Chapter 48: Extraction, Sabotage, Escape

Vykhor nodded. They had gone over the plan together, just minutes ago, in the tense calm of the secured room. Evelyn had designed a complex decoy program — a fake virus meant to mimic an external intrusion and trigger a panic response from the AI. While the system scrambled to defend itself, they’d slip into the core and extract the main experiment data.

“Go ahead, My’Lari.”

Vykhor’s voice was a low, commanding murmur — and it sent a shiver down her spine. She launched the deployment sequence.

“Fake virus is uploading… wait… yes. The AI picked it up. She’s redirecting defensive protocols. This is our window.”

Vykhor had already positioned himself near the entrance, prosthetic arm powered up, ready to counter any counterattack. Evelyn, meanwhile, was dripping with concentration. Her fingers flew across the interface, diving deep into the data system’s core.

Then it hit her — a chill crawling up her spine. The file name popped up on the screen:

"Primary Subject: Synthetic Genome – Model ZR. Cognitive-Genomic Fusion Protocol – Status: ACTIVE."

She slowly turned to Vykhor. “It’s worse than I thought…”

He stepped closer, golden eyes locked on the screen. “Download it. Then we blow this place to hell.”

Evelyn’s fingers flew over the controls, her eyes locked on the cascading lines of code. Next to her, Vykhor stood guard, his whole body tense, ready to spring into action.

The decoy had slipped in as planned, scrambling diagnostics and triggering false alerts all over the station. The AI, thrown off, was rerouting resources to deal with the supposed breach — giving them the slimmest of chances.

“Transfer at 87%,” Evelyn muttered, not even looking up.

Vykhor nodded and armed one of the charges, placing it under a secondary console. One by one, he set them according to plan, mentally calculating the blast zones to collapse the room without damaging the data that had already been sent to the Narak’Tharr.

“Last charge’s set,” he said, voice low and steady. “Status?”

“97%… 98… done! Download complete!” She yanked the sealed data drive out and slid it into a reinforced pouch at her belt. Then, with a swift move, she launched the destruction protocol.

Screeching alarms immediately erupted throughout the station.

“Time to move!” Evelyn shouted.

Vykhor grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, guiding her fast and sharp out of the chamber. Emergency lights bathed the halls in ominous red as the AI’s metallic voice blared conflicting orders through the speakers.

“Alpha subject identified. Priority level: maximum. Elimination recommended.”

“Looks like we really pissed her off,” Evelyn panted.

“Good,” Vykhor growled. “Let her chase us all the way to her own grave.”

The hallways shook with distant explosions from the charges planted in the secondary wings. Blasts of hot air gusted through the vents, slapping Evelyn’s face as she ran full speed.

Vykhor led the way, his prosthetic arm glowing with strain. He cut through obstacles like a living scalpel, shoulder-ramming a sealed access door, smashing aside a drone that lunged from the walls with a metallic snarl.

“Left!” Evelyn yelled, relying on the map burned into her mind.

A wall blew out behind them, debris raining down. Evelyn stumbled, nearly going down — but Vykhor caught her mid-fall, yanked her back up with a rough, protective grip.

“You better survive until the airlock, My’Lari. I didn’t fight my way through all this just to lose you now.”

Evelyn shot him a sideways glance, breathless but defiant. “Pretty sure I’m the one who hacked the damn AI. You’re not allowed to die either.”

A loud crash cut them off — a towering, two-meter restraint droid burst through the collapsing wall. The kind used to subdue… or dissect.

Vykhor stepped between Evelyn and the machine. “Keep moving. I’ll handle it.”

“No way—”

But he was already in motion.

His prosthetic arm snapped into combat mode, and he slammed a blow straight into the droid’s neck joint, slicing through the hydraulic lines like butter. The automaton reeled, then crumpled as Vykhor finished it with a blade flick from his wrist.

Evelyn didn’t waste a second. She hacked the last door lock remotely, her fingers flying across the controls.

The station-wide announcements came in distorted bursts, warped by panic:

“Critical anomaly. Core system collapse. All containment protocols terminated. Priority: self-preservation.”

They reached the airlock at last. The light of the Narak’Tharr glowed beyond the thick glass — a promise.

But just before they made it through, the base — now devoid of all life — slammed the blast doors behind them. The final explosion ripped through the walls. Vykhor grabbed Evelyn mid-leap and rolled with her down the loading ramp, shielding her with his body.

The ramp detached, and the Narak’Tharr, guided by Kryna, lunged forward to snatch them into its open hold. A kinetic shield closed behind them, sealing off the blast.

The station blew.

The shockwave rattled the ship from bow to stern.

Sprawled on the floor, still tangled together, Vykhor and Evelyn lay still, catching their breath, their bodies humming with leftover adrenaline.

Then Evelyn looked up at him, a tired smile on her lips.

“Are duo missions always like this?”

Vykhor let out a low grunt, his hand still braced behind her. “Nah. Usually worse.”

The ramp of the Narak’Tharr sealed shut with a metallic hiss, cutting Evelyn and Vykhor off from the burning chaos they left behind. The ship’s relative silence felt surreal after the alarms, the explosions, the desperate dash through the station. Evelyn staggered slightly, and Vykhor caught her with a steady hand, pulling her close.

They were back. And they were alive.

The Narak’Tharr’s ramp closed with a soft whoosh, severing them completely from the ruins of the base behind them. The acrid smell of smoke, the tension of combat, the cold hum of the AI… all of it was already fading into the past. Evelyn wobbled a little as she stepped onto the familiar metal floor. Vykhor’s hand slid around her waist, steady and deliberate, guiding her against him.

They were back. But not unscathed.

Kryna was already waiting for them in the medbay, systems active and ready. The freed subjects had been stabilized during the first intervention phase — and surprisingly, the youngest had gravitated toward Blue, who hadn’t left their side since. Just like Evelyn had asked of him.

But this time, it was Evelyn who would need Kryna’s attention.

The small feline bolted into the corridor as soon as the two mercs crossed the threshold, trotting straight to Evelyn. His bioluminescent fur pulsed briefly at the sight of her, like his body was reacting to emotion. He let out a soft mew and leapt into her arms without hesitation, forcing her to pause.

Despite the exhaustion, Evelyn smiled. Her hands instinctively stroked Blue’s silky head.
“I’m glad to see you too, sweetheart,” she whispered.

Vykhor glanced at Kryna, then at Blue. He didn’t say a word. But deep down, he noted something simple: his My’Lari looked calmer with that creature around. If the little furball brought that light to her eyes... so be it.

“Kryna. Full treatment,” he ordered, his voice sharp like a command.

The AI nodded slowly and guided Evelyn to the exam table, already scanning her vitals. Vykhor watched her for a long moment... then turned away.

He headed to the comm room, his long Kael’tarien coat trailing behind him. Alone, he activated the encrypted transmitter.

“Tarn Vesik. This is Vykhor Kael’seth.”

A burst of static, then the scientist’s voice crackled through, breathless and on edge.

“Report.”

Vykhor sat back, arms crossed, gaze still dark.

“The base is destroyed. Core data secured. AI has been shut down. The test subjects are safe.”

A long silence followed. Then Vesik spoke again, voice low and hesitant.

“And... Evelyn Ashcroft?”