The bridge access door creaked open as Elias peered cautiously into the corridor. The Judge''s warnings still echoed in his mind, making him hyperaware of every shadow. The corrupted entities that had been pursuing them would return soon—the otherworldly being had made that clear.


    "Do you really think we need to split up?" Maren whispered behind him. Her face remained pale, the encounter with the Judge having shaken her scientific certainty.


    "We need to find the others," Elias replied, scanning the corridor. "Whatever''s out there, it''s hunting us. And we still need to locate these artifacts the Judge mentioned."


    The corridor stretched before them, bathed in the red glow of emergency lighting. Distant shouts and occasional alarms created a chaotic symphony of fear.


    "I''ll check this deck for any sign of the others," Elias said. "You two start looking for these artifacts the Judge mentioned. We meet back here in twenty minutes, with or without them."


    Maren nodded reluctantly. "Be careful. Remember what it said—these things aren''t just random mutations. They''re coordinated somehow."


    They parted ways, each deeply affected by the Judge''s revelations. This wasn''t merely a historical recreation—it was a deliberate test, with specific items they needed to find before reaching the bridge.


    Elias moved cautiously through the corridor, pausing at each intersection to listen. The ship''s atmosphere had changed dramatically since the containment breach. Where before there had been confusion, now there was outright panic.


    He ducked into a doorway as two crew members rushed past, arguing violently.


    "She''s infected! I saw black veins on her wrist!" one shouted, grabbing his colleague''s arm.


    "Let go of me! I''m not infected—you''re the one acting paranoid!" The woman pulled away, eyes wild with fear.


    "Everyone in Lab Three was exposed! You were there for hours!"


    "So were you!"


    They froze, suddenly staring at each other with new suspicion. The realization that either of them could be carrying the contamination transformed their argument into something more dangerous.


    Elias watched as they backed away from each other, the man reaching slowly for something at his belt. Before the situation could escalate further, a security announcement blared overhead.


    "All personnel, this is Security Chief Hayes. Implement isolation protocol delta. Anyone showing signs of contamination is to be reported immediately. Do not approach suspected individuals. Repeat, do not approach."


    The announcement only intensified the standoff, until a third crew member rounded the corner and inadvertently broke the tension. The pair scattered in opposite directions, their mutual fear driving them apart.


    Elias continued his search, witnessing similar scenarios throughout the deck. The ship was tearing itself apart from the inside—not just from the corruption, but from the fear it generated.


    Near the communications center, he heard a commotion. Peering through a partially open door, he saw several security officers surrounding a junior communications technician.


    "I''m telling you, she was fine one minute, then the next she was... changing." The young man''s voice cracked with fear. "Navigator Renz—the new guy—he just started screaming and clawing at his face."


    "Tavin Renz?" one officer clarified, making notes. "The transfer from Stellar Cartography?"


    Elias felt his blood run cold. Tavin—the self-taught scholar from the northern slums of Valtaros. One of the twelve chosen. The first confirmed casualty among them.


    "Yeah, that''s him. He was normal yesterday, but today... his eyes were wrong. When I tried to help, he attacked me. Chief Mercer had to shoot him."


    "Where''s the body?" another officer demanded.


    "Mercer ordered it sealed in the auxiliary communications room until medical could retrieve it. But that was two hours ago, and nobody''s come."


    The security team exchanged grim looks. One spoke quietly into her communicator, then addressed the others. "Medical reports they never received that request. Auxiliary communications hasn''t responded to hails for over an hour."


    Elias backed away from the door. Tavin was dead—or worse than dead. And from the sound of it, the corruption was spreading faster than the crew could track it. He needed to warn the others.


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    As he turned to leave, he nearly collided with a wild-eyed crew member who grabbed his lab coat.


    "You''re one of the research assistants, right? From Lab Four?" The man''s grip was painfully tight, his breathing erratic. "Tell them what we found! Tell them it''s not just a biological contamination—it''s changing the physical laws around it! Metal, circuitry—nothing works right near the samples!"


    "I—I''ll report it," Elias stammered, trying to maintain his cover.


    The man leaned closer, and Elias noticed with horror the faint black lines beginning to trace up his neck. "They think it''s just affecting people, but it''s affecting everything. The ship itself is being corrupted."


    A security team rounded the corner, weapons raised. "Step away from him, Daniels! You''ve been exposed!"


    The man''s grip tightened on Elias. "You''re new here. They don''t know you yet. Tell them what we discovered before it''s too late!"


    The security officer''s voice hardened. "Last warning, Daniels! Step away now!"


    Everything happened too quickly after that. Daniels shoved Elias aside and charged the security team. Two shots rang out, catching the researcher in the chest. But instead of falling, he continued forward with unnatural speed and strength, tackling one officer to the ground.


    Elias didn''t wait to see more. He ran, the sounds of struggle and more gunshots following him down the corridor. The ship''s announcement system crackled to life again, this time with Captain Markov''s voice:


    "All personnel, this is the captain. We have multiple confirmed contamination events outside designated quarantine zones. Security will implement shipwide isolation protocol effective immediately. All crew members are to return to quarters or workstations and remain there until cleared by security teams. Any personnel found in corridors without authorization will be considered compromised and handled accordingly."


    The corridors emptied rapidly as crew members sought shelter, leaving Elias exposed and vulnerable. He needed to find Maren and Etta before security found him.


    As he navigated the increasingly dangerous ship, he noticed something disturbing. The corruption wasn''t spreading randomly—it seemed to follow patterns, almost like it was being directed. The Judge had implied as much, suggesting these entities were more intelligent than they appeared.


    He was nearing the rendezvous point when he heard a scream from a side corridor. Following the sound, he found himself at the entrance to a research library. Inside, a security team had cornered a young woman in a lab coat. She held a heavy reference book as a makeshift shield, backing away from their drawn weapons.


    "Please, I''m not contaminated!" she pleaded. "I was just trying to reach the medical bay!"


    "All personnel were ordered to remain at their stations," the lead officer replied coldly. "You''re in violation of quarantine protocol."


    "I''m a biologist! I might be able to help with this contamination if you''d just let me reach Dr. Harmon!"


    Something about her desperation struck Elias. Could she be another of the chosen ones? The Judge had shown them glimpses of other survivors scattered throughout the ship.


    "She looks clean to me," one security officer said uncertainly. "Maybe we should escort her to medical instead of—"


    "We have our orders," the lead officer interrupted. "Anyone out of position is presumed compromised."


    Elias felt combat instincts he didn''t recognize rising within him. Without fully understanding why, he knew exactly how to create a distraction. He reached up and yanked an overhead pipe, causing steam to blast into the corridor.


    In the confusion, he slipped into the room. The security team turned toward the sudden noise and steam, giving the cornered woman an opening. She brought the heavy book down on the nearest officer''s arm, sending his weapon clattering to the floor.


    Elias grabbed her arm. "This way!" he hissed, pulling her toward a maintenance access he''d spotted.


    Once they''d put sufficient distance between themselves and the security team, they paused to catch their breath.


    "You''re not really a lab assistant, are you?" she asked, studying him intently. "Not from this ship, I mean."


    Elias hesitated. "What makes you say that?"


    "Because I''m not really a biologist." She extended her hand. "My name''s Nira. At least, that''s what they''re calling me here."


    Another chosen one. "Elias," he replied, shaking her hand. "We need to move. There are others—we''re trying to reach the bridge."


    A clatter in the corridor made them both freeze. The sound of multiple footsteps approached—too many for them to fight.


    "In here," Nira whispered, pulling him into what appeared to be a supply closet. They pressed themselves against the wall as security personnel passed by, their voices tense with fear and confusion.


    "—found Mercer''s team all dead. Something tore through them like they were nothing."


    "What about the navigator''s body?"


    "Gone. Just blood everywhere. Whatever he turned into, it''s loose on the ship now."


    Their voices faded as they moved away, leaving Elias and Nira in uncomfortable silence.


    "Your friend Tavin," she said quietly. "I saw what happened to him. It wasn''t quick, and it wasn''t... natural."


    Elias tensed. "You knew him?"


    "Only here, on the ship. We were assigned to adjacent stations." Her voice dropped lower. "Before he changed, he was trying to tell me something. About patterns in the corruption spread. He thought it was trying to reach something specific on the ship."


    The Judge''s warnings echoed in Elias''s mind. This wasn''t just a random outbreak—it was orchestrated. A test of their understanding, of their ability to recognize the true nature of corruption.


    "We need to find the others," Elias said with renewed urgency. "And we need to find specific artifacts before we reach the bridge."


    "Artifacts?"


    "It''s complicated. I''ll explain on the way." He checked the corridor before beckoning her to follow. "But first, we need to get back to the rendezvous point before Maren and Etta think I''m dead too."


    As they navigated the increasingly dangerous corridors, Elias realized that the Heraclea''s crew wasn''t just fighting the corruption—they were fighting their own fear, their own suspicions. And in many ways, that was proving just as deadly.


    The Judge had said they couldn''t change the outcome of this historical moment. The Heraclea was doomed. But perhaps understanding why—seeing how fear turned potential allies against each other, how paranoia blinded people to the true nature of the threat—maybe that was the real lesson they were meant to learn.


    And if so, it was a lesson written in blood.