Alarms blared throughout the FSS Chevelle as Havoc Squad came together in the fourth hanger. Taylor was surprised to find Rosaline ready and waiting for the team surrounded by several other boarding teams, including another death squad.

  What appeared out of the ordinary was the determination on Rosa’s face, for someone who was more often impassioned regarding the missions she doled out, contributing to the situation’s direness.

  Ebony was the first to bark a command upon noticing her commander’s demeanor, “Shut your dick holes and pay attention!” she demanded sharply, specifically eyeing Henry and Aleksei who chatted to each other loudly.

  “Damn… what’s up her ass today?” Henry muttered louder than necessary which caused Aleksei to chuckle next to him. Stephanie nudged him and gave him a big grin.

  “More like what isn’t up her ass,” she signed before thumbing towards Taylor who stood within her personal space. “She’s been a bitch since we got together,” she signed to Henry as she visibly bit her tongue in amusement.

  Henry snickered and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “To be fair, I can’t say I blame her. I’ve been trying to get in your pants since we got stuck on this team,” he stated with faux disappointment. Stephanie just rolled her eyes with a snort and gave him the finger while Taylor wrapped his large arm around her waist.

  She turned to see Taylor giving her a knowing smirk. “Causing trouble again?” he mused. She returned a bright innocent smile, holding her thumb and forefinger close together to tell him, “a little bit”.

  Rosaline however, was not in a playful mood. “Briggs!” she barked. “I will have you scrubbing every decks’ dishes with your dick if you don’t shut the fuck up and pay attention!”

  Her threat was good enough to make Jackson cringe before leaning forward and whispering, “I will not help with that infection…”

  “Listen up! The Destroyer FSS Damocles and the Frigate FSS Telluride are currently engaged with an Inquisition Black Ship, more importantly, we have identified by the identifying sigil that it is the ship of “the Rose”; the infamous inquisitor who is responsible for the Mars incident,” Rosa announced, pausing to let the information sink in. Many of the soldiers brought together bore hardened faces however, Havoc Squad and the other death squad that was participating in the raid remained aloof to the information, all but Ebony whose color lightened a few shades.

  Stephanie noticed this but said nothing as she listened, bored as she was. Rosa continued her forceful mission briefing, “The goal here is to capture the enemy ship. The Federation has yet to get ahold of an Inquisitorial ship before and any information gathered will be our top priority, The Lord Commander Amaranthe would say otherwise, making our main objective to capture the bitch inquisitor, however, obtaining as much intel is my priority which makes it yours as well.” Rosa eyed the two death squads intently before casting a glance at the rest of the Federation marines surrounding her.

  “Our death squads will be the main diversion for the rest of the boarding teams, allowing them to secure the bridge, generator, engines and docking bays. Everyone will be given drives just in case this operation goes tits up, so securing data is the other critical aspect of the mission. However, do to what ever sort of shielding the Inquisition has surrounding their ship, we are unable to properly scan and map out the enemy ship; so this is a blind operation. I expect you all to use your training to the fullest and make this mission a success by any means necessary,” she concluded. Ebony noticed how Rosa kept Taylor within her periphery despite giving the rest of the group a modicum of her attention.

  Ebony, despite all reservations, steeled her spine and asked, “And if we happen to come across the “Rose”?” No amount of preparation could have hidden the nervousness in her voice. She could see her entire team had been staring at her in confusion which only heightened her anxieties. She saw the monster that wrecked Mars and knew exactly who she was. Despite having failed at winning Taylor over, her elaborate ruse to fake his ex-girlfriend’s death was on the verge of coming back to bite her in the ass. However, given what she saw, a bite on the ass was the very least of her concern.

  Rosa’s smirk was purely antagonistic and filled with a very knowing understanding of the situation. The rift in Havoc Squad had become an annoyance to her a few weeks after the Mars incident and a very harsh conversation with the sweet little manipulator cracked her like an egg. That was when Rosaline learned of the connection between Taylor and the little witch who destroyed not one, but several Federation assets in a glorious display of rebellion.

  One thing Rosa could respect was the efficiency of the girl’s abilities, especially after prying the data stolen from Castile V from Ebony. She could certainly understand why the Lord Commander was so invested in the young girl.

  “If you happen to find the bitch, subdue her by any means necessary,” she sneered before turning to the marines in her midst, “any team that captures the Inquisitor will get a bonus large enough to retire on personally paid out by the Lord Commander himself!” Her order and incentive had several of the teams raucously cheering before the master chief clapped her hands sharply.

  “Everyone to their Burrowers. You launch in two minutes!” Rosa ordered and the entirety of her assault teams scrambled to find their designated boarding craft. Ebony lagged behind giving her commander a pleading look only to receive a devious smile in return before Rosa walked away.

  Havoc Squad performed quick preparations within their designated Burrower. Aleksei turned back after rigging a “party popper” outside the breaching door as he usually did and questioned, “Where is boss?” his baritone voice carrying throughout the cylindrical craft.

  “Probably pissing herself! Did you see how freaked out she was looking?” Henry interjected with moderate levity. Taylor made sure his combat shield was secured before taking his position behind Aleksei.

  Taylor could not bring himself to care about Ebony’s whereabouts and given the chain of command, he would certainly prefer Jackson taking lead if she abandoned her position out of fear. If anything, Taylor had other curiosities to query about. “Hey, Aleksei? How do you feel about the whole Mars thing? I mean we may end up going against the person responsible and you haven’t really mentioned home at all,” Taylor inquired.

  Aleksei let out a sharp laugh before looking back at Taylor, “I want to shake hands with such an artist!” his tone held no trace of malice buried in the sheer amusement of the event.

  Taylor shook his head in mild disbelief, not that he could be truly surprised. Thinking back on when he had first met Aleksei, the Martian man had a true love for explosions and the ensuing destruction they caused. He also recalled the conversation of how it was the Mars Colonial government that had sent Aleksei to the Federation military as punishment for his crimes of blowing up a large section of one of their foundries.

  “I may have made mistake blowing up factory, but to throw Super Frigate and destroy third of Mars? That is art,” Aleksei mused and Taylor bobbed his head in feint agreement. Taylor understood the big man however, between the Super Frigate and the portion of Mars that had been destroyed; the loss in life was still heartbreaking even if they belonged to a government that seemed bent on sending him and his friends to their deaths. Taylor did not mourn their deaths, nor really blamed the person responsible for that matter, he simply felt bad about it.

  Stephanie tapped Henry on the shoulder and signed to him. Henry then called out, “Steph says if you behave well enough, you may get to meet your idol. If you’re a good boy she may even pat you on the head like the dog you are.”

  Laughter broke out throughout the Burrower as Ebony stepped in and sealed the hatch behind her. “Eyes front and shut up!” she barked before taking her position, not even stowing her gear as she braced herself for the coming launch. Within ten seconds of Ebony securing herself, the Burrower was launched from the Chevelle, and hurled towards the distracted Inquisition ship.

  “So, what took you so long boss lady?” Henry chirped in amusement. He was answered with a firm slap across the back of the head from Stephanie before Ebony could request her to do so.

  “Just had to speak with the boss, nothing to worry about,” Ebony said sharply although her tone did not carry her usual weight of professionalism. Stephanie turned her head and eyed her team leader with scrutiny to find the disheveled and near panicked woman staring at the ground in loss to her own thoughts. Silence fell within the Burrower for several long minutes before Jackson voiced concern.

  “EB… is it me or have we been travelling longer than usual?” he asked not knowing that Ebony had not been paying attention. The rest of Havoc Squad began to recognize the worrying signs of missing the target as they looked around for some bearing on their position despite knowing there was nothing around them that would indicate whether they were on the correct trajectory.

  “Well, it was bound to happen at some point,” Henry muttered to himself in a dejected tone only for the Burrower to slam into something hard and shake the contents of its cargo violently.

  “What did we hit?” Aleksei exclaimed as the Burrower shrieked and groaned like a wail of death coming for them. The boarding vessel jerked and shuttered violently with enough force to nearly dislodge everyone from the anchors around their boots. Circuitry burst around them periodically with flashing sparks as churning sound of the drill bit prow became more strained and forceful.

  “I was supposed to die by thigh!” Henry squealed like a child as everyone braced themselves firmly against the supports around them before the churning for the drill bit stopped and the whirring of the hydraulics that expanded the device for entry activated. There was a thunderous bang before everything went silent except for the excessive beeping from the monitors surrounding them as they flashed a variety of warnings and error codes across the screens.

  Jackson looked at the screens and let out a low whistle, “I may be a medic, but even I know that’s not right…” Everyone turned to the closest screen to them and saw that the drill bit attached to the Burrower had just made it through the first layer of hull, barely scraping the surface of the second level of the ship in their path before the drill lost momentum and initiated breaching protocols. One of the other errors regarded the breaching protocols and that the entirety of the drill bit was not able to expand despite having the hydraulic force to peel back a Federation or CoU starship’s hull like an aluminum can.

  “Damn, this is one sturdy ship,” Aleksei said aloud before unhooking himself and collecting his gear. Everyone followed suit despite the brief shock they experienced though since Ebony did not stow her gear, she pushed her way to the front of the Burrower.

  “Of course. This ship belongs to a monster… why wouldn’t it be one too?” she muttered to herself loud enough for everyone to hear. Taylor looked up to see Ebony in a complete state of disarray, the fragile calm before the shit storm that would be a mental break down.

  “Uh, Ebony?” Taylor said reaching his hand out in concern. Despite the way she treated him and acted since the first day they met, she was still the team leader and a valued member of the team. It was never as if Taylor did not care about her just because she was an asshole.

  Ebony smacked his hand away as she passed without even giving him a courtesy glance, moving towards the hatch that led into the enemy ship.

  ◇◇◇

  “What the fuck is with this ship!” Ebony screeched as she furiously typed into her data-slate. It had not taken long for Havoc Squad to find a usable terminal for Ebony to hook into. It had also not taken long for them to run into enemy combatants as well.

  “What’s the hold up EB?” Henry shouted over the crack of his marksman rifle before ducking around his corner as the Inquisition soldiers returned fire with complete prejudice.

  Typical military starship soldiers were competently trained which Havoc Squad had been accustomed to expect however, the Inquisition troops were trained on a whole different level. It took very little time for everyone to recognize that the enemy aboard the Inquisition ship were trained in boarding and counter boarding tactics as they were.

  Havoc Squad was caught in a rock and hard place stuck within the recesses of a long corridor near the outer hull pinned in a pincer maneuver with no where to escape until Aleksei finished setting up an exit for them.

  Ebony frantically tried to counter whoever or whatever was attempting to counter hack into her data-slate while simply trying to pull a map from the ship’s database. Every worm or data package she pushed through was quickly dismantled and reused against her within a manner of seconds, delaying any sort of progress she could make.

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  “Come on EB, talk to us!” Taylor called out before using his shield and machine gun to suppress one end of the corridor.

  Ebony’s anxiety was beyond her limits and could feel the pressure beginning to gnaw away at her rational. “I don’t know! Whoever is blocking me is fucking insane!” she said in a panicked cry as she forced herself to fight the security measures even harder.

  “How about you Aleksei? We’re going to need to bug out ASAP,” Henry inquired before taking another pot shot at the enemy scoring a hit in one of their thighs. Henry was lucky for the ambient dampener in his headset as Jackson’s shotgun roared above his head finishing off the downed enemy with a slug to the chest plate.

  Aleksei grunted as he connected a series of wires together that were imbedded within a glossy silver foam he had sprayed into a square and wired it to a central impact charge. “This is why I prefer explosives! Much faster to work with!” he complained.

  The roar of Taylor’s light machine gun went silent as the last of the oversized magazine clinked on the ground in the shape of empty casings before he turned back to Aleksei and set his weapon down. “I’ll take care of it man, have at it,” he told the large man before kneeling down between Aleksei and Ebony, taking the wires from the big man who made no argument against causing some mayhem.

  With a dark chuckle, Aleksei grabbed his pump action grenade launcher off his shoulder and racked the first explosive shell into the chamber before aiming and firing down the corridor. The resulting explosion was followed by screams of agony along with the deep mad chuckle of the perpetrator.

  “At least they’re not resistant to everything, right?” Henry mused as he supported Aleksei with precision fire.

  Jackson scoffed as Henry moved out of his way, watching the blonde man lay down behind Aleksei’s feet and sniped at the enemy troops still recovering from the newest onslaught. “More like we are lucky their hull is so strong otherwise that would have vented us into space…”

  Stephanie nudged Jackson and quickly signed to him before opening fire with her automatic pistol, “They would die with us too. Silver lining.” That made the combat medic snort and shake his head in amusement as the pressure lessened around them since Aleksei joined the fray.

  A message appeared on Ebony’s screen that caused her to gasp. “I can’t let you do that.” The message said before a puff of smoke poured from her data slate as the screen shattered with an electrical discharge. Ebony instantly dropped it and looked dumbfounded at the piece of equipment that she had trusted more than anything in the universe, “God damn it!” she bellowed in frustration as she picked it back up and chucked it at the opposite wall.

  “Forget about it EB, we’re leaving!” Taylor announced before moving to the side rigged wall and looked away before pushing the trigger. Everyone grunted as a searing bright light appeared on the wall that traced along the foam that Aleksei had sprayed. What ever the material was he had used, it had reminded Taylor of the breaching charges he had used in the middle east. His armor was just enough to keep the radiant heat from burning left side of his body as the searing light traced around the square. As soon as the substance burned out, the impact grenade was detonated and the molten seal around the new doorway separated from the large metal panel being thrust forward by the kinetic force.

  “Alright, lets bug out!” Taylor commanded as he tossed a smoke grenade down the corridor he could see down before grabbing his LMG and stepping through the new exit. Stephanie followed suit tossing her own smoke grenade and following Taylor through the hole in the wall.

  “Oh, be gentle daddy,” Henry mused in a girlish tone as Aleksei grabbed him by the back of the armor and hoisted him up over his shoulder with a grunt of annoyance. Jackson helped Ebony through the hole and together Havoc Squad buried their way into the depths of the Archangel.

  Through the void spaces of the inner walls of the Inquisition ship, they committed to using traps and feints to lose their pursuers, leaving gaping holes in walls to misdirect their travelled path at the expense of Aleksei’s explosive stockpile. Though he could not complain too much seeing as he was still allowed to cause some collateral damage even if it was minimal. Through out their fiendish escape, the echoes of cries from the other teams played on a loop in their comm pieces.

  “I see we’re not the only ones who got the shit end of the stick, eh?” Henry mused to himself earning groans from his companions. “Am I the only one who finds it weird that Rosa hasn’t been chewing our asses out?” he asked aloud to everyone.

  Ebony growled lowly, “I’m sure they have our external comms blocked… these bastards were good enough to overload my slate so I’m sure they have only left our short range communications open because its some sick fucking pleasure they’re getting from this!” her voice was raspy with venom as she vented her frustrations.

  To drive her point even further were the screams of comrades requesting back up, trying to reach the Chevelle, or screaming about an unstoppable monster before the death cries turned into silence.

  “Doesn’t it feel grand to ‘ave me fingers inside ya, lad?” came a thick Irish voice over their comms causing half of the team to suck in and hold their breath. “Aye Mister Sigurd Sir, its bloody keen to ‘ave ye finger me ta death, sir!” the same voice shifted into a deeper and more playful tone followed by a giggle from their nightmares. Taylor turned to see half of them team wearing horrified expressions on their faces though both Jackson and Stephanie wore looks of intrigue as they listened closely.

  “Sigurd sir, Sister is reporting that a group of boarders have escaped into the auxiliary and maintenance passages in Sector C-Three,” came the second voice of someone who had a modicum of sanity at the least.

  There was a dramatic sigh and a blown raspberry before the maniac continued, “leave it to a computer to ruin me fun, och, ye hear dat lads and lasses? Ol’ Sigurd is gunna find ye an we can ‘ave a grand time. If ye promise not ta break like yer friends here, ye may even get to play with the lass, then it’ll be a proper good time. Keen? Keen. See ya soon doves,” the man said in full lilt before there was a loud, wet thunk meaning he had dropped the body the headset was attached to.

  “What the fuck did that psycho mean by computer?” Ebony exasperated as she wracked her brain for an explanation as Henry made light of the situation.

  “Well, he seems charming. Anyone else excited for this little shit show of a tea party to look forward to?” he asked.

  Stephanie turned and gave him a sinister grin as he set her chain blade on her shoulder, displaying her excitement for a real challenge. Aleksei gave him a shrug while Jackson raised another question, “Did anyone else hear something off?”

  Henry snorted incredulously, “Aside from the screw loose?”

  The medic shook his head, “Not that, but during what ever that was, there were soft metallic clicks of some kind and soft churning, as if there was something mechanical being used but subtle enough to not be some kind of machinery?” he pointed out in a guess.

  “That’s because Sigurd Ericsson is one of the last known cybernetic beings, known as a Berserker, as listed under the Coalition of Unity’s records of decommissioned programs during the 23rd century.” A synthesized female voice spoke into their ears.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Ebony growled before anyone could react, guessing that the person was the one who destroyed her data slate.

  “My apologies. I am the Archangel’s onboard Artificial Intelligence designated the name: Sister, by Lord Inquisitor Gregory Solomon. I am responsible for the security and safety of the Inquisitorial Light Cruiser Archangel’s systems as well as its personnel within my allowed parameters,” Sister responded.

  That was the breaking point for Ebony as she fell to her knees in utter defeat. Jackson rushed to her side only to have her brush him off sullenly. “Of course they have an A.I…. I can’t, we can’t. This is so beyond our skillset…”

  Ebony did not get the chance to finish her ramblings as Stephanie smacked her hard enough to knock her over. Ebony managed to look up in time to see Stephanie furiously signing away.

  “This is all that we have. You were the one who held us together and kept us alive even though we should be dead. So what if we die, we’re Havoc Squad and causing havoc is our job! Are you really going to let a computer beat you? Fuck that thing, otherwise I’ll kick your ass right now.”

  Even though Stephanie was angry, Taylor could not help but smile at his girlfriend. “For someone who can’t speak, she has an inspiring voice,” he thought to himself before giving a nod to no one in particular. “She’s right. We’re destined to die serving the Federation and whether or not this is our last mission doesn’t matter. The most we can hope for is to drag as many of them as we can with us and have a bit of fun along the way, right?”

  Aleksei patted him on the shoulder with a stern nod, Jackson grunting in agreement as well while Henry nearly lost his retention on his excitement, “Oh shit! If Taylor-boy is up for some Havoc fun time you know we’re in the right! I am so proud of our little boy growing up to be a big strong man!” Henry cheered with fake sobs to bring the levity full circle.

  Taylor grinned at the joke while giving Henry the middle finger, causing everyone to laugh except for Ebony who sat watching everyone joke with reckless abandon despite their dire situation.

  She felt guilty with everything she had caused. All of the manipulation she committed only for things to end as they were. However, watching the team get along so well and enjoy each other’s company so much for it to become a kinship meant that she did her job as a team leader well enough. If she had to go out, she may as go out a leader than a coward.

  Pushing herself off the ground she readied her submachine gun and gave the her team a soft hollow smile as they watched her intently, “Thank you, and if I don’t get to say it later; it’s been fun, so let’s go have a bit more fun shall we?” she asked rhetorically before stepping through and taking point.

  Following cheers of comradery, Havoc Squad exited into a corridor two levels below their original position at the ready, only to find no one there.

  “Huh… I expected a welcome party,” Henry noted before moving up one direction of the corridor while Stephanie stalked down the other searching for a target.

  “Even I will admit this is weird, especially with everything that just happened…” Ebony interjected nervously as she watched Stephanie walk back shaking her head telling the group that she found nothing in her brief search.

  A minute later, Henry jogged back and reported, “It’s official, this place is as empty as Steph’s personality,” sniggering as she gave him an evil glare.

  “Which way, boss?” Aleksei asked, ignoring Henry’s banter with the dangerous blonde. Ebony chewed on her lip processing the information she knew as little as it was.

  “Attention: All Archangel personnel, please brace for skip,” the A.I. Sister announced twice throughout the ship before going silent.

  “What is a skip?” Ebony, Henry and Taylor asked in synchrony before the entire ship shuttered nearly tossing everyone off their feet.

  “Attention: All Archangel personnel, please prepare for Javelin firing sequence in 35 seconds,” Sister announced repeatedly, counting down the seconds it took to make the announcement.

  Upon reaching zero, there was a thunderous sound of electrical discharge followed by a violent shutter as Havoc Squad were thrown from their feet as the lights cut out throughout the deck level they were on and the emergency lights turned on a split second later.

  “You know what? Fuck this. We have to be near the bridge so lets go take the damn bridge before the lights come back on!” Ebony growled in annoyance as everyone got up into a sprint, Ebony leading the blind charge to what she had hoped was the bridge.

  After a few minutes of sprinting down corridors, Ebony deduced that she had no idea where they were at. “I’d kill for a damned map right now… damned A.I.” she complained in her head as she stopped near an intersection that had directional postings. Further ahead of them was listed as the Port Gun Deck, and the adjacent hallway listed as Inquisitor Quarters and Medical Bay, which got Ebony thinking.

  Regardless of the reason they stopped, everyone seemed to enjoy the reprieve as they studied their surroundings, waiting for the enemy to jump out at any moment.

  “Ye know, it’s way faster to hunt doves when I’ve had me happy juice. Why couldn’ the lass ‘ave left it here,” came the Irish mad man’s voice echoing down one of the corridors.

  Havoc Squad froze and held their breath as they listened to the solid thumped mixed with the sound of boots on the metal plates that made up the floor echoed louder.

  “Sir, Inquisitor Clarke is the one who informed the crew that you are to not be under the influence of your… “juice” while aboard the Archangel. She knows your abilities and your weaknesses, which have all been told to the crews,” responded another, more reserved and professional voice.

  “Och! T’was pillow talk an the lass goes an spills me scotch to everyone! Listen lad, as darling as the lass is, she is one vicious ferret to contend with. All teeth and claw ya know? Bad for the sensitive bits if yer not half in the bag,” Sigurd responded before giggling the same laughter Havoc Squad heard earlier.

  “I don’t recommend speaking ill of the Inquisitor, I am certain Sister records everything aboard the ship…” the other man said with annoyance regarding his situation of having to babysit the Berserker.

  “Och, wee Mori loves me didn’t ya know? I’d tell her meself an let her give me a good spankin’ and everythin’ would be right as rain,” Sigurd retorted in a mad fit. His voice loud and ever present.

  Ebony glanced back to see the look of recognition on Taylor’s face as he processed and reprocessed everything he had just heard. She grimaced knowing he was about to do something stupid. Before she could move to stop him, Taylor rushed around everyone and entered the adjacent corridor with his hands up and his weapon hanging to his side, everyone scrambling to grab him only to pull back and ready themselves after seeing the tall Irish cybernetic Berserker being followed by a retinue of Inquisition soldiers.

  “Hey!” Taylor called out stopping everyone in their tracks, earning a curious, sadistic look from the Berserker while every soldier trained their weapon on him.

  Doubling down on the irrational gamble he now recognized, “When you said Mori and Clarke, are you talking about Morrigan Clarke?” he asked while taking a slow step forward and raising his hands even higher.

  “Well, now isn’t he a lad with brass, eh?” Sigurd mused as he scrutinized Taylor. “Big ginger man and he’s not even Irish? The fuck is that? Probably a Scot! Ha!” Sigurd joked to himself while nudging the man closest to him.

  The soldiers with the Berserker were not in playful moods though as the one he nudged inquired, “What should we do? We were ordered to eliminate the invaders but also follow your orders…this one seems to be giving himself up.”

  Sigurd scrutinized Taylor even more as well as his surroundings, his biomechanical eyes spying the tip of a weapon barrel protruding from around the corner behind the big ginger man. Sigurd glanced over and scanned the equipment his compatriots wore before having to stifle a laugh.

  “Well, ye know what they say, when in doubt, just pull a ferret from the bag an give it a toss!” Sigurd announced as he tore the grenade belt from the man next to him, pulling the pins of every grenade with inhumane precision and tossing the belt against the opposite wall of the corridor.

  Taylor watched the grenade belt with wide eyes as it sailed over head and landed in front of his squad. Their collective gasps of surprise were almost beaten by the concussive and debilitating flash of six flash bangs going off in sequence, blinding and disabling everyone around the corner as Taylor felt a sharp pain across the side of his head as he collapsed to the ground and his vision going out.

  He could hear the metallic feet of the Berserker step around him as Sigurd chuckled to himself, “Yer either incredibly stupid or lucky, but I guess that depends on the lass’ mood, good luck on that mate,” were the final words he heard before his consciousness faded.