The desert night stretched endlessly, its stillness broken only by the faint hum of Ethan's rented hover truck as it he coordinates of the Syndicate outpost. The darkness cloaked the barren ndscape, with only the occasional silhouette of jagged rocks punctuating the otherwise ft expahe soft glow of Valeris City was far behind, a reminder of what was at stake.

  Ihe truck, Ethan g his team. Eliara Venn sat to his right, her psma rifle partially disassembled as she fius systems. Her sharp eyes darted up briefly to meet his, a flicker of determination crossing her face. In the back, Thalor Veskra sharpened one of his dual psma bdes, the Velkran's imposing figure radiating quiet iy. Opposite him, a pair of Federation troopers in matte bck armor checked their gear in sileheir stiff posture betraying unease uhan's and.

  Iris's voice crackled through Ethan's helmet, her tone ical but unwavering. "Approag target. Syndicate outpost detected approximately 500 meters ahead. Automated defenses active. Minimal external activity detected."

  Ethan inhaled deeply, his focus sharpening. This was no ordinary mission. The outpost they were about to assault was a critiode in the Syndicate's terror work, produg and distributing the mind-trol alloy ons that had sown chaos across Kynara. And somewhere among their supposed allies in the Federation y a traitor enabling it all. This mission wasn't just about destru, it was about peeling back the yers of a deeply entrenched spiracy.Coalition Strategy

  The hover truck slowed to a halt behind a cluster of sandstone formatiohan stepped out, his boots g softly against the gravel. The rest of the team followed, moving silently in the shadows. In the distance, faint lights marked the Syndicate outpost, its perimeter lined with automated turrets and patrolling drones.

  Ethan crouched by a ft rod activated his wrist-mounted holo-dispy, projeg a schematic of the outpost based on reaissaa. The structure was a pact but heavily fortified facility, surrounded by minefields and shielded by jamming teology that blocked le unications.

  "This is a surgical strike," Ethan said, his voice low but firm. "We take out their produ equipment, secure any intel we find, a out before reinforts arrive. Stealth is key."

  Eliara nodded, her voice calm but edged with urgency. "I'll hahe security systems and disable their turrets. Once I'm inside, I'll need cover while I access their data cores."

  Thalor tilted his head, his expression unreadable. "And the enforcers?" His deep voice carried a natural mehough Etha wasn't directed at his teammates.

  "I'll deal with them," Ethan replied. "We go in quiet, but if things go south, t. Thalor, you'll handle close bat. Eliara, prioritize the deferoopers, stay on perimeter duty until we call you in."

  Captain Thorroopers exged a g nodded. Ethan heir hesitation but didn't press. The Federation's reluce to fully back the coalition was an obstacle they didn't have time to solve tonight.

  The team moved in formation, their stealth modules activated to blend seamlessly with the dark desert terrain. The Syndicate's automated turrets sed the perimeter with rhythmic precision, their red targeting lights slig through the night. Eliara paused, croug low as she ected her wrist device to a small drone. With a flick of her fingers, the drone zipped toward the urret, its eleagic pulse temporarily disabling the on.

  "Clear," Eliara whispered. Her fingers danced across her wrist dispy, redireg the droo the urret.

  Ethan sighe group forward, his psma dagger glinting faintly in the moonlight. They navigated the minefield with calcuted precision, relying on Iris's real-time ss to identify safe paths. Thalor's Velkran physiology allowed him to move with uny silence, his psma bdes at the ready.

  As they he outpost, the faint hum of maery grew louder. Syndicate enforcers patrolled the mairaheir alloy-enhanced exosuits glinting uhe floodlights. Ethan raised a fist, signaling the team to halt.

  "Diversion?" Eliara murmured.

  Ethan shook his head. "We're stig to stealth. Thalor, take out the sentries quietly. Eliara, prep the door."

  Thalor didn't need further instru. He vanished into the shadows, his movements almost imperceptible. Moments ter, the first enforcer crumpled silently to the ground, a faint hiss marking the activation of Thalor's psma bde. The sed enforcer barely had time to turn before meeting the same fate.

  "Door's clear," Eliara whispered. She k by the entrance, her deviterfag with the lock. The security panel blinked red, then green as she bypassed the system. "We're in."

  The team slipped ihe sterile white corridors of the facility a stark trast to the desert outside. Maes hummed faintly, their rhythmic vibrations undersg the oppressive silehaured for Eliara to access the trol room while he and Thalor secured the produ chamber.

  The produ chamber was a hive of activity, with robotic arms assembling mind-trol grenades on a veyor belt. Crates marked with Syndicate insignias lihe walls, filled with ons ready for distributiohan sed the room, his jaw tightening.

  "Destroy it all," he ordered.

  Thalor wasted no time. With a single swing of his psma bde, he severed the veyor system, sending sparks casg through the air. Ethan pnted charges on the trol panels, his movements precise and effit.

  Meanwhile, Eliara's voice crackled through their s. "I'm in the trol room. Pulling data now. Give me three minutes."

  "Make it quick," Ethan replied.

  The facility's arms bred suddenly, red lights flooding the corridors. "We've been made," Iris reported. "Hostile drones inbound."

  The first wave of drones swarmed the chamber, their alloy-based disorientation waves flooding the air. Ethahe familiar pressure against his mind but focused, his tent psychic abilities shielding him from the effects. Thalor stood firm, his Velkran physiology granting him natural resistao the disorienting waves.

  "Eliara, status?" Ethan called, defleg a drone's attack with his psma dagger.

  "Almost done!" she replied, her voice strained. "Hold them off!"

  Ethan and Thalor fought side by side, their movements synized. Ethan's dagger sshed through droer drone, while Thalor's bdes carved a path through the chaos. Federation troopers finally joihe fray, their bster fire providing mueeded support.

  "Got it!" Eliara shouted. "I'm on my way!"

  The team regrouped areated through the corridors, pnting charges along the way. As they exited the facility, Ethan triggered the explosives, a series of deafening bsts redug the produ chamber to rubble.

  Back at the hover truck, Ethan reviewed the data Eliara had extracted. The logs firmed his worst suspis: Syndicate shipments had passed through Federation-monitored zones without interference. Someone on the inside was aiding them.

  Ethan's grip tightened oa pad. "We're not just fighting the Syndicate," he muttered. "We're fighting our own shadows."

  Thalor pced a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Then we'll cut through them."

  Ethan nodded, his resolve hardening. The battle was far from over, but tonight, they had struck back.