The Hivebugs came with the rising storm. Skies blackened, shrieks echoed across the horizon, and the ground shuddered as the swarm thundered toward the HQ perimeter. Sirius Blake stood in the calibration bay, turrets already humming to life, ARI's holographic interface painting the battlefield in his vision.
> "Sirius, probability of breach without full defensive engagement: eighty-seven percent," ARI reported.
He exhaled slowly, forcing calm into his chest. "Then let's drop it to zero."
Turrets whirred as their barrels rotated, targeting overlays updating by the second. Sirius' hands danced over control panels, syncing the drones he'd hidden away weeks ago. They zipped into the sky, relaying live targeting data to infantry helmets.
> "Initiating drone-net. Tactical overlays transmitting to infantry HUDs," ARI confirmed.
Outside, soldiers braced against the incoming tide, unaware that half their coordination came from the quiet FAWS specialist in the bay. Sparks flew as turrets engaged the first wave. Through ARI's feed, Sirius could already see weak points—seams where the Hivebugs pressed harder. He adjusted firing arcs, rebalanced turret energy cycles, and kept the line stable.
No one could know the truth. No one could know ARI whispered in his skull.
---
Jinx Alvarez lived for this. Twin pistols in hand, he sprinted along the wall, laughter tearing from his throat as Hivebugs leapt toward him. He shot one midair, another on the ground, spinning in reckless bursts of gunfire.
"Come on, you ugly bastards!" he shouted, unloading another volley.
The swarm pressed closer, mandibles clicking like a thousand knives. A soldier near him screamed as his rifle jammed. Jinx pivoted, covering him with wild shots until the turret above sputtered—then roared back to life, blasting Hivebugs into mist.
Jinx blinked. "Huh. Lucky me."
Luck, he told himself. But deep down he wondered why systems always seemed to fix themselves when Sirius Blake was nearby. He shook it off, grinning madly as he vaulted a barricade.
Inside, his stomach twisted with fear, but no one would ever see it.
---
Aria "Whisper" Kade knelt in blood and ash, her hands steady as she patched a soldier's shredded arm. Screams filled the air, but she tuned them out, focusing on the rhythm of her work. Tourniquet. Sealant. Pain suppressant. Move to the next.
"Hold still," she murmured, her voice calm despite the chaos.
Stone and Bear loomed over her, shielding her from the Hivebugs that clawed toward the triage zone. Their weapons boomed, the ground trembling with each impact.
Whisper's gaze flicked upward just in time to see turrets adjust on their own, covering a collapsing flank. She blinked, surprised—but then forced her focus back to the soldier under her hands.
"Breathe. You'll live."
She would not lose anyone if she could help it. Not here. Not now.
---
Lyra "Sparks" Novik fired in clean bursts, her rifle precise, her movements sharp. Every malfunction drove her mad—every flicker of optics, every stutter of recoil. And yet… each time, the failures vanished just as Sirius Blake appeared on the edges of the fight.
Now, as a turret sputtered above her, she hissed in frustration—only to watch it stabilize, barrels glowing hot as it resumed fire. Her eyes narrowed.
That wasn't luck. That wasn't standard protocol.
Between bursts of gunfire, she muttered, "What are you hiding, Blake?"
Her suspicion gnawed at her even as Hivebugs lunged, forcing her to fight with cold precision. Gratitude warred with doubt, leaving her unsettled in the storm of battle.
---
Kaelen "Stone" Varga was immovable. He planted himself at the breach, shield raised, rifle braced, his voice calm as he barked orders to panicking recruits.
"Hold the line. Breathe. Fire in rhythm—on my mark!"
Rounds cracked in unison, his steadiness pulling order from chaos. Memories of training drilled into him: discipline, calm, and never breaking under pressure. The swarm slammed against him, mandibles scraping, claws hammering his armor, but Stone did not budge.
He was the wall. And as long as he stood, the recruits behind him believed they could stand too.
---
From the observation tower, Elias "Shade" Moreau watched through his scope. Calm. Detached. Every pull of his trigger dropped another Hivebug before it could reach the line.
But his sharp eyes caught something troubling: the Hivebugs weren't mindless. Their movements weren't random. They pressed where the walls were weakest, circled when turrets overheated, shifted formations with eerie precision.
"They're adapting," he whispered.
His report crackled over comms, guiding turrets and squads to brace for the next coordinated push. If anyone doubted his words, the pattern of Hivebug attacks proved him right within minutes.
Shade exhaled slowly, finger tightening on the trigger. He had to see what no one else could.
---
Rurik "Bear" Ivanov was a mountain in motion. His exo-frame roared as he charged, fists slamming Hivebugs aside, cannon-fire echoing with every squeeze of his trigger. Sweat poured down his face inside the helmet, muscles straining even with enhancements, but he kept moving.
"Whisper, keep your head down!" he bellowed, swatting a Hivebug away from the medic's position.
Pain lanced through his arm, ignored as he drove forward again. His body could break later—right now, he was the hammer that smashed the swarm apart. His loyalty to his squad burned brighter than any fear.
---
Back in the calibration bay, Sirius felt the strain building. ARI's alerts screamed in his mind.
> "Breach probability climbing: sixty-two percent. Enemy queens coordinating final surge. Defensive systems at threshold."
Sirius clenched his fists. "Not enough… Overclock the turrets. All of them."
> "Warning: risk of system meltdown exceeds seventy percent."
"Do it, ARI!"
Turrets across the perimeter roared louder, barrels glowing as they poured fire into the Hivebugs. Drones dived through smoke, painting targets, feeding infantry real-time overlays. Sparks' eyes darted toward the calibration bay, suspicion flaring as systems performed beyond human limits.
Outside, Jinx laughed through blood, Whisper patched her fifteenth soldier, Stone held the line, Shade whispered warnings, Bear smashed another wave aside.
And then—the Hivebugs broke. Their formations collapsed, mandibles retreating, shrieks fading into the distance. The swarm scattered, leaving silence in their wake.
> "Defensive success. Breach probability reduced to 0.2%. Mission complete," ARI whispered in Sirius' mind.
Sirius sagged against the console, sweat dripping, but a small smile tugged at his lips.
Commander Varek strode in, gaze sweeping the intact perimeter. "Blake… you saved the HQ. Again."
Sirius straightened, masking his exhaustion. "Just doing my job, sir."
Across the room, Sparks watched him quietly, suspicion hardening into certainty.
Sirius only smiled wider, hiding the secret that ARI remained his unseen weapon—the edge no one else could know about.