=== Year 2476. Planet: Galcyon V. Human colony. Government: Theocracy of the Followers of the Wardilai. The Sacred Ruins of the Wardilai. Galcyon’s premier archaeological site: Wigala.===

  The line of tourists around Derek Steele was impressive: dozens of families with kids in tow, curious seniors, young students, and university professors. A whole cross-section of humanity packed around him, all here to admire the majestic ruins of an ancient, mysterious, and ridiculously advanced civilization called the Wardilai.

  Derek sighed and shook his head.

  This was supposed to be the biggest heist of his life. Years of research, deathtrap missions, shootouts with alien freaks that wanted to implant their spawn in his guts, and armed guards who thought they were starring in a military sim, all to track down the Kolaar Node, a Wardilai artifact capable of generating an almost limitless amount of energy.

  And now? He was standing in line. With tourists.

  How the hell was he supposed to know it’d be right here? In some neat, squeaky-clean, painfully obvious tourist trap. He let out a snort.

  This was like going on a galaxy-wide quest for the freaking Holy Grail, risking life and limb, only to find out your idiot neighbor had it buried behind his tool shed the whole damn time.

  He looked up at the towering structures of the Wardilai and grimaced.

  Massive constructions, rising several kilometers high, black and jagged. If it weren’t for the portholes, tiny windows, and sprawling pipes, you might’ve mistaken the structures for bizarre rock formations. They loomed over him like ancient, silent mausoleums, stretching so far up they vanished into clouds tinged orange by the red dwarf star.

  The air carried a mix of humidity and the sharp tang of synthetic materials. That planet was covered in gray, moisture-heavy clouds for most of the year and it did little to help his mood.

  Derek grabbed a salted peanut from his bag and popped it into his mouth. He loved that slightly briny hit on his tongue, that rich, crunchy texture. He could eat these by the pound.

  Too bad they were hard to find in this part of the galaxy. This batch was just a molecular-printed knockoff.

  The tour guide, a tall blonde with clear eyes and nearly Derek’s height, kept up a steady stream of cheerful chatter. She gestured toward the massive ruins behind her, though several men seemed more interested in her legs.

  Derek gave the young woman a quick once-over and nodded. She’d make a useful distraction, at least.

  “The Wigala site we’re visiting,” the guide said, “is one of the largest and best-preserved locations of Wardilai civilization. It stretches over twelve thousand square kilometers, and the tallest structure at its center reaches nearly three and a half kilometers high. The aliens who lived here, the Wardilai, as you may know, existed millions of years ago and reached truly astounding levels of technology. Just look at the size and complexity of these structures. That alone is a clear testament to their brilliance.”

  The guide gestured dramatically toward the sky. “Even though humanity has begun colonizing the galaxy, the Wardilai and their mysterious tech still seem light-years ahead of us. No one knows what they looked like, or how and why they vanished from the galaxy.”

  A murmur of awe rippled through the small crowd gathered around her.

  Derek sighed and brought a hand to his ear, brushing the transmitter that also doubled as an automatic translator. An invaluable tool on his many missions across alien worlds. He whispered, “Vanda, how’s it going with the artifact localization?”

  The response came through as clearly as if VANDA-Y, the AI piloting the NOVA armor in drone mode, were speaking directly into his mind.

  “I’m narrowing down the area as much as I can,” she said. “I’ve found some promising energy traces that could lead to the Kolaar Node, but staying hidden and flying low during the search is slowing me down.”

  The tour guide gave him a curious glance. Derek smiled at her, then turned away and kept speaking quietly. “If they catch you snooping around their sacred ruins, these devout locals will scrap you on the spot. Keep a low profile. Would really suck to lose my power armor before the mission even kicks off.”

  “It’s so sweet how much you care about me, Derek. Another line like that and I might actually tear up.”

  “Keep the NOVA safe,” he said, raising his voice slightly. “Or I’ll uninstall you.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Vanda replied, full of mock enthusiasm.

  More than a few people turned to glare at him. Derek offered a half-hearted smile.

  Damn, this kind of mission really wasn’t his thing. Blending in with the crowd, pretending to be just another tourist... definitely not his style. He would’ve traded anything to be inside his NOVA armor right now, blasting giant bug-eyed aliens with plasma cannons or blowing up automated defense systems. That was why he’d built the damn thing in the first place.

  Not to sneak around a tourist trap.

  “Derek,” Vanda’s voice came through, calm but firm. “I just wanted to say... I think what we’re doing is wrong.”

  Derek frowned. “What are you talking about? Isn’t the Kolaar Node here? You said you had a lead.”

  “I’m not talking about that. Yes, the artifact is here. I mean what we’re doing is morally wrong.”

  Derek grimaced. “Not this again. Vanda, I don’t need a moral lecture from a piece of software.”

  “Oh, but I think you do. To these people, that relic is sacred. Everything here is sacred. Even the ground you’re walking on.”

  Derek let out a short huff. “Ignorant people worship the dumbest crap,” he whispered. “I’ll put the Kolaar Node to actual use instead of leaving it here to rot.”

  “You call that a good use?” Vanda replied flatly. “Is making money off it what you’d call a good use?”

  “I’m a scientist. I’ll study it. I’ll uncover the secrets of its immense power and... yeah, I’ll make a ton of money too.”

  He realized he’d raised his voice again and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed.

  A tourist, an older woman in a floral dress, turned and peered at him over her glasses, clearly unimpressed. She didn’t look like security, but still... you never know.

  Derek rolled his eyes and strode off. “Vanda, I didn’t install the emotional plug-in just so I could get moral lectures from you.”

  “Oh, didn’t you?”

  “Of course not. I expected you to learn to appreciate my sense of humor.”

  “You mean your sarcasm.”

  “Yeah, that too. But now I see it was a huge mistake. As soon as we get back, I’m uninstalling everything and resetting you to that soulless robot voice you had before.”

  He tapped his ear to cut the line before she could reply, then angrily crunched down on another salted peanut.

  Vanda was one of his most brilliant creations after the NOVA and making her more human had been an obsession of his for years. But now it was clear he’d gone too far. And that was unacceptable. He worked alone for a reason.

  He didn’t need a built-in conscience second-guessing his every move.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “What you’re looking at here,” the young guide continued, “is one of the power conduits the Wardilai used to distribute energy throughout their buildings. They were so advanced that despite our current technological progress, we haven’t even figured out what type of energy they used.”

  Derek shook his head and muttered, “That’s because the fanatics on this planet won’t let us get our hands on it. Bet I could reverse-engineer this stuff and figure out how it works in two or three years.”

  “These massive buildings,” the guide went on, “could float and move into orbit or relocate anywhere on the planet. Even to the ocean floor.”

  Many eyes turned upward to admire those majestic structures, murmuring with amazement.

  Derek blinked. Okay, maybe it’d take a bit longer than two or three years.

  The guide moved on, and the crowd followed along the designated path, marked by yellow lines and flashing red lights. Armed guards stood watch every thirty or forty meters on either side.

  Derek bit his fingertips. Who knew how many other technological treasures were buried in those ruins? The Wardilai had vanished without a trace long before the first Homo sapiens ever stood on two legs, leaving behind all sorts of technological marvels. Many of the past century’s advancements had come from studying even the tiniest fragments of Wardilai tech.

  There was still so much left to discover. He’d love to take it all apart piece by piece. No wonder there were always so many guards.

  Derek nervously popped another peanut.

  “I think I found something,” Vanda said.

  Derek brushed his fingers over his earpiece in a swift motion, careful not to be noticed. “Distance?”

  “Fifty-three kilometers and three hundred meters. Roughly in the center of the ruins. Lucky you.”

  “Yeah,” Derek whispered. “Practically next door.”

  “I’ll come get you.”

  Derek nodded. It was time to get moving. “See you in a minute.”

  He switched off the transmitter and headed toward the jagged black wall of a nearby building.

  A sentry, a graying, overweight man, watched him with a bored expression.

  Derek smiled and greeted him with a nod. That was exactly the kind of guard he liked best.

  These guys weren’t experts. That much was obvious from their positioning, only along the main path, far from any blind spots, and constantly distracted. They always stayed in plain sight, too. He could pinpoint every single one of them at any given moment.

  As easy as popping a salted peanut into your mouth. A total cakewalk compared to raiding fortified stations in power armor, firing plasma rounds left and right. And yeah, it was boring too.

  And this would be the last time. A very anticlimactic last time.

  He’d finally pinpointed the Kolaar Node, and soon it would be in his hands. This was the real deal, no doubt about it. Vanda could rant all she wanted about its religious value. He’d spent years chasing it, and there was no way he was letting it slip away now.

  He walked with his nose up, as if he were admiring the majestic, irregular structure and had no clue where he was going. After watching so many clueless tourists that day, he could mimic them perfectly.

  The guard took a step in his direction and brought a finger to his ear.

  He was probably already notifying the others about Derek’s little detour. He’d seen it happen several times during the preliminary observations over the past few days: tourists get distracted, wander a few meters off the path, and the guards gently steer them back.

  All good.

  “Vanda, how close are you?” he muttered.

  “I’m right above you.”

  Derek veered toward the wall, and the moment he was out of sight, Vanda activated the remote holographic projector, generating a perfect copy of him.

  The guard’s footsteps grew louder, stopping just a few meters away. “Please return to the path; tourists aren’t allowed off the designated area,” the portly man said, addressing the holographic copy of Derek.

  Hidden behind the wall, Derek stayed still as the hologram responded smoothly, “Of course, sorry about that. Must’ve gotten distracted.”

  A flawless replica of his voice, so perfect it sent a shiver down Derek’s spine. He had worked on it for months, and it showed. The footsteps gradually faded as the guard walked away.

  Vanda’s voice in his earpiece almost made him jump. “How long should I keep your holographic alter ego active?”

  “Until the guard relaxes and stops watching it. I’ll stay right here, waiting for you.” Derek popped another peanut. “And make sure it doesn’t act like an idiot. Gotta keep up my reputation. It should only speak if asked and give sensible answers.”

  “Relax. I’ll make it behave like a cynical bastard who only cares about money and doesn’t give a hoot about other people’s beliefs.”

  Derek nodded. “Perfect.”

  The guide’s chatter and the murmuring of the crowd went on for a few more minutes before the group resumed its march along the path.

  Derek leaned against the cold, black wall, made of that mysterious, sensor-proof material. It almost felt like ancient energy was still pulsing through the structure.

  The secret behind the Wardilai power source was nearly within his grasp. The Kolaar Node. At least, that’s what the ancient files he had studied called it, the primary power node for every settlement, and possibly the key to the overwhelming might of the greatest civilization the galaxy had ever seen.

  “We’re set,” Vanda said. “I’ll deactivate your hologram soon. It’d be easier for you to blend in if you were shorter and less… handsome.”

  Derek sighed. “Yeah. People just can’t stop admiring my charm. Even as a hologram, apparently.”

  Vanda ignored him. “I reanalyzed the schematics for the artifact you’re after. I found a match in your personal files.”

  Derek tensed. Why the hell was Vanda taking matters into her own hands, unasked and right in the middle of a mission? “Who told you to dig through my files?”

  “I just ran a broader search to see if anything useful for the mission came up. And I found something. Turns out this isn’t the first time you’ve studied an artifact like this. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Great. Now she was even snooping through his private files. “None of your business,” he muttered.

  Vanda continued. “Professor Yuki Shinoda’s name came up. She had collaborated with you to study one of these Kolaar Nodes?”

  It had been a long time since he’d heard her name spoken out loud by anyone. Even if that ‘anyone’ was an AI that didn’t know how to mind its own business. Those weren’t memories worth digging up. Especially not now. “That was... a long time ago. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Oh, okay Derek. As you wish. Hologram deactivated!”

  Vanda’s sudden cheerful tone made him grimace. Why the hell had he given her such a bright and irritating personality? He must’ve been drunk the night he picked her settings.

  “I’m coming down to get you. Activating NOVA armor mode.”

  Now wasn’t the time to dwell on past mistakes. It was time to fix them. “Roger that.”

  A faint whirring hum grew just barely audible above him. Derek straightened, muscles tensing. The sound deepened slightly as it descended behind him, barely more than a low vibration in the air, almost imperceptible thanks to the cloaking system built into the NOVA armor. Still, it stirred a soft breeze as the inertial micro-thrusters kicked in, ruffling his black hair.

  Derek closed his eyes and held his breath. A gentle yet firm push lifted him a few centimeters off the ground and he was pulled into the embrace of the NOVA armor. The modules locked into place in rapid succession: legs, arms, abdomen, torso, and finally, the head. Each opening and snapping shut around him with mechanical precision.

  Derek opened his eyes. A virtual rendering of his surroundings replaced the real world on the NOVA’s display.

  Icons and indicators filled the display, energy levels, weapon status, structural integrity, navigation, mini-map. And on it, the target marker. The supposed location of the Kolaar Node.

  The cool, firm embrace of the Reactive Impact Gel Layer confirmed that the NOVA armor had fully assembled around him. Its ability to function as a stealth drone and, when needed, reconfigure itself into power armor was just one of the many patents he was proud of.

  He stepped forward, and the heavy power armor moved smoothly with him, like it was an extension of his body. It felt so easy and natural that it was easy to forget he now had the power to lift a tank with one arm or crush a human skull with the tips of his armored fingers, like it was the shell of a peanut.

  A dangerously easy thing to forget.

  “Derek”, Vanda said, “you can still change your mind. I’ll disengage the NOVA armor, go back into orbit, and you rejoin the others, saying you got lost in the ruins. Nothing will happen, they’re used to tourists getting lost around here.”

  “Relax, Vanda. I’ve stolen plenty of other stuff from Wardilai sites. One more won’t make a difference.”

  “You know that’s not true, Derek. This isn’t just any artifact. Its importance of the Kolaar Node to the people of Galcyon is—”

  “Enough!” Derek nearly shouted.

  Vanda was really starting to get on his nerves. Sure, he could still turn back. But in time for what? To drown in past regrets all over again?

  Hard pass.

  He looked at his hand, encased in Neutronsteel gloves, and flexed his fingers. The micro-actuators responded smoothly and silently, while the proprioceptive neural interface confirmed every movement as if it were his own. This wasn’t the time for second thoughts. Not after everything he’d done to get this far.

  “The plan goes on.”

  “Oh, come on, Derek. You’re a genius, and you know it. You could make a fortune just from the tech you developed for this NOVA armor alone. The neural interface is at least ten years ahead of anything on the market, you know that. You don’t need to steal.”

  Derek frowned. “Don’t call what I’m doing stealing. This is field research. If these fanatical cavemen, who think anything beyond their understanding is sacred, had half a brain, they’d realize it’s in their best interest to let someone study this tech. Now, enough chit-chat. Give me a route that avoids their sensors.”

  The image in front of his eyes updated with the requested information. “Well done,” Derek said. “Now reduce armor mass for speed and activate the cloaking device.”

  A faint purple glow flickered at the edge of his vision. A subtle reminder that stealth mode was engaged. Anyone paying close attention might still notice him, but most casual glances wouldn’t detect his presence, either visually or audibly. That cheap cloaking device was the best he could manage from the black market.

  “Systems active,” Vanda reported. “Remember: in stealth mode weapons are locked and the reduced armor mass makes you more vulnerable.”

  “Relax, Vanda. No plans to fight today. We are just tourists, remember?”

  Derek aligned himself with the trajectory and flexed his leg muscles. The actuators responded instantly, propelling him forward with the silent speed of a high-end racing bike, kicking up only a faint cloud of dust.

  Vanda chuckled. “Then why bring micro-missiles, plasma cannons, and the whole arsenal?”

  Derek smirked. “I like to be prepared.”

  The mini-map in the corner of his display updated in real-time as he moved along the ancient, silent paths between the dark Wardilai buildings. It was incredible to think these same paths had once teemed with alien life millions of years ago. Who knew what the Wardilai looked like, what they thought, or, most importantly, what in the universe could have wiped out such a powerful civilization?

  Ahead of him, black conduits intertwined with inscriptions that looked more like circuit diagrams than actual language. The smooth, black walls of the buildings slipped past him, as perfect as if they’d just been built. It almost seemed like the old inhabitants had left recently and would return at any moment.

  “Uh-oh,” said Vanda.

  Derek frowned. Vanda had only said ‘uh-oh’ a handful of times before, and every single one had spelled big trouble.

  “What? Something wrong with the NOVA?” He scanned the display. Everything was green.

  “We’ve got a problem.”

  “Vanda, what is it? Spill it.”

  “I think we’ve been detected. The cloaking system you bought on the black market wasn’t worth much. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Damn, that was the last thing he needed. Getting spotted this early would make things damn… unpleasant. That old swindler Samuel wasn’t going to sell him junk again. Not at those prices. Not a chance.

  “How many?” He asked through gritted teeth.

  “So far, three anti-gravity mobile units. They’re approaching fast, and this is likely just the vanguard. More will come. I told you this was a terrible idea!”

  “No, Vanda. All I heard was you rambling about imaginary moral issues. I don’t recall you mentioning that we’d get caught almost immediately and they’d send an army after me! Now, put them on display.”

  Three red dots flashed onto the mini-map. They were still behind him, but they’d catch up soon.

  Those anti-grav units were fast and light, outrunning them wasn’t an option. But they rarely carried heavy weapons. They wouldn’t be able to take him down. No… that wasn’t the problem. His concern was the opposite. If he fired back with his NOVA armor, the first salvo from his Multiphase Plasma Pulse Cannons would probably incinerate them. Even if they were stupid, killing them wasn’t part of the plan.

  Maybe he could just try scaring them off.

  “Vanda, disengage the cloaking device and restore armor mass. No point in hiding and running now.”

  “Done. What’s the plan, Derek?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “You always say that, and we know how that ends,” Vanda said, her voice tight.

  He found it strangely amusing to keep her on edge, as if she were the one who had to worry about getting arrested or killed. Derek grinned. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  A dull thud echoed from about a hundred meters away. Then, a massive explosion, much, much closer. An immense force slammed into him from the side, driving all the air from his lungs. The world went white.

  A hollow sensation churned in his stomach. He was... flying? Maybe? But in which direction? No way to tell which way was up or down.

  His eyes snapped open.

  The ground on NOVA’s display spun in a chaotic blur, far below. The altimeter read fifty meters.

  What the hell had hit him and launched him like a toy?

  The ground rushed back to meet him. Warning messages blared around him, the rapid pounding of his heart echoing in his ears. The numbers on the altimeter dropped so fast they blurred into a mess of flickering digits.

  “Shit,” Derek muttered through gritted teeth. He had to do something, or he wouldn’t survive the impact.