Defense, offense, mobility, and now an unexpected "trump card"...
Sarah had moved beyond being a "monster node" that needed to be hidden like a shameful secret. She had grown into a multi-faceted threat, adaptable to varying battlefields, and capable of delivering a "surprise" that even the Sons of Medusa wouldn't see coming.
Raynor knew his fragile, bizarre "cooperation" with Cassius was destined to be short-lived. Their next encounter wouldn't be a test or a compromise; it would be a slaughter.
He gazed out the window at the eternal darkness of the Hive City, his eyes flashing with a cold, resolute light. It was time to plan how to "repay" Cassius and his squad for their "care" during these past few weeks.
To carry out an annihilation plan against a squad of Space Marines, Raynor had to ensure every detail was flawless. The logical analysis of these "tin cans" was ridiculously exaggerated. Their minds, augmented by cogitators and centuries of experience, could piece together the truth from a few blood spatters or a second's delay in a tactical report. The slightest mishap—an illogical time difference or a too-convenient encounter—would cause his entire game to collapse.
The price of failure was the total destruction of both him and Sarah.
Because of this, Raynor began what was perhaps the most insane yet cautious scheme of his life. He didn't dare record his ideas in any physical form. There were no encrypted files, no handwritten notes, and certainly no symbols carved into the walls. He knew Cassius was still monitoring him.
Behind the Sergeant's deep blue eyes lay a cold logic processor and a three-hundred-year-old sense for heresy. Any unconventional behavior would trigger an alarm. All deductions, variable calculations, and tactical simulations had to be performed entirely within the confines of Raynor's own brain.
"That senpai really is a pervert..." Raynor muttered, rubbing his aching temples.
The feeling of being watched by an invisible eye was more nerve-wracking than facing the bone-blades of a Tyranid Warrior. But he had to adapt. He had to use that constant surveillance as a shroud to cover his true intent.
The core of the plan was simple: Sarah would launch a deadly strike while the Sons of Medusa were engaged with a powerful enemy.
Raynor had run the scenario dozens of times. While Sarah was now a powerhouse—with her modular crimson shell, bio-plasma cannons, and wings—the odds of her winning a direct confrontation against a fully equipped Astartes squad were still less than five percent.
This wasn't self-doubt; it was reality. The Sons of Medusa, specifically the annihilation squad led by Cassius, were war machines built for efficient slaughter. They weren't just individual fighters; they were a collective unit that functioned like meshing gears. Who knew what ancient Martian "tricks" or hidden weapons those Tech-Priest-aligned marines were hiding?
And then there was Cassius himself. Raynor never underestimated the bald Sergeant. Those three service studs represented three centuries of blood and fire. In a life-or-death struggle, there was a ninety percent chance the man would enter a "second stage"—pushing his transhuman biology and cybernetics to a level that would turn a regular battle into a massacre.
Surprise was the only element that could tip the scales.
Based on this, Raynor established three "preconditions" that had to be met simultaneously. He would only act when all three were aligned.
The First Condition: The Sons of Medusa must be facing an enemy of sufficient "quality" and "stress level." It wasn't about numbers; it was about distraction. Sarah would only intervene when the battle reached a stalemate—when a single grain of sand could tip the scale. He needed an opponent powerful enough to force Cassius to expend his ammunition, his focus, and his "overdrive" capabilities.
The Second Condition: A perfect alibi. This was subtle but vital. Raynor feared the "favorability" system might actually affect the battlefield. If he were present, would Cassius's combat sub-routines subconsciously account for him? Would Raynor's presence trigger some "protagonist" surge in the Sergeant? He couldn't gamble on visual-novel tropes in a grimdark reality. Raynor had to be nowhere near the site of the attack. If he wasn't there, Cassius wouldn't be looking for a betrayal from a "close associate."
The Third Condition: A structural defect or a defensive "opportunity." For Sarah's sneak attack to succeed, she needed an unconventional point of entry—a weakness in the Astartes' tactical formation that only a "ghost" could exploit.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The rapid, monotonous ringing of a cheap electronic alarm clock shattered his thoughts. Raynor jolted awake from his reverie, blinking blankly at the rusty device beside his bed. The hands pointed to the official start of the Hive's morning shift.
It was time to go to "work."