Just as they resumed their route to the transport, a black, unmanned aircraft hovered into view above them. With a low hum, twin turrets emerged and opened fire without warning. The girls scattered. Sol, seizing the distraction, activated the transport's weapon systems.
"Armed. Launching anti-air," she said calmly.
Missiles roared from the transport, and in a flash, the drone was shot down, its charred frame spiraling into the trees below.
They resumed their march immediately, though Sol took a moment to salvage a few components from the downed drone, unactivated scout units, memory disks, display panels. But just as they reached their transport, a deeper, heavier hum filled the air.
A larger aircraft swept across the sky. It released two blinding shots aimed directly at the area where the cave and agricultural center had once stood. Then it disappeared beyond the horizon.
The air reeked of smoke, scorched metal, and lingering gunpowder. From a distant hill, Yuli stared down at what had once been a refuge. Now, it was a crater, blackened, silent, lifeless. Only hours ago, that cave had sheltered dozens of rescued children.
Fortunately, the evacuation had been successful.
But the message was clear.
This wasn't a pursuit.
It was an extermination.
Sol, having moved ahead to investigate, knelt near the crater's edge. In her hands were a pair of tech-binoculars and a compact energy scanner. Her gaze was fixed, her attention sharp as a blade.
"No life signs," she murmured with frustration. "The pulse from the blast was calculated. They knew exactly where to strike."
"Do you think it was just a drone?" Kaela asked, still holding her spear, muscles taut from the earlier skirmish.
"More than that," Sol replied, frowning. "It was an attack device with reconnaissance capability. They didn't just want to destroy the orphanage. Someone knew we were hiding here. They found the cave and made sure we couldn't use it again."
Yuli remained silent. The holo-message still echoed in her mind.
"I am no longer a person… just a machine… programmed to obey…"
Each spark among the wreckage, each distant rumble, seemed to whisper those words. What once felt like sorrow… now felt like a warning.
"We have to move," Kaela said firmly. "They know now, the children are under our protection. And they won't stop."
Yuli nodded, her eyes drifting to the camouflaged transport waiting at the edge of the forest. Inside, the undercover workers were keeping the children calm. The king and the Aunt awaited their return at a temporary base up north.
"Do you think that last strike was a warning?" Yuli asked quietly as she climbed aboard beside Sol.
"No," Sol replied, tucking away her scanner.
"It was a declaration of war."
Behind them, the earth still smoldered, burning in silence. The enemy had no face, but their intent grew clearer with every step. What had happened wasn't just about erasing evidence. Or destroying a building. Or eliminating a trace.
It was a message.
They were on the move.
And this time, they wouldn't be ignored.
The mission had changed.
They were no longer just protectors.
They had to uncover the origin of these shadows in disguise, to unearth the secrets of the past,
and prepare for a war that had already begun
in the dark.
As the transport rumbled forward, Kaela turned to Liane, the infiltrator, and finally asked the question that had long lingered.
"Why did you disappear all those years ago?"
"To assume a new identity," Liane replied softly, tears streaming down her face. "I had to let go of the old one. It's like being born again. Only that way could I live unnoticed, just another worker. Only the Aunt and the King knew the truth. I missed you so much."
"So… that's why the Aunt declared you missing in action and ordered no search?" Kaela whispered.
Liane nodded.
Their conversation continued softly, like a thread of warmth weaving through the silence, as the transport made its way toward the northern base.