Massive Disaster 4-20 (Patreon)

There was a lot to be said when it came to patience and keeping a clear head in times of distress. Zedd was pretty good at the latter.

Not so much the former.

Engines screamed as he gunned the Grande forward toward a massive asteroid, the whole frame shuddering from combat damage they'd just taken. Warning lights strobed across his console, ADAM telling him all sorts of things privately that he was smart enough not to blare out to a panicked audience; hull integrity, shield generators, something about the port thruster assembly that he'd deal with later. 

If there was a later.

Built her tough. Built her fast. Built her to punch above her weight. He’d said that of course, because he wanted to seem in control and still confident when he wasn’t sure they were in the clear, and yeah, that much was true enough.But true enough was true enough.

And the total truth was that the Grande was almost as small as who he named her after, still just an Interceptor. A Heavy Interceptor, sure, but that didn't mean much when you'd just tanked hits from five corvettes and a Spectre frigate.

The asteroid loomed ahead, pockmarked surface spinning slow against the stars. It was big enough to have its own gravity well. 

Big enough to hide what he'd built there.

He banked the ship in a hard left around a debris field, metal fragments scraping against the hull like fingernails on a chalkboard. It wasn’t a comfortable sound.

Behind him, Kira's knuckles had gone white on her armrests. "Zedd, what the f-” The rest of what she was gonna say went loose as Zedd spun around a wreck of one of the ships he had personally just vented, inertia systems still not up to par yet after the fight. “You're not making any sense!" Her voice had that edge to it, the one that meant she was about three seconds from trying to take control of the situation herself. "Where are you going?"

His eyes stayed locked on the target, jaw clenched tight enough to crack molars. "To that asteroid."

Nina leaned forward from her seat, hair still messed up from being shaken up over and over across that whole fight. "I thought you said we have to get back to the colony."

“I know.” The words came out clipped, barely controlled anger threatening to bleed through. Because yeah, of course he'd said that, he was there. 

And yeah, they did need to get back to Arkadia. But first they needed to not be flying around in a shot-to-hell Interceptor with shields that were more wishful thinking than actual protection. Note to self: double these fucking shields.“Then wh-” Nina began again, only for Zedd to cut her off.

"I know what I said."

Kira's voice sounded off again, more annoyance than curiosity edging her words. "Then what are you—"

"How about both of you shut the hell up and let me do what I'm doing?"

The words snapped out harder than he'd meant them to, but Christ on a cracker, he was trying to think here. 

Whether it was his tone or his words, both of them quieted down. Good. 

He needed the silence, needed space to think without voices picking apart his decisions. The asteroid's surface rushed up to meet them, barren rock and ancient impact craters spinning past the viewport.

Then the buildings materialized.

One second there was nothing but stone. Next second, geometric structures were etching themselves against the rock face, architectural lines becoming visible as they descended. Seamless integration, like someone had carved a city into the asteroid's heart and hidden it behind tricks of light and EM fields.That someone spoke up. "Cloaking tech," he said before anyone could ask. Because he knew they would ask. They always did, and if they didn’t… well, something else was taking up their attention. "Only works outside of atmosphere. No air to get in the way."

Dev pressed his face to the viewport, breath fogging the transparisteel as a massive complex spread out below them. Reinforced hangars built into the rock, all of them bearing the same look of prefab and autofab buildings, all of them caked with asteroid dust. "...when did you do all this?"

"I wasn't just teaching Kai how to make jokes out here, you know."

Truth was, this place had been built in his first year with Victory. Right around the time they'd been on their way to Nova Kaseiopia for him to announce the V-Shades, this facility was already waiting. Already stocked and ready for whatever he might need it for.

Plans which had changed, funny enough, right after that attack on the university colony.

What started as a secret production facility had ended up being used as a production facility for secrets. Even still… Should have known two hundred light years deep into the Terminus wasn't deep enough. 

The thought forced its way into his head, unwanted but persistent.

It had seemed like enough two years ago. Seemed almost like exile from anything close to the Citadel, especially with no direct relays here. Perfect place to hide a research and manufacturing black site.

Hell, it already took over two weeks of straight FTL just to get here on a regular ship, and that was with modern mass effect drives. It would have been paranoid to go overboard, go even deeper into the Terminus looking for a better spot than a dense asteroid field.

Should have been paranoid.

The massive hangar door slid upward with mechanical precision, revealing a cavernous interior that could've swallowed a cruiser whole. The ship descended into artificial atmosphere, landing lights illuminating the docking bay like spotlights on a stage. Behind them, the door sealed with a thunderous rumble that he felt in his bones.

Zedd was already unbuckling before the ship fully powered down, fingers working at the restraints while his other hand pulled ADAM's red processing chip from the main panel slot. The AI's vocals flickered once, then disappeared as the chip came free.

"Everybody out and move quick."

Around him, the others were stumbling to follow his urgency, cabin still spinning with combat adrenaline and the kind of shell-shock that came after your first real firefight.Nina jumped out of her seat, dark hair disheveled and sticking to her forehead. "Why are we getting out?"

He was already heading for the exit ramp, movements sharp with purpose. "We made a jump with the Shatterpoint Drive. Two hundred light years, in twenty minutes."

The ramp was taking its sweet time lowering, hydraulics whining like they were personally offended by the request. Zedd found himself tapping his foot, irritation building in his chest like pressure behind a dam. Come on, come on...

"It won't be usable until the drive cools down for another two hours. That's the annoying thing with the Shatterpoint." The ramp finally dropped completely, letting him exhale relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "It's a bitch like that. We need to switch ships and get in something with more firepower and survivability."

They followed him down into the hangar, footsteps echoing in the vast space and everyone faltered for a moment as the artificial lighting flickered on to reveal what he'd built here.“Jesus…” Caleb coughed.Zedd didn’t blame him. It wasn’t every day you saw a facility this big built into an asteroid. Big enough to house a fleet. Big enough to hide one.

Multiple ships sat in perfect formation across the hangar floor. Each one identical to the Grande, gleaming under maintenance lights and ready for immediate deployment. Backup plans for his backup plans, because you never knew when you might need to disappear and start over.

Dev blinked as he glanced around, head on a swivel but the rest of his muscled frame rigid with shock. "Holy shit."

"Yeah," Zedd said, already moving toward the facility's interior. No point, when tanding around gawking wasn't going to solve their problems. 

Caleb's voice came from behind him, breathless. "Zedd, this is... how long have you been planning this?"

"Long enough." He didn't slow down, didn't turn around. There'd be plenty of time for explanations later. On their way back, maybe. 

Right now they needed to move, needed to get into something with real teeth before whoever had been tracking them decided to follow up with something bigger than corvettes.

"What exactly is this place?" Nina's voice rang out.

"Nowhere that's supposed to exist." The corridor stretched ahead of them, lined with access panels and maintenance hatches, the whole place still clean and efficient under the watch of dozens of custom VIs and drones. "Called it the Grey Site. Technically one of many but this is currently the only one really like this. Figured if I was going to play in the big leagues, I needed some places where I could work without anyone looking over my shoulder."

Kira's footsteps quickened until she was walking beside him. "And now?"

"Now I'm wondering if anyone was ever not looking over my shoulder."

The thought sat heavy in his chest, mixing with the adrenaline comedown and the bone-deep exhaustion that came after combat. Someone had known. Someone had been waiting. Which meant either his security was shit, or someone on the inside was feeding information to people who wanted him dead.

Or both.

Dev's voice echoed down the corridor, still tinged with disbelief. "How many ships you got here?"

"Enough." Zedd turned a corner, leading them deeper into the facility. Past workshops and fabrication bays, past storage rooms filled with supplies that could keep them running for months. "Question is whether we're gonna need all of them."

He had plenty of questions, but he knew one thing.

They needed firepower. They needed answers. And they needed both before whoever had tried to kill them back there decided to try again.

"No time. Follow me!"

His body kicked into gear before his brain caught up. Serum-enhanced muscles carrying him faster than normal human limits, combat boots finding purchase on polished metal floors that stretched ahead like a runway. The facility was smaller than he'd remembered. Course, last time he was here he wasn't running for his life.

Not technically running for my life. Running to save other people's lives. Big difference.

Caleb matched pace easily, enhanced physiology keeping stride without breaking sweat. Dev right behind them, breathing controlled but working harder still. Behind them, footsteps echoed against the walls in a rhythm that sounded too much like a countdown.

The others were struggling. Adele's heels weren't made for sprinting, and she'd kicked them off somewhere back in the first corridor, NicStic forgotten in her hand and frozen mid-drag. Nina was keeping up better, but her breathing had that tight quality that meant she was pushing limits.

Ship arrays flashed past the corridor windows. Rows and rows of them, gleaming under maintenance lights. Each one identical to the Grande, each one ready to fly. Backup plans for his backup plans, because you never knew when you might need to disappear and start over.

Looks like today's the day.

"Zedd," Adele's voice came from behind, breathless but still carrying that careful pronunciation she used when stress made her accent bleed through. "Combien de vaisseaux as-tu construits?"

How many ships have you built? His French was rusty but functional, nearly a year since he’d spent one-on-one time with ADELE teaching her how to make the regenerative chems until she knew it by heart. The question hit him sideways, made him think about time and money and resources he'd poured into this place when he should've been sleeping. When he should've been doing normal person things instead of preparing for wars that might never come.

Turns out they came anyway.

Caleb caught up to his shoulder, longer strides closing the gap. "Boss, what is all this?"

The question was simple. The answer wasn't. How do you explain paranoia that turned out to be justified? How do you explain building a military installation because something in your gut said you'd need it someday?

"I told you I've been preparing." The words came out clipped, focused on navigation more than conversation. Left turn here, straight through the next junction.

Caleb's confusion carried in his voice. "I thought that was the GUARDIAN program."

Zedd scoffed, the sound echoing off the walls. "No offense, but the guardians are augmented shock troopers. They're built for missions, but they literally can only be in so many places at once."

"But th—"

"More than that, we're talking about everything off the ground. What about actual space?" He clicked his tongue, shaking his head as he processed something that should've been obvious from day one. "I knew we'd need to get ready for war."

The truth of it sat heavy in his chest. Not might need to get ready. Knew. Like some part of him had been counting down to this moment since the day he'd first looked at the stars and realized how small they all were.

Kira's voice cut through from behind, that scratchy edge more pronounced when she was irritated. "You keep saying that. But other than just waving your hands at the Batarians or vague 'enemies,' you never say against who?"

The question stopped him for half a step. Made him think about motives and justifications and all the reasons people built secret military installations in the ass-end of nowhere. Made him think about whether he'd ever really known the answer himself.

"I don't know." The honesty came out blunt, unfiltered. "Anyone I feel like."

Great answer, genius. Really inspiring leadership there.

Their footsteps echoed through the connecting hallway, rhythm shifting as they moved from metal grating to solid deck plating. The sound changed, deeper, more resonant. Meant they were getting close to the main hangar.

The space opened up around them like a cathedral made of steel and shadows. Ceiling disappeared into darkness above, supported by struts thick as tree trunks. But it wasn't the architecture that made everyone freeze.

They may have been the smallest of the kind but warship-class vessels dominated the hangar floor; each one of them with armor plating thick as building walls, weapon arrays that could cause tectonic movements, autonomous drones moving like ants along their hulls, continuing maintenance routines and building more ships on massive assembly lines that stretched into the distance.

Not a single one of them a dreadnought or even a cruiser, because where the fuck would he have had time to build a shipyard big enough for that? Just the corvettes were hard enough to hide.

Dev's voice cracked with disbelief. "Jesus…"

Caleb stopped dead, neck craning to take in the scale. "...what the fuck?"

"Literally, no fucking time." The words snapped out sharper than he'd meant them to, but standing around gawking wasn't going to solve their problems. Definitely wasn’t going to save Arkadia if his suspicions were right.

When have your suspicions ever been wrong?

He rushed toward a specific ship, the largest of the three models in this facility, hand finding the hidden control panel like muscle memory. The SSV JADE, designated in elegant script along the hull. Bigger than the Grande, heavier armed, far more powerful, built for situations exactly like this one, built to fight wars, and only the size of a corvette at that.

The boarding ramp extended with a hydraulic hiss, internal lights activating to reveal advanced corvette configuration. Clean lines, efficient layout, everything designed for maximum effectiveness with minimum waste.

Everyone followed him up the ramp, feet clanging against metal grating. The interior was far bigger than the Grande's, far more space to move around. More space to think, too, not that he had time.

Kira strapped herself in, movements sharp with barely controlled frustration. "Zee, that's not an answer."

Isn't it? The question bounced around his head while his hands flew over startup sequences, muscle memory taking over where conscious thought failed. ADAM's primary IC chip came out of his pocket, red surface gleaming under the cabin lights.

The chip slotted into Jade's central console with a satisfying click. Microseconds rushed by as systems integrated, came online, started talking to each other in the digital language of quantum computing.

He settled into the pilot seat, feeling the ship come alive around him. Neural sensors reached out as the engines warmed up, everything responding to his touch like an extension of his own body.

A few seconds after he sat, the QEC array finally activated, attempting connection to Arkadia IV orbital satellites. The signal reached out into space, searching for home.

"This is Zedd to VI, do you read me?"

Static silence responded. No signal acquisition. No friendly AI voice telling him everything was fine and he was being paranoid again.

Shit.

Seconds passed without response, each one heavier than the last. Tension built in the cabin like pressure before a storm.

"ADAM, can you try to contact Arkadia? I think the QEC is being blocked."

ADAM's voice came through the ship speakers, the NetNavigator’s tones uncharacteristically serious and damn-near robotic. "Boss, we both know that if the QEC is down, it's not a matter of interference."

He knew, of course. 

He knew it the same way he knew his fingernails were at risk of drawing blood from his palms right now. QEC didn't just go down. Quantum entanglement didn't just stop working because of bad weather or solar flares or equipment malfunctions. If the QEC was down, it was because someone had deliberately severed the connection.

Or destroyed the satellite  it was connected to.

Kira leaned forward in the passenger seat, concern bleeding through. "Zedd—"

"I don't fucking feel like answers right now, Kira!" The words exploded out of him, Zedd regretting as both her and Nina jumped back. Because answers meant thinking about what might be happening back home. Meant thinking about people he cared about and whether they were still breathing.

Caleb's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "Boss!"

Zedd turned, face hard with barely contained emotion. He almost didn’t want to look up and he was right, almost flinching as Caelwas looking at him with those clear blue eyes, the ones that had seen too much but still believed in doing the right thing.

"Boss, you know I respect you. I owe you my life. Hell, I'd give you my life, but you gotta give us something here."

The words landed heavy as recognition passed between them, understanding built on months of working together and trust earned through action.

He's right. They deserve to know.

Everyone was settling into seats as ship systems fully activated, the hum of power flowing through conduits and the subtle vibration of engines coming online. Zedd's voice came out slow, shaky, fighting to keep a forced smile steady on his face. "I'll keep it… simple and sweet. We're looking at a dual-op here."

He leaned back in his chair, mind racing. "What was sent after me was a Spectre-run stealth squadron. Frigate plus corvettes, massive overkill for an Interceptor and especially for the personal civilian vessel they expected."

The pieces had already fallen into place, he was just describing the picture at this point. "EMP mines, disruptor torpedoes, ship-level surgical kill tools, the fucking works. More likely than not, they tripped my sensors on purpose days ago to have me come check it out."

His voice hardened as he spoke, cold professional distance creeping in as his expression darkened. "That ship that just escaped, that was a Spectre. S-P-E-C-T-R-E. The Council’s secret kill squad, that they send out — with license to do anything short of committing genocide — as long as the Citadel races benefit as a whole. Someone that does missions with no witnesses, no recovery, and no fucking survivors." Someone who was supposed to make sure I never made it home.

The tactical analysis came easier than the emotional reality. Numbers and statistics and operational parameters were safe. They didn't bleed. "They knew where my factory was, even if they couldn't find it, and they suspected what I was making here, even if they didn't know it. This was supposed to bury me so bad no one would ever know what happened."

He sighed, the sound carrying weight of realization and regret and the bone-deep exhaustion that came with being right about things you'd hoped to be wrong about.

"Clearly, I'm a threat to the galaxy's eezo industry." More than they know, honestly. Even that wasn’t enough to lift his mood, not right now, not when any-fucking-thing could be happening and he was two hundred light years away on a rock deep in the Terminus. "I wasn't meant to live, and if I wasn't meant to live, the company definitely wasn't meant to live either."

Dev's eyes went wide, truth hitting him like a physical blow. "Oh fuck."

Caleb's reaction came half a second later. "Oh shit."

Adele's NicStic finally fell from numb fingers as her accent bled through completely. "Merde."

"Exactly." Zedd's confirmation carried no satisfaction, no joy in being proven right. Just cold certainty and the weight of consequences he should've seen coming. "Meaning there has to be a second op."

Nina whipped her head back and forth across everyone, trying to follow the thread of logic that was unraveling her brain. "What? Wha—wait, what? Someone explain!"

Kira's voice cut through the silence, flat and certain as anything else. "...they're gonna torch the fucking colony."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

5k Words (100 FP)

ROLL: Mad Geneticist (400 CP) [Rick and Morty] {Crafting - Biotech}: "Sometimes science is more art than science, and you find that this is doubly true when it comes to genetics. When you have a vague idea of the attributes you want to impart from a species, you find them remarkably easy to splice into a different species.

It won't even backfire that often. Probably. Be careful."

Forge Points: 300