I scrambled to my feet, my head spinning. A hand grabbed my arm—Taos, her face pale, eyes wide with fear.
“We have to move!” she yelled.
I nodded, but before we could run, a deafening crash made me freeze. One of the server stacks toppled, cables snapping like whips as it smashed to the ground. Standing where it had been was a horde of POM Security forces.
POM Enterprises, whose business was data and data security. They’d leaned into the security aspect. Each of them was massive, encased in sleek black tactical armor that gleamed with an unnatural, liquid sheen. Helmets with tactical Vysors and vented face coverings obscured them completely. Twin stripes of green ran down their chests and over their shoulders. Vector, directly injected in a steady stream.
How had they found us? I’d made sure there was no trace in the system. That didn’t matter now.
Their movements were fluid, perfectly trained. The joints of their armor hissed softly as they scanned the room.
I ducked behind a stack of servers, pulling Taos with me. My heart was pounding, the Vector and Flux in my system screaming. Electricity jumped from my hand to the server near me, and then shots rang out, the impact hitting the metal just beside me.
Footsteps—dozens of them—echoed through the space as more soldiers filed in. We didn’t stand a chance.
I pressed myself tighter against the server stack, my breath coming in shallow gasps. Across the room, I saw one of Taos’ guys—a skinny kid whose name I didn’t know—huddling on the floor, shaking so violently I could see it from my position.
Kids, they were just fucking kids.Scared shitless and in way over their heads.
The kid raised his gun up over his head and fired indiscriminately. To his credit, the bullets shot right at the nearest security asset, but they all froze in midair as a deep yellow light flashed around the soldier. Kinetic Shield, doingwhat it did best. The bullets fell with a clatter that sounded more like a death knell.
The asset didn’t hesitate. He raised his rifle and fired a single, precise shot. The kid crumpled, his body twitching once before going still.
Taos stifled a sob beside me, her hand clamped over her mouth. I grabbed her arm and pulled her further into the maze of servers, weaving through the narrow aisles as quietly as I could.
We found the other two in a small alcove between two stacks and ducked inside. The space was barely big enough for us, but it was dark and out of sight—for now. I could hear them coming.
I raised a finger to my lips, and they all nodded.
All of their eyes were on me, shining.
“When I say run, you scatter, got it?”
From our hiding spot, I could hear security methodically sweeping the room. They moved like predators, their movements deliberate and unhurried. One of them paused near our alcove, and I heard the soft click of his weapon.
I held my breath, my pulse hammering in my ears. But deep down, my Flux sang. My whole life I’d controlled it, kept it quiet. I fumbled for my VaPurr and took a long hit until the fear subsided and there was only the surge—and dumb fucking bravado. No point in being quiet now. Heroes always died in Neo Stellaris. Guess I was finally getting my wish.
“Now!” I yelled.
I slammed my hands into the server between us and the oncoming army. I poured all the voltage I could muster. It exploded in a shower of sparks and flames as the circuits overloaded.
Gunshots and footsteps rang out as Taos’ gang scattered. I ran in the opposite direction, hitting every server tower as I ran.
The chain reaction lit up the room like a fireworks display, each server I struck erupting into a burst of sparks and flame. The air grew thick with smoke and the acrid stench of melting circuitry.
Behind me was the rhythmic thud of boots, the hiss of armor joints. Security wasn’t scrambling like we were. They weren’t panicking. They were hunting. I just hoped they were hunting me.
A shot whizzed past my head, slamming into a server and sending shards of metal and glass spraying in every direction. I ducked instinctively, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I rounded a corner.
Ahead of me, a narrow gap between two server stacks beckoned. Without thinking, I dove into it, squeezing into the cramped space. The edges of the metal scraped my arms, and the heat from the nearby electrical fires made the air stifling.
I could hear them closing in now, their footsteps slower but deliberate. The soft whir of their helmets scanning the area sent a chill down my spine.
Let the others have made it out. Let them keep following me.
Then: “Unit six, report.”
The asset straightened, his head tilting slightly.
