The weight of a hundred eyes pressed down on Ethan as he stood at the center of the underground chamber. The remnants of Crowe's network watched him with a mixture of curiosity, skepticism, and cautious hope.
Men and women, hardened by years of hiding in Nexara's shadows, preparing for a war that had been brewing long before Ethan was dragged into it.
And now they were looking at him for answers.
Ethan's jaw clenched as his eyes scanned the room. Weapons were being calibrated, tactical schematics flashed across holo-displays, and encrypted comm channels buzzed softly with chatter.
This was no ragtag group of rebels.
These people were ready for war.
"Ethan," Lena murmured softly, her voice cutting through the haze of his thoughts.
He turned, meeting her steady gaze. The concern in her green eyes was impossible to miss.
"Talk to them," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "They need to hear it from you."
Ethan's pulse pounded in his ears.
"You're not ready for this."
Crowe's voice echoed in his mind, but Ethan pushed it away.
"I know," Ethan murmured softly.
But his jaw tightened as he stepped forward, the weight of Crowe's memories surging through him. His mind was a battlefield, fragments of Crowe's past and his own thoughts colliding with a force that left him breathless.
"Protect the Codex."
Ethan's grip on the data core tightened.
The murmurs in the chamber quieted as all eyes turned to him.
For a moment, the silence was deafening.
Then—
"We all know why we're here," Ethan murmured softly, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him. "HelixCorp isn't just trying to control the Codex."
His gaze swept across the room, meeting the eyes of the men and women who had fought and bled to protect Crowe's legacy.
"They're trying to rewrite the future," Ethan continued, his jaw clenched. "And if we don't stop them... they will."
The room was deathly silent now, every pair of eyes locked onto him.
"We've all lost too much already," Ethan murmured softly. "Friends. Family. Everything we once believed in."
His throat tightened as Crowe's memories surged forward again—flashes of a life consumed by sacrifice and betrayal.
"But we can't let that be for nothing," Ethan said, his voice growing stronger. "Crowe believed that the Codex wasn't just a weapon... it was a chance to reshape the future. To give people control over their own destiny."
Ethan's jaw clenched as the weight of those words settled over him.
"And if HelixCorp gets their hands on it..." Ethan's voice dropped to a whisper, but the intensity in his tone was impossible to miss. "They'll take that future away from all of us."
Silence stretched, heavy and unrelenting.
Then—
"We can't let that happen," a voice echoed from the crowd.
Ethan's gaze snapped toward the source, where a woman with cybernetic implants along her temples stood, her expression hard but resolute.
A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.
Ethan's pulse quickened.
They believe in this.
In him.
"We strike first," Ethan murmured softly, his jaw set. "Before they have a chance to tighten their grip."
Dorian stepped forward, his cybernetic eyes narrowing as he spoke.
"There's an old HelixCorp facility on the outskirts," Dorian murmured. "Off the grid. Minimal security. They're using it to test modifications on their enforcers. If we hit them there..."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "We send a message."
Dorian's lips curled into a faint smirk.
"Loud and clear."
---
Two Hours Later – Safehouse Bunker
The tension inside the safehouse was palpable as Ethan, Lena, and Dorian prepared for the mission. Weapons were calibrated. Armor reinforced. The air was thick with the scent of oil and ozone as pulse rifles hummed softly with charged energy.
Ethan stood near the workbench, his eyes scanning the holo-display projecting the layout of the HelixCorp facility.
"Main access points are here and here," Dorian murmured, pointing to the northern and southern entrances. "But security will be lighter along the east wall. If we move fast, we can get in before they even know we're there."
Ethan's jaw clenched as Crowe's memories stirred again, feeding him tactical information that felt too familiar.
"Flank the perimeter. Disrupt the power grid."
"Once we're inside," Ethan murmured softly, his eyes narrowing as he traced the layout. "We hit the data servers first. Cut off their comms."
Dorian nodded, his expression grim. "That'll buy us time to hit the testing bays."
"And what about extraction?" Lena's voice was sharp, her tone laced with caution.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Fast," he murmured softly. "We get what we need... and we're gone."
Lena's eyes narrowed. "And if something goes wrong?"
Ethan's pulse quickened as Crowe's instincts surged forward again, filling his mind with fragmented memories of operations gone south.
"We improvise," Ethan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Silence fell between them, heavy and unrelenting.
But Lena's jaw clenched as she finally spoke.
"Then let's make sure that doesn't happen."
---
HelixCorp Testing Facility – Perimeter
The night was quiet. Too quiet.
Ethan crouched behind the rusted remains of an old transport vehicle, his pulse pounding in his ears. The glow of the HelixCorp facility loomed ahead, its walls lined with automated turrets and surveillance drones.
"Visuals?" Ethan murmured softly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Perimeter's clear," Dorian's voice echoed softly through the comm. "But they've got motion sensors along the east wall. We trip those... and this gets messy fast."
"Copy that," Ethan murmured, his jaw clenched.
Lena knelt beside him, her pulse pistol steady in her hand.
"Ready?" Ethan asked softly, his eyes locking onto hers.
Lena's gaze was steady, her jaw set.
"Let's do this," she murmured.
Ethan's pulse quickened as Crowe's instincts surged forward again, feeding him the information he needed.
"Disrupt the power grid. Blind the turrets."
Ethan's jaw clenched as he moved with practiced precision, his pulse blade humming softly as he sliced through the main power conduit.
The facility's exterior lights flickered.
"Grid's down," Dorian murmured through the comm. "You're clear."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Move."
They slipped through the shadows, navigating the perimeter with calculated precision. The air was thick with tension as they approached the facility's eastern access point.
Ethan's pulse pounded as they reached the entrance.
"EMP ready?" Ethan murmured softly.
Lena's jaw tightened as she nodded, her finger hovering over the trigger.
"On your mark."
Ethan's breath caught.
"We strike first."
"Now."
Lena triggered the EMP, and the pulse erupted in a silent wave of energy.
The security grid went dark.
"Go!" Ethan barked, moving swiftly as they slipped inside.
But the moment they crossed the threshold...
Ethan's blood ran cold.
"Something's wrong."
Crowe's memories screamed in his mind, and his instincts surged forward with a warning that was too late.
"Ethan," Lena's voice was sharp, her pulse pistol already raised.
Ethan's gaze snapped to the shadows ahead.
A figure emerged.
Tall. Cloaked in armor.
But it was the glow of the cybernetic implants along their jawline that made Ethan's heart stop.
"Nemesis," Ethan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Lena's pulse quickened. "What the hell is that?"
Ethan's jaw clenched, his pulse blade humming softly as he stepped forward.
"HelixCorp's ultimate weapon."
"Get ready," Ethan murmured softly, his eyes narrowing.
"Because we're out of time."
---