Kronos watched through the Kytarrus’ external sensors as the thin docking tube extended from the ship. Small jets repositioned the tunnel until it connected with the docking hatch of the station. The maneuver looked simple to someone who didn’t understand the intricacies involved. The titan was fascinated by the sheer dexterity and control that Astra was displaying from the cockpit.

When the soft dock sealed to the station and all of the light indicators were green, the warrior entered the air lock that connected the tube. The door sealed behind him and then the one in front of him opened. When it did, the artificial gravity was disabled and the titan floated off of the deck. He drew one of his pistols and then angled his body forward. He felt small thrusters grow from his calves as more powerful ones were created on his back. Golden light came from the thrusters and he was slowly flying through the length of the soft dock.

He didn’t even need to think about it when Aegis was picking up his intentions and turning them into a reality. As he floated closer to the entrance to the station, he saw that the door was already green. Likely, Aegis had been able to access the doors controls and was already preparing the way to him. When he closed on the door, it silently slid open and he tilted his legs forward to arrest his acceleration. He came to a smooth stop and the thrusters disappeared as he floated half a meter from the ground.

The door sealed behind him and gravity returned to the room. He gracefully touched down and drew his other pistol. Now that he didn’t need to maneuver himself, he wanted the extra firepower just in case. The hatch in front of him opened once the station’s sensors determined that there was sufficient atmosphere and gravity. He stealthily walked through and look around the small dock. It was completely empty.

He frowned. He had hoped that the other two rebels would be waiting for him and this trip would be a quick stop before departing the station. He padded forward as he used his enhanced senses to detect some sign of the rebels. Finding nothing, he exited the small adjust and entered the main dock level. What he saw brought him up short.

A squad of Guard were waiting for him with their rifles drawn. Two were pointing their weapons at the kneeling forms of Nico and Rhian. Their hands were bound behind their backs and white hoods covered their faces. In front of them, Themis Caecus stood with his feet planted and his arms crossed.

“I knew you’d be back, Kronos.” The armored man gestured to the two bound figures. “It isn’t like you to leave someone behind.”

Kronos rapidly considered his options. If he fought them, the two rebels would die and he might escape. If he tried to run, Themis would likely catch him in the soft dock. When the Kytarrus was docked in such a way, it was vulnerable to attack and couldn’t bring its defenses to bear. It would shredded apart by the Imperial spy.

[Aegis, what are my options?]

[Attack Caecus, I’ll take care of the rest.]

Kronos nodded as he felt strange growths on the top of his shoulders. He looked over at them and saw that they were miniature missile launchers. There were a dozen tiny missiles within each one. Satisfied that Aegis was doing something, Kronos sprinted toward his rival. He heard a whistling sounds as twelve metal projectiles flying on golden light rocketed toward the enemies.

As he ran, he fired rounds with his pistols. The experience was strange without any triggers, but he found that he could use them with just a thought. Golden lines in his vision traced the trajectories of his bullets as they flew through the air.

Caecus reeled back in surprise as half a dozen bullets created small clouds of black dust as they impacted with his shield. At the same time, the flying missiles impacted on the Guard around him. Without shields, they were torn apart by twisting black sandstorms. Half of the missiles were guided toward the enemy’s weapons while the other half were aimed at the Guard themselves.

The small missiles turned their rifles into black cloud of deadly nanites. Their weapons were turned on their owners as the clouds combined with the impact of the other missiles started to consume the Guard.

They screamed as metal and flesh were twisted to Aegis’ purpose. Their screams echoed throughout the empty vestibule and the hellish sound caused Caecus to look over at them in alarm. His momentary distraction was enough for Kronos to tackle him to the ground. The spy’s shield tried to repel the titan’s assault, but it was quickly discharged as Kronos rained down blows with his pistols.

Around them, a maelstrom of black sand swirled and consumed the rest of the guards. Caecus ignored the plight of his men as he focused on the angry titan above him. He used his forearms to block Kronos’ strikes before the titan could accomplish anything truly debilitating. He shifted until he got his legs underneath him and then he mule kicked Kronos in the chest.

Kronos was thrown back from Caecus and a whirlwind of black sand followed him. When Kronos landed and skid on the ground, the black sand whirled into his armor and repaired the damage done by the attack. Kronos could feel his armor growing stronger and more dense as the tiny nanites flooded into his system. His bones felt more solid, his flesh more durable, and the reinforcements to his body for substantial. He grinned at the rush of power that flooded his body.

He didn’t get time to enjoy the feeling, because Caecus had drawn a knife and was already on him. The spy slashed down at the titan, and he blocked it using the edge of one of his pistols. Realizing that he needed more mobility, Kronos took a step back and sheathed both of his pistols.

He nearly got stabbed during that time at Caecus plunged his knife toward the titan’s torso. Kronos pivoted to dodge the strike and used a palm to slap the attack away. Caecus followed the motion and turned it into a spin. He drew a second knife before coming at Kronos with both blades.

Kronos had to duck and dodge the flurry of knife strikes coming toward him. He heard the clicking sound of more missiles being loaded into the launchers on his shoulders.

[Preparing missile attack,] Aegis helpfully informed.

[No, don’t,] Kronos stopped her. [I don’t want to kill him.]

[That doesn’t make any sense, titan. This man is your enemy. Allow me to kill him.]

Kronos slapped aside another attack before balling up his fist and rocketing a punch into Caecus’ side. He felt armor crumple around his knuckles and when he pulled it away, he noticed that there was black sand eating the armor from where his fist made contact. The sight furthered his resolve.

[No, I can incapacitate him. He’s saved my life before. I can’t take his right now. Direct the nanites to only eat armor. Nothing organic.]

[As you will, Kronos.]

Kronos heard an irritated tone to the AI’s voice, but he didn’t care. Zhang, or Caecus, had saved his ass plenty of times. The titan couldn’t believe that all of that had been an act. There was something in Caecus that was redeemable and Kronos didn’t want to be the one to kill his friend. He recognized that it might be a mistake, but he had faith that he could Caecus to his side in the future. He dismissed his errant thoughts, as Caecus returned his punch with an attack of his own.

His knife plunged into Kronos’ gut, and the titan stumbled back with the blade still embedded in his flesh. He gasped at the sudden onslaught of pain and he glanced down as he pulled the knife from his stomach. There was blood on its metallic surface, but nothing leaked from the wound. Black sand was already piling into the wound and sealing up the armor. He felt the flesh underneath twist as his bodily rapidly repaired the damage. He engaged his absorption effect and the knife quickly turned to more of the sand. It floated from his palm and joined the nanites repairing his armor.

Caecus was watching the process instead of attacking. When the wound was fully healed, he looked up at Kronos.

“What are you?”

Kronos laughed. “I’m the lost son of Titan. I’m a symbol of what was and what will be, but more than that Caecus—I’m your friend.”

Caecus shook his head and reached behind his back. He pulled out two plasma grenades and tossed them at the titan. “No, you’re an enemy of the Empire.”

Without an order, two missiles whistled from Kronos’ shoulders and caught the grenades in mid-flight. The grenades exploded but were quickly consumed by an umbral cloud of nanites.

[Thanks, Aegis.]

[It is my job to protect you, Kronos. Finish this fight.]

Kronos decided not to waste any more time and drew his sickles. They glowed with golden light that cast black shadows behind him. Caecus didn’t hesitate and drew the rifle he had mag-locked to his back. He immediately began firing but the world seemed to slow down for Kronos. Aegis painted the trajectories of the superheated plasma in his vision. Kronos swung his sickles to intercept them and they splashed against the durable metal. Like Aegis had described, a black contrail followed his every deflection and consumed the energy provided by the projectiles.

This continued for half a minute until Caecus realized that he couldn’t win. He placed a hand on his chest, and a compartment in his armor opened up to reveal the glowing blue fusion reactor that powered the suit. He plucked it from the armor and it started to pulse and grown unstable.

Seeing what Caecus intended, Kronos panicked. He sheathed his sickles and placed both palms on the bulkhead next to him. Sensing his flight, Aegis ramped up the absorption and a torrent of black particles flood from the wall and started to create a barrier between the titan and his rival.

“I noticed that your armor doesn’t have any shielding,” Caecus grimly noted.

“You’ll kill us both!” Kronos shouted back.

“I don’t think I will,” Caecus replied as he tossed the unstable reactor toward Kronos. When it neared the cloud, it exploded with a brilliant azure light. The concussive force passed through the cloud of nanites and hit Kronos squarely. He was pushed through the weakened hull of the station and ejected into space. The explosion ripped into him directly but his armor was already healing itself from the plethora of black clouds.

Kronos angled his body back toward the station, and he activated the thrusters within his armor. He rocketed toward the new hole in the station and saw that nanites were already working to seal the breach. Once again, Aegis had predicted what he wanted and manifested it into reality. If the atmosphere was evacuated, then he wouldn’t be able to save Rhian and Nico. He passed through the cloud of nanites and it turned into a metal patch made from the same material as his armor.

The interior of the station had been absolutely wrecked. There were small holes in the hull itself that were quickly being sealed by environmental foam. Meanwhile panels had been torn from the walls and the ceiling like an angry god had ripped them apart. Sparking wires dangled from the ceiling like hissing snakes and clouds of noxious gas were flooding into the small confines of the room. Kronos looked further, and saw that Zhang had been launched a couple meters down the room. His armor was damaged and he looked completely incapacitated.

Next to him, he saw Rhian and Nico similarly abused. There were previous burns on half of their bodies. Their clothes hung in tatters on their frames. They groaned and cried out in pain, their sounds completely the sinister tableau that Caecus had created.

Kronos walked up to Caecus first and checked the man’s condition. With Aegis’ help he hacked into his armor’s subsystems and analyzed the biodiagnostic data. Kronos heaved a sigh of relief as he saw that his friend was still alive. There were multiple broken bones and contusions caused from where his armor forcefully penetrated his body, but he would live. His armor was already sealing up the worst wounds and had injected him with a cocktail of sedatives to keep him from going into shock. Kronos activated the emergency beacon within the man’s armor before moving on. He wouldn’t have a lot of time before more Imps showed up to help their fallen comrade.

The first think he did was pull the hoods, tattered as they were, from Rhian and Nico’s faces. They gasped when he removed them and Kronos grimaced as he saw their faces white with pain. He drew a sickled and used it to remove their bindings. They shakily got to their feet and Kronos tried to help where he could.

“Can you two walk?”

Rhian nodded weakly while Nico looked determine.

“Yeah, we can make it to the ship.” She reassured him. “I’m assuming we’re soft docked?”

Kronos nodded as Rhian and Nico helped each other to hobble toward the adjunct where their ship waited.

“We’ll need your help once we get there. We don’t have a way to navigate in null grav.” She informed him.

“No problem,” Kronos said while he covered their escape.

[Aegis, is there anything you can do to help with their wounds?]

[No Kronos, there isn’t. My abilities require energy to work. I can help you, because the technology is fueled by materials and your own regenerative abilities. If I tried to integrate with someone else, they would quickly expire. It’s happened many times before.]

Kronos was lost in thought as the trio made their painful way toward the dock.

[What happened?]

[My memories are fragmented from that time. I went through many hosts and never got the opportunity to really develop the way that I am now. From what I remember, my creators used me to empower their gene warriors when fighting the Empire. However, none of them were true Titans. As soon as I joined with them, they’re bodies rapidly degenerated until they were nothing more than steaming piles of flesh.]

[That sounds grim,] Kronos commented.

[It was. I went through more than two hundred warriors in that fashion. I tried my best to protect my creators but I wasn’t enough to turn the tide.]

There was an element of sadness to her voice that Kronos picked up on.

[Well, you saved my ass in that fight. So, thank you.]

[Of course, Kronos. I am Aegis. My purpose is to protect you.]

Their conversation ended when they reached the airlock. Kronos used his powers to absorb some of the material in the walls and he created two metal helmets for the pair to wear. They donned them and then he slung one over each shoulder as Aegis disabled the gravity and atmosphere in the room. When the door opened, he gently used his thruster to maneuver down the pipe. He was careful not to jar his passengers overmuch. He was concerned that there might be internal injuries that hadn’t presented themselves yet.

As they drifted down the tunnel, he reached out with his sensors to scan the pair. As soon as it was finished, he realized that his earlier assumption was correct. There were dozens of internal injuries caused by the shockwave of the explosion. They would need considerable time in the medbay before they would be truly combat effective. Aegis picked up on his findings and sent commands to the Kytarrus’ medbay so that it would be ready upon their arrival.

When they reached the hatch to the ship, the door opened and the other three were waiting on the other side of the airlock. Kronos could see the smiles on their faces and he had the strangest feeling. It was like he was coming home for the first time. Everywhere he had been, he had been greeted with hostility and derision. He recognized that there had been bright points in his time with the Empire. Zhang had been a friend for him in a strange world while people like Maia reminded him of the tenacity of his own people. He resolved to never forget the light that they had brought to his life, no matter how brief.

The airlock opened and the other three helped Rhian and Nico off of his shoulders. They guided them toward the medbay while Kronos lamely followed them, still lost in his own memories. He was about to enter the medbay, but Astra stopped him and pulled him into the corridor beyond.

“You did a good job, cowboy. I was afraid they weren’t going to make it.”

“I almost thought that they wouldn’t,” the tian admitted. “Caecus overloaded the reactor and his suit and used it as a bomb.”

Astra opened her mouth in shock. “How the fuck did you survive that?”

The titan shrugged his beefy soldiers. “Aegis protected me. She created a cloud of nanites that cushioned the blast and ate most of the energy.”

Astra whistled lowly. “I didn’t realize she was that powerful. The stories we have about her are little more than legends. She turned gene warriors into sickle wielding berserkers, but this nanite stuff is new to me.”

“I think it’s because she burned out everyone who tried integrating with her. To be honest, I’m a little frightened of her power.”

Astra laid a comforting hand on his arm. “I wouldn’t be, cowboy. She was designed for one purpose—to help you defeat the Empire.”

“I guess,” Kronos hedged. “Still, I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.”

Astra nodded. “As soon as the medbay can confirm Rhian and Nico are stabilized, we’ll jet out of here. The more time we waste, the better chance that the Empire will pick up on our escape. At least with Caecus dead, they’ll have a harder time figuring out what happened.”

The titan sheepishly put a hand behind his head.

“About that, Astra. I didn’t kill him.”

“What? Why the hell not?” Her tone was angry.

“Because he’s still my friend. He can still be turned to our side. I know he can.”

Astra shoved past him and into the medbay.

“You better hope you’re right,” she hissed before the door closed.