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** CHAPTER 59** The third offense Part VII

A makeshift planning room in the engineering bay at R105 served as a spot for a brief reunion between Captain Silver and some of her main crew. Mangled and beaten, Silver stood furious behind an improvised table; the purity of her white fur tainted with her own blood and her sliver armor now shattered into pieces after the fierce battle she just barely managed to withstand along with her comrades. She demanded a status report, in which Titan didn't wait a second to inform.

"We haven't got much time, Silver. Doko and I been working hard on deciphering the virus that killed ours and Canis Major's systems a day ago." Titan informed. He was trying to be as strong as he always is, but the situation had taken him to his limits. Maybe he wasn't a warrior, but as Chief Engineering Scientist, the security of the ship fell into his responsibility.

"I need solutions, Commander!" Silver yelled. Raising her voice seemed painful as she noticeably squint her eyes when she yelled at his brother.

"It's ready, Commander!" Doko ran into the improvised room before Titan could continue with the report. "Captain, you're here too. I got good news."

Every Retcan on the room listened carefully to what Doko and Titan had planned. This could be their last chance of winning that war.

"You did it?" Titan asked in disbelief.

"I managed to reverse-engineer the virus that the machines implanted on our systems. As I thought, the artifact is still functional and it accepted the newly re-written virus."

"Wait, what's going on?" Silver interrupted. "Is this what you were talking about, Titan?"

"My apologies, Captain. Let me explain, if the Commander is okay with it." Doko said. Titan nodded at him giving him the go.

"As we figured, the machines have been watching over our shoulders for very long. This virus is made to attack very specific areas in not only R105's systems, but also Canis Major. The only way that they could've done that is by infiltrating our systems a long time ago, due to the time it would take to study and label each and every branch of our systems. I also believe this because the virus is somewhat outdated in certain parameters; only reason why our ships although heavily affected, they are still functional."

"Go on." Silver pushed.

"This was probably done with a very low profile spy program; one that only had a one way traffic of information. That's why they sent the Evo to implant the virus directly. If they did it through the spy program remotely we would've noticed and this war would have never happened."

"Please Doko, go to the point. We haven't got much time." Silver again pushed, now a bit more irritated.

"My apologies Silver. Our only hope to defeat the machines is by returning the favor. We... will implant a virus into their mainframe." Doko ended explaining. He didn't find the words to tell the Captain what would be the only possible method of doing this.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Silver demanded an explanation.

"This is where the artifact comes in." Titan continued, once he noticed his friend was incapable telling the Captain of the only possible plan. "Doko managed to upload the re-written virus into the artifact. But the only way to deliver it into the machine's mainframe is by doing what they did to us."

"Implanting the artifact directly into the machine's main computer..." Silver interrupted Titan. Immediately she fiercely punched the table. She knew this was going to be next to impossible. There was no chance they could ever locate the machine's main computer and implant the virus before those mass destruction ships fired on R105 and Canis Major; either that, or the machine fleet completely defeated R105's fleet.

"I..." Hesitating, Doko continued. "We have discovered that one of the ships in the machine's main fleet is transmitting enormous amounts of energy signals. I can't confirm, but I'm very sure that ship is controlling all the machine's units."

Everyone got startled when Silver stood up and walked away.

"Silver!" Titan tried to stop his sister.

"I'm going to the barracks to re-equip. When I return, I will need that artifact and a ship prepared. Do I make myself clear!?" Silver yelled furiously, ignoring Titan who did what he could to stop her.

"Silver, please!" Titan insisted. He finally managed to grab Silver and stopped her. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Is that what you want!?" Now Titan was furious. He had enough of seeing his loved ones getting hurt.

"I am the Captain of this ship, Commander! I do whatever I feel is the best for us! And if that involves getting myself killed, so be it!" Silver had never yelled so loud before. Tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking her soft fur. She had enough. Her emotions once again took over her body and mind, but she would do whatever was necessary to save her ship and Canis Major.

"You know what we were getting ourselves into when you boarded this ship." Silver said, now changing her anger into a gentle tone. "Accept it, brother." Silver held Titans face and nuzzled him, gently licking his nose. "I won't let this be the end for R105 and Canis Major. You would do the same."

"Darn right I would." Titan responded. He held Silver's hand-paws gently but firmly. Both pair of silvery blue eyes pierced into each other for a second. Neither both would give away. "I'm going with you. And before you even dare to stop me, I must remind you that you're my little sister and it's my duty to protect you no matter what."

Silver didn't say a thing. Her mind was temporarily blocked. She just stared a Titan with her eyes flooded in tears of anger; anger towards the machines and not her own.

"I will go. I wrote the virus. Let me do this for R105." Unexpectedly, Doko approached both Titan and Silver.

"No, wait!" another female Retcan ran toward Doko. It was Tech; one well known member of R105's defense squad. "Are you crazy Doko? You're going to get yourself killed before you even reach a terminal to upload the virus. You are not doing this!" Tech and Doko had always been very close to each other. The purest of friendships had blossomed between both of them since they boarded R105. Tech, being a Retcan warrior, knew how deadly it would be to even approach the machine fleet. There was no way she would let her best friend loose his life in vain.

"Enough, you two." Silver ordered. "Titan and I will get go to that ship. Doko and Tech, you have done more for this ship than we could ever ask for. You've earned your rest. Leave this to me."

Hesitant, both Retcans obeyed. As a Retcan warrior, Tech still insisted to accompany her Captain, but she was denied the task.

But the struggle was far from over. There was still one Retcan that stood against Silver. He would do whatever he could to stop her from embarking in this suicidal mission.

Large charcoal eyes flooded in tears stared at Silver. The young Bo wouldn't accept that his Captain, his friend, his sister Retcan, his mother would sacrifice herself that day.

"I have no time for this Bo." Silver said. There was doubt in her voice. For the first time she understood why the council advised against having family members onboard an R Series cruiser. The relationship she had with this white Retcan was clouding her judgment.

The natural bond with Bo was to strong. There was much more than a Retcan brotherhood. This young white Retcan was part of her. Seeing him destroyed in front of her eyes made Silver doubt. Knowing that they would probably never be together again was taking a huge toll on her.

"Is that it? You're not even going to ask for help?" Bo said, in the verge of crying. "You're just going to throw yourself into a certain death?"

"It's the only way, Bo. It's my duty."

"No it isn't! We are all Retcans. We are one! We fight together, we die together!" Bo yelled furious. "That's what you have taught me since I was a youngling."

"As I told Titan, you know very well how things work. You know that things like this could happen while on board this ship."

"No!" Bo exploded, cutting through Silver's words. "I don't know. I wasn't even given a choice! You dragged me into this even before I was born!"

Silver felt like a dagger pierced her heart when Bo said those words. It was not that the young Retcan was being harsh with her; it was the harsh truth of his words. Silver approached Bo and held him as tenderly as she held him when he was a youngling. She said nothing... She just held into Bo. Her tears rolled down her face again, now soaking the pure white fur of her son.

"I will go with..."

Bo never ended his words. Behind him, an arm reached to him. A brown furred Retcan had given him a jolt of electricity, making Bo loose his consciousness in the act.

Silver never reacted negatively to this. She just stared to this Retcan's green eyes, thanking him for what he did.

"I suppose it will be futile to try and convince you that I will go as well." Shadow, the elder Retcan warrior said; his touch that started as a furious electric shock, now turning into a tender caress to the unconscious Bo.

"If something happens to Zonda and Alpha, this ship will need an experienced warrior on the lead. You are the only one that can lead our defense squad to victory." Silver said as she laid Bo gently on the ground. "If something happens to me..." She hesitantly continued as she stared at her unconscious son, "Bo is the only one who can lead this ship. I've taught him everything I know during these decades. If our ship and Canis Major survives this day, he will continue our mission."

It was a painful moment for all of them. But they were loosing valuable time. This was more obvious when all of the sudden, the worse that could happen, happened.

A massive explosion, followed by a tremor that shook R105 like never before threw everyone into the ground like rag dolls. The huge corridors and large areas warped before their eyes as if made of cardboard. The whole ship had twisted right from the core. Was this the end? What could've possibly do this to one of the most powerful R Series Retcan Cruisers ever made? What could bend and twist a ship of almost eight kilometers in diameter so easily?

Outside in space, the large mass destruction machine ship still had its cannon scorching red. They had fired it against R105. The massive Retcan battle cruiser started tipping over its axis due to the large impact. Retcans out in battle saw terrified how their home was attacked so viciously, spewing molten metal, explosions everywhere around the area and a huge cloud of debris slowly drifting away into space. The cloud soon dissipated, showing an enormous hole in R105. The hole pierced the ship all the way through, revealing corridors inside it; green areas of vegetation that now were completely charred along with other sectors of the massive battle cruiser. The hole was almost a hundred meters in diameter; huge indeed, but thankfully not enough to bring the agonizing ship completely down. But R105 wouldn't withstand another hit.

"What happened?!" Silver could be heard yelling. Everyone was still recovering from the immense impact. The air was covered with smoke and dust. Lights had a hard time keeping on. This was bad. This could be R105 dying.

"Silver!" Titan yelled. He was recovering and managed to get up on his hind legs once again. The message he just received from the bridge was terrifying.

Titan finally managed to find Silver who lied on the ground holding Bo firmly. When she saw Titan she immediately got up. Shadow who was close by watched over her son.

"Silver! It was a mass destruction weapon! They just fired it at us!"

"What?! I thought we still had time!"

"We were wrong!" Titan responded. He was overwhelmed by a mix of fury and fear. How could've made such miscalculations? "The shot wasn't enough to destroy us, but R105 won't withstand another one of those shots."

"Seal the affected areas. Send a rescue team in search of any of our brothers that might've been caught in the explosion." Silver immediately ordered. She didn't want to think what would be the outcome of that attack. Some of her brothers and sisters might've been caught in the attack. That thought made her heart sink.

There wasn't time for a full damage report. It was obvious the damage was critical after such an impact. The ship was now struggling to keep functional, and they had to stop the machines at all costs before they shot at them again.

Silver and Titan made it to the barracks to equip with a pressurized environmental suit. It wasn't sure if that ship that they were heading was pressurized. Their hands shock as they helped each other to put the armor on. They felt as if that thing would fire again at any moment.

"This will be a stealth mission, Titan. The only reason why I'm taking you is because you know what we need to do with that artifact. Once we are in, you guide us to a terminal were we can upload this virus. Then we are out." Silver coldly explained Titan her plans.

"I understand, Captain." Titan responded.

"Listen to me, Titan. I will be your fangs and claws if those things start attacking us. No matter what happens, I want you to continue and implant that thing. Do I make myself clear?"

"I know what I have to do." Titan replied. He didn't want to think about what they were about to face. He just thought on getting things done and getting out alive from that ship as soon as possible.

Once they were geared up, they grabbed as many weapons as they could. Both attached deadly force assault rifles into their back and also a pair of hand pistols. As much as they hated those weapons that were usually wielded by the most coward of species, this situation was critical and they knew they needed them. Still, Silver packed a new pair of short Lanthracit blades.

Silver noticed that Titan also packed explosive charges. She immediately confronted him.

"Plan B." Titan responded when Silver questioned him. "There is no way we can blow up the entire ship with this, but at list I we can blow up their main computer." Titan explained. "I know that it would've been much easier this way, but there is a chance that the machine systems are also linked to The Hive. If we successfully implant the virus, The Hive might also take the hit. We can't waste the opportunity."

Packed and ready, both brothers walked to the hangar. Making their way through mountains of debris, they finally reached a small transport vessel. A group of two Retcans on board S series would escort them. Storm, the young prodigy pilot and ship Engineer would be their pilot. The less Retcans involved in the mission, the better chances of success they would have.

Looking at each other, they nodded. Their helmets closed and their armor now was pressurized. They never looked back.

Escorted by the two Retcan S Series Fighters, the small ship made its way out through the maintenance tunnel until it reached space. A long treacherous journey awaited these Retcans.