“Maybe we need a plan B?” The waiting and the nervous tension had really gotten to John. He was walking up and down in the room and biting his lip. His expression was very solemn. Every second felt like an hour. It felt like torture, a nightmare from which he couldn’t wake up.

“Didn’t Wang say that the android will pay us a visit?” Sara asked, equally anxious. She was breathing fast and her heartbeat was equally quick. “If we don’t reprogram him, we will-“

“Relax,” Nicole replied, “I am sure that-“

Their discussion was interrupted by a loud ringing. John rushed to open the door; it was D-4009. The android offered a friendly handshake to John and tried to smile. John shook hands with him; the android’s hand was cold and stiff.

“Nice to see you here,” John said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Was waiting for you.”

“Really?” D-4009 asked in his cold, monotone voice.

“Yes. A friend told us that you tend to check up on your guests.”

“Indeed. I am programmed to check up on our guests in order to ensure that they are being properly treated and to know if they have any dissatisfaction with their stay here. Is there any problem with your stay here? Do you have any complaint? Do you wish for me to bring you anything?”

“No but… D-4009, you are in dire need of a maintenance update,” Sara said.

“Oh?” the android wondered aloud. “It indeed has been some time since I last had a maintenance update but guests are not allowed to tamper with my program. Only technicians with the necessary qualifications can update my system. Thank you, though, for being so considerate. Humanoids do not usually saw much concern towards androids they don’t own.”

“I am qualified to update you,” Sara replied. “I’ve got the credentials. ‘A-233-BB-CC-22-66-88-DD’.”

“Indeed you have,” D-4009 said with his mechanical lips forming a smile. “Please perform the update now, so I can return to my duties as soon as possible.”

Sara began feeling the android’s head and moving around and down to the base of its skull, where she felt a small depression and pressed down lightly. An opening suddenly appeared on his mechanical neck, containing a tiny keyboard inside. Sara was quick to type the necessary codes that would allow her to override the android’s original programming and instead introduce behavioral subroutines into its program that would instruct D-4009 to follow their commands. Once finished, Sara sealed the opening and pressed again the small depression on his skull.

“D-4009 at your command,” he stated. He seemed a bit disoriented for a few seconds, looking intensively at everything around him. “There seems to have been changes at my programming to recognize you as my new masters. It feels… weird, but do not worry. I follow my programming to the letter, as you humanoids would say.”

“Nice,” John nonchalantly said while looking again at the holographic projection of the villa that Wang had handed to them. He was too busy making sure that they wouldn’t screw up the plan.

“You are feeling ok?” Nicole asked the android with a warm smile on her face.

“Yes. I am waiting for new commands.”

“For now you should sit down and relax.”

“Relax?” D-4009 wondered aloud. “You mean that I should wait. I don’t have a behavioral subroutine that would allow me to experience the humanoid feeling of relaxation.”

“Eh…? Yes. That’s what I mean,” Nicole awkwardly corrected herself.

“Wait I will, then.”

Beep!

A sudden noise livened up the room. It was the small device Wang had handed them. John at once pressed one of the buttons, sending a signal to Wang that he had received the alarm. It was the time for action. He forced a smile. All of his skill and training would have to come into play. ‘I’ve faced worse enemies,’ he tried to encourage himself.

“Time to go!” John said. “As planned, we should head to the main hall. The estate is heavily guarded, so we need to be careful.”

Sara and Nicole nodded in agreement. “We first have to go to the control room,” Sara reminded. “D-4009 will deactivate all turrets and shields and unlock all doors. From there, we can head to the main hall.”

“You want me to do what?” D-4009 asked. “I am not a battle droid. I am-“

“Your programming is to follow our orders, right?” Sara interrupted him.

“Yes.”

“Our order is to aid us in hacking the villa’s computer system.”

“A reckless and dangerous request but, as per my programming, I will follow your command.”

Ready for a fight, the four of them moved to the door. John, who had familiarized himself the most with the villa’s map, took the lead and went through first. He led his fellow sorcerers and the android down a hall to a broad metal door. “Beyond this door is a guard post. It will be heavily guarded. We must move past it so that we may reach the control room.”

D-4009 went to a control panel situated to the right of the door and with a few clicks opened it. The six guards beyond it at once raised their weapons in unison. Before they could fire, John and Sara waved their hands and an all-powerful energy shield surrounded the group. The thugs’ laser beams were deflected by the invincible shield, but John and Sara could feel their muscles tensing and sharp pain overtaking them. It was difficult to maintain so strong an energy shield, especially when it was under constant fire.

While Sara and John tried their best to keep up, Nicole charged at the thugs. She concentrated, connecting herself with the Qi around her, waved her hand and unleashed a powerful energy wave that swept four of them like a hurricane, sending them flying across the corridor, their bodies eventually slamming hard on the metallic floor.

Nicole unsheathed a laser knife that was hanging on her belt and stabbed the fifth guard, her knife plunging deep into the man’s chest. Blood gushed out from the wound. The remaining guard turned his rifle at Nicole and fired. The young sorceress leaped to the left, barely avoiding the laser beam by a few inches. As the guard was about to fire again, John unleashed an energy wave of his own that swept the thug away.

“My, my…” D-4009 remarked. “This is… illogical. How can you perform such feats? You are… oh my, my new masters are magicians!”

“Yeah,” John replied, “and we don’t have much time, so let’s get going. The control room is on the left.”

The four of them quickly but carefully made their way through the corridor until they reached the location that had been marked on the holographic map as the control room. Once they reached the room’s door, John waved his hand and a mighty wave of energy smashed the door.

Three heavily armed guards and a technician were inside the room. The guards were so startled that they didn’t even have time to drawn or reach for their weapons. Before they could do anything to counter the intruders, Sara and Nicole had already somersaulted at them and with a series of quick kicks had knocked them out.

The technician leapt towards the alarm when John grabbed the technician by the scruff of his neck and hoisted him off the ground. The foolhardy man turned pale and fainted. John threw him on the ground while Sara rushed to the computer terminal. “Come!” she ordered D-4009 and the android obliged.

D-4009’s mechanical fingers probed the touchscreen rapidly, bringing up a security menu. With knowledge of all the necessary codes, the android easily turned off all turrets and shields in the villa and unlocked all doors. “Mission accomplished,” the android said with a smug grin on his pale face.

“Already?” Sara gaped in astonishment. “Not that I am complaining…”

John had meanwhile grabbed the laser rifles of the three unconscious guards. He threw one at Sara and Nicole each and held the last one for himself. “Now we are armed,” John said. “Come on, we need to keep moving. It won’t be long before the Boss realizes what we are up to.”

Mike was downing a glass of whiskey as he gazed out of the window at the bright sky. “Not bad!” the sergeant remarked. “It’s been some time since I’ve drunk something so good.”

“We should be investigating,” Lutherson reminded him, “not waiting in our quarters and drinking alcoholic beverages.”

“Relax. We have all the time to inv-“

A sudden ringing sound, seemingly an alert, was echoing across the room. “What?” Mike wondered. The sound seemed to be echoing outside the room too. “Something really, really bad is taking place here…”

“And we need to investigate it!” Lutherson said as he rushed to the door. Mike followed behind. Both of them were still wearing their masks, keeping up with the charade that they were the Masked Killers. As soon as they opened their room’s door, two armed guards approached them.

“Remain in your quarters,” of them sternly warned. “There is a… situation that we must take care of. Nothing to worry about.”

“Alright,” Mike lied as he suddenly slammed his fist into the man’s face. Blood spurted from his nose and splattered all over Mike’s uniform. The guard dropped to the floor and was knocked out with a hard kick on the face. The other guard aimed his rifle at Mike and was about to shoot him when Lutherson lunged at the man, throwing him on the floor. The guard easily pushed away the detective and stood up. He slammed his rifle at Lutherson’s face and the detective sank to the ground, blood streaming from his mouth. It was at that very moment that a laser beam hit him on the chest. The thug screamed in pain as he collapsed on the floor, this time dead.

“Are you ok?” Mike asked, offering a helping hand to the detective. Lutherson grabbed Mike’s hand and with great effort managed to get up.

“Yes,” Lutherson replied, “though I really wish that bleeding could stop.”

“Toughen it up. I’ve seen soldiers with far worse injuries than yours in the battlefield and none of them whined about it.”

“I am not a soldier…”

Mike grabbed the rifles of the two fallen guards. He took hold of the one rifle but handed the other to Lutherson. “You may not be a soldier, but you will need this most likely.”

Lutherson felt the rifle in his hands. “I guess I will have to learn to use this…”

“Oh damn it! I should have never accepted that fucking home call!” Doctor Beck complained as he huffed and walked up and down in the room. “He has me waiting for three whole fucking hours! That man…”

Beck tried to remember the instructions that detective gave him on how to relax. “I should be breathing slowly or something like that!” he pondered aloud. “Oh, fuck it! There is no way I can remember this exercise.”

All of the sudden, a loud ringing sound echoed all around him. Beck jumped as if he had been pinched, startled at the sound.

“Oh… This doesn’t sound good!” he remarked aloud. He felt cold sweat overtaking him. “I need to leave!”. Beck knew that sometimes the mafia resolved problems in… less than peaceful ways. He had no wish to remain in the Boss’ villa while fighting was taking place.

At once, he grabbed his medical bag and rushed outside the room. The doctor looked to his left and right, to see if the corridor was clear, before running to the left. ‘I will explain to the Boss that I was startled,’ he thought. ‘He will understand. Hopefully…’

“Three corridors left,” John shouted as he ran forward, Sara, Nicole and D-4009 following behind. Three gangsters suddenly emerged from one of the corridor’s rooms and aimed their rifles at the intruders. John fired his rifle before they could; his laser beam struck one of them below the neck. The man fell over backward with a grunt.

The three sorcerers and the android ducked quickly to the ground as the remaining two gangsters fired their rifles at them. Their shots flew right above the intruders – they could feel their heat –, missing them by only a few inches. As the gangsters aimed downwards, John waved his arm, surrounding himself and his companions with an invincible energy shield. The shield deflected the incoming fire, allowing the three sorcerers to get up and fire back.

As the shield was collapsing around them, Sara and Nicole fired rapidly at the two men, their shots inaccurate but intense. The two men were firing back, one of their shots grazing Nicole’s left leg. She yelped in pain, but kept firing and so did Sara. Their beams tore through the two guards, shredding their uniforms and flesh.

“Are you alright?” Sara asked, looking worried and her voice intense.

“I’ve seen worse,” Nicole tried to downplay her injury, chuckling. “Don’t worry. We need to keep moving. We-“ Nicole froze. She noticed that someone else had run to the corridor. Not a guard but the doctor that had treated John. “Doctor Beck!” Nicole pointed at the man. “What are you doing here?”

“Doctor who?” John asked, trying to remember who this doctor was and if he had met him before, all the while looking suspiciously at the man and holding tight his rifle.

“You were unconscious when we brought you to him,” Sara explained. “He was the one who treated your wounds after we crushed on this damn planet!”

“Nice to see you again kids,” the doctor interrupted them, “but, if you will excuse me, I need to get going.”

John pointed his rifle at the doctor. “Not so fast, doc. First, why are you here?”

“I… the Boss has been having headaches lately and he asked me to come here and see if I can treat him.”

“Nice. Next question, you are a regular here?”

As Beck hesitated to answer, John moved forward and placed his rifle only a few inches away from the doctor’s face. Beck’s heart was racing and his face had become ashen white with fear. “Only a few times! I don’t work for the Boss regularly. I only come here when he is ill.”

“You are getting the hang of it, doc,” John chuckled. “Now, answer one last question and hurry, ‘cause we don’t have much time to waste. Can you treat Nicole’s wound?”

“I… I really need to get g-“

“Look, you can either treat Nicole’s wound or I shoot you. It is up to you, doc!”

“John!” Nicole shouted. “Don’t. This isn’t yo-“

“He is right,” Sara interjected. “Those aren’t normal circumstances. If we need to be a little bad for a short while to survive, so be it.”

Beck swept the cold sweat on his forehead and rushed at Nicole’s side. He placed down his medical bag and examined her leg. He placed a sterile gauze firmly over her wound to stop the bleeding. He then took a yellow pill from his bag and handed to the girl. “This should alleviate your pain,” he explained. “Thankfully, your injury is not serious.”

“Now?” Beck asked. “What is going to happen?”

“You are free to go,” John said. “Thanks doc and… I was never going to shot you. Maybe I would have punched you but I would not kill you.”

“That’s a relief!” Beck quipped. As he took hold of his medical bag and was about to leave, suddenly two guards appeared in the corridor and began shooting. The doctor quickly took cover behind the three sorcerers, as did D-4009. “Fellow non-combatant?” Beck asked.

“Indeed,” D-4009 replied. “I don’t have a combat subroutine in my programming and I am not a battle droid, hence I cannot contribute to the fight. The logical course of action is thus to hide until the battle is over.”

“Makes sense…”

John and Sara were able to make short work of the guards. Blood flied across the room as the thugs were shredded by their repeated fire.

“Great!” Beck complained as he got up. “Now I am in the middle of a firefight. Goodbye life!”

“You can come with us,” Nicole said as she limped forward. “It will be safer than taking your chances on your own. I don’t think the guards will be in a talking mood.”

Beck thought about it. The Boss was already on bad terms with him and he leaving his quarters would anger him even further. If he also learned that he had treated one of his enemies, even under duress, he would kill him for certain. “I… alright I guess. But I will not be fighting nor will I be assisting you in any way when I manage to leave this forsaken place!”

“Sounds good to me,” Nicole replied.

“Do we really need to bother with him?” Sara asked.

“He did treat John and me…”

“Fine!” Sara sighed.

The door barged open: John, Sara and Nicole charged inside and aimed their rifles at the two men. Jacob Mac Gramhan. The Boss. Smoking his brown cigar and spotting his distinctive fedora hat. He was standing firm and proud, holding tightly onto his walking stick. He showed no signs of fear or worry. His eyes were fiery, full of resistance and determination. On the other hand, his companion, a rather short middle-aged man wearing an expensive black costume, was trembling, sweating and his face was pale.

“Betrayal,” Jacob said, his voice stern. “I had my doubts about you and it seems that they were justified. You never seemed like one who could set aside the so called ‘morality’ and see the world for what it really is; the strong prevail and the weak suffer. Do you think that by being a do-gooder and killing me you will end the mafia? Someone else will take my place. One man cannot change the world, boy!”

John’s heart sunk. For a man so cynical, the Boss seemed unusually naïve about John’s motivations. He wasn’t going to kill him because he wanted to put an end to the reign of terror of the mafia; he was helping another criminal take over the operation in order to benefit personally. And that stung worse than John could ever imagine. His throat became dry. His heart felt heavy. He couldn’t find any words to speak.

“And what have we got here…” the Boss continued. “My android and my doctor: also conspiring against me. The android will be dismantled. He was getting outdated anyway. As for the doctor…”

“I didn’t know they we-“ Beck stopped talking once he saw both John and the Boss shooting angry glares at him.

The loud sound of men running was heard as Wang and more than twenty heavily-armed men stormed the hall and surrounded the three sorcerers, the doctor and the android. Wang was spotting his smug grin and looked exhilarated. Every fiber of him was vibrating with anticipation. He felt like his brain was on fast-forward and there was no off switch. He was holding tightly onto a laser pistol and aiming it directly at John’s face.

“Boy,” the Boss said, “it seems that you’ve miscalculated.” With a slight smirk on his face, he turned his attention to Wang. “Kill them!”

Wang laughed. “As you wish, Boss!”. With a sudden move, he turned his pistol to his Boss and shot him. A loud cry was heard as the old man collapsed on the floor, a pool of blood forming around him. Despite being part of the conspiracy, some of Wang’s men gasped at the sight. They could not believe that Jacob Mac Graham, the Boss who had held so immense power, was lying lifeless before them.

“I am the Boss!” Wang screamed, wanting all the gangsters in the room to know who was running the mafia now.

“So…” Sara said. “When will be able to leave here? You said will be able to leave today.”

Wang laughed. “Did you really think I would keep my end of the bargain? You expected me to just hand you over one of our most valuable starships and let you go on your merry way? You are extremely naïve or extremely stupid; probably both.”

Wang turned his pistol at Sara while his men pointed their rifles a John, Nicole, D-4009 and Beck. As Wang was about to pull the trigger, suddenly two men barged inside the main hall. “What?!” Wang screamed as he turned around to see who had interrupted them.

Bam!

“My!” Beck gasped.

In a split second, one of the two intruders had shot Wang on the chest. His men at once turned their attention to the intruder, forgetting all about John and his friends. They began firing at him while a few of them rushed to Wang, trying to stop the horrendous flow of blood.

“Who is he?” John wondered aloud.

The intruders were none others than Mike and Lutherson. Mike was zigzagging across the room with almost superhuman speed, his bionic leg carrying him out of range before the laser beams could hit him, and firing with his rifle at Wang’s thugs with extremely precise, and lethal, shots. Lutherson, on the other hand, was hiding in a corner of the hall, trying to escape everyone’s attention. His heart beat fast but he was able to maintain his cool, despite his nervousness.

“We should leave,” John said, taking advantage of Mike wrecking havoc in the hall.

“I agree,” Sara said. “But where should we head?”

“Out of the villa!” Nicole shouted. “We can think about our next moves when we are not in the middle of a mafia war.”

“Maybe we can use D-4009 to get the Eagle,” John interrupted. “Wang’s holomap showed that the ship is docked in a hangar just outside the villa and I am sure D-4009 knows the codes that allow access to it.”

“Indeed I do,” the android interjected.

As D-4009 finished his sentence, more than five of Wang’s men aimed their rifles at the group. Seeing them, John was able to just in time wave his hand to erect an energy shield around them, deflecting the enemy fire.

“It seems not all of Wang’s men are occupied…” John chuckled.

“What the…?!” Beck gaped in amazement. “You… sorcerer!”

“Yea, yeah, you are impressed,” John nonchalantly replied, trying to maintain his energy shield in the face of repeated laser beams. “D-4009, take the doc and Nicole to the Eagle. Sara and I will cover you.”

“But-“ Nicole was cut off by John before she could talk.

“Go! They will need someone who can fight if there are guards in the hangar!”

“I did not sign up for this!” Beck complained. “I-“

“Do you prefer being left defenseless here?” Sara asked.

The doctor took the point and rushed out of the hall with Nicole and D-4009. Meanwhile, John’s energy shield was collapsing under the pressure of constant fire. As the shield cracked, Sara fired at the thugs with her rifle. Her firing was rapid and inaccurate, but managed to keep them on the defensive long enough for John to somersault and land behind them.

As he was about to fire at them with his rifle, he realized that he was out of ammo. John threw away his weapon and punched one of the thugs in the face and then grabbed another one by the arm and slammed him on the floor. The remaining three thugs split, two firing at Sara with their rifles while the third aimed his rifle at John. John charged at him, bodyslamming him before he could fire. The thug dropped his rifle, and John hit him as hard as he could on the right ear and ducked as the man tried swing back. John then knocked him out with a powerful elbow hit. A crunching sound could be heard as John hit the gangster.

While John was busy with trying to knock out that gagster, Sara had been engaging in a firefight with the two remaining thugs. She had managed to wound one on the left leg but a laser beam had grazed her right ear. It didn’t injure her but she could still feel the hot sensation on her ear. Her breathing was heavy and she could feel the cold sweat overtaking her.

“Yes!” she screamed as her shot hit one of thugs on the chest, killing him. The remaining gangster fired back and Sara moved to the left, dodging the beam just in time. She fired again, missing as the thug ducked. She fired once more but the man moved to the right quickly and fired back at her. Sara jumped, evading the beam. As she landed back onto the floor, she fired again; this time her laser beam entered the front of the man’s forehead and blew out of the back.

“You’ve become quite good at it,” John laughed.

Sara let out a sigh of relief. “Hopefully I won’t have to become an expert.”

As they looked around, they saw that everyone was dead. Everyone except Mike. Covered in blood stains, sweating and holding tightly on his rifle, Mike was walking slowly towards them.

“I suppose you aren’t a friend?” John asked.

“Not exactly,” Mike replied as he aimed his rifle at them. “You can either surrender and be brought before Admiral Heinrich for your crimes or… you can die here. Your choice.”

“Heinrich?” John repeated that name. It was the man who had caused the death of his parents. John clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

“I don’t think so,” Sara replied. “We are not going to surrender to anyone, least of all you.”

“Nice! I was looking forward to hunting down a sorcerer,” Mike said with a wide grin on his face. As he pressed the trigger… nothing happened! “Ran out of ammo! I guess I will have to kill you with my bare hands…”

John at once closed his eyes and waved his hand, unleashing a powerful energy wave at the sergeant. Mike raced to his left, dodging the energy wave. His reflexes and speed were the fastest John had ever seen. The young sorcerer was left gaping in awe, his heart beating rapidly in fear. He waved again his hand, launching another wave of energy at the attacker. Mike grinned as he quickly leapt to his right. His body hit the hard floor and he gritted his teeth to withstand the pain, but he had managed it; the energy wave missed him, if only by a few inches.

Mike quickly got up and sprinted at John and Sara. Sara aimed her rifle at him, and began firing repeated shots of laser. He was carefully eluding the incoming laser beams, moving his body slightly left or right and jumping up or ducking down. Roaring, he slammed his body against Sara. As she hit hard the floor with a thud, Sara felt excruciating pain.

Mike was quick to get up and lunged himself at John. The sorcerer leapt to his left, barely avoiding the sergeant’s fist. John was thankful that he had gained quite the experience back in Winsorsmith in hand-to-hand combat and that he did not have to rely solely on magic or guns. He quickly raised his right leg, slamming at Mike’s chest. Yet this quick kick seemed to have no effect on the sergeant.

As if he hadn’t just been kicked, Mike punched his fists into John’s torso wildly and flung him to the ground. John sprang from the floor, leaping above. He tried to fight back with an extremely fast wide kick but Mike blocked it with his right elbow. Mike retaliated, and his fist landed on John’s chest. John took a step back from the sudden punch. Gritting his teeth and furious, John charged at Mike with all his strength. He could feel the Qi around him almost... engulfing him in a manner of speaking, its’ aura giving him strength. The two men traded furious blows back and forth. Their fists struck hard upon each other. Blood started to flow. Yet, despite his connection to the Qi around him, John was getting the worse of it.

Mike was like no other opponent he had faced before. James and Javar had both proven themselves to be formidable enemies but Mike was a force of nature. His speed, his ferocity, his brute strength, his seeming inability to feel pain. John wasn’t sure he would manage to get out this predicament alive.

Bam!

A laser beam hit Mike on his left shoulder. He let out a cry of pain. Sara was the one who had shot him. Her momentary distraction was enough for John to slip away from Mike. “Run!” he shouted as Sara fired again at Mike, who easily dodged her fire. Sara needed no encouragement to follow his lead.

“We need to get to the Eagle!” John said.

Mike was right behind them. John knew that they would have no chance against him if he caught up with them. ‘I… K-L556!’. The destructive ball of fire he had launched at the Helian troopers in that moon came to his mind. He wasn’t sure how exactly he had managed to do this, and it had resulted in a sight so terrible that he had no wish to repeat. But now he had to try.

He turned around, closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He allowed his feelings of rage and anger to overtake him. He felt the Qi of the natural world surging inside him. His hands were dark-red and exuding hot steam. Mike was about to catch up to him when John screamed, his loud scream momentarily freezing Mike; the veteran warrior’s face became ashen white. Suddenly, he saw a fireball coming right at him. Mike leapt to the left, falling with a thud on the floor and barely avoiding the lethal fireball; his left shoulder suffered from severe burn and he screamed in pain. Dark smoke filled the room and a loud sound was heard as the fireball exploded.

Mike was coughing, breathing with difficulty with all that smoke and unable to see where his preys were. Yet, despite the excruciating pain he felt and the sensation of choking, he got himself up. He was a soldier and he would do his duty even if it meant dying in the process. The bloodied, coughing soldier standing still and slowly walking through the dark smoke was a most fearsome sight, a testament to Mike’s strength.

“The hangar is this way,” D-4009 said. “I firmly believe it would be prudent to hurry.”

“Yeah…” Beck replied. “I agree with you. I’ve got no wish to become the next victim of this gang war.”

While Beck and the android were sprinting down the hall, Nicole was trying to keep up. Her leg injury was still hurting. She was feeling an aching pain but she tried to toughen it out, gritting her teeth and pushing forward. In the rush of the moment, it took a few moments for the doctor to notice this.

“We should be going slower,” he abruptly said. “I had completely forgotten about your leg.”

“I thought you treated it,” Nicole replied.

“It will heal,” Beck explained. “It is not a serious injury and the pill I gave you alleviates most of your pain. However, sprinting puts a lot of strain on your injury; that’s why you are hurting.”

“We don’t have the luxury of going slowly. I will toughen it out.”

Beck sighed. He knew she was right, but this did not make it any easier.

As they turned the corner, they saw the hangar door. “Open it!” Beck ordered the android.

“I will, though I do have to warn you that the codes are updated daily and as such my codes may be out of date.”

D-4009 approached the control panel and pressed in a code. There was a silence for a moment. With a hiss, suddenly the door split apart. The hangar was void of people. There were no guards. The three of them walked forward, towards the docking platform. All around them were various cargo containers.

“Well, that was easy…” Beck said. “Not that I am complaining, of course.”

“Something is amiss,” Nicole replied. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to connect with the Qi all around her. She could feel it even in the lifeless cargo containers surrounding them. “Something…”

“There doesn’t seem to be-“

The android was cut short by the sound of rifle fire. Bam! The laser beam knocked Nicole’s rifle out of her hand.

“Where?” Beck shouted.

“Behind that cargo container!” D-4009 pointed at one of the containers to their right.

Beck rushed to take Nicole’s rifle and fired a shot at that direction. Predictably, it was totally inaccurate and hit the cargo. “Fuck!” Beck swore. “I should have taken those shooting lessons with McMiller!”

“Bring it-“ Another laser beam cut short Nicole’s sentence. She ducked to the left, dodging the incoming fire.

“Fuck!” Beck fired another shot. He could hear a loud scream as the man pitched over backward, apparently having been shot right in the center of his chest. The doctor was panting and trembling, still unable to believe what he had accomplished. “I… I… I… actually did it.”

“You aren’t a bad shot,” Nicole chuckled. “Hopefully with some training, you will become an expert shooter.”

“I don’t think so. I would rather not be in situations where I am getting shot at. Not to say that as a doctor, I don’t particularly enjoy ending lives. I prefer saving them. That is my duty.”

“Apologies for interrupting,” D-4009 interjected, “but I do believe that we need to get to the landing platform. There is no telling how many more guards are here.”

“He’s right,” Nicole said. “Let’s go!”

The three of them rushed forward to the elevated landing platform. Beck and Nicole gasped at the sight of the Eagle. This was no normal civilian starship. A dark grey ship, triangle-shaped, with smooth edges broken up by sharp, aggressive lines, it had a reinforced hull and spotted six forward-facing cannons, four of them laser and the last two plasma, and four backward-facing laser cannons.

“Wow…” Nicole exclaimed. “That is one hell of a ship.”

“Yes…” Beck concurred, still gasping at the sight.

“This is actually a Helian warship prototype,” D-4009 explained. “The Helian Realm wanted a starship that would be bigger and have increased firepower and resistance than the average fighter but also be smaller and more evasive and maneuverable than the average capital-class cruiser.”

“How did the Boss get his hands on this?” Nicole wondered.

“My former master had connections with quite a few Helian government officials.”

“Whatever,” Beck nonchalantly said. “We need to get the ship ready.”

D-4009 transmitted the codes to the ship. At once, the circular doors opened up. The android led them inside the warship. “Welcome aboard. The Eagle is a spacious ship, having ten crew quarters, a medical bay, a research room and an engineering section where the engine, XD-45, is located. XD-45 was developed by X-Corp and is among the most advanced engines; fuelled by the purest hydroastrian spice, it can reach the incredible speed of e-“

“All very interesting,” Nicole interrupted, “but can you please lead us to the cockpit?” She smiled sweetly.

“Sure,” D-4009 replied, smiling back in return.

‘Karma is a bitch, isn’t it?’

Wang chuckled while clutching his chest. He couldn’t speak or move, but his mind was still as acute as ever, perhaps more than usual.

‘I’ve played the game and I lost.’

He coughed and spat a nasty looking glob of phlegm and blood on the floor.

‘I knew the risks. I knew that I could always end up like this; all alone, gravely wounded, waiting for the inevitable end. Yet, I chose to join the mafia, knowing full well the risks of the game. I chose to commit all sorts of crimes, I chose to kill dear friends. I chose all that because I wanted to become the champion of the game.’

Wang gritted his teeth, feeling an excruciating pain overtaking him. His face was pale, its life drained out of it.

‘Do I regret not planning this better? Oh, you bet I do… But do I regret playing the game? No. I would have done it all over again if I had the choice. I…I…I had a damn good run…”

Wang forced one last smile. He didn’t want to leave this world on a sour face. His eyes that had once been so full of life closed, his chin almost touched his chest. It was game over.

Beck, Nicole and D-4009 were in the spacious cockpit of the Eagle. The android was checking up to see if all the systems of the starship were in order, so that they could takeoff as soon as possible. “Seems that all systems are functioning properly.”

“So,” Beck said, “now… can I leave?”

“What exactly are you thinking?” Nicole asked.

“Getting out of this damn villa and going back to… well, being a doctor!”

“You are free to go. It is your choice to make.” Nicole offered him her rifle. “You will need this. There may be some of Wang’s men out there.”

“Eh… wait. You can’t seriously expect me to take on armed gangsters! I will prob-“

“Hands up! Get them where I can see them!”

Beck and Nicole at once turned around. It was a lone man aiming at them with his rifle.

“Who the-“ It was then when it dawned Beck. “Detective!”

“Yup,” Lutherson said. “Detective Lutherson Snow. The one and only.” He was aiming his rifle directly at Sara, not letting her out of his sight. “You know, this was a pretty challenging hunt. It’s been quite some time since I’ve last enjoyed so much a case.”

“Nice for you,” Nicole replied with a mock smile on her face.

“Oh, don’t worry. My job ain’t to kill you. I simply want you to hand me over the X-Corp files you’ve stolen. If you give them to me, I will let you live.”

Lutherson felt a sudden, violent gust pushing him forward, pummeling him at one of the cockpit’s control panels. His head pounded and there was some blood on the panel. He collapsed on the floor.

“You came just in time,” Nicole said with a wide grin on her face. Before her were John and Sara, having made it to the hangar and then onto the ship.

“That’s my specialty,” John bragged. “But really, we should get going.”

“Yes,” Sara said. “This dude we faced is in no talking mood and he shouldn’t be too far away.”

“You couldn’t beat one man?” Nicole asked.

“He is no ordinary gangster,” John replied. “He seems to be some kind of Helian operative. He certainly knew how to stand up again magic attacks; and he is coming our way. So… let’s get going!”

“What about that detective?”

“We don’t have time to throw him out,” Sara intervened. “We will deal with him once we have escaped. Now, get out of my way so I can get us out of here.”

“Wait!” Beck shouted. “What about me?”

“You can sprint your way out of the ship before we takeoff,” Sara replied, “or you can stay here I suppose, since you’ve been so helpful.”

Beck knew that after having publicly crossed the mafia, there was no way he could live a normal life on Frazzar. “Do you know how to pilot?”

“Yes. I’ve piloted starships before.”

“Two times,” John said. “And both times you crash landed.” Sara shot him an angry glare and John grinned. “But I am sure this time you will do better.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Beck wondered aloud.

“I am the only one who has at least some experience!” Sara replied. “If you don’t like it, you are free to leave the ship and stay in the villa with the gangsters and that angry Helian dude.”

Beck sighed but he understood that Sara was right. Sara began pressing some buttons and pushing some levers. The ship’s airlock door and the opening hatch closed. They heard the vacuum air seal activated, which showed the ship was completely sealed off. Sara pressed some more buttons, activating the ship’s engine. A blast of sound echoed across the hangar. The engine began to whine as the cockpit shuttered with the sadden activation.

“We will get killed!” Beck panicked.

“Doc,” Sara replied, “shut the fuck up and strap yourself on one of the seats. Same for everyone else. You know the procedure. D-4009, what is the code to open the hangar door?”

“45689748,Master. Though it should be noted that the codes are updated every twelve hours, so there is the possibility they won’t be valid.”

Sara quickly pressed the codes but nothing happened. “Damn it!” she punched the console out of frustration.

“Now?” John asked.

“Inject the needles on your armrests because we’re taking off!”

As the rest of the crew injected themselves with the needles to prepare their bodies for the effects of g-forces on acceleration, Sara pressed the touchscreen in the centre console. A loud noise was heard as the Eagle’s plasma and laser cannons fired at the hangar gates. The starship pitched upward and navigated through the debris, hurtling toward the gaping hole where the hangar door had been. The Eagle made it out of the hangar and El Salvar’s atmosphere.

An ominous shape was looming over El Salvar. It was the Arrow, Heinrich’s capital-class cruiser. The admiral was standing beside his aide, the black-uniformed Commander Nodji, on the bridge. They were overlooking the planet below them, when a small blip that represented an incoming ship appeared on the sensor system. The ship was not broadcasting an identification number and was breaking the quarantine imposed by the Helian government on the planet.

“Send them a warning,” Nodji ordered the bridge officers. “If they do not respond, send a fighter squad to shoot them down.”

“Admiral!” an officer said. “You have a message in the hologram room.”

Heinrich rushed to the room. Upon his entry, the circular holographic device was activated and a projection of Sergeant Mike appeared before him. “Sir!” Mike saluted his superior. “The ship that launched just now carries the three Alliance soldiers. That John Haidt is indeed a sorcerer.”

“I suspected as much…” Heinrich replied. “Thank you for a job well done.”

With the hologram deactivated, Heinrich activated a large viewscreen that showed a brightly lit image of his cruiser’s vast bridge. Commander Nodji, responding to his admiral’s summons, stepped forward, his face almost filling the monitor screen. “Admiral?”

“Destroying that starship is now your top priority!” Heinrich said. “Send out all fighter squads! Fire at them with the Arrow’s cannons!”

“Yes, sir!”

“This isn’t looking good,” Beck said as he pointed at incoming fighter squads. He could see them swarming at them from the cockpit’s windows. “Not good at all.”

Sara focused on maneuvering the ship, trying to ignore everything else. She knew she didn’t have the luxury of showing her nervousness. “I will try to escape them.”

“And get us crashed on one of the moons?” John asked.

“The probabilities of crashing are ten in twe-“

“No need to tell us,” Nicole interrupted D-4009. “It isn’t doing our morale any good.”

“Maybe D-4009 you can be useful,” Sara said. “Can you try shooting at the Helian fighters?”

“I am not a battle droid and I do not have the-“

“You can interface directly with the ship’s AI and target faster than everyone else. That is good enough.”

D-4009 approached the touchscreen console and connected wirelessly with it. With the aid of the AI, he began monitoring the incoming fighters. Calculating the possible flight trajectory of one of them, he touched the screen and fired. The laser beam hit the right side of the fighter’s cockpit, tearing through its hull. A huge golden-red ball blossomed and then imploded into black smoke.

“Nice shot!” John said.

“It seems that my calculator routine can be of great use in such situations. I hadn’t considered that possibility before.”

D-4009 calculated the trajectory of the second fighter and pressed again the touchscreen, but this time the fighter swirled around and dodged the laser beam. Three more fighters were coming at the Eagle, firing their weapons at it. The entire ship shook but the hull managed to withstand the hit.

Aloud beeping sound was echoing across the cockpit.

“What is it?” Sara asked.

Nicole checked the screen from which the alarm was emanating. “It says here that our shield has fallen to 52%.”

Sara steered the Eagle to the right, trying to avoid the enemy fire but more fighters were coming at them. More worryingly, the Helian cruiser also began firing at them with its gargantuan cannons. The pounding of laser fire continued to hit the side of the Eagle, not making Sara’s work any easier. The ship bounced and vibrated as the power went out in the cockpit and then came back on.

“We are doomed!” D-4009 exclaimed.

Sara was punching the cockpit’s console, frantically trying to find some way to steer the Eagle away from the cruiser. She managed to outrun the far heavier cruiser, putting some distance between them, but the Helian were still right behind them and firing their weapons at the ship. Thuds reverberated through the hull, which seemed to shed parts of itself with each explosion. Fire was engulfing parts of the outer hull.

“Shield at 15% and falling!” Nicole cried.

John closed his eyes. He allowed himself to forget all that was happening before him. His breathing was slow and he was unusually calm. ‘This is it,’ he thought. ‘Mother and father, I am sorry I failed to avenge you. Iris… I am sorry I never managed to tell you what you mean to me. I should have put aside my doubts much earlier but now it is too late.’

Boom!

The Eagle shook! An alarm sound was overshadowing all other noises. John looked at the shield monitor. The shield was at 9%. ‘It’s all over…’