Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: Mount Fracture

Throne pulsed red-hot center dais. Glyphs slithered up chrome legs like veins filling. Air turned bitter ionized. Jax hovered close. Breath shallow. "Commander. Sync at 80%. Mount or chain destabilizes."Mount. Word hung heavy. Rational Thomas thrashed cage inside skull. Don't. Grab Jax. Run airlock. Break clamps manual. Dark root sank deeper chest. "...chain demands mount. Compliance seals."Empress eyes bored unblinking. Void-silk shifted faint. "Heir hesitates. Links strain." Hand still extended. Palm glyph burned match obelisk scar.Marines gripped rifles tighter. Whispers cracked tense. "Hesitation protocol?" "Vance inbound fractures chain?" Boots shifted deck. Fingers hovered triggers.Implant firestorm. [Seq 0: 8%. Links: 17. Sync 85%. Fracture risk 12%. Stability null.]Vance voice broke static implant-direct. "Driftfox airlock clear. Dominion team escorts. Handler extraction imminent." Thought my fractured breath called him throne-side. Salutes shadows still.Jax half-stepped dais edge. Eyes flicked empress then me. "Commander. Vance reinforces chain? Orders for marines?"Reinforces. My truce plea twisted extraction signal. Marines heads snapped. "Extraction inbound?" "Handler pulls Vance throne?" Rifles rose fraction.Empress cut air sharp. "Silence holds. Throne sync dictates." Fingers flexed. Dyson mirrors outside ground slow—swarm tightening vise. Cutters engines growled low defensive grid live.Gun Emperor's Lament seared holster leather. Weight pulled trigger finger twitch. Widowmaker hummed bone-deep. Optimal sync. Execute. Voices tangled implant feed. Hold line.Rational surge weak. Jax—abort. Tell empress glitch. Dark overrode breath: "...marines secure perimeter. Vance integrates core."Jax snapped command crisp. "Perimeter lockdown. Vance to core." Marines fanned chamber walls. Barrels swept shadows. Tension coiled spring.Vance burst throne doors. Dominion squad trailed tight—six heavies plate-armored. He saluted fist-chest. "Handler. Extraction complete per directive." Squad eyes scanned throne. Weapons hot.Marines bristled opposite. "Extraction overrides chain?" "Vance pulls fracture?" Fingers whitened grips.Empress rose half dais. Voice thunder deck. "Chain fractures now. Heir mounts or Dominion purges." Mirrors slammed position. Swarm beams charged faint whine.Jax pressed shoulder mine urgent. "Commander. Fracture imminent. Decision?"Implant redlined. [Seq 0: 9%. Links: 20. Sync 90%. Fracture 28%. Critical.]Vance stepped forward eager. "Handler directive clear. Throne secure?" Squad advanced dais flank.Marines countered step. "Secure overrides?" Barrels crossed Vance heavies.Gun barrel itched palm sweat. Widowmaker edge begged draw. Dark flooded vision tunnel. Rational Thomas corner gasp. Chain snaps all.Throne throne throbbed violent. Glyphs leaped air toward me. Skin crawled implant pull magnetic.Jax whispered desperate. "Commander—mount. Save chain."Empress final steel. "Mount. Or purge."Dark certainty locked knees. Rational faded smear. Mount claims. Fracture ends.Feet moved dais. Hand reached empress palm. Contact sparked white.[Seq 0: 10%. Links: 25. SYNC LOCK. THRONE CLAIMS HEIR.]Chamber exploded light. Marines dropped weapons. Vance knelt sudden. Jax bowed deep. Empress smiled thin.Dark laugh filled skull total. Mine now. All links.