The first Enforcer was a chrome monolith, his armor gleaming in the harsh light from the breach. He moved with a heavy, deliberate confidence, his plasma rifle held at the ready. Behind him, a second and then a third agent spilled into the workshop, fanning out in a perfect tactical formation. They were a wave of order and authority, come to sanitize this pocket of chaos.
Their helmeted heads swiveled, their optical sensors scanning the junk-filled workshop. They registered Leo's position behind the engine block and Kael's behind the pillar almost simultaneously.
"Targets acquired," the lead Enforcer's voice boomed, a synthesized, impersonal command. "Suppress the renegade. Detain the asset. Standard procedure."
They raised their rifles. The air crackled as their plasma cells charged. They took a synchronized step forward, their heavy boots clanking on the metal floor, stepping directly onto the subtly sloped ramp Leo had built. They were exactly where they needed to be.
Across the workshop, Leo's eyes met Kael's. Kael gave a single, almost imperceptible nod.
"Now," Kael's voice was a low growl in his comm unit.
He triggered the command.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. The Enforcers took another step.
Then, the floor in front of them ceased to exist.
It didn't fall. It didn't break. The thick metal plates and the scrap Leo had piled on top of them simply vanished, dematerializing as the portal's containment field collapsed. In its place was a swirling, silent vortex of absolute blackness, a hole in the universe that led directly to the heart of a dying star.
The effect was instantaneous and horrifying.
The lead Enforcer, caught mid-stride, was the first to go. He didn't even have time to scream. The immense, localized gravity well seized him, his armored body contorting as it was pulled downward with impossible force. He was stretched, compressed, and then swallowed by the darkness in less than a second. His plasma rifle fired a single, wild shot into the ceiling before it too was consumed.
The other two Enforcers stumbled, their training utterly unprepared for the laws of physics suddenly turning against them. The artificial gravity of the asteroid fought a losing battle against the pull of a star. They dug their armored boots into the floor, but the metal around them began to groan and buckle, peeling away from its supports and sliding into the maw.
One of them managed to fire a grappling hook into the ceiling, the cable straining as he dangled over the abyss. But the ceiling itself began to groan, the metal tearing under the strain. The other Enforcer was less lucky. He lost his footing and tumbled, his arms flailing, his synthesized voice a stream of error codes as he was pulled into the incinerator.
The Enforcer on the grappling hook stared in horror as his anchor point began to rip free. He looked up, his helmeted gaze meeting Leo's for a split second. In that moment, Leo didn't see a monster or a machine. He saw a soldier facing an impossible death.
Then the anchor tore loose, and the last Enforcer was gone.
Silence.
The portal remained open for another second, a hungry, silent mouth, before the containment pylons reactivated with a hum. The floor reappeared as if it had never been gone, though the deep gouges and torn metal around the edges were a testament to the horror that had just unfolded.
The entire squadron, wiped out in three seconds.
Leo sagged against the engine block, his body trembling, a cold sweat drenching his back. He had just watched three beings get spaghettified by a collapsing star. The reality of it, the sheer, brutal finality, was staggering.
Kael emerged from behind his pillar, his face pale but his expression triumphant. "Effective," he stated, the single word dripping with grim satisfaction. "If a bit... dramatic."
The victory, however, was short-lived.
A low, groaning sound began to fill the workshop. It wasn't coming from the door; it was coming from the asteroid itself. The containment pylons around the portal, which should have been stable, began to flicker erratically. Sparks erupted from their bases.
"What's happening?" Leo yelled, pushing himself to his feet.
Kael was already at the control terminal, his cybernetic fingers flying across the interface. His face, moments before triumphant, was now a mask of dawning horror.
"The feedback loop..." he muttered. "The sudden release and reactivation of the containment field... it destabilized the portal's event horizon. It's not closing properly."
He pointed a trembling finger at the floor where the portal had been. The metal plates were beginning to glow with a faint purple light. Small, unattended objects—a loose bolt, a discarded tool—lifted from the floor and hovered for a second before being pulled towards the glowing area and disintegrating into dust.
"The gravity well isn't gone," Kael said, his voice barely a whisper. "It's expanding."
The groaning sound intensified. A massive crack splintered across the far wall of the workshop, and through it, Leo could see the cold, uncaring stars of the void.
Their trap had worked too well. They had traded a Syndicate squadron for a black hole. And now, it was coming to collect its payment.