The rebel base shook as if the mountain itself had flinched.Dust rained from the ceiling in thin, powdery sheets, drifting through the command chamber as alarms wailed—this time lower, deeper, threaded with a frequency that made Adrian’s teeth ache.“That’s not orbital fire,” Rourke said, bracing a hand against the table as the tremor subsided. “That’s sub-surface.”Kapoor’s fingers flew across his console. His face drained of color.“They’re not attacking us from above,” he said. “They’re coming through us.”Mira straightened slowly, eyes locked on the tactical display as red markers bloomed beneath the base—too close, too precise.“They’ve found the fault line,” she said.Sari swore under her breath. “We buried that intel years ago.”“No,” Lyra said quietly. “They didn’t find it.”Everyone turned.“They already knew,” she continued. “This isn’t a search. It’s execution.”Another impact hit—closer. The floor buckled. Lights flickered.Kapoor pulled up a schematic of the mountain.“T

The strike came at dawn.Not the quiet kind — no stealth drones or surgical insertions — but a full, unmistakable declaration of force.The rebel base trembled as the first shockwave hit the outer rock walls. Dust rained from the ceiling panels, alarms flaring to life in overlapping layers of crimson light. Emergency bulkheads slammed shut across corridors, sealing sections of the base before anyone could react.Mira was already on her feet when the second impact thundered through the cavern.“They’re not probing,” she said sharply, pulling on her jacket as she sprinted toward the command deck. “They’re committing.”Kapoor slid into step beside her, tablet lighting up with cascading threat markers. “Multiple government cruisers just dropped out of stealth above the ridge. Heavy infantry deployment. Air superiority confirmed.”“So much for negotiations,” Rourke muttered over comms.In the medical wing, Lyra steadied Adrian as the floor lurched beneath them. His pulse spiked — not from

The silence after the near-destruction of the base was worse than the explosions.It settled like dust in the lungs — heavy, choking, impossible to ignore.Emergency crews moved through the hangar, pulling the injured from wreckage, sealing ruptured conduits, shouting status reports that blended into a constant hum of urgency. Fires were extinguished. Systems rebooted. The rebel base was still standing — but only just.Mira stood near the sealed hangar doors, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the warped metal Adrian had crushed shut.If he hadn’t acted…She exhaled slowly. There was no room for hypotheticals anymore.Kapoor approached, tablet glowing with cascading data. “Orbital cannons are fully disengaged. Government ships pulled back to a holding perimeter.”“They didn’t retreat,” Rourke muttered from behind him. “They regrouped.”Sari nodded grimly. “They were probing. Measuring response. Now they know what Adrian can do.”Lyra felt the weight of those words settle in her chest.Adrian

The first breach hit the eastern wall at 03:14 base time.The impact rippled through the mountain like a struck bell, dust raining from the ceiling as emergency lights snapped to crimson. The rebel base—hidden for years, mythologized as untouchable—shuddered under the weight of government firepower.They hadn’t come to negotiate.They’d come to erase.“Outer shields down to sixty percent!” Kapoor shouted from the command pit, fingers flying across holographic panels as data cascaded around him. “They’re using harmonic disruptors—same frequency family as Echelon tech.”Of course they were.Mira slammed her palm against the rail. “They learned from us.”“Or from Adrian,” Sari muttered, already moving toward the armory.Adrian flinched at the words, then straightened. The hum under his skin intensified—not out of control, but alive, responding to the threat like a warning system embedded in his bones.Lyra noticed instantly. She always did.“Hey,” she said softly, stepping into his space

The valley did not welcome them.Wind tore across the frozen expanse in screaming gusts, driving needles of ice into exposed skin. Snow swallowed sound, muffling footsteps and distant engines alike, turning the world into a white, shifting void where direction became instinct instead of sight.Mira led them downslope, every step deliberate.“Keep spacing,” she ordered. “Five meters. No silhouettes.”Rourke nodded and fanned out to the left, weapon raised but lowered just enough to avoid catching stray light. Lyra stayed close to Adrian again despite Mira’s earlier decision—it was impossible now to keep them apart in terrain like this. Separation meant death.Adrian’s breath fogged heavily. Each exhale felt sharp in his chest, like the cold was scraping something raw inside him.“They’re still tracking,” he murmured. “But weaker. Snow’s interfering.”“For now,” Lyra said. She kept her hand hooked in the strap of his harness, anchoring him without forcing him to lean. “Tell me the secon