They thought it was just another mission.
Another stolen file. Another classified name. Another ghost to chase in the dark.
But fate rarely knocks with thunder.
Sometimes it arrives in silence—
disguised as data on a screen,
a name buried in code,
a flicker of light in a room too quiet to notice.
Raiga and Liara had no way of knowing…
That what they'd uncovered wasn't just a weapon.
It was a secret.
A secret so old, so dangerous, that its very existence had been erased from every Dominion archive.
And now, it was in their hands.
They had no army.
No plan.
No idea what waited beyond that blinking folder.
But still—
something deep inside them stirred.
The kind of feeling you don't get from victory or vengeance.
The kind you only feel
right before the world changes.
Forever.
————————————————
Zenithar - Restricted Military Zone
Rain fell in a steady rhythm—thin, relentless needles carving lines through the smog-choked air. The city didn't sleep. It murmured. Hummed. Trembled beneath the weight of its own filth.
Neon signs flickered through the haze like broken stars. Towering skyscrapers loomed overhead, their silhouettes carved in steel and sorrow. Drones zipped between buildings, blinking red under the cover of stormclouds, their engines drowned out by the downpour.
On the edge of a high-rise, a shadow crouched.
Raiga.
Still as stone, one knee up, an arm resting lazily across it. His black hood clung to him, soaked. But he didn't move. Didn't flinch. His eyes, sharp and cold, were locked on the restricted zone below.
A convoy had arrived ten minutes earlier.
Three armored vehicles, flanked by two towering APEX-Class Mechs. Dominion tech—pure, overdesigned, and deadly. Their hydraulics hissed as they adjusted positions, scanning the perimeter with surgical precision.
Raiga narrowed his eyes.
Two figures emerged through the security gate.
One was clearly Dominion: military issue uniform, spotless, with golden insignias curling down the sleeves like serpents. The other was harder to read. Civilian build, long gray coat with integrated armor plating, and a data visor covering his eyes.
They met at the center of the courtyard.
Handshake. No words. Just silence.
Raiga's earpiece crackled.
"You seeing this?"
Liara's voice.
Her tone was light, but buzzing beneath it was that usual edge of excitement she couldn't hide.
"Told you it wasn't just another shady weapons deal."
Raiga smirked faintly.
"Sure. So far it's just a bunch of expensive raincoats shaking hands."
"Ha-ha. Keep watching, genius."
Her fingers danced across her console, tapping into external surveillance feeds.
"The guy in gray? Not local. Too clean. That's off-world tech in his coat. I traced a signal—private frequency, encrypted like hell. High-level Dominion transfer."
Raiga tilted his head slightly.
"Weapon?"
"Nope. Better."
A pause.
"Raiga… it's not a cannon. Not a bomb. It's an AI."
That got his attention.
He didn't move, but inside—something shifted.
"An AI?" he repeated, flat.
"Not just an AI," Liara continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "We're talking next-gen, self-learning, combat-adaptive, multi-layered decisioning AI. Codename: AEGIS. This thing isn't just software. It rewrites its own neural logic. It thinks."
Raiga exhaled slowly.
"You sure about this?"
"I'm sure. I dug through the encryption myself. It's not even registered in their public logs. It doesn't officially exist."
"And we're stealing it."
"Exactly!"
He could hear the grin in her voice.
"Finally," she said. "Something worth the trouble."
Raiga allowed himself a small smile. Just for a second.
"You always get weirdly excited when we're breaking into impossible places."
"Because breaking into impossible places is the only fun part of this job."
He shook his head.
"You know you sound like a mad scientist, right?"
"I prefer 'visionary tech goddess,' thank you."
Raiga chuckled under his breath.
But his gaze returned to the two men below.
The handshake had ended.
Soldiers were unloading a small containment unit from the central vehicle—black, reinforced, sealed with biometric locks and Dominion sigils.
Raiga's smile faded.
"They're buying it from the Cyber Legion," he muttered.
"Yeah… I noticed."
"Dominion working with those bastards."
"Par for the course."
Raiga's voice dropped.
"The Legion talks about liberation. About freedom. But all they've done is burn districts and kill civilians who couldn't pay for protection."
"They're not revolutionaries," Liara said quietly. "They're dealers in chaos. And the Dominion's buying."
For a few moments, the comms fell silent.
Then Liara returned to her usual tone.
"Alright, back on task. That case—inside it is our prize."
"How secure?"
"Biometric lock. Multi-phase encryption. Auto-wipe protocol if the case is opened without admin clearance."
"So… we steal it without opening it."
"Exactly."
Raiga adjusted the gauntlet on his right hand. A faint pulse of energy ran along the seams of his suit.
"You upgraded my kit."
"Damn right I did."
Liara's voice was full of pride now.
"You're wearing the latest version of the Blackout Suite. I added adaptive cloaking, frequency jamming, AI disruption code… and one more surprise."
"Hit me."
"Reality Scrambler."
Raiga frowned.
"That sounds like something that shouldn't exist."
"It's basically five seconds of god mode. It bends light and data in real time. You become a ghost. No cameras, no heat sensors, no biometric scans—nothing can see you. For five seconds, you don't exist."
Raiga let out a low whistle.
"Now that's just cheating."
"Only if you get caught."
He cracked his knuckles, checked the time.
"When do I move?"
"In thirty seconds, the central mech will rotate left to scan the south corridor. That's your window. Slip in, drop the scrambler, get to the container, tag it for drone retrieval."
"And if something goes wrong?"
"Don't screw up."
"Helpful."
"I try."
Raiga smirked.
Then—
He froze.
Something shimmered in the air below.
Almost invisible—like a ripple across a glass surface.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Liara. Do you see that?"
"What?"
"At my eleven. Something just… moved."
Liara scrambled on her end.
"Checking… wait—hold on—"
The screen in front of her flickered.
Then died.
"Raiga, something's jamming the signal."
A burst of static tore through the comms.
"—get out—!"
Then nothing.
Silence.
Raiga's breath slowed.
He stepped back into shadow, blending into the ledge.
Below him—
A figure shifted from the rain-soaked alley.
Slow. Deliberate.
It raised its head.
And looked straight at him.
Their eyes met.
And in that instant—Raiga knew.
This mission had just changed.
⸻
[To be continued.]