The darkness before dawn clung to the ruined base like a shadow over a creature. Peter stood at the edge of their makeshift command tent. From there he watched the automated droids move with great efficiency, despite the lackluster maintenance.
Sparks of light cascaded from the welding torches near the central power beacon. Its flares subtly faded as they fell, briefly illuminating the twisted metals and scorched concrete—a brief testament to what they had endured and lost along the way.
From behind him, his brothers moved with determined gazes. There were no words that needed to be said. Their enhanced genetics and inherited memories guided their hands through numerous equipment checks that both felt foreign yet increasingly familiar to them.
