Adventure of Cafari Kaine 1

The pulsing blue light of the security override bathes the maintenance hatch in a cool, artificial glow. Cafari Kaine grips the warm data key, his heart hammering against his ribs.

A massive figure in matte black tactical plating emerges from the shadows of the ventilation shaft, leveling a heavy rotary cannon at both of them.

Kaine snaps his aim up and squeezes the trigger. The shot strikes the rotary cannon housing, sparks burst, and the weapon jerks sideways instead of firing clean.

The guard plants his boot on the hatch rim and absorbs the hit, power lines in his plating flaring once before stabilizing.

Zaya shifts her railgun toward the guard, but her eyes flick to the glowing key in Kaine’s hand, measuring the opening instead of taking the shot.

A red grid-line sweeps across the hatch, then another. The factory security system wakes fully, locking the chamber and painting all three of them in hard warning light.

The guard’s cannon is misaligned, but still live.

The Heavy Guard takes one step closer, cannon rising back into line as Zaya tightens her grip and the hatch locks with a metallic slam.

Kaine’s second shot cracks off the guard’s chest plate, not the cannon. The round skitters away in a white spark, and the heavy machine barely flinches.

A hidden seam opens in the guard’s forearm. A compact drone snaps free and climbs, its lens blooming red under the warning grid.

The red scan lines tighten over Kaine’s body, then jump to the data key in his hand, tagging it with a harsh chirp.

Vex lunges from the side hatch ladder, one hand on his comms rig, eyes wide with panic as the lock seals behind him.

Kaine swings the pistol up and squeezes off a single shot. The drone snaps sideways in the air, its climb broken, red light stuttering.

It hits the scan grid hard and twists, sparks spitting from its casing as it drops out of line of sight.

The warning chirp keeps pulsing on the data key, even as the chamber shudders around the sealed hatch.

For one clean second, the drone is gone and everyone in the bay is looking at him.

Kaine lunges across the red-lit bay, and the hatch control panel fills his view. The tagged key keeps chirping in his fist, loud enough to feel like a dare.

His hand slams the controls. The lock housing flashes, rattles, and spits a hard blue spark.

The hatch seal grinds loose with a metallic groan, light bleeding through the seam.

The Heavy Guard shifts his cannon toward the opening, claiming the lane before anyone else can move.