As soon as the elevator doors slid open Damien and Kat took off, now deep underground inside the enemy territory. The first round of explosions had sounded off one minute ago, and the final round thundered somewhere in the distance. The two pirates ran at full sprint side by side toward the target location signaling the control room. Thankfully, the layout held within Lana’s Mind Chip’s actually matched the layout of these subterranean corridors, which were wide enough that a semi truck could move through them.

A glowing red tint bathed down on them from above as a blaring alarm sounded off in all directions. The enemies had been warned to the assault, but thanks to their distraction tactic, no one else was present in this first passage out of the northern elevator. As they ran, Damien took in the surroundings from the peripherals of his vision. The entire facility looked modern and up to date with polished black walls and flooring that were lined with silver stripes down the center. Silver doors guarded the many rooms that lined the walls on each side.

Reaching the end of the first hall and turning the corner, he spotted a large room with one massive rectangular window showcasing what was inside. A series of long, cylindrical tanks were stacked up beside each other, each containing what appeared to be a human body inside. A few cyberware-riddled people in white coats stared at them from the other side of the window, fear twisting the human parts of their face.

Damien gritted his teeth and continued in tandem with his partner as they followed the pre-established route and turned another corner. This time, two familiar-looking figures appeared thirty paces ahead, both running eastward. Their tattoos labeled them as Skull members. Bolted on the ceiling above them, the barrel of a mounted turret spun around, looking for the intruders.

“There’s a lot of them coming my way,” Marcus said over the comm channel. “I can’t hold out much longer without help.”

“Got it,” Lana replied. “Blizzard incoming.”

The alarm and red glow both suddenly stopped, and the two Skulls ahead froze in place mid-stride. The turret above also went limp, it’s barrel dropping straight down toward the ground. The fact that the center piece of their plan actually worked alleviated some of the nerves within Damien as they persisted toward their goal.

“Blizzard is now active,” Lana said. “You should have a three minute window to do what you need to do. Carry on as planned.”

Damien and Kat cut yet another corner and continued down a long stretch of hallway. Identical rooms filled with cylindrical tanks surrounded them on both sides, but there were was no other motion besides their own, giving everything an uncanny sense of stillness. Their footsteps were the only thing echoing through the empty halls.

And then, in an instant, the red glow returned and the alarm blared once again. Damien’s stomach dropped.

“What the hell?” Marcus blurted out. “Did it not work?”

“Crap. Not good. Not good,” Lana said, her voice heavily strained. “Someone somewhere is manually overriding the Blizzard. I’ll have to redo everything. Hold on.”

As the two pirates continued, another turret sparked to life from the ceiling ahead, and it’s barrel turned to face them. Kat stopped in her tracks and Damien followed suit.

“Come on, we can’t stop,” Damien said to his partner. “Just follow me. I’ll take care of it.” He grabbed her by the arm and took the lead as they returned to a full on sprint and entered the turret’s range. He was careful to stay between Kat and the barrel, and when the turret started blasting he activated Parry mid-stride. His feet continued onward but his arms took on a life of their own, slashing wildly in all directions to intercept the bullets with his sword. Not a single one got through as the duo exited the turret’s range and turned the final corner on to the straight path connecting the bulkhead and the outer ring.

The loud alarm and the red glow disappeared as the Blizzard became active again. “Finally got it under control,” Lana said. “But they’re not letting up, so it might go out again. Marcus, rush to the getaway vehicle immediately. You two get those files, the room should be unlocked.”

The duo went south on the straight path, the Mind Chips guiding them to the exact location of their target. Up ahead, past the control room, two Skull soldiers stood frozen in place at the intersection of the straight track and the inner ring. Another pair of eyes stared at them from much further down, but Damien didn’t pay it any mind. They had to get the files first.

They entered the control room to find that it was filled with monitors; three of its four walls fully covered with black screens. Below them, a group of computers were interconnected with a jumble of buttons and knobs acting as some kind of interface. Kat ran her fingers across the computers, searching frantically for the correct port. When she found it, she took out a wire and connected one side to the port and the other side to her neural slot, replacing the Mind Chip that Lana had given her. Damien spotted a small turret that had been stashed away behind the door, and he drove his blade through it, cutting the barrel and dropping it to the ground.

He stepped back towards Kat. “Well, did you find it?”

Her normally-blue eyes had started blinking with a slow yellow pulse. “Yeah, I think… Let me see…” The yellow flashes continued for a few seconds, but her face hardened and her brows furrowed. “Wait. What the hell’s this?” The color suddenly disappeared from her eyes and her body went limp, as if the strings holding her up had given out. Damien swooped in caught her from falling, but her head reeled back, revealing eyes with no life inside of them.

“Lana! What happened to her?”

The young hacker responded with an aggressive groan. “Damn it. Now they’re attacking the vessel directly. Someone’s sabotaging us.”

“Well, what the hell do we do?”

“We’ll lose her if I don’t help. But I’ll have to concede the Blizzard so we’ll be without it. Marcus, how are you holding up?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Marcus said. “I’ve got a lot of enemies around but there’s a van just up ahead that I can hijack. It’s not the ideal vehicle we planned to take but it looks like we have no choice.”

“Alright then, releasing the Blizzard now. Damien, you’re on your own. Please be careful.”

“That’s fine,” Damien said. “Just save her. I’ll make sure no one gets in this room.” He gently placed Kat’s limp body on the ground, letting her back and head slump against the counter.

He exited the control room and was immediately greeted with the sights and sounds of the enemy’s alert system. The two Skull soldiers from before had already started moving towards his location, and they each drew their pistols when they spotted him.

Damien met their charge with his own, rushing forward and activating Parry when their gun barrels pointed towards him. His blade kept him safe from their attacks, and he closed the distance easily. Up close, they were no match, his new katana cutting cleanly through neck of the first, and the chest of the second. Both dropped dead to the ground, revealing a different type of enemy stepping forward to replace them from the distance. The man approaching him was the owner of the other set of eyes he’d seen earlier, and he definitely wasn’t a Skull member.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Damien scanned the new enemy.

Mercenary Swordsman [Ex-Military]

Level: 7

Weapon: Volt Blade

Armor: Sub-Dermal Armor III (100%)

Damien gripped the tilt of his katana tightly and steeled himself, preparing for a fight he wasn’t sure he could win.