“We can’t trust him!” Gavin boomed, slamming his fist on the table in the crew’s quarters. “He’s worked for the enemy for far too long!”

“But that’s why we need him!” Jess retorted. “He knows the inner workings of the Board better than anyone. Trace the Keystroke back to the Key, and back to the Board.”

The red-headed pilot shook her head. “Have to agree with Gav here, Jess. We don’t know where his loyalties lie.”

The wiry mechanic wiped the grease off his hands on his pants. “I’m with Gavin and Athena. It’s too risky.”

“We’ve been at this for four years now,” Gavin said. “Why swap up what works?”

“Because we finally have a lead!” Jess argued. “A way inside the Board. We can retrieve the ESC key to the mysterious temple beyond the Outlets.”

Athena adjusted some switches, setting the cursor in autopilot. “This isn’t just about the ESC key, is it?”

Jess sighed, beaten. “No, but–”

A cloaked figure in the corner, the last Resurgent member on board the cursor, scratched his chin. “We all want to find your sister, Jess, but we need to consider what’s best for us as a unit.”

“Hear me out, Seth, you approved Operation: Keylogger. We completed it successfully, and now we have an inside chance,” Jess said.

Gavin, Athena, and the mechanic stared in shock at their leader. “You approved a Keylogger mission?”

“Yes, Cooper, I saw no harm in rescuing a Keystroke from imminent death, but that doesn’t mean we’ll keep him as a Resurgent.”

“But why approve it if you don’t plan on using him?” Jess countered. “Face it. We are no closer to getting out of the Monitor than we were before. How long before our Bytes run out? How long before we can’t refuel the I-Beam? In all our smuggling and exploration, that temple door is the only way out of here. And we don’t even know where the ESC key is.”

“We don’t even know if the ESC key exists,” Cooper interjects. “This could be a dead end.”

Seth holds up a hand, silencing him. “Just what are you proposing, Jess?”

Jess squared her shoulders and stared straight into the leader’s eyes. “In my constant tracking of Keystrokes, Evan has by far displayed the most astute maneuvers and decision-making skills. He knows how to read people, he can think on his feet, and he can perform illusions to make you think he’s somewhere else. And he hates the Board. I overheard him one time a cycle ago. He’s got some deep-rooted hatred for the Board, but he conceals it really well.”

“What are you saying, Jess?” Athena asks.

“I’m saying we need his skills to infiltrate the Board. If anybody has Dark Web intel regarding the ESC key, it’s them. Send him, me, and Gavin undercover to gather intel and find my sister.”

“Why me?” Gavin protested, but Jess elbowed him. “I mean, I’ll go.”

Cooper shakes his head. “Mmm, it’s too risky. We don’t even know if the intel is there.”

“But we’ll never know if we don’t take the shot,” Jess says. “We–”

“Quiet!” Athena cut her off. “Do you hear that?”

The room fell silent as they listened. It was almost imperceptible, but a dull droning grew louder by the second.

Gavin cussed. “SB Fighters. How did they pick up our trail?”

“I masked the signals!” Athena shouted. “I don’t know how they found us.”

“Well, they did,” Seth said grimly. “Gavin, Cooper to the guns. Jess, guard the Keystroke. Athena, take us higher. We’ll battle on our terms in the Pixels.”

The crew scrambled to their positions as the hellfire volley of bullets began to rain on the cursor’s cyber shields.