Classified Airbase – 22:47 local time
The cold night wind cut across the darkened runway. A sleek, unmarked tactical aircraft—Falcon Seven—stood idle, engines humming softly in standby.
Inside the aircraft, the Helix team was strapped in, ready.
Caleb stood near the cockpit door, reviewing satellite blueprints of the target site in Rhône-Alpes.
Mina sat with a tablet on her lap, rehearsing her cover as a neurotech systems inspector.
Ayla was fine-tuning her EEG tracking rig, syncing it to the team's biosignals.
Jesse silently mapped backup exit routes through encrypted overlays.
And Tyler Reeve—half-reclined in his seat, boot up on a cargo crate—spun his headset lazily and grinned like it was all a casual field trip.
"We drop low, breach at 300 meters out," Caleb explained. "Quick, silent, efficient. Mina infiltrates as internal systems analyst, Ayla and Jesse sweep comms and security lines. Tyler..."
Tyler cut in with a smirk,
"I jump through a skylight, crash the party, and charm my way past lasers. Got it."
Caleb was about to answer—
Then the cockpit intercom crackled.
> "Hold position. Incoming priority boarding. Mission delay initiated."
Everyone looked at each other, confused.
**Two minutes later—**the ramp of the aircraft dropped open with a hiss.
And they walked in.
Three figures in matte black gear. No insignia except for one subtle patch on the arm: a broken line encircling a black star.
NOVA.
They moved like shadows. One tall man led the way, face calm, unreadable. Behind him, a platinum-blonde woman with a sharp jawline and a visor partially covering her right eye. The third, a stocky man with darker skin, wearing a neural AR headset that flickered with scrolling data.
Caleb stepped forward.
"Special Division? Are you here for support insertion?"
The tall man removed his helmet, speaking in a cold, unbothered tone.
"Captain Rian Vos. NOVA Command."
He handed Caleb a data tablet. The display glowed with a red seal: OPERATION OVERRIDE – CODE: NOVA.
"Effective immediately, this mission falls under full NOVA jurisdiction. Helix is relieved."
The room went silent.
Mina stood, her voice measured but sharp.
"We've been prepping for forty-eight hours. Our cover identities are active. Our infiltration plan is already built—"
The blonde woman replied flatly,
"That is no longer relevant."
Caleb glanced at the data on the tablet. He recognized one thing clearly: this wasn't just an internal transfer. It was a shutdown.
"This mission came from Director Sandwell directly."
The AR man looked at him, eyes cold behind the visor.
"And our orders come from above Sandwell. From the Chamber."
Tyler stood slowly, his relaxed smile now tinged with disdain.
"Ah. So the invisible gods of intel have finally shown their hand."
He stepped closer to the NOVA trio, tilting his head slightly.
"Tell me... do you hijack every op, or are we just your favorite?"
No answer.
Finally, Caleb exhaled sharply. Then turned to his team.
"Let's go. We're done here—for now."
Outside, on the tarmac.
The Helix team stood under floodlights as Falcon Seven prepared for takeoff—now with NOVA inside.
Jesse stared at the ground, his expression unreadable.
Ayla crossed her arms, furious but silent.
Mina looked at Caleb, waiting.
Tyler popped his neck, then tossed a look toward the plane.
"So that's it? They walk in, take everything we worked on, and we just watch?"
Caleb didn't answer right away.
Then, coldly:
"We follow them. But off the grid."
Everyone looked up.
"We find our own way into France. Quiet, low-profile. We run shadow to shadow. If Edevane's really alive... he's not their asset. Not yet."
Ayla smirked faintly.
"So we're going rogue?"
Tyler grinned wider.
"About damn time."
Mina stepped forward.
"If they're trying to erase us from the mission… that means there's something they don't want us to see."
Caleb nodded once.
"Then we'll see it first."
Falcon Seven roared down the runway behind them—carrying the mission Helix was supposed to own.
But what NOVA didn't know…
…was that Helix had just become the wildcard.
And in a game where memory itself could be rewritten—
the ones who refused the script… might be the only ones who see the truth.
They stood at the edge of the tarmac in silence. Cold wind swept through their jackets, but no one moved. Their eyes followed Falcon Seven as it lifted off into the night sky—their mission, taken without them.
Then came the voice over the field intercom:
> "Agent Caleb Vaughn, report to the Director's office. Priority Level: Immediate."
Caleb turned, brow furrowing.
Tyler muttered under his breath with a lazy smirk,
"Wow. Fired five minutes ago and already getting called back. Maybe they wanna apologize?"
Caleb didn't answer. He pivoted sharply and walked off without a word.
Mina, Jesse, and Ayla exchanged quiet, tense glances.
9th Floor – Director D. Sandwell's Office
The glass door hissed open as Caleb stepped in.
Director Sandwell stood with his back to the wide window, staring out at the sea of lights across the CIA compound. Operations Manager Keller stood beside him, tapping quietly on her tablet.
"Close the door," Sandwell said, not turning.
Caleb closed it.
"I hear you pulled our mission."
Sandwell finally turned to face him, jaw clenched, voice grave.
"We had no choice. The Black Chamber intervened directly. NOVA is their hammer. When they step in… even I get cut out of the loop."
Keller added, calm and cold,
"We weren't even given full access to the override. Only a shutdown order. No discussion."
Caleb's voice dropped.
"So that's it? We're benched while a secret unit hijacks our op and wipes Edevane from the world?"
A pause.
Then Sandwell looked straight at him.
"There may be one option left. Not official. Not sanctioned."
Caleb's eyes narrowed.
Keller stepped forward and handed him a microchip.
"This is an alternate route into France. Smuggler networks used by black-budget units when official borders are... inconvenient. Entry point: Annecy. Near the Swiss border. One of your old contacts still works out of there."
Sandwell added softly,
"We can't authorize you to act, Caleb. But we also can't stop you. If your team chooses to continue… we'll officially know nothing."
Caleb stared at the chip in his hand.
"So we infiltrate a mission that was originally ours. No backup. No extraction. If we get caught—"
"Then you're ghosts," Sandwell confirmed.
Another beat.
Then Caleb gave a slow, grim nod.
"We'll find Edevane. We'll find out what Palimpsest really is. Even if we have to move through the shadows of shadows."
Sandwell's expression darkened.
"Be careful, Vaughn. If Palimpsest is real... then reality itself is compromised.
You're not just chasing a man—you're chasing the rewrite of who we are."
Caleb gave one final glance toward them, then turned and walked out.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just purpose.
And Helix?
They were no longer official.
No longer protected.
But they were awake.
And the shadows had just made the mistake of forgetting:
Some ghosts don't stay buried.