Chapter 98: The First Retrieval

The living bone wall pulsed with oily violet secretions, trying to guide Leo toward the solitary heart of the vessel.

"I told you once, I am nobody’s property," Leo said aloud, driving the Null Razor into the deck plating at his feet.

The silver edge of the blade ignited, releasing a burst of Umbral Kinetics that scorched the alien tissue into black charcoal.

’The hive wants me to follow their corridors, which means the real threat is in the opposite direction.’

He pulled out a thin, silver strand of Sierra’s phase-wire left behind during the breach, following its subtle magnetic tug.

The monofilament vibrated with Sierra’s physical frequency, cutting a clear vector through the shifting organic maze.

Two hundred paces down a curved service spine, Cassian stood over a glowing crystalline data pillar.

"Cassian, did you find their command manifests?" Leo asked, vaulting over a pulsating conduit of synthetic ether.

"Better than manifests, Marsh," Cassian replied without looking up, his visor flashing rapidly as data streamed across his display.

"These are four thousand abducted Earth citizens currently held in cryogenic holding pens along the lower keel."

"Can we vent their stasis chambers safely?" Leo asked, watching the shadows for approaching sentries.

"I have already transferred the override sequence to Bekka’s tactical slate," the detective answered with cold precision.

"I could extract the warship’s primary propulsion schematics, but we do not leave our people in an alien cellar."

"We download the names and the holding pens first, Detective," Leo agreed with a decisive nod.

Further down the gallery, Bekka blew open a series of bio-stasis chambers with a focused air pulse.

"Wake up, pilots, your shift just started," Bekka shouted as a dozen fighter pilots tumbled onto the floor, coughing up nutrient gel.

"Where is the flight deck?" a wounded wing commander coughed, hauling himself up against Bekka’s shoulder.

"Take the secondary lift and scramble their navigation relays," Bekka instructed, handing him two emergency kinetic charges.

"Give us five minutes and they will not be able to steer this tub into an asteroid belt," the commander grinned savagely.

"Can your squad fly in this condition, Commander?" Bekka asked, steadying the wing commander as his boots found the deck.

"Officer, if you point us toward their steering controls, we will fly this alien monstrosity into the ocean if that is what it takes," the commander replied with gritty resolve.

"Do not crash it yet, Commander, we still need to get four thousand civilians down that extraction tether," Cassian said, stepping up beside them.

"Then we will lock their thrusters in reverse and buy your team all the time you need," the pilot answered, taking the kinetic charges.

Around the corner, Redline sprinted past at quarter speed, carefully guiding a dozen terrified civilians along the corridor.

"Follow the red shoes, folks, and watch out for the spongy floor tiles," the speedster whispered loudly over the comms.

"Redline, why are you moving so slowly?" Leo asked, stepping into the intersection.

"Turns out if you run too fast in here, the carpet tries to digest your sneakers," Redline muttered.

"So we are doing the brisk power-walk, folks, so follow the silver track and keep your heads low."

In the ship’s high security archive, Sierra sliced through a dense neural lock with her Night Spool.

"Leo, get in here right now," Sierra called over the internal comm, her voice tight with genuine shock.

Leo stepped into the vault, looking at the glowing crystalline tablet resting on the central pedestal.

"What did you find, Sierra?"

"The imperial directive is labeled First Retrieval, and they did not come for Earth because their exclusive target was capturing the All-Spark."

"Read this translation matrix, shadow boy."

"Earth was never a strategic conquest for their empire, because we were just a backwater grain of dust where an ancient cosmic seed happened to land."

’They do not care about our cities or our resources, because they only care about what is living inside my chest.’

"Look at this imperial glyph sequence, Leo," Sierra whispered, pointing her scanner at the shimmering crystalline tablet.

"The symbol matches the same Hegemony war-mark we saw on the polar altar in the northern vault."

"It means whoever sent this vanguard fleet has been tracking the All-Spark across deep space for centuries," Leo observed, his eyes narrowing.

"They did not expect an unregistered human host to synchronize with four shards without their genetic permission," Sierra noted with a dark chuckle.

"Then they are about to be very disappointed by what an unregistered host can do with a crowbar," Leo answered.

"Then let us make sure they regret looking for it," Leo said, turning toward the targeting rotunda.

"Leo, look at the main tactical conduits along the ceiling," Sierra pointed out, her eyes scanning the pulsating alien power lines.

"If you sever that targeting spine, the backlash is going to collapse their primary artificial gravity generator."

"Then tell Redline to make sure every civilian has magnetic clamps locked onto their boots before I make the cut," Leo answered, tightening his grip on the Null Razor.

"Consider them clamped, shadow boy," Sierra nodded, her fingers deftly weaving three secondary safety lines between the bulkheads.

He sprinted into the ship’s targeting rotunda, where the central spine fed raw energy directly into the lower cannon.

Dozens of elite chitinous guardians turned toward him, raising heavy plasma lances with clicking mandibles.

"Kage, guard the nursery line," Leo commanded, summoning the shadow-panther onto the metal catwalk.

Kage manifested with a deep, chest-rattling growl, his injured left flank bandaged tightly with glowing emerald ether threads.

The great cat planted himself firmly in front of a nursery chamber filled with fifty human infants and juvenile subjects.

A wounded guardian lunged toward the nursery pods, but Kage lashed out with a shadow-paw, crushing its thorax into the rail.

Pain lanced through Kage’s flank as he landed, and the panther let out a low whimper, leaning heavily against the railing.

"Hold them for five seconds, Kage," Leo shouted, leaping into the central chasm above the targeting spine.

"We have the children, Leo, jump," two freed pilots yelled, lifting the transport harnesses with Redline’s swift aid.

Kage dissolved back into contracted shelter as the rescued group cleared the doorway, his protective mission accomplished.

Leo plunged the Null Razor directly into the junction of the central targeting nerve.

"Umbral Kinetics, Vector Shear," Leo roared, channeling every drop of ether in his core through the blade.

Space warped inward with terrifying density, and the colossal targeting nerve severed with an ear-splitting crack.

[ Vorn Flagship Targeting Spine Severed ]

[ Four Thousand Abducted Captives Liberated ]

[ Archive Order Retrieved: First Retrieval Authenticated ]

[ LEVEL UP: Level 38 -> Level 39 ]

[ Free Stat Points: +5 Awarded ]

The warship’s internal countdown sputtered and died, the aperture collapsing into a powerless ring of smoking metal.

"Targeting lock is broken," Cassian signaled, adding, "Evacuate through the breach right now."

"Everyone is through the portal, Leo, move your ass," Bekka shouted from the hull breach.

Leo vaulted through Sierra’s held portal, tumbling onto the exterior hull just as the extraction capsule fired its escape thrusters.

Behind them, every light aboard the massive starship suddenly dimmed to absolute, suffocating blackness.

"Why did the ship shut down?" Redline asked, staring at the darkened hull.

A freezing hush fell over the entire vessel, and every surviving alien warrior dropped their weapons and knelt in terror.

High above Earth’s thermosphere, the fabric of reality warped as a presence of unfathomable magnitude touched the ship from beyond the stars.

"Something is watching us," Leo whispered, looking up into the dead void.