Author's Note: Unedited Chapter -------------- E.E. pulled up a holographic map from his wrist device. "Two more turns and one more level up. Stay sharp. They might have motion sensors in this sector." Angy nodded as she prepared to sprint. "Got it. I'll clear the path. Try to keep up." Before E.E. could respond, she blurred into motion, with a speed that didn't even lewve an afterimage. She darted down the corridor, disabling a surveillance camera with a flick of her hand before pausing at the next junction. She had been so quick that she wasn't even caught in the camera, almost like she was invisible. "Clear," she whispered into her comms. E.E. followed, stepping through a small vortex that opened just in front of him, allowing him to traverse the distance in an instant. He appeared beside Angy, glancing down the corridor to ensure it was truly clear. "Remind me to never race you," he muttered, earning a smirk from her. "You'd lose, obviously. Now, let's go." --- Back in their own vessel, Aildris, Elevora, and Falco monitored the operation closely. The holographic map of the Alliance ship displayed the positions of E.E. and Angy as small glowing dots, moving steadily toward their target. "They're making good progress," Aildris noted with a calm tone. "As long as they avoid detection, this should go smoothly." "If it goes smoothly, it won't feel like us," Falco joked while leaning back in his seat. "Something always goes wrong. It's practically tradition." Elevora shot him a look as her third eye narrowed slightly. "Not this time. This operation has to be perfect. If we fail, the Gustavo Alliance will know we're onto them, and they'll scatter. It'll take years to regroup." Falco sighed, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Relax, Elevora. I'm just saying. But yeah, you're right. No room for screw-ups." Aildris leaned closer to the console. "Angy and E.E. are capable. Let's trust them to do their part while we prepare for ours. Elevora, keep an eye on the radar. If the Alliance detects us, we'll need to move quickly. Falco, double-check the ship's cloaking field. We can't afford to be seen." "On it," Falco voiced while moving to another console. Elevora's expression softened slightly as she returned her focus to the radar. --- E.E. and Angy reached the final corridor leading to the control room. The air here was different, charged with a faint static that made the hairs on their arms stand on end. E.E. observed as his gaze scanned the walls. "There's a laser grid further ahead. We can't just walk through." "No problem," Angy said confidently. "I'll go through it. You do your vortex thing." E.E. raised an eyebrow. "You're just going to run past the laser grid? Those things are faster than—" Angy cut him off with a smirk. "Faster than me? Please. Watch and learn." Before E.E. could protest, Angy blurred forward. Her body moved so quickly that the laser beams didn't have time to register her presence. She skidded to a halt on the other side, grinning as she turned back to him. "Told you. Now hurry up, slowpoke." E.E. sighed while shaking his head. "Show-off." He raised his hand, opening a small vortex that allowed him to step past the grid effortlessly. They regrouped on the other side, locking onto the massive doors ahead. "That's it," E.E. said, his tone serious. "Once we're in, we lock the engines and send word to the others." Angy nodded with a straight look. "Let's do this." Together, they approached the doors, their next move critical to the success of the operation. Angy soon crouched beside E.E. in the shadows outside the control room with their eyes locked on the thick metallic doors. "Are you sure this bypassing tech is going to work?" Angy whispered in impatience as she adjusted her gloves. E.E. smirked, holding up a cylindrical device that pulsed faintly with blue light. "Trust me. It's top-notch. It'll get us through without a hitch." Angy raised a brow as her silver-and-pink hair caught the faint glow of a nearby conduit. "You said that about the last one, and I had to run through those laser grids... imagine if I got fried." E.E. let out a light embarrassed cough "It will work this time. Just stay sharp. Once we're in, it's lockdown time. No room for mistakes." With a quick tap on the device, E.E. placed it against the door's control panel. A soft hum vibrated through the air as the mechanism began to override the locking system. Angy stood ready as she scanned the corridor for potential threats. The moment the door clicked open, the entire vessel erupted into chaos. --- A piercing alarm blared through the vessel, accompanied by flashing red lights that painted the metallic walls in ominous hues. "So much for subtlety," Angy muttered as she darted into the control room, leaving afterimages behind. Inside, the control room was a bustling hub of activity. Gustavo Alliance members of varying alien origins scrambled to respond to the alarm. The room was circular, with consoles lining the walls and a central holotable displaying a three-dimensional map of the vessel and surrounding space. The pilots, seated at their stations, were of an insectoid species with exoskeletal armor and compound eyes that glinted under the red lights. Several others—a mix of reptilian humanoids with scaled skin and a towering four-armed being covered in jet-black fur—turned toward the intruders. "Intruders!" one of them hissed while raising a weapon. --- Before they could react, Angy was already among them. Her speed created a sonic boom that sent consoles crashing and chairs skidding across the floor. Her first target was the nearest pilot, whose clawed hand reached for a message switch that would have sent out an alarm outside of the vessel. With a quick strike to his thorax, she incapacitated him, sending him collapsing to the floor. "Focus on the alarm!" E.E. yelled while opening a vortex in front of a reptilian humanoid aiming a plasma rifle at Angy. The shot vanished into the vortex, reappearing behind the attacker and striking him in the back. Angy zipped to the next target, delivering a flurry of blows to the towering, four-armed being. He roared in pain, swinging his massive arms at her, but her movements were too fast for him to track. She dodged each swing with ease, delivering a powerful kick to his jaw that sent him crashing into a console. "Nice hit!" E.E. voiced while sidestepping a blast of energy from another attacker. He opened a portal beneath the attacker's feet, causing them to fall through and reappear upside down on the other side of the room. The remaining pilots attempted to draw their weapons, but Angy's blinding speed disarmed them in seconds. She tossed their weapons into a pile, which E.E. quickly teleported into deep space through another vortex. "Control room secure," Angy voiced with steady breaths despite the intensity of the fight. E.E. moved to the main control panel, typing furiously as he worked to disable the alarm and lock down the engines. The alarm ceased abruptly, leaving only the sound of the vessel's machinery and distant shouts as more Gustavo Alliance members approached. "Engines locked. Doors sealed. We're good," E.E. voiced while turning to Angy with a grin. "Not quite," Angy replied while turning toward the door as it slid shut. Just before it closed completely, a Gustavo Alliance member slipped through, drawing both their attention. --- The newcomer was humanoid but covered in glowing silver tattoos that pulsed with energy. His eyes were an unnatural shade of orange, radiating malice, and his long, dark hair was tied back in a braid that swayed as he moved. He wore a black armor that seemed to buzz with an internal power source. "You've made a grave mistake entering this vessel," his voice carried an unsettling resonance as he growled. "I am Zaul Renvar, and I will personally see to your demise." "Yeah, you're going to have to get in line, Zaul," E.E. smirked as he summoned a vortex beside him. "Angy, shall we?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎 "Let's do it," Angy shot back, already blurring toward Zaul. Zaul moved with incredible speed, meeting Angy's charge head-on. Their clash sent shockwaves through the room, cracking the walls and shattering nearby monitors. Angy struck at his midsection with a flurry of punches, but Zaul's armor absorbed most of the impact. He retaliated with a burst of energy from his tattoos, forcing her to retreat. E.E. took advantage of the distraction, opening a vortex beneath Zaul's feet. But Zaul anticipated the move, leaping into the air and releasing another burst of energy that disrupted the vortex. "Clever, but not clever enough," Zaul sneered while lunging at E.E. E.E. narrowly avoided the attack, opening a series of smaller vortexes to redirect Zaul's strikes. One of Zaul's energy blasts reappeared behind him, striking his armor and staggering him.