Exo used the Beam Bulb to teleport us onto the Mainframe. He was happy to see us, but he also asked why half of us had wet faces. I didn’t want to get into the fact that we’d been crying or why. We’d materialized in the cockpit, so we didn’t have to waste time chatting.

Peta was there too. He didn’t ask about our wet faces.

“I’m not as intellectual as the rest of my kind, but even I know that we’re going after that thing.” Peta pointed out the windshield at the First Ship.

“That’s the plan.” I sat at one of the observation booths and switched the monitor to an image of the First Ship as the rest of my friends sat beside me. “Get us close to the ship. Then we can use the Beam Bulb to get inside.”

No one was in the mood to argue with my absurd statement. I just figured that using the Bulb was the only way to get inside the First Ship uninvited. Its teleportation properties would allow us to just drop in.

“Getting close isn’t as simple as it sounds.” Laura squinted at the monitor. Either her poor eyesight was acting up, or she was thinking. “What about the Belt? Surge’s super-secret way around that has turned out to be waiting for maintenance. We clearly don’t have that option so…wait, what’s happening?”

The First Ship rotated toward the sky and sped off into space. Had Frost just retreated? She wasn’t going to get away that easily.

“After that ship, Peta!” I said. “We’ll deal with the drones when we catch up.”

Peta grunted as he tapped the control panel. “Fine, but I’m doing this for me…and Lord Exo. We’ve got a score to settle with that woman’s family.”

I know, you idiot.

We zoomed into the sky. Darkness trickled in, and the stars followed. We were back in space. We’d have to return to Red City for Surge and the other AI later, but I wouldn’t complain if this ended in space. Better out here than in an inhabited city.

Though it was as dark as its environment, I spotted the First Ship in the distance. Its circling drones helped me identify it. We flew closer, and the drones began to glow. White beams of plasma soared toward us. Even in space, they were too quick to avoid. They exploded against the Mainframe, rattling the cockpit.

“Can those actually do damage?” Anderson asked.

“I…am unsure,” Exo said. “I assume that these ‘drones’ are among Margaret’s most powerful tools. If they strike enough times, the Mainframe may fail.”

The cockpit shook three more times as we were bombarded. Our odds didn’t seem good. Exo wasn’t big on using weapons against humans anymore, but I didn’t see a problem with firing on unmanned ships.

“Destroy those drones before they destroy us,” I said. “They’re Frost’s last line of defense.”

Peta tapped the control panel. Crimson reticles popped up over the drones. Bursts of plasma shot out of the Mainframe, and exploded against the drones. I couldn’t hear the explosions, but they were dazzling. Beams shot back at us, shaking the cockpit again. I lost track of how many times we exchanged blows. All the shaking culminated in a splitting headache.

The drones began to spin around the First Ship. They were like horses on a carousel. Every time a drone faced us, it fired a beam. This increased the rate of fire tenfold, resulting in a never-ending barrage of lasers. The shaking was unbearable.

Every plasma ball we shot had a hard time finding its target. Which drone could you aim at when each one was moving at sixty miles per hour?

Laura screamed as she held on to the desk. “Wander, Exo, ideas!”

I was already thinking. If we continued like this, we’d lose before we destroyed a single drone. This was one of the oldest and most advanced ships in existence. It had to have a weapon powerful enough to wreck these things. Wait a second…

“Exo, does the Planetary Devastation Cannon still work?” I asked as my brain was shaken around my skull.

“What? I…suppose it does, but its usage is forbidden!”

“This is a pretty forbidden situation!” Laura struggled to say. “We’re seconds away from being blown to shiny bits. What’s wrong with using the cannon on unmanned drones?”

Exo lowered his head. He didn’t have a practical reason for not using it. It was the feelings associated with the cannon that prevented him from using it. I would feel the same if I were in his shoes. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time for feelings. If it had been, I’d have succumbed to the grief I felt over Dylan’s death. I was doing my best not to think about it until this was over, but it hurt too much. He’d only been trying to prove himself and…No. One issue at a time.

“Lord Exo, I get how you feel, but Alpha and the lass have the right idea.” Peta faced Exo. He wore the closest thing he had to a sorrowful expression, and he understood better than any of us how Exo felt. “We may have been forced to build that thing, but it could save our metal skins now. We have to try unless you want other human blood on your hands!”

Human? Not bloodbag?

Exo shut his eyes for a moment. I wished we had that long to think about it, but the Mainframe was probably missing half of its exterior by then. Exo’s eyes shot open: newfound resolve resonated within them.

“Aim to the right of the First Ship,” Exo said. “As long as the drones continue to revolve, the cannon will catch all of them as they cycle around. Hopefully, Margaret doesn’t catch on and stop their revolution beforehand.”

Peta nodded and used all four hands to tap the control panel. I assumed that the cannon’s menu was buried beneath all the other ones, so it’d take him a moment to access it. I could only hope that we weren’t blown apart in the time it’d take.

A reticle popped up to the right of the First Ship. It was aimed right at the ring of drone ships. That was it. I crossed my fingers as something rumbled through the ship. It was different from the explosions that had just threatened us. This was coming from the ship. A white glow occupied the bottom of the desk monitor. The energy must have been building beneath the ship.

“Are we actually about to witness this?” Nessa asked. “The weapon that devastated our home planet is about to be fired for the first time in centuries.”

“Yes, but, this time, it’s going to save our lives,” Beth said.

White flashed on the screen as a huge, blinding beam shot out of the Mainframe. It was much bigger than any beam I’d seen before. It barreled into one of the drones, smothering it in blinding light. My jaw dropped at the insane display of power. That was the beam that had driven us all into space in the first place.

Just as we’d predicted, the drones continued their revolution. The next drone circled around, ending up in the path of destruction. Then the drone after that and the one after that and so on. One by one, the drones marched to their doom. This went on until the final drone entered the beam, eradicating itself.

“Shut it off. Now!” Exo’s voice was laden with urgency.

Peta placed all four hands back on the control panel. The beam dwindled down into a thin stream of energy, and then nothing. The First Ship had been stripped of its Belt. The Asteroid Belt Formation had been destroyed in the blink of an eye. All it had taken was the most powerful weapon in the galaxy.

Laura sighed with relief as she rested her head on Kaela’s shoulder. Kaela hadn’t smiled since what had happened in Red City, but now she wore a tiny grin of victory.

“Damage report, General Peta.” Exo tucked in all four arms behind his back.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that. We took a real licking from that assault. I’ve no idea how the engine’s still kicking, but it won’t be for long. If we don’t end this in about an hour, we’ll be stranded.”

Stranded in space? That had never happened before. I was sure that, if they needed to, Exo and Peta could just ask the AI on Epsilon to send backup and fly us all back. Still, that would leave the Mainframe all alone out there. I wasn’t about to abandon a ship like that. Besides, we couldn’t retreat there. We needed to end this.

“Be in and out within the hour. Got it.” I stretched as I stood up. “Come on, guys. It’s time to teleport onto the galaxy’s most important ship.”

“Just the six of us?” Kaela asked, her eyes wide with fear. “Why don’t we take Exo along?”

“If anything happens to him, there goes the leader of the AI,” I said. “Besides, I’m not trying to overpower Frost. That ship is probably crawling with FD soldiers and Dwarfs. I just want to reach her room. That’s where her computer desk thing is. If I can disable that, maybe it’ll shut down the entire Dwarf program.”

Every time I’d hacked a White Dwarf, I’d felt its connection with the others and with Frost’s own servers. If I could shut them down, I’d effectively blind all the Dwarfs. Frost would lose her control over them. That would drastically reduce the strength of her army.

It was a long shot, but how else could we get her to surrender?

“I would like to accompany you, but a stealth mission would be more reasonable,” Exo said. “Come now. Stand on the transpad. Peta, position us over the First Ship, please.”

“Aye.” Peta made eye contact with Laura. “Don’t die, Lass.”

“I’ll stay alive if this ship does, so keep it running.” Laura’s confident grin was as misleading as it could be. “We’ll be right back, Bucket of Bolts.”

The six of us stepped onto the transpad. Exo sat behind his desk as usual. His tapping was the only sound. There was no guarantee that we’d ever come back. Any one of us could die on the First Ship. Thank goodness I wasn’t saying any of that out loud. It would have made for a terrible speech.

“We’re in position,” Peta announced. “Get teleporting.”

Exo frowned. “I’m not sure where on her vessel this will send you. The Beam Bulb’s default settings send people on top of platforms, but, here, that would leave you all in outer space. I’m configuring it to send you inside instead. I am just unsure which floor you will land on. I haven’t seen the inside of this ship.”

“Please just send us in before Frost realizes what we’re up to,” Nessa said, bringing up an excellent point. If the First Ship soared off before we boarded it, our efforts would all have been for nothing. “We’ll figure out the rest. Trust us.”

Exo nodded. “Of course. I wish you the best of luck, children. May you finally end this centuries-old war.”

The more that people said that, the more pressure I felt. Understandably, it was important to remember what was at stake here. I shut my eyes in preparation for the teleporting. My heart pounded against my chest as if trying to escape. I took a quick breath to calm it.

Warmth spread through my body, only to be replaced by the frigid chill. For a second, I was worried that we had actually landed in space. Then I realized that the cold was familiar. I’d felt it before.

I opened my eyes and looked around. We were standing in a room with tables, scattered papers, and a virtuaboard in the back. We were in a meeting room…and it was occupied. People in purple and black space suits couldn’t take their eyes off us. It figured.

I scanned Frost’s employees but didn’t recognize any of them. No one noteworthy there, but, if any of them got out, they would alert the rest of the ship. I couldn’t have that…

“Sorry about this, but you guys chose the wrong side!” I shot out a web of electricity. The streams latched on to a few people, much to their visible dismay. Thankfully, their suits weren’t insulated, so I could connect. I willed them to shut down. My request was fulfilled as they all dropped to the floor. “I gotta say: being the Alpha? Pretty nice. Round up the rest of these fools.”

Screams filled the room as my friends rushed to capture the employees that I’d missed. They held them down so I could manually deactivate their suits. I barely felt tired even after deactivating them all. I’d gotten so good at it. It was hard to believe that I had previously hated being a Hybrid. I’d really grown into the title “Alpha.” Dylan would have been proud. Actually, he’d have demanded that I teach him everything I know so that he could become better than me…

I reached up to wipe my eyes, but Beth’s rifle made me jump. She’d shot at the door behind us, which had just slid shut: someone must have just entered or left through it.

“Damn. Someone slipped away.” Beth slapped her rifle onto her back. “We need to move before they alert the ship.”

I sighed. “Knowing Frost, she’s probably counting on our sneaking on board. If she knows that we’ve sprung her trap…yeah, we should move. I’m not proud of it, but I have the most experience with this place. Follow my lead.”

“Come on, I have experience too. I was imprisoned here, remember?” Anderson smirked like that was something to be proud of. Laura elbowed him as she walked by, causing him to rub that spot. “What? It’s true. Just ask Locke.”

We shuffled out. I shuddered as I immediately recognized the curving black hallway. Running down it, I kept my eyes peeled for the elevator. All we had to do was get into that thing and ride it to the top. That was where Frost’s room was.

“So this is where Frost lives?” Kaela shuddered as she looked around. “Her and the rest of the ‘government’? We should have just shot this thing down. This is war after all.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Nessa said. “Not everyone on this ship deserves that fate. We’ve seen how Frost treats her citizens. Who’s to say that she isn’t forcing half of these people to work for her? They deserve to face proper judgment when all of this is over. I’m not sure I can say the same for Frost herself. Perhaps it’d be better if we ended her here and now.”

After everything Frost had done, I couldn’t blame Nessa for thinking that. Heck, I was sure everyone was thinking the same thing. Was I? I’d contemplate crossing that bridge once I actually reached it.

Relief flooded my stomach when the elevator popped up at the end of the hall. We’d made it before the reinforcements could show up. I hit the elevator button and stepped past its sliding doors. Then I hit the button for the top floor and slumped against a wall as the metal room rumbled. My stomach churned to let me know that we were on the move.

Gloomy expressions adorned the faces of my team. We should have had more of a plan, but there was no way it would have gone the way we wanted it to. All we had to do was get to the desk and hope that hacking it actually worked. If it didn’t, then I’d go after Frost herself. We’d have to get through her to reach her desk anyway.

“The ride’s coming to an end. Prepare yourselves.” Beth stretched as she faced the elevator doors.

“I wish I had like five more hours to prepare.” Kaela held up the Gamechanger. “Let’s go.”

The elevator slid open, revealing the darkest hallway of all: the one that led to Frost’s room. The hall was quiet and just as cold as I remembered. I took a deep breath as I strode down it. My friends followed. The result was an echo chamber in which our footsteps reverberated. Frost’s room wasn’t too far from the elevator since it was the only room on that floor. We’d be there in a second.

I froze on the spot. Something white was poking around the corner.

Oh no.

I held my arm out to halt my friends. A White Dwarf was marching toward us. Its red eyes drilled into me. Behind it was an army of white-eyed Black Dwarfs. Just like I’d expected: Frost had known we’d board the ship, so she had taken some precautions. The fact that we’d let some employee see us had only ensured that they would send reinforcements.

“We can’t take on an army of Dwarfs,” Kaela whispered as she took aim. “What do we do?”

I would have loved to give a speech about how we could do it, but we really couldn’t. My electricity couldn’t affect these guys anymore, and we didn’t have time for a drawn-out battle with them. Not that we’d even win it.

“Beth, can you teleport us around these guys?” I asked under my breath. “I think it’s our best bet.”

“I can,” Beth said. “What’s to stop them from pursuing us, though?”

I hadn’t thought of that. I could lock Frost’s door once we were in her room, but the Dwarfs would just bust the door down. The White Dwarf lifted its arm to shoot a purple blast. Beth and I jumped toward one wall, and the rest of the team pressed themselves against the other one. The blast zoomed between us, and exploded somewhere down the hallway.

“We don’t have time for this!” Anderson growled as he faced the Dwarfs. “Lockes, you two go on ahead. The rest of us will keep these guys busy. Case closed.”

Anderson launched himself at the Dwarfs before I could tell him not to. I’d known that those suit upgrades were a bad idea.

“That is our best bet.” Kaela shot at a Dwarf, pushing it away from Anderson. “We can handle these guys for a little bit. It’s the only way to ensure that they won’t be on your tail.”

Leaving my friends behind to press on? Sounded like the thing I was least likely to do. This was our mission to finish together. I couldn’t just finish it with Beth while everyone else was outside, fighting for their lives.

“I agree.” Nessa met my gaze. “We’ll be fine. We have each other’s backs. You taught us that.”

Nessa pecked my cheek and then joined the fight. She blasted a Dwarf that had grabbed Anderson. Kaela helped push it off with a sniper shot. I knew they’d protect each other, but that didn’t reassure me.

When I looked at my four friends, I saw the four AI whom Exo had lost. Kilo, Mega, Giga, and Tera had sacrificed themselves to protect him. I couldn’t live with myself if my friends did the same.

“We’ll be fine, and you know it.” Laura gripped my shoulder. “We’ve been friends for eleven years. Don’t you trust me to beat an army of killer robots?”

I chuckled. I couldn’t stop these crazy people even if I tried. They wanted to do this, just like the AI had. I’d already proven that I wasn’t like my grandpa. Now was the time to prove that I wasn’t like Exo either. No offense to him, but my friends were going to live.

I nodded. “Remember that the joints and chests are the weak spots. Beth and I will be right back.”

“Let’s hurry before those Dwarfs realize how easily they could disintegrate us.” Beth frantically tapped her wrist and then presented it to me. “I don’t know this place like you. Will these calibrations get us into her room?”

I examined the gibberish on her wrist screen. “Well I don’t know your wrist like you do, but there’s only one way to find out.”

I gripped Beth’s shoulder and tapped the teleport button on her screen.