Novels by Han yoill

"The relay is completely jammed," Tika hissed, hammering her fist against the smoking metal panel as another shower of blue sparks rained down onto her boots. "They've locked down the entire western sector from the master terminal. If we don't find a dry sub-level right now, the atmospheric vents are going to flush this whole corridor with knockout gas."Rafi grabbed her vest, yanking her back just as a heavy piston slammed down where her head had been a second before. "Move! We're out of time.""Where?" shouted a bruised cadet from behind them, clutching a bleeding shoulder. "Every door we pass is sealed tight!""The maintenance hatch near the old steam exchangers," Tika gasped, scrambling to her feet as the hallway's overhead lights flashed a blinding, rhythmic crimson. "Follow me! If the schematics haven't lied to me in the last five minutes, it leads straight down into the decommissioned cooling shafts."They didn't have a choice. Behind them, the metallic, rhythmic thud of heavy

"Three minutes is an eternity if we move now," Rafi said, his voice dropping an octave as he grabbed Tika by the shoulder to steady her trembling frame. "Where are the rest of the survivors?""Backing up the eastern pillars," a bruised cadet shouted, sprinting past them with a scavenged stun baton gripped in both hands. "They’re trying to hold the line against the second wave of security drones!""Tell them to fall back to the western bulkhead immediately," Rafi ordered, the authority in his tone surprising even himself. He didn't have time to wonder about the sudden clarity cutting through the exhaustion in his skull. "If they stay out in the open, the autonomous turrets will mince them into protein paste."Tika slammed her hand down on a dangling emergency override box, showering herself in blue sparks. "I'm trying to override the regional relays from here, but the academy's mainframe is fighting me every inch of the way. Someone in the upper administrative ring is manually routing

The roar in the atrium was no longer the sound of fear; it was the sound of a hunt. Rafi stood near the base of the shattered dais, his lungs burning with the sharp, metallic tang of ozone and pulverized stone. All around him, the students—the "stock" that had been bred for sacrifice—were surging forward like a breaking dam."Rafi, they’re regrouping at the west bulkhead!" Tika shouted, skidding to a halt beside him. She had a field kit strapped to her thigh, her hands stained with the grease of a dozen jury-rigged repairs. "We’ve got at least twenty heavy-armored guards pushing through the venting system. If they lock that door, we’re trapped in here with the rest of the security drones."Rafi wiped a smear of blood from his forehead and looked at the carnage. The autonomous turrets were still tracking erratic, flickering targets, their yellow sensor lights sweeping the ceiling. "How much time until they seal the bulkhead?""Maybe three minutes," Tika panted, pulling a stim-shot from

The door to Citra’s suite slid shut with a finality that rattled Rafi’s teeth. He stood in the dimly lit corridor, the air here feeling strangely thin, as if the oxygen had been scrubbed clean of life. His skin still burned where her fingers had pressed against his throat, a brand of ownership that felt more binding than any shackle."Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence," a voice snarled from the shadows of a nearby support beam.Rafi blinked, his vision adjusting to the harsh flickers of the overhead lights. Dimas Ravensdale and Arga Worthington stepped out, their posture rigid, their faces masks of barely suppressed fury."You look like hell, Blackwell," Arga said, his eyes scanning Rafi’s disheveled uniform. "Or did you just get back from a romp in the lion's den?"Rafi tried to keep his voice steady, though his pulse remained erratic. "I’m not in the mood for games, Arga. Move.""Games?" Dimas laughed, a cold, jagged sound. "You spent half the night locked in th

The gold light pulsing from the pods cast long, distorted shadows against the black obsidian walls. Maya’s fingers were a blur of motion against the terminal, the frantic cadence of her typing competing with the rising, mournful wail of the facility’s sirens. Rafi stood between the console and the encroaching darkness of the corridor, his combat knife gripped so tightly his knuckles had turned white.Then, the heavy blast doors at the far end of the chamber didn't just open—they were dismantled. A single, sharp blast of kinetic force shattered the magnetic locking pins, and the massive slab of metal hissed as it hit the floor with a bone-shaking thud.Citra Wellington stepped through the haze of cooling vapor. She was alone, her tactical suit sleek and spotless, a stark contrast to the grime-streaked, sweat-drenched trio standing by the terminal. She didn't draw a weapon. She didn't need to. She simply stood there, a predator who had finally tracked her stray to its den."You really a

The sound of the incinerator rifle’s capacitor whine cut through the howling wind of the wasteland like a surgeon’s scalpel. Rafi didn't think; he reacted. He threw himself into the shadow of a rusted support pylon just as a bolt of searing, white-hot energy vaporized the rock where he had been standing."Move!" he screamed, grabbing Sari by the vest and yanking her into the darkness of the subterranean maintenance hatch he had spotted seconds ago."I can't—my leg—Rafi, they’re going to burn us!" Sari shrieked, her voice cracking with pure, unadulterated terror."Shut up and move, or we’re dead in five seconds," Rafi snapped, shoving her into the cramped, metal-lined chute. He scrambled in behind her, his fingers clawing at the rusted lever of the hatch.The heavy door slammed shut with a metallic clang just as a blast of heat scorched the outer plating, turning the metal white-hot. Rafi gasped, his lungs feeling as though they were filled with molten glass."Is everyone in?" a voice