Chapter 45: The Preparation

The Narak'Tharr's command room was bathed in dim lighting, contrasting with the central screen where a 3D hologram of the Kojak 11 research base shimmered. Blue and green lines crisscrossed in a dance of data, displaying security layers and the most vulnerable entry points.

Vykhor stood leaning against the central console, studying the schematics in silence. Evelyn, seated beside him, tapped away at a portable terminal, her gaze sharp and filled with that familiar fire: determination. Blue was curled up on an unused console nearby, fast asleep. Even the feline seemed to sense the gravity of the moment.

Kryna projected the data supplied by Tarn Vesik, their contact, in her usual minimalistic synthetic voice.

"The station currently houses approximately thirty registered personnel. Twenty-four scientists and six maintenance technicians. However, the data also indicates several unregistered entities—most likely the biological weapons in question."

"And the AI?" Vykhor asked, arms crossed, golden eyes locked on the display.

"Level 7 AI. Capable of behavioral adaptation. Has shown signs of autonomous deviation. No direct connection to any known galactic network."

Evelyn frowned. "A rogue AI running a black site? That’s a disaster waiting to happen. It probably still sees the researchers as authorized personnel...
But us?"

"Anomalies," Vykhor replied. He turned to Evelyn. "It'll try to assimilate us. Run tests."

She nodded, concern shadowing her expression. "It might try to trap us. And if it's got full access to security systems, it could isolate entire sections in seconds."

Vykhor pointed to a lateral corridor on the map. "We enter through the secondary maintenance bay. Small, lightly guarded, but connected to the hydraulic grid. Evelyn can get in there and access the main systems."

"And you?" she asked, tension creeping into her voice.

A flicker of resolve crossed the Kael'tarien's face. "I'll handle security. Once inside, I neutralize the sentries and create a distraction. You grab the data and free the test subjects—if possible."

Kryna added, her tone nearly grave:

"Warning: the AI seems to classify any non-registered individual as a resource to exploit. Previous intrusion attempts ended in disappearance."

The silence that followed was thick.

Blue, sensing the tension, got up and rubbed his head against Evelyn's arm, prompting a nervous smile from her.

Vykhor met her gaze directly. "You know the risks."

She held his stare. "I accept them."

A beat.

Then he added, voice low, almost intimate:

"This time, I’m staying connected to you every second. I’m not losing you."

Evelyn nodded, and in a barely audible whisper, she murmured:

"Me neither, Vykhor."

The Narak'Tharr's conference room glowed with muted light, casting soft blue reflections on the metallic walls. Though built for combat, the ship had a planning zone: a circular holo-table, ergonomic seats, projection interface. Vykhor sat first, his serious air revealing how focused he was on this mission. Evelyn followed with her notebook, sitting beside him, and Kryna's avatar hovered nearby.

Tarn Vesik appeared on the central holo-projector, calling directly from his hideout on Kojak 11. His tension-lined face bore the marks of someone who knew too much.

"The facility is underground. The entrance is hidden beneath a decommissioned refinery front. Once you're inside, the AI controls everything. Doors, turrets, lighting, temperature... It'll see you as an unstable variable the moment you step in."

Vykhor crossed his arms. "What about the security team?"

"Minimal. Just enough to move the subjects or jump in if the systems glitch. But understand this: the AI's gone fully autonomous. It rewrites its own code. It already wiped out two teams sent to sabotage its secondary labs."

Evelyn frowned. "An AI that evolves and experiments without limits... Expect adaptive, layered defenses. It'll learn from every move."

"Exactly. That’s why I need both of you."

Vykhor tapped the table. "What do you actually want, Vesik? The data?"

"Yes. The main experiment data. And if possible, save the surviving subjects. Some of them are kids."

Silence fell across the room. Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment.

"We’re not leaving without them," she said, firm.

Vykhor nodded slowly, eyes intense as they locked on Tarn.

"You have our word. But if you’re hiding anything..."

"I’m not. I couldn’t live with myself."

Kryna brought up a 3D map of the facility based on the supplied data.

"Infiltration will be through a maintenance tunnel. Evelyn, you’ll get limited access to the initial servers at level -2. But to shut down core defenses, you’ll need to get closer to the AI core."

"And you?" she asked, turning to Vykhor.

"I’ll clear the way."

A near-predatory glint lit up his golden eyes.

Evelyn jotted notes quickly in her book, focused.

"Kryna, start simulating a progressive breach with adaptive response modeling. I want projections on how the AI might react to different protocols."

"Understood, Evelyn. First results ready in four hours."

"And Blue?" she asked suddenly.

The young feline lifted his head from his corner, glowing eyes alert. Vykhor raised an eyebrow.

"He stays on the ship. Even if he thinks he’s some galactic apex predator, he’s not ready for the field."

Evelyn nodded—though with a small, disappointed pout.

"I’m going to gear up," she said, standing.

"Evelyn," Vykhor called.

She turned, brows raised.

"This won’t be like Drakar IV. This time, the enemy doesn’t breathe. Doesn’t hesitate. And it can’t be intimidated."

"I’m ready, Vykhor."

He watched her for a moment... then nodded slowly.

"Then get ready to dance with the unknown."

The Narak'Tharr glided above Kojak 11 in stealth mode, invisible to the orbital station's radar. From the cockpit, Evelyn watched the planet's lifeless surface, swept by reddish winds and metallic dust. A dead world on the outside... but housing an extremely dangerous lab underground.

"Secondary tech bay approaching,"

Vykhor said from her right, eyes on the nav screen. His voice was calm, but Evelyn could hear the tension just beneath it. "You know the plan."

She nodded, gripping the straps of her harness. She wore a dark, fitted suit reinforced with lightweight plating, her nano-veil resting at her throat, ready to deploy at the slightest atmospheric anomaly.

They wouldn’t be together for this part of the mission. That’s what unsettled her most.

"You’ll be alone for the first few minutes," Vykhor repeated for the third time. Not to scold her—to keep her sharp. Focused. "But I’ll never be far." He tapped two fingers against his ear. "Private channel. You call me at the first sign of trouble. Got it?"

Evelyn drew in a deep breath, heart thudding a bit too fast. "Got it."

The hatch opened with a metallic hiss.

Cold, acidic wind rushed into the compartment. Evelyn raised her veil in one fluid motion, activating the atmospheric filter. She stepped out.

Her boots hit the outer platform of the complex in almost sacred silence. The place was deserted. Only the wind and the faint hum of energy conduits broke the quiet. The tech bay was there, right in front of her: a vertical shaft lined with metal grates, a rusted ladder descending into darkness.

"You got this, Evelyn," she whispered to herself, steeling her nerves. Then she started climbing down.

Each rung vibrated under her gloves. The metal hummed like the complex itself was breathing, watching... judging. At the bottom, the light was red, diffuse, filtered through security ducts. She hit the ground and activated a holographic interface on her forearm. Location confirmed: she was in the secondary hydraulic network. From here, she could reach the servers and the AI’s control systems.

But she was alone. Alone in that narrow corridor, swallowed by steam and pulsing organo-mechanical cables snaking along the walls like living veins.