The air inside the emergency deck had been heavy with gloom for hours, and the crew had huddled together in silence with fear dimming every face — until the pilots arrived. Now hope had caught in them again like fire in dry wood.
Youri turned to Tom. "How did you even find us?"
"We were hiding in our cockpits when Zoma contacted us," Tom said. "She told us what happened and that you were down here, so we came to regroup."
"What about you?" Preston asked. "How did you end up here?"
Youri shrugged, calm but firm. "When the soldiers raided the ship, I was in the galley. I grabbed everyone close by and locked us in here. Figured we'd wait it out until someone came."
"Smart move," Tom said with a nod. "But listen, we have a mission. Zoma told me where the others are. The Emperor lost his temper and sent them to some prison called the Labyrinth. We have to reach the control room and launch the ship manually. Then we can go and get them."
Youri frowned. "Hold on. We can launch, sure. But how do we even find this Labyrinth?"
Tom smirked. "Zoma says she'll take the helm and guide us. All we have to do is get this bird in the air."
Tyler stepped forward. "Wait, Tom. The control room's going to be crawling with guards. How the hell are we supposed to get past them?"
Tom gestured at his uniform. "Are you blind, Doc? Look what we're wearing. We walk in like we belong there. Once we're inside, we take the room and start the launch. If the guards get in the way, we deal with them."
Youri nodded slowly. "Leave the guards to me. Once we're inside, everything will fall into place."
"Youri," Anita said, and there was real concern in her voice, "how are you going to get out of here? You don't have a uniform."
"Don't worry about that," Preston said. "We brought a spare."
Tyler muttered under his breath, "This plan is insane. But I guess we don't have a choice."
Youri looked at the people who would be staying behind. "Tyler, Quin, Daniel — watch the door. Everyone in this room is counting on you now."
Tyler gave a sharp nod. Quin and Daniel answered together. "Don't worry, Youri. We've got this."
The four of them suited up, checked their weapons and slipped out. The corridor outside was quiet, without a patrol in sight. They moved quickly and silently through the steel hallways of Sector Zero toward the control room. They had nearly made it when they rounded a corner and a tall officer with a thick mustache and a beret stepped into their path. "You there! What are you doing wandering the halls?"
The four of them froze. Then Marek stepped forward, his voice crisp and confident. "Apologies, sir. We were assigned to the control room, but we lost our way."
The officer sighed and rubbed his temple. "Idiots. This way. Follow me." And to their astonishment, he escorted them straight to the place they needed to go.
The great doors of the control room hissed open onto a hub of activity. Soldiers stood at attention, scientists hunched over panels, and in the middle of it all stood a commanding figure in his mid-fifties, bald, his chest heavy with medals. He turned as they came in. "Finally. What took you so long?" He waved away the guards whose shift had just ended.
Preston saluted. "Apologies, sir. We got turned around."
The general scowled. "Whatever." He turned back to his scientists. "Have we cracked their system yet?"
One of them shook his head. "No, sir. Nothing we have can interface with the ship. It's… alien. Nothing responds to our protocols."
The general slammed his fist onto the console. "Damn them. They really are celestial."
While the officers talked, the four of them spread out casually and took their positions. Five guards remained in the room — two beside the general, one by the entrance near Marek, one helping a scientist at the helm, and the last standing just below the main steps beside Youri. Youri glanced around at the others, and his signal was small but clear. Now.
He turned and shot the guard beside him. The room exploded with gunfire. Four guards dropped before they could even draw their weapons, and the fifth, frozen in shock beside the helm, fell to Youri's second shot. Scientists threw themselves to the floor with their arms over their heads, and the general stood paralyzed in the middle of it all, staring in disbelief.
Tom ran to the main terminal and began initializing the engine protocols, while Youri walked up to the general and pressed the barrel of his pistol against the man's temple. "We have one request," he said coldly. "Do what we say, and no one else gets hurt. Evacuate everyone from this ship. Once it's empty, you'll be allowed to leave on a shuttle."
The general's legs were shaking, but he nodded and gave the evacuation order through the emergency comms. Within minutes the ship and the docks around it began to empty.
"Good job, General," Youri said with a smirk.
Zoma's projection shimmered to life above the main console. "Oh, you made it," she said, grinning. "Nice." The general stumbled back from the hologram, and the scientists on the floor stared up at her with wide eyes. Zoma glanced around at her readouts. "Scanners show the ship is empty. Everyone else is out."
"Perfect," Tom said, his hands flying across the controls. "Now we prep for launch."
The general straightened, and the fury came back into his face. "You may escape the station, but do you really think you can outrun the Empire? Every ship in Baraka will hunt you down. Do you know what we do to rebels? Treason is punished by death."
Youri laughed, a bitter and cold sound. "Oh, we know. Where we come from, rebels are a problem too. Most of this crew are ex-rebels. We know exactly what's at stake." He leaned closer. "And since we're already criminals in your eyes, I think I'll break my promise. I'm going to show you what a crew of ex-rebels can do to your mighty Empire."
The Tartarusios pulled away from her dock. Inside the Baraken control center, chaos broke out as word of the general's capture spread, officers scrambling, orders flying. But the Tartarusios did not run. She turned. Her smooth black hull was something out of a nightmare against the lights of the station, and her main cannon began to power up, glowing a deep blue like the judgment of a god.
In the control room, Youri walked to the console and entered the override code: power output, two hundred percent. Then he turned to the general, and his eyes were completely flat. "I don't see myself as someone worth very much. But if there's one thing I do well, it's destruction. And the one thing I never forgive…" He pressed the final command. "…is someone messing with my ship."
Outside, the cannon charged, and inside, the room filled with blinding light. A piercing scream seemed to echo across the void, and then the Tartarusios fired. The plasma beam tore straight through the core of the Baraken space station and engulfed it in fire and steel. Its debris spiraled down toward the planet below, glowing in the dark like falling ash.
On the bridge, Zoma turned to look at Youri, and her expression was impossible to read. When she spoke, her voice was soft, almost reverent.
"Monsters truly do exist."