A heavy mechanical clank echoed from the obsidian throne. The red lever locked firmly into its base slot."Deploy the Dreadnoughts," the Supreme Leader commanded through his private comms channel. "Leave no biological material intact."High above the Aegis Alliance temporary camp, the night sky rippled unnaturally. Six massive cloaking fields disengaged simultaneously.Black stealth cruisers hovered directly over the perimeter. Their lower cargo bays opened wide, exposing the dark, cavernous interiors.Down in the camp, Rex dropped his half-eaten ration bar onto a metal barrel. He grabbed his heavy kinetic rifle from an open supply crate."Boss, the radar is totally clean," Rex yelled toward the command tent. "But I hear heavy thrusters."Solara stepped out of the deep shadow of the armory. She drew her twin tactical knives, her eyes tracking the sudden movement above.Ten thousand steel capsules plummeted from the cruisers. They hit the ground like a relentless metallic meteor shower

A heavy metallic ramp slammed onto the dirt of the ruined camp. The impact kicked up a thick cloud of dry dust into the night air.Warlord Kaelen stepped out of the primary stealth cruiser. His heavy boots crushed the chest plate of a fallen Dreadnought, bending the thick titanium inward with a loud crunch.He wore a thick suit of quantum-laced power armor. Bright purple energy flowed through the intricate circuits on his chest plate."You play cheap parlor tricks, physician," Kaelen projected his voice through the cruiser's external loudspeakers.Hundreds of elite infantrymen marched down the ramp behind him. They wore matching gray tactical gear. They raised their heavy kinetic rifles, aiming directly at Silas.Rex stepped up beside Silas. He gripped a heavy metal pipe with his remaining good hand."He brought the Vanguard elites," Rex spat on the ground. "They do not use synthetic pacemakers.""They use discipline," Solara added, drawing her backup combat knife. "And heavy artiller

A concentrated barrage of plasma artillery shattered the Central Capitol's outer walls. Thick chunks of white marble and reinforced steel rained down onto the empty courtyard.Silas stepped out onto the extended loading ramp of the hovering stealth cruiser. The early morning wind pulled at his open collar."The outer perimeter is completely abandoned," Solara reported. She stood beside him, holding her twin combat knives. "No infantry. No Dreadnoughts.""The Supreme Leader relies on specialized units," Silas scanned the vast courtyard.The Aegis Alliance fleet landed heavily across the pristine marble tiles. Hundreds of Vanguard defectors and Aegis soldiers poured out, securing the perimeter. They raised their kinetic rifles, forming a tight defensive wall around the primary landing zone.Silas walked down the ramp. He stopped at the base of the massive, thousand-step grand staircase leading to the palace's main entrance.Five hundred women stood perfectly still on the wide marble ste

Silas pushed the massive gold-plated doors inward. The heavy hinges groaned loudly, echoing down the empty marble hallway.He stepped into the vast throne room. The morning light filtering through the high windows illuminated a completely empty obsidian chair."You are late, physician," a synthesized voice boomed from the walls.The sound did not come from a human throat. It vibrated through hidden, high-fidelity speakers embedded in the stone pillars.Silas walked slowly toward the center of the chamber. His shoes clicked sharply against the pristine floor."Where is the patient?" Silas asked, his voice steady."The patient is everywhere," the mechanical voice replied.The floor panels directly behind the obsidian throne slid apart. A massive cylindrical glass tube rose hydraulically from the sub-level.Silas stopped walking. He stared at the object suspended inside the thick, pressurized fluid.It was an enormous, grotesquely swollen human brain.Millions of microscopic fiber-optic

Silas tapped the cracked glass of the security monitor. The white text faded into static."Nova, trace the origin of that broadcast," Silas spoke into his earpiece.He turned his back to the monitor. The throne room floor was covered in the boiling, bloody fluid from the ruptured glass tank."The Central Continent network is fully under our control, Boss," Nova's voice replied. "I am pushing past their final firewalls now."Silas stepped into the center of the massive puddle. He ignited his Golden Bio-Electricity.He did not use the energy to attack. He pressed his open palms toward the flooded marble floor."Sublimation," Silas murmured.The golden current spread rapidly across the wet stone. The intense, controlled heat targeted the biological and digital pollutants directly.The thick, red fluid boiled instantly. It bypassed the liquid state entirely and vaporized into thin, odorless white steam.Within ten seconds, the entire throne room was completely dry. The heavy stench of syn