Still sniffling, the young prince refused to let go, his small arms locked around my shoulders, his face buried deep in my scarf. I carried him out of the cold server room and into the relative warmth of the break room.
"Could you let go of me, please?" I asked, gently. "I need to verify some things."
Slowly, he loosened his grip just enough for me to place him on the couch, but before I could fully pull away, his small hand latched onto mine, his fingers curling tightly around my glove.
"You're not going to leave me, right?"
Understanding that this was the best I would get from him in terms of letting go, I accepted it. Reaching for a box of tissues, I handed it to him.
"No. I'll stay by your side until you're safe, your majesty. But I need you to answer some questions for me. How long have you been hiding here? And how exactly did you end up in this situation?"
Blowing his nose, the dust-covered prince gave a shaky nod.
"Th-three days ago... I snuck here by f-forcing my personal guard to secretly t-take me on a shuttle. Wh-when the bad guys t-took over, I was put into the vents. B-but Darren... my escort... he—he died. And it's all my fault."
His voice cracked on the last word, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
I wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault. That he was just a kid. But sugar coating reality wouldn't help him in the long run. His information, at least, aligned with what Halajay had told me.
"You hate me, don't you?" His voice was barely above a whisper. His shoulders slumped, eyes fixed on the floor. "You're going to hand me over to the bad guys because I disobeyed my sister."
"No. Not at all."
Despite my own reluctance, I took both of his hands in mine, the touch firm, grounding.
"I'm here to make sure nothing bad happens to you, your majesty. I'm sure the Empress is very worried about your safety. There's a big ship full of men and women she sent to rescue you, and all the people upstairs. I was sent ahead to make sure you were safe."
"Really?" His voice wavered, uncertainty flickering in his eyes.
"Absolutely. But we have less than two hours before they arrive. Until then, I need you to listen to me. Do what I say, when I say it, and we'll both leave this place smiling. Does that sound good to you, your majesty?"
The prince nodded so eagerly I worried he might give himself whiplash.
"Andy, confirm?" I murmured.
[Identity confirmed,] Andromeda's voice chimed in my ear. [The boy in front of you is indeed Alexander Welt Von Trigrata. The only prince and half-sibling of the Empress. Due to not being of the late Emperor's bloodline, he is not in the line of succession. However, as the Empress's only known blood relative—aside from her mother—the weight of the crown may fall to him in the future.]
I sighed. "That was a little too much information, Andy."
"Pilot Firefly." The prince had stopped sniffling, wiping his nose with his sleeve as he looked up at me, curiosity replacing fear. "A-are you a Constellation Knight? Like Sir Excav?"
Sir Excav. That was a new name. Likely one of the Empress's personal guards.
"Yes, I am."
"Oh." His fingers curled into the fabric of his damp clothes. "I snuck here to meet Constellation Knights. A-after hearing a lot would be passing through here. All the ones in the palace were... c-cold. They ignored me all the time. Unless my sister said otherwise." His voice softened to a near whisper. "You won't ignore me... right?"
Something in the way he asked made my stomach twist. Why do I feel like I just learned something no one outside the Empress's family should know? If this ever became a problem, I doubted they'd hold it against me, so long as the prince was rescued without a scratch. That is, if I managed to stay undetected.
"I won't ignore you, prince." Tapping the side of my helmet, the three segments slid back into place, sealing my visor as my HUD reactivated. I turned and crouched slightly. "Hold on tight, your highness."
The prince gripped my shoulders as I lifted him onto my back and started moving.
[Pilot, a patrol is currently heading along the same route as you.] Andromeda's voice whispered in my ear as I moved forward, gripping the submachine gun at my hip. [They don't appear to be heading for the servers—rather, the security centre.]
"Thanks, Andy. I'll take care of it."
Click. I flicked off the safety, the weapon humming with readiness. Peering around the corner, I counted nine insurgents, led by a scar-faced man. Too many to take head-on without setting off alarms. A grenade would be perfect, but the blast would alert the entire floor.
I needed another way.
Moving silently behind them, the prince still clinging to my back, I kept to the shadows, dodging from cover to cover. My fingers brushed the fabric of a discarded blanket, and an idea sparked.
Picking up the blanket I tossed it over the prince on my back. "Andy, kill the lights and trigger the sprinklers—make it look like a malfunction across the station."
No hesitation. The hallway plunged into darkness, and a cold artificial rain poured from above. [Warning. Fire detected in the third floor's electrical room.] A synthetic voice echoed over the PA.
"Goddammit! That brat must've broken something!"
"The AI said it's in the electrical room! Move it! We've got him trapped!"
"Zeta Squad, head to electrical! We've got the little rat cornered!"
Perfect.
Night vision flared to life in my mask. The moment their backs were turned, I stepped from cover, raising my weapon.
Chhk-chhk-chhk!
Two shots, two down.
"What—?"
Tat-tat-tat! Point-blank. Four more crumpled.
"Call for back—"
A final burst. The last three bodies hit the floor.
Some twitched. Not for long. I pulled my handgun, squeezing the trigger once for each still-moving form.
The prince trembled against my back, burying his face into my faint orange scarf, his grip tightening.
I pressed forward, boots splashing through the water pooling beneath the sprinklers. "Andy, where's the next squad?"
[Straight ahead. Five seconds to visual.]
I didn't hesitate. Sprinting forward, I yanked a grenade from my belt, pulled the pin, and hurled it over thirty meters. It struck an insurgent's chest before exploding into a roaring inferno. Shrapnel shredded the air.
I fired into the smoke, ensuring nothing stirred before reloading on the move.
Reaching the security centre, I found Halajay waiting, looking worse for wear but still standing. "Time to move. We're heading for the elevators. Can you walk?"
"Barely," he admitted with a groan, stepping into the downpour. His gaze fell on the prince. "Is that—?"
"Affirm. Keep moving."
The elevator was already descending, courtesy of Andromeda. The moment the doors slid open, we stepped inside, water dripping from our gear as i lowered the prince onto the floor from my back. The button for the 50th floor flickered to life, untouched.
Yet when we reached the floor, the elevator kept going. "What? Andy, what's happening?"
[Another system has overridden my control. The elevator has been called to the top floor.] Andromeda paused. [However, enemy movements do not indicate they are aware of your presence. It is likely my camouflage was overruled by the station's original software.]
A complication, but not an unwelcome one. "...The plan stays the same. Just a different floor." I checked my magazine. Reloaded my sidearm. Poised myself as the numbers climbed higher.
Three... Two... One...
Ding.
The doors slid open. A fireteam of insurgents stood frozen, caught in the act of turning toward the elevator. Their eyes went wide as they registered the gun levelled at them.
Chhk-chhk-chhk!
Blood splattered the walls and I dove from the elevator, rolling into cover as gunfire shredded the space I'd just occupied behind me. Pivoting behind a pillar, I leaned out and fired, cutting one down—six more insurgents stormed in from the hall.
"They'll trap the prince and Halajay in the elevator at this rate." I grabbed a flashbang from my belt, pulled the pin, and lobbed it at their feet. A burst of blinding white erupted, and as they reeled— "Run across! Now!"
The prince and Halajay dashed through the chaos, slipping into cover as I suppressed the remaining soldiers.
"Andy. Strobe the lights."
The hallway pulsed between blinding brightness and suffocating darkness, the lights strobing in chaotic bursts. Disoriented, the insurgents fired wildly, their shots ricocheting off walls, finding nothing. One of them convulsed, collapsing into seizures under the relentless flashes. By the time the others adjusted, I was already among them—too close, too fast.
A blade through a throat.
A muzzle flash in the dark.
One after another, they fell.
"That's enough, Andy. Thank you." The lights stabilized, the hallway returning to its usual dim glow. I reloaded, swapping out near-empty magazines for fresh ones. "Where are the hostages gathered?" I asked.
[The vivarium, down the same hall the prince and Halajay went through,] Andromeda answered. [The guards heard the gunfire. They're investigating but haven't left their post. Thirty-five hostiles remain with the captives.]
I moved quickly, my boots splashing through shallow puddles from the sprinklers still dripping overhead. As I neared the prince and Halajay, static crackled in my stolen radio, followed by panicked voices.
"Hey, Mormon squad, what the hell was that?! It sounded like gunfire—Mormon, respond! Overseer, Mormon isn't responding... Overseer?"
"Zeta and Foxtrot aren't responding either," another voice chimed in, a growing edge of alarm.
Then, a third voice cut in, sharp with excitement. "Looks like that rat found a helper! Oi, Rat Runner! You're on this frequency, aren't ya? Listen up—you made a mistake attacking Freheit."
So, I'd been made. A shame. I'd hoped to reach the comms array before they noticed. Still, I clicked the radio. "This is the Rat Runner. Who am I speaking to?"
Halajay and the prince exchanged wary glances, unsure of my play.
"Ohohoho! Spunky little thing, aren't ya, girl?" The man's laughter crackled through the speakers, delighted. "Been a long time since I met someone who plays with their prey. Name's Filch Alsier. And I won't bother askin' who you are. You're probably just some random guard who managed to slip through the cracks when we took over this station."
Silence on my end. Good—he still thought I was a stray, not an outsider. Fenrir's plan remained intact.
Filch chuckled. "That quiet means I'm right, yeah? So how about a game? Let's see if you can carve your way through my men and reach me in the hangar. One hour. Sound good?"
I checked the time. One hour, thirteen minutes until Faraway in Winter arrived.
"...Let's see if I meet your expectations," I answered. Then, I crushed the radio under my boot.
"That's useless now," I muttered, glancing at the others. "Andy, what do we have on Filch Alsier?"
[An infamous arms dealer. Supplies weapons to insurgents across Freihat and beyond. Details on his activities and appearance are scarce. Do not rule out the possibility that he pilots a heavily modified Knight, Pilot Firefly.]
"As you say." I turned toward the vivarium's direction. "Andy, ideas on extracting the hostages safely?"
[Most guards have repositioned to intercept you at the entrance. Risk to hostages has dropped by 90%. Linking camera feed to your HUD. Check your shots.]
"Understood." At the doorway, I signalled Halajay to keep the prince back. Studying the feed, I counted fifteen insurgents braced for my arrival. The remaining ones lingered behind the hostages. I considered my options—if I had backup, I could—
Wait.
My gaze sharpened on the feed. Someone was moving in the vivarium's underbrush. A shadow, low to the ground. A silent figure dragged an insurgent into the foliage, disappearing without a trace.
This could work. I didn't hesitate. I pulled the trigger.
Three insurgents dropped before they even realized the glass door had opened. The others panicked, spraying bullets blindly. I flattened against the wall, waiting out their barrage, counting seconds between reloads.
When the gunfire ebbed, I pivoted, unleashing another controlled burst. Four more collapsed, blood misting the air. With a burst from my waist thrusters, I launched forward, shoulder-checking a woman to the ground. My knife found its home in another man's skull before I emptied my clip into the last of the ambushers.
A grunt beneath me. The woman I'd tackled struggled, snarling. I smashed the stock of my gun into her head. Her body went limp.
"Hold it right there!" A sharp voice. A hostage seized at gunpoint, a barrel jammed against his skull. The insurgent holding him trembled—not in fear, but in raw adrenaline. His eyes darted wildly between me and his remaining men. "One more fucking move, and everyone here is dead!"
I didn't answer. I didn't need to.
Because across the vivarium, in the shifting foliage, something moved*.
A shadow. Silent. Swift. One by one, the last thirteen insurgents fell without a sound.
"Drop your weapons!" he barked.
I stood slowly, hands loose at my sides. The woman I'd downed twitched but remained still.
"I said drop your fucking weapons, bitch!"