The chaos was a weapon, and Ascendant-Alpha-1 wielded it with clinical perfection.
From the dark, secure heart of The Crypt, Rheon Vale commanded the Harvest Operation. The Federation's local military was paralysed. General Vance was fighting a digitised ghost, and the civil infrastructure, power and communication were running on frantic, localised emergency protocols. This was the moment of weakness Lyra had demanded they exploit.
Rheon's strategy was built on three core principles: speed, precision, and expendability. He divided the loyal Sanguis Red Guard into twenty-four highly specialised assault teams. Their targets were the three Regional Power Generators (critical for restoring Lyra's larger ambitions) and the five key Federation Data Hubs (critical for understanding Vance's next move).
"We do not fight the Federation's strength," Rheon instructed the Sanguis Lieutenants. His voice was cold and devoid of emotion. "We fight their confusion. You are the shadows that exploit the light failure."
Phase I: The Generators of Blood and Light
Rheon's primary concern was the Power Generators. The massive energy reserves would allow Lyra to extend her psychic influence and power base beyond the confines of The Crypt.
The first target, Generator Alpha-7, was located in a heavily shielded, industrial sub-sector. Rheon had deployed three teams: a Decoy Team tasked with creating a visible kinetic distraction at the main entrance; an Infiltration Team using service tunnels; and a small Exploitation Team, Rheon himself and two of the most technically proficient Sanguis operatives.
As the Decoy Team launched a chaotic, screaming assault on the front gate, a pure act of suicide and distraction, Rheon and his team were already inside.
"The network is offline due to the Aether Scourge," Rheon noted. He moved through the dark, echoing tunnels. "Their physical security is running on isolated protocols. We do not fight their systems. We override their systems."
He used his decades of Federation security clearance, codes that were still valid since Vance's purge of his identity was focused on the higher echelons, to breach the secondary security grid. Inside, they encountered only a skeleton crew of panicked, disoriented engineers and guards.
The Red Guard did not use suppression. They used lethal, immediate force. Their fanaticism translated into chilling efficiency. Within five minutes, the generator control room was secured.
Rheon immediately moved to the main power core. He did not activate the generator. He rerouted its entire output and established a secure, encrypted link to a hidden, high-capacity Sanguis relay station.
"Alpha-7 is secure. Power output rerouted to designated Sanguis node. Mark target as seized," Rheon reported through the secure line. The power was now flowing into the darkness and feeding the growing infrastructure of the new empire.
Phase II: The Harvest of Minds
The seizures of the next two generators followed the same brutal pattern: fast, focused, and overwhelming. Now Rheon turned his attention to the Data Hubs. Capturing these hubs was vital, as they contained Vance's logistics, troop deployment patterns, and, most importantly, any countermeasures against the Bloodlink.
Rheon personally led the infiltration of Data Hub Delta-9, located beneath the administrative sector, a facility that likely contained high-level bureaucratic and low-level military logistics.
The physical defence was lighter here and relied more on digital firewalls. This was Rheon's speciality.
Clad in lightweight armour, Rheon moved through the silent, cold server banks. He bypassed the physical guards with extreme prejudice and utilised non-lethal neurological takedowns to avoid triggering silent alarms.
He reached the central archive core. A highly secured terminal flickered and demanded authentication.
Rheon sat down. The gravity of his treason settled over him. He was about to use the highest military clearance granted to him by the Federation to dismantle the Federation itself.
He entered the complex series of commands, a personal, top-tier access code known only to a handful of high-ranking commanders. The system hesitated, then granted him root access.
"I am the enemy," Rheon whispered to the silent server banks.
He initiated a rapid data scrape and transfer protocol. His objective was not to destroy the data, which would alert Vance immediately, but to siphon it like a digital vampire. He downloaded terabytes of encrypted logistics reports, patrol schedules, and financial records into a massive, shielded storage drive provided by the Sanguis network.
Within minutes, the data was secured. Rheon erased his access log and left behind a subtle, systemic corruption designed to make the system appear to be suffering from the general Aether Scourge fallout.
Phase III: Consolidation and Victory
By dawn, the Harvest Operation was complete. Every targeted power generator was rerouted, and every targeted data hub was siphoned. The Sanguis teams, having suffered heavy but acceptable casualties, were already pulling back into the shadows. They left behind the wreckage of confused Federation security forces trying to maintain order in the dark.
Rheon returned to The Crypt. His storage drive was filled with the Federation's secrets. His transport vehicle was loaded with the shielded relay units now humming with stolen energy.
He walked into the massive, echoing cavern. The Sanguis Red Guard, seeing their general return victorious, erupted in a chorus of fierce, triumphant cheers: "Ascendant! Ascendant!"
Lyra was waiting for him on the stone platform. She was fully restored, and her crimson eyes glowed with strategic satisfaction. The atmosphere in The Crypt was electric. The energy surge from the captured generators was flowing into the base and powering massive new servers and bright, focused lights.
Rheon climbed the steps to the altar. He presented the heavy, encrypted drive to his Queen.
"Report, Ascendant," Lyra commanded. Her voice was steady and powerful.
"The Harvest is complete, Lyra," Rheon reported. His voice was tired but resolute. "Three primary Power Generators are seized and rerouted. The Sanguis network has sufficient power reserves to sustain operational capacity indefinitely. Five major Data Hubs have been siphoned. We now possess the Federation's immediate troop deployment schedules and logistical vulnerabilities."
He looked directly at her. The gravity of his success weighed on him. "The physical army is crippled. The economic infrastructure is paralysed. General Vance is consumed by the digital war against Morn. We have taken the Federation's lifeblood and its operational map."
Lyra took the drive. Her fingers brushed Rheon's, a spark of psychic energy confirming the depth of his achievement and his devotion.
A slow, terrifying smile spread across Lyra's face. "Well done, my Ascendant. The empire has its first resources. Now we plan the next phase. We strike the Federation where it truly hurts: its leadership."
The phase of chaotic seizure was over. The phase of targeted elimination was about to begin. Rheon had given the Queen the power and the knowledge. Now she would demand the final sacrifice.