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The rendezvous point is a grim little depression between two shattered hillsides, natural camouflage for the small transport vehicle waiting to extract us.

Two hours of hard travel across wasteland terrain has left even my enhanced muscles aching, but it's my mind that's truly exhausted.

Every few minutes, I've caught myself looking east, toward the arcology where Trent and Lily are still fighting their way out.

"How much longer?" I ask Sara as we approach the transport, trying not to whine.

She checks her communication device. "No update from the extraction team. Last known status shows them moving toward secondary exit point with the target secured."

"Target," I mutter, hating the clinical term for another Haven child. A kid, just like Lily, who's probably spent their whole life being experimented on by Unity.

Vex moves to the perimeter, scanning the landscape. "Transport seems secure, but we should minimize exposure time."

I nod, pushing aside my worry to focus on immediate safety.

We've completed our mission and the research facility is a smoking ruin behind us, visible even at this distance as a black column staining the sky.

Unity's forced modification program has been set back significantly, but they'll be furious.

Every patrol in the region will be hunting us now.

The transport's driver—a woman with subtle gill-like structures along her neck—nods in greeting as we approach. "Five minutes to departure. Waiting for final confirmation from Resonance."

I drop my pack and roll my shoulders, tension coiling beneath my skin. Waiting has never been my strong suit, and right now, every minute feels like an hour.

"They'll make it," Sara says quietly, reading my expression.

"You don't know that."

"I know your Sentinel. I've seen his type before, the ones who always complete the mission, no matter what." She offers a small smile. "And that child with the silver eyes? She's tougher than you realize."

I want to believe her. I need to. The alternative—losing Trent and Lily—isn't something I can process right now.

A soft beep from the transport's communication system breaks the tense silence. The driver activates it immediately, and Marcus's voice comes through with unmistakable urgency.

"Strike team, change of plans. Extraction team reporting heavy pursuit. Cannot reach secondary rendezvous. Requesting immediate assistance at coordinates being transmitted now."

My heart seizes. "Status?"

"Pinned down in abandoned manufacturing complex. Eastern Arcology security forces approaching from multiple vectors. Estimated time to position compromise: fifteen minutes."

I'm already grabbing my pack before the message finishes, body moving ahead of conscious thought. "Send coordinates to my tracker. We're moving now."

Vex appears at my side, his golden eyes gleaming with battle-readiness. "Transport can get us within two kilometers. Terrain won't allow closer approach."

"That's close enough," I say, checking my remaining equipment. "Sara?"

She nods decisively. "I'll take three fighters. The rest continue to Resonance with the transport as planned."

The driver starts the engine as we load in, the vehicle humming to life with surprising quiet for its size. Modified for stealth operations, clearly. We strap in as it accelerates away from the rendezvous point, heading southeast toward the coordinates Marcus transmitted.

"What's the plan?" Vex asks, his voice pitched just for me despite the noise.

"Get in, get our people, get out," I reply.

"Against Unity forces who specifically want all of you." He doesn't sugar-coat it. "They'll have modified operators. Detection equipment designed for Haven genetics."

"Then we'll just have to be faster and smarter," I say with more confidence than I feel.

The transport eats up distance quickly, terrain blurring outside the viewport. According to the navigation system, we're approximately eighteen minutes from the extraction point, cutting it close if Marcus's estimate was accurate. Every second matters now.

Sara distributes additional weapons from the transport's storage, specialized stun devices designed to work against modified physiology. I take one, appreciating the elegant design. Definitly not Unity tech.

"Haven design," Sara explains, noting my interest. "Disrupts neural patterns in modified subjects without permanent damage."

"How efficient," Vex comments, examining his own device with professional appreciation.

"We've had thirty years to perfect our technology," Sara explains with a touch of pride in her voice. "While Unity focused on control, we focused on liberation."

The distinction strikes me as particularly significant right now, as we race to liberate those who matter most to me.

After what feels like both forever and not long enough, the transport slows, approaching the deployment point.

Through the viewport, I can see our destination, a sprawling complex of damaged buildings that might once have been a manufacturing center.

Pale smoke rises from one section, suggesting recent combat.

"Thermal scan shows multiple contacts," the driver reports. "Twenty-plus Unity signatures approaching from the northeast. Four signatures in the central structure—likely your team."

Four, not three. They found the Haven child, then. At least that part of the mission succeeded.

"Drop point in thirty seconds," Sara announces. "Weapons hot, use non-lethal protocols unless absolutely necessary."

The transport touches down briefly, side door sliding open before we've fully stopped. We exit in practiced formation—Sara and two fighters taking point while Vex and I, along with the third fighter, form the second unit.

"Two Ks to target," Vex confirms, checking his tracker. "Movement patterns suggest Unity forces establishing containment perimeter."

"Standard protocol," I say, recognition flaring. "They'll secure all escape vectors before committing main force."

"Then we need to break through before they complete the perimeter," Sara decides. "Direct approach, maximum speed."

We move immediately, using the broken urban landscape for cover when possible but prioritizing speed over stealth. My enhanced senses track Unity movements ahead, the distinctive rhythm of coordinated forces, the faint electronic signature of their communication equipment.

"We'll hit their line in approximately ninety seconds," I warn, hearing the Unity communications even at this distance. "At least eight operators at the intercept point."

Sara nods, her color-shifting eyes reflecting determination. "Disruptor pattern on my mark. Three-point engagement, then straight through to the central structure."

We adjust formation slightly, organizing into the strike pattern she's described. The Unity perimeter appears ahead, modified operators taking position along a broken wall that once might have been a security boundary for the manufacturing complex.

"Mark," Sara says quietly.

We move as one, synchronized despite our limited time working together.

Sara's fighters deploy disruptor devices at precise angles, creating a triangulated field that momentarily incapacitates the modified operators.

The effect lasts only seconds—these aren't standard Unity personnel, but enhanced soldiers with accelerated recovery capabilities.

But seconds are all we need. I follow Vex through the gap we've created, moving at speeds that would have been impossible before my modifications awakened. Behind us, Sara and her fighters engage the recovering operators, creating the diversion we need to reach the central structure.

Inside the complex, evidence of recent fighting is everywhere—scorch marks from weapons discharge, scattered debris from forced entry points, the lingering scent of suppression compounds.

My heart pounds as I follow the familiar signature I'd know anywhere, Trent's distinctive heartbeat, slightly faster than normal but strong.

"This way," I tell Vex, leading him down a collapsed corridor toward what was once a central processing area.

We round a corner and finally see them—Trent, Lily, and two others in defensive position behind overturned machinery.

One appears to be the rescued Haven child, a boy perhaps Lily's age with pale skin and what looks like metallic filaments running just beneath his skin surface.

The fourth is a Haven fighter I don't recognize, wounded but still alert.

Trent spots us first, eyes widening with a mixture of relief and alarm. "Zara! Get down!"

I drop instinctively, Vex following suit as suppression rounds impact the wall where we'd been standing. Unity forces have breached the opposite entrance, using the distraction of our arrival to push forward.

"Six operators," Trent reports as I crawl into position beside him. "Modified, heavy suppression equipment. They've been hunting us for the past hour."

"Rescue party reporting for duty," I say, unable to keep the relief from my voice despite the danger. "Fashionably late, as usual."

A ghost of a smile touches his battered face. "Your timing could use work."

Lily beams at me despite the chaos, silver eyes bright with genuine joy. "You came back!"

"Of course I did. I told you you'd hit your rescue quota for the month." I glance at the rescued child beside her. "New friend?"

"This is Michael. Haven designation MC-Six." She speaks with proud formality. "We found him in the isolation chamber, just like we planned."

The boy watches our exchange with wary eyes that occasionally flicker with electrical discharges, subtle but definitely not standard human. Another modified child, his abilities still developing despite Unity's suppression protocols.

"Exit strategy?" Vex asks Trent, ever practical even as suppression rounds continue to impact around our position.

"Northeast maintenance shaft," Trent answers, gesturing toward a narrow passage half-hidden behind damaged equipment. "Leads to vehicle bay. Transport waiting, but we can't reach it with Unity forces blocking the route."

I assess the situation quickly. Six modified operators using the broken structure for cover, methodically tightening their perimeter around our position.

Our disruptors will work, but we need a more comprehensive solution than simply fighting through, especially with an injured fighter and two children to protect.

"Vex, how much of that fancy explosive do you have left?" I ask, an idea forming.

He pats his equipment pouch. "Two charges. Smaller than what we used on the facility, but enough for localized structural damage."

"The support columns," I suggest, pointing to the massive structures still partially holding up the damaged ceiling. "We could bring down this whole section, block their approach."

Trent follows my thinking immediately. "Create a barrier between us and them, giving us time to reach the transport."

"While potentially dropping the ceiling on our heads," Vex points out, though I can tell he's already calculating angles.

"Not if we time it right," I counter. "Place charges on the far columns only. Staged collapse."

Trent studies the structural layout, Sentinel assessment kicking in. "It could work, but we'll need to move the moment the charges detonate. No hesitation."

“And I can’t say no to more bombs,” says Vex.

“The children go first,” the wounded fighter insists, struggling to sit straighter despite the obvious pain. “I’ll cover the retreat.”

“We all go,” I say firmly. “No one gets left behind.”

Vex is already moving, using the cover of our position to reach the first support column. I watch with admiration as he places the charge with expert precision, then slides to the second column with predatory grace that even the pursuing operators can’t track effectively.

“Charges set,” he confirms upon return. “Remote detonation, thirty-second delay.”

“Alright,” I say, looking at our small group. “Lily, Michael, you stay between Trent and me. Vex covers our six. When the charges blow, we run straight for the maintenance shaft, no stopping no matter what happens.”

The children nod solemnly, their eyes reflecting an understanding far beyond their years. Both have lived through Unity’s idea of “care”—they know what’s at stake if we’re captured.

“Twenty seconds,” Vex warns, detonator ready.

Trent moves closer to me, our shoulders touching briefly. “Just like Maintenance Sector 12,” he says quietly.

The reference to our earlier mission—a lifetime ago, it seems—brings an unexpected smile. “Except with more explosions and genetic experiments.”

“Details,” he dismisses with that subtle warmth in his eyes that’s only ever been for me.

“Ten seconds,” Vex announces. “Everyone ready to move.”

I position myself protectively near the children, body coiled for instant action. The wounded fighter grips his weapon more firmly, determination overriding pain.

“Five. Four. Three.”

I reach out, squeezing Lily’s shoulder reassuringly. Her silver eyes meet mine, trust shining through the fear.

“Two. One. Now!”