The roar of engines filled the cavern as the last of the heavy transport trucks rushed into gear.
"Move out! Get the convoy to the surface imdiately!" Ethan’s voice cut through the chanical noise. He looked at the command staff and then back toward the dark recesses of the hall. "Clear the zone. I’m not sure what the structural reaction will be once the weight shifts, but we aren’t taking any chances. Have one of the birds hover directly over the primary extraction shaft."
He turned to Anne, who was watching the last crate of Cold Steel being secured. "Matriarch, you should head up with the first wave. It’s safer."
Anne offered a sharp, defiant smile, her Crimson Threads pulsing faintly around her wrists. "I think not, Ethan. I’ll stay. If sothing goes wrong during the final seal transition, your chances of a clean exit are much higher with at your side."
Ethan gave a short, appreciative nod. "Fair enough."
On the surface, the coordination was seamless. Jason’s voice crackled over the long-range comms, loud and authoritative. "Logistics, maintain a tight formation! All attack choppers, form a defensive periter around the extraction point. Prepare for a long haul—we’re a pri target for an ambush. If anything moves in the shadows, paint it and burn it!"
The convoy began its ascent, the massive trucks grinding up the reinforced ramps. But the mountain wasn’t ready to let them go so easily.
"CONTACT! Six o’clock! Multiple signatures erging from the sub-strata!" a soldier yelled over the radio.
From the crevices and darkened vents of the access tunnels, the Queen’s hatchlings—pale, multi-jointed worms—burst forth. They moved with a terrifying, liquid speed, their mandibles clicking in anticipation of a feast.
"Defensive Pattern Alpha! Fire at will!" the sergeant on the rear transport barked.
The darkness was instantly shattered by the rhythmic thrum-thrum-thrum of high-output laser rifles. Crimson beams launched through the air, cauterizing the chitinous shells of the worms before they could reach the tires. The soldiers operated with their training holding firm even as the monsters shrieked in agony.
"Target neutralized! Moving to the next sector!"
"Clear! Periter holding!"
Ethan watched the monitors on his wrist, his expression neutral. He didn’t intervene; his n needed to prove they could hold the line without their King’s direct power. The laser fire was an efficient, clinical execution. Within minutes, the path was scorched clean of the pale parasites.
"All units, extraction complete. We are clear of the shaft!" Jason reported, his voice sounding relieved.
As the convoy hit the surface, the scene was one of massive military scale. Dozens of helicopters ford a protective umbrella over the storage trucks, while heavy assault vehicles took the lead, their turrets scanning the horizon. It was a moving fortress of Royal technology, cutting through the dust of the canyon.
It was a moving fortress of Royal technology, cutting through the dust of the canyon. The heavy tires of the transports churned the dry earth into a thick veil, obscuring the precise numbers of the convoy from any distant observers.
As the tail end of the column reached the canyon’s mouth, the entire group ground to a halt. Jason stood by the open door of a command vehicle, his eyes fixed on the dark silhouette of the mountain until Ethan and the Matriarch erged from the dust.
"Lord Ethan," Jason said, stepping forward as they approached. "Everything is secured. The trucks are locked at the center of the formation, flanked by the heavy armor. We’re ready to move on your command."
The Commander paused, his gaze shifting toward the specialized tankers parked at the edge of the periter. "Sir... regarding Phase B. Is the plan still active, or should we focus on the primary withdrawal?"
Ethan looked toward the heart of the excavation site. "Keep the tankers in formation, but move them several kiloters back from the main line to prevent accidental damage. Prepare the extraction rigs for the Worm Nectar. The rest of you, maintain a strict periter. I don’t care who or what it is—if anything moves toward those containers without my direct clearance, neutralize it."
He lowered his voice, his Athyst Eyes flashing with a cold, territorial warning. "If the world finds out exactly what is inside those crates and tankers, they won’t just envy us. They will hunt us until every one of us is dead. This isn’t just loot, Jason. It’s the foundation of an empire."
Jason and the surrounding officers went rigid, the weight of the statent sinking in. They had already seen what the "Cold Steel" could do. They rembered the dagger Ethan had taken after killing the Elder of the Black Skull—a blade made of a similar, rare material that carved through reinforced plating like warm butter. Every soldier in the unit had secretly dread of a weapon like that, or better yet, a suit of armor that made them invincible to conventional fire.
They didn’t fully understand the taphysical value of the Nectar or the ancient alloys, but they understood power. They knew that if the High Assembly or rival factions caught wind of a "Cold Steel Armory," the resulting war would make the previous skirmishes look like a playground fight.
"Understood, sir," Jason replied, his voice raspy with newfound tension. "The ’Blackout’ protocol is in effect. We’ll treat those tankers like the crown jewels."
Ethan turned to the Matriarch, his gaze lingering on the dark, jagged entrance they had just vacated. "Wait here with the vanguard. I’m going down to the Queen’s inner sanctum."
Anne crossed her arms, her Crimson Threads shimring with a restless energy. "I don’t think so. I want to see that ’Queen’ with my own eyes. I want to see exactly how powerful a creature must be for you to be so afraid of it."
"Fine. But do not underestimate her, Anne. It could be fatal. And rember there may be a monster even more powerful than the Queen lurking in those depths. We stay silent, we stay fast, and we stay completely alert."
Anne nodded, her expression hardening into a mask of lethal focus. "Lead the way, "King"."
Without another word, the two of turned their backs on the safety of the surface and the retreating convoy. They stepped back into the yawning maw of the mountain, the shadows swallowing them whole as they descended toward the beating heart of the hive.
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