The hatch in front of us opens slowly.
I stand at the exit of the Phoenix, weapon raised. My fingers rest on the trigger—steady, relaxed. It's easier that way. When your hands are busy doing something familiar, the brain finds it easier to pretend everything is under control.
I count my breaths.
One.
Two.
Three.
Sometimes that's the only thing keeping my head screwed on straight.
In front of us lie the innards of the Dark Mind's ship.
Silence.
But not the normal kind.
The wrong kind.
The kind of silence that hangs in the air right before something very big and very angry decides to introduce itself.
Sweat tickles my forehead under the helmet. Fantastic. The hero, the terror of the galaxy—and I'm sweating like a cadet on his first tactical exam.
"Well," I say quietly, "anyone want to bet we don't get eaten in the next five minutes?"
No one laughs.
That's a bad sign.
Sergeant Kel steps forward. His armor creaks softly—a steady, confident sound, like the ticking of an old clock. The squad moves with him immediately, without a word, as if they're one organism.
I've always envied him that.
Kel can walk straight into a place where death is waiting and look like he's just heading out for morning coffee.
Liara touches my shoulder.
A light touch. Almost nothing.
But even through the armor I feel it.
"You're thinking too loudly again," she whispers.
"Occupational hazard," I reply. "When this is over, I'll open a course. How to panic on the inside and still look calm on the outside."
She snorts quietly.
And for some reason, that makes things a little easier.
Just a little.
I look forward again.
The corridor is narrow. Black. The walls look almost alive—pulsing faintly, like something breathing. Thin lines run along the surface, like blood vessels… or circuitry.
Technology.
Or biology.
Or something in between.
The ship of the Dark Mind.
And we're walking right into it.
Brilliant plan.
The Phoenix's voice comes alive inside my helmet.
"Optimal placement point for the Sigil of Rupture charge detected."
Before the hatch, we deploy the mechanism from the hull. It's complicated. Spider-like. Its segments unfold quickly and smoothly, like it's been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
"You activated the system without my command?" I ask.
"Probability of mission success increased by 18.4 percent."
"Well that's reassuring. I feel absolutely calm now."
A beam flares to life.
Pale. Pure.
It slices through the alien hull like a hot knife through butter.
One second.
Impact.
The cut section of wall drops into the corridor with a dull metallic echo.
The passage is open.
And we stand before it.
No one fires.
No one comes out.
Silence.
Kel steps through first.
The squad follows.
Inside my chest a familiar pressure tightens.
Instinct.
Old. Reliable. Honest.
It says something very simple:
don't go in there
Which is exactly why I go.
Liara is beside me.
We step over the cut edge and move inside.
The corridor stretches long ahead of us. A faint light pulses along the walls like blood through veins.
Kel raises his fist.
The squad freezes.
Formation shifts instantly.
Left side:
Kel.
Mira Vossen—already on one knee, sniper rifle stabilized.
Jake Thorn—his heavy machine gun slowly spinning its drum.
Eli Fern releasing a reconnaissance drone.
Right side:
Ronan Kreyl—my second-in-command.
Silas Rowe—the medic who shoots better than half the army.
Bryn Havoc—the sapper.
Tarek Noll—the scout who can hear footsteps through three bulkheads.
The corridor is split.
We hold both sides.
Tarek is the first to break the silence.
"Too quiet."
"I'll second that," Silas says. "We just cut open their hull. They should at least be offended."
I scan the walls slowly.
The silence presses in.
Too perfect.
My brain starts running through possibilities.
Ambush.
Trap.
Or…
something worse.
"Where do we plant the Axiom charge?" Bryn asks quietly.
I look ahead.
The corridor disappears into darkness.
There could be anything there.
Or nothing at all.
Inside me, a strange clarity settles in.
Pain. Fear. Exhaustion.
All of it suddenly folds into a cold, working focus.
"Right here," I say.
Kel nods.
"Agreed. Going further would be suicide."
"Glad we're all on the same page."
I open the case.
A square device slides out, its surface formed by a lattice of shifting matrices.
The Sigil of Rupture charge.
Liara looks at me.
There's a question in her eyes.
And something else she doesn't say out loud.
I take the device.
It's heavy. Cold.
Inside it is technology capable of destroying every noema on this ship.
If everything goes according to plan.
And plans, as we all know, are usually the first casualties.
Bryn drops to one knee.
Connects the activator.
"Beginning installation."
Time seems to slow.
I hear every sound.
Every movement of armor.
Every breath.
Every beat of my own heart.
Where are they?
Why aren't they attacking?
This is worse than a fight.
Silence makes your brain turn against you.
"Charge installed," Bryn finally says.
I exhale slowly.
"Everyone off the ship."
Kel reacts instantly.
"Fall back!"
The squad starts moving toward the exit.
Step.
Another step.
We pass back through the cut opening.
A little more.
Almost aboard.
And then—
Phoenix's voice clicks in my ear.
Calm.
"Activity detected."
I freeze.
"Where?"
A pause.
Tiny.
But it stretches like an eternity.
Then Phoenix answers:
"Inside the charge."
I close my eyes for a fraction of a second.
Of course.
Naturally.
"Phoenix," I say quietly, "please tell me that's just a faulty diagnostic."
Pause.
The answer comes cold and precise.
"Negative."
I open my eyes and look at the squad.
They're all watching me.
I shrug.
"Well. I've got bad news."
Kel tilts his head slightly.
"How bad?"
I sigh.
"It looks like…"
…things just took a new turn.
Pause.
"Our bomb just started thinking."
**
Inside the Phoenix
I slowly sweep my gaze across the Phoenix's compartment, checking each of them like an old accountant before the yearly report.
Sergeant Kal.
Mira Vossen.
Jake Thorn.
Eli Fern.
Ronan Krail.
Silas Rowe.
Bryn Havok.
Tarek Noll.
Liara.
All present.
No one left outside.
No one dead.
Yet.
I catch myself counting them again. And again.
Stupid.
But if I stop counting, I'll start thinking. And thinking is exactly what I don't want to do right now.
The Phoenix hatch begins to close.
The doors slide together slowly. Heavily. With effort.
And suddenly a thought spears through my mind.
What if we're playing someone else's game?
Click.
The hatch seals.
Hermetic lock.
The compartment fills with the soft glow of instruments. Filters hum quietly as they circulate air. Everything looks calm.
Almost cozy.
I exhale.
"Phoenix, undock. Get us out of here."
The answer comes instantly.
And that's exactly what I don't like.
"Undocking impossible."
I blink.
"Say that again."
"We are locked in."
Something unpleasant tightens in my chest. Not fear yet. Just a heavy sensation, like someone dropped a piece of ice into my stomach.
"What the hell does that mean?" I snap.
A short pause.
An uncomfortable one.
Then Phoenix replies:
"The hull of the Phoenix is fusing with the hull of the hostile vessel."
The compartment falls silent.
Very silent.
Heavy silent.
Then the ship adds:
"We are being consumed."
The word drops into the air like a grenade with the pin pulled.
Consumed.
A cold wave runs down my spine.
I hear Jake exhale quietly.
"I don't like that."
"Really?" I mutter. "And here I was thinking of taking out a mortgage."
No one laughs.
All right.
That means things are truly bad.
Strange structures begin to grow across the panels. Cameras display the outer hull of the Phoenix.
A black noetic mass crawls across the armor.
It grows.
Slowly enveloping the ship.
Like roots.
Like tentacles.
Like…
a stomach.
Inside me that familiar cold fear rises.
Old.
Honest.
But fear is just a signal.
You can use it.
Liara stands beside me.
I feel her hand around my wrist. She's gripping tighter than usual.
In her eyes—terror.
Pure. Unmasked.
She's trying to hold it together. But I've known her long enough to see the cracks forming.
"Activate the Axiom charge," she says quietly.
Her voice trembles.
"Now."
I nod.
All right.
Plan B.
I turn to the console.
"Phoenix. Will activating the charge harm us?"
"No. Phoenix is shielded from the Sigil-Rupture strike."
I nod slowly.
Good.
At least one piece of good news today.
"Activate the charge."
The compartment grows quiet.
I feel the entire crew's eyes on me.
They're watching.
It's always a strange feeling.
When people expect you to know what to do.
Even when you don't.
Especially when you don't.
Phoenix begins the countdown.
"Three."
My mouth goes dry.
"Two."
Kal slowly raises his weapon.
He prepares like a fight is about to start.
Interesting.
Sometimes a sergeant's instincts are smarter than our plans.
"One."
I wait.
For the flash.
The shockwave.
The explosion.
Anything.
But…
nothing.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Phoenix's voice sounds again.
"The charge failed to detonate."
The world suddenly feels oddly flat.
"What?" I say quietly.
"The charge was not activated."
I look at Liara.
She looks at me.
We don't say anything.
We don't have to.
We're trapped.
I slowly exhale.
"Repeat the command."
My voice sounds calm.
Too calm.
Sometimes calm is just a way to keep panic from breaking out.
Phoenix responds.
"Activation attempt…"
And at that moment something happens.
Like an electric surge passing through my mind.
The world disappears for a second.
I am here.
But at the same time—not.
My body remains in the compartment.
My mind…
somewhere else.
Paralysis.
Silence.
And then I hear a voice.
Not in the headset.
Not in the speakers.
Directly inside my head.
Deep.
Alien.
Enormous.
"So… you're caught at last, Axiom."
I stop breathing.
No.
No no no.
It found me.
My heart starts pounding.
I try to move. To say something.
But the voice continues.
Slowly.
With pleasure.
"I've been waiting for you."
Cold spreads along my spine.
"You came to me yourself."
And then—
BOOM.
An удар slams into the hatch.
The entire Phoenix shudders.
Metal screams.
Another удар.
Heavy.
Dull.
Like a battering ram smashing a door.
Hissing.
White vapor begins venting through the seams of the hatch.
Kal spins instantly.
"They're here!"
His voice cuts through the air.
"EVERYONE TO BATTLE!"
The compartment erupts into motion.
Mira drops to one knee.
Jake swings the heavy machine gun into position.
Tarek takes the flank.
Eli launches a recon drone.
Bryn grabs the plasma cutter.
Silas is already activating the medical module.
Liara raises her weapon beside me.
I can finally move again.
But the voice is still inside my head.
Quiet.
Satisfied.
"Now… let's see how you die."
The Phoenix hatch begins to bend inward.
Metal groans.
Cracks.
Deforms.
Another удар.
Another.
Another.
Then—
a loud snap.
The first crack appears in the armor.
Thin.
Like a line in glass.
I stare at it.
And suddenly realize light is leaking through.
But not ordinary light.
It's thick.
Dark.
Almost liquid.
And slowly it begins to fill the compartment.
Black light.