The coordinates led Locke and Big D deep into Zenith's frozen mountains. Locke was prone atop a ridge, scanning the snow capped stone landscape for any sign of Site Zeta.

  He lowered the binoculars with a frustrated growl. “It’s supposed to be here!” he shouted, his voice barely carrying through the howling winds.

  Big D crouched beside him, pulling a thick tarp around them for some semblance of shelter.

  “Keep looking!” he shouted, straining to project his voice.

  Locke adjusted the binoculars, sweeping the area again. Big D nudged him and pointed toward the sky. “Wait! Look!”

  The navigation lights of a ship pierced the thick walls of snow.

  “That’s it,” Locke said, already packing up his gear.

  Without another word, they started descending the ridge. Their boots crunched through the deep snow as they moved toward the lights' last known location.

  After an arduous trek, they came upon a massive compound carved into the mountainside. The edges were sharp and industrial, like an iron scar on the frozen wilderness. A single large tunnel burrowed deep into the earth—disappearing beneath the mountain range.

  Locke raised his binoculars again, his breath fogging the lenses momentarily as he adjusted the focus.

  Revenants were unloading large pods from the ship, wheeling them into the tunnel. A pale woman was tapping away on a tablet while looking at the Revenants—her mouth moving.

  “Is that…” Locke began to say, lifting his head up.

  “Yes,” Big D interrupted, still looking through his own binoculars. “That’s your girlfriend.”

  Locke scowled, muttering a string of curses under his breath as he resumed his surveillance.

  “There she goes,” he said. He lowered the binoculars and turned to Big D.

  “Let’s get in there.”

  They snuck into the tunnel entrance, moving from crate to crate until they got to a service door. Locke pushed it open just enough for them to slip through. The passageway inside was dimly lit with harsh fluorescent glows. The wind from outside howled through the narrow corridor, its bitter cold reflecting off the steel surfaces. As they got to what seemed like the end, they could hear screaming.

  Locke and Big D exchanged uneasy glances. Locke’s hand trembled as he reached for the door handle, cracking it open just enough to peer inside. The sight was gruesome. Rows of operating tables lined the room, each occupied by restrained figures. The whir of saws and the crunch of bone echoed through the chamber.

  “What the fuck,” Locke whispered. He turned to Big D, his eyes bugging.

  Big D raised his rifle and nudged Locke aside, taking his place at the door.

  “We can’t stop now,” he said.

  They burst into the room, weapons raised.

  Locke's eyes locked onto Valis the moment he entered. Without hesitation, he aimed and fired. The shot struck her chest, throwing her backward.

  Her pistol slipped from her hand as she crumpled to the floor, gasping for air. Across the room, a Revenant took aim at Locke. Before it could fire, Big D lunged, kicking it's rifle aside.

  The Revenant countered immediately, it's retractable blade flashing as it swung at him. Big D caught its arm mid-swing, his enhanced muscles straining under it's strength.

  Its servos whined as it brought its other arm around. Big D intercepted it, locking them into a desperate struggle.

  “Locke!“ he called out, his voice cracking under the strain.

  Locke sprinted to the struggling pair, drive his rifle beneath the Revenant's mandible. With burst of fire full auto, he unloaded into it's synthetic skull.

  The Revenant jerked violently, it's servos spasming before it collapsed. Hydraulic oil poured from it's shattered neck.

  “That was too close,” Big D muttered, flexing his fingers.

  Locke stood over Valis, watching her try to crawl away. He kicked her over, pressing his foot down on her chest.

  “Shoot first,” he murmured, discharging his rifle into her head.

  Locke moved cautiously toward the table closest to him. The sight before him made his stomach turn—a man restrained on the cold metal slab, his chest cut open. Wires were weaved into his flesh like stitches, connecting modules surgically grafted to his organs. The faint hum of the machines were drowned out by his shallow, ragged breaths.

  Lockes's voice cracked as he spoke. “Who are you?“ He asked.

  The man's eyes opened, glassy with pain and exhaustion.

  “My friends,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “They did this to them.“

  Locke's eyes travelled over the man's mutilated body, his hands clenching into fists.

  “You can't save me,” the man said, his voice breaking. Tears streaked down his bloody face. “You have to kill me.“

  “There has to be something,” Locke said, his voice trembling.

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  The man's face twisted in anguish. “I can feel it in my head,” he cried, his voice cracking. “It's taking over. Please.“

  Locke's chest felt heavy, a cavity filled with bricks. He raised his pistol, the barrel trembling in his hand.

  “Tell me your name,” he said.

  The man closed his eyes, his lips quivering.

  “Daemon,” he murmured.

  Locke's finger hovered over the trigger, his vision blurred by tears.

  “I'm sorry,” he whispered as he squeezed the trigger.

  The sharp crack of the gunshot echoed through the room, followed by a silence. Lockes arm fell to his side, his pistol feeling impossibly heavy.

  He looked at the lifeless body on the table.

  “I'm so sorry,” he murmured, his voice breaking before turning away.

  >>>>>***********************<<<<<

  The Veilbreaker's command center was filled with the murmurs of officers at their posts. Lilyon stood at the center, staring at the star map.

  “This is the galaxy,” she muttered. “Backstabbers and cowards.”

  Her eyes snapped to the helm officer. “Take us to Val 'Dara.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Setting a course for Val 'Dara,” the officer confirmed.

  Lilyon’s attention returned to the holographic display. Her fingers traced the glowing constellations, lingering over key conflict zones. Her hand tightened into a fist.

  “I’m going to end this war,” she said. “We are going to go home.”

  Three. Two. One.

  The Veilbreaker and the Luminarian fleet emerged from hyperspace over Val 'Dara. Alarms began wailing in the command center—tactical displays lit up with data streams.

  “Nexus fleet detected,” an officer called out sharply. “There’s an invasion in progress, ma’am.”

  Lilyon looked at the tactical map, her jaw clenched. Pulsing red markers spread across the planet’s orbit, overwhelming the feeble defensive grid.

  Her voice cut through the noise. “Set a course for Luminaria,” she ordered. “It looks like the Nexus is doing the work for us.”

  The helm officer hesitated. “Ma’am, shouldn’t we do something? There are innocent people down there.”

  Lilyon turned to face him. “Innocent?” she asked bitterly. “No one is innocent.”

  The officer shifted uneasily. “Psionus—”

  “What about him?“ Lilyon snapped. “If we had let them throw their rocks at each other, he’d still be alive—he’d have an opinion.”

  The officer exchanged glances between each other. “Ma'am, we implore you—please reconsider. This isn't you.“

  Lilyon began to pace, her hands clutching the sides of her head.

  “You’re right,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “This isn’t me. This is Aetherveil.”

  She crouched down as her head started spinning. Tears welled in her eyes, spilling over as her control broke.

  “I don’t want to fight this war anymore,” she said, her voice cracking. “I don’t want to lose anymore!”

  Her cry echoed in the stunned silence of the command center. Lilyon stood up, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

  Her eyes swept over the command center, lingering on Psionus’s empty post.

  Her pauldrons reflected back at her, the symbols of her station in clear view. She looked away, her despair replaced with shame.

  “Prepare the Sentinels,” she ordered, her voice low. “We fight.“

  >>>>>***********************<<<<<

  The coalition fought tooth and nail through the city streets, every step met with the relentless bombardment of Nexus artillery. Their vision was obscured by the fog of smoke and ash, the air rich with the smell of blood.

  Coran was crouched behind sandbags, watching the battle unfold. They offered little protection from the advancing Nexus forces.

  “General, more dropships have arrived,” Commander Serris reported over comms, his voice drowned out by the weapons fire in the background.

  Coran didn’t respond immediately. His hands trembled as they gripped the edge of the sandbags. The cacophony of collapsing buildings and the screams of wounded soldiers paralyzed him.

  “We’re being pushed back, sir,” an officer stammered beside him. “The perimeter’s collapsing.”

  “Reinforce—” Coran began, interrupted by a chain of explosions ripping through the right flank.

  The ground quaked beneath him. He pressed his hands down on his ears, overwhelmed by high pitched ringing. When his hearing returned, the gunfire was closing in. It blended in with the panicked cries of his men.

  Gunfire erupted closer to the command position, Coran ducked as he heard the muted thud of projectiles colliding with the sandbags.

  “Sir, we need to get you out of here,” one of the Loyalist soldiers barked. Before he could respond, rough hands began dragging him to the starport by his arms.

  Coran's legs buckled as he looked back at the battlefield. The city was no longer just a battleground, it was an endless procession of death.

  Nexus cyborgs closed in on his men, devouring them like a blackened maw. He watched the soldiers transform into faceless shadows, their cries warping into inhuman echoes in his mind.

  Coran felt his chest tightening. The city seemed alive now, the jagged walls of the crumbled structures looked like teeth. The streets twisted and curled as if it were trying to trap them.

  “We can't win this,” he said, remaining frozen in place. He looked up, another wave of missiles streaked across the sky.

  >>>>>***********************<<<<<

  Lilyon led her army of Sentinels to the starport, securing it for evacuation. The bright flashes of missiles and artillery reflected off their visors—a dance of fire and death. The Nexus's demons were coming.

  From inside the control tower, Lilyon watched as the ground below crawled toward them like a black tide—swallowing everything in it's path.

  Once they were close enough, the Sentinels unleased everything they had on them. Their bright red streaks of tracers fully engulfed the cyborgs, but they still advanced. They climbed over their dead, dragging theirselves forward like grotesque insects.

  Civilians rushed into the concourse, filling up the Veilbreaker's shuttles and every other ship with space—their screams blending in with the roar of the thrusters.

  Lilyon shouted into her comms trying to project over the discord. “We need more air support,” she ordered. Her eyes widened as a shuttle erupted into a fireball, the blast wave shaking the control tower.

  Her comms crackled, she could barely hear the transmission.

  “Front—through—reinforce—”

  She rushed down to the main building from the control tower. Her team followed closely, weapons at the ready. The moment they entered the corridor, they were blocked by Nexus forces.

  Lilyon popped in and out of doorways, using the corners for cover as she traded shots with the cyborgs. The walls streaked with blood as streams of projectiles tore through the cramped hallway.

  She crouched behind a corner. “We can't move,” she barked into her comms, her voice trembling.

  An explosion tore through the corridor at the opposite end. Lilyon covered her face, protecting it from the searing heat carried through the hall. Nexus troops pouring through the breach.

  “We're surrounded,” Lilyon muttered to herself.

  “As soon as the rest of the ships take off, pull out!“ she ordered.

  She and the remainder of her team fought relentlessly to just stay alive. Her ammo counter turned red her. She grabbed at her belt for another magazine, but it was empty.

  “I'm out!“ she shouted, her voice breaking. The Sentinels looked back at her. They each nodded—a silent understanding. She tossed her rifle down, locking her eyes on it. The hallway around her began to blur. The noise muted as if she was underwater.

  A torrent of fire began ripping through the cyborgs from their backs—whipping around to face the new threat, but it was too late.

  Lilyon peered around the corner. Her breath caught as she watched Aetherveil shredding them with her sword, each swing of her blade slipping smoothly through the air with perfect form.

  She was a blur, her speed unlike anything Lilyon had ever seen before. The Sentinels at her side steadily advanced forward until one side of the hallway was cleared.

  “Fall back!” Lilyon shouted. Her team retreated to the concourse, boarding the shuttles as quickly as possible.

  From the air, Lilyon looked down at the city. It was no longer recognizable—engulfed in flames, consumed by a tsunami of darkness. The inferno raged unabated, swallowing everything in its path.