Spectre

Starcore Wild Space chapter 9.

Phobos shipyards, Mars

The Phobos Shipyards, a massive construction facility hanging in the shadow of Mars, was a fortress of steel and innovation. It was here, among the skeletal frames of unfinished starships, that the Mars Collective kept its most prized possessions. The shipyards were a marvel of human engineering, a sprawling complex where experimental starships were designed, built, and tested—far from the prying eyes of Earth and Mars’ other rivals.

Security was tight—impenetrable, some said. Surveillance drones hovered silently in the high corners of the hangars, their lenses sweeping constantly for any sign of intrusion. Patrols of heavily armed and armored MC soldiers, clad in dark uniforms, marched through the halls with clockwork precision. The shipyard’s AI monitored every heartbeat, every breath, of those who walked its corridors. And yet, none of that mattered to Rhys "Scythe" Zadar.

Clad in the matte black stealth armour of the Red Brotherhood, Zadar moved through the shadows like a wraith. His proton swords, were sheathed across his back, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. The mask that covered his face was expressionless, reflecting the cold determination in his heart. It also shielded his breathing from any sensors, his armour masking his presence. The cloaking tech made him appear as a trick of the light—security cameras would glitch at his approach.

Zadar was no ordinary infiltrator. He was a ghost who had slipped through the EF’s fingers more times than they could count. They called him "Scythe" for the way he reaped lives with swift, merciless precision. He was a man on a mission, driven by a cause that had consumed him since the day he had first seen the light of Mars's crimson skies. Genetically modified like the other Red Brothers to be Mars’ most lethal instruments he possessed enhanced strength and speed. He'd managed to sneak aboard an MC military craft bound for the shipyards, stowing away within its cargo hold. That had been a week ago. Ever since, he had stalked the corridors and watched from the shadows. He knew every trick and tactic the security forces used—he’d helped come up with many of them, after all.

It wasn’t he who had turned traitor but the cowards and sycophants of the MC government. Their acceptance of the unfavourable peace terms following the second Earth/Mars war had been the last straw, not just for him but for many true sons and daughters of the Red Dirt. There was only one man who had refused, vowing to keep fighting until Mars was truly free of Earth and its demands: General Ajax. The EF and its allies thought him dead. Soon they would learn otherwise, and Scythe would be his instrument.

The shipyard’s AI was formidable, but even it had its limitations. Zadar had spent days studying its protocols, learning its blind spots. He had memorized the patrol routes of the guards, the timing of the shifts. When the moment came, he moved like a shadow through the facility, slipping past cameras and motion sensors with ease.

He had slipped out of the transport and entered the restricted shipyard complex through a maintenance hatch on the shipyard’s lower levels, a section reserved for waste disposal and environmental controls. The air was thick with the smell of ozone and metal, the low hum of machinery vibrating through the floor. He moved swiftly, his footsteps silent on the cold steel.

A security drone hovered into view, its sensors sweeping the corridor. Zadar waited, breath held, until it passed, then continued forward. The shipyard was a maze, but Zadar knew every twist and turn. His helmet's HUD displayed a D map, a blueprint of the entire facility that the Red Brothers had acquired through months of preparation. Only a run-in with some EF agents on Luna had almost exposed their plans. Fortunately, his compatriots had wiped the data, and the shipyard had received no warning.