Dawn over the industrial sector was a dirty affair, the sun struggling to pierce a stratified sky of ochre smog and coal-black clouds. The hijack point was a long, deserted stretch of elevated transitway, a concrete ribbon weaving between the hulking, silent forms of automated fabrication plants. It was a place the city had forgotten.
The hauler was concealed in a shadowed underpass, its engine a barely-audible growl. Inside, the tension was a high-pitched whine just below hearing. Rork's hands were steady on the wheel, his single red eye fixed on the road ahead. Pim's fingers flew across his console, monitoring the city's traffic control frequency. Elara checked her weapons with a ritualistic calm.
Kaelen sat in the center of the hauler, his eyes closed. He was not cycling Aether. He was preparing his mind, reinforcing the axioms he would need to impose. He visualized the hauler as a bubble of unreality, a pocket of non-existence sliding through the world. [WE_ARE_NOT_HERE]. [OUR_ENERGY_IS_BACKGROUND_STATIC].
"Target acquired," Pim whispered, his voice tight. "Two minutes out. One transport vehicle. Two Guard outriders on skimmer bikes. No aerial support detected."
"Remember the sequence," Elara said, her voice cutting through the silence. "Rork, you block the path. Pim, you jam their comms the second we move. Kaelen, you keep us hidden until I give the signal. Then drop the field and switch to contingency."
Kaelen gave a single, sharp nod. He could feel it now, the approaching resonance of the transport. It was a hard, disciplined pulse, a stark contrast to the chaotic energy of the scrapyard. He began his work.
He extended his will, wrapping it around the hauler like a second skin. He didn't push or shove the Aether; he gently, firmly, redefined it. He issued the command, layering the axioms over their vehicle. [NEXUS_RESONANCE = NULL]. [MASS_DISPLACEMENT = ZERO]. [THERMAL_SIGNATURE = AMBIENT].
The effort was immediate and constant. It felt like holding a vast, invisible shield, a mental strain that made the muscles in his neck and shoulders cord with tension. But his Loom held firm, channeling the power without a flicker.
The prison transport came into view, a sleek, black vehicle with reinforced windows and the Chronos Guard insignia stenciled on its side. The two outriders flanked it, their white armor bright in the gloomy light.
"Now, Rork!" Elara commanded.
The hauler surged out of the underpass, its engine roaring to life. It slewed sideways, blocking both lanes of the transitway. The transport slammed on its anti-grav brakes, hovering mere meters from impact. The outriders swerved, their shock-prods snapping to life with a crackle of blue energy.
This was the moment of truth. The transport's sensors would be sweeping the area, its automated defenses seeking a target.
Silence.
No alarms blared. No plasma turrets emerged from the transport's hull. The outriders looked confused, scanning the hauler but receiving no hostile readings from their systems. To them, it was just a large, inexplicable piece of debris.
"They're not seeing us!" Pim said, a note of triumph in his voice. "The field is holding!"
"Go!" Elara yelled, kicking the rear door open.
She and Rork moved with practiced speed. Rork charged the nearest outrider, his cybernetic fist smashing into the bike before the Guard could react, sending man and machine tumbling over the edge of the transitway. Elara fired her shock-cannon at the second outrider, the blast overloading his systems and sending him convulsing to the ground.
Kaelen held the field, his concentration absolute. He was the silent, unseen anchor of the entire operation. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but his breathing remained even. He was not fighting a Sentinel; he was outthinking a machine. It was a different kind of battle, and for the first time, he felt not like a cornered animal, but like a strategist.
Elara reached the transport's rear door, planting a breaching charge. "Kaelen, on my mark! Drop the field and be ready!"
She looked back at him, and he met her gaze. He was ready.
"Now!"
Kaelen released the null-field. The moment he did, the illusion shattered. The transport's systems immediately registered the hauler as a massive, hostile energy signature. A piercing alarm finally split the air.
But it was too late. Elara's charge detonated, blowing the door off its hinges.
The gambit had worked. They were in.