I knew Tiff wasn’t a cold, lifeless computer. Even though she was an AI she acted just as human as CJ and me. Still, I didn’t expect to see her cry. She had held her shit together from the beginning of this whole debacle, and I had leaned on her as things got progressively weirder.

  “Tiff, what is going on? You can talk to us,” I said, sitting beside her and gesturing to CJ and myself. “Whatever is going on, we can figure it out together.”

  Tiff looked up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, “Andrew, we were using you. This whole time, we were using you.”

  I could see the regret in her eyes. CJ looked completely lost, and I understood how he felt.

  “Tiff, I need you to take a deep breath and explain. Explain everything, and then we can try to figure a way out of whatever this mess is,” I said, fearing her words even as I asked her to speak to them. If I couldn’t trust Tiff, then I knew this whole thing was about to get more difficult than I could imagine. All I could hope was that we could find a way to work through whatever this was.

  “Princess Denae Evealia is in orbit around the containment facility. She knows we are heading there now, and if she thinks there is a chance that you will put the success of her mission in jeopardy, she will try to commandeer the Bloodhound and take the Havok Bringer Armor.”

  “Tiff, what are you talking about? Who is Princess Denae? How does she know what we’re planning?” I asked, panic starting to seep into my words.

  “She is the Princess of the Havokium Empire and leader of the rebellion against The Council. She commands the armies and war fleet, as well as any spec-ops teams that are currently deployed. I am currently a key operative for one of those teams, Andrew,” she said, wiping her tears as she spoke. “I was recruited after I was drafted to the guardian program, before I ever met you, CJ, or Elvis. You have to understand, Andrew. This mission gave me purpose. I was going to be able to strike a blow against The Council and possibly survive.” Tiff said as she looked up at me, tear-soaked eyes pleading with me to understand. “The mission was simple. Mission parameters and goals were uploaded to my neural cortex, along with descriptions of the armor and Bloodhound. I was to persuade my participant to select the Havok Bringer class; once through the tutorial, I was to assess the candidate and take control of the armor and ship if I found them unable or unwilling to assist the rebellion.” she said, as she sat down in the chair behind her.

  “The Havokium people have been preparing for this opportunity for a very long time, Andrew. My people allied with them in secret decades ago. We have been living in servitude for millennia and are ready to break those chains. I was doing this for all the right reasons, and I don’t regret that I chose to be a part of the rebellion, but I didn’t expect that the human who took the armor would be capable of wielding it, much less deserving of my trust. I was wrong.” She looked down at her clasped hands. “I disobeyed a direct order from Princess Denae. She told me to commandeer the armor and ship, but I refused,” she raised her head and looked me directly in the eyes, “I might be foolish to believe in you or foolish to trust you, but I do, Andrew. I didn’t expect you to volunteer to free my true body and, at the time, I had no memory of my mission. I was acting on instinct or gut feeling when I told you to select the class. I was more than likely being influenced by subroutines that had been downloaded into my neural cortex, but I stand by the decision. If you had selected another class, you wouldn’t have progressed as far as you have. Your potential is practically limitless now, and you have a real chance to protect your world.” she turned sideways in her seat and looked away from me.

  “I understand if I have damaged the trust you had in me. If you want to call off the mission to exfil my true body, I understand that as well,” Tiff turned to look at me and put a hand on my hand, “I need you to understand that I won’t force you to do anything, and I will still assist you as long as I can but understand that if you don’t turn over the armor and ship, then Princess Denae’s primary mission is a failure. If the mission fails, she will have no further use for me and will proceed to an alternate plan, a plan with far less impact and a higher likelihood of failure.”

  “So, you’re telling me that you are an operative working to bring down the council?” I asked, looking at CJ to try and gauge where his head was.

  “Yes, I think that is a mild oversimplification, but yes…in a nutshell,” she replied.

  “The Council, whoever they are, is the reason that my planet is under threat of destruction right now. The Council is responsible for mass genocide over countless millennia, and they are a bunch of arrogant pricks who think they can decide who is worthy of living and dying. Does that about sum it up?” I asked, looking between Tiff and CJ.

  “Yes, that sums it up,” Tiff said, still looking down.

  “Tiff,” I reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, “If I agree to help, will I still be able to participate in the dungeons and do what I can to save Earth?”

  Tiff looked up, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes. “Yes, it is part of the mission. In fact, you will need to participate in the dungeon and act as if nothing is out of the ordinary.”

  “Will you swear to stay on in your role as XO and assist us moving forward? Even after we retrieve your true body?” I asked.

  “Of course. I am committed to this mission, Captain, and I’m committed to this crew. I won’t turn my back on you,” she replied, the faint hope she had now growing with every word.

  “Then, as far as I’m concerned, The Council can go fuck themselves. Anything I can do to kick dirt in the faces of those arrogant assholes sounds like fun to me,” I said, looking at CJ with a grin. “You in, CJ?”

  “Hell yeah, I’m in. This is the most excitement I’ve had in years!” he said.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Elvis also in!” Elvis suddenly chimed in from the PA.

  Music started playing over the loudspeakers.

  “We’re not gonna take it!

  No! We ain’t gonna take it!

  W’ere not gonna take it

  Anymore”

  “Damn right, Elvis! I say we give The Council a taste of its own medicine!”

  Tiff stood up excitedly, hope now replacing the look of despair that had overtaken her moments before. “Thank you, Andr...” She straightened her uniform top, “Thank you, Captain Dawes. I swear I won’t keep anything like this from you again. We will strike a blow against The Council, and you will be the match that lights the fuse.”

  “One more thing, Tiff. Tell this Princess Denae that I am on board with her plan, but if she betrays me or puts my friends or my world at risk again, I’ll kill her myself,” I stared at Tiff resolutely. “You are my friend, Tiff, and I will do whatever is necessary to protect my friend.

  Tiff tilted her head slightly, as if pondering what it meant to have friends. The world of logic and programming that she came from must have been a cold place because she looked like a little girl who had realized she had someone else she could depend on for the first time in her life.

  “I agree that The Council needs to be dealt a blow,” I continued, “I am willing to align myself with you and the Havokium people, but I am not willing to put my world at risk. We will do this, but we will do it my way. If your plan aligns with my ability to save Earth, then there should be no problem. Understood?”

  Tiff stood there, seemingly caught off guard for a moment, “Understood, Captain. We can achieve both goals. I will update Princess Danae. She will want to update you on the mission parameters and goals.”

  “Let me know when she is ready to talk,” I said. “Until then, we proceed as planned.”

  “Elvis, how long until we are at the containment facility?” I asked.

  “Should arrive at facility in four days, Captain,” Elvis responded.

  “Everyone needs to rest up and train. I will be doing the same. We need to be prepared when the time comes and Tiff needs her body,” I said as I turned to walk back to the bridge. “Let’s go to the bridge and finalize the infiltration and extraction plans. Then we can get some rest. Tomorrow we will focus on training. CJ, I’ll want to see what you can do in the VCR with that suit of yours. We also need to cover some operational tactics since we will be working together on this one.”

  A few minutes later, we were all on the bridge. Elvis populated the main display with a schematic of the containment facility, and we were discussing the best way to enter and exit. We needed to get in and get out as quickly as possible. There was no chance of collateral damage, but we wanted to limit exposure to the mechs if we could. No reason to fight any more than we had to. As we discussed how to disengage the outer doors’ security locks, the screen went black. The air in front of me seemed to warp. Then suddenly, there was what appeared to be an electric ball that spun in mid-air while it arced against the floor and bulkhead. As quickly as it was there, it disappeared, and in its place stood a terrifying figure. I immediately identified it.

  Council Enforcer General – Level 75

  We all froze in our seats. The figure was massive, at least 8 feet tall. It wore red polymer armor of some sort, and every vulnerable section of its body was covered. The monstrosity had four arms that reached out to form an X from its body. Its head was covered in grey scarred skin and protruded from its body, much like a Praying Mantis. The face had no eyes and a star-shaped nose consisting of many small tentacles. The being had a vicious mouth with a set of fangs on top and what looked like larger tusks jutting from the bottom. The creature turned its head in my direction and smiled menacingly. As it turned, I could see two sheathed swords; the blades were blood-red and jagged, and I could almost feel the power emanating from them.

  “Are you the captain of this vessel?” it asked, its voice serpentine and gravelly, almost a growl.

  “Intruder alert! Intruder alert!” Elvis shouted as his systems came back online.

  “Y-yes, I am the captain,” I said, trying to muster some confidence but failing miserably. I started to protest, to ask the creature what it wanted and why it was on my ship, but I knew this creature could kill us all without breaking a sweat. If it wanted my ship, there was absolutely nothing I could do.

  “After the Master System AI reported some incongruities during your tutorial, the Council tracked this vessel. We understand that you are off course and not currently in transit to the Level 1 location. Explain.” The creature’s head tilted at the question, a black tongue flickering against its teeth as it waited.

  “I wasn’t aware that participants had to get authorization for interstellar travel, enforcer,” Tiff said with obvious false confidence.

  “I was not addressing you, AI. You will be silent until I deem it necessary for you to speak.” The creature didn’t even look over at Tiff, it merely tilted its head in her direction as it spoke.

  I couldn’t understand how this thing was here, how it knew who was in the room, or how it knew where they were. This thing was straight out of a nightmare, and this is what The Council was capable of deploying on the field of battle. I was not confident in our ability to deal a blow to the Universal Council after seeing this utterly terrifying being.

  “Elvis located a grind station, and I told him to take us there so I could train and gain experience. I wasn’t aware that we needed approval,” I said, trying to talk my way out of the current predicament.

  “Elvis?” the creature growled questioningly.

  “Elvis is the ship AI. That is the name he gave himself,” I responded.

  “You allow AI trash to take a name? Aren’t you a generous master,” the creature growled. Apparently, sarcasm was a universal language.

  “I am no one’s master. Elvis is my friend, as is Tiff. Elvis chose his name because that is his right,” I said defiantly. I was beginning to understand that the creature was here to question us, not harm us. I was sure he would leave if I could convince him that we weren’t up to anything. “We are on our way to the Red Moon of Alcara now. We have one scheduled stop in 4 days for Warp array maintenance. We will be on standby for approximately 24 hours. After that, we will continue on to the Red Moon,” I said, trying to sound confident about what I was saying. I knew I had to make an excuse for the extended stop at the containment facility to get Tiff’s body. The truth is I was scared shitless. I wasn’t prepared for this situation. I didn’t even know this was possible. How had this creature appeared right on our bridge?

  “I warn you, human, if you give the council any more cause for concern, we will be forced to intervene.” The words dripped from the creature’s mouth.

  “What do you mean ‘anymore cause’?” I asked. I knew I was pushing my luck, but I needed to know what the creature knew. If he knew about Tiff and Havokium rebellion, why hadn’t he just killed us and been done with it?

  “The class you chose is an anomaly; it shouldn’t exist, yet somehow it does. That was not enough to disqualify you, but we are watching, Human. The Lacertines expect a fair competition, and we intend to honor the sanctity of the dungeon. Don’t test us; you will… fail,” the enforcer said with a slightly horrifying smile. With that, the creature began to arc electricity from its limbs and disappeared off the bridge.

  I stood up in my chair and looked at Tiff. “Holy shit, what was that thing?!” I shouted as I rushed over to her station.

  “Oh man, I think I pooped a little,” CJ said as he grabbed the ass of his pants with one hand and took a long drag on his vape with the other.

  I stood in front of Tiff, livid. “It’s time you explain exactly what the fuck we’re up against. No more secrets.”