Project - Prometheus Ch. 29

"Evidently, that's not the case. You picking up anything?" Jaesa asked.

"No. You?"

"Hang on. Nothing. There's nothing!" Jaesa griped. "Wait... I am sensing something, but it's a small anomaly over in engineering cluster of the ship."

"Let's check it out!" Taal'ani said as she led the way to engineering subsection. The pair arrived instantly, coalescing into being in less than a second. They glanced about, hoping to see something out of the ordinary, but saw nothing.

"There's nothing here!" Talon groaned.

"Hold on a second..." Jaesa started, as she ran through several scanning programs, including a custom program she'd been working on.

It was still a work in progress, but it held a lot of promise to become one of the most advanced security programs in existence. She ran it through the entire subsector and out of nowhere, a small section of reality... fizzled. It was roughly humanoid in shape and turned to regard the women before it attacked. They dodged out of the way of the energy lash and turned to see who it was that attacked them.

The program Jaesa had been running was tripping away its cloaking program, revealing an avatar that Taal'ani was very familiar with. She snarled at its appearance in her system and unleashed an energy burst attack, attempting to obliterate him. The man dodged out of the way, while sneering with contempt at the Fel'caan woman.

"Void Lord!" she growled.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the vaunted Talon of Justice. Needing help to take me down these days? You've really lost your edge!" he taunted.

"Mind your manners, boy!" Jaesa thundered, her voice booming through cyberspace in a deafening show of power. The blast brought Void Lord and Talon to their knees, but both of them shook it off, getting back up quickly.

"A little warning next time, Jaesa!" Taal'ani griped. Jaesa nodded curtly as she shielded herself from Void Lord's attack, which was a green pulsing beam of energy. Her shield held, and she launched an attack of her own, which drove the man back, forcing him to adopt a defensive posture.

Talon jumped in on the attack, trying to trap the hacker in the system. But he was too cunning for that. Void Lord then opted out his offensive power and redirected it into a smoke and mirrors maneuver. He set off a logic bomb in the system, which disoriented the women for a moment, but that was all he needed. He made a break for the exit portal, attempting to leave the system.

Taal'ani recovered quick enough to fire a potshot at him, but she missed, just narrowly clipping him. He groaned in pain as he stumbled, but made it to the portal, leaving the Darkstrider's systems. Talon screamed in frustration, as the bastard had again gotten away. She stared up at Jaesa, who stood there, like she hadn't a care in the world, smirking at the portal.

"Jaesa, what the fuck?!? You could have taken the bastard out!" Taal'ani fumed at the AI.

"Yes, I could have. I recovered before you did and had a clean shot," Jaesa replied.

"Then why the fuck didn't you?!?" Taal'ani growled, her anger rising.

"I took a moment to see what he was trying to take. He had employed sniffer/tracker programs to find the co-ordinates he was looking for. He had already found them and was in the middle of the download when we interrupted him. He has part of the map, but not a complete one," Jaesa told her.

"Would anyone be able to piece together the precise co-ordinates for Talemkha?" Taal'ani worried.

"Eventually, but as long as we get to him first, they won't have a chance," Jaesa responded.

"What are you talking about?"

"I hesitated to end his existence, because we don't know who he is working for and who he is. You even said that failing to catch the man was one of your greatest regrets. Would you like to change that?" Jaesa asked with a smile.

"You tracked him??" Taal'ani asked, all goggle eyed at the prospect.

"Tagged him with a prototype tracing program that narrows down where he is within a few feet. Shall we leave cyberspace and go catch this bastard?" Jaesa asked, already knowing the answer.

"Let's!"

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Thus ends chapter 29 of Project Prometheus! Back into the thick of action, I'm hoping that the story and crew does not fail to disappoint! Things are looking dicey for the crew of the Darkstrider, as their advantage may yet be taken from them! Will Void Lord get away, as he always has? Will the Collective finally gain the edge over the UCW they've been looking for? For these answers, tune in to the next chapter of Project Prometheus!

For those who are wondering what will happen and when certain things in the story will happen, have no fear! I have already worked said ideas/characters into the story and they will be forthcoming soon! For people wondering about what's going to happen or who is going to show up, I will give a little teaser. Think of a character that's a cross of Hondo, and Cayde-6😉

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I hope that you've enjoyed it! I'm open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please rate and comment on my work down below and ask me questions if you wish, as I love hearing from my fans! If you like what I write, don't be afraid to follow and share with your friends, though your views, ratings and comments are enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!