The anonymous transport vehicle cut through the upper tiers of the Sprawl's choked traffic arteries. It was a desperate, high-speed dash toward Sector 18, the heart of Dr Morn's unauthorised research. Inside the vehicle, the silence was absolute, broken only by the hum of the engine and the frantic pace of Ascendant-Alpha-1's tactical analysis.
Rheon sat at the controls, his mind compartmentalised. One part ran the Sanguis-sourced traffic bypasses. The other part meticulously recalled the schematics of the Nanite Refinement Lab. His discipline was a shield against the intense pressure of the last few hours, against the crushing memory of The Revenant's hands on his throat.
Lyra sat beside him, calm and terrifying, her attention focused on the digital map of the Lab.
"The core refining unit is on the lowest sub-level, Ascendant," Lyra stated, her voice taut with focus. "That's where Morn stores the bulk of the Crimson Bio-Fluid. We destroy that, and we destroy his timeline for the merge."
"The defence will be specialised, not kinetic," Rheon countered, tapping a weak point in the external perimeter. "Morn protects his toys, not his people. We hit the thermal exhaust vent. It's the only unshielded access point. It'll be a tight squeeze, but fast."
Their infiltration was seamless. Rheon's knowledge of Federation security protocols, combined with the Sanguis Order's real-time blind spots, allowed them to bypass the perimeter patrols. They abandoned the vehicle in a decommissioned loading bay, and Rheon plasma-cut their way into the sub-levels of Sector 18.
The Nanite Refinement Lab was sterile, pressurised, and chillingly quiet. It consisted of a series of white corridors leading to massive, cylindrical storage tanks. The air smelled sharp, like ozone and concentrated metal.
Rheon took the lead, his suppression pistol extended. Lyra moved like a shadow behind him, ready to unleash the power of the Bloodlink on the first defence protocol.
They encountered the first resistance near the storage chamber. It was two highly augmented security guards.
"Stand down and surrender your facility, or you will be compelled," Lyra warned, her voice resonating with the raw, psychic confidence of the Aether Fragment. She prepared to hit them with a wave of absolute control, just as she had with the scavenger.
The guards froze, their eyes glazing over in the first moment of psychic compliance.
Then, the attack struck Lyra.
It was not physical. It was a frequency. A silent, high-pitched whine of focused energy resonated through the air, vibrating off the pristine steel walls. The energy targeted the one thing Lyra thought immune: her own nanite-enhanced body.
The Nanite Disruptor, Morn's counter-frequency, assaulted her Phase Two Stabilisers.
Lyra gasped, the psychic command dissolving instantly. The overwhelming, agonising feeling was one of total biological paralysis. Her nanites, which maintained her regeneration and strength, suddenly began to scramble and vibrate violently. Her hyper-enhanced senses went haywire. The lights became blinding, the pressure in the room felt unbearable, and the Thirst returned with a sudden, overwhelming, debilitating severity.
Lyra stumbled, clutching her head, the vampire Queen momentarily reduced to a vulnerable, hyper-sensitive technician. "The frequency! He found the weakness in the stabilisers!"
The two guards, released from the psychic hold, snapped back into action, their rifles raised.
"Disruptor is active! Target the female!" one yelled.
Rheon did not waste a second. He knew this was the consequence of the treason. He spun, placing his body directly in front of the staggered Lyra, transforming himself instantly into a human shield.
"Lyra, focus on the disruptor source! I have the perimeter!" Rheon yelled, his training overriding the raw panic.
He fired the suppression pistol with extreme precision, striking the first guard's helmet with a burst of neurological energy, knocking him unconscious.
The second guard was more skilled, unleashing a spray of high-velocity kinetic rounds. Rheon dodged, the metal scoring the wall behind him. He used the brief confusion to activate his energy blade knife and lunged, moving with a speed born of discipline and desperation.
He closed the distance, engaging the guard in brutal, close-quarters combat. Rheon's blade clashed against the guard's wrist armour. The soldier fought with the focused, contained violence of a man fighting for the survival of his only purpose. He disabled the guard's weapon arm and delivered a crippling knee strike, sending the man sprawling.
All this happened in mere seconds, with Rheon functioning as a perfect, self-sacrificing shield.
"The source, Ascendant!" Lyra choked out, pointing a trembling finger toward a small, shielded broadcast unit mounted high on the wall. It was the Nanite Disruptor itself.
Rheon did not hesitate. He launched himself toward the unit, using a pressurised pipe as a springboard. He landed, and with a clean, violent sweep of his energy blade, sliced the Disruptor's broadcast antenna.
The high-pitched whine immediately ceased.
Lyra sagged against the wall, taking a deep, restorative breath. The agonising psychic assault stopped. Her nanite stabilisers immediately began their rapid repair, flooding her system with regenerating energy. The power returned, stronger, angrier, and focused.
"Thank you, Ascendant," Lyra whispered, the gratitude mingling dangerously with raw, predatory pride.
"The mission continues," Rheon responded, already scanning the corridors for the next wave of defence.
Lyra moved to the core processing unit, a massive, pressurised drum. Her eyes glowed with focused malice. She used her pure, re-stabilised Aether power to bypass the security console and initiate the destructive purge protocol.
The destruction of the Nanite Lab's core processing unit was underway, its pressure gauges spiking toward catastrophic failure. Lyra and Rheon raced toward the exit, their mission complete.
But as they reached the service corridor, a chilling, synthesised voice echoed through the comms.
"Congratulations, Lyra. You failed."
A small, black Drone suddenly materialised in the hallway, blocking their escape. It was the Morn-Drone, its lights burning with the arrogant consciousness of Dr Seraph Morn.
"You destroyed the lab, but you confirmed the effectiveness of my countermeasure," the drone's speaker hissed. "And you led the Ascendant exactly where I needed him to be. The Revenant has the signature. You are both compromised."
Before Rheon could raise his weapon, the ceiling directly above them exploded in a shower of steel and plaster.
The Revenant dropped into the hallway, his face shielded, his gear unscratched, his Synaptic Sensors likely fully reset. He was blocking the only way out, and he was ready for a final, lethal confrontation.
"Target Ascendant-Alpha-1," The Revenant's synthesised voice announced, calm and flat. "Retrieval of Nosferis. Elimination of Ascendant."
They were trapped between Morn's digitised arrogance and the Federation's ultimate, cold-blooded assassin. The price for their first strike was suddenly due.