Chapter 07: Axial Pulse Overload

Hangar 9 – Restricted Zone – Core of Scrapra's Lower Layer

Jonas pulled down the main lever on the control panel. With a metallic screech and a deep rumble, the hangar's blast door slowly slid shut, sealing the main entrance. An emergency mechanical lock engaged: three rotary bolts, hydraulic compression, and a localized electromagnetic field. Ancient technology, but still effective.

- "That should buy us a little time," he muttered.

On the other side of the hangar, Arthur was already busy beneath the old transport ship. The dashboard lights flickered faintly, and the interior reeked of dried fuel and electronic dust.

- "I'm reactivating the primary circuit," Arthur called out, "but without the quantum stabilizer, we're not going anywhere."

Jonas hurried over, unzipping his bag to reveal the stabilized energy core they had retrieved earlier from the Imperial cruiser: a metallic capsule, silver and etched with glowing concentric patterns, its center pulsing with a blue light.

- "This little beauty," he said, holding it up, "is our only chance of breaking the blockade."

Arthur took the core carefully.

- "Are you sure it's compatible with this ship?"

-"No," Jonas admitted, "but if you connect it correctly, we'll have access to the Axial Pulse Overload."

Arthur glanced up.

-"The what?"

Jonas managed a faint grin despite the sweat on his forehead.

-"An experimental tech from before the Empire. A substitute for faster-than-light travel. It compresses the space around the ship by creating a torsional wave impulse. In simple terms: we vanish from one spot and reappear somewhere else. Fast. Very fast."

-"And if it fails?" Arthur asked.

Jonas leaned closer.

-"We die instantly. Burned alive in our own distortion."

Arthur paled.

-"Great…"

-"But if you do it right, we survive."

Arthur immediately set to work. He opened a side panel, adjusted the connectors, integrated the core into the propulsion circuit, and checked the inertial stabilizers. The core slowly came to life, casting a soft blue glow across their faces.

- "It's responding. Compression levels are stable."

Jonas smiled.

- "You were born for this."

A deep rumble echoed through the hangar. At first distant… then growing louder.

BOOM.

Arthur froze.

- "They're here."

Jonas ran to the wall-mounted surveillance panel. A functioning camera showed a Dissonnant squad gathered outside the outer door. Black helmets, heavy rifles, perfectly aligned formation. Two of them were already setting vibratory charges on the magnetic locks.

BOOM. BOOM.

The charges struck for the first time. The bolts started to bend.

-- "Quick, Arthur!" Jonas shouted. "Power up the auxiliary system!"

Arthur dashed into the cockpit and hit the ignition. The dashboard crackled. The ship shuddered slightly. The engines growled like a beast forced from slumber.

-"The axial pulse system is unstable but active. We can launch in… forty seconds!"

BOOM.

Another explosion rattled the entire hangar. Outside, the soldiers shouted:

-"OPEN UP! IN THE NAME OF THE EMPIRE!"

No answer.

Another bolt gave way. The doors began to split.

Arthur strapped into the pilot's seat. Jonas jumped aboard and sealed the rear ramp.

- "They're coming through! Launch now!"

The cockpit shook. The engines roared. One by one, the consoles came to life.

30 SECONDS.

- "Align the impulse coils!" Jonas shouted.

Arthur turned the levers, locked the stabilization axes.

25 SECONDS.

A section of the door exploded. Soldiers began flooding in.

Gunfire erupted, ricocheting off the ship's hull.

20 SECONDS.

Jonas pulled the full lockdown lever.

- "Get ready, it's going to shake!"

15 SECONDS.

Soldiers rushed toward the ramp, firing in bursts. A bullet whizzed past Arthur.

He locked the cockpit door and entered the coordinates.

10 SECONDS.

The core's blue light pulsed faster and faster. The ship shook violently.

5… 4… 3…

Arthur hit the main switch.

- "Pulse engaged."

2… 1…

A burst of energy engulfed the ship. The entire hangar was consumed in distorted light, and with a deafening bang, the transport disappeared into a blue-twisting tear in space.

The soldiers, caught off guard, were flung backward by the shockwave.

In the sky, orbital sensors went haywire.

And aboard the Imperial cruiser in orbit… The Abjurer turned sharply toward the window.

- "He's escaped…"

His voice was calm.

But his fists clenched.

- "Find them. Wherever they are."

Interstitial Space — Moments After the Pulse

The transport shot out of the distortion like a slingshot's projectile. The ship tumbled uncontrollably, alarms blaring through every compartment. Cables snapped in the cabin, lights flickered, and one of the screens shattered into a spray of sparks.

Arthur, still at the controls, fought to stabilize their course, his hands gripping the levers tightly. His arms trembled from the strain.

- "The secondary thrusters are down!" he shouted.

- "Stabilizers are gone!" Jonas yelled back from the cargo hold, clutching a support beam.

The ship spun into a wild descent for several kilometers, the hull riddled with microfractures, until Arthur managed to regain a semblance of control. He groaned, gritted his teeth, and aimed for the nearest visible planet: a red, dusty sphere under harsh solar light, visible through the viewport.

- "We've got no choice; we're landing there!" Arthur yelled.

- "Do what you can, but do it fast!"

The controls were unresponsive, the console overheated, and the acrid smell of burnt electronics filled the cockpit. The stabilized core, though still intact, was flickering erratically, clearly strained. Every indicator flashed red.

Arthur manually deployed the flaps and unlocked the landing gear—only to have it jam.

- "Landing gear's stuck! We'll have to slide in!"

Jonas burst into the cockpit, grabbing the co-pilot's harness.

- "You still have that instinct? 'Cause you're going to need it, kid!"

The ship plunged into the atmosphere.

The sky turned orange, then deep red. The hull rattled, the panels glowed white-hot. Alarms screamed in unison.

Arthur focused, closing his eyes for just a moment.

And he followed his gut.

Planet Khar'Zul — Neighboring System to Scrapra

The transport crashed in a cloud of searing dust, sliding hundreds of meters before finally coming to a halt against a rocky dune. The hull was dented, panels torn off, engines smoldering. Silence returned, heavy and suffocating under the blistering, unyielding heat.

Arthur struggled to open the canopy. A wave of heat hit his face like a slap.

- "It's… unlivable here," he murmured.

The planet was an endless desert: cracked plains, abrasive dunes, sharp-edged rocks. No vegetation in sight, no immediate signs of life. The sky hung yellow, heavy with thermal haze.

Jonas staggered down from the ship, his boots sinking slightly into the hot dust.

- "Better here than dead in space."

Arthur followed, his bag slung over his shoulder, squinting against the harsh light. He coughed, already feeling the dry air burning his throat.

They moved away from the wreckage, surveying the damage. The ship wouldn't take off again without major repairs.

- "The compression circuit's fried," Jonas muttered, patting the hull. "We'll need a full diagnostic. And we've got no idea what's living out here."

Still shaken, Arthur touched his chest. He felt… discomfort. A heat that wasn't from the sun. Something within him resonated. The Élan.

- "I can still… feel it."

Jonas stared at him sharply.

- "What?"

- "I don't know. It's like… something's following me. It can sense me."

Jonas gritted his teeth.

- "Damn."

- "What?"

- "I thought you'd have more time. I thought… your connection to the Élan would stay hidden, at least at first. But your awakening was too sudden. Too pure." He glanced at the sky. "You left a trail. A mark. They can follow it."

Arthur's face paled.

- "A trail?"

Jonas nodded slowly.

- "Anyone who awakens in the Élan creates a ripple. A wake. The Abjurés can sense it across entire systems. As long as they haven't found you, you're invisible to their machines. But to the Élan… you're a beacon in the dark."

Arthur lowered his eyes.

- "So… we're not safe yet."

On Scrapra:

The Abjuré stood motionless, arms crossed.

Then, he tilted his head slightly.

A whisper of the Élan.

A thread.

A vibration.

A direction.

Slowly, he turned his head to one of his kneeling soldiers.

- "He fled. Through the wave. But the trail is fresh. I can feel his fear. His ignorance."

He took a step forward.

- "Prepare the coordinates. He's in the neighboring system. An arid planet. I want three armed patrols ready to enter the atmosphere."

He paused.

- "And activate the psychometric trackers."