Celestia felt like a dream.
Quatarious reminded them—
Dreams didn't last.
The transport cut through the dark water of-quatarious.
Dim sky.
Heavy rain.
The ship had followed the huge pathways-that sticks out of the water.
Faint lights shimmered below.
A city.
Encased in massive pressure domes.
District 24.
Cracks of light flickered across its surface.
A city?!.
Inside deep water?.
"That's the district?" Assault asked.
"Yes," Aira replied quietly.
Akane stared.
"It's already breaking."
"District 24. Civilian zone."
The commander's voice echoed.
"A military dropship has crashed inside the dome"
The image shifted—
A torn section.
Metal lodged into buildings.
"The impact compromised structural integrity," the commander continued.
"Infection spread is rapid. Civil unrest confirmed."
Split-screen appeared.
Left—
Civilians running.
Infected among them.
Right—
Barricades.
Gunfire.
People fighting soldiers.
" A riot?" Heavy said.
"And an infection?!" Aira added.
"Objective: crowd control and stop the virus from spreading further"
Silence.
"In a collapsing underwater city?" Assault muttered.
"Affirmarive"
"Landing System Engaged" the ai in the ship said.
"Prepare for rapid deployment."
The ship descended fast.
Too fast.
Warning signals flickered.
"Stabilizers ready."
A loud mechanical shift echoed—
CLANK.
From beneath the ship—
Legs deployed.
One.
Three.
Five.
Ten—
Then more.
Up to twenty mechanical limbs extended outward.
Each one slamming toward the ground below.
The ship didn't land.
It caught itself.
Mid-descent—
The mechanical legs struck the surface—
Gripping.
Absorbing force.
Stabilizing instantly.
No bounce.
No drift.
Perfect lock.
"That's new," Assault said.
"Efficient," Heavy replied.
Aira stood.
"…Move out"
The doors opened.
Pressure alarms screamed faintly in the distance.
The air felt heavy.
Pressure heavy.
It was their first time in a place like this.
Glass walls surrounded parts of the district.
Beyond them—
Dark ocean.
Watching.
Cracks ran along structures.
Water seeped through thin fractures.
Dripping.
Constant.
Unforgiving.
"If those break…" Assault started.
"…We drown," Aira finished.
They moved forward.
And saw it clearly.
Left side—
Pure panic.
Civilians running.
Slipping on wet ground.
Screaming.
Infected mixed within them.
Right side—
Barricades made of debris.
Civilians armed.
Firing at soldiers.
Fighting.
Burning.
"They're still fighting each other," Aira said.
"Amidst the chaos!?" Heavy added.
A voice shouted from the barricade:
"YOU BROUGHT THIS DOWN HERE—"
Gunfire followed.
Bullets struck near the squad.
"They're targeting us," Assault said.
"it doesn't even damage us" Heavy replied calmly.
Akane stepped forward.
" Squad...move left create steady flow."
"standing up as the leader eh" Assault laughs.
" We'll split up"
Aira and the assault took right.
Akane and the heavy took left.
"Containment and crowd control is the plan"
Heavy stepped in the crowd.
"LISTEN—MOVE LEFT—KEEP MOVING—DON'T STOP!"
Akane fired into the air.
"MOVE OR YOU DIE HERE—"
The crowd shifted.
Barely.
Messy.
But moving.
A civilian stumbled.
Fell.
Twitched.
Then rose.
Wrong.
"Contact" akane said.
More followed.
From shadows.
From behind people.
From above.
Dropping from structures.
Gunfire erupted.
Precise.
But limited.
"Too many variables," Akane said.
"Then we reduce them," Heavy replied.
Akane laughs.
On the other side.
Explosions echoed.
The riot intensified.
Civilians pushed forward.
Armed.
Desperate.
"They think we're the enemy," Aira said calmy.
"They're not entirely wrong," Assault muttered.
A group rushed them.
Weapons raised.
"BACK OFF!" Assault shouted.
They didn't.
Heavy fired.
Precise.
Disarmed one instantly.
"Next shot won't miss center," he said coldly.
They hesitated.
But didn't retreat fully.
A loud crack echoed.
Everyone froze.
A glass wall—
Fractured further.
Water began seeping faster.
Not flooding.
Yet.
But close.
Too close.
"We don't have time," Aira said.
"We never did," Assault replied.
From the crash site—
A deep sound.
Movement.
Heavy.
Slow.
Then—
Fast.
Too fast.
A quick and tall infected had awoken.
It looked like it commanded the infecteds.
It made them.
More aggressive.
More coordinated.
Almost with focus and pressition
Even the rioters stopped.
Turned.
Watched.
"They're... coming" someone muttered.
Left—
Civilians collapsing under pressure.
Right—
The squad met up.
Infected advancing.
And above—
Cracks spreading.
"Clocks ticking" Aira said.
"we'll force control," Heavy replied.
Akane stepped forward.
Calm.
Focused.
Uncertain—
But moving anyway.
"Doesn't matter who you are."
He looked at both sides.
Civilians.
Rioters.
Soldiers.
"If you stay here—"
He fired.
Dropping an infected mid-lunge.
"You'll die the same."
Silence.
For a moment—
Everyone understood.
Gunfire resumed.
But shifted.
Not at each other.
Forward.
At the incoming wave.
Messy cooperation.
Unstable.
But real.
Aira directed movement.
Heavy held the line.
Assault pushed aggressively.
Akane moved ahead—
Controlling flow.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
The district groaned.
Cracks spreading.
Water pressing.
People moving.
Barely escaping collapse.
Behind them—
District 24 broke apart.
Ahead—
No certainty.
But for now—
They held.
As they left, the path behind them flooded.
And the gate was closing ahead.
The pilot said.
"Hold tight, accelerating max speed"
As they left the planet a huge explosion had appeared down the districts.
"That's their problem now" assault muttered.
A ship connected with them and took the civilians.
And a voice came through the speak as the ship left.