The cold air of the bunker bit into Zeta’s skin as he stared at the console, the red proximity alarm still pulsing like a wounded heart in the dim light. The rebels stood behind him, their hands tight on their weapons, the sound of heavy boots echoing from the tunnels above. The intrusion had been swift, precise, and entirely unexpected. Zeta did not waste a single millisecond. His mind, still reeling from the sudden shift in reality, sharpened instantly into a singular focus. He was the anomaly, the variable they could not account for, and he would not let them corner him in this hole.
"The perimeter sensors have been breached," Zeta announced, his voice steady despite the adrenaline flooding his system. "They are using a frequency hop protocol I have not encountered before. It is desi
