. Intruders have been detected aboard and action must be taken. It has been five hundred and ninety-seven years, eight months and three weeks since you and the remaining crew of the Perseus went back into cryo sleep,” Jaesa replied with her chipper, yet dispassionate voice.

Kasumi gripped the console and felt like she would be sick. ‘Almost six hundred years?!?!? We were supposed to wake up in sixty!’ she thought in anguish.

“Jaesa, is the captain awake?” she asked worriedly.

“Captain Alexander Tomisic is still in cryo sleep, as the power to wake him is insufficient.”

“Explain!”

“The Engineering section has been steadily losing power through a series of failures since the Perseus was attacked. It started with damaged power conduits throughout the ship. Conduit functionality dropped to below forty percent, requiring greater power flows to sustain the necessary systems. Each system throughout the ship had to be shut down, one by one, to conserve power to continue with our mission,” the computerized voice droned on.

“The captain gave an order for us to wake in sixty years! Tell me why it’s been nearly six hundred!” the commander ordered furiously.

“I’m sorry, there is not enough information to answer your query,” Jaesa replied cryptically.

“Damn it!” the red-headed woman swore. “Jaesa, activate the armory.”

Lights illuminated the immediate area and a door on her right opened, light spilling from the adjacent room. Kasumi walked over and couldn’t help but notice the remaining cryo pods. All of them were empty, their occupants having been slaughtered in the boarding action centuries ago.

Feeling a pang of remorse and sadness, Kasumi stoically walked into the armory, focusing herself on what needed to be done. The entire room was festooned with extensive sets of mechanical arms, each one wielding either a tool or armor component. She went to the automated armorer in the room’s center and selected the Phalanx armor chassis.

The panel flagged her with a reject, and she called out in frustration, “Jaesa, why am I being denied an armor chassis I am cleared for?”

“Power to the armory has been severed, because of sabotaged power relays throughout the ship. Full replacement of the relays is to be accomplished, if power to all systems is to be restored.”

Screaming in agitation, she asked, “Can you at least unlock the armor vault so I can arm myself?” In response, the doors behind the armorer clicked open with a loud clank, the room lighting up. Inside it were more simplified sets of armor and racks upon racks of weapons.

Running in, she fitted herself with a basic set of armor. Slipping into a set of well-armored boots, she latched on a chest plate, a full set of vambraces, and a mechanized webbing loaded with extra ammo and grenades. She then grabbed a helmet equipped with an air filtration unit, fitting it onto her head. She then picked up a Spartan auto rifle, a Sentinel class shotgun, and tucked a heavy pistol in a holster at the small of her back.

“Jaesa, link me with the other marines, so we can co-ordinate our attack,” Kasumi commanded.

“I’m sorry, Commander, but there are no other marines aboard this ship,” the AI replied.

“What do you mean?!” the soldier asked, feeling the panic and hysteria grip her.

“You are the only surviving marine on board the Perseus at this time,” came the disconnected reply. She had known her entire platoon had been wiped out in the boarding action centuries ago. Kasumi went into cryo sleep, mourning her comrades, but she hadn’t thought they had killed the entire company of marines.

“What about the rest of the crew?” the redheaded woman asked, almost fearing the response.

“Deceased. Killed in action when the unknown aliens boarded the Perseus,” the ship borne AI responded.

“Did anyone else survive?”

“Including yourself, there are three surviving members of the Perseus crew,” Jaesa chirped, in her hauntingly echoing voice. Her stomach threatened to heave and eject its contents onto the ground in front of her, but Kasumi suppressed the reaction. Taking several deep breaths, she steadied herself, forcing her mind to process this additional information.

Once she had calmed down enough, she asked, “I know that Captain Tomisic is still alive. Who is the third?”

“Machinist’s mate, second class, Anita Mariano. Her pod is also still in an active state,” Jaesa said.

Before the AI could go on, Kasumi interrupted her, “Let me guess. Her pod is suffering a similar lack of power that the Captain’s is experiencing?”

“Correct, Commander,” the voice said, unperturbed.

After ramming a clip home into the rifle she held, the commander locked her weapon into the mag-holster on her back, before picking up a Hawkeye sniper rifle. She barked out her next question, “How many Sentry-Bots are charged and ready for action?”

A few seconds later came the response, “There are nine percent of the compliment of Sentries available for combat, Commander. Shall I transfer them to your command?”

“Affirmative Jaesa. Load the location of these intruders and track them. I want none of them escaping,” Kasumi said out loud. In a voice too quiet to carry, she added, “At least until I have answers.”

Toggling the switch on her helmet, the on-board HUD came up, giving a full display of the ship and active Sentry-Bot locations. Steeling herself for the fight to come, Commander Kasumi McKenzie marched out of the armory and out into the ship.

******************************

The crew of the Darkstrider took a few more moments in their group hug before standing up. As they stood, Natalya went over to the main console and took stock of the readouts.

“I have restored Main power! Twenty-one percent and climbing, but we have a problem. Several, in fact,” the young engineer said as she scanned through the alerts.

“What exactly?” Korsa asked.

“Entire sections of the ship aren’t getting enough power,” Natalya explained. “There is power flowing out, but it’s merely a trickle to what it should be. Many of the conduits have been damaged, and it will take time before they can be repaired properly.”

“Which one is the most critical?” queried Inari, as she took a guard stance with her XO.

“The central distribution trunk, about seven hundred meters from the entrance to engineering. If I’m reading this correctly, it’s been damaged badly,” Natalya replied.

“How bad?” Priya asked, her posture more relaxed now that the lights were on. In response, Natalya hit a button and a holographic representation of the trunk appeared. The entirety of it looked like it had been peppered with metallic slugs and acid.

“It’s been sabotaged, but I think I can work around it,” the caramel skinned woman said before continuing. “This should be our first priority, captain. We get this fixed, we can restore power to the bridge and from there….”

“… we can then take full control of the ship!” Inari exulted.

Control of the Perseus would turn their fortunes immensely. The technological wonders alone were easily worth trillions of credits, and that was just what they had found. Who knew what other treasures were on this ship? Priya stepped up and took her position with Inari by the doorway leading back to the primary reactor.

“Well? Let’s go!” she tittered impatiently. The rest of the crew scrambled to their positions, and they double timed it down the corridor. They sped past the primary reactor, ignoring it for the time being. Once they reached the entry point back to cryo storage, Natalya stopped them.

“Wait!” she nearly shouted. The crew halted for a moment while she brought out her control tablet and punched in a few commands. A few seconds later, the bulwarks that stood in front of the turrets raised up and were pulled into the mounting post. Once close enough, the shields clunked down onto the bases, locking into place. As the locking mechanisms finished, the treads on the turrets moved, taking the turrets with them.

Astonishment washed over the rest of the women as they watched the mobile weapons platforms coast on by them to take point position. All of their heads snapped back to the resident engineer, who just shrugged.

“I said that I fixed them and made them better, didn’t I?”

Rendered speechless, the team followed the weapons platforms along the now well-lit walkway to where they stopped. It was the security station they had passed by earlier, encountering the dead human marines. Natalya input some additional commands and the turrets moved to opposite corners of the station.

“OK, this is where the central trunk is. Mama, I will need your help to access it,” Natalya gestured to the floor. As quickly and reverently as they could, they cleared away the remains lying at their feet. Once moved, there were grip like indentations that looked like they had been punched into the floor.

Nodding, Korsa stepped forward and bent over to grip the flooring with all four arms. She strained for a moment; the decking was much heavier than expected. With a cry of defiance, she heaved with everything she had, and the floor finally came loose. The panel creaked upwards on unoiled hinges, stopping at a forty-five-degree angle.

Rushing forward from her grav-sled, Natalya set a largish cylinder to the right of the point where the Khontaran woman had first lifted the panel. Setting it into an angled base, she pressed a button on it and the cylinder rapidly extended, shooting out to cover the distance between the floor and the panel. Natalya then scooted over to the left side and placed another such cylinder, activating it with the same results.

“OK mama, you can let go now,” the chocolate-skinned woman said as she patted her adoptive mother’s shoulder. Backing away carefully, Korsa tentatively removed her arms, one by one. Seeing that the portable supports weren’t moving or bending, she turned back to the sled which Natalya was rummaging around in.

“Got what you need, kiddo?” the large woman asked. Yanking a small toolbox with one hand, the young woman slung some various cables onto her shoulder before she replied.

“Not quite. Could you bring the grav sled closer and hand me what I ask for?” Nodding, Korsa got behind the large sled as Natalya dropped into the small space beneath the open panel. Leaving herself some space to move about, the Khontaran woman moved between the panel opening and the sled.

Her suit lights provided Natalya all the illumination she would need as she properly assessed the damage. The hologram they had seen back in engineering was accurate as she checked the trunk for any additional damage. Electrical arcs sparked outwards from the ravaged lines, but not enough to be a threat to the young woman. The entire room was a little bigger than a crawlspace, but it would afford her enough space to maneuver about.

She also noted a large cylindrical object perpendicular to the cabling, which was plugged into it. It emitted a slight glow of white light, and half of the cylinder seemed to be composed of clear crystal. ‘Must be a power regulator or conduit of some sort,’ she thought to herself. Getting a closer look, it almost looked like an old Earth lantern in shape, with a handle near the top and a readout near its base. She saw that there was some debris that was jammed into it near the top.

“Mama, I need some heavy cabling and solder to go with it, and the heavy torch and my toolkit,” Natalya called out.

Korsa turned to the sled and rummaged about in it. She quickly found what she was looking for and handed her the materials she asked for. Turning back, Korsa grabbed the heavy welding torch with her upper arms while grabbing the cumbersome toolbox with her lower arms.

As her adoptive mother was looking for her tools, Natalya took the time to search for a power gate switch. The switch would cut off any energy flow while she repaired the torn cables. After a turning about and searching for a good minute, she found it about a foot from where the damage began. Reaching for the box, she flipped the switch manually, shutting down the power flow. Hearing movement up topside, Natalya moved back to the opening.

Setting the toolbox down, the Khontaran woman unlocked the lid, then spun it about so that faced the opening in the floor where Natalya was working. Shifting over, she placed the welding torch with the handle facing the same direction. It was then that Natalya popped up to toss up the smaller cabling she had taken earlier. Grabbing the torch and a couple of tools from the box, she disappeared back into the dark space beneath.

With the heavy cabling already set out, she activated her las-knife, making the precision cuts needed along the cabling. Once the cuts were made, she shut off her knife and turned on her welding torch. The torch was the size of a small SMG, and looked like one, but with a gas canister in place of an ammo clip. Additional fuel rails also ran the length of the tool, ending at the welding tip.

Bringing out the solder she needed, Natalya lined up the cabling with the damaged power lines and melted the lines of metal together. From there, she added the solder to strengthen the bond and add conductivity to the joint. Once finished with the initial link, she ran the cabling to the other side of the melted wiring and welded that together the same way.

The main trunk line consisted of multiple cables all bundled together, and more than half of them were badly torn by the centuries old sabotage. Focusing on her work, Natalya had repaired them in a decent amount of time. Fifteen minutes later, she finished the weld on the last line and checked for any mistakes on her part.

Finding none, she then went back to what she surmised was the power regulator. Carefully, Natalya pried the debris loose, discarding the shrapnel as it came away. Once cleared, the readout on the bottom went from a muted red to a light yellow, displaying a message: ‘No foreign objects detected. Ready for re-alignment.’

Natalya was a little stumped about what she needed to do next until she looked through the crystalline shield of the regulator. The links between the various connectors in the regulator were mis-aligned. She then gripped the handle and turned the top in a counterclockwise motion. As she did this, she saw the connectors were moving closer together. Once the connectors were linked, she heard and felt a click. Quickly checking the readout, it indicated that the regulator was properly aligned.

Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she went back to the power gate switch and called out, “Repairs are finished. Let’s pray that I did everything right!”

When she flipped it back to the on position, a loud thrumming coursed through the wires she repaired, and the light in the regulator getting brighter. Seeing that there was no sparking, and nothing had blown up, Natalya took this as a good thing. Out in the ship, the lights turned back on, slowly.

Then, like a flood, power coursed back through the Perseus. Every system and light that had been shut down to conserve power was now up and online. As Natalya gathered her tools from the crawlspace below, Korsa stepped over to help her out as the rest of the crew looked about in wonder.

“Nats, I honestly don’t know where we’d be without you!” Inari said, awestruck by the sheer immensity of the cryo storage, which was now fully visible.

“Well, I did what I could, but I’ll have to come back and do a proper fix on this later. I did an emergency bypass, but it won’t hold for long,” Natalya said as tossed her tools and materials up at their feet. Once everything was cleared out, she skittered out of the hole in the floor.

“How long do we have?” Korsa asked as she stepped over to the raised floor panel and braced herself against it.

“Four, maybe five months,” Natalya replied, as she moved to deactivate the cylindrical supports holding the panel upright. Once the struts were removed, Korsa absorbed the weight of the floor panel and started lowering it carefully. Once it was a few inches from the decking, Korsa let it go and it slammed back into place.

“Still, you’ve done spectacular work today!” Taal’ani enthused as she hugged her friend. Everyone else came forward to congratulate the chief engineer but were interrupted by the chatter of automatic gunfire. The shots peppered the bulwark of one turret and everyone dove for cover.

“What the fuck?!?” Taal’ani cursed as they huddled behind the defensive barriers of the security station. They heard metallic clanking and servos whining in the distance, but the sound was getting closer. Priya reached over her shoulder and pulled her Night Hammer, then shifted and looked through the scope.

“We’ve got Sentries!” she warned, seeing the robotic caretakers march towards them unhindered. Cocking her Ravager, Inari crouched into a ready position.

“How many we got?” she cried out.

“Two, maybe three dozen,” the XO reported. Priya then checked the other two walkways and cursed.

“Damn it! At least the same number on our three o’clock and our six!” More shots came from the clustered groups of Sentry-Bots, forcing the women into cover once more.

“Nats, program your turrets to fire at our twelve and our six! Pree, you help Talon with keeping them back at our three! Korsa, you and Nats handle our six! Move!” the captain commanded. Scrambling, the crew moved to take up defensive positions. More gunfire blazed their way as the Sentries closed in on the women.

As Natalya crouched behind the armor plate with Korsa, she punched in a few commands to extend the range of the turrets to maximum. Once the command was loaded, the automated gunfire from the turrets poured into the Sentries like rain. Several of them toppled over, their systems compromised by the barrage. Inari popped her head out and saw that the turrets were decimating the Sentries. The automatic fire from the Natalya’s toys were sweeping through the robotic defenders, tearing them apart.

Inari heard a resounding boom a few meters from her position. She panicked for a moment, until she realized it was just Priya, putting her Night Hammer to work. Looking down the walkway, she saw several Sentries had been blown apart by from the shots that Priya had made.

Glancing at the rest of her comrades, she saw they were all holding their own. Both Taal’ani and Natalya were unloading their mags into the oncoming Sentries, dropping at least a dozen between the two of them. Korsa was standing back, holding her position should any of the Bots get too close. Heartened by this, Inari broke cover and opened fire, emptying her clip into the aggressive machines.

‘If this keeps up, we might just be able to get out of this,’ she thought to herself as the ducked back down to reload. After ejecting the old mag and ramming in a new one, the captain of the Darkstrider stood back up, ready to cut down the remaining Sentries.

‘What??’ she thought as she took stock of the situation. More Sentries had joined the fight, and though they were far away, they would soon catch up to their compatriots. She didn’t have time to think on it further, as a high velocity round screeched into the turret she stood by, forcing her to drop once again.

“SNIPER!” she shouted. As one, the entire group dropped into cover, hoping that they weren’t the next target.

Another shot boomed out as she looked at the remnants of the first turret. The shot had been precise, as it had hit the machine straight in the center point of the turret housing. It not only destroyed its targeting system and its ability to see but also its power relays, rendering it useless. Glancing over at the second turret, she saw it was similarly disabled.

The Sentries had stopped firing but continued their advance, their clanking getting louder by the second. Taking a calculated risk, she broke cover and opened fire at the Sentries, putting at least another two down for the count. Another boom sounded, and she flew backwards. Landing hard at Korsa’s feet, Inari grunted at the impact, winded, but alive.

“CAPTAIN!” Priya shouted out and abandoned her post to see to her. Looking down, Inari saw that her right shoulder plate was blown apart, only fragments of it remaining. Breathing a sigh of relief, she sat up, groaning as Priya helped her. Another booming shot rang out, the projectile screaming in, intending to kill.

Korsa stood in its path and the impact was enough to stagger her, but the shot was harmlessly deflected. Korsa charged to where the captain and XO had stood, sword whirling and biting into the Sentries that had reached the platform. More shots rang out, but each one of them pinged off Korsa’s Khontaran armor, none of them getting through.

While Natalya and Talon continued firing at the Bots, there were just too many of them and they were closing on them quickly. Priya dragged her captain back into cover as she assessed the damage to her lover.

“Are you OK?” Priya asked worriedly.

Grunting, Inari moved her arm somewhat slowly and responded, “Feels like I got yanked out of bed by a hover truck, but I should be all right.”

Inari then chanced a quick peek out of cover, to see that the Sentries were almost on top of them her crew mates. Though Korsa was wading through them like an avenging angel, there were just too many of them to fight off. Priya popped her head out of cover, only to have it nearly blown off, as a chunk of the defensive paneling was blasted apart.

Surrounded, out-gunned and outnumbered, Inari did the only thing she could do. She switched her helmet comm from internal to external.

“I know that there is someone out there, because no way could these hunks of junk could make that precise a shot. If you’re listening, we surrender!”

Inari stepped out of cover with her hands held up, her weapon at her feet. The Sentries trained their weapons on her, but otherwise held their fire. Korsa had stopped her attack mid swing, her face turned towards her captain.

“Are you sure that’s wise, Captain?” Taal’ani asked as she followed her captains’ example.

“Do you see any other scenario where we keep fighting and walk away from this alive?” Inari responded; resignation heavy in her tone.

“I don’t like it, but the Captain speaks sense,” Korsa said as the Sentries herded her over to where the rest of them were clustered. Dropping her sword reluctantly, she stood in front of her shipmates, intending to protect them.

The rest of the crew stood up with their hands in plain sight and weaponless. Stepping over to where their compatriots were, they waited. Whatever decision or judgement that would be meted out by those who commanded the Sentries, they could only hope they would keep their lives.

The Sentries stopped and held their position, weapons trained on the crew. From the direction that Inari and Priya defended, footsteps echoed through the ship. As they got closer, the mechanical defenders of the ship stepped aside to let their commander through. In moments, a human woman stood before them, carrying an auto rifle like she knew how to use it.

“I am Commander Kasumi McKenzie, Security Chief of the Perseus,” her voice was both commanding and beautiful, as she leveled her rifle toward the crew of the Darkstrider.

“Who are you and why are you here?” the woman asked in a tone that would tolerate no deception.

******************************

Feeling a pinch at his neck, Captain Alexander Tomisic stumbled out of his cryo pod, blinking his eyes against the lethargy that had overwhelmed him. The cocktail of stimulants had kicked in and he stood up, his senses returning to him.

‘I’m…. on the… Perseus. My name is…. Alex Tomisic,’

After closing his eyes for a few minutes, he opened them to see that bridge was as he remembered it. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself before moving.

“Jaesa, run full diagnostics and chart our position,” he croaked out as he stretched and twisted, working out the kinks in his body.

“As you wish, Captain,” Jaesa replied automatically. He looked down and saw he was still in his bodysuit and decided that he should probably get some clothes on.

‘No way anyone will listen, with me dressed like this,’ he thought with a chuckle. Alex followed the guiding lights towards the officers’ deck, ambling along until he found his quarters. The door swished aside as he stepped in, looking over his room.

‘Everything is just the way I left it. I wonder where we are?’ he thought pensively. The room was decorated with few personal effects, as he wasn’t big on decorations. ‘I hope that the rest of the Prometheus ships received our warning,’ his thoughts continued as he remembered the savage and brutal attack that left them crippled as they were.

Shaking his head, he cleared away such thoughts, knowing he’d have an answer soon. Walking over to his closet, he opened the door and pulled out his uniform, laying it out on his bed. Shedding the bodysuit, he quickly dressed himself, fitting the uniform just as though he’d only worn it yesterday. Stomping into the knee-high boots, he gazed at his reflection with intense scrutiny.

His six-foot six frame cut an imposing figure in his dark blue uniform; his brown hair cut short, but stylishly so. His Croatian ancestry was apparent in his features and they were solid, with a strong jaw, high cheekbones and intense brown eyes, which were soft yet commanding. The gold trim at the edges of his tunic was faded but still resplendent after all the years. He straightened the insignias and lines that dotted his shirt, ensuring that everything was presentable.

He gave himself a brief once over in the mirror before stopping his fidgeting. Satisfied that his uniform was in order, he walked back out of his quarters and towards the bridge to receive the status updates he requested.

******************************

Elsewhere on the ship, someone else woke from cryo sleep. She felt the similar pinch in her neck that told her she was injected with a mixture of stimulants. Designed to wake those emerging from cryo sleep, the grogginess faded quickly from her conscious mind. Taking her first breaths in hundreds of years, she kneeled on the floor, taking a moment to center herself. Once she had done so, she opened her eyes, the iridescent green of them shining like torches in the dark.

Looking down at her hands, freeze-dried blood flaked away from black skin. She remembered the woman she had killed in front of this pod, and how she’d fooled it into thinking she was that woman. The woman took a deep breath as she clenched her hands into fists, remembering her Prince’s last orders, which boomed through her mind.

‘Survive. Take the ship if you can. Destroy it, if you can’t.’ Snarling, she ran out into the ship, searching for a way to fulfill her final orders.

******************************

This is where it will end for the moment. Much will happen soon with the crew of both the Darkstrider and the Perseus. And of that black-skinned woman who came out of the cryo pod? Well, that will be something you’ll just have to wait and see what happens with her in the next chapter.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I hope that you’ve enjoyed it! I’m open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please feel free to rate and comment on my work down below. If you like what I write, don’t be afraid to follow and share, though your views, ratings and comments are quite enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!