The spacecraft sliced through the skies, its sleek, angular form a product of the most advanced aerospace engineering. The smooth curvature of its wings, reminiscent of a predatory bird, allowed for seamless maneuverability, its dark metal glinting against the backdrop of the upper atmosphere. Within its cockpit, the hum of its artificial intelligence provided an eerie calm amidst the chaos they had left behind.
Below them, the underground laboratory was collapsing in on itself. Explosions rippled through the facility as the rebels overran it completely, their final strike ensuring that no trace of control remained over X-02 or A-01. Mira sat in silence, staring at the flames licking at the edges of the hidden base. The realization settled deep within her chest-this was no longer a prison. It was a graveyard.
Her memories felt clearer now. The fog that had dulled her mind for years was lifting, and in its place, the weight of something lost-and now found. Her head tilted slightly as fragments surfaced, the most powerful being the moment she had once sworn something to Caleb.
We will always be together. We will never be apart.
A sharp alarm pulled her out of her thoughts.
[WARNING: MULTIPLE PROJECTILES AND UNITS DETECTED.]
The spacecraft's AI flickered red as the cockpit filled with data projections, showing the incoming fleet. A team had been dispatched after them, their orders clear-capture at all costs.
Caleb studied the projections with unreadable eyes before turning to Mira. "Stay here. I'll deal with them."
She shook her head, the answer already set within her. "We promised to never be apart."
A pause. Then he looked at her again. The weight of time, of all they had been through, settled in his gaze. "Does a promise made a decade ago still need to be kept?"
Mira's voice was soft but unwavering. "I don't know. But I want to keep it."
Caleb's expression didn't change, but something in his posture did. He turned away from the controls, his voice quieter. "It does need to be kept."
Without another word, he reached up, brushing back his hair to press the embedded command node behind his ear. A moment later, his visor activated, a thin, gleaming interface sliding over his eyes, displaying tactical data.
Mira followed. She reached up, fingers finding the same spot hidden beneath her own hair. A second visor lowered over her eyes, her vision instantly shifting as combat parameters adjusted in real-time.
A final alert echoed through the cockpit.
[WARNING: ENEMY UNITS EXCEEDING 200. PROJECTED HOSTILE MANEUVER INITIATED.]
The spacecraft AI's voice held a clinical tone, but the severity of its message was clear. Fighter pilots, manually controlled combat drones-an entire aerial fleet was upon them.
Caleb observed the information, then spoke without looking at her. "The government is more interested in retrieving you than controlling the rebels."
Mira's fingers curled slightly. "They want me as a weapon. Without us, they wouldn't last long."
Caleb exhaled slowly. "The rebels won't let go of you either."
Mira turned to him. "Are you scared? A weapon as fearsome as me, hunted by both sides... why not just use me?"
His answer came without hesitation. "You're someone I want to protect, not use. And that makes all the difference."
Another blaring warning interrupted them.
[ENEMY CONTACT IMMINENT.]
They were here. Beyond the clouds, dark shapes loomed-hundreds of ships converging on their location.
Mira steadied herself. "They'll try to shoot us down."
Caleb's voice was steady. "They won't. I'll protect you. This is our escape."
The hatch doors slid open. The wind howled around them as pressure equalized, the gravity of Philos barely holding them in place. Caleb took a step forward, the force of his Evol suspending the spacecraft in its position. His fingers curled slightly, controlling the gravitational field around them.
Mira followed, stepping up beside him. The cold of the open atmosphere didn't faze her; all she could feel was the rush of power coursing through her veins. Without the facility's control, without suppressors, their full strength was finally free.
She lifted her hand, and her blades materialized, floating effortlessly in the thin air. The massive black sword hovered beside her, responding to her unspoken command.
The fleet swarmed toward them, metal and fire screaming through the sky.
They leaped forward-into battle, into freedom, into the unknown.