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** CHAPTER 64** Hope

Not all hope was lost, for the Retcans still had one last card at play.

"How much time?" With the last strengths left on his body, Hatchi did his best to keep up with Silver and Titan. He carried his friend Gold in his arms, who was severely injured during what could've been their end.

"Two and a half! Silver replied urgently. Titan had recovered consciousness, but still needed some help to keep going. "Don't stop; we are almost there!" Silver made sure Hatchi kept behind. She couldn't possibly think of loosing her Retcan brothers again. No; that was not an option.

Their ordeal was far from over. They were still almost half way to their ship and the time seemed to be running faster than they could walk. What tormented Silver's mind was the possibility to find more machines on their way; or even worse, one of those humanoid machines.

Their way back down that elevator shaft was a nightmare. With Gold coming in and out of consciousness, and loosing blood at an alarming rate, they were taking longer than they would've anticipated.

"Fifty-nine seconds..." Silver whispered, but loud enough so her brothers could hear.

"We won't make it on time, Silver!" Titan concluded. He was struggling to keep standing, but was aware of the situation.

"No. We won't." Silver confirmed. They had just passed through the corridor that took them to the elevator shaft. The amount of Assassin-Types scattered around the floor, was evidence that they were getting close to the Hangar, but they weren't safe still.

"Five seconds. Hatchi! Titan! Get down and cover yourselves!" Silver yelled.

Never loosing grip of her brother, Silver threw herself to the ground and covered hers and Titan's head. Quickly but carefully, Hatchi did the same with Gold.

The counter finally reached zero. It took a moment, but after a second or two, the ground shook violently as if a gigantic asteroid had hit the ship. The explosion was stronger than they would have anticipated, even warping the very corridor that they were at; panels, wirings and pipe lines collapsed from the walls. Lights failed soon after, consuming the four mangled Retcans in total darkness.

They ignored the extent of the damage to that ship, but witnessing the total power failure, and the strength of the shockwave that hit them, they knew the ship might've had sustained terminal damage.

Ears ringing and the last strength leaving her body, Silver opened her eyes to total chaos. The corridor that they were before had changed completely and it was now a dark tunnel full of showering sparks and debris everywhere. It was still too early to claim victory.

Laboriously, Silver got back on her hind paws, making a huge effort to help Titan get up too.

"Hatchi... Up. Now!" With difficulties, Silver ordered.

"We need to get out of here, Captain. Gold is... in critical condition." While Hatchi got back on his hind paws he noticed how his friend had lost all consciousness. A wound in her chest, given by one of those Assassin machines had left her between the borderline of life and death.

"I think they got a main artery. We have to get out of here quick!" Hatchi said almost crying out of fear of loosing his friend. He did his best to maintain the wound from bleeding while he tried to carry Gold again. It was an almost impossible task. The Nano Machines that they all had in their blood stream kept Gold's vitals as stable as possible, at the same time that they released painkillers and coagulants. If it wasn't for it, Gold would probably had lost her life before they even reached that point. But if her heart was compromised, the Nano machines weren't going to keep her alive for much longer.

The Retcan team was close to the exit. Secondary explosions and tremors that made them fall back down into the ground made it difficult to reach their goal, but they had to continue. Safety was very close. The four Retcans had managed an incredible feat already. What could go wrong?

The four Retcans were just meters away from the junction where they were ambushed the first time. Just a right turn and they would reach the hangar. Nothing could possible stop them now.

"Don't stop..!" Silver yelled with difficulty. Titan had fully regained consciousness and both helped each other continue forward. With the very little strength they had on them, they kept moving. Hatchi was slightly in better condition, but carrying Gold with his weakened and sore body made him fall back a bit. Titan and Silver could do nothing to help him as they were barely being able to hold their own weight. They could just look back and encourage their Retcan brother not to give up.

"Captain!" Hatchi yelled with difficulty. There was something about the way he said it...

"Be strong, Hatchi. We are almost there!" Silver replied. She was focused on reaching their destination. With every step they took, it almost seemed as if the corridor stretched further and faster than they could advance.

"Silver, Titan!" Hatchi again gained the attention of now both of his Retcan brothers.

The fact that he called them by their names confirmed that there might be something going wrong.

"What is it, brother?" Silver yelled back without looking back. But Titan did look back and knew what Hatchi was talking about.

"Oh no... No more please!" Were Titan's words; his tone full of despair. He quickened his pace, which made Silver realize that there was something indeed very wrong.

Looking back, Silver now faced her worst fear. Far back from the extremely long and curved corridor, illuminated by a localized fire like many that engulfed the place, the dancing shadows of a horde of assassin machines shrunk as they closed into them. Because of the explosions and the noise of the ship falling apart, they didn't hear the machines approaching. But it didn't matter anymore if they knew or not; those things would get to them no matter what.

No words came from any of the Retcans. Tears of desperation filled their eyes as they tried to go faster, beyond what their shattered bodies would let them. Turning back for a second, Silver had a glimpse of at least ten or fifteen machines heading towards them.

A brief series of sharp detonations, followed by silence, sadly confirmed that Hatchi's rifle had run out of ammo. He could barely hold the rifle and Gold at the same time and that short burst didn't even manage to hit its target. The Retcan immediately let go of the rifle and continued his way in a desperate attempt to escape that last offense the merciless fate had thrown at them.

Just maybe, the four Retcans would make it. Still, reaching the hangar was one thing; escaping the deadly grip of those vicious machines was another.

Around they went through the last turn. The path to safety was just a few meters before them. However, fate had one more devious trick up its sleeve.

They could see the last gate they had to cross to safety. Just a couple of meters more...

"Don't look back; keep moving!" Silver desperately yelled. More secondary explosions made them loose balance and fall to the ground. The machines were getting close...

They were almost there...

But the unexpected had once again blocked all their hope of escape.

Merciless fate...

That deafening squeal again; not from behind, but from in front of them. Appearing from the darkness of that corridor, right from their escape route, a dark figure walked in from the hangar sector.

Dripping green fluid from multiple gunshot wounds, furious and rampageous, that monster walked towards them; its wire harness that mimicked long human hair, spiked up and wiggling like a thousand serpents.

No words came from the Retcan team. Hatchi stared at it with fear, Titan with distress, Silver with fury. So close, and that monster had once again denied them their right to survive. This was it; the four Retcans had nothing else that could help them to fight that monster. Their weapons were lost, and their body was taken beyond the limits. Luck had run out.

"Where do you think you're going?!" A furious growl could be heard, muffled behind a helmet, but still audible through all that uproar.

A shower of rounds struck the machine as it was pinned against a wall due to the force of the impacts. From the same gate that the machine had walked out from, an armored Retcan walked slowly towards it; his finger was tight on the rifle's trigger. From Silver's point of view, she could see the number in the rifle's display decreasing at a fast and never ending pace until it reached the double Zero in bright red numbers. The machine was now on the ground against a wall, spewing green fluid, but attempting to get back on its legs.

"I'm not done with you! You have hurt us enough already, and we will claim justice for your evil deeds!" The Retcan said, as the smoking empty magazine flew across the corridor after it was ejected. At the same time that he had secured the new magazine into the rifle and cocked the first round into the chamber, the male Retcan placed his boot on the machine's shoulder, pinning it violently against the wall once again and released a second deadly burst of fire at point blank. The dark corridor looked like a beautiful lightning storm as the powerful rifle rounds shredded the humanoid machine's upper body into a mass of molten metal.

Silver felt how her senses abandoned her. Could this be what her mind wished for, or was it really happening?

A second Retcan warrior rushed into the corridor from the hangar and went far back from where Silver and her small team desperately came from.

"More hostiles approaching! I'll slow them down. Secure our brothers!" That Retcan yelled. Immediately after, his voice was drowned by the detonations of his rifle as he opened fired at the Assassin horde that was after Silver and her team.

Silver was disoriented. She didn't know what to do or what to say. Her hearing faded, being a sign that her consciousness was starting to drift away from her. But as she was close to passing out, she felt how someone held her warmly. With difficulty, she looked back at who delicately dragged her into safety. The young black furred Retcan, Storm, helped her continue into the hangar.

"Titan, Hatchi, Gold..." She said with difficulty.

"Right behind us, Silver. Don't worry." The black furred Retcan reassured her.

All around them there were fires and a heavy breeze that made it even harder to stand, caused by the air lock shield was failing intermittently four hundred meters down the access tunnel. Silver could feel how they walked across a pile of wrecked Assassin Type machines. Some of the heavier parts blocked their path; the lighter ones just flew in mid air, sucked but the vacuum. Before her, her blurry sight could see the ship that had brought them into that nightmare.

"Get them in and get out of here, Storm!" One of the Retcan warriors yelled through the Com System at Storm.

"But, brothers!?" Storm replied confused. He wouldn't leave until he knew everyone was safe.

"Don't worry about us! We will catch up with you later!" the furious Retcan warrior yelled back as he shot nonstop at the horde that was getting close to the hangar.

Trusting that his brothers would make it out of that ship safely, Storm helped Silver into the transport vessel. Titan was better now and helped Hatchi and Gold.

"Move it Storm. They will be fine!" Titan now ordered. He was worried for his brothers, be when he saw they threw a heat grenade at the horde and soon after they ran into the ships, he knew they were going to be okay.

"Right away, Commander!" Storm replied as he ran into the cockpit of the vessel that was already active and ready for departure.

A few machines survived the explosion of the heat grenade, but by the time they reached the two Retcan warriors, it was too late. They were already inside their S Series and there was nothing the machines could do to damage it with their blade limbs.

Jumping in the pilot's seat, Storm released the magnetic anchor of the vessel, pressurized the cockpit while they were in motion already, revved the engines and accelerated through the hangar's access tunnel.

"Hand on!" Storm yelled through the ships Com Systems. There was no time to even buckle themselves into the seats. Silver, Titan and Hatchi held on to the floor of the ship, protecting Gold from bouncing around when they reached the air lock and the transition between the machine's ship gravity to Zero G.

"Our brothers are behind us. We are out of here!" Looking back in his rear view screen, Storm confirmed that his Retcan brothers had made it out of the hangar.

Within seconds the transport vessel and the two S Series fighters were finally back into the void of space... That nightmare was finally over.

"I'll activate the gravity. Hold on!" Storm communicated. They needed medical attention and floating around the ship wasn't going to help at all. It would take them longer to reach R105 that way though since Storm knew that with the gravity activated, he had to avoid rough maneuvers so his brothers wouldn't get hurt by the G forces.

"It... took us more than thirteen minutes. I'm sorry..." Silver whispered confused. She didn't mean to say something so unimportant, but she was disoriented. Soon, the reality of the moment once again kicked in and she tried desperately to get back on her hind paws.

They might've made it out, but it was not over yet. They didn't know if destroying the System's Core of the machines would do anything to give them an advantage against the powerful mechanical beings. They weren't even sure if that computer controlled the entire machine army or if it had any importance at all.

"She is not dong well... Please hurry back to R105, Storm!" Hatchi yelled in the verge of crying as he pressed Gold's chest. The Nano Machines have already served their purpose and she started bleeding profusely once again. Every heart beat, the precious fluid escaped her body.

Titan and Silver were in bad shape too, but the need of helping their Retcan sister gave them the strength to get up. Titan reached for the field surgeon kit and pulled out as many bandages as he could. Silver just stayed close to Gold, caressing her face.

As it was common among some Retcan warriors, Hatchi knew various emergency medical procedures and took control of the situation. He was in no better condition than the rest, but he would do anything in his hand-paws to keep his Retcan sister alive.

"Maintain pressure on the wound, Titan!" Hatchi ordered. He assiduously took Gold's armor off to release pressure on her body.

"She's bleeding too much..." Titan kept pressure on the wound. He was being helpful, but the sight of his Retcan sister being in that condition was making it difficult for him to keep calm.

Hatchi soon placed an I.V line in Gold's vein and started pumping in artificial blood units. It wouldn't be a permanent replacement for Gold's blood, but would keep her alive until they reached R105. Once the source of the hemorrhage was cauterized, the amount of artificial blood inoculated to her would be progressively reduced as her own body produced more blood. She was not out of danger, as her heart was probably compromised, but at least she was stabilized.

Their mission was fulfilled, but their ordeal was far from over. It was also unclear if their efforts were a success or if they were in vain. All they could do now is try to safely reach R105 and get Gold some medical attention. With how things were at that moment, their fate and that of their severely injured friend was dark and uncertain.

Back in R105, things were bad. A new wave of machines had breached the hangar and the Retcan defense team in charge of protecting the ship was having a hard time repelling the enemy forces. Shadow, who was ordered by Silver to take charge of the ship was desperate of going back down into the hangar to fight along his brothers. But without him monitoring the situation not only in R105 but in space, things could get out of control.

"They are throwing everything at us, Shadow!" One of the Retcan warriors fighting in the hangar informed.

"Keep fighting, Tech! You and the team are doing a great job." Shadow felt useless being at the bridge, but he had to comply with Silver's orders no matter what. He didn't know what else to say to the young female Retcan warrior, other than words of encouragement. Deep inside, his heart sank with the idea that those monsters could start gaining advantage. Not only his Retcan brothers that fought bravely could suffer the consequences, but also the already injured R105. Shadow had never gone through such a horrible moment since the Great War for Lusceonis.

"Cobalt! Do you have the status of the damage? I asked for it five minutes ago!" Shadow yelled to the blue furred Retcan.

"The impact pierced R105 almost all the way through all twenty decks. It stopped at the second sub deck. Radius of the impact is eighty-two meters, hitting mostly living sectors and one of our green houses." The female Retcan replied while she read the report. "No damage was done to R105's core or the engine bay. Our brothers..." She continued with difficulty. "Silver was very clever. The living Sectors affected were empty since she gave the order to evacuate to Canis Major."

"Are you sure no one is there? No Retcan was trapped in the explosion?" Shadow asked for confirmation.

"Negative. I don't detect anyone. The calls for help come from adjacent sectors. No one is severely injured and those crew members have moved to safer sectors already. Emergency blast curtains have been dropped and we have no atmosphere leaks." Cobalt ended with the report. "I will run a census once this is over..."

"It will be over... and we will win, Cobalt." Shadow replied softly. He could sense despair in his Retcan sister's words.

"Any word on Canis Major?" Shadow requested more information. He had kneeled down next to Bo. Bo was rocking back and forth while embracing his own knees. There was little or no emotional response from the white furred Retcan. His deep dark grey eyes were wide open and fixed to the nothingness.

"I have just received info. The impact managed to pierce through Outer Shell. It... never made it through Canis Major's hull! There is only external damage, but the machines are using this to access Canis Major!" Cobalt said. Any sense of joy due to the fact that the massive iron shell stopped the deadly beam from hitting Canis Major was drowned by the fact that the attack of the machines was still relentless. And the idea that those cannons could fire again destroyed any hope that Canis Major would be safe for long.

"Wait a minute...!" Cobalt interrupted the status report. "How is this possible?"

"Explain yourself, Cobalt!" Shadow urged for an answer to her sudden surprise.

"How am I getting all this? I'm getting all sorts of information from Canis Major. It's so clear!"

"Silver..." Shadow whispered as he got up. Bo reacted to his mother's name and got up as well. A sense of warmth started filling both Retcans as they perceived how Cobalt's mood suddenly changed positively.

"Our systems..." Cobalt said as she looked all around, witnessing how most of the deactivated panels started lighting up. "Our systems are coming back to life!"

"Are you sure?!" Shadow couldn't believe what he heard. They were close to their possible demise seconds ago; the battle could be shifting on their favor now.

"Our systems! They were never gone! They were... turned against us! But they are responding now! Everything is working now Shadow!" Cobalt yelled. For the first time in that fateful day, a Retcan shed tears, but not of sorrow. Cobalt shed tears of joy and hope.

"Activate R105's shields, now!" Shadow yelled. His body was full of rage. But it was a different kind of rage. It was a warrior rage fueled by the feeling that his enemies fall was closing in.

"I can not only do that, but I can activate Canis Major's defenses too!" Cobalt replied as she assiduously worked on her control terminal. It was incredible... All hope was lost, but from nowhere, odds were in their favor once again. A huge blue glare engulfed the R105 Lusceonis Battle Cruiser. Every round shot at it by the machines was now repelled effortlessly. The machine army that raged through R105's on their way to the hangar were suddenly trapped in the powerful electric field. Thousands of Assassin Types, Ballistic Droids and others drifted in space shattered and motionless.

"Shields are up, Shadow!" Cobalt informed. The bridge's main screen now showed various locations of R105 and also its status, confirming indeed that the ship was once again protected. "Incoming message from General Zonda, sir!"

It didn't take long for Zonda's team to notice that there was something different. After a quick command, Cobalt opened communications. Zonda's face was now visible in crystal clear definition. His expression was of surprise.

"Shadow. The machines are acting erratically! Their shields are failing. What's going on?!"

"Silver and Titan... That's what's going on. I don't know what they did, but they have saved us all! Our systems are back!"

"I knew it! I knew they could do it!" Zonda cheered, without ever loosing his focus on the fight. The excitement could be felt how it invaded every inch of his body. His morale had risen to its limits, giving him the strength to obliterate his enemy. There was no fear anymore. Even the pain of his wounds was gone. In its place, a warm feeling flowed through his veins; the feeling of hope... the feeling of victory.

"Listen to me, Zonda!" Shadow spoke furiously.

"Sir?!" Zonda awaited orders.

"Have no mercy, my pup... Show those monsters the fury of the Retcan warrior. Show them what we do to those who attempt against our and our friend's peace. Make them pay for every single action taken against our ship, the Evo's ship, our friends and our brothers! Is that clear, soldier?!"

"I give you my promise that those soulless monsters will feel our fangs and claws ripping through their cold metallic skin. I don't care if they're not created to feel pain, because we will hit them so hard that today they will learn the concept of it!" Zonda replied. His piercing yellow eyes glared with fury and determination. "Zonda out!"

Zonda's image in R105's screen disappeared as he head on to the final bout. Their fighter ships had suffered a great damage. Many S Series were close to being destroyed, but just in time, the battle shifted to their favor. The machine's ships might've been a rough copy of the Retcan fighter ships, but they had a major flaw: they relied on their mother ship. With the mother ship now severely damaged, communications between the machine forces were cut. The machine fighters were now flying erratically, and were not able to change their shield's polarity anymore. They were now easy targets for Zonda and their team. One by one, the machine fighters started falling in battle.

"Cobalt!" Shadow yelled as he stood firm in front of the screen as he watched the battle closely.

"Sir!" The blue furred female Retcan responded ready for orders.

"Prepare 'Rage of Lusceonis..."'

"My pleasure!" Cobalt replied with a sense of pride and fury in her tone. "What is the target?"

Shadow turned to look at Cobalt with the corner of his eyes. "The machine's canon ship." He said with a slight smirk on his muzzle.

"It will be done, sir!"

Outside R105, a section of the ship of almost the size of a living sector opened. Huge metallic panels, gears and other mechanical parts deployed in a glorious ballet of engineering prowess. After a minute, almost a thousand parts had conjoined to give shape to a canon of gigantic dimensions. This was R105's primary weapon; Rage of Lusceonis.

"Rage of Lusceonis is ready, sir." Cobalt informed. Her hand-paw rested a few millimeters from the control panel of her command center. Just one command and the canon would open fire. "Locked on to target and awaiting confirmation."

"I will do it!" And enraged Bo took everyone by surprise. He ran into Cobalt's control panel and stood ready to finish that war once and for all. Through his mind he thought of the events of that day. Remembering Silver covered in blood after the first wave that struck R105 earlier that day would scar him for life. But he also remembered the attack that they had saved the Evocanis from in the past. All those lives lost... And it was all the fault of those monsters. Many years ago, the Retcans did it to save those defenseless furred creatures, but now the machines had made it personal.

Shadow looked at Bo right into the eyes. He saw how the young white furred Retcan couldn't hold his tears anymore as he stared back at him. These were tears of anger and rage. Retcans and Evocanis have had enough for that day. It was time to end it.

"Fire Rage of Lusceonis!" Shadow ordered. Bo's hand-paw fell into the touch panel, confirming the command. Light's in R105 went dim for a moment as in the screen of the bridge they saw a status bar indicating how the canon charged its powerful attack. It didn't take more than fifteen seconds.

A vibration was felt inside the huge Retcan battle cruiser. Outside in space, rage of Lusceonis shined the light of hope for Retcans and Evocanis that day. For the machines, it was the light that announced their demise.

An enormous beam was shot from Rage of Lusceonis, piercing through the machine's canon ship. Lights in the ship flickered until they shut down not seconds before a huge explosion bloomed from the massive structure. The machine's canon was now no more than a huge field of scorching hot space debris.

"We have no time to celebrate!" Shadow yelled when he saw the excitement on Cobalt. "Aim at the second canon ship!" He barked. The war wouldn't be over until the threat was no more. Cobalt knew this and immediately set the coordinates.

It was just a matter of seconds until the machine's second canon would be destroyed. Retcans and Evocanis would claim victory that day.