Stepping off a warship onto real dirt feels entirely wrong when you spent your whole life expecting to die in the dark.The heavy ramp of the transport shuttle hissed as it lowered onto the damp ground, venting a pale cloud of white steam into the crisp morning air. Outside, a vast green plain stretched toward the distant horizon where the crumbling, moss-covered steel towers of an ancient megacity stood like quiet monuments under a clear blue sky."So this is actual soil," Briggs grunted, taking a cautious step down the metal ramp and kicking the dirt with his heavy combat boot. "It feels soft. I keep waiting for the deck plates to vibrate under my feet.""That is just grass, Sergeant," Vance said, following close behind while clutching a portable surveyor deck against his chest. "Real, natural vegetation. No synthetic nutrient mats, no recycled hydro-tanks. It grows straight out of the ground.""It smells strange," Leo said, stepping into the su

Silence inside a dead city is louder than any explosion.The thick iron gates at the entrance of the megacity ruins groaned loudly as Briggs pushed them open, sending a flock of wild birds scattering into the cloudy morning sky. Thick green moss clung to the cracked concrete walls, wrapping around hollowed-out skyscrapers that reached up toward the sky like giant, broken teeth."Keep your eyes up," Briggs whispered, his hands tightening on the grip of his heavy rifle as he stepped over a pile of rusted metal. "In a narrow canyon like this, a single sniper drone could sweep the whole street in three seconds.""Briggs, there are no drones," Leo said softly, walking beside him in his faded service jacket. "Sensors came back completely clean. The synthetic network is gone.""I know what the sensors say, Leo," Briggs muttered, scanning the dark, empty windows of an apartment tower on their left. "I also know that every time we walked int