Chapter 10 — The City in the Ashes
The dropship descended through a canyon of jagged basalt, thermal vents breathing steam into the cold morning air. Kael guided the ship toward a cluster of structures carved directly into the rock — a hidden city, its lights faint against the red haze.
Mira leaned close to the viewport.
"Asteron," she breathed. "I thought the Dominion wiped it out."
Kael felt the armor hum beneath his skin, wary.
The place didn't feel dead.
It felt armed.
[Unidentified targeting systems acquired.]
[Recommendation: evasive maneuvers. Host survival probability: 42%.]
Kael muttered, "They won't fire."
Mira didn't seem so sure.
She tapped a control and opened a general hail channel.
"This is Mira Solis, resistance cell Echo-Five. We're not Dominion. Repeat — not Dominion. We request safe landing."
Silence.
Then — a voice crackled through the comm, rough and impatient.
"If you stole that ship, keep it slow and keep your hands off the guns."
The landing pad rose from the rock like an unfurling shield. Kael eased the dropship down. Beneath him, dozens of rebels armed with scavenged rifles and patched armor took position.
The engines whined to a stop.
The ramp lowered.
Kael walked out first.
The air was heavy with the metallic tang of dust and machinery — and with it, eyes. Every rifle tracked him, not Mira. Not the ship.
Him.
A woman stepped forward — tall, broad-shouldered, scar slicing across her jaw.
Commander Lyra Dane.
Leader of Asteron's rebellion.
Her stare burned holes through Kael.
"You're the one Dominion command is screaming about," she said.
Mira stepped beside Kael, chin high. "He saved thirty-seven survivors from Verrion-9."
Lyra didn't blink. "Or brought a Dominion tracking beacon into my base."
Kael's armor tensed — heat prickling across his spine.
‹ Threat level: moderate.›
Kael murmured back, "Stand down."
Mira pointed to the drop ship's hull, where scorch marks told the story of the siege.
"We barely got out alive. He's not the enemy."
Lyra raised a brow. "That so? Then what's that on his skin?"
Kael opened his mouth—
He felt the PRIME core react.
A pulse.
Sharp. Electric.
It wasn't just humming anymore.
It was searching.
Lyra's hand went to her weapon. "What did you just bring into my city?"
Kael lifted the containment case. "Something the Dominion wants."
That was the wrong answer.
Rebels aimed rifles. A metal-on-metal chorus.
Lyra's voice dropped to a growl.
"Put it down, now."
Kael met her eyes.
"No."
The containment shield flickered — not from damage, but from recognition.
The PRIME core pulsed toward someone behind the gathering. Kael followed the direction of its glow.
There, stepping from the crowd —
A boy.
Barely sixteen. Gaunt. Eyes too old for his age.
When he approached, the core's pulse synced with his heartbeat.
Mira choked. "Kael… it's reacting to him."
Kael felt the armor coil around his muscles.
‹ The PRIME unit has found compatibility. ›
Lyra shoved between them, placing herself in front of the boy.
"Not happening."
Kael held the core tighter.
"I'm not giving it this thing. I barely control it myself."
The boy stepped closer, ignoring his commander.
"I know what that is," he whispered.
"I've dreamed about it. About you."
Kael's pulse spiked.
"What did you say?"
The kid swallowed. "You were in a white room. Strapped down. I saw—"
Kael grabbed him by the shoulders.
"What do you mean you saw?"
The boy didn't flinch.
"They did the same thing to me."
A breath of silence.
Mira's voice trembled. "Kael… he's another test subject."
Lyra cursed under her breath, grip tightening on her rifle.
"They took kids from settlements. I thought it was recruitment."
Kael looked into the boy's eyes and felt the world tilt.
"How many?"
The boy's answer was a whisper of horror.
"Forty-seven."
Kael's vision swam.
Subject 47-A.
Him.
The kid continued, voice cracking.
"I'm 47-B."
The PRIME core reacted like a living heartbeat, knocking against its containment shield.
[PRIME SYNC — 61%]
[Secondary host proximity detected.]
The armor surged.
Kael's lungs seized.
‹ Bonding now would complete integration. ›
"Stop," Kael hissed. "He's a kid."
The armor didn't care.
‹ Bonding creates a weapon capable of ending the Dominion. ›
"Not like this."
Lyra's patience shattered.
She pointed her rifle at Kael's chest.
"You're done giving orders in my house."
Mira stepped between them.
"You shoot him, Dominion wins."
Lyra didn't lower the gun.
"We're not letting a second monster loose."
Kael's voice was a quiet thunder.
"I'm not a monster."
The armor pulsed.
‹ Prove it. ›
Kael exhaled slowly.
He set the containment case down.
And stepped away from the boy.
"No one bonds with anything," he said.
"Not until we know what it does."
Lyra hesitated, then slowly lowered her rifle.
The boy did not.
He stared at Kael, voice small.
"They broke us. Don't let them finish."
The dropship alarm suddenly screamed.
Dominion signature.
[TRACKING LOCK ACQUIRED]
[Hostile vessel incoming. ETA: 4 minutes]
Lyra spun toward Kael, fury burning bright.
"You led them straight to us."
Kael felt something shift inside the armor.
Not fear.
Resolve.
"No," he said. "They followed the core."
Lyra glared. "Then we destroy it."
Kael stepped between her and the case.
"No one touches it."
The armor flared crimson.
‹ Protect PRIME. At any cost. ›
Kael clenched his fists.
"No."
The armor… stopped.
For the first time,
it obeyed.
Mira grabbed Kael's arm. "What do we do?"
Kael turned toward the screaming alarms, the approaching death, the boy who shared his nightmares.
He spoke with the voice of someone who finally understood his purpose.
"We fight."
And every rebel on the platform moved.