Ethan studied the makeshift map Derek had showhe coordiched into a rusted metal pte poio a location not far from where they were hiding. Derek, the pale, gaunt survivor they had entered in the ravine, was still visibly shaken. His voice trembled as he expined, "Raeth's base… it's underground, fortified. He's keeping the others there."

  Ethan's eyes sed the terrain through his visor's HUD, Iris highlighting several possible paths and hidden routes. He weighed the options, formuting a pn. Malek crouched beside him, his expression grim.

  "This base isn't just any Syndicate outpost," Malek muttered, his eyes trag the map. "It's Raeth's stronghold. If we're going in, it's going to be a bloodbath."

  "We don't have a choice," Ethan replied coolly, adjusting his helmet. "We're not leaving those survivors behind."

  Derek, clutg the side of his abdomen where a rough bandage covered a deep wound, looked up at them. "He's expeg you to e. Raeth… he'll know. He'll be ready."

  Ethan's mind raced. Raeth would have everything in pce, sensors, turrets, Syndicate troops.... a fortress built into the desert ravine. A direct assault would be suicide. But if they pyed this right, they wouldn't o break down the front door.

  "Raeth's expeg us to go for the mairance," Ethan said, eyeing Malek. "But that's not how we're doing this. We split up. You take the tunnel," he poi the access route on the map, "I'll approach from the front. We'll create enough chaos to overwhelm his defenses."

  Malek raised an eyebrow. "And how do we stop him from spotting us the sed we step into that tunnel?"

  "We make a distra," Ethan replied, his mind already pieg together the moves. "I'll leave a trail for Raeth's forces to follow. They'll think they've got us in their sights while you take the tunnel ued. Once we're inside, we strike from both sides."

  Malek gave a slow nod, though doubt lingered in his expression. "And what about Raeth? He's no fool. You 't expect him to just sit bad let us dismantle his operation."

  Ethan smirked. "We're not going to outgun him. We're going to outsmart him."

  Iris, ever the effit AI panion, dispyed a proje of the ravine's yout ohan's HUD, identifying oints in the base's defenses.

  "Multiple terrain anomalies detected," Iris chimed in, "suggesting hidden pathways and unstable formations."

  "Good," Ethan said. "That's our advantage. We use the enviroo stay out of sight, and we pick off Raeth's men one by one."

  Derek watched, nervously. "I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered, his voice shaking.

  "We'll be back for you," Ethan assured him. "Just stay hidden until we give the all-clear."

  With a final g Derek, Ethan motioned for Malek to move. The two men split up, Malek taking the lower tunnels while Ethaoward the facility's mairahe t cliffs of the ravine closed in around them as Ethan advanced, his footsteps silent over the dusty ground. His visor dispyed a fai signature ahead, but it wasn't a guard. Just the maery embedded into the rocks to power Raeth's operations.

  "Disable all non-essential notifications," Ethan ordered. Iris plied immediately, leaving only the vital data on his dispy.

  The facility loomed before him, built into the side of the ravis metallic walls a stark trast to the natural enviro. He spotted automated turrets and surveilnce drones patrolling the area, but Ethan was already thinking several steps ahead.

  He approached a hidden sensor led in the rod crouched beside it, quickly hag into its systems. Syndicate tech, encrypted but routine for him. The sensors blinked out, oer the other, leaving a gap wide enough for him to slip through.

  "I'm ihan whispered into his s. "Status?"

  "Approag the tunnel," Malek's voice came through. "Everything's quiet on my end."

  Ethan pressed forward, his pulse steady as he moved through the outer defenses. He khey didn't have long before Raeth's men caught on. They o get to the survivors quickly, or this whole mission would spiral out of trol.

  Suddenly, Iris's voice crackled in his ear. "Turret detected above."

  Ethan dodged to the side, just as a turret unfolded from the rock ceiling, its barrel glowing with energy. A burst of psma fire streaked past him, missing by inches.

  "Dammit," Ethan muttered, dug behind a steel pilr for cover. He waited, trag the turret's movements with his visor. It was slow to adjust, its targeting system gging. He'd seen this model before, a standard defense, easy to outmaneuver.

  In one fluid motion, he leaned out and fired three precise shots. The turret sparked and whined, its systems frying as it fell silehan tinued, his footsteps light, moving deeper into the heart of Raeth's stronghold.

  "Malek, you in positiohan asked over the s.

  "Just about," Malek replied. "Charges are set. On ynal."

  Ethan's HUD highlighted the fortified door up ahead. The survivors were behind it, he could hear their muffled voices and cries for help. But getting to them meant dealing with the st of Raeth's defenses.

  He crouched beside the trol pahe door was locked tight, but a quick s from Iris firmed there was a manual override.

  "Get ready," Ethan said, his fingers poised over the panel. "Blow the charges on my mark."

  There was a tense silence as Malek prepared.

  "Now."

  The explosion rocked the facility, the sound eg through the ravine as Malek's charges went off. Arms bred to life, and Syndicate troops scrambled toward the chaos.

  Ethan seized the opportunity, hag into the door's system and overriding the security. The door slid open with a hiss, revealing the terrified survivors huddled inside.

  "We're getting you out of here," Ethan said as he stepped inside, his on at the ready. "Move fast, stay quiet."

  As the survivors moved cautiously toward the exit, Etha his guard up, sing the corridors for threats. He khis had been too easy. Raeth wouldn't let them leave without a fight.

  Suddenly, a low rumble echoed through the chamber. Ethan tensed, his instincts screaming a warning. He turned just in time to see two massive figures stepping into the corridor. Syndicate Juggernauts, t over him, their armor thid reinforced.

  Each Juggernaut held a glowing device, and in an instant, a holographic image flickered to life between them. Raeth's face, cold and calg, staring directly at Ethan.

  "Did you really think you could outmaneuver me, Ethan?" Raeth's voice was as sharp as a bde, his holographi looming over the se. "You're in my world now. And you've walked right into the lion's den."

  Ethan's grip tightened on his on, his mind already rag through possible escape routes. The Juggernauts were Raeth's elite, heavily armed and nearly iructible.

  Raeth's hologram smirked. "Let's see how clever you really are."

  The Juggernauts stepped forward, blog Ethan's path. The real battle had only just begun.