The last transport disappeared beyond the jungle canopy, carrying forty-three rescued soldiers back toward Outpost Three.
David watched its lights fade between the clouds before turning toward the eastern trail.
They had saved forty-three lives.
Hundreds more remained unaccounted for.
And somewhere beyond the trees, the last Fallen convoy was carrying another group of prisoners toward an unknown destination.
"June," David said. "Tell me you've got something."
June Kade sat on an overturned supply crate near the abandoned Fallen command shelter, studying the terminal recovered from inside.
"Depends. Are you looking for good news, bad news, or the kind of news that makes you question why anyone thought coming to this planet was a good idea?"
Lucian Bloodthrone crossed his arms.
"Can you ever just answer a question?"
"I can. I simply choose not to waste the opportunity to make things interesting."
"June," David repeated.
"Right. Serious face."
June tapped the display.
A map appeared, showing the eastern region of Sector A-08.
A narrow amber line stretched from the Fallen camp toward a distant mountain range.
"The convoy departed several hours ago," June explained. "Their last recorded position was here, just before the terrain starts rising toward the eastern mountains."
David leaned closer.
"How far ahead?"
"Far enough that we won't catch them by taking a leisurely walk through the jungle."
Castiel Nightvale approached with Mira Solen beside him.
"Then it's fortunate none of us were planning one."
June looked up.
"You say that now, but I've seen how you walk when you're trying to look mysterious."
Castiel gave him a faint smile.
"Is that what you think I'm doing?"
"Absolutely. You even practice the expression."
Mira glanced at Castiel.
"He doesn't need practice."
June pointed toward her.
"See? That's what I'm talking about. The two of you are becoming a problem."
Mira adjusted one of the twin blades resting at her hips.
"Only for people who talk too much."
Lucian laughed.
June looked genuinely offended.
"I help save forty-three prisoners, and suddenly everyone decides I'm the enemy."
Commander Elara Vance approached from the edge of the camp.
Her uniform was clean apart from the dust gathered during their journey, and her short sword remained secured at her side.
She had spent the infiltration coordinating with David and the rest of Gamma Squad, ready to intervene if Castiel and Mira were discovered. Fortunately, the two had completed their mission without requiring her to enter the fight.
"Have you identified their destination?" she asked.
June turned the terminal toward her.
"Not exactly, Commander. But there's a transport staging area beyond the eastern mountains. The route leads toward it."
Vance examined the map.
"An offworld transfer point."
"That's what it looks like."
"How much time do we have?"
June hesitated.
"That's the problem. I recovered a departure window, but not an exact time. Once the prisoners reach that staging area, they could be loaded aboard a ship almost immediately."
The conversation fell silent.
David looked toward the mountains marked on the display.
Every minute mattered.
Vance straightened.
"Then we move now. Gamma Squad, prepare to depart."
Nobody argued.
Within minutes, they were heading east.
The jungle swallowed them almost immediately.
Enormous trees rose above tangled undergrowth, their trunks wrapped in thick vines that hung from the canopy like ropes. Broad leaves collected moisture overhead, occasionally releasing heavy drops onto the dark soil below.
The air was warm and humid.
Every step required attention.
Roots crossed the ground in twisting patterns, and the dense vegetation made it difficult to see more than a short distance ahead.
David led the formation with Vance beside him.
Castiel and Mira moved along the left flank, while Nyra and Lucian watched the right.
June followed near the center, carrying the recovered terminal.
For nearly half an hour, they maintained a steady pace without encountering anything larger than the small creatures that scattered through the undergrowth.
Eventually, the jungle began to thin.
The enormous trees gave way to narrower trunks and lower vegetation. Sunlight reached the forest floor in scattered patches, illuminating moss-covered stones and shallow streams winding between the roots.
The air became cooler.
David noticed the change immediately.
"Forest's opening up."
Vance nodded.
"We're approaching higher ground."
June glanced at the terminal.
"The convoy route should intersect this area farther east."
Lucian looked ahead.
"How much farther?"
"Several kilometers."
"Can we make up the distance?"
June studied the map.
"Maybe. The Fallen are following a vehicle route that winds through the mountains. We can take a more direct path."
Castiel glanced toward the rising terrain.
"Provided we don't fall off anything."
June looked at him.
"That's an oddly specific concern."
"I've watched you climb."
"That's hurtful."
"Accurate, though."
Mira moved past them.
"Both of you can argue while walking."
David shook his head, but a faint smile crossed his face.
Even now, with dozens of prisoners depending on them, the familiar exchanges helped keep the tension from becoming overwhelming.
He understood why June did it.
Fear was easier to manage when someone gave it a reason to laugh.
But the moment passed quickly.
David's attention returned to the trail.
They needed to move faster.
The first signs of the convoy appeared less than an hour later.
Deep tire impressions crossed a muddy section of forest floor, accompanied by broken branches and crushed vegetation.
David crouched beside the tracks.
"Heavy vehicles."
Vance examined the spacing.
"More than one."
Mira moved several paces ahead.
"Four sets of tracks. Two are heavier than the others."
Lucian approached.
"Prisoner carriers?"
"Likely," Vance answered.
June checked the map.
"This matches the route from the Fallen terminal."
David stood.
"Then we're on the right trail."
He looked east, where the forest continued toward the mountains.
"Let's keep moving."
They followed the tracks until the terrain began climbing.
The forest gradually surrendered to steep slopes covered in scattered trees and exposed stone.
Large rock formations rose between the remaining vegetation, forcing the vehicle route into a series of narrow turns.
From their elevated position, David could see why the convoy had been forced to take such a winding path.
The mountains formed a natural barrier across the eastern region.
Only a few passages were wide enough for heavy transports.
The Fallen had chosen one of them.
June studied the terminal.
"If we follow the vehicle route, we'll be behind them the entire way."
Vance looked toward a narrow ridge rising above the road.
"But if we cross there..."
"We can cut across the bends," David finished.
June examined the slope.
"That's going to involve climbing, isn't it?"
Lucian smiled.
"Quite a bit."
June sighed.
"I was afraid you'd say that."
Vance pointed toward the ridge.
"We take the high ground. Stay together and watch your footing."
Gamma changed direction.
The climb was difficult, but the shortcut worked.
They crossed a series of rocky slopes, moving above the winding road rather than following it.
Below them, the vehicle trail twisted around steep cliffs before doubling back through narrow passages.
Several sections were barely wide enough for two armored transports to pass.
Loose stone covered the road, and sharp turns forced larger vehicles to maneuver carefully.
David stopped near the edge of a ridge when he heard a distant mechanical rumble.
He raised his hand.
The squad halted.
A moment later, the sound returned.
Engines.
David crouched behind a large boulder and looked down.
Far below, a line of armored vehicles crawled along the mountain road.
Four vehicles.
Two heavily reinforced prisoner carriers accompanied by two smaller escorts.
Fallen soldiers moved alongside them, watching the surrounding cliffs.
The lead transport was attempting to negotiate a particularly narrow turn.
Its rear wheels edged dangerously close to the drop.
The driver stopped, reversed slightly, and tried again.
Behind it, the other vehicles waited.
June crawled beside David and looked down.
"Well, would you look at that."
Lucian joined them.
"The convoy."
"Not just the convoy," June replied. "A convoy that's having a terrible time getting around that corner."
Below, the lead vehicle reversed again.
One of the Fallen soldiers shouted directions to the driver.
The transport inched forward, stopped, and adjusted its angle.
Castiel watched the maneuver.
"At this rate, they'll still be there tomorrow."
Mira studied the road farther ahead.
"The next two turns are just as narrow."
David looked toward the ridge extending eastward above the road.
They had caught up.
More importantly, they had an opportunity to get ahead.
"Can we pass them?" he asked.
June examined the map.
"If we stay on this ridge, yes. Their road curves around the mountain twice before reaching the eastern descent."
Vance followed the route with her eyes.
"Then we move ahead and find a suitable position."
Nyra looked down at the prisoner carriers.
Through the narrow openings along their sides, faint movement could be seen inside.
People.
The missing soldiers.
"They're really there," she said quietly.
David looked toward the carriers.
He could not make out faces from this distance, but he knew what those vehicles represented.
Soldiers taken from their outposts.
People who had survived attacks only to be restrained and transported toward an uncertain future.
He remembered Sergeant Rell describing the convoys.
Hundreds of prisoners.
Some already taken offworld.
He wasn't going to allow these people to join them.
"We get ahead," David said. "Then we bring the convoy to a stop."
Vance nodded.
"Move."
By the time Gamma reached the eastern side of the mountains, the terrain had changed completely.
The dense forest was gone.
Beyond the last rocky descent stretched an enormous plain covered in tall grass and scattered low vegetation.
The land rolled gently toward the horizon, broken occasionally by isolated stone formations and shallow depressions.
The sky seemed wider here.
Clouds drifted above the open country, their shadows moving slowly across the grass.
Far in the distance, the plains rose toward another series of low hills.
David paused at the edge of the mountain passage.
The change was striking.
Behind them lay the forest and jungle they had crossed.
Ahead was open ground.
And somewhere beyond those plains, the Fallen intended to transport their prisoners offworld.
June reached the overlook and stared.
"Well, that's different."
Nyra stepped beside him.
"It's beautiful."
Lucian looked across the landscape.
"Hard to believe we're still on the same planet."
Vance surveyed the terrain.
"Open plains give us visibility, but they also leave us exposed."
David studied the road emerging from the mountain passage.
It curved around a broad formation of stone before descending toward the grassland.
Several large boulders stood near the final bend.
The mountain wall rose steeply along one side, while the other dropped toward a shallow ravine.
He pointed.
"There."
Castiel followed his gaze.
"Good cover."
"And the convoy has to slow down for that turn," Mira added.
Vance examined the position.
"Agreed. We'll establish our ambush there."
They descended toward the road.
The ambush position was nearly perfect.
A cluster of enormous rocks overlooked the final mountain bend, providing concealment without requiring Gamma to stand directly on the road.
The prisoner carriers would have to pass beneath them before entering the plains.
The narrow approach would prevent the escorts from spreading out.
And the rocky terrain gave Gamma several routes for moving between positions without exposing themselves.
David crouched behind a boulder, studying the road.
Vance knelt beside him.
"How do you want to handle it?"
David considered the terrain.
"The front escort needs to be disabled first. If it gets through, it could warn the staging area."
Vance nodded.
"And the rear?"
"Castiel and Mira can prevent it from retreating."
Castiel looked toward the narrow passage.
"That leaves the carriers between us."
"Exactly," David replied. "We keep the prisoners away from the fighting as much as possible."
Lucian studied the boulders overlooking the road.
"I can use Crimson Threads to restrict movement if the escorts try to push through."
Nyra nodded toward the open area near the front bend.
"And I can use Cyclone Domain to control the space between the escort and the first carrier."
Vance looked at her.
"Be careful with the wind pressure. We don't want to overturn a transport full of prisoners."
"I can keep it focused."
"Good."
June raised his terminal.
"I'll interfere with their communications when the attack begins. Their local network is different from the camp's, so I'll need a moment to establish access."
David looked toward Mira.
"Can you and Cass get behind the rear escort without being spotted?"
Mira examined the terrain.
"Yes. The rocks provide enough concealment."
Castiel nodded.
"We can approach from the upper slope."
Vance studied the squad.
"Remember, we're not here to destroy the convoy. We're here to recover the prisoners."
David looked toward the road.
"Once the escorts are disabled, we secure the carriers and release the captives."
June glanced at the terminal.
"And then we get everyone out before the Fallen realize their convoy never arrived."
"That's the plan," David said.
Castiel gave him a sideways look.
"You make it sound simple."
David met his gaze.
"Would you prefer complicated?"
"I'd prefer predictable."
June snorted.
"Then you joined the wrong squad."
A quiet laugh passed between them.
Even Vance allowed herself the slightest smile.
But as the sound of approaching engines echoed through the mountains, the humor disappeared.
David rose slightly behind the boulder.
"They're coming."
The convoy appeared around the upper bend several minutes later.
The lead escort moved cautiously along the narrow road, followed by the two prisoner carriers and the rear security vehicle.
Fallen soldiers walked beside the transports where the road widened enough to allow it.
The engines echoed against the mountain walls.
Dust rose beneath the heavy wheels.
David watched the lead escort approach the final turn.
The vehicle slowed.
Its driver adjusted the steering, carefully guiding the armored frame around the rock formation.
The first prisoner carrier followed.
Then the second.
The rear escort remained farther back, partially concealed by the bend.
Everything was moving exactly as Gamma had anticipated.
David glanced toward Castiel and Mira.
They were already disappearing into the shadows along the upper slope.
Lucian moved toward his assigned position.
Nyra crouched beside Vance behind another formation of stone.
June activated the recovered terminal and began working through the communications frequencies.
David remained at the center of the formation, watching the road.
The prisoners were close now.
Close enough that he could see movement through the narrow windows of the first carrier.
A hand rested against one of the openings.
Another figure leaned toward it.
David wondered whether they knew how close freedom had come.
He looked toward Vance.
She gave him a small nod.
They were ready.
David turned back toward the convoy.
The lead escort was almost directly beneath their position.
He began raising his hand.
Then something moved near the trees at the far edge of the mountain passage.
David stopped.
Beyond the road, where the last remnants of forest clung to the rocky slopes, several branches shifted.
He narrowed his eyes.
A moment later, a deep vibration passed through the ground.
So faint he almost dismissed it.
The convoy continued forward.
The Fallen guards appeared unaware.
David looked toward the treeline again.
Something enormous was moving behind it.
The branches parted.
A broad, armored head emerged from the darkness.
Yellow eyes reflected the fading light.
Long saber-like fangs curved beneath its jaws.
Dark blue-black armor covered its massive shoulders, with faint teal light glimmering between the plates.
Several tendrils rose slowly above its back.
And along its left shoulder, a familiar wound remained visible beneath the damaged armor.
David felt his blood run cold.
The Varkyss Ravager emerged from the trees.