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The colossus glided out of the hangar and straight into the drill hole that Delamar had pierced. A red light flashed in the cockpit—alert mode. A worried voice crackled over the radio.

“Zero, be careful. The repairs aren’t finished. Some hidden code in the computer must be the reason for your Ironclad’s strange behavior.”

The technicians in Levski hadn’t yet been able to fix the Ironclad’s erratic behavior. But I couldn’t take that into account—my mission was too urgent; I didn’t even have time to ask Zwiebus and Pike for help. I sat alone in my “Rusty Brick” and had to make do with her.

I pitched the colossus’s nose upward. The hangar doors opposite me disappeared from view, and a sea of asteroids against the light blue backdrop of the Glaciem Ring came into sight. The powerful engines sent a tremor through the ship as the asteroids glided past the cockpit.

“What’s the situation at the destination?” I asked, a little nervously.

“We don’t know.”

“And who attacked the transport?”

“Unknown. Shortly after the EMP, an InterSec patrol showed up. The crew was picked up and taken to Levski. The cargo is still in the transport ships. You absolutely have to recover it.”

The answer was unsatisfying. Who in the Prophet’s name would cripple a transport convoy with an EMP and then just disappear? Would the attackers come back? With a queasy feeling, I activated the quantum drive.

Shortly afterward, I reached the target coordinates in the Glaciem Ring. Two Drake Cutlass Blacks and a Crusader A2 Hercules Starlifter were hovering among asteroids and dust bands. All three had cargo on board. The sensors showed no other contacts. Why hadn’t InterSec stayed behind to secure the recovery? Never mind—I’d have to manage on my own.

I moved into position to transfer the cargo through the open hatch into the ‘Rusty Brick.’ In the cargo hold, I looked up—straight into the stern of a Cutlass. It hung above me, aligned with the dust bands that were converging in the distance and merging into infinity. It looked like a view into the Quantum Tunnel. The sight was disorienting.

I shook myself. The position was good. Normally, the cargo from the Cutlass should just fall into the Ironclad, but there was something—weightlessness. Oh well, it’d work out somehow. First, into the EVA suit and over to the Cutlass.

The weightlessness was the least of my problems. There was gravity aboard the Cutlass, but the Ironclad was upside down. What a crappy change of perspective. I felt nauseous. For a moment, I clung to the wall.

Focus, Zero. Maxlift tractor beam—maneuver the crates down into the ‘Rusty Brick.’ One by one. Or up?

Fully focused, I got to work. So focused that I forgot everything else. Not a thought left for the attackers or the possibility that they might come back.

After all the containers had been loaded, I stood in the empty cargo hold of the A2. Next to me were the large bombs. I thought of the people at the remote service station. They were dissatisfied because the committee wasn’t doing enough to ensure security in the Nyx system. Its recommendation—to simply fly with an escort in light of the increasing attacks by Outlaws and Vanduul—hadn’t helped this transport either.

The residents wanted to take defense into their own hands—and for that, they needed weapons. And here were weapons, plenty of them. I hesitated briefly, then dismantled the bombs and weapons from the three ships and loaded them onto the Ironclad. Afterward, the cargo hold of the “Rusty Brick” looked like an armory with a few cargo crates scattered among them. Satisfied, I stood on a container and let my gaze wander over my loot.

Then I set a course for the service station and fired up the quantum drive. Directly ahead lay the red fog—the Virgil system, the source of the Vanduul attacks. With every passing minute, it drew closer, and the danger of attacks increased.

Suddenly—a jolt. The Ironclad dropped out of quantum flight. Had I been yanked out? The radar: clear, no contacts. Beyond the cockpit window, nothing but blackness; the red mist close enough to touch; the Keeger Belt a thin strip in the distance. The “Rusty Brick” must have had its own plans again.

Annoyed, I got up and went to the engine room. Removed the fuse, reset the computer, reinserted the fuse. TTW—turn off, turn on, works. It usually helped. Finally, I resumed the flight and reached Service Station Theta.

The remote service stations in the Keeger Belt—the last beacons of the People’s Alliance’s freedom in the depths of space. Carved out of asteroids like Levski, kept alive by a thread, but in even worse condition. String lights, sparks flying, small stalls selling somewhat useful items. Makeshift, but somehow cozy.

I passed through the checkpoint. To the right, a panoramic window overlooking the asteroids of the gloomy Keeger Belt; to the left, a few steps and a coffee machine. With a grin, I dispensed myself a freshly brewed coffee—so much better than the canned coffee aboard the Ironclad.

Then I met Hector. A bald, bear of a man. We sat down on a bench by the panoramic window. With a voice like a grater, he lamented the situation.

“This is the closest we are to the Virgil system. We need to upgrade our defenses to protect ourselves. The people on the committee aren’t doing anything.”

I furrowed my brow.

“I know. Even the Vox Populi has written about the security issues. I just came from a convoy that was ambushed.”

Hector slumped back against the seat, threw his head back, and snorted.

“Do you have any idea who might have attacked the convoy?” I asked.

“The Vanduul—who else?” he replied without missing a beat.

“I brought you the convoy’s ship weapons.”

Hector stood up. He loomed over me like a mountain and held out his large hand.

“Thanks. I’ll take care of unloading. If you can deliver more, that would be helpful.”

I shook his hand. His massive hands clamped down on mine like a vise.

A few hours later, I was back in Levski and handed over the recovered cargo. I didn’t mention a word about my delivery to the service station. After I’d taken the Ironclad to the repair shop, I went to the Grand Barter Bazaar. Wild rumors were circulating. They swirled like shadows through the tunnels of Levski. InterSec had allegedly attacked the convoy. The UEE supposedly wanted to destabilize the Nyx system through its proxy in order to take it over.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)