The hover truck rumbled across the jagged expanse of Kynara's western cliffs, its reinforced chassis groaning uhe strain of the uerrain. The cliffs stretched endlessly into the horizon, their jagged edges catg the amber light of the setting suhan sat at the helm, his eyes sing the ndscape ahead. Beside him was Rourke, his ever-reliable E-Rank panion, and in the back seat, Malek shifted nervously, his ser carbiing across his p. Zyrix Korran, the D-Rank sniper, rode in silence, his psma sniper rifle strapped securely across his back.

  The facility loomed ahead, a deg Federation structure built into the side of a massive cliff face. Faded insignias adorhe entrance, partially obscured by yers of rust and dirt. The walls of the b were stained with time, their surfaces cracked ahered. Shadows pyed across the outer perimeter as the group parked the truck at a safe distand disembarked.

  "This is it," Ethan murmured, pulling up the details Iris had decrypted earlier. "An old Federation b. Whatever they were doiies directly to Drakor's experiments with the psychic ore."

  "Let's hope it's abandoned," Rourke muttered, cheg his neural dampener as they approached the entrance.

  "Stay sharp," Ethan ordered. "We've seen how quickly the Syndicate spring traps."Entering the Lab

  The entrao the b was a heavy, reinforced door, slightly ajar and rusted at the hinges. Ethan pushed it open, the screeetal eg into the dimly lit corridor beyond. The air inside was stale and heavy, carrying a faint, metallig.

  Glow strips lihe floor and walls, flickering weakly as though ging to some sembnce of life. The interior was cold and eerily silent, the faint hum of long-dormant maery the only sound apanying their footsteps.

  "This pce is falling apart," Malek said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  "That doesn't mean it's safe," Zyrix replied, his to as his eyes sed every er. "The Syndicate has a habit of using pces like this for ambushes."

  Ethan paused near a terminal covered in dust and grime. "Iris, you access this?"

  The AI's voice crackled to life in his earpiece. "Attempting to interface. This system is severely degraded, but I should be able to recover partial data. Stand by."

  The deeper they moved into the facility, the more they saw remnants of the experiments ducted here. Gss tai chambers lined one wall, their surfaces cracked and fogged over. Each chamber tained faint traces of the psychic lowing faintly in the dim light. Ethahe familiar hum of energy, a sensation that resonated with his tent psychic abilities.

  "These experiments," Ethan began, "they weren't just about studying the ore. They were trying to o."

  "Figures," Rourke said bitterly. "Leave it to the Federation to try and turn something they don't fully uand into a on."

  As Iris worked oerminal, Ethan moved further into the main b, his eyes lingering on holographic dispys that still flickered with ghostly images of Federation stists. Notes scrawled on a ss described early-stage tests on the ore, refereng its ability to amplify psychiergy and manipute neural pathways.

  "Ethan," Iris said, breaking the silence. "I've recovered some data. The logs describe attempts te the ore with human neural systems, creating enhanced reflexes aal acuity. However, the majority of the test subjects experienced catastrophieural failure."

  "Typical," Zyrix said, his voice low. "Pying god without thinking about the sequences."

  As Iris tinued downloading files, a set of encrypted coordinates appeared on the s, marked as "High Priority – Drakor ht." Ethan leaned closer, his brows furrowing. "Coordinates. Far north. This could be Drakor's stronghold."

  The faint hum of maery suddenly ged pitch, a warning that sent adrenaline c through Ethan's veins. Zyrix stiffened, raising his sniper rifle.

  "Movement outside," he said sharply. "They're here."

  Before Ethan could respond, a deafening explosion rocked the b. The walls trembled, debris raining down from the ceiling as the Syndicate forces stormed in. Their ons glinted with alloy enhas, and their drones filled the air with an ominous whine.

  "Defensive positions!" Ethan barked, drawing his psma dagger.

  Zyrix took cover behind a sole, his sniper rifle taking down attackers with lethal precision. Rourke and Malek fell back, their ser carbines firing trolled bursts to hold the Syndicate at bay.

  "Ethan, the data transfer is 80% plete," Iris reported.

  "We don't leave without it," Ethan replied, cutting down a Syndicate soldier who got too close.

  The attackers pressed hard, deploying drones equipped with alloy-based disorientatioers. While Ethan's psychic resilience shielded him from the effects, Malek staggered, his neural damperaining against the assault.

  "Malek, fall back!" Ethan shouted.

  "I've got this!" Malek replied, pnting a grenade ih of an approag drohe explosio it careening into the wall, sparks flying.

  "Data transfer plete," Iris announced.

  "Time to go!" Ethan ordered.

  The team fought their way back toward the entrance, dodging Syndicate reinforts p in through hidden access points. Zyrix's sniper fire kept them covered, pig off key targets with unerring accuracy.

  As they burst out of the b, Ethan turned back for one final look. The faint glow from within seemed to pulse, almost alive, as if the b itself were relut to let its secrets go.

  "We'll finish this," Ethan said under his breath, before jumping into the driver's seat of the hover truck.

  Back at their temporary base, the team regrouped, reviewing the data Iris had recovered. The files painted a chilling picture of Drakor's ambitions, from his experiments with the psychic ore to his pns for a new geion of mind-trol devices.

  "This is bigger thahought," Zyrix said grimly, sing the decrypted files.

  "And it's far from over," Ethan replied, his voice steady despite the weight of what they'd uncovered. "We've got the coordinates. Now we bring the fight to Drakor."

  The room fell silent as the weight of their missioled over them. The battle for Kynara was far from over, and the stakes had never been higher.