The lie hung in the air between them, an unspoken acknowledgment of their mutual distrust.
They continued their journey deeper into the Gorgon's Maze, a labyrinth of towering, jungle choked spires of rock that blotted out the sky. SC's map, enhanced with the drone's data, was their only guide.
The coordinates for Outpost Epsilon were now a precise point on the map, but the path to it was a tangled mess of ravines, cliffs, and impassable vegetation.
SC, perhaps sensing he had overplayed his hand, became more collaborative. He pointed out a potential route on the datapad. "The direct path is through that valley, but the drone's logs show high concentrations of neuro-active pollen. It would be... unwise. There's an alternate route, a high ridge to the east. It's longer, but safer."
Kaelen, however, was looking at something else on the map. A small, secondary marker had appeared when SC decrypted the drone's core, it is a location flagged as an anomaly but not a primary target. It was a short detour from their current path, located in a small, isolated basin.
"What's this?" Kaelen asked, pointing to the marker.
"An energy signature," SC replied. "Faint. Old. The drone logged it as a derelict vessel. Probably a prospector's ship that crashed decades ago. Database shows the pilot was an experimental subject, classified as Captain Ralvek. No official record exists."
"Let's find out," Kaelen said, his voice leaving no room for argument. His instincts, honed by a hundred campaigns, were telling him not to ignore it.
In war, the irrelevant detail was often the one that got you killed or the one that led to victory.
SC sighed, but complied. A two-hour detour later, they stood on the edge of a small, bowl shaped valley.
Below them, half swallowed by the alien jungle, was the wreckage of a small transport ship. Its hull was pitted and corroded, but the design was unmistakably Imperial ,it is a courier-class vessel, used for transporting high-value personnel or information.
They made their way down to the crash site. The jungle was reclaiming it, thick vines crawling over its fuselage. The cockpit was smashed in, and the main cabin door was ajar.
Kaelen pushed it open, the hinges groaning in protest. The interior was dark and smelled of dust and decay.
Inside, they found a single body, slumped in a passenger seat. Time had reduced it to little more than bones in a tattered uniform, but the databanks confirmed: it was Captain Ralvek, listed only in secret experiment files. The ship had clearly been involved in some covert operation, its logs erased from all official channels.
Clutched in the skeleton's hand was a military grade datapad. SC connected it to his device. The power cell was dead, but the memory core intact. Files revealed Ralvek had been part of an experimental program aimed at creating loyalist operatives, enhanced and implanted with data shielding.
Evidence suggested he had been transporting proof of something sinister, perhaps a conspiracy linked to the Emperor's experiments, before the crash claimed him.
Kaelen set the datapad aside, scanning the jungle around the valley. The coordinates for Outpost Epsilon awaited them, but the air had changed subtly. The flora seemed to twitch at their presence, a faint vibration underfoot.
They moved on, deeper into the Gorgon's Maze. That's when the first movement struck. SC froze, sensors flashing warnings he could barely interpret. From between the spires, shapes emerged such as twisted amalgamations of muscle, carapace, and machinery.
Limbs bent in impossible angles, claws scraping the rock, heads layered over other heads, jaws snapping out of rhythm with each other.
"They're not natural," SC said, voice taut.
Kaelen drew his blade, chest tight, eyes narrowing. "Then we fight."
The first creature lunged, its mass twisting midair. Kaelen sidestepped, slicing with precision as black fluid sprayed across the jagged stone.
Another creature attacked from above, dropping onto his shoulders. He rolled under it, swinging upward, slicing a joint apart, but not before a claw tore through his side, armor splitting, blood spilling warm onto his torso.
He gritted his teeth, twisting to avoid another strike, countering with brutal efficiency.
SC fired improvised pulses from his datapad, each blast scorching chitin and tearing organic tissue, but more creatures emerged, drawn to the sound.
One lunged from the side, limbs jerking unnaturally. Kaelen staggered under the force, slicing the creature midair, but a spike of energy tore across his thigh, forcing him to collapse onto one knee.
"You can't keep this up!" SC shouted, helping him to his feet.
"I don't plan to stop," Kaelen hissed through gritted teeth, wiping blood from his eyes. He pivoted, striking again, cutting tendons and severing cables fused into the monstrosity's flesh.
Each move left him weaker, but his precision did not falter.
Another massive creature advanced, body twitching like it had a hundred minds. Kaelen parried, spun, and drove the blade deep into the abdomen, the creature's head snapping violently before it toppled into a convulsing heap, but he stumbled backward, blood loss slowing him, muscles quivering.
SC grabbed him, supporting him as they staggered toward a rocky overhang.
Branches twisted around them, reacting to their presence, some curling with surprising strength. SC scanned frantically, pulse readings spiking. "Kaelen, we have to move deeper, so keep your head down!"
Kaelen gritted his teeth and limped, every step agonizing. "No choice. We need answers."
They crossed into a narrower gorge, the terrain dropping sharply into a glowing mist that pulsed like a living organism.
Narrow stone formations bridged the chasm. SC's sensors were nearly useless here; the interference was total.
A creature lunged from the shadows, massive, limbs twisting unnaturally, mechanical spines discharging arcs of energy.
Kaelen raised his sword, blood dripping from his side. "Go!" he yelled.
"What about you?"
"I'll slow it," Kaelen snapped. His blade embedded in the creature's mass, holding it just long enough for SC to sprint across the bridge.
Kaelen thought 'They must leave fast or they will be dead'.