Starcrossed Protocol: Code AXIOM

The morning after the tremors, the Nest's lower sectors remained unstable. Nova's boots crunched lightly on the fractured ground, each step a calculated risk as she made her way to the briefing chamber. Emergency seals hissed and re-pressurized along the walls—temporary fixes on a structure increasingly showing its age.

She wasn't alone. Kael walked beside her, silent except for the occasional flick of his tablet, streaming damage reports into his HUD.

"They hit us harder than expected," he muttered.

Nova nodded, gaze fixed ahead. "Not just brute force. Targeted. They knew where to hurt."

At the end of the corridor, the reinforced doors slid open, revealing a room stripped down to basics: steel walls, a single table at the center, and a dozen folding chairs arranged without ceremony.

Already gathered were the recruits—Vera, Jett, Echo, and a few others newly roused after the quake. Some sat rigidly, others lounged like they were waiting for a train. All of them carried fresh bruises from yesterday's clash, visible even through their augmented skins.

Nova scanned the faces. Each was her reflection refracted through different lenses of experience, pain, and defiance.

"Morning, sunshine," Jett chirped as Nova entered, her voice dripping with sarcastic cheer.

Vera shot her a silencing look but said nothing. Echo merely watched, still and assessing as ever.

Nova took the head of the table without ceremony. "We survived the first strike. Barely. That's the good news."

"And the bad news?" Vera asked, arms folded.

Nova tapped the table, and a projection sprang to life—a map of the Nest and surrounding sectors. Red points pulsed like open wounds across the landscape.

"They weren't just trying to destroy us," Nova said. "They were probing. Testing. Looking for weaknesses."

Kael stepped forward. "And they found a few."

A grim ripple passed through the room.

"They'll be back," Nova continued. "Soon. And they won't make the same mistakes twice."

"So what's the plan?" Jett asked, leaning back dangerously in her chair.

"We strike first," Nova said.

The room went still.

Kael flicked the map, zooming into a specific sector labeled 'Blackstar Facility.'

"Intel recovered from the last incursion," he said. "Unit 17 is operating a remote sub-core here. Smaller than the Nest, but better defended. She's using it to reprogram captured units—and generate more."

Echo spoke, voice low. "That's where she's overwriting them."

Nova nodded. "And it's where we cut the cord."

A ripple of tension passed through the recruits. Some looked eager. Others wary.

"We're splitting into two teams," Nova said. "Vera, Jett, Echo—you're with me. We'll infiltrate and plant charges along the sub-core's anchor points. Kael will lead the second team and handle extraction and overwatch."

"And if we can't plant the charges in time?" Vera asked.

"Then we improvise," Nova said, smiling grimly.

For the first time since entering the room, Echo stirred visibly. "We need to talk about the anomaly."

Nova frowned. "What anomaly?"