The opportunity was too good to pass up.
Andy stood in the Tactical Command Center, staring at the map on the large screen that looked like a patchwork of rags. Gamma-9 and his apprentices had pulled several all-nighters, sacrificing dozens of "Black Spirit" spiders to achieve this result. Although large areas of black "fog of war" remained on the fringes, Andy's focus—Zone D, the core entrance to the starship wreckage—was now almost entirely illuminated.
The defensive blind spots left by the Helios Group's retreat, the ruins of temporary firing positions, the scanning gaps of automated surveillance cameras, and even unpatched cracks in the walls were all clearly marked. Helios thought they had a tight lockdown; in Andy's eyes, they were practically streaking.
"Gamma-9, stop filling in the details." Andy tapped a flickering red cursor at an entrance. "The map precision is sufficient. Inform everyone to assemble in the armory immediately."
...
Ten minutes later, in the shelter's underground armory.
The atmosphere was grim. Thirty-two soldiers stood before Andy: twelve Stormtroopers equipped with hellguns and refurbished carapace armor, and twenty members of the Heavy Guard wearing brand-new T-9000 heavy exoskeletons and carrying CBS high-explosive crossbows. These Heavy Guard members were elites personally hand-picked by Andy. The total value of their equipment was enough to buy half the Underhive.
Andy looked at them, offering no grand, rousing speech. He said coldly: "Listen up. Today's operation has only one focus: Silence."
Andy pointed to the quivers hanging at the waists of the Heavy Guard. "I know you love those high-explosive bolts packed with three-base explosives. I also know you're itching to try the new high-explosive grenades and melta-throwables. But until I give the order to open fire, if anyone lets one of those things make a sound, I'll throw them into the acid pool for a bath."
"Today's mission is an infiltration. Everyone, switch your primary weapon to 'Memory Alloy Solid Bolts'."
These alloy bolts were custom-made by Andy using the Reconstructor from high-performance chrome-molybdenum memory alloy. They contained no explosives or fuses. Relying on the terrifying muzzle velocity provided by the exoskeletons and CBS crossbows, these bolts could easily punch through light armor at close range or pin a human body to a wall. Most importantly, as memory alloys, no matter how distorted they became upon impact, they would automatically return to a straight state with a bit of heat. This meant the ammunition was infinitely recyclable. In a theater where logistics were cut off, being able to pick up your fired "bullets" was a guarantee of endurance.
"Understood?"
"Understood!!" The thirty-two soldiers replied in a low, powerful unison.
Andy nodded with satisfaction. "Move out."
The group avoided the conspicuous large cargo elevator—that was for the dead, or those who wished to be. Although Helios had withdrawn its main force, they still left plenty of surveillance and automated sentry guns in the Mid-hive main roads and elevator shafts. Charging in would only trigger alarms and lead to an ambush.
Andy led the team into a derelict sewage pipe near the elevator shaft. This shortcut had been discovered by the Black Spirit spiders—it bypassed every checkpoint and surveillance node, leading directly beneath an underground warehouse in Mid-hive Sector 7.
The path was difficult. The pipes were filled with ankle-deep sludge and foul-smelling wastewater. In some places, they had to use laser cutters to clear blocked metal grates. But for soldiers in fully sealed exoskeletons and armor, this was a non-issue.
Two hours later.
Sizzle—
As the last rusted iron plate was sliced open, Andy was the first to emerge from the hole. They arrived in an underground warehouse filled with scrap tires and plastic crates; the air smelled of moldy rubber.
"Oh! My lords! You've finally arrived!" A slightly stout middle-aged man in a floral shirt scurried out from behind a pile of tires. His face twitched as he looked at the group of heavily armed, murderous-looking soldiers. This was Old K, an old acquaintance of Sisyphron and one of his most reliable smuggling partners in the Mid-hive. Compared to Priest Zor's circle, he was considered timid, but word was that if the price was right, he'd sell the organs out of his own mother.
"Where's the ship?" Andy asked, cutting straight to the point.
"On the roof! On the roof!" Old K wiped his sweat as he led the way toward a cargo elevator. "That ship is my darling. I've put my life savings and my very soul on the line for this job." Old K kept muttering while stealing glances at Andy's modified bright yellow robe.
The elevator reached the rooftop. A civilian cargo shuttle, painted a nondescript grey, was parked there. Though it looked ordinary, Andy noticed at a glance that the engine nozzles had been modified with vector thrust.
"Boarding," Andy signaled. The thirty-two soldiers boarded rapidly, as silent as ghosts. Andy was the last on the ramp, tossing a small bag to Old K. Old K caught it and found five heavy gold bars inside.
"The transport fee for this trip," Andy's voice echoed from beneath his hood. "If we stay down there for more than twenty-four hours, you can leave. Don't wait."
Old K's distressed expression vanished instantly at the sight of the gold, replaced by a sycophantic grin. "Rest assured! Even if the sky falls, I'll be right here waiting!"
The shuttle took off. It didn't gain altitude, instead flying low through the dense architectural clusters of the Mid-hive. This flight mode tested the pilot's skill to the limit but maximized their chances of avoiding satellite scans. Ten minutes later, the shuttle hovered over a massive ventilation shaft on the outer perimeter of Zone D, Sector 9. This was a tricky blind spot above the Helios blockade line.
"Jump!" The hatch opened.
Andy led the jump. Thud. With a soft sound, Andy landed steadily on a steel platform. The soldiers followed in quick succession, fanning out to establish a security perimeter. The T-9000's shock-absorption system kicked in, neutralizing the impact. They were now less than a hundred meters from the starship entrance that had been blasted open.
Andy crouched behind a discarded crate and activated his optical stealth mode. He surveyed the scene, the blue light in his electronic eyes flickering. On the ground at the entrance were smashed barricades, scorched craters, and bloodstains that hadn't been cleaned.
Among the wreckage, Andy spotted some big prizes: three heavy plasma cannons with damaged bases, lying lopsided by the road. Though the barrels were slightly warped and the control circuits likely fried, the core fusion batteries and plasma generators appeared intact.
Helios had actually just... abandoned these? It seemed the psychological shadow cast by the battle was immense—so large they hadn't even bothered to recover these priceless heavy weapons.
"Wasteful fools..." Andy cursed silently. Recovering heavy plasma cannons required specialized technicians, but unless Helios had some far more urgent priority, they should have had the capacity to send someone. In Andy's view, that possibility was slim. What could be more important than excavating the ship? He couldn't imagine it.
As he was thinking, suddenly—
Bzzzt—
A sharp static noise erupted in everyone's communication channel. Then, a haunting broadcast voice drifted through. Andy knew this voice well; he had heard it countless times in battle recordings. It was that spicy, sharp-tongued main AI.
But this time, her tone lacked the mockery and bloodlust. Instead, it carried a strange, almost coy sense of surprise:
"Oh my? Look who's here..."
"I smell... a very familiar scent."