Milk Run

Orinth Minor, Tethys Station Derelict

The ambient hum of machinery reverberated within the starship Serendipity's ready-room. Luther Vale, already encased in his spacesuit, moved with disciplined precision. He initiated the sequence to enter his exo-suit, the weight of the armored frame familiar and reassuring against his gloves. As Luther secured the final lock, his squad mate for this impromptu mission reentered the ready-room. Clad in her own utilitarian gear, she carried a bundle of equipment. Robin Fleur looked up to meet the security specialist's gaze, a light pout tugging at her lips.

"Almost ready, Mister Vale?" she asked, her voice a blend of professional courtesy and impatience.

Luther nodded. "Just finishing up," he replied nonchalantly. "How's the stuff?".

"All set," Robin said, adjusting the slack in her backpack straps. "We'll be good to go as soon as you're ready." She input a series of beeps into a secure locker, then reached in to retrieve her last tool. "To be honest, I don't like going on spacewalks. Not a lot of solid ground." The spear held in her free arm shifted with a click, her grip tightening around it.

Luther recognized an injector knife when he saw one. Some boot in his old platoon had smuggled one into basic training. He could hear the drill sergeant's meltdown again, bellowing about 'non-reg equipment' at the sight. A good memory that made him miss the clowns, not the circus of the military.

"Yeah, I hear you," Luther said, giving a light tap to the back of her bag. "It ain't exactly my favorite either. But hey, I'll watch your back, so don't you worry. Just think of it as another day in the office."

At this point, they had passed through multiple hallways, the sterile, metallic walls reflecting their footsteps. The duo neared the designated exit airlock when Luther snapped his attention to a whirring noise. He turned his head just in time to see a slight blur zip by. Moments later, two drones hovered around Robin, letting off robotic chirps to their owner.

"Oh, hello X1, X2," she rubbed the drones with a warm smile. "These are my drones, they go where I go. If the artifact Commander de' Medici wants is aboard that wreck of a spacer station, we'll find it."

All four of them entered the decompression room. Robin double-checked the seals on her helmet, glancing at Luther as she did so. Luther checked the tube of his shotgun, eyeing the non-lethal rounds inside. 'Those little guys seem handy,' he thought, careful not to sweep the muzzle across anyone.

"Let's get this show on the road," Luther mused through comms.

The outer door of the airlock slid open, revealing the dark expanse of space. Robin took a deep breath and stepped forward, followed by Luther escorting her drones.

"Okay, we're about 200 meters from the objective."

Robin announced, pushing off deliberately from the airlock. She glided through the void, her hand outstretched towards a safety bar on the Serendipity's exterior. Grasping it firmly, she turned to X1, the drone carrying the containment box.

"X1, secure this line."

The drone peeped in acknowledgment. Robin swiftly attached a carabiner hook from the safety bar to the spooled-up line in her arm and then to X1.

"Line secured," she confirmed, checking her readouts. "Alright, hold on tight, this might get a litt- diceeeey!".

X1 flipped its thrusters vertically, pushing forward with a burst of light. The large drone streaked towards the distant space station, leaving behind a glowing trail. Simultaneously, the rope connected to it rapidly unfurled from its spool, extending tautly between the Serendipity and the derelict.

"Woah nelly!," Luther exclaimed over the comms, his voice tinged with amusement as he and Robin were pulled along.

Robin and Luther gripped the safety line, their gloved hands feeling the tension as they were pulled forward by the drone's controlled movement towards the station. The rope vibrated slightly with the strain, the only tether keeping them anchored in the vast emptiness of space.

"Prepare to anchor." she called out

Tethys stations distant outline grew larger with each passing second, its hulking silhouette now a looming presence against the backdrop of stars. Robin could see the details of the station's exterior coming into sharper focus: the pitted, weathered hull, the skeletal framework of abandoned docking bays, and the occasional flicker of malfunctioning lights. Her drone gradually slowing down.

"That wasn't so bad," Luther said, planting his feet onto a nearby lattice.

Robin moved quickly, removing the hook from X1 and securing it to the body of the space station. She drove a spike through the middle, ensuring the lifeline was firmly anchored. "Do you see a way in?" she inquired, waiting for her other drone to catch up.

"Over here, Robin." Luther floated over to a circular airlock. "Although it looks locked. Got any ideas?" He tapped it on the off chance it would just open.

Robin extended the remaining rope as she made her way over. She began inspecting the airlock, tracing her spear along the rims of the door. "Looks like it's on an emergency lockdown. Doesn't seem to be powered, at least." She glanced at Luther with a determined expression. "Lucky for us, it looks like an older model. So there are a few ways to brute force this."

With that, she readied her spear, aiming the edge at the hinge of the airlock. "I'm going to use a Waylight device to pop the door open. So heads up."

"Alright, breach and clear it is then." Luther unholstered his firearm and positioned himself next to the stations bulwark.

She embedded the polearm into the airlock's corner. In the dark expanse of space, the chemical mixture inside the Waylight knife reacted violently with the alloy, generating intense exothermic heat and a burst of bright light that momentarily illuminated their surroundings.

"Stand clear," she warned over comms, withdrawing the spear sluggishly. "X2, shine a light in there, please."

The damaged hinge creaked and groaned further, struggling against the remaining integrity of the metal. With a sudden snap, the door lurched inward slightly, revealing the dark interior of the airlock. X2 hovered closer, its sensors whirring softly. At Robin's command, the drone activated its spotlight, piercing the darkness.

"Okay, I'm taking point. Let me just..." Luther Vale got a good grip on a chunk of door and flipped the remaining hinges off, the exosuit barely putting in any mechanical effort. He then pushed the door inward. "There we go."

"Whoa. Talk about crazy strong," Robin noted while attaching a fresh Waylight Knife to the end of her lance. She whistled briefly over the radio.

Luther stepped cautiously further into the labyrinthine corridors of the station, his visor still reflecting the dim, ambient light. The debris and floating equipment painted a picture of a place frozen in time. As they moved deeper, the silence of space was broken only by the faint hum of their equipment and the occasional soft click of their boots against surfaces. Robin trailed closely behind Luther, her echo mapper device projecting a holographic map that updated in real-time as they progressed.

"Mostly intact," She murmured, studying the map. "Okay, there's a couple of rooms we can go through. Go left. Then straight, then right again."

They navigated through the corridors guided by her directions, the rooms around them were a mix of intact sections and areas where structural integrity had failed, revealing glimpses of the vacuum beyond.

Suddenly, a crackling, monotonous voice echoed through the speakers embedded in the walls, startling Robin. "W...ELCOME BACK, DR. ####. IT HAS BEEN 12...0...46 CYCLES SINCE Y##R LAST LOGIN."

The lights flickered to life, casting sharp shadows across the corridor as artificial gravity kicked in, pulling Luther and Robin down to the metallic floor. Luther's tinted visor reflected the sudden illumination. Robin's eyes darted between the speakers and the newly lit walls. She swallowed hard before whispering, "This doesn't make sense. When we got here, the solar array was junked. There shouldn't be any power at all..."

Luther shrugged, his voice steady. "Well, that's something. At least we're not floating around in the dark anymore."

Entering a larger room, the duo found themselves in what appeared to be a laboratory. Rows of glass cases lined the walls, filled with an array of asteroid samples. Before they could fully take in their surroundings, the ceiling panels shifted with a mechanical hiss. Automated gun turrets descended, their sensors locking onto the intruders with eerie precision.

"Get down!" Luther shouted, grabbing Robin and pulling her into cover behind a console. His heavily armored exosuit absorbed the impact as a burst of projectiles shattered upon contact, disintegrating into a spray of shrapnel that left numerous marks on the surfaces around them.

Robin huddled closer to her drones, her fingers flying over her Data Tool. Her eyes widened at the readings. "We've got unusual power output all over the derelict! It's coming from the rooms ahead of us!" she called over the gunfire.

A bullet whizzed by, uncomfortably close. Luther, his stance steady despite the barrage, raised his weapon. "On it!" he growled. The sharp crack of his TAR round firing split the air, followed by the satisfying crunch of the first turret crumpling under the impact. Just as he took aim at the adjacent hostile, the wreck of the first one suddenly sprang to life. With an uncanny, fluid motion, it slithered out of its hatch, trailing a mass of writhing wires. The biomechanical abomination dropped to the floor, its cables undulating.

Before he could react, the thing lashed out, its body wrapping around his leg with surprising strength. Luther stumbled, thrown off balance, his exosuit's servos whining as they fought against the unnatural grip. The second turret, still active, seized the opportunity. It swiveled, its muzzle tracking Luther's compromised position. A hail of bullets pinged off his armor as he struggled to free himself.

"Luther!" Robin cried out, her eyes wide with horror at the sight. Thinking quickly, she instructed, "X2, draw its fire! Go!"

The drone zipped into action, its sleek form darting through the air. The ceiling turret, momentarily confused by the new target, swiveled to track X2's erratic flight path. Bullets pinged off walls and shattered glass cases as the drone skillfully evaded the barrage. Seizing the moment, Robin vaulted over her cover. Glass crunched under her boots as she sprinted towards Luther, her spear already in hand. With controlled strikes, she swung the blade, slicing through the shifting mass that entangled Luther. Each cut sent sparks flying and severed threads of malicious cables.

As the last appendage fell away, Luther immediately regained his footing. In one fluid motion, he pivoted, raising his weapon towards the remaining turret. Just as more of the stations innards began to emerge from its housing, Luther squeezed the trigger. The TAR round found its mark, obliterating the turret in a shower of metal and circuitry. Not taking any chances, Luther swept his aim across the ceiling, firing precise shots at any hint of movement. Sparks rained down as stray wiring, attempting to snake out from the ventilation were destroyed by his barrage.

"Nice save," Luther grunted, his eyes still scanning for threats. "Let's move before any more of these things decide to join the party."

Robin nodded, recalling her drone. "The electrical readings are strongest that way," she said, pointing down the corridor. "It's got to be the source."

They sprinted through the doorway, the sound of screeching metal echoing behind them. The corridor ahead pulsed with an eerie, otherworldly light that seemed to emanate from the very walls ahead.

"More, incoming!" Robin's warning came just as the corridor's infrastructure erupted around them. Panels burst open, disgorging a swarm of cables that lashed out with impossible speed.

Ducking and weaving, they navigated the gauntlet of whipping tubes. Luther's weapon barked continuously, severing the most aggressive tendrils as Robin darted ahead, guided by her data tool. Her drones racing in between them. The corridor abruptly widened, spilling them into a vast, dimly lit chamber. As they crossed the threshold, the pursuing cables suddenly retracted, covering the doorway in an amorphous growth.

Rows of ancient server terminals lined the walls, their displays flickering with alien script. A dense network of obsidian lines snaked across the floor and walls, converging at the places heart. There, a massive computer terminal stood like a grotesque altar. Its cracked screen bulged outward, hosting a pulsating, otherworldly object that seemed to hover just beyond the fractured glass.

A distorted voice reverberated throughout:

"YOU H##E ONE N#W MESSAGE: G-GGGET OOOOUT."

"There! The artifact!" Robin called out, her eyes fixed on the angular shape. Her polearm's Waylight knife at the ready, she darted forward, dragging the blade into the sea of components at their feet. Each injection released a burst of thermite, causing the cables to recoil and smolder, creating fleeting gaps in the tangleweb.

As she advanced, Luther fell into a rhythm—fire, pump, fire, pump. "Reloading!" he shouted, slipping shells into the shotgun as Robin paused her advance. The moment the last shell clicked into place, he resumed fire. The spread of each blast tore through multiple eruptions descending from above, momentarily clearing their airspace.

"X1, bring the box!" Robin commanded. The drone buzzed forward, the containment unit suspended in its mechanical frame. She frantically keyed in the unlock sequence, the box's lid hissing open.

With the Korovin container ready, Robin lunged forward, wedging the pommel of her spear under the artifact's base like a crowbar. As she levered the core upward, a high-pitched whine filled the air. With a loud crack, the impossible shape popped free from its shell, beating in the open air. Suddenly, streams of glossy, black ferro-fluid shot out it, latching onto Robin's arm with magnetic force.

Luther's body reacted before his mind could process the danger. Neutralize the Threat. Time seemed to slow as his finger tightened on the trigger. The thunderous roar of the shotgun filled the server farm. A slug tore through the air, slamming into the spinning artifact and carving a sizeable chunk from its surface. Before its payload splashed into some nearby debris. It seemed all motion stopped in there aside the faint thud of animated machinery.

"T-hank you. That was a close one." Robin gasped, catching her breath.

They stood in the aftermath of the skirmish. Small burnt wires piled up like charred vines, and the scorched path left marks on the floor. Robin approached the half-intact artifact with caution. Then carefully detached the remaining material from her suit, wincing as it released its grip. The artifact's core was still pulsing weakly, its energy greatly diminished. She stored it in a large sample tube, then gently lifted and placed the artifact's remnants into the box, where they settled into the padded interior. It was comforting to hear the Korovin Container lock.

"Motherbase, this is L-V. Mission accomplished. Do you copy?" Luther broke the silence by sending a long-range transmission back to the ship.

"Affirmative. Splendid work, both of you. Return ship-side at your earliest convenience. I'll have a celebratory dinner prepared once we go planetside. You’ve all certainly earned it." Catherine de' Medici's voice crackled over the comms, laced with a hint of her usual brand of refined authority. One more job off the board.