Just like that, sixty-eight hours were gone. The prep was done. Four hours left before they left Deoxy.
Three people stood in front of the carriers, watching the last of the supplies go in. Crates of food, ammo, field generators, medical pods. Everything needed for a long mission.
The first man was tall and bald. A scarf covered his lower face. A long scar cut from the right side of his forehead across his left eye. A pale white sword with jagged edges rested on his back. Two heavy piston rigs sat over his shoulders, fed by a drum of white ammo. He did not move. He looked like a weapon waiting to fire.
Next to him stood a woman in a standard infantry uniform. She tapped items off on a data slate, fast and precise.
Carrow stood a short distance away, hands behind his back. His eyes kept moving. He checked everything like something could still go wrong.
"When will the Warden and Commander arrive?" Captain Rhea Sol asked as she closed the slate.
"They're there," Sergeant Major Dain Korr said, pointing into the distance.
Eli and Ilya walked toward them across the floodlit platform.
Eli wore combat dress under a red Warden robe that shifted as he moved. Ilya walked beside him in a blue windbreaker. His posture looked relaxed, but his eyes were alert.
They reached the loading zone.
"How is everything?" Eli asked.
"Ready," Carrow said. "Fuel for a round trip. Supplies for four months."
"Good."
Short. Exact.
"And we are clear to depart," Dain said as the last cargo locks sealed.
Eli nodded and walked up the ramp. Ilya, Rhea, and Dain followed.
At the hatch, Eli turned and gave a formal salute.
Carrow returned it at once.
The engines ignited with a deep thud that shook the bones. Ground crews ran clear as white plasma blasted downward, burning the platform. The cruiser lifted slowly, then shot upward. Fire washed across the pad as Deoxy fell away below.
Space was mostly dull. Just stars burning far away, the same view again and again.
Soon Goliath came into sight.
Goliath was huge. Big enough to swallow two Jupiters. It did not orbit a star. Instead, a single burning A-Class meteorite circled it.
The pilots sent landing requests. Ground control accepted. The cruiser moved into the atmosphere.
Nitrogen vents opened at once to keep the ship from overheating.
Inside, the infantry formed ranks. Eli, Ilya, Rhea, and Dain stood at the front. fifteen thousand soldiers waited behind them.
Two men stood on the landing field below with hundred troops behind them.
One wore an infantry uniform covered in medals. His gray hair was slicked back. Deep lines marked his face.
Next to him stood a middle-aged man in a red camo compression shirt.
Both men saluted as Eli stepped off the ramp.
"Infantry Lieutenant Wasco," the older man said.
"Defense Administrator Remmington," the other said.
"Sorry for the poor reception. We had an incident eighteen hours ago. The Warden is dealing with it."
"What is the situation?" Eli asked.
"We believe it is a Synthiss incursion," Wasco said. "New covert units. Stronger and faster than the standard type. One-shot weapons. We killed about thirty, but we lost many troops. They are blocking reinforcement routes."
Eli's face did not change.
"How many losses?" he asked.
Wasco's jaw tightened. "fifty eight confirmed dead. twelve missing. Mostly patrols and convoy escorts."
Ilya gave a low whistle. For a covert force, that was not a raid. That was slaughter.
Remmington spoke next, voice tight.
"They avoid fortified areas. They hit supply lines, comm towers, transit routes. Small numbers. Very effective."
"Hit and run," Rhea said.
"Not exactly," Wasco said. "They don't run."
Eli focused on him.
"They keep advancing until they are destroyed," Wasco said. "No retreat. No recovery. No extraction."
Dain frowned. "Disposable units."
"Yes," Wasco said. "But each one hits like a siege weapon."
Hot wind swept across the landing zone, rattling loose panels.
"They move in teams of three to five," Remmington added. "Fast entry, overwhelming force, destroy the target, then fight to the end."
"And reinforcement routes?" Eli asked.
Wasco pointed to the distant ridges.
"Bridges gone. Rails destroyed. Tunnel hubs collapsed. Any path big enough for armor or large troop movement is either blocked or under constant attack."
Ilya crossed his arms. "So we are cut off."
"For now," Remmington said. "Orbital supply still works. Ground movement does not."
Eli looked past them at the empty horizon. Defense towers stood silent, sensors sweeping dead land.
Too quiet.
"Why hasn't the Synthiss escalated?" he asked. "Thirty expendable units is probing strength, not an invasion."
No one answered at first.
Then Wasco spoke quietly.
"They don't need to."
Eli looked back at him.
"They are not trying to take Goliath," Remmington said. "They are hollowing it out. Using it as a passage to strike deeper into the Core."
Silence fell over the field.
"A passage?" Ilya said. "Through a fortress world?"
Wasco nodded. "Goliath sits on three major transit routes. Civilian, military, logistics. If those fall under Synthiss control, they don't need the planet. They just move through it."
Rhea's eyes widened. "They want the road, not the land."
"Exactly," Remmington said. "Cut the nerves without killing the body."
Eli turned slowly and looked up at the sky. Toward Deoxy. Toward everything behind them.
"How long until they secure a stable route?" he asked.
Wasco answered at once.
"At current losses… days. Maybe less."
Dain swore under his breath.
"Then these covert units are not the main force," he said. "They are clearing the way."
"Mapping defenses," Rhea said. "Destroying infrastructure."
"Preparing landing zones," Ilya said.
Remmington gave a single nod.
A distant boom rolled across the plain.
Everyone turned.
On the far horizon, a thin pillar of smoke climbed into the sky. Then another. Then a third.
No flashes. No warning sirens. Just sudden damage.
Wasco lowered his binoculars slowly. "Outpost Seven," he said.
A faint tremor passed through the ground a few seconds later.
Ilya's jaw tightened. "That's not harassment."
Eli kept his eyes on the smoke. "We are going there".