Kas and Worm helped Captain Mack load the three unconscious soldiers into the courier ship before enabling its auto-pilot and suiting up. Mack then depressurised the Pegasus and opened the rear doors, releasing the courier ship gently into space like a boat being pushed away from the shore. The three of them watched as it slowly turned around before its thrusters kicked in, and the little ship sped off back the way it had come.
'How long will they be out for?' Kas asked.
'Between six and ten hours,' Mack replied. 'Maybe a little longer. I gave them a strong dose.'
'I sure hope we don't regret this.'
'Me too.'
The fifth and final day of the journey was a tense one for all of them.
With only a few hours left to go until they reached the IRIS, Astrid was still locked up inside the F-88 working on her virus. Captain Mack and Worm distracted themselves with a game of fire-swarm in the lounge room while Kas remained self-imprisoned in the cockpit, waiting for the sign that she both yearned for yet dreaded. Unable to sit still, she'd taken to pacing around the room while she chewed away the whites of her fingernails. She was getting bored and was about to head upstairs to the lounge to join the others when the alarm sounded.
Kas turned and ran to the ship's controls. A line of text had appeared in the data-screen:
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS INCOMING
Here we go...
She silenced the alarm just as Captain Mack burst in, followed by Worm in her X1 suit.
'Are they here?' the captain asked.
'I don't know, but something sure is,' Kas replied. She strapped herself into her seat, prompting Mack to do the same. Seconds later, the data-screen was flooded by a swarm of red dots, too many to count. Looking out of the viewport, the red dots revealed themselves to be Wraiths. Kas ran her left hand through her mohawk just as the tannoy crackled and submitted to an unpleasant, sharp voice.
'What do we have here? A freighter ship?'
Kas saw that one of the ships - bigger than the rest - was soaring straight towards them. It looked like a Wraith, except it was five times the size.
'But who is piloting it, I wonder...?'
The giant Wraith drifted closer and closer to the Pegasus until they were almost nose to nose. Kas didn't need to magnify the view to make out Governor Swanne seated in the cockpit.
'Captain Mack and Miss Balera,' Swanne said. 'How nice to see the two of you again.'
'I didn't think the Queen was supposed to leave the nest,' Mack replied.
'I made an exception for you. You've both caused me a lot of trouble.'
Kas leaned forwards in her seat. 'So you came back for more?'
'Still being belligerent, Miss Balera? What a delight you are.'
'What do you want?' Mack spat.
'I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. Shall we just get on with it?'
A loud series of thunks thrummed around the ship. Kas knew without looking that they'd been harpooned by several dozen Wraiths. The Pegasus was trapped in the centre of a spider's web.
Swanne's ship swerved away from the viewport and disappeared from sight. Moments later, the sound of a ship docking with the Pegasus made the hold groan.
'Time to go,' Mack said. He and Kas unbuckled themselves and headed towards the exit.
'I will stay here,' Worm said from her suit. 'Let me know if you need help.'
'Will do,' Kas replied before entering into the hold.
They made their way past the F-88 and came to a stop, watching as the rear doors pried themselves apart like unwilling jaws, slowly lowering to reveal Governor Swanne standing on the other side. She was dressed in a slim-line, armoured spacesuit - crimson red, as was her colour. Kymeira waited patiently by her heels, her long tail twisting like a snake in the air behind her.
'You're unarmed,' Swanne said. 'I'm insulted.'
'We're not interested in fighting,' Mack replied.
'You were before. Or don't you recall beating up three of my men? That was shortly after you abducted Miss Balera.'
'He didn't abduct me,' Kas countered.
'It doesn't really matter. You both stole something from me, and now I want it bac--' She stopped herself short. She was looking at something behind Kas and Mack. Anger reddened her cheeks and her eyes glowed green. Kymeira started walking forwards and Swanne followed behind. As the panther came within a few feet of Kas and Mack, they split apart to let the bio-mech through.
'What have you done to it?' Swanne sneered, staring horrified at the disfigured Infinity Fighter.
'The ship's dangerous,' Mack explained. 'I don't know what your engineers did, but they made a hell of a mess of it. It was malfunctioning all over the place - changing course randomly, firing its weapons by itself... it was a death trap. If you want it, by all means, help yourself. We barely got out of it alive. We can't even get the doors open anymore.'
Swanne turned to Captain Mack, studying his face for the lie.
'It almost sounds as though you want me to take the ship,' she mused.
Mack didn't answer but looked down to see Kymeira circling his legs.
'How did you even find us?' Kas asked.
Swanne kept her eyes on Mack as she replied. 'A distress call. You must have triggered it in the course of dismantling my ship. Tell me, where did you get this piece of trash you're currently travelling on?'
'We stole it.'
'From where?'
'We came across it in transit and commandeered it. A small crew were transporting industrial equipment to Lysan.'
'What happened to them?'
'They fled in an emergency pod.'
'If that's true then where's their cargo?'
'We jettisoned it to make room for the Infinity Fighter,' Mack replied, picking up the thread of the story.
'The one you say is dangerous?'
'Dangerous but valuable.'
Swanne looked from Captain Mack to Kas as if the truth was hovering somewhere between them. 'I don't know what you two are hiding, but it doesn't really matter. We'll have plenty of time to talk once I've got you back to Eidol.' With a blunt smile, she turned and headed back to her ship, trailed slowly by Kymeira.
Kas wanted to curse. This wasn't going to plan.
'You docked with us just to tell us that?' she called out. Swanne stepped back onto her ship and turned around.
'Of course not. I came to make a delivery.'
A clunking sound rattled the air. Kas remained frozen to the spot, staring at the darkness behind Swanne where six green dots had appeared.
Eyes...
'We have a long way to go,' Swanne continued. 'I can't exactly leave you here alone.'
The six eyes stepped out of the shadows and revealed their bodies.
No... she couldn't have...
The Black Chains may as well have stepped out of one of Kas's nightmares. Their bodies, though familiar, no longer resembled the ones Kas had previously encountered. Their flesh had been replaced by sleeves of silver metal.
Remi scuttled low and slow, his head tilted slightly to the side, more lizard-like than ever.
Otto walked more like a tank, with large heavy feet that pounded the floor and sent vibrations up Kas's legs.
But it was Vima that startled Kas the most. Her beauty had been stolen from her, her metal face still perfect yet terrifying. And her eyes... those stunning purple eyes - no longer amethysts but emeralds. They were the same green eyes as Remi and Otto and Kymeira.
The same as Swanne's.