Finally, with a soft beep, the translation completed, and the console's alien text morphed into a language I could understand.
I wasted no time accessing the logs, sifting through decades, maybe milenias of archived data from the ship's last days.
The logs painted a grim picture: This was once a military research lab, dedicated to developing biomchemical serums designed to enhance soldiers' combat effectiveness.
The serum was meant to increase aggressiveness, sharpen reflexes, and push the physical body to its limits, but something had gone horribly wrong like It always does as the good old grumpy grandpa murphy law dictates if anything can go wrong It will.
One of the containment units had failed, and the older version biochemical agent had spread through the ship, infecting half the crew.
Those exposed had turned into mindless, hyper-aggressive psychopats, attacking anything in sight.
In response, the ship's AI had activated containment protocols.
Every last member of the crew, infected or not, had been hunted down and massacred by the combat droids.
"Well, s*it…"
I muttered under my breath, my eyes scanning the final entry in the logs, written by one of the last survivors: "There is no escape. The AI has turned on us. The serums our greatest triumph have become our undoing. We are the experiment now. G*ds save us all."
I leaned back from the console after not forgetting to download the serums formula, my f*ll*ut looters spirit getting the better of me trying to process everything.
The low hum of the ship's systems felt almost oppressive now. As if the ship itself was still alive, still watching, still waiting for something or someone to make a move.
"Vamp"
Darius's voice crackled coming out electric and distorted thanks to his helmets voice scrambling system, breaking the tension.
"You find anything?"
"Yeah,"
I said, standing up from the console.
"And none of it's good. This place was a military research lab. They were developing a serum to permanently increase their soldiers aggressiveness. But things went south, fast like they always do. One of their containment units failed, and the serum spread throughout the ship. Half the crew turned into psycho serial killers. The AI initiated containment protocols, which basically means it massacred everyone onboard using those t*rmin*tor wana be combat droids."
Paul whistled low, his voice thick with unease.
"J*sus what an absolute cluster f*ck…"
Julian shook his head, staring at the floor.
"Talk about irony. They tried to make themselves better soldiers, and it killed them."
I walked toward the other side of the room. I found a security panel with an embedded lock system. I pressed it, hearing a soft click as the locker doors slid open.
Inside were six violet laser-edged combat swords, gleaming under the cold lights of the lab, just like the logs said I ran my hand over one, feeling the slight hum of energy coursing through the blade.
"Fancy some toys, boys?"
I said, pulling one out and turning it over in my hand. The edge shimmered, the violet light dancing as I swung it experimentally.
"Laser-edged combat swords a level three tech, these things could cut through anything the droids have, no problem."
"Well, that's some good news, at least,"
Darius grinned, moving forward to inspect the weapons. He grabbed one and gave it a few practice swings, impressed with the smooth balance and power behind it.
Airid whistled.
"These might actually give us a fighting chance."
I sank the sword Into the ground Its lazer edged blades burned through the alloy floor and turned to face the group, my voice lowering.
"That's the good news. The bad news is, we're f*cked like really f*cked, we still have our spare oxygen capsules but there's a f*cking army of droids between us and our ship, our p*ssy rounds can't do s*it against the tin cans and we can't even use their weapons because they're directly connected to their power sources"
The weight of my words hung heavily in the air. Everyone knew the odds weren't in our favor. The only sounds were the faint crackling of our helmet comms and the occasional clanking from outside.
"So, what's the plan, vamp?"
Julian asked, looking up from his laser-edged combat sword, a mixture of anticipation and worry in his eyes.
I glanced at the vials lined up in the storage containers along the walls, fully stocked vials of the stable version serum that had turned this crew into monsters.
"We inject ourselves with the serum,"
I said flatly.
"We take these swords and go out in glorious melee combat. It's risky as hell, but it's the only shot we've got. If we stay here, we die. If we fight without the serum, we run out of ammo, and then we die. But if we use the serum…"
"Then we go out swinging,"
Paul finished, his voice heavy but resigned.
My battlebrothers fell silent, letting the weight of the decision settle in.
Darius was the first to break the tension, his deep voice rumbling with determination.
"F*ck It, wewe come this far, If Im gonna die, Id rather go out like a proper f*cking warrior and make my ancestors proud so lets f*cking do this"
The others nodded, each of them coming to terms with the reality of the situation.
"Same here,"
Julian said, grabbing one of the vials and turning it over in his hand.
"Hell, if it makes me a better fighter, I might actually enjoy this."
Paul grinned, though it was more grim than cheerful.
"Better than sitting here waiting for the tin cans to carve us up."
Airid sighed, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah, alright. I'm in. Not like we've got many options left."
I nodded, my decision made.
"Bone appetite then and don't forget our combat stims"
I said as I Injected myself with my combat stims as I did I felt the familiar burn of combat stims racing through my bloodstream but not before I pocketed a few serum vials Into my med kit.
My body immediately responded, the rush of synthetic combat stimulants sharpening my senses and quickening my reflexes.
The familiar edge was there, heightened awareness, a flood of energy, but that wasn't enough. I grabbed the second vial the serum.
"Here goes nothing,"
I muttered as I injected the serum into my neck.
The effects weren't immediate, but the burn was different from the stims. It was deeper, more primal.
I could feel my heart rate spike, my muscles tightening and throbbing with a strength I hadn't felt before.
My vision sharpened, and everything around me seemed to slow down as my body acclimated to the changes.
"How do you feel?"
Paul asked, his voice slightly nervous as he watched me for any sign of side effects.
I grinned, the rush of aggression surging through me.
"Like I want to tear some tin cans apart with my bare hands"
The others followed suit, injecting the combat stims and serums into their necks, each of them experiencing the same surge of power and focus.
As they did I could no longer contain myself as I drew my violet laser-edged combat sword, the blade humming with energy.
With the violet laser-edged sword humming in my hand, I could feel the aggression surging through me, almost overwhelming.
The serum had taken full effect, amplifying every instinct, every muscle twitch. I was a coiled spring, ready to explode.
"Under-barrels first, and RPG salvo then frags"
I growled, locking eyes with my battle brothers. They were already high on the combat stims and the serum, their eyes under their visors burning with the same violent clarity that coursed through me.
Each of them nodded, their breaths coming in ragged bursts as they prepared for what came next.
Darius prepped a frag, Paul and Robert reloaded the self propelled grenade launcher with Paul kneeling down and preparing to fire, and Julian had his sniper rifle slung across his back, sword in hand, looking just as crazed as the rest of us while I and Airid prepped our under barrels.