Page 48

Stealing a Unity patrol vehicle is like taking candy from a baby—if the baby had assault weapons and security clearance.

We're crouched behind the skeletal remains of a pre-collapse office building, watching three Unity operators circle their patrol craft. The vehicle sits like a predatory insect on the cracked pavement—sleek black exterior, reinforced armor plating, and enough firepower to level the entire block.

"Remember the plan," I whisper, adjusting the makeshift signal jammer Lily helped assemble from scavenged parts. "Vex creates the diversion at the original transport site. Lily and I disrupt communications. Trent secures the patrol craft."

"And if something goes wrong?" Lily asks, silver eyes reflecting the afternoon sunlight.

"Improvise," Vex answers with a feral grin.

"Stick to the plan," Trent counters, ever the Sentinel.

The contrast between them has never been clearer—Vex embracing chaos with wild enthusiasm, Trent approaching danger with disciplined precision. And here I am, caught between these opposing forces, somehow drawn to both .

"Time to move," I say, ending the debate. "Coordinates locked?"

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!"

I boost Lily inside, then scramble after her. Trent slides into the pilot's seat, hands flying over the control interface.

"Start sequence?" he mutters, scanning the unfamiliar layout.

"There," I point to the ignition protocol. "Standard Unity configuration, primary switch then authentication."

The supression rounds hit the craft's exterior with metallic pings. The operators have returned, firing from covered positions.

"Hurry!" Lily urges, ducking as a round impacts near the viewport.

Trent activates the ignition sequence, and the craft hums to life. Before the authentication protocol can engage, Lily leans forward, placing her hand on the control panel. Her eyes glow again as she somehow bypasses the security.

"Well that’s useful," I note as the engines roar to full power.

Trent doesn't waste time questioning our good fortune. He engages the thrusters, lifting the craft several meters above the ground. The operators continue firing, rounds ricocheting harmlessly off the armored hull.

"Vex?" I remind him.

"On it."

Trent swings the craft around, heading toward the rendezvous coordinates. Through the viewport, I catch glimpses of the chaos Vex created—our original transport now a burning hulk surrounded by Unity forces .

"There!" Lily points suddenly. "Movement on the rooftop."

Against the smoke-filled sky, a figure runs full-tilt across a partially collapsed roof. Even at this distance, I'd recognize that predatory grace anywhere. Vex leaps from the edge without hesitation, body perfectly aligned for maximum distance.

"He's not going to make it," Trent mutters, already adjusting our course to intercept.

Vex hits the adjacent rooftop in a controlled roll, coming up running without missing a beat. Unity operators give chase, suppression rounds exploding against the structure around him.

"Lower the craft!" I shout as Trent brings us alongside the building.

I slam the side door release, wind whipping through the cabin as the door slides open. Vex sprints toward us, calculating angles and timing with predatory precision.

"Jump!" I call, reaching out.

He launches himself from the rooftop, body suspended momentarily against the sky. For a heart-stopping second, it seems he'll fall short—then his hands catch the edge of the doorway. I grab his forearms, muscles straining as I help haul him inside.

The door slides closed just as suppression rounds impact where we'd been moments before. Trent accelerates hard, the patrol craft surging forward as we clear the ruined cityscape.

"Cutting it close," I tell Vex, pulse racing from the adrenaline.

He grins, amber eyes bright with battle-energy. "Is there any other way?”

"You're crazy," Lily declares, watching him with fascinated horror.

"Only when necessary," Vex replies with a wink. "Nice work with the security system. Electrical interface? "

"Electromagnetic field manipulation," Lily corrects, her face coming alive at his interest.

The craft stabilizes as Trent takes us higher, establishing a flight path away from the eastern arcology. The navigation system shows numerous Unity signals converging on our previous position.

"More patrols incoming," I warn, studying the display. "They've scrambled aerial support."

"Countermeasures engaged," Trent responds, activating the craft's stealth protocols. "We'll be electronic ghosts in sixty seconds."

"Heading?" Vex asks, moving to the co-pilot position.

"Western territories," Trent answers. "More atmospheric interference there. Better for hiding our signature."

"The Old Refuge is northeast," I point out.

"Too obvious," Trent counters. "They'll expect us to return there."

"I agree," Vex says, surprising me with his support of Trent's plan. "We need to disappear until the immediate hunt dies down."

I glance at Lily, now curled in a seat looking exhausted despite her earlier display of power. "She needs medical attention. The suppression compounds may still be affecting her system."

"I know a place," Vex says after a moment's consideration. "Sympathizer outpost in the western mountains. Small, off most maps. Good medical supplies."

Trent nods, already adjusting our course. "Approximately three hours at maximum safe speed."

"Will we be followed?" Lily asks, voice smaller now that the immediate danger has passed.

"They'll try," I tell her honestly. "But this craft has top-line stealth capabilities. By the time they organize a proper search, we'll be gone."

The tension in the cabin eases slightly as we put distance between ourselves and Eastern Arcology. Lily eventually drifts to sleep, silver eyes finally closing as exhaustion claims her.

I move to check on her, adjusting her position to be more comfortable. As I tuck a salvaged jacket around her shoulders, I catch Trent watching through the reflection in the viewport. Our eyes meet in the makeshift mirror, and something passes between us—shared concern, shared purpose.

Hours pass in relative silence as we fly west, the landscape below transitioning from ruins to wild territories rarely patrolled by Unity forces.

Occasionally Vex and Trent confer quietly about navigation or fuel consumption, their earlier antagonism temporarily set aside in the interest of our shared mission.