"Is that so?"
Serena lifted her gaze, a vibrant, rebellious smile playing on her lips. "Then let's test that theory."
"Let's see if you can snatch my prized, priceless cargo right out of my hands."
The moment her words fell, she turned on her heel and strode back to the Apex Bio- Transfer Pod.
No one stopped her.
No one could.
They could only watch helplessly as she stepped up to the pod, her slender fingers once again dancing across the console's keyboard.
"The Panacea!" Commander Richter's face tightened, his voice dropping into a harsh warning.
Serena ignored him. With a final keystroke, she completely severed the continuous flow of sedatives being pumped into the pod.
Then, she pulled out a transparent vial filled with a dark crimson fluid-an Ether- Void Disruptor.
She unhooked the pod's original IV line and directly connected her vial to the external injection port.
Commander Richter's face drained of color when he realized what she was doing. "Panacea, what the hell are you doing?!"
"What did you just inject into Specimen Fourteen? Are you out of your mind? You're giving it an unidentified compound?!"
"Stop! Stop right now!"
"Specimen Fourteen isn't like Specimen Seven! Its neural augmentations are leagues beyond Seven's. Its body can't handle random chemical agents! You'll shatter the equilibrium of its genetic sequence!"
"You're only going to force it into a premature awakening!"
"Once Specimen Fourteen goes into a full frenzy..." His voice pitched upward in
sheer panic. "It'll tear this entire ship apart!"
"Mr. Joker, are you really going to let her do whatever she wants? She's going to get everyone on board killed!"
But no one answered him.
Serena didn't even blink. She just tapped a command on the console.
The crimson fluid began a slow, steady push into the pod.
...
Deep within Project Zero-Transit.
The massive screen displaying Specimen Fourteen's real-time vitals suddenly flashed violently.
Piercing alarms shrieked through the sealed command center.
[WARNING: Specimen Fourteen neural activity surging.]
[Genetic rejection response spiking.]
[Microchip command interface compromised.]
[Control terminal disconnected. Core overrides being hijacked by an external source!]
Sitting before the colossal bank of monitors, The Raven bolted upright.
The dark, predatory eyes hidden beneath his black hood locked onto the erratic data cascading across the screen.
"The Panacea..."
The name hissed through his clenched teeth, every syllable dripping with malice.
It was her again!
Ever since the incident with
Specimen Seven, this woman had
Systematically dismantled their
operations time and time again.
And now, she had the audacity to lay her hands on Specimen Fourteen.
Not only had she located the asset, but in a matter of minutes, she had hijacked the base controls of the Apex Bio-Transfer Pod. .net>
He couldn't let her continue.
If she managed to crack the control chip embedded inside Specimen Fourteen...
Years of their most classified experimental data, along with the asset's true capabilities, would be fully exposed.
He absolutely could not let Specimen Fourteen fall into her hands.
And he definitely couldn't let the asset be seen by anyone else!
Beside him, a technician frantically typed away, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "My Lord, the external controllers for Specimen Fourteen have been destroyed. The Panacea is reversing the life-support system protocols.
"The microchip interface is being jammed. We're attempting to re-establish a connection..."
The Raven whipped around, his gaze suffocatingly grim. "Initiate the Omega Purge Protocol."
The technician went pale. "But My Lord, Specimen Fourteen is currently our only-"