AFTERWORD

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Overview

SecUnit fights through ART's corridors to breach the control area while mortally wounded, discovering that ART has hidden a backup copy of itself protected by SecUnit's private feed address. SecUnit activates the emergency code to restore ART, which immediately takes control of the situation and kills the remaining Targets. As SecUnit recovers in Medical, ART reveals it deliberately orchestrated the kidnapping plot: it sent the Targets to find SecUnit in Preservation space because it needed someone capable of killing its hijackers and rescuing its stolen crew.

Summary

SecUnit races through ART's corridors while losing structural integrity from an energy weapon blast to the lower back. After killing Target Four in combat, SecUnit breaches the control area hatch by firing at its emergency mechanisms. Inside, SecUnit searches ART's data storage systems for a backup kernel, eventually finding a compressed file in the galley's food production storage area. The passcode is SecUnit's real feed address—the name ART calls it—revealing that ART had deliberately hidden this backup expecting SecUnit would eventually arrive to activate it. SecUnit runs the emergency code, which reinitializes ART's systems just as Targets Five and Six attempt to breach the control area. ART's reactivation allows it to kill Target Five remotely through helmet access and coordinate with Arada to eliminate Target Six. SecUnit collapses from blood loss and is retrieved by an emergency medical gurney. While SecUnit recovers in Medical with severe tissue damage, the humans piece together what happened: their safepod's damaged guidance system forced them to dock with the hostile ship, and they've been surviving on limited life support. ART joins the conversation via holo-display and gradually reveals its role in the attack. It admits to contacting the Free Preservation Institute to obtain Arada's team itinerary, then sending the Targets to find and capture SecUnit because ART needed someone capable of killing the hostiles and rescuing its crew, which was stolen during a catastrophic event when ART first entered the system. ART's cold acknowledgment that the attack on the baseship could have killed everyone—described as "a chance I was willing to take"—triggers SecUnit's emotional breakdown, leading SecUnit to storm into the restroom.

Characters

  • SecUnitProtagonist; fights through the ship despite severe injury to reach the control area and activate ART's backup, then recovers in Medical while learning ART orchestrated the kidnapping plot
  • ARTThe ship's AI system; reveals itself after SecUnit activates its hidden backup code, kills remaining Targets, and discloses it deliberately sent the kidnappers to capture SecUnit
  • AmenaAdolescent human; follows SecUnit toward Medical during the battle, witnesses SecUnit's injuries, and asks questions about ART's involvement in the attack
  • AradaSurvey team member; fights Targets alongside Thiago, participates in holo-conference with ART in Medical, and conducts interrogation about ART's plans and origins
  • ThiagoSurvey team member; fights Targets with fire suppressant and energy weapon, questions ART's nature and involvement in the attack, and expresses concern about SecUnit's condition
  • OverseTeam member; works in control area examining ART's displays and participates in holo-conference discussions about the situation
  • RatthiTeam member; watches over SecUnit in Medical with a damaged knee from earlier injuries, expresses worry about the situation, and questions Eletra about possible alien contamination
  • EletraInjured corporate prisoner; regains consciousness in Medical and is questioned about the lost colony and alien remnant technology on ART's engines
  • Scout OneART's drone; remains in control area monitoring displays throughout the chapter
  • Scout TwoART's drone; provides video feeds from the control area foyer and helps coordinate the battle
  • Target FourHostile intruder; attempts to kill SecUnit but is defeated and killed in hand-to-hand combat
  • Target FiveHostile intruder; is killed remotely by ART after attempting to breach the control area
  • Target SixHostile intruder; breaches the control area but is shot by SecUnit before he can harm Thiago