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Trent nods, checking his equipment one final time. "Rendezvous at the marked location in twenty minutes—with or without the vehicle."

"Such optimism," Vex mutters, already moving into position.

He vanishes among the ruins with that liquid grace of his, heading toward our abandoned transport to create the diversion. Trent gives me one last look—part concern, part something deeper—before slipping away to his position near the patrol craft.

"Ready?" I ask Lily.

Her silver eyes swirl with determination. "Ready."

We move together through the broken landscape, keeping low. Despite her age and the lingering effects of Unity's suppression compounds, Lily navigates the terrain with impressive adaptability. Her modifications responding to challenges like mine do.

"There," I point to our target—a communications relay on the patrol craft's exterior.

"I can see the transmission patterns," Lily whispers, eyes focused intently. "Pulsing electromagnetic field, standard Unity encryption."

"Can you disrupt it?"

She nods, face scrunched in concentration. "Need to get closer."

We edge forward until we're dangerously exposed. Thirty meters to the patrol craft. Twenty meters to the nearest operator. One wrong move and we're done.

A flash of movement catches my eye—Trent, positioning himself behind a collapsed wall with clear line of sight to the operators. Our eyes meet briefly. He holds up three fingers, then two, then one...

A massive explosion erupts from the direction of our original transport. The ground shakes, debris raining down as black smoke billows into the sky. Vex certainly knows how to make a statement.

"Go now," I urge Lily as the Unity operators react instantly, alert postures shifting to combat readiness.

"Multiple hostiles at sector seven-nine," one barks into his comm unit. "Request immediate backup."

Two operators sprint toward the explosion, weapons drawn. Perfect. The third remains with the vehicle, exactly as planned.

Now for our part. I activate the signal jammer, aiming it at the communications relay. Lily stares intently, silver eyes fixed on something invisible to normal sight.

"Shifting the resonance frequency," she murmurs. "Three degrees counterclockwise..."

The effect is immediate. The remaining operator's comm unit erupts in static. He rips it from his ear with a curse, momentarily distracted.

Trent moves like a shadow, crossing the open ground between his position and the patrol craft. The operator senses movement too late. Trent strikes with textbook Sentinel efficiency—one precisely targeted blow to render the operator unconscious without permanent damage.

"Clear," he signals.

We rush forward, Lily still focusing on the relay to maintain the disruption.

"Nice work," I tell her as we reach the patrol craft.

"The barrier field is still active," Trent warns, examining the vehicle's access panel. "Biometric security."

"I can see the power source," Lily says, silver eyes tracking invisible patterns. "There—behind the access panel."

"Can you disable it?" I ask.

Rather than answer, she places her hand near the panel. Her eyes glow brighter, swirling silver like liquid mercury.The panel responds with a soft beep, security lights switching from red to green.

"Impressive," Trent acknowledges as the barrier field dissipates.

"They're coming back," I warn, hearing approaching footsteps before either of them. "Both operators, running full speed."

Trent yanks open the patrol craft's door. "Get in!"