Corpo Age-Chapter 269: Final Hunt Pt.4
None of our scans found anything, despite detecting a signal nearby. Whether it was a hidden base of a ship, it had advanced stealth technology that rendered our scans useless.
However, we still had the initiative.
They didn’t know we were here yet, as I was confident in our stealth tech. Even if they did expect us to be coming, they wouldn’t know the exact timing. That was a big difference. Sitting there in anticipation, not knowing when we would arrive, was excruciating for anyone. The ability to pick and choose when to start the attack was one of the few advantages those on the offensive had.
In order to retain this edge, I carefully maneuvered my shuttle around these suspicious asteroids. I found nothing by surveying its exterior, so my next step was to get closer. There were deep craters and cavities here and there, where I would be investigating next.
My eyes were glued to the screen, as I had to rely on visuals for my search. Some of the cavities were basically long and narrow tunnels that twisted around. I tapped on the terminal of the shuttle, unleashing several drones to inspect them.
The upgraded D-Mothers flew into the darkness without using any lights, lest they alert the enemy. Even with dozens of drones, it took a whole hour just to go through one asteroid.
The tension wasn’t doing any favors for my fatigue, but we immediately moved on to the next one. A large-scale battle was currently being fought. The worst part about that was that neither side had an overwhelming advantage. A result of a choice I made.
As the attackers, Silas’ side did have the luxury to concentrate their forces in one theatre, though. So the losses were likely more severe on our side until the defenders repositioned themselves. I could only hope whatever defensive installations they prepared had slowed down the assailants enough.
The boring yet tension-filled search continued until I got to the third asteroid.
“Alert.” Lanus’ voice sounded from the speakers around me. “Metallic structure detected.”
The warning was redundant because I was watching the feeds. One of the drones was hovering around a gray wall that sealed off the passageway. It wasn’t long before a few of the other drones found the same thing.
One of them even discovered a docking area with a proper entrance. The entire section was enveloped in darkness, though. The three hundred-meter ships were powered down, not allowing any emissions to leak.
The front entrance or dig my way through one of the sealed-off areas?
“Lanus, bring us to where D-Mother seven is.”
I figured both options would be well-defended, but I chose one of the sealed-off areas. It wasn’t based on solid information and was more of a hunch. I couldn’t imagine the front entrance having less security than one of these many passageways.
I soon exited the airlock of the shuttle and leaped out into the vacuum of space. I steered my power armor toward the metal wall, hovering just a few inches from it.
It was matte gray and completely smooth. I scanned across its entire surface area and found absolutely nothing. There were no electronic sensors on this side and whatever material it was made of, it blocked all my scans. That wasn’t that big of a problem, though. I had come prepared.
Time had been scarce, and I dedicated it all to preparing for this infiltration mission. I took out a small circle device, a jammer common to the corporate world, and activated it. This jammer wasn’t too high-tech, but it had the ability to cut off any signals around it, rendering any sensors on the other side useless. I took advantage of that property to start cutting through the wall.
This task was better suited to our particle beam sword. The fancy blades from Ferrumus still used a physical edge. I didn’t want to damage it by stabbing it into a wall many times over. My makeshift plasma cutter worked wonders, quickly melting the metal into slag. I soon found the wall to be a full meter thick as I cut open a square that allowed my power armor to barely fit through.
The other side was disappointing. There was no fancy equipment, no sensors, or anything. There was just more to the passageway behind it. Relying on the EVA thrusters on my power armor, I traveled further in, leaving the shuttle behind.
After turning through another bend, I finally spotted some lights ahead. With the upgraded stealth capabilities of my equipment, I didn’t even slow down, heading straight toward the source without any delay.
I soon found another entrance, much like the one where the ships were parked, except the area before it was filled with pipes stuck to the wall. There were hundreds of manmade pillars that carried even more pots.
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There were dozens of people walking about, tending to the area, but upon closer inspection, they weren’t people.
The hydroponics area. Automated with bots, too.
I only took a brief moment to observe their operations before moving further into the facility. Confirming that there was activity in this base was huge. I needed to get a move on it now that I knew this was likely to be the right place.
With none of the bots or sensors able to detect me, it was a walk in the part to jack into their network. The programs I had prepared easily breached through their cy-sec. With controls to their doors and my holographic projectors, I easily walked in without allowing anyone to notice.
So far, so easy.
I assessed the bright white halls I had entered and tried to scan the area. My results weren’t rewarded, as my Argus turned up blank. It was starting to get real annoying with whatever material this base used. As expected, it had base-wide jamming on as well.
Under these conditions, my drones and Nyes could only stray so far away from me. Still, I opted to not use them at all. NPC had briefed me on various security solutions SocialCorp had access to.
They had an entire library of different security systems, preventing any of their rivals from getting used to their methods. Some of these could possibly detect my inventions, despite the more primitive means they used in comparison.
It was just like how a door was my greatest nemesis for a decent period of time. You didn’t always need the most state-of-the-art solutions for it to work. As a result, I had to do this the old-fashioned way, using my own two feet.
I meticulously scanned my surroundings before taking each corner. The only way to beat these security measures was by identifying them first. This was when my upgraded stealth skill came in handy.
I had neglected physical skills ever since I obtained the system. The knowledge skills just had a larger impact, but now I relied on it. The stealth skill, just like with hacking, boosted my intuition. Just by eyeballing a corridor, I could get a feel for where there were traps and how I needed to cross through it undetected.
Combined with my knowledge, it wasn’t too hard for me to identify each trap.
Just as I thought it had been too easy, I turned the corner and almost bumped into one of the patrols.
One stood with their backs turned to me, conversing with his partner.
“—that you only spent a day in the rings and somehow blew all your pay already.”
“Hey, we’re looking at a huge payday soon, so whatever.”
“Yeah? You’re sure about that?”
“If we don’t win, we’d have more things to worry about than credits.”
“No, I’m confident we’ll win. I’m asking how you’re so confident we’re getting a bonus?”
“Huh? We have been working overtime, covering two shifts nowadays because they transferred so many people to the front. I’m sure Doran will fight on our behalf for our well-deserved compensation.”
“I see there are some perks in having a bootlicker on our team.”
“Hey!”
Regaining my bearings, I moved around the two guards and resumed my search for Silas. The hallways were narrow, but the entire place was humongous. Without my equipment to rely on, hours went by as I navigated through the brightly lit and maze-like hallways.
There weren’t as many patrols as I would expect of a place where their leader would be, so I was starting to have misgivings about whether he was actually here or not. That changed when I spotted a squad of power armor strolling down toward me. They were all painted red, but the one at the forefront was bright red, while the others were of a darker shade.
The Executor I took down who allowed us to track down this location wore the same bright red colors. I instantly knew I had found who to ask for directions from.
I followed this group through the facility. They soon came to a stop before a set of reinforced metal doors with dozens of scanners looking down from above. The squad, led by the suspected Executor, stood motionless for half a minute until a beep sounded out and the doors opened.
The inside of the room was completely different from what I expected. I thought it would be a security room of some sort, a break room, or hopefully, Silas’ office or something. What I got instead was a giant open space that made me feel insignificant.
There were three behemoths of a ship docked before me. They were easily over several thousand feet long. There were currently hundreds or even thousands of people inside, spread all around these ships like ants around their food.
The group I had followed walked off to the side, walking parallel to the berths. They didn’t seem to be heading anywhere in particular, just patrolling the area. There were tons of materials stored here, as one would expect. Materials and supplies for the ships and repairs.
When they entered a secluded area filled with hundreds of crates, I decided it was time to make my move.
I instantly closed the distance and allowed some Nyes to latch onto my targets. They would help me jam their signals and establish a connection to them, so I could begin hacking into their systems. I did it all in one smooth movement, passing beside without stopping for a moment.
My prudence turned out to be wise as all five of the power armors in their squad reacted immediately. They glanced around frantically with their weapons at the ready. The leading one in bright red armor was standing uncomfortably still, but I could tell it was ready to lunge out at any moment.
They can look all they want, but they won’t find me. It’s only a matter of time until I get in!
As if to jinx myself, a bright light filled my vision. The bright red power armor had suddenly been engulfed in flames. My connection to it was quickly lost as the Nyes were likely incinerated. Before I could react, their entire squad snapped their guns in my direction and fired.
