Space never got any less breathtaking. It didn’t matter how many times I shot into it. I wasn’t looking at the darkness, though, I was glaring at my phone. Of course it was irresponsible, but we were floating harmlessly through space, and I was in the captain’s chair. I could do whatever I wanted.

“Hey, Captain. Care to pay attention to the windshield?” Laura appeared at my side and motioned to the stars. I stood corrected. “What’s so interesting on your phone?”

“I’m glad you asked. Before we left the base, I messaged Nessa. My exact words were ‘Hey, I’ll be away on a mission for a bit, but I’ll help with the legs when I get back.’ All she responded with was ‘You better be back.’ What? I’m going away on a life-threatening mission, and she essentially threatens me?”

Laura snickered. “You’re so dumb. She only said that because she cares. It’s her way of saying. ‘Good luck, be back soon, don’t die.’ You know?”

Something more direct and comforting would have been nicer. Going to Venus wasn’t a walk in the park.

“Hey, are we not warping to Venus?” Kaela said from her seat. Beside her was a frowning Dylan. The other side of the aisle featured Rebecca Stein bouncing in her seat while Manning smiled at her. Her javelin lay in her lap because she couldn’t sit down while wearing it. “It’ll take like hours if not days otherwise.”

“Warping takes a huge amount of energy,” I said. “We can’t afford that when we’re going against AI. We need enough to warp out.”

“Right…but we’re in an exploration ship, not a lite ship.” Dylan motioned around us. “If we warp, we’ll have enough power for one more warp or cloak. We’re good, so hurry up and do it. I haven’t had dinner yet and my blood sugar’s getting low.”

That was true. Surge had wanted us to take an exploration ship this time. We’d done it for the extra defense and so that we could retreat with the lite ship in the parking bay if things got too dangerous. So, technically, we were using both ships, just not at the same time! Man, this mission was getting so hyped up. We’d done all this before, and, while I was worried, I also knew it was nothing we couldn’t handle. That was how a leader was supposed to think.

“Since you guys want to warp so badly, we’ll do it. I’m a democratic leader, after all. Just don’t complain when we’re getting shot at.”

I found the warp option and hit it with little hesitation. My stomach shot out of my body as everything stretched out. I didn’t feel pain; I felt numb. All my worries were lost to space as we hurtled through it. It was insane how relaxing warping had become. It was the only time I could escape reality. Numbness gave way to fuzziness as faint noise tickled my ears.

That tickle evolved into thunder as I jolted up. I blinked the light out of my eyes as every star became brighter than the Sun itself. A groan escaped from my fuzzy mouth as I peered down at the monitor. I switched the screen so it showed a bunch of dots on the radar. A whole handful sat below ours. Those were ships. I’d never seen so many before. I looked out the windshield in search of them.

A molten planet blocked my way. Every inch of it was orange, black, or something in-between. Its brightness shrouded all the surrounding stars. This place really was just a huge ball of lava held together by willpower, wasn’t it?

“We’ve arrived at Venus.” I turned to my crew. “Get a good look. This is the only chance we’ll have to appreciate it. We’ll be burning as soon as I touch down—what is wrong with you people?”

Kaela was face down on the floor, groaning. Dylan was rubbing his temples, while Laura was rubbing her entire face. Manning just straightened his glasses, while Rebecca stretched and beamed.

“It’s been far too long since my last warp,” Rebecca said. “There’s no better way to relax the muscles.”

“I can’t feel my pancreas!” Kaela said from the floor.

I sighed. “Okay, I’m going to land now.”

I steered us toward the molten surface. This seemed like the last place anyone would want to be. The monitor flashed green as the yellow skies of Venus enveloped us. We had technically entered an atmosphere, but it was nothing to write home about.

Heat crawled into my suit as I soared over rivers of lava. It felt like I was looking at the final level in a video game. In the past, we’d called Venus Earth’s twin, but this was proof that…humans were blind. There was no way we could ever live comfortably here. If you lived on Venus at all, it was because a ship you were traveling in got shot down or you couldn’t afford anything else.

I glanced at my crew to see how they were handling the heat. Kaela was so slumped over that she probably hadn’t recovered from the warp yet. Laura’s eyes were shut in silent misery as sweat rolled down her face. Dylan looked like he always did: annoyed. Manning was an odd case. He was just gazing at Rebecca. She had been looking out the window but suddenly turned around to make eye contact with Manning.

“What is it, Theo?” She touched her forehead. “Is there blood on my face?”

“Do you remember anything about being captured by President Frost?” Manning’s eyes turned cold. “She had you trapped there for so long. She’s been experimenting on you for years. It’s impossible that our fall was the last thing you remember.”

Rebecca clenched her javelin, but immediately released it. “Details don’t matter as long as we’re together, Theo. I don’t remember much beyond the experiments that the AI conducted. The idea of Margaret Frost conducting a second round is concerning. Let’s not dwell on it.”

I clenched the ship’s wheel as I directed us toward a bundle of flashing lights. If I could see them over the lava, they must have been downright blinding. What were they?

“Becca, you can’t still be like this.” Manning pinched his nose. “You can’t run from the past forever! Our team isn’t around anymore. No amount of denying is going to bring them back or undo what was done to us.”

Rebecca scowled. “As usual, you don’t have faith in anything your logic can’t back up. If me, you, and Upton survived, then the others could have too. Stop being so negative!”

The bundle of lights grew brighter. Were they beams of energy? Explosions?

“I’m being realistic!” Manning ground his teeth. Laura, Kaela, and Dylan gazed at the argumentative duo like they were watching a cruiser wreck. Wait, I needed to focus on the lights. “What’s the point of hoping that they’re alive just to be disappointed when you realize that they’re not?”

“Why are you being like this? The Theo I knew would have been hopeful. He would have believed in his friends.”

“Upton saw Michelangelo die! It cost him his mind, so don’t accuse me of being negative.”

“Whoa!” I yanked the ship’s wheel to the side. We swerved away from a soaring missile. “What’s going on over here?”

My stomach lurched as I straightened out the ship. What the heck was that? I peered into the lights and made out the shape of a ship. It was rounder than a First Division ship. It was also completely green. Everything about it screamed “alien,” which made its creator all the more obvious. The alien ship soared away from a xeno ship that was firing at it. Beams and missiles zipped through the air. A variety of First Division ships were engaged in combat with blue, tan, and green alien ships. Explosions rocked the molten ground, splashing up plumes of lava.

“Are those First Division ships?” Laura ran up to my left. Her eyes zipped around as she tried to take in all the different ships. “What’s up with the colorful ships? Are we interrupting a battle?”

“AI ships,” Manning said. “Stay away from them.”

“No arguments here. Kaela, would you kindly get over here and look around? Your scope is the only thing that can spot the base in this chaos.”

“Got it.” Kaela ran up and pressed her rifle against the windshield. She peered through the Gamechanger’s scope and immediately gasped. “The base is below them. It’s red and green and surrounded by lava. I’ve imagined dying a lot but never due to lava. This should be fun.”

I switched the monitor to a view of the ground and looked around for this base. I couldn’t see it, but if Kaela could, then all I had to do was fly straight. Too bad a barrage of missiles and lots of lava awaited us in that direction.

“Hold on,” I said. “Put on the seat belts that no one ever uses.”

I soared close to the ground in an attempt to adopt “stealth mode.” As the AI ships blew the First Division ships apart, we’d be soaring under the flaming wreckages. I flinched as a missile exploded against the ground, upsetting a lake of lava. It splashed on us, dousing the camera and filling the monitor with static. Then it flashed red in the most obvious warning message of all time.

I pushed up the speed slider and descended even though I couldn’t see the ground anymore. My hands shook as we sped past rocks and missiles. I spotted the red and green base. It was three times bigger than the one on Jupiter and undoubtedly more dangerous. There was no way we could just walk in.

I cut back on the speed slider and activated the landing gears. Rocks pelted the ship as it hit the ground. I held my breath: we skidded past a pool of lava. A few rocks sizzled into it. The monitor flashed like a strobe light as the ship finally slowed to a halt. The base was feet away. The ship shook one last time, disrupting my stress-filled stomach.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I leaned back in my chair. We’d survived the landing, but that had been the easiest part. I summoned my helmet and forced myself up. My friends were still strapped to their seats, and they all seemed alive. So far, so good. Next step: infiltrate the base.

“Keep these on at all times.” I tapped my helmet. “Otherwise, the heat will fry your brains.”

“We headed inside?” Kaela’s helmet formed around her. Everyone else followed suit. “I hope you have a good plan, because theirs will probably be better.”

“Thanks Kaela, I knew I could count on your confidence.” I rolled my eyes. “Once we get inside, Manning and Dylan are tasked with getting the info from the computers. Everyone else is on combat duty—”

BOOM!

The ship rocked as another explosion went off near us. That had come from a First Division ship. Didn’t Frost’s people care about being accurate, or were they that desperate to beat the AI?

Laura pointed at the mess of a dogfight outside. “Question: what if our own division kills us before the AI do? They might blow up the base while we’re inside.”

“That’s why we have to be quick. Let’s move, people.”

We hopped into the elevator and headed to the parking bay. That made me realize a few things. First of all, I hated elevators. Secondly, cramming six people into a small metal space on the solar system’s hottest planet was begging for death. Lastly, I was about to face real “living” AI for the first time. I couldn’t wait to punch one in the face…which would break my hand. It’d be worth it.

Heat flooded in as I let down the parking bay ramp. The gurgles of lava were nothing compared to the sounds of soaring ships and missiles. It was a miracle that none of them were concerned with us. All it would take was one missile to kill us all at once. Man, that wasn’t the time for intrusive thoughts.

The base was even bigger than it had looked from the sky. It was more of a factory than anything. I tapped its green wall but then yanked my finger back. It was like touching a wall of fire. So their metal conducted heat like ours. Metal bent under heat…interesting.

“Manning, could Rebecca push through this wall?” I motioned to it. “It’s bound to be weak from the heat.”

Manning stroked his beard as he studied it. “It’s unlikely to be as weak as our metal. She could try, but perhaps it’d be better if—”

GROOANN!

I watched in shock and awe as Rebecca Freaking Stein shoved her fist into the wall. She gritted her teeth as the metal bent around her arm. Then she added a second fist to the equation, further damaging the wall. She squealed with joy as a tear formed in the metal. Forcing her fingers through it, she tugged it apart. It grew into an opening that was just larger than her torso. She had actually created an opening.

“Ha! There is nothing I cannot do—agh!”

A blue blast of energy launched Rebecca into the air. Manning rushed to her side, while I peeked through the opening. My blood froze in my veins as I peered at the demons on the other side.

Huge, bulky, and blue, a Kilo glared at me with its beady electric-blue eyes. A huge barrel stuck out of the end of its arm in the place of its hand. That was the arm cannon it had just used to shoot Rebecca. Towering beside it were other Kilos, who also glared at me. Behind all of them was a tan AI with bronze eyes. It was slightly taller than the Kilo but just as bulky: a Mega.

“A…AI.” I stumbled back; all confidence left my body. I looked back at my friends. They had the same wide eyes and clattering teeth that I did. All except for Manning, who was tending to Rebecca, and Laura, who returned the Kilo’s glare. Well, I already knew she was braver than me.

“Humans?” the Mega said in its electronic voice. It sounded like a man speaking through a computer. “They don’t seem like soldiers. It’s safe to assume that they’re inhabitants of this planet who’ve strayed from their molten cities. All except for whoever created this hole. Hmm…capture them so we can discover how this happened. Wait, who’s this?”

I whimpered as the Mega’s gaze snapped to me. The ground shook as it stomped over. I stumbled back, but there was no escaping this thing. It forced itself through the opening, which only made it wider. My stomach dropped as I stood face to chest with a living nightmare. Its arms were as wide as my head. The gaping hole it called a mouth was awful to look at.

“It can’t be.” The Mega’s eyes turned green as they sized me up. They returned to bronze as it tilted its head back out of shock. “This human is the Alpha. Kilo, to my side. General Peta will scrap us if we don’t capture him.”

That was my cue to quit being such a wimp. I summoned all of my courage and shoved my crackling palm at the Mega’s face. A bolt of electricity struck its face. It yelped and clawed at itself. There was a scorch mark on its “cheek,” but I wouldn’t consider that damage.

Laura ran up and plunged her dagger into the Mega’s head. It screamed, grabbed her by her arms, and scowled like she was an annoying bug. Laura stick her tongue out at it.

A blue beam zoomed into the Mega’s face. It covered its dented face as it stumbled. That had come from Kaela’s Gamechanger! She’d just given me an opening by shooting the Mega. I took a deep breath and charged up electricity. Releasing it into the Mega’s eyes, I prayed that it’d sneak past the metal to do some real damage.

The Mega growled in frustration as it shook its head. It raised Laura up and slammed her into the ground. She hacked and gasped for air. I ran to her, but the Mega pushed me down next. I struggled against its arm, but it was too heavy. Its “palm” covered my entire chest.

“Kilo, take care of the others,” said the Mega. “All we need is the Alpha.”

“Monster!” Rebecca shouted as she charged at the Mega. The electronic hum in her voice told me that she’d said that in her native tongue. “Look me in the eyes, you demon. Remember that you did this. You created me!”

The Kilo shot blue blasts at Rebecca. She ducked under them and slammed her fist into the Mega’s chest. The force knocked it through the hole, and it landed on the floor. Rebecca screamed and jumped in. Upon landing on the Mega, she struck its face over and over, pummeling it into the floor. Then she heaved it and threw it toward something I couldn’t see. She leaped after it, disappearing from sight.

I didn’t like her much…but she was growing on me.

Kaela helped Laura up. “Are you okay? How’s your head?” Kaela felt Laura’s head, which made them both wince. “That feels like a bump! How many medic bracelets do we have?”

“Would you get off? I’m fine.” Laura held up her dagger and eyed it. “That guy had a thick head. My baby barely pierced him. This isn’t news, but AI are no joke guys.”

I glanced into the base, which the flashes of gunfire illuminated. “Everyone hop inside. Laura and Kaela will help Rebecca with the AI. Manning, Dylan, find a computer console and steal its secrets.”

The base’s metal walls were red and green just like the outside. I felt like I’d just hopped into a store for Christmas shopping. The metal floor singed my feet. We couldn’t stay in this furnace for long. To my right was Rebecca fighting off a gang of Kilo. To my left was the giant screen we were looking for, but there was another floor above it. Glaring down at us from that floor was a green AI.

ZWOOM!

I jumped behind a pillar as a green plasma beam barreled into the floor. The sizzling hole it left behind was cleaner than my bedroom. The green AI had an entire sniper rifle sticking out of its arm. It was like the Kilo’s arm cannons but way more over-the-top. The AI had blue eyes and blue lining along its slim body. I couldn’t make an accurate comparison, but it seemed taller than the Kilos and Megas. How tall did these things get?

“Alpha,” it said in its electronic male voice, “I cannot allow you to leave this facility. On my honor as a Giga, I must bring you before General Peta and Lord Exo immediately. The time has come for union.”

I stretched my hand out of cover. “Unite this—whoa!”

It fired another beam past my fingertips, drilling a second hole into the floor. Someone would have to seal those; the Giga was just creating work for itself.

“Wander,” Manning said from outside. He, Dylan, Kaela, and Laura must have still been outside. “If there is a sniper, you must provide an opening for us. He’ll spare you, but we have no such guarantee!”

Beads of sweat trailed down my face as I took in the situation. How was I going to get them past a marksman AI? Even if I distracted it with some electricity, it wouldn’t last long enough. I glanced at Rebecca’s battle. A Kilo had its arm cannon pointed at her as it surged with energy. The other Kilo was holding her down. Was I about to witness an execution?

I had to save Rebecca and get everyone inside at the same time. Should have been impossible, but there was an idea brewing in my head. I’d reanimated AI on Jupiter with nothing but my electricity. What else could my electricity do?

“Manning, Dylan, get ready to sprint toward your left,” I said as my hand crackled. “Laura, Kaela, run to your right.”

I shot an electric stream at the Kilo and imagined it pointing its cannon elsewhere. It grunted in confusion as its arm swiveled toward the Giga. A titanic burst of energy soared into the Giga, erupting into a blue explosion. I covered my ears as the boom filled the building.

“Yes!” I cheered as I slumped against the pillar. That had taken every ounce of my strength. My whole arm was numb. “Now, guys. Run!”

Manning and Dylan sprinted toward the console, while Laura and Kaela joined me behind the pillar. My legs were weak, so I just pointed at Rebecca and the Kilo. She stomped one into the ground while another shot her, blowing her away. Kaela aimed and shot at one Kilo, blowing a hole in its head. Rebecca tore that head off and chucked it at another Kilo then she reeled back and decked the third one.

“Hey where’d that Mega g—oh.” Laura turned toward the dented Mega slumped against a wall. Its face had been completely smashed in. One of its arms was missing. Rebecca’s first victim. “We’re 100% sure this woman is on our side, right?”

“Unless Frost gets hold of her again. Go help her, I got the Giga.” I patted Kaela’s shoulder. “You…keep doing what you’re doing. I don’t know what else to say; pull the trigger faster?”

“Excuse you. The Gamechanger can only fire off six shots before it needs to recharge. I’ve got five”—she fired at another Kilo, drilling into it as well—“I mean, four shots left before it needs to cool down. Also, it feels like my feet are submerged in lava, so can we hurry it up here?”

I steeled my nerves as I stepped out of cover. Manning and Dylan muttered to each other as they pointed up at the console. They still needed time. I couldn’t buy them any more time. Not through fighting anyway…

“Giga, I know you’re still in there!” I told the blue smoke. The Giga’s green frame stepped out right on cue. Its chest was dented, but could it even feel that? “You can’t kill me because good luck finding another Alpha if you do. Don’t shoot my friends either because I’ll fry my own brain or something. Basically, just let us finish up here and we’ll be on our way. You can capture me another time.”

I was probably immune to being electrocuted now, but he didn’t need to know that. Then again, his species made the Implants, so he probably already knew.

The Giga growled. “I doubt you’ll take your own life. Most humans are too cowardly to perform such actions.”

“It’s your call, buddy. I don’t know anything about this Lord Exo guy, but I can’t imagine he’d want you gambling the Alpha’s life.” I inhaled sharply through my nose as I struggled to keep my hands from shaking. My fatigue wasn’t helping. “I just want to talk. This is my first time speaking with the guys who killed my parents. I want to know why. They were innocent!”

The Giga’s blue eyes glowed white as it looked at the ceiling. Nothing made me more nervous than an AI being weird. He could have been teleporting behind me for all I knew. I glanced at Dylan and Manning. Dylan had his phone out, no doubt to record the coordinates. I wasn’t even turning around to watch the battle unfolding between the girls and the AI behind me.

The Giga’s eyes returned to blue as it lowered its head. “The data surrounding that encounter has been corrupted. It’s difficult to say exactly what happened—”

“How convenient.”

“An outside force must have tampered with the Kilo involved. They only had orders to retrieve, not to destroy or devastate.”

“But that’s all you do. Do you have any idea how traumatizing it is to be born into a galactic war? I lost my family because of you. I wasn’t allowed a high school graduation because of you. Not a single book in existence doesn’t mention you freaks. Kids’ shows, comedy movies, and even ‘AI drills’ that we had to take during school were all because of you. You’re all part of one never-ending virus!”

Manning glanced at me, frowned, and went back to the screen. My rant was for him too. Telling off a random Giga wouldn’t fix anything, but it felt good to vent.

“We are done talking,” said the Giga. “Surrender, or I will forfeit all mercy.”

Manning raised his thumb as he and Dylan turned to us. There was urgency in their eyes. They were done. It was time to bolt.

“Yeah, I’m real scared of a candy-colored talking printer.” I motioned for the guys to come forward. I also nodded toward the opening to signal the girls behind me. Hopefully everyone understood. “You want my surrender so badly? Here you go!”

I thrust my palm toward the Giga, expecting another stream of electricity. Nothing happened. I stood there like an idiot waiting for the Giga to high five me. I must not have “recharged” from that stunt I pulled. My numb arm should have been a major clue.

The Giga made an electronic sound of disgust as he peered through his scope. Then he ducked as a blue beam soared over him. Another one hit his stomach, forcing him to recoil. Nice shots by Kaela.

I sprinted for the opening. Everyone followed if the metallic footsteps were any indication. I jumped through the hole just as the Giga’s rifle discharged again. I patted myself down, but I was free of sizzling holes. Apparently, the stupid robot had missed.

I scanned our environment as everyone else shuffled out. The same molten land, the same ships shooting each other—what the heck was casting this shadow? A massive white ship loomed overhead. It had blue lining, and it looked way too familiar. It must have been a xeno ship.

“Is everyone all right? Rebecca?” Manning asked as we all gathered outside.

“Who cares? We got the coordinates.” Dylan held up his phone as a triumphant grin spread across his face. “I took a picture. I typed it out. I got it. Surge will be so pleased. Hurry, back to the ship!”

“Kaela?” Laura rounded on Kaela, who quickly snuck her arm behind her back. “Are you good?”

“If you mean good with that rifle then heck yeah.” Kaela’s voice quivered as she spoke. What was she hiding?

I tried walking around her to see her arm, but I couldn’t. I physically couldn’t move. I was bathed in a neon blue light, so maybe that was what was doing it. I struggled against it, but it was no use. It was like I was frozen in ice. What was going on?

“Manning?” I couldn’t open my mouth all the way, so I spoke through clenched teeth. “Explain?”

“Tractor. Beam,” he said, sounding equally strained. “Exclusive First Division technology.”

That ship above us must have been the cause. What was the point of freezing us? I got my answer when my feet levitated off the ground. I panted and shook as I rose from Venus. I’d never imagined I’d want to be closer to the lava. If I could look up, I would have done so. Ascending to something I couldn’t see felt like dying and rising to Heaven.

The environment changed completely as I rose into a white room. Multiple extremely familiar robots glared at me. Some were blue and green. Others were red and purple. If I remembered correctly, they were called Mollis and Asper.

“You’re way dumber than I thought, Locke.”