Chapter 11 — Fire in the Sky
The alarm blared through Asteron's underground hangar, echoing off steel and stone.
[INCOMING DOMINION WARSHIP — ETA: 3 MINUTES]
Kael sprinted toward the control deck, Mira close behind. Rebels rushed around them, shouting coordinates, loading weapons, sealing blast doors.
Lyra barked orders over the comm:
"Get anti-air batteries online! If they breach the upper shields, we're ash!"
Kael reached the tactical console, fingers digging into the metal railing.
The holomap showed a Dominion destroyer — The Seraphim — descending from orbit, flanked by drone formations.
Mira's voice cracked: "They brought a warship… just for one man?"
Lyra whirled on Kael, jaw tight.
"This is your fault."
Kael didn't disagree.
The PRIME core pulsed inside its containment case, glowing brighter with every second the destroyer drew closer.
[PRIME SYNC — 74%]
[External catalyst detected.]
Kael slammed a fist onto the console.
"Armor— stop syncing with it!"
‹ Not possible. Connection is instinctive. ›
Mira grabbed Kael's hand, eyes sharp. "Focus. You can stop it."
He closed his eyes.
Breathe.
But the armor whispered again:
‹ We are evolving. Let it happen. ›
Kael gritted his teeth.
He wouldn't.
Above them —
The Seraphim's prow broke through the red cloud cover.
The ship was enormous — black hull glinting like obsidian, with Dominion sigils carved into the armor. Beneath its belly, the planetary-breach cannon began to glow.
Lyra's voice trembled, despite her steel.
"That gun can punch through mountains."
Kael stepped forward.
"Where's your shield generator?"
Lyra blinked. "You're not going up there alone—"
"I have to." Kael turned to Mira. "If I don't stop the cannon from charging, we die buried in this rock."
Mira grabbed his arm. "And if you lose control?"
Kael met her gaze.
"Then pull the trigger."
She shook her head violently. "I'm not killing you."
"That's not what I meant."
Kael placed the containment case—the PRIME core—into her hands.
"If I lose control, destroy this."
Mira stared at him, horrified. "Kael…"
He gave her a sad, small smile.
"I trust you."
Before she could speak, Kael sprinted toward the lift.
The Surface
The lift exploded upward into a storm of dust and lightning. Kael stepped out onto the plateau — Asteron's jagged, windswept roof. Dominion drones swarmed the sky like metallic locusts.
‹ Engage. ›
"No," Kael said aloud.
The armor hissed, metal shifting along his spine.
It wanted to fight.
He would choose how.
Kael sprinted up the rocks and vaulted onto a high ridge just as the Seraphim's lower deck opened.
A drop squad emerged — twelve Dominion shock troopers, weapons drawn.
Kael raised empty hands. "Turn back. You don't want this fight."
The lead trooper stepped forward, voice filtered through his mask.
"Kael Renn. Stand down and surrender the PRIME asset."
Kael shook his head. "You're not taking anything."
The soldier raised his rifle.
Kael didn't move.
‹ Incoming projectile in three… ›
The first shot flew—
Kael caught it.
His hand closed around molten plasma, absorbing the heat. The armor gave a satisfied hum.
Mira's voice suddenly buzzed over his comm:
"Kael— the cannon is at 70%! We have two minutes!"
Kael dropped the plasma charge.
"Armor," he whispered, "my way."
He launched himself forward.
He didn't slash.
He disarmed.
He moved like a shadow, redirecting their attacks, knocking rifles away, striking pressure points.
No kills.
The armor hated that.
‹ Inefficient.›
"Get over it."
The last soldier fell. Kael turned toward the Seraphim.
A deep mechanical rumble rolled across the ridge.
The breach cannon was fully charged — a glowing sphere the size of a house.
Kael's visor displayed:
[FIRING IN 7… 6…]
He sprinted— feet shattering rock.
The armor wrapped his legs in kinetic force.
Every step launched him higher.
He leapt—
Straight toward the cannon.
The armor flared crimson, forming the blade—
‹ Strike to kill. ›
"No."
Kael flipped midair, landed on the cannon's heat vents, and jammed his arm into the open conduit.
The suit screamed through the neural link.
‹ WARNING: HOST CRITICAL— ›
Kael grunted, forcing the armor to absorb the overcharge.
Energy surged into him — blinding, molten, violent.
[PRIME SYNC — 92%]
Kael yelled into the storm, "I don't want to become a weapon!"
The armor's voice rippled across his mind.
‹ You already are. ›
The world turned white.
Underground — Asteron Hangar
The PRIME core convulsed in its containment cradle.
Mira held it tight, knuckles white. The boy—47-B—stood beside her, eyes wide.
"Mira…" he whispered.
"It's waking up."
The core pulsed once—
—then shot a blinding arc of energy up through the ceiling.
Straight toward Kael.
On the ridge — Kael
Kael felt the pulse hit him like a second heartbeat.
[PRIME SYNC — 100%]
The armor roared.
‹ Integration complete. ›
Kael gasped.
He wasn't being taken over.
He was taking control.
He redirected the storm of energy back into the cannon. The overload surged down its core—
BOOM
The Seraphim's breach weapon exploded in a column of white fire. The shockwave ripped across the ridge, hurling Kael into the air.
He crashed onto the stone, armor flickering.
Smoke curled from the destroyed cannon.
Kael lay on his back, chest heaving, staring at the blood-red sky.
He whispered to the armor:
"We do this my way."
And for the first time…
The armor did not argue.