Chapter 569: A Quick Stop

The Strider’s primary loading ramp hit the concrete floor with a resounding crash. A cloud of gray dust plumed from the point of impact. Requiem marched down the metal incline with his greatsword resting over his right shoulder. Xavier followed close behind while adjusting the cuffs of his dark jacket.

Harsh yellow floodlights illuminated a sprawling subterranean warehouse filled with scavenged ship parts. Dozens of armed mercenaries paused their dismantling work to stare at the newly arrived dreadnought.

A massive cyborg stepped out from behind a dismantled turbine. He racked the slide of a large plasma rifle.

“You have a lot of nerve bringing a wanted warship into my dock.” The cyborg leveled the weapon at Requiem’s chest. “The bounty on that hull could buy me a private moon.”

Requiem maintained his pace and stopped exactly three paces away from the rifle barrel. “You always were terrible at math, Jack.”

Jack stared at the towering warrior for a few seconds. He lowered the rifle and let out a booming laugh that echoed off the cavern walls. He stepped forward and clasped arms with Requiem.

“How many years has it been, man?” Jack inspected the dreadnought looming behind them. “You always find the most expensive trouble.”

Xavier walked past the reunion and inspected a rack of plasma detonators leaning against a shipping crate. ‘These explosives are military grade.’ He picked one up and tossed it in his palm. “We are here to buy.”

Jack turned his attention to Xavier and the rest of the crew descending the ramp. Klatos stretched his wings while scanning the high catwalks for snipers. Reva immediately gravitated toward a nearby display of armor-piercing munitions.

“I deal in scrap and favors.” Jack crossed his augmented arms. “Military shielding and dimensional plating require serious capital. What kind of currency are you carrying?”

Xavier reached into his pocket and pulled out a solid bar of compressed AIL credit chits. He tossed the gleaming brick to the cyborg. Jack caught it with his mechanical hand.

“That covers the entry fee.” Xavier smiled. “We need dimensional shielding capable of surviving an Abyssal Gate. We also require a full munitions restock and upgraded targeting arrays.”

Jack inspected the chits and whistled. He pocketed the payment and gestured toward a massive blast door at the far end of the hangar. “The good stuff is in the lower vaults. Follow me.”

Xalvoria glided down the ramp and stopped beside Xavier. She glared at the grimy surroundings and the staring mercenaries. ‘This place is a filthy rat nest.’ She ignited a spark of crimson energy at her fingertips.

“Tell your workers to avert their eyes.” Xalvoria crushed the spark in her fist. “Or I will incinerate them where they stand.”

Jack raised an eyebrow and looked at Xavier.

“What she said.” Xavier simply shrugged and gestured for the cyborg to lead the way.

Jack keyed a sequence into the rusted wall terminal. Heavy gears ground against each other as the vault doors parted. The crew stepped into a subterranean tunnel lit by flickering fluorescent tubes.

Xavier walked next to the cyborg, but kept a hand close to his holstered weapon. ‘This hallway is a perfect kill zone.’

Suddenly, the steel doors slammed shut behind them with a loud crash. Locking mechanisms engaged in a rapid sequence of clanks.

Jack spun around and leveled his plasma rifle at Xavier’s chest. Eight mercenaries stepped out from alcoves along the tunnel walls and raised their weapons.

“The local syndicate pays a premium for bounties and fully upgraded dreadnoughts.” Jack grinned and tightened his grip on the rifle. “They also pay for the heads of the crew.”

Requiem slammed his greatsword into the concrete floor. The impact shattered the tiles and sent dust pluming upward. ‘I knew he was a dick, but didn’t know he would sell us out.’

“You made a terrible calculation today.” Requiem pulled a plasma detonator from his belt.

A plasma bolt scorched the wall right behind Xavier’s head. He drew his sidearm and fired three rounds into the cyborg’s shoulder joint. Sparks rained down onto the concrete as Jack stumbled backward.

Lyra laughed aloud and snapped her fingers to ignite a barrage of demonic fireballs. She hurled the flames directly into a cluster of mercenaries. The thugs screamed as the magical fire melted through their combat armor.

Kylus drew his thermal cutter and lunged forward. He severed a mercenary’s weapon completely in half. He spun on his heel and buried the glowing blade into the attacker’s chest plate.

Reva ducked behind a stack of steel crates. She unslung her rifle and loaded the newly acquired armor-piercing rounds. She popped out from cover and placed two perfect shots through the visors of the advancing gunmen.

“Keep them pinned down.” Reva ejected the spent magazine and grabbed a fresh one. “I need clear lines of sight.”

Klatos leaped toward the ceiling and kicked off the overhead pipes. He dropped into the middle of the enemy formation and lashed out with his newly modified bladed wings. He carved through reinforced plating and sent two mercenaries crashing into the tunnel walls.

Jack yelled and swung the butt of his rifle at Xavier. Xavier dropped to a knee to evade the strike and swept the cyborg’s legs out from under him. Jack hit the concrete hard.

Xavier pressed the barrel of his sidearm against Jack’s chrome skull. He pulled the trigger twice and shattered the cyborg’s cranial plating.

[ Threat Eliminated. ]

[ Quest has been completed! ]

Xalvoria stepped over the fallen cyborg. She conjured a spear of crimson energy in her right hand and drove it directly through the inner vault door. The intense heat melted the internal locks in seconds. ‘These vermin require a permanent lesson in respect.’

Xavier stood up and reloaded his weapon. “Clear the rest of them out. We are taking the dimensional shielding ourselves. And we even got a 100% discount thanks to Requiem’s connection.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t act like you didn’t expect this,” Requiem chuckled. “Also, we should leave this place as soon as possible. Their back up could be arriving at any minute.”

The crew hauled the bulky shielding generators back through the cavernous hangar. They bypassed the remaining dock workers and loaded the heavy equipment onto the Strider’s cargo ramp. Rin sealed the airlock and hurried toward the bridge to initiate the launch sequence.

Xavier dropped into the captain’s chair and watched the subterranean blast doors open above them. The dreadnought lifted off the landing pad and shot into the polluted sky of Grey Finger. ‘Time to see what this ship can really do.’

“Set the coordinates for Vandermis Aventine,” Xavier ordered. “Let’s test our new upgrades.”