---

The reddish-brown sand crunched as the STV’s tires rolled over it. I frantically jerked the steering wheel from left to right, trying to keep the vehicle on track. It was pitch black. A sea of large and small rocks could only be seen in the cone of light in front of us. Hermieoth sat in the passenger seat and tried to navigate me through the rocky labyrinth. The STV slid as if on ice. I steered against it just in time and brushed past a large rock. Metal scraped over stone with a screech. Then the engine howled. We were stuck on a rock. Two wheels were hanging in the air.

“Do you want me to drive?”

I ignored Hermieoth’s snide remark. The STV simply didn’t have enough ground clearance. Chris made much better progress. He was already a long way ahead with the Tumbril Cyclon.

It was really difficult with the STV on this terrain. In contrast, deactivating the comm array a few minutes earlier had been child’s play. The service technician had forgotten to log out of the terminal. I was able to access the controls directly and didn’t even need a hacking chip.

After I had set something back and forth, we were free again. We bumped and skidded on towards our destination. Suddenly, red laser flashes flashed over our heads again. Finally, we reached the bunker. Chris was already waiting for us.

The freight elevator took us rattling down into the depths. My heart sank deeper with every meter we descended. After the last failed attempt to hack into the Hurston Dynamics database, I was expecting the worst. This time I wanted to do it differently, more inconspicuously.

“Guys, let’s try to get past the guards unnoticed.”

A barely audible plop-plop was the answer. Smoke billowed from the silencer of Hermieoth’s gun. A guard in black and yellow armor stood directly in the entrance area of the bunker. She slumped down with a groan. The armor rattled as it hit the ground. Bullets whizzed past our heads as if from nowhere.

“OK, now they know we’re here,” said Chris and returned fire.

After a short exchange of fire, we reached the server room. As soon as the hacking chip was inserted into the computer slot, he began his work. Step by step, he broke through the electronic barriers. One barrier after another fell. The display on the admin console showed the progress. Finally, my digital bot army reached the last door and broke through.

“I’m inside. Data transfer and deletion of my entries has started,” I reported excitedly.

“All clear. We’ll go to the anteroom and secure access there.”

Chris and Hermieoth left the server room. I stood alone at the console and watched as my entries were deleted from the Hurston Dynamics database. At the same time, Chris’s data was added to the database. Shots echoed repeatedly through the bunker.

Suddenly I heard footsteps. I turned my head.

“Hey guys, I’m coming good….”

My voice faltered. Horrified, I saw a technician enter the server room. A security guard from Hurston Security followed him. With one leap, I jumped behind a server cabinet. Cold sweat ran down my back. I could only hope that they hadn’t seen me and left.

The footsteps came closer. Then the technician stood in front of me. He looked at me as white as a sheet. His eyes were wide with horror. Half a second later, the security guard was standing behind him. Time seemed to stand still. The guard and I stood there frozen, guns at the ready. The technician was standing right between us in the line of fire.

Suddenly, the accumulated tension was released. The butt of my gun crashed into the technician’s head. He fell to the ground like a wet sack. At that moment, a shot whipped through the room. A searing pain ate through my left arm. Finally, the silenced burst of a rapid-fire rifle rattled.

Breathing heavily, I pressed a Medpen into my left arm. The guard lay on the ground with his armor perforated. The technician lay next to him. He was still breathing. My gaze fixed on his sunglasses. They were cool. The helmet and trousers also seemed useful. I couldn’t help myself and packed everything into my rucksack.

Finally, a beep signaled that my hacking software had done its job successfully. I was free again. There were no more electronic traces of my arrest and the actions that Hurston Dynamics accused me of committing. I could move freely around the Stanton system again without fear of being hunted down and arrested. I was also a blank slate for Hurston Dynamics from then on. It felt like a rebirth. What could possibly go wrong now?

“All done! My data has been deleted and Chris’ data has been uploaded. We can go,” I shouted happily into the radio and ran out of the server room.

On the way to the exit, I saw Chris. I ran towards him. Suddenly he turned around and pointed his gun at me. What the hell….

“Zero! Jesus, I was scared. I didn’t recognize you in your Hurston Security armor at first. Luckily you’re wearing a yellow backpack.”

I was lucky once again. In future, I shouldn’t dress like our opponents when there are several of us going into battle.

When we were back on the surface, Hermieoth said.

“I’m driving!”

Chris thundered ahead with the Tumbril Cyclon. We were slow to catch up with the STV. We skidded back and forth, bumped over rocks and were shaken up in our seats. I frantically tried to hold on to the passenger seat.

The underbody screeched mournfully as Hermieoth drove over a rock. The left side of the STV reared up. I tipped to the right and almost fell out of the vehicle. We drove a few meters on two wheels. Then the STV crashed back onto all four wheels with a loud thud. Frowning, I looked at Hermieoth, but said nothing.

After a wild and bumpy ride, we reached our spaceship. But something was wrong. The rear ramp screeched like bent metal when we opened it. Smoke and steam billowed in the interior. It was rhythmically illuminated by the flashing red alarm lights.

“Crap. The ship’s systems aren’t responding,” Chris informed us from the cockpit. “The drive is dead. The bunker’s defense turrets must have hit the landed ship after all.”

“I told you, we have to land more than 1.8 km away,” Hermieoth commented on the situation. “I don’t have my tools with me either. There’s no chance of getting the ship afloat again.”

“It was 1.82 km,” Chris replied.

What a bummer. Nevertheless, it couldn’t dampen the joy of my new freedom. There really were worse things. I texted TeKay and said to the others.

“I’ll organize a pick-up service for us.”

translated wirh deepl.com