Etha his eyes on the winding trail ahead as his hover truck sped through the barren ndscape, the storm whipping around them. The refugees he had picked up huddled in the back seat, their eyes vat and their bodies slouched in exhaustion. The woman, who clutched her two children close, had barely spoken sihey'd left the wrecked area where he had found them. Even now, the horrors of what they had survived weighed heavily on them all.

  He gripped the wheel tighter, his thoughts wandering to what had unfolded over the past few weeks. Bandits had been raiding outposts across Kynara, but this wasn't some random, scattered pilging. No, this was methodical, deliberate. The Bck Sun Syndicate, a notorious criminal work operating exclusively within the Asheor and p Kynara, had orchestrated these attacks. Alongside them were various bandit warlords, each with their own vicious crews, exploiting the chaos.

  Ethan's mind drifted back to the debrief he had gotten from the Guild branch master after his team returned from defending an outpost. They had barely held off the assault there, but the worst news had e after. Across Kynara, simir outposts had been hit. Smaller ones, with weak defenses and far from Federation-trolled cities. The Bck Sun Syndicate and the warlords were smart. They avoided frontation with heavily armed Federation forces stationed in the major cities, iargetie, under-defended outposts.

  Outposts like Gamma.

  He gnced into the rear view mirror, his eyes nding on the woman again. She sat quietly, staring out the window as her childre against her. Her face ale, her eyes hollow.

  "Which outpost were you from agaihan asked, though he already khe answer.

  The woman blinked, as if waking from a nightmare. "Outpost Gamma," she said softly, her voice barely audible over the hum of the truck's engine.

  Ethan's chest tightened. Outpost Gamma had been one of the first settlements hit in the wave of attacks. It was a small pce, just a handful of families, traders, and miners who made their living off Kynara's harsh ndscape. Its defenses had been minimal at best, barely enough to repel a small raiding party, let alone a coordinated assault from the Bck Sun and the warlords' forces.

  He had heard the reports. Outpost Gamma didn't stand a ce.

  "They came out of nowhere," the woman tinued, her voice trembling as she recalled the horrors. "We heard the arms... but it was too te. The bandits came first. They swarmed the gates, overwhelming the guards. My husband... he tried to fight. But there were too many."

  Her voice broke, aha a deep sense of utle in his gut. He had seeermath of the attacks, the charred remains of outposts, the sm ruins, the bodies of those who hadn't made it out. But hearing it from someone who had lived through it? That was different. It ersonal.

  "They don't hit the cities," the woman whispered, her eyes far away. "They know better. The Federation guards... they don't e out this far. Not for us. So they... they strike where it's safe for them. Where they know no one will e to help."

  Ethan nodded grimly. The Federation's presen Kynara arse, trated mainly in the rge cities like Valeris, where trade routes were crucial and poputions dense. But out here, in the remote areas of the Asheor, the Federation's influence was thin. The outposts were left to fend for themselves, relying on private security firms or meraries like Ethan's team for prote.

  And that was exactly why the Bck Sun and the warlords were targeting them.

  "We barely escaped," the woman tinued, her voice strained. "We were lucky. So many others... they didn't make it. We saw the fires... heard the screams."

  Ethan's hands tightened on the wheel. His team had fought to keep the outpost they defended from meeting the same fate, and they'd succeeded. But Gamma, and the others like it, hadn't been so fortunate.

  He couldn't help but wonder what the Bck Sun was really after. The attacks weren't just random acts of violehey were coordinated, strategic. The syndicate and the bandits were w together, something that didn't happen without a bigger pn in pce.

  Ethan's voice was rough when he finally spoke. "They're building something."

  The woman looked at him, fusion flickering iired eyes.

  "The Bck Sun," he crified. "They don't just attack for the hell of it. There's a reason behind it, territory, resources... maybe something bigger."

  She nodded slowly. "We heard rumors," she admitted. "Some said the warlords want to take over the outlyiories, create their own empire. The Bck Sun... they're supplying them. ons, vehicles, soldiers."

  Ethan frowhat made sehe Bck Sun wasn't a gaxy-wide syndicate, it was far more trated, operating within the Asheor. Their reach extended across Kynara, where they could exert trol over the unprotected regions, like the outposts. They had the resources to back a full-scale campaign here, and now, it seemed, they were helping the warlords solidate power in this sector.

  He shifted in his seat, a deep sense of forebodiling over him. "What about Valeris?" he asked. "Any word oher they pn to hit the cities?"

  The woman shook her head. "Not that I know of. They're careful... too careful. They don't want to risk a direct frontation with the Federation. Not yet, anyway. That's why they're stig to the outposts. Pig them off one by one."

  Ethan nodded, his jaw ched. It was a smart strategy. The warlords didn't have the numbers or firepower to take on the Federation's garrisons iies. But by taking trol of the outposts, they were slowly cutting off the flow of resources and weakening the Federation's hold on Kynara.

  And the more outposts they destroyed, the strohe warlords and the Bck Sun became.

  "Iris," Ethan called out, addressing his AI panion, who had been silent for most of the journey. "Any updates on Bck Sun activity in the region?"

  Iris's voice chimed in through the s. "I've intercepted several transmissions suggesting that additional outposts have been targeted. Bck Sun forces and bandit groups are tinuing their campaign, fog oe locations with minimal defenses. No firmed movements toward major cities as of yet."

  Ethan cursed under his breath. He khe pattern well by now. The Bck Sun ying the long game, weakening the p's infrastructure while avoiding direct flict with the Federation's forces. But how long until they felt strong enough to make a move on Valeris? Or worse, how long until the Federation finally took notid escated the situation?

  The refugees stirred in the back seat as they heir destination. A small, fortified outpost that would provide them temporary shelter. For now, it was safe, but Ethahat safety was a fleeting thing on Kynara.

  "They're not do," he said softly, more to himself than anyone else. "This is just the beginning."

  The woman looked at him with tired, hollow eyes. "Will it ever end?"

  Ethan didn't answer. He wasn't sure if it would.