- Oliver -

  Before anyone could cut him off or demand identification, Oliver pressed on with urgency, his voice steady but edged with desperation. "This is Oliver, Blue Ranger Identification ZX7429," he decred firmly into the unicator. "We have discovered a Titan produ facility. Repeat: We've found a factory where the Orks are manufacturing Titans."

  There was a brief pause filled with static before a voice responded, clipped and authoritative. "tral and, identification firmed. Proceed with your report."

  Taking a quick breath, Oliver began, "At 0400 hours, we departed from South Base at the Half Wall on a mission to iigate an Ork base that was reported to be abandoned."

  "Copy that. We've located the operatioails," the unications officer at tral and replied. Even through the transmission, Oliver could detect faint murmurs and the crag interferenultiple bases tuning into the emergency el.

  Oliver tinued swiftly, uain of how much time he had before the enemy could intercept his signal. "As roached the target, three Rangers from roup turned on us. They attacked without warning, resulting in the deaths of three Rangers. Two of the traitors were ralized, but one mao escape. We have two wounded Rangers in the juheir exact coordinates be reyed upon request. However, we believe additional traitors are listening in on this transmission."

  There was a sed of silen the line, punctuated only by the distant hum of equipment and whispered voices. "Uood," the officer aowledged gravely. "But you mentioned a Titan produ facility?"

  "Correct," Oliver affirmed. "There's a signifit discrepancy between our intel and the actual situation on the ground. The base is fully operational. Thousands upon thousands of Orks are w on the produ of Titans."

  "Are you certain about this?" the officer pressed, skepticism mixed with . "Could they be manufacturing other types of war maes?"

  "I'm positive," Oliver insisted. "I withe process myself—a ritual or some form of are teology they're using to create them. They've already pleted oan and are in the process of preparing the ."

  "The one?!" The officer's surprise alpable evehe link. "They produce multiple Titans?"

  "At the rate they're operating," Oliver expined, "they could have dozens, possibly even hundreds, of Titans already prepared."

  A heavy siletled over the lihen, in the background, Oliver heard the distant wail of sirens bring to life—a chilling firmation of the gravity of the situation.

  "My God," the officer muttered, his posure slipping momentarily. Regaining trol, he spoke with renewed urgency. "Ranger, hold your position. Maximum alert status is now in effect. We are deploying reaissance flights to your lomediately to verify and assess the threat."

  "Wait, something's wrong!" Oliver whispered urgently, his heart rag as he observed ued activity within the base.

  Through the lens of his scope, he surveyed the excavation site again. Earlier, the Ork ander had been orchestrating the grim procession of prisoners, tinuing their rituals. But now, the aood differently—alert and watchful—sing the perimeters of the base as if searg for something.

  A knot tightened in Oliver's stomach. He swiftly lowered himself, pressing into the underbrush, hoping the meager vegetation would ceal him. Every muscle tensed as he willed himself to bee part of the ndscape.

  An arm bred—a harsh, guttural sound that echoed throughout the cavernous excavation.

  "Something's off," Oliver murmured into his unicator. "Their base just went on high alert, but I don't think they've spotted me."

  Suddenly, a thunderous, rhythmic pounding filled the air. Massive gates he hadn't noticed before were being demolished oer another, each crash sending vibrations through the grouh him. From the gaping openings emerged creatures torn from the darkest nightmares—Titans. Eae was mrotesque and formidable tha, t behemoths of twisted metal and corrupted flesh, their forms barely adhering to any natural w.

  "Dozens of Titans are p out of the base," Oliver reported, struggling to keep his voice steady. "There must be forty or fifty of them. They're sg the walls and heading into the forest."

  But the onsught didhere. Thousands of Orks were mobilizing en masse. Many got into war maes resembling gigantitipedes, segmented bodies bristling with armaments. Others boarded swift attack ships, engiing a sinister hum as they powered up.

  "The entire base is initiating an attack," Oliver tinued urgently. "Somehow, they've beeed. They're moving northwest—heading straight for the southern base of the Half Wall."

  As he finished speaking, the grouh him shook violently. Oliver pressed himself ftter against the earth as one of the Titans walked above him, its colossal form casting a suffog shadow. The stench of decay and raw energy washed over him, nearly overwhelming his senses. He trated on suppressing his Energy, pushing his abilities to the limit to avoid dete.

  Then, to his horror, the soil beh him began to crumble. The relentless march of the Titans was destabilizing the terrain. He gnced around frantically for an escape route, but enemies swarmed in every dire. Any movement risked drawing their attention.

  ‘How the hell did I end up here?!’ he thought, a surge of panic threatening to overtake him.

  With no time to sider alternatives, Oliver grasped at a k of earth as the ground gave way. Relying on his armor to absorb the impact, he braced himself for the fall. The world tilted, and he was sliding down a steep embaoward the uppermost level of the excavation.

  ‘I just 't be seen,’ he repeated in his mind, clutg the mantra like a lifeline.

  He tumbled downward, debris and dust engulfing him. His armor absorbed the worst of the impact, but the jarring dest left him disoriented. When he finally came to a halt, he pressed himself against a rocky outcrop, taking shallow breaths.

  "Chloe, you hear me?" Oliver whispered urgently into his unicator, but all he received iurn was static. "Chloe?" he tried again, only to be met with the same crag silence.

  Something during his fall, or perhaps the deructure of the enemy base, was interfering with the signal. Frustration and w him.

  ‘Damn it, they're heading toward the forest. That's exactly where she is,’ he thought anxiously. ‘If she heard the broadcast, she'll know about the Ork army's movement.’ He could only hope that Chloe would take the initiative to relocate, especially since he had his predit to manage.

  ‘How am I going to get out of here?’ Oliver pondered, gng around the alien architecture of the Ork base. ‘It's no use just hiding. And I 't simply run back to the base—not only would I draw attention, but I'd also arrive too te.’ He needed a solution, something within the enemy stronghold that could aid his escape.

  While searg, Oliver saw it: a hangar tucked away he tral level of the excavation. It seemed less risky now, with most of the Orks havied to engage in the massive offensive.

  ‘Maybe I find something useful in there,’ he mused. ‘I wonder if [Insight] works on Ork teology.’

  Staying low, Oliver began to move cautiously toward the hangar. He prayed he wouldn't enter any Orks; fortunately, the few he did see were sprinting toward their war maes, too preoccupied to notieone hiding in the shadows against a wall or within a recess.

  As he edged closer to the hangar, the scale of the Ork war effort became even more apparent. The massive battle cruisers were all lifting off, thrusters bzing, joining the armada heading toward the Half Wall. But one ship stood out from the rest.

  Fag away from the Half Wall was a long vessel, g the heavy armaments that bristled from the other warships. Its rear cargo bay en as if awaiting a final load. The ship seemed almost abandoned in the otion.

  ‘Luck!’ Oliver thought, a surge of hope igniting within him. Without wasting another sed, he sprioward the ship, not daring to look back. His boots pounded silently against the stone floor as he closed the distance. Reag the ramp, he slipped inside.

  Despite it being a cargo hold, the partment was pletely empty.

  ‘Maybe they haven’t loaded anythi… Better get out before they do,’ Oliver thought, slipping quickly through the open doors toward the front of the ship.

  Like most human vessels, the craft had a main cockpit—but every sole, s, and instrument looked utterly alien.

  ‘Please, work yic,’ Oliver silently begged.

  [Insight]

  A torrent of information exploded in his mind, revealing tless details about the ship’s inner ws. Yet the data still felt fragmentary; pieces of the puzzle remained missing. No new abilities were unlocked.

  | You don’t have access to [Are]

  [Insight] Oliver tried once more, fog more Energy on the Boon.

  | You don’t have access to [Are]

  [Insight]

  | You don’t have access to [Are]

  With his brow furrowed, he made atempt, trying to trate on the images and information that were appearing. However, this time, a different notification was dispyed.

  | Excessive use of [Insight] might cause perma brain damage.

  | Energy [Bishop] bined with [Insight]

  | Failure Odds Unlocked

  | Failure Odds| Traumatic Brain Injury [50%]| 7 Days a [20%]| 30 Days a [20%]| Partial Memory Loss [9%]| plete Memory Loss [1%]

  “Dammit!” Oliver cursed, raising his fist to punch the trol panel. But just before he made tact, a gravelly voice echoed behind him.

  “What’s a glob?rz human doing on this ship?”

  GCLopes