Team Sloth Returns

     "Just a little bit more to do then I'll be able to go home", he said with rising apprehension.

     Alix had enlisted in the Virtupet Security Core a few years ago and he loved his job, but things had changed in recent years. Day by day his workload grew and the demands of the job had drained his enthusiasm for his work. His limbs ached, his reflexes had slowed and he needed more and more sleep. He had begun to dread going to work and that was perhaps the worst part of all.

     As with all of his most recent jobs, Alix sighed as the lift arrived at his destination. The formerly plucky and energetic blue Grundo adjusted the collar of his jacket and stepped out of the transport lift onto Sublevel Ninety Nine. The overhead lights of the passages flickered weakly and cast pale blue reflections onto the floor. He turned abruptly as somewhere in the distance, he could hear some machinery clang. Was it the fact that it was the night cycle that had him on edge or was it a premonition of danger? He continued to glance around, taking in every detail of the sublevel. Down at this level, maintenance was a priority but aesthetics were not. Whilst the inner mechanics were kept operational, there was no need for it to be pretty. No one should really have any business down here, and certainly no one lives here. So, the pipes rattled and ancient generators groaned behind some ugly rusted panels. Steam hissed from cracked vents into narrow corridors as Alix looked around him.

     "Oh, this is going to be a fun mission", Alix thought.

     He checked the mission slip again, even though he already knew every word printed on it. There had been possible Team Sloth activity detected in the lower maintenance sectors and it was Alix's job to investigate and report. Whilst it might sound easy enough, that was never the case when Team Sloth was involved. After their recent rise in activity, everyone was on edge, no one more so than Alix right now. You don't mess with Team Sloth.

     Alix exhaled slowly and clipped the mission slip back onto his belt as the communicator at his side crackled faintly with static before the voice snapped.

     “Status report.”, said the brisk Commander Veln.

     Alix tapped the device. “I've arrived at Sublevel Ninety Nine, sir and I'm beginning my sweep now.”

     “Keep your guard up,” Veln replied with a note of caution in his voice. “Three maintenance workers vanished near the coolant tunnels two cycles ago. We've also been unable to glean anything from security drones too.”

     Alix frowned, wondering if he was more expendable than more drones but he said, “You think it’s really them?”

     A pause followed.

     “There have been signs. Graffiti matching old Team Sloth insignias has been appearing throughout the lower decks,” Veln said carefully. “ and storage crates have gone missing. We have reports of restricted doors being opened from the inside. Someone or something is operating down there.”

     Alix glanced down the dim corridor stretching ahead of him.

     “Shouldn't I have backup?!”

     The transmission abruptly ended with a burst of static.

     "Well, isn't that convenient", Alix grumbled.

     For several moments, Alix stood motionless. He listened to the station noises around him. Everyone knew about Team Sloth. Even after Dr Sloth’s defeats, his supporters had never completely disappeared. Loyal sycophants who had mostly gone into hiding after Dr Sloth disappeared but they were simply waiting. Waiting for the right moment. There had been some major incidents recently, rumours that Team Sloth had begun to strike back. Alix, personally, had no interest in supporting Dr Sloth and he held no nostalgia for the Old Virtupets. The way Alix say it, Virtupets was now for everyone and he didn't want that to change. All that Team Sloth wanted was to spread fear, and that fear was already rising. Alix felt that even now, but there was no point in dwelling on that now. He would either find them or he wouldn't.

     Alix attempted to steel himself, he tightened his grip on the flashlight and began walking forward. He hadn't gone far when the corridor began to narrow and ALix got the sense that he was going down a slope. Since Virtupets had been built to exact specifications, he knew this was unlikely but it added to the ever growing uneasiness he was experiencing. As he progressed down the corridor, the relatively clean metal walls gave way to older construction. He could see patched pipes and evidence of repairs. Dust also coated the corners thickly enough to show footprints.

     Fresh footprints.

     Alix crouched immediately.

     Across the flooring lay three sets of footprints. Heavy boots and definitely recent.

     He felt his heartbeat quicken, switched off his flashlight instinctively and listened.

     At first, there was nothing but an eerie silence.

     Then, voices. Faint but audible among the din.

     Alix pressed himself against the wall and moved carefully toward the sound. As he neared the end he noticed the passage opened into an abandoned maintenance hub. It was filled with stacked cargo containers and broken repair equipment. The chamber was illuminated only by a rotating emergency beacon somewhere overhead.

     Red light swept slowly across the room.

     Alix peered around the corner and saw two figures stood near an old terminal console.

     Grundos.

     One green and one grey.

     Both wore dark jackets marked with a faded insignia that Alix recognised instantly.

     A jagged red “S.”

     "Team Sloth", Alix breathed and his stomach tightened.

     Alix narrowed his eyes, trying to see what they were doing. The green Grundo had leaned over an ancient console and was typing rapidly while the grey one kept watch near the entrance.

     “You sure this system still connects to the upper sectors?” the grey one muttered nervously.

     The green Grundo appeared to nod, "He was right".

     Alix frowned.

     Who was He?

     The green Grundo pulled a small data chip from his pocket and inserted it into the terminal. The monitor flickered before it flooded with lines and lines and code

      “I can’t believe we’re really doing this”, The grey Grundo said.

     The green Grundo could be seen nodding enthusiastically.

     Alix reached for his communicator but before he could activate it, there was a loud crash. It echoed somewhere deeper in the tunnels and both Team Sloth members froze.

     “What was that?” the grey Grundo whispered.

     The green Grundo spun toward the darkness beyond the maintenance hub.

     Alix ducked back behind the wall just as the footsteps approached.

     His pulse hammered.

     Closer.

     Closer.

     The footsteps stopped only metres away.

     For one terrifying second, Alix was certain he’d been discovered.

     Then another voice echoed through the chamber.

     “Relax. It’s probably the repair bots again.”

     A third being emerged from the shadows.

     This one wasn't a Grundo however. Unlike the others, this one wore a heavy coat with an ominous hood that was pulled low over his face. His voice was rough but calm. Something about him immediately unsettled Alix.

     “The signal’s almost ready,” the green Grundo said. “Once the relay powers up, every receiver on the station will hear it.”

     “Good,” the hooded Grundo replied.

     The air almost seemed to chill when the other being spoke.

     Alix’s eyes widened as the hooded figure stepped partially into the red emergency light.

     Alix caught sight of an old scar stretching across the being's face.

     Recognition struck him instantly. Alix knew that scar. Every officer on Virtupets Security knew it.

     It was Professor Pride. One of Dr Sloth’s highest-ranking commanders.

     Alix nearly forgot to breathe. Pride was supposed to be gone. Some reports claimed he’d escaped into deep space after Sloth’s final defeat.

     But here he was.

     Alive.

     And standing in the lower levels of Virtupets Station.

     “We’ve waited long enough,” Pride said quietly. “The station and it's inhabitants have forgotten their place.”

     The green Grundo nodded eagerly.

     “When the message broadcasts, our supporters across Virtupets will respond.”

     “And the Security Core?” the grey Grundo asked nervously.

     Pride smiled coldly, “Don't worry about them.”

     Alix slowly backed away from the corridor, moving his feet gingerly, careful not to make a sound. He knew that needed to warn Commander Veln immediately but he also needed to get away.

     As he reached for his communicator, his foot struck a loose metal pipe.

     CLANG.

     Alix froze.

     Slowly, he turned toward the chamber entrance already knowing exactly what he would find. Three pairs of glowing eyes staring directly at him. There wasn't anything else he could do now so Alix turned on his heels and fled. Pumping his arms like the academy training drills had taught him too.

     “After him!”, Professor Pride bellowed

     Alex's communicator crackled wildly as he activated it.

     “Commander Veln, do you copy?!”

     Static.

     A blaster shot slammed into the wall behind him.

     “They found me,” Alix gasped, racing down another stairwell. “Team Sloth is active in Sublevel Ninety Nine. Professor Pride is here!”

     For a moment, only static answered.

     Until ...

     “Alix, get out of there immediately.”

     “I’m trying!”

     Heavy footsteps echoed behind him again. Alix burst through a rusted maintenance door and stumbled into an enormous chamber filled with dormant transport rails and abandoned cargo carriers. No exits.

     His stomach dropped.

     The two Grundos entered behind him seconds later, spreading out across the chamber. Then, emerging from the shadows strutted Professor Pride. He walked forward slowly, completely calm. Alix backed toward the rail platform edge.

     “Is this the best the Security Core has to offer? A clumsy, wait what rank are you? Captain? A clumsy captain with nowhere left to go?,” Pride said.

     Alix tried to steady his breathing. “Virtupets Security Core already knows you’re here.”

     “Good.” Pride stated matter of factly.

     The answer caught Alix completely off guard.

     Pride clasped his hands behind his back.

     “Fear spreads faster when there are witnesses to tell the tale.”

     Alix’s hand moved to his own blaster.

     “What do you want?”, he managed to say.

     Pride smiled faintly.

     “To remind Virtupets who it once belonged to.”

     Suddenly,a distorted signal crackled through hidden speakers across the room. Then a voice echoed throughout the lower station.

     Cold.

     Mechanical.

     Familiar.

     “Citizens of Virtupets…”

     Alix felt ice run through his veins.

     “…your true ruler will soon return.”

     The transmission spread through the chamber as station alarms howled above them.

     And in the flashing red light, Professor Pride smiled.

     “You have no idea what is about to happen.”

     To be continued…