Chapter 366: Synchronized strike
Hours ago...
Moving through hostile environment were a group of young soldiers.
Sophie’s hand cut through the air in a sharp halt signal, her entire squad dropping into combat positions behind crystalline rock formations. A purple rift that had torn open above them cracklimg with energy that was similar to Noah’s domain manifestations, unmistakable even from this distance.
"Stay low," she whispered into her comm, exhaustion making her voice hoarse after three days of constant fighting. They all looked like hell—gear torn, faces streaked with dirt and dried blood, movements slower than they should be.
Storm’s massive form emerged from the portal like some prehistoric nightmare given wings. The wyvern’s scales caught the alien sunlight as he dove toward the horizon, his familiar roar echoing across the barren landscape of Sirius Beta.
"Storm!" Lyra breathed, lowering her sniper rifle. "Noah got out. He actually got out."
Diana’s expression—usually controlled to the point of being called an ice queen—cracked with visible relief. "Thank God. When Pierce held back support and Noah got captured fighting that Harbinger alone..."
"Don’t," Sophie said sharply, her jaw clenching. The memory of that clusterfuck was still too raw. Noah disappearing after fighting something impossible while Pierce’s "tactical assessment" kept them from providing backup. "We’re not talking about that right now."
"Sophie," Lyra called out from her position, "we’ve got movement. Multiple contacts, two klicks northeast."
Through her binoculars, Sophie could make out figures moving through the crystalline formations—human figures, but moving with the tactical movements of trained soldiers rather than panicked civilians.
"Vanguard movement patterns," she said, recognizing the formation. "Could be Lucas."
Storm had brought Lucas and his team here but had since then been abusing his new found skills while they made the effort of keeping up with the Wyvern on foot as only he knew where the rest were.