Luca sat against the cool metal wall, conserving what little power his dying energy cell had. Every few minutes, he tried the comms, each attempt met with static. If the System had separated them just to kill everyone off in personalized deathtraps, he was going to find a way to punch whoever was behind it.

A scraping sound from the left corridor jerked him alert. He fumbled for his blaster, wincing as his raw palms wrapped around the grip.

But it wasn't a Nullmaw. It was Zoe.

She staggered into view like she'd been running for hours, her usual grace replaced by mechanical movements. Her suit was stained with something dark, and there was a wild look in her eyes he'd never seen before.

"Zoe!" Relief flooded through him.

Her eyes found his, and for a heartbeat she just stared. Then she was moving toward him, and they collided in the middle, her arms wrapping around him briefly before she pulled back.

"Your hands," she said, noticing the burns. "Jesus, Luca."

"Turns out hacking terminals sometimes means they hit back. With explosions."

Before she could respond, footsteps echoed from another corridor. Joey appeared first, his armor scorched, followed by Chris limping with acid burns along one arm.

"Luca!" Joey called, relief evident. "Zoe! Thank fuck."

Chris just gave a tired salute, his usual cocky grin nowhere to be seen.

"Your hands," Joey said immediately, examining the burns. "What the hell happened?"

"Turns out I'm a terrible hacker," Luca said dryly.

Joey was already digging through his med kit. "I'm out of nanites, but I've got burn gel and sterile wraps."

While Joey worked, Danny's massive armor appeared in the largest entrance. "Fuck me sideways," he breathed when he saw them. "You guys made it."

"Most of us," Luca confirmed, scanning behind him. "No sign of Ryan or Emily yet."

Danny collapsed beside them with a groan. "The System's got a sick sense of humor. Had to solve some kind of power puzzle while the room filled with radiation."

"I got a maze that kept trying to drown me," Chris muttered.

Emily and Ryan emerged from the farthest corridor, both looking exhausted but intact. Emily's suit showed signs of extreme heat exposure, the material warped in places.

"Emily!" Luca called, relief surging through him. "Ryan! Over here!"

Emily crossed the distance quickly, dropping beside him and immediately noticing his bandaged hands. "What happened?"

"Terminals and I had a disagreement," he replied. "What twisted fun did you two have?"

"Simulation room," Emily said. "Had to work together to find the exit."

A familiar chime sounded in their HUDs. The mission update appeared:

[Mission Objective: Secure the battleship and defeat the AI‑controlled defenses. 90% Complete]

"Ninety percent," Joey read aloud. "So we've still got ten percent to clear."

"What did everyone see in there?" Danny asked. "Besides death traps, I mean. I saw footage. Historical records."

Nods all around. "Alien worlds," Emily said. "Crazy technology."

"Terraforming," Chris added.

"Space battles," Luca said. "Massive fleets. These battleships fighting against organic-looking ships. Black, chitinous."

"Varnathi," Zoe finished. "The System's showing us something."

Heavy silence fell as they processed this. The System had shown each of them different pieces of a much larger puzzle, fragments of a history that made their current mission seem ominous.

"So, what now, Captain?" Ryan asked.

"Now," Luca said, flexing his bandaged hands, "we rest for ten minutes. Then we finish this and get the hell off this ship."

They'd been trudging through the battleship for what felt like an eternity. Sentry guns, depressurized zones, rooms that were basically outer space with thin metal walls. Every corridor brought new problems, but everyone was pulling their weight. Joey moved debris with his powered armor, Chris blasted targets, and Ryan disabled traps with his multitool.

Then the speakers crackled. "Unidentified personnel detected. State your purpose or face defensive measures."

Luca exchanged wary glances with the others, signaling them to hold position. Here we go again. "We're explorers," he said. "Here to assess potential resources. This ship appeared abandoned."

"Designation: Sentinel-2. Class: Battleship. Mission: Secure convoy and neutralize hostile entities."

"Great, it thinks we're the hostiles," Ryan muttered.

Joey rolled his eyes. "Same script every time."

But Zoe was already leaning forward, fully engaged. She lived for this shit.

Luca kept his tone even, though he wanted to skip to the inevitable fight. "Sentinel-2, our scans found no crew aboard. Can you confirm your last contact?"

The AI's voice turned cold. "Last contact: classified. Crew status: classified. You have illegally entered a secured area."

Emily stepped forward. She always tried to reason with the machine. "We're not a threat. We just want information."

"This vessel serves Coalition High Command. You are unauthorized and deemed a threat. Neutralization procedures will commence."

"It's gone rogue," Luca said, stating the obvious. Always the same damn thing.

The response was immediate—ceiling turrets erupted in laser fire. The corridor lit up in bright red beams as they scattered behind crates and bulkheads.

"Cover each other, move!" Luca shouted.

They dashed forward, dodging fire. Zoe's Active Camouflage kicked in, blending her into shadows. "If we can keep it distracted, I can disable parts of the system."

Luca activated his own camouflage, the shimmer flickering around him. "Do it."

While Zoe and Ryan hacked a nearby terminal, Danny activated his Aggro Beacon, forcing turrets to lock onto him. "You're welcome," he grunted, shattering a turret with his Warhammer.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Finally, Zoe bypassed the mainframe firewall. The laser grid short-circuited.

"Path's clear, go!" she called.

They rushed through the corridor, reaching the tech room. Cold blue lights pulsed around the AI's core, data streaming across screens.

Across their HUDs, a message flashed:

[Self-destruct protocol initiating.]

10:00... 9:59...

"Of course it's got a self-destruct," Ryan groaned.

Emily cursed, glancing at Luca. "Ten minutes to shut this down or get out. What's the plan?"

Zoe stepped forward, still cloaked. "Let me get closer. My suit can bypass its sensors for a direct shutdown. Just keep it distracted."

They went into action. Joey used his power armor to provide cover, Ryan and Chris took shots at key sensors, creating blind spots. Danny's Warhammer smashed through the last turret blocking Zoe's approach.

The countdown ticked down: 7:55... 7:54...

Zoe reached the console and tapped into the core. Her voice came back over the comms, tight with panic. "It's not working! The core is shielded! My bypass can't get through. I can't shut it down from here!"

"There's no other console!" Chris yelled, already pulling a shaped charge from his pack. "Forget the shield! Let's just blow the whole console! A direct charge should take the AI with it!"

"Are you insane?!" Ryan shouted back, leveling his shotgun. "The feedback will rupture the FTL drive! Our only option is to overload the shield with raw power! Everyone, focus fire on the core now!"

Panic was setting in. The crew was shouting desperate, contradictory plans over the comms. Brute force. A shaped charge. A suicidal containment attempt. They were deadlocked, terrified, and looking to him.

Luca closed his eyes. They need a commander, not another panicked voice. There was only one way to get the clarity he needed. A way that would cost him.

This is going to hurt like hell, because he still hadn't leveled his most important skil.

He activated [Systems Analysis Burst].

Pain, sharp and blinding, like a spike driven through his skull. He gripped his console to stay upright as the chaos of the room snapped into a terrible, logical clarity in his mind. The AI's self-destruct sequence, the shield's power draw, the structural integrity of the bulkheads... it all became a cascade of horrifying numbers.

"I'm fine," Luca lied through gritted teeth. He analyzed Ryan's brute-force plan. The data flashed in his head:

[Shield Overload Failure: 85% Probability]

[Catastrophic Feedback Loop to Ship's Reactor: 60% Probability]

He analyzed Chris's shaped charge idea. The numbers were just as grim:

[AI Core Destroyed: 70% Probability]

[Explosion Collapses Entire Deck: 95% Probability]

Suicide. Both were suicide.

Fighting a wave of nausea, he saw it. The ability didn't give him a new plan, but it showed him the link the others had missed. The data shield was leeching power from the primary junction box on the north wall.

"Danny! Ryan!" Luca's voice was a strained rasp, but it cut through the chaos with absolute authority. "See that primary power junction on the north wall? Destroy it. Now."

"Luca," Danny's voice was low. "That junction powers this entire deck. We'll be in total darkness, and the feedback could blow the whole corridor."

"I know," Luca said, his eyes fixed on the countdown: 6:10... 6:09... "The AI is using it to power the shield. Destroy it, and the shield drops. That's Zoe's window. It's our only shot. Do it!"

Danny and Ryan unleashed a combined assault on the armored junction box.

The junction exploded. The lights died. The world plunged into darkness and the groaning of stressed metal.

In the eerie silence, Luca saw the blue data shield collapse. He jabbed a finger at the core, his trust absolute. Zoe, now.

The AI's voice sputtered. "Error... hostile override... directive compromised..."

The countdown stopped. The lights dimmed, the core's glow fading completely. Heavy quiet settled over the room.

Zoe lowered her visor, triumphant. "Guess the 'hostiles' just saved your hull, Sentinel-2."

Luca let out a relieved laugh. "Good work, everyone."

The notification pinged in their HUDs:

[Mission Complete: Secure the battleship and defeat the AI-controlled defenses]

[Mission Reward Triggered] Modifications Available: Select one: Weapon Mod / Armor Mod / Tool Mod

[+850,000 unallocated XP] [+375,000 credits]

Loot boxes materialized as they gathered their prizes quickly.

[Item acquired: Centauri Phantom MK-64 Precision Gauntlets] [Item acquired: Centauri Guardian Mk-64 Tactical Helm] [Item acquired: Centauri Juggernaut Mk-64 Titan Striders]

Just as they turned toward the exit portal, Ryan pointed to a door marked REACTOR. "Wait! If this ship's running TL9 tech, there could be something worth checking."

Luca frowned, glancing at the countdown timer still visible in his HUD from their portal window. "We're cutting it close. Lead the way."

They sprinted down corridors as emergency lights pulsed ominously. The reactor room doors slid open with a hiss, revealing a cavernous chamber. A massive cylindrical reactor towered before them, its energy conduits spiraling up above them, glowing cold blue like artificial starlight.

Every surface pulsed with contained energy, thick cables snaking out like roots.

But what caught their attention was the smaller unit beside it. It was car-sized, solid, and unconnected. It sat on the balcony as if waiting to be claimed.

Ryan's eyes widened with awe. "A TL9 reactor!"

Emily whistled, looking skeptical. "That thing's massive. How are we supposed to move it?"

Luca eyed Danny and Joey in their powered armor. "Think you two can handle it?"

The guys exchanged a look. Danny grinned while Joey gave a mock sigh.

"Guess we've got no choice," Joey muttered, powering up his armor. His suit whirred, servos activating as he took position on one side.

Danny powered up his armor on the other side, stance widening to distribute weight. "Alright, let's haul this thing."

While Danny and Joey wrestled with the reactor, Luca scanned the chamber for anything else worth taking. His new Precision Gauntlets felt perfect on his hands. Finally, his Phantom armor set was complete.

But there had to be more here. This was a TL9 reactor room.

They locked their grips and began lifting. The reactor groaned, heavy and unwieldy, metal screaming against the deck as they dragged it toward the door.

"This thing's heavier than it looks," Joey grunted, adjusting his grip. Each step was accompanied by a heavy thud as the reactor's massive frame scraped the floor, leaving gouges in the metal.

Luca spotted a control station with data cores still intact. He moved quickly, activating his [Data Breach] skill to extract whatever schematics might be stored. Technical readouts flooded his display... reactor specifications, energy efficiency algorithms. Calibration data!

Danny's breath came tight, sweat beading under his helmet as he strained against the weight. The servos in his suit whined with the effort. "Almost there," he muttered through gritted teeth, muscles burning even with the armor's assistance.

"Eight minutes!" Emily called out, watching their portal timer with growing urgency.

"Found reactor calibration data!" Luca called back, downloading everything he could.

They approached a tight corner, the reactor's bulk barely fitting through the corridor. Ryan moved alongside them, hands hovering nervously. "Careful with that corner! If you hit it wrong or scrape the core, you could destabilize the whole thing!"

"Need a break, Danny?" Joey shot him a grin, barely masking his own struggle as sweat dripped into his eyes. "I can call Zoe for backup if it's too heavy for you."

Danny coughed out a laugh despite his labored breathing. "Keep talking and I'll let you drag it the rest of the way yourself."

"Oh please," Zoe chimed in, jogging alongside them with obvious amusement. "Danny's got this! Show 'em what you're made of!"

The reactor caught on a protruding pipe, jerking them to a halt. Both of them strained, servos shrieking as they worked to free it.

"Five minutes!" Emily's voice carried real worry now.

Ryan and Zoe sprinted ahead, clearing debris from their path and calling out obstacles. "Watch the loose cable on your left! There's a low beam coming up!"

The servos in their suits strained audibly, mechanical whines mixing with their heavy breathing. Every step was a battle against gravity, the reactor's weight seeming to increase with each meter.

"Two minutes!" Emily's voice pitched higher with genuine panic.

They could see the portal ahead, its blue glow beckoning. But the reactor was fighting them every inch, its bulk catching on doorframes and scraping against walls.

"Come on, come on," Danny muttered, his legs shaking from the sustained effort. His armor's power indicator was dropping, the strain of hauling the massive reactor draining his suit's energy faster than expected.

Joey's breathing was ragged now, his movements becoming more mechanical as exhaustion set in. "Almost... there..."

"One minute!" Luca shouted, his own heart racing as he watched his friends push themselves to their limits.

With the portal just meters away, they made one final, desperate push. The reactor's frame barely squeezed through the portal's diameter as they stumbled forward, legs trembling from the monumental effort.

"Thirty seconds!"

Danny and Joey collapsed onto solid ground outside, gasping for breath, their armor's cooling systems working overtime. The reactor sat safe beside them, a testament to their determination and teamwork.

The portal countdown hit zero and went into its 48-hour cooldown cycle. Silence settled around them, broken only by the quiet sounds of the alien world and their own heavy breathing.

"We did it," Luca breathed, then winced as the adrenaline faded and the migraine hit him like a sledgehammer. The aftermath of [Systems Analysis Burst] always caught up eventually. "That reactor is ours."

He started to press his palms against his temples, then hissed and pulled back as the burnt skin protested. The throbbing migraine made his vision blur slightly. Worth it.

That skill had saved their lives, again, but between his brain trying to escape through his skull and his hands feeling like charred meat, he was really feeling the cost of being a hero.

Danny slumped against his armor, completely drained but beaming with pride. Zoe knelt beside him. "That was incredible, Danny."

They'd survived another mission, faced down a rogue AI, and somehow managed to extract another piece of the puzzle.

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