"Ssshhhii—STOP!"
E.E. canceled the move instantly, stumbling forward.
He coughed, shaking out his trembling hands.
'Okay. No vortex. No instantaneous travels. This is hell…'
He straightened up as an officer passed by.
"Everything alright, 77-B?"
E.E forced a laugh. "Heh… new altitude. The air's thick."
The officer grunted approvingly. "It'll pass."
E.E kept walking.
This place is a death trap…
---
Over the next two hours, E.E played his part perfectly.
He blended in.
He studied patrol patterns.
He gathered intel:
The Commander never left the top floor but that was old news. In actuality, even on the top floor, the commander never left his chambers.
als were brought to him.
No one t him face-to-face except two most trusted captains.
Entry into the final room required two levels of biotric clearance and a rare authorization card that only those two possessed.
E.E muttered to himself as he leaned against a wall, pretending to take a break:
"If I'm getting in there, I need a clearance card… or I need to incapacitate soone who has one..."
But touching anyone here was dangerous.
These elites were tens of tis stronger than standard officers.
Still not a problem for E.E individually but raising suspicion would bring consequences.
He needed subtlety.
One mistake or one suspicious movent and the entire mission would collapse around him faster than a collapsing wormhole.
This floor wasn't just heavily guarded, it was watched.
Everyone who worked on the 42nd commander's floor was ruthlessly disciplined. Here, mistakes weren't forgiven, they were erased.
And unlike the lower floors, where hundreds of guards patrolled wide hallways filled with noise and activity, this area was downright eerie.
Quiet.
Unnaturally quiet.
As if even sound feared offending the commander.
The corridors glowed with dim blue light, tallic walls polished so perfectly that E.E could see a distorted reflection of himself every ti he passed by. Large sigils carved into the walls subtly rippled like molten tal, indicating the ever-present spatial distortions twisting through the station like invisible currents.
This remained his biggest problem.
If E.E tried to open a vortex anywhere on this floor, even within the sa hallway, it would be thrown off-course. Instead of sending him where he wanted, it could spit him out on a lower floor… or in the vacuum outside… or inside a wall.
---
After a day, E.E received his new post:
Guard Duty — Corridor C-Alpha — Commander's Private Chamber Entrance
It sounded like an honor but in reality, it was punishnt disguised as reward.
Standing guard outside the most feared being's personal chamber for twelve hours a day?
Most people hated it.
But E.E?
He was thrilled.
Standing here ant he might eventually find a way to get access.
It ant he could observe everything.
Observe… and take advantage.
Two days passed.
Two long, exhausting days.
And during that entire ti, E.E only saw the commander three tis and even then, it was only glimpses.
The 42nd commander never exited his chamber.
Only the slightest visual of a massive shadow shifting behind a massive al table hinted at his presence. A faint silhouette with multiple limbs, hulking shoulders, and faint glowing stripes along the body.
Whenever he approached got up to approach anywhere, even from the inside, the ground vibrated faintly.
The 42nd commander was a big guy no doubt.
Unfortunately, E.E had finally confird the information he got, noting that only two people were ever allowed inside his chamber.
Two trusted attendants.
Two faces no one dared question.
Two individuals responsible for delivering his food, drinks, docunts, and anything else the commander required.
They moved in total silence and walked with chanical deanor.
These two were the only ones with legitimate access.
E.E watched them closely for those two days, morizing their movents, their timing, their paths. Every ti they entered the chamber, it was the sa procedure: scan their identification sigils, push the cart of food or supplies forward, and step inside without hesitation.
And every ti they exited, the door sealed instantly behind them.
"That's it," E.E murmured under his breath on the second night. "That's the pattern…"
He finally saw his opening.
An idea began to form.
It was risky and insane, but the only way to bypass the distortions without alerting the entire station.
He would find a way to anchor a vortex to sothing that ways gets taken into the commander's chamber everyti.
And the only thing that would definitely be taken inside every ti was none other than his food.
---
The next cycle, E.E requested a break from his guard post. It was normal and would draw no suspicion. The guards rotated in pairs, and he only needed twenty minutes.
His destination?
The isolated food preparation chamber on this floor.
When he pushed open the heavy tallic door, hot steam blasted into his face along with a scent he could never mistake: roasted at from giant beasts and cattle captured across various conquered territories.
Huge slabs of flesh with so glowing, so steaming and so still twitching. The at were marinated, seasoned, and cooked using a combination of plasma heat and gravity pressure.
It was grotesque.
And apparently, the commander loved it.
Several staff mbers with reinforced exosuits to resist the heat were working hard slicing through pieces that weighed several tons.
E.E forced a pleasant smile.
"Slls incredible today," he said cheerfully.
One of the workers glanced back. "New guy from the guard rotation, right? The one assigned to Corridor C-Alpha?"
"Yeah," E.E chuckled. "Trying to get used to the sll."
That earned a laugh. It seed harmless. He kept himself relaxed with hands loose at his sides.
He wasn't here to fight.
He couldn't arouse suspicion.
He wandered between the workers, nodding politely, pretending to admire the enormous chunks of at being prepared.
Then he spotted a large slab designated for the commander's al.
It was half the size of a shuttlecraft.
It was perfect.
While the staff were turned away, busy hauling another carcass, E.E slipped his fingers into his pocket and pulled out a tiny bead.
It was black, smooth, colorless and absolutely inconspicuous.
He had already inbued it with a spatial tethering sequence, turning it into an anchor.
He proceeded to simply placed the bead deep into a crack along the roasted flesh, letting the juices coat it and hide it perfectly.
Then he stepped back.
Just another guard on break.
"Whew," he exhaled casually, "slls good but I'm dying from the heat here."
"Get used to it," one worker laughed. "This is the warst floor in the station."
E.E grinned and waved as he exited the preparation room.
---
E.E returned to the corridor like nothing happened.
Hours passed and then, there was finally movent.
He stiffened as he saw the attendants approaching the corridor, pushing the massive slab of prepared at on a hovering reinforced trolley.
Everything about their presence demanded silence.
They didn't acknowledge E.E.
They didn't speak.
They didn't glance sideways.
They simply stopped at the towering tallic door of the commander's chamber.
The door scanned their identities.
Lights flickered.
Locks disengaged.
KCHK—VRMMMM—
The sealed entrance slid open.
The two attendants pushed the trolley in.
Then stepped out a few minutes later.
The massive door sealed behind them with a resonant tallic thud.
E.E didn't need to see inside to know—
The bead was now inside the commander's chamber.
His heart hamred.
"Alright," he whispered. "Ti to gamble."
He positioned himself at the perfect angle in the corridor. Enough to avoid the attendants' line of sight, but close enough that he wouldn't have to move when the mont ca.
He cracked his knuckles.
Stretched his fingers.
And waited.
'He better not eat it... wouldn't want to appear within and burst him open from the inside out...' E.E shuddered at the thought but he still had to wait for now.
Minutes after the attendants were gone, he snapped his fingers.
"This… better work."
E.E felt a jolt run through his arm and ripple across his entire body. The bead responded instantly since it was a direct anchor. It was like tying a rope between his ability and a fixed location.
Which ant that wherever he opened his vortex from, it would lead to only a singular position... where the anchor was location.
Technically a stable spatial coordinate inside the distorted zone but could only leas to one place.
He didn't have ti to hesitate.
He clapped his hands together and pulled.
Space bent...
Folded...
Compressed into a swirling black-purple vortex right in front of him...
No alarms triggered...
No distortions lashed back...
No red lights flashed.
The tether stabilized the wormhole perfectly.
E.E didn't give himself ti to think.
He jumped in and shot out on the other side—
The instant E.E's boots hit solid ground, the entire chamber trembled.
For a split second, neither he nor the monstrous alien seated before him moved.
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