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The Onyx investigation pushed me to my mental limits. My nerves were stretched to breaking point. Like a spring suddenly released, all my frustration burst out of me.

“Guys, we can’t go on like this,” I snapped at the others. “We need to be more focused and follow the protection force’s instructions. We can’t stroll through the Onyx facility like tourists. It’s too dangerous—for all of us. I don’t want to have to regenerate again.”

My outburst stirred up a hornet’s nest. A heated argument ensued, especially between me and Brubacker. The situation only calmed down when the TYR squad joined us. Under Kjeld’s command, they were back to protect us. Together, we flew back into the Onyx facility to collect data for the Hockrow Agency.

Carefully and with great discipline, we penetrated deeper into the facility than last time. The TYR people went ahead, secured the areas, and we waited until we got the go-ahead. This time, no one left the group; everyone followed the instructions.

In the engineering area, we had to secure data from a cooling system. There were pipes and monitors everywhere, and we had no idea how to get the data. A recurring, swelling noise that ended in a bang accompanied our search. We had heard the noise last time—it was annoying—it went right through you.

“I found something,” Husky called out. “A monitor for system monitoring. But no data is being displayed. It says there’s a leak.”

“There’s a hole in a pipe here,” Pike noted. “I’ll patch it up. Maybe that will change something.”

No sooner had Pike closed the hole than Husky said,

“Yes, now the data is being displayed. I can save it.”

Once the data was secured, we flew to the Baijini Point space station and handed it over to the Hockrow Agency. But we were immediately sent back to secure more data from the research area.

By now, we were working almost like a well-oiled team. TYR formed the advance party, secured the area, and we waited. The discipline in the group calmed me down and my initial annoyance evaporated. While we were waiting at a collapsed elevator shaft, we heard intense fighting. Pike and I went to a parapet to see if we could help. Alaska whistled us back. I had to smile. Now it was Pike and I who weren’t following orders.

Then we got the go-ahead, and we moved in. When we entered the area, my breath caught in my throat. A Vanduul fighter hung from the ceiling. Hoses and cables led from it to a container directly below. There was an open hatch at the front of the container, with a large pool of blood in front of it. It looked like a sacrificial altar. We knew that Dr. Jorrit wanted to experiment with Vanduul biofluid, but what kind of chamber of horrors was this? These couldn’t be normal experiments!

“Look at all the dead scientists lying around here,” Brubacker began to speculate. “I’m telling you, the pilot of that fighter broke out, killed everyone, and is now running loose in the facility.”

“Are you saying there’s a living Vanduul running around here?” Alaska asked in horror.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. If there was a Vanduul running loose here, the question was who was the hunter and who was the prey. I definitely didn’t want to be the prey. I looked around nervously. Then I remembered the note from Dr. Jorrrit that we had found. In it, he had noted that the VARPS—the Vanduul corpses they had received from ENOS—were no good and that they needed fresh subjects. Was this their new source? Capturing Vanduul spaceships along with their crews? A nasty feeling crept over me.

Next to the room with the Vanduul fighter were several server cabinets. I was able to back up data to a hard drive, which we then took to Baijini Point to the Hockrow Agency.

At the space station, Brubacker was struggling with our situation.

“What are we doing here anyway? We’re just useful idiots for the Hockrow Agency. The constant going in and out is getting on my nerves.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Pike agreed. “I feel like a yo-yo – constantly going back and forth.”

“Guys, investigations are like a puzzle,” I tried to explain. “We collect the pieces, Hockrow puts them together. That way, they also help us and our goals. And often you can’t see the next step until you’ve put several pieces together.”

*

The next day, the Hockrow Agency sent us back to the Onyx facility. The night’s rest had done us all good. We proceeded with great focus and discipline. TYR and Pike formed the vanguard, while I brought up the rear. Brubacker, Alaska, and Husky were the investigation team.

To determine Dr. Jorrit’s location, the Hockrow Agency needed seismic data, which we were to extract in a gravity lab. Behind a glass pane, greenish balls of energy floated, repeatedly emitting radiation. Two corpses floated in the room. Obviously, there was no gravity inside. Alaska found a way to stabilize the energy for a few seconds at a terminal. Suddenly, Brubacker entered the room and floated through the air.

“Come back, Bru,” Husky pleaded.

“Hey guys, this is really fun. You have to try it,” he replied cheerfully.

What was wrong with him? Did the energy field have an effect on his mind? All warnings and pleas bounced off Brubacker. He floated like a fish in water between the energy balls while Alaska tried to keep the energy stable. In disbelief, I stood at the window and watched idly. Then he found a data carrier and came back.

After saving the seismic data, we made our way to the reactor core, where we were to extract energy data. In an almost routine manner, TYR secured an area and we moved in. We ran through a corridor where several bodies lay on the floor. One was lying on top of another. Husky stopped and looked at the two dead bodies.

“He wanted to protect the other one,” he said in a sad voice.

“Nonsense,” I snapped at him. “They just fell on top of each other. Let’s keep going, or we’ll end up lying there too.”

The situation seemed to have affected Husky. He hadn’t been enthusiastic about the investigation from the start, but now he was withdrawn. He didn’t say a word and trudged along absent-mindedly. I didn’t understand what was wrong with him. All I knew was that I was completely wired and that if we wanted to survive, we had to function.

After a while, we reached a cave with a large structure that we had to climb over. Several rings led from the structure deeper into the cave. The swelling noise, which culminated in a loud bang, could be heard again. With each bang, a wave of energy, accompanied by strong radiation, moved through the rings to the structure. Each time, we had to take cover behind rocks or metal plates to protect ourselves from the radiation. The sight was impressive and frightening at the same time.

I waited at the entrance to the cave and secured the advance of the others behind me. Then I followed a little way. The people from TYR, Pike, Alaska, and Husky were already quite a way ahead. Brubacker stood at the highest point of the facility, looking around like a ruler surveying his empire. What the hell was he doing? Yes, he was a reporter, he had to take pictures and document everything to make the scandal public. That was his job, and I was grateful to him for it, but couldn’t he do it from cover? He was exposed to enemy gunfire and radiation, completely unprotected. My nervousness grew with every passing second. If we were attacked from behind, I had no one to cover my back. A hint of anger bubbled up inside me.

Finally, we were able to continue. Shortly thereafter, however, we were stuck again. A TYR fighter had been exposed to an excessive dose of radiation and required treatment. Subsequently, the group had to jump over chasms to reach the other end of the cave. Meanwhile, I secured the rear. It took forever, and my nervousness rose to immeasurable heights.

Suddenly, a door flew open and several scavengers rushed towards me. Reflexively, I raised my VOLT assault rifle. It discharged its energy with a thunderous roar. I kept my index finger curved. A staccato of energy bursts rained down uncontrollably on the attackers and finally ignited a gigantic flash that took out several scavengers. Another had ducked away. My weapon was overheated—I couldn’t fire and looked at him. He looked at me. Then he raised his rifle and fired. A bullet burned into my arm. He took a few steps toward me and aimed his weapon at me. I saw my end in his rifle barrel. But suddenly, the display on my rifle indicated it was ready to fire – a split second passed – a short burst and the scavenger lay on the ground.

Angrily, I jumped over the chasms and, breathing heavily, caught up with the others. Then we took a service train to the reactor core together.

There, the center of madness awaited us, the nucleus of the gigantic energy bursts in the Onyx facility. In the middle of the reactor room, which resembled a large hall, a greenish ball of energy swirled, charging up and then exploding with a bang. It was the source of the swelling noise we had heard. With each eruption, the room was flooded with radioactivity. We had to wait for the right timing if we didn’t want to be fried.

As we stepped into the reactor room, we were fired upon from several sides by guys in protective suits. It was confusing; they were standing on platforms floating around the reactor core. Some were upside down, others were not. In the hall, there was no up, no down—no gravity.

We took them out one by one with our sniper rifles. Then I noticed a display on a large metal arm. I pushed myself off and flew weightlessly through the reactor room. Floating freely, I downloaded the energy data. When I looked down—or was it up?—I saw Husky walking very slowly and seemingly absent-mindedly across a platform. Brubacker rushed to help him. They moved slowly toward the exit. Despair rose within me. Without cover, I felt vulnerable. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to leave my post to provide cover for the two of them in case more enemy forces appeared. Fortunately, I was protected from the radiation behind the metal arm.

Finally, everyone had reached the exit and I followed them. Without further incident, we reached the Baijini Point orbital station and handed over the data to the Hockrow Agency. Completely exhausted, we gathered in the lounge of the White Rabbit—the group desperately needed a break. I had to find peace and relaxation again—my state of mind was completely out of balance. Suddenly, Brubacker said he had received a message from Smith—the stranger from his mysterious past. Smith had negotiated a deal with the ASD. If we could uncover Dr. Jorrit’s machinations, they would drop the charges against Friedrich and all the bounties on us. It was a dirty deal, but it got us out of a tight spot. Brubacker emphasized what an opportunity this presented us. It wasn’t over yet. But until Hockrow had evaluated the data, we had a little breather.

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