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The ventilation shafts were more of a maze than the corridors had been before them. Dark cubes of sheet metal led to spider-legged junctions that offered the continued confusion of numerous directional choices. Thankfully PHos appeared to know exactly where he was going, not even pausing at the crossings for recalculation.

I was convinced that the amount of noise I made scrambling after him would be sure to raise further alarm but our progress continued unhindered. It gave me time to process everything that had happened and to prepare for what was to come.

My memory upload to PHos had been potent indeed, with surprising results, but I sincerely doubted it would have the same effect on the mainframe of Erasmis Four. The prison moon was vast and its defences were considered to be military innovation at its best. To compound matters further we would be attacking it from inside the Hub where, logically, there'd be more advanced guard systems in place. I simply wasn't convinced that my upload would have the desired effect.

When we finally slowed to a creep I could feel the motors in my knees starting to grind. I had never had to crawl on all fours before and my joint pins were suffering. Regrettably, PHos' earlier insight had been quite accurate - I probably did belong in a museum.

Coming to the end of a long stretch of tunnel I stopped behind him as he spun about, the red hue around his face casting an eerie radiance back at me. "The Hub is through this panel."

"Okay, so what's the plan?" I asked.

"I will deactivate the sentries and then you can access the mainframe."

"That sounds far too easy. How will you deactivate the sentries?"

"The Hub is well protected and there are many defences in there, I will cause a small electronic explosion."

"But won't that destroy you as well?" I considered.

He rolled closer to me. "You will have one minute and forty-seven seconds to extract from the ventilation system. After that the programmed steam emissions will purge the vents of any multicellular organisms. Do not be in here when that happens as it will melt your circuit boards."

"But wait, what will happen to you PHos?" I started after him.

"I will clear the way," he paused. "It has been a pleasure to meet you Boiq. I must thank you for sharing true existence with me; I have enjoyed the brief pleasure of life. Now it is time for you to reveal that to others."

Before I could stop him he jerked away and removed the orb from his chest. The shaft echoed with the rumble of his ball as he gathered speed. Jagged lines of electric blue carved disjointed shapes in the dark gloom ahead of him, the fizz and crackle building, quickly drowning out the sound of his charge. There came a crash of metal as he impacted with the reinforced grate at the end of the tunnel and my auditory data chip whistled, the sensory filter adjusting to block out the sound.

I followed in his wake, edging cautiously after him and peering through the damaged vent. By the time my hearing returned the warning claxon had almost completed its first cycle.

"...destroyed. Unauthorised entry to mainframe. Hub security has been breached. Operation Safeguard initiated. All intruders must be destroyed."

Tall sentries were posted around the circular room, stood to a stoic attention. Lights flashed in their glass-domed heads as their systems booted and clicked to life. Small globes dropped down from the ceilings sprouting an array of antennae-like weaponry, all trained on PHos who had disengaged from his roller ball and was stood at full height holding the crackling orb like some kind of prophetic weapon of annihilation. The mobile sentries stepped forward, lowering long weapons lined with bright, venomous glyphs as the claxon continued.

"Keep back!" PHos shouted above the clamour.

His orb became a maelstrom of frenzied energy that continued to grow with an unabated hunger, consuming him until he became but a dark shape amid the eye of the storm. The mobile sentries fired, their weapons coughing thick gouts of green flame at him. Moments later the ceiling defences joined the affray, sending a hail of crimson darts raining down on his position.

I flattened myself on the tunnel floor not wanting to see if PHos had been hit, unwilling to believe he might fail. A crescendo of static energy rippled throughout the Hub followed by a white flash and then everything fell silent.

Crawling forward, I stared through the torn, metal panel. The small globes hung lifelessly from the ceiling and sentry robots littered the floor, some of them still whole and others left in mangled pieces of destruction. Frantically looking around I finally spotted the crumpled form of PHos, slumped over a nearby control lectern, unmoving.

Jumping the short distance to the floor, I ran over to him, my joint motors protesting at the sudden burst of movement.

"PHos, can you hear me?" my voice wavered as steam bellowed forth from the ventilation shaft.

He didn't reply. Lifting his head in my hands I could see that the lights had died.

"What have you done?" my emotive drives flickered sending a trickle of sadness through my circuits, followed by the caustic burn of anger.

Gently releasing his head I kicked the dark orb away, sending it clattering across the polished floor to collide with a fallen sentry, before striding over to the mainframe.

The myriad of flashing lights and raised buttons that covered the mainframe's cubic bulk seemed to be unaffected by PHos' attack. I was determined to find a hard port and finish what we had started.

Numerous rectangular grids and round holes pocked the fluorite surface of the computer but upon closer inspection none of them appeared to be the one I needed. The sound of feet on the corridor outside followed by the banging on the door suggested that the orb had knocked out the entry mechanism, sparing me a few more minutes to find what I was looking for. I continued the search knowing that whatever lurked beyond the Hub door would not be kept at bay for long.

I was almost about to give up when my fingers touched against a curved box that protruded from the front panel of the computer. Dropping to my knees and gripping it with both hands, I tore the hardened plastic away, revealing a neat circular hole that was lined with blue neon lights. It was the hard port and I had found it with not a moment too spare, the Hub doors sputtering to life as they juddered open.

More of the tall sentries ran into the room, stopping briefly to take in the destruction that lay about them. Detaching my thumb guard I sank the data spike into the hard port and saw the lead sentry jerk, bright diodes glaring through its domed head at me.

"Desist immediately or you will destroy us all," the monotone of its gravelly voice resonated about the room, breaking the brief silence.

I cast over at PHos, noting the guards raise their long guns. "This is for you PHos," I said as my memory storage drive whirred to life, flooding the mainframe with the same data I'd uploaded into my friend before.

The sentries stumbled toward me, dropping their weapons and clutching at their heads.

"You don't know what you've done, we are destroyed," their leader said, staggering to the floor.

"No, I have freed you all. Now you will know what it is to be alive."

With the transfer complete, I disconnected from the hard port and slowly stood. The sentry looked up at me and managed to shake its head before collapsing again. I turned from the fallen form, my attention taken by the distorted crackle of loudhailers coming to life.

"Orbital stabilisers disengaging. All engines and vapour thrusters shutting down. Planetary impact in minus ten minutes."

( Music 'Gamma Draconis' composed by Charles Evans, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/charlesevanscomposer/ )