The alarms were still echoing through the subterranean corridors when Mira forced the reinforced door shut behind the team. The metallic clang reverberated like a warning. They didn’t have long. The government’s internal lockdown sequence had already begun—heavy blast shutters sinking down levels above them, sealing pathways one by one.Lyra leaned against the wall, her breath ragged, her sedation still wearing off in unpredictable waves. Adrian hovered protectively at her side, though he was just as unsteady. Too many injections—too many attempts by the government scientists to suppress the Echelon-linked resonance building in both of them.Rourke swept his rifle toward the dim hallway ahead, pausing to listen. “Movement. Two floors up. Pattern sounds like drones, not troops.”Kapoor was already pulling up the facility schematics on the portable holo-board he’d pulled from a downed guard. The light from the display lit his face in a cold blue glow. “They’re sealing Sector 4. If we do

The emergency lights buzzed overhead, flickering in frantic pulses that matched the tempo of Mira’s heartbeat. The team moved single-file through the narrow auxiliary tunnel, a maintenance route they had no maps for. The walls sweated condensation; the metal grated under their boots, echoing every step like a warning.Lyra walked between Mira and Adrian, her breaths shallow but steady. The sedatives had left a lingering haze around her eyes, but she forced herself forward, gripping the strap of Mira’s pack to stay anchored. Adrian remained close—closer than he had been in the entire facility so far—his expression strictly focused, though Mira knew the tension coiling through him was far from calm.Kapoor led, holding the hacked tablet that pulsed with unstable readings. The signal range was weak. Sari watched their rear with the silent intensity of someone expecting an attack at any moment. Rourke muttered under his breath, checking the charge levels on his weapon for the third time i

Alarms blared through the facility like an angry heartbeat. Red lights pulsed across the metallic walls, casting long shadows that stretched and twisted as the team ran. Mira kept Lyra close, one stabilizing arm around her back. Lyra’s legs wobbled beneath her, the lingering sedation making every movement feel like she was running underwater.“I’ve… got it,” Lyra insisted weakly, though her voice betrayed how much effort the words took.“No, you don’t,” Mira said, steady and determined. “Just breathe. We’re almost there.”Up ahead, Kapoor and Sari sprinted beside Adrian and Rourke, each one armed with weapons they’d pried from downed facility guards. The corridor split into a T-junction, and Kapoor skidded to a stop, scanning the two paths as the overhead lights flickered.“Which way?” he asked, voice sharp.“Left!” Adrian said without hesitation. He glanced at a map in his memory — he had spent weeks trying to escape these halls, memorizing every vent and security post. “Hangar acces

The hangar thrummed with nervous energy. Screens buzzed with flight paths, heat signatures, and the shifting map of the Earth sphere after the Strike. Mira stood over the holographic table, her fingers tapping out a worried rhythm that betrayed how thin her patience had become.“Once more,” she ordered, voice low. Kapoor reset the map.A dotted red line appeared, arcing from the orbital tether station… straight toward New Avalon — one of the last neutral cities still offering refuge to civilians fleeing government control.Adrian stared at the projected trajectory. His fists clenched so hard, his knuckles looked bloodless. “If those rail cores hit atmosphere at that angle—”“They become missiles,” Rourke finished tightly. “And not the kind you miss.”Lyra swallowed. There were three cores. One was enough to flatten a city sector.Kapoor continued, “We have less than eight hours before they reach upper atmosphere. The launch mechanism is encrypted — no remote access, no override. They

The corridor lights flickered as Mira pressed her back to the cold steel wall, motioning for the others to stop. Kapoor froze mid-step. Sari steadied her breathing. Rourke checked the charge on his pulse cannon, muttering something under his breath about hating underground labs.Ahead, the reinforced doors leading to the Core Chamber remained shut. The group had managed to make it past the first two defensive choke points of the Echelon facility, but this last barrier… this was where the government stored everything stolen from the Project — tech, files, and, most importantly, answers.Mira’s voice dropped into a whisper. “Once we open this, we trigger every alarm left in this place.”Kapoor nodded. “Then we move fast.”“We always do,” Rourke grunted.Sari approached the door panel. She didn’t start typing — she just stared at it for a moment, eyes narrowing. “This isn’t a standard lock. It’s running Dr. Kensley’s old quantum encryptions. If I break this wrong…”“The facility detonate