Reyn Ondar's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Reyn Ondar watched the perimeter from the command tent. His team held position in the valley, waiting. The Zeo Empire pushed deeper into their homeland each day. Striking their forces directly hadn't worked. Now they needed something different. The radio crackled. A Zeo defector wanted to meet. He claimed he had supply route intel. Reyn chose the old warehouse for the handoff—an ancient structure of black stone hidden in overgrown forest north of the valley. It was remote enough to avoid patrols. He took two team members and left the others to watch their flank. They reached the warehouse at dusk. Deep tread marks scarred the ground near the entrance. Heavy tracks, spiked and wide. A cyber tank had been here recently, black armor probably still warm from the hunt. The defector's pursuers were close. Reyn signaled his team to spread out and cover the approaches. The defector stumbled from the tree line, bleeding from his side. He pressed a handheld device into Reyn's palm before collapsing. The screen lit up with blue light, projecting routes and depot locations across the air between them. Supply lines. Convoy schedules. Fuel caches. Everything Reyn needed to cut the Empire's advance at its root. He pocketed the device and lifted the defector. They had what they came for, and now they had to move.