We drop out of the jump hard.
No fanfare.
No dramatic flare.
Like the universe just… flips the channel—
and suddenly we're somewhere else.
Another galaxy.
Alien.
Hostile.
I feel it immediately.
Ahead—
a planet.
Ereb.
Even the name lands wrong inside me.
Like a word people say too often right before they die.
"Position lock complete," the system reports.
I don't answer.
I just watch.
We've been here before.
And it was… a slaughter.
The memory hits without warning.
That moment when everything breaks.
When the Xeno-Synapse doesn't just fight back—
they erase us.
Fast.
Clean.
Effortless.
And I—
run.
With the Dark Mind.
You can dress it up however you like.
"Tactical withdrawal."
"Asset preservation."
Truth's simpler.
We lost.
And we lived.
The memory tightens in my chest.
But this time is different.
Now we have a chance.
No.
Now I know—
we're going to win.
…And every time I think that before a fight, everything goes sideways.
Great omen.
Kelith leads the Ironheart fleet forward.
Her ships move like a single organism—
fluid, responsive, lethal.
Beside her—Amnelis.
And with him—the freed Xeno-Synapse vessels.
There's something between them.
A shared echo.
A shadow of what they used to be.
I study the formation.
Perfect.
"Too quiet," Kelith says.
Calm.
But there's tension under it, coiled tight.
"Confirmed," Amnelis adds. "No contacts."
No signals.
No movement.
No attempt to intercept.
Nothing.
And that—
is wrong.
Still, we advance.
Slowly.
Carefully.
I scan the void.
Too clean.
Too empty.
"Where are they…?" I ask.
My voice comes out low.
"They ran?" Kael snorts. "After last time?"
"Cowards."
I almost brace for the rest.
He doesn't disappoint.
"…or we're about to step in something very ugly."
I glance at him.
"You're improving."
"Sometimes," he shrugs. "Usually when I'm scared."
Fair.
Liara doesn't smile.
She's staring ahead—too focused.
"I think…" she says quietly. "They're waiting for us."
I nod.
Yeah.
That tracks.
We slip into orbit.
Ereb unfolds beneath us.
Dark.
Deep.
Too still.
Like water with something moving under it.
Something big.
"Take positions," I order.
The fleet spreads.
Forms a lattice.
Locks down the space.
And we—
wait.
One second.
Another.
Nothing.
"They know we're here," Amnelis says.
"Of course they do," I answer. "We're not exactly subtle."
A pause.
"Then why the silence?"
I look at the planet.
That creeping understanding starts to form.
"Because they want us to make the next move."
Silence.
"And we will?" Kelith asks.
I let out a breath.
"Of course."
Another breath.
"We go down."
The words come out steady.
Like this isn't borderline suicide.
"We take a look."
Kelith says nothing.
Amnelis neither.
They both know.
It's a trap.
Almost certainly.
"Orbital support?" she asks.
"Maximum," I nod. "If anything goes wrong—"
"It will," Kael cuts in.
I look at him.
"Appreciate it."
"I aim for realism."
I snort.
"Prep a recon ship."
It happens fast.
Like it always does right before everything falls apart.
I know this feeling.
Before the fight.
Before the drop.
Before the unknown.
Adrenaline.
Fear.
And that strange calm—like some part of me already accepted the worst outcome.
"I'm going," I say.
"Of course you are," Liara sighs.
"We're not letting you go alone," Kael adds.
"I'm starting to think you're the ones babysitting me."
"Someone has to," he says.
The ship is small.
Almost a toy compared to the flagship.
We board.
Me.
Liara.
Kael.
The squad.
Hatches seal.
Pressure locks.
Silence.
That particular kind—
right before things begin.
"So," Kael says, settling into his seat, "anyone want to say this is a bad idea?"
I raise my hand.
Liara does too.
He nods.
"Great. Then we're doing it."
Of course we are.
Engines come online.
A soft vibration runs through the hull.
We detach.
Begin descent.
Ereb grows in the viewport.
Darker.
Closer.
Too fast.
Something inside me tightens.
Instinct.
Not logic.
Deeper.
"You feel that?" Liara asks quietly.
"Yeah."
"What exactly?" Kael asks.
I don't answer right away.
I'm looking down.
At the planet.
At that perfect, unnatural silence.
"Like…" I start.
A beat.
"…we're already too late."
The cabin goes still.
And then—
the sensors flicker.
Once.
Again.
I frown.
"What was that…?"
And then—
something rises from the planet.
Slowly.
Like it's in no hurry.
Like it already knows—
we're here.
And we're not going anywhere.
I lean forward.
My pulse spikes.
"Contact…" I whisper.
But the word sticks.
Because this—
isn't just contact.
It's—
an answer.
And I don't know yet—
did we just find the enemy…
or
did it just
find us?
**
The plasma wrapped around the hull slowly fades.
The tremor dies out.
Our speed drops.
We're no longer falling from the sky—
we're gliding.
Over Erebus.
I brace my shoulder against the dropship wall and feel the hull sing at the edge of the atmosphere—thin, high, almost beyond hearing. I know that sound too well.
It only ever means one of three things: landing, combat… or both.
"We're entering dense layers," the pilot says.
As if we can't feel it ourselves.
I look down—
and forget to breathe.
The planet isn't just inhabited.
It's been rewritten.
Down to the last meter.
Cities. Factories. Towers.
Mechanical structures grow through each other, interlaced like a nervous system turned inside out.
No empty space.
No nature.
No randomness.
Only perfect, cold, flawless architecture.
"This is…" Liara exhales. "Is this even legal?"
I huff, not taking my eyes off the view.
"If this place follows laws, I'll gladly turn myself in."
The joke hangs there.
"No resistance," Kael says.
He's already by the ramp. Always the first to greet bad ideas. Fingers resting on the trigger—not tense, just… familiar.
"No attack signals," the pilot adds.
That's when it hits me.
The itch.
The instinct.
That bad feeling that never lies.
"What happened here?.." Liara asks quietly.
No one answers.
Because there isn't one.
And no answer is always worse.
We descend.
The city rises beneath us.
Sharpens.
Comes alive.
And then—
movement.
"Contacts on the surface."
I focus.
See them.
Residents.
Xeno-Synapse.
They walk.
Work.
Move.
Function.
As if nothing ever happened.
"They're alive…" Liara whispers.
"Yeah," I say.
"But that doesn't mean it's good news."
Because I can feel it.
Not with my eyes.
Deeper.
Something's broken.
Or… working far too perfectly.
"We're going down," I decide. "We check it out."
"Great," Kael mutters. "Love a casual stroll through places that are too quiet. That's usually where everyone dies."
"I'll note that in the report: 'Mission recommended by Kael.'"
"I always recommend," he nods. "I just complain afterward."
And that… helps.
A little.
We land.
A heavy удар reverberates through the hull.
The hum fades.
The ramp begins to lower.
I realize I've been holding my breath.
Like before a shot.
Before a jump.
Before the moment everything changes.
"Squad, weapons hot," Kael says quietly.
Clicks.
Weapons come alive—
synchronized, precise… almost beautiful, if you forget what they're for.
I step forward.
"No provocation."
"Of course," Kael nods. "We're just… politely aiming at them."
I glance at him.
"That your version of diplomacy?"
"Works more often than talking."
No time to argue.
We step out.
The world becomes too real.
The air is warm.
Tastes like metal and energy.
The city lives.
But—
it doesn't sound.
No voices.
No noise.
No chaos.
Only movement.
"Crowd ahead," Kael notes.
I look up.
They're coming toward us.
Slow.
Synchronized.
"Weapons up—"
"Hold," I cut him off sharply.
He freezes.
"We could provoke them."
"Or not react in time," he says quietly.
Fair.
"Stay ready. No firing."
He nods.
But the tension stays.
In him.
In me.
We move forward.
They move toward us.
Every step lands inside my chest.
Like a удар.
"I feel something's wrong," Liara whispers.
"Yeah. Me too."
And that feeling—
I know it.
Too well.
We stop.
The crowd stands before us.
And then I see their faces.
Something inside me snaps.
Empty eyes.
Not dead.
Just… switched off.
I've seen this before.
"No…" I whisper.
Memory hits like a flash.
Control.
Submission.
Puppets.
"Axiom!" Liara snaps.
I turn.
"He's here."
And in that instant—
everything clicks.
Too fast.
Too clear.
Cold.
The crowd parts.
Without a sound.
Like water.
And in the center—
him.
The Angel.
He stands there.
Still.
Perfect form.
A presence that presses down like ocean depth.
He looks at me.
And smiles.
Cold.
"Didn't expect to see me again, did you… brother Axiom?"
The voice goes through me.
Not through my ears.
Deeper.
Kael doesn't wait.
"Fire!"
The world explodes.
Shots.
Pulses.
Energy.
The squad fires instantly.
Clean.
Precise.
Lethal.
And—
nothing.
The Angel doesn't move.
At all.
The shots reach him…
and vanish.
As if they never existed.
As if reality itself just says: no.
Fear rises inside me.
Real.
Pure.
No excuses left.
"That bad, huh?" Kael says quietly.
"Very."
The Angel takes one step forward.
Just one.
And it's enough—
for the entire crowd behind him
to do the same.
In perfect sync.
I look at him.
And I understand.
We didn't come here to scout.
We walked straight into the center of something
that's been waiting for us.
And now there's only one question left—
can we even hurt him…
or have we already lost—
and just haven't realized it yet?