The dust settled from the explosion, leaving behind the sm wreckage of the fuel tanks and the disoriented remnants of the bandit forces. The outpost, though battered, still stood. Ethan surveyed the aftermath, knowing the reprieve was temporary. The Bck Sun Syndicate wasn't oo back down after a siback. He had been a merary for only two months, but it was long enough tnize when things were about to escate. This was just the opening move.

  Beside him, Malek tightehe strap on his psma rifle, his expression serious. "Looks like we're diving headfirst into the fire again, huh?" he remarked, gng at the distant mountain range where the old mining tunnels y. The pce had a dark reputation, ohat even seasoned meraries like them didn't take lightly.

  Ethan nodded, still processing the ander's information. Survivors from another outpost held crucial intel about the Syndicate's pns, and without it, the entire region would remain in the dark. There was no choice. They had to find those people, no matter the risk.

  "Iris, s the horizon and keep a watch for any movement," Ethan ordered, his tone clipped and focused. "Let me know if you detey signatures that might be our missing survivors or more Syndicate forces."

  "Uood, Ethan," Iris replied. Her cool, artificial voice had a calming effe moments like this.

  Ethan holstered his pistol and sigo Malek. "Let's move. We don't have much time before the Syndicate regroups."

  Malek gave a grim nod, falling into step beside him as they made their way toward the outpost's exit. The few remaining guards were busy tending to the wouheir faces etched with exhaustion. The ander had said all he o. Now, it was oo carry out the phase of the mission.

  As they stepped outside the gate, the oppressive heat of the Kynara hit them full force. Ethan adjusted the temperature settings on his armor, silently wishing the job had taken them somewhere a little more fiving. But merary work rarely offered forts.

  His reruck was trashed from the fight and wasn't fit for the road. The repairs would take too long, and they couldn't afford to waste time. Fortunately, Malek's hover vehicle was still operational, though for how lohan didn't know.

  They moved swiftly across the barren terrain, heading toward the jagged mountain range in the distahe mountains loomed like dark, sileinels. Ominous and foreboding, as though warning them away. But Ethan had long since learo ignore sustincts. Danger art of the job.

  "Ever been to the old mines?" Ethan asked, breaking the silence as they navigated the rocky path ahead.

  Malek shook his head. "Heard stories. Not the kind that make you eager for a visit."

  Ethan grunted in agreement. The mines had once been a major hub of activity during the early ization of Kynara, before the Syndicate and other criminal fas had turhe sector into their pyground. Abandoned for years, they were now home to all manner of smugglers, raiders, and worse.

  "Perfect pce for a Syndicate base," Malek muttered darkly.

  They tinued in silence for the hour, the only sound being the ch of their boots against the rocky ground. The sky above darkened, clouds swirling in ominous patterhan gnced up. Storms on Kynara were rare but brutal. Time wasn't on their side.

  "Iris," Ethan called. "Any sign of the survivors?"

  "ive," Iris replied. "However, I am deteg fai signatures he base of the mountains. The data is inclusive, but it could be a lead."

  "Better than nothing," Malek said, pig up the pace.

  As they he foothills, the terrain became more treacherous. Sharp rocks jutted out at odd angles, and deep crevices made the path uable. Etha his psma dagger ready, his senses on high alert. If the Syndicate had set up shop here, they wouldn't make it easy for intruders.

  Suddenly, a low rumble echoed from above, ahan barely had time to shout a warning before a rockslide came crashing down from the cliffs. He and Malek dove for cover, just as the cascade of boulders smashed into the ground where they had been standing moments earlier.

  "Close one," Malek grunted, shaking off the dust.

  Ethan sed the area, eyes narrowing. The rockslide hadn't been natural. He spotted movement high up on the cliffs—bandits, no doubt Syndicate scouts, trying to flush them out. They had been spotted.

  "They're setting up ambushes," Ethan said, his tone grim. "They kneere ing."

  Malek cursed under his breath. "We 't go back. The only way is through."

  Ethan g the heat signature Iris had mentiohen back at the cliffs. They had to reach the survivors, but now they had an enemy oail.

  "Agreed," Ethan said, rising to his feet. "We push forward, but keep an eye on those cliffs. If they try anything else, we're ready."

  The two meraries moved quickly, stig to the shadows of the rocks as they made their way toward the mirahan's grip on his psma pistol tightehis was turning into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, and they were running out of options.

  Finally, they reached the mouth of the old mi was a dark, yawning tuhat stretched into the depths of the mountain, the entrance partially obscured by debris and rown with desert pnts.

  Malek peered inside, his face set in a scowl. "Feels like walking into a trap."

  "Probably is," Ethan said, stepping ihout hesitation. "But we don't have a choice."

  As they ehe tuhe temperature dropped sharply, and the sound of their footsteps echoed unnervingly off the walls. Ethan activated his helmet's night vision, sing the area for any signs of movement. The tunnel was damp, and the smell of mold and rust filled the air. A mining equipment y abandoned, covered in dust and grime.

  Ethan and Malek pressed on, their ons drawn. The tension in the air alpable, and every sound seemed magnified in the silehan's instincts were screaming at him, warning that something was wrong.

  Just then, Iris' voice broke the silence. "Ethan, I'm deteg multiple life forms deeper withiuhey're not moving."

  Ethan exged a gh Malek. "Could be the survivors."

  "Or it could be another ambush," Malek replied darkly.

  "Only one way to find out," Ethan said, leading the way deeper into the mine.

  They rounded a er, and the tunnel opened up inter cavern. What they found made Ethan's blood run cold.

  In the ter of the caverhe survivors, bound and unscious, surrounded by armed Syndicate enforcers. At the head of the group stood a figure in tactical armor, his presenanding the space.

  "Wele," the man said with a smile. Ethan didn't reize him, but from the way the others deferred to him, he could tell this was no ordinary soldier. Whoever this was, he was high up in the Syndicate's of and.

  The man's grin widened as he looked over Ethan and Malek. "You're just in time to witness somethiraordinary."

  Ethan's grip on his pistol tightened, his instincts screaming that this was about to go from bad to worse.