Location: Seraphim Mountain – Classified Underground Lab
The wind howled violently outside Seraphim Mountain, snow battering the helicopter as it landed. Nora, Damien, and two elite agents disembarked swiftly, their breaths fogging in the cold air. Beneath them, a labyrinth of forgotten tunnels and classified chambers awaited—a relic from her father's secret experiments during the Tavaran Defense Project.
"Is this place even safe?" Damien asked, scanning the snow-covered cliff for hidden threats.
"No," Nora replied. "But it's our only chance."
They pushed open a rusted hatch camouflaged into the mountain wall. The reinforced passage was silent, entombed in ice and time. Emergency lights flickered as Nora keyed in a code on an old biometric panel. The steel doors groaned and slid open.
Inside, the group entered a colossal lab space. Dust-coated consoles and shattered glass lined the walls. At the far end, encased in reinforced crystal, stood the last surviving prototype: the Aether Disruptor.
It was smaller than Damien expected—just the size of a suitcase—but it pulsed with an ominous cyan glow. A coiled core of plasma energy sat at its heart.
"This is it," Nora said. "But it's unstable. We'll need a containment override if we're going to move it without triggering detonation."
Damien approached it cautiously. "Any backup plan if this thing fries the entire region?"
She gave a tight smile. "We pray."
Just as Nora tapped on the console to begin the recalibration process, the lights flickered.
Warning. Unauthorized presence detected.
A mechanical hiss echoed through the hall. From the shadows emerged two humanoid machines—Obsidian Frames. They'd found them.
"Cover me!" Nora shouted, diving toward the disruptor's core interface.
Damien drew his sidearm, firing a burst of rounds. The bullets sparked off the metal exoskeletons as one Frame charged forward, its arm transforming into a blade. Damien tackled one of the agents out of the way just in time.
The second agent launched a shock grenade, stunning one of the Frames briefly.
Nora's fingers flew over the keyboard. "Almost there!"
"Make it now," Damien shouted, grappling with the other machine that had pinned him.
With a final keystroke, the crystal casing around the disruptor lifted and a secure harness folded out.
"I've got it!" Nora yelled. "Damien, we're moving!"
One Frame rose again, optics glowing red. But before it could reach them, Damien fired into an exposed joint. Sparks flew—and the machine collapsed in a heap.
"Let's go!" he barked.
They ran through the tunnel as a low rumble vibrated beneath the lab. Self-destruct fail-safes were activating. With the disruptor secure, the team barely made it to the surface before the underground lab collapsed in a shuddering explosion.
---
Location: Central Emergency Command Bunker – Tavara
Victor stood before a panel, watching satellite feeds of Dominion movements. Entire convoys were shifting.
Suddenly, a red ping appeared on the map—Seraphim Mountain. A controlled blast. Then… Nora's ID tag reappeared, active again.
He allowed himself a rare smile.
"She found it."
Sloan stepped in. "You're going to deploy it?"
Victor's gaze turned cold. "If Caine brings Requiem to our gates… then yes."
---
Location: Dominion Warship – Airspace Over Northern Tavara
Caine stood aboard the bridge, wine glass in hand. Requiem stood behind him, hands clasped, emotionless.
"They found the disruptor," Requiem said. "Should I intercept?"
Caine's smile was slow and venomous.
"No. Let them believe they have a chance."
He turned to the digital battlefield unfolding on the screen.
"Because when I break them, I want it to hurt."