The final railslug seated into its oversized magazine with a satisfying click. MC sighted the rifle for the tenth time, reconfirming that his HUD was properly zeroed. A habit that had turned into something like meditation; it helped him focus before a dangerous operation. And he could use every bit of focus right now. With Nova gone, he’d been an absolute mess, tossing and turning through sleepless nights.

He wasn’t much better during the day, either, as he anxiously paced around Sanctuary, immersing himself in menial maintenance tasks. It was stupid and he knew it, but the fact that he was powerless to do anything about Nova made him feel like he was back under the mutagenic lake, suffocating.

“Executor, Bravo and Charlie squads are on site and have begun assembling their submarines. Alpha squad is ready for you now.”

MC gave the soldier a nod, slinging the rifle over his shoulder as he exited the armory. The hangar that greeted him was a far cry from what it had been in its glory days. Still bearing many of the scars of their recent battle with the Legatus, the walls of the medical bay lay shredded and destroyed, though reconstruction efforts were well underway.

Welding sparks and plasma torches showered the vast space as mixed Dyn and Zevan work crews furiously scrambled to repair the extensive damage. The matter fabricators had been working overtime to pump out replacement parts, and MC had aided the effort with his own matter fusion ability wherever possible. It made for a good distraction.

Sadly, it would take several more weeks to restore the medical beds that were destroyed in the suicide bombing, leaving the base without vital facilities in case anyone incurred injuries.

He still couldn’t get over how the previous battle had gone down. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that the Legatus would be capable of this kind of subterfuge. Especially not after that asshole’s string of failures. To think that they’d even lost Nova… No, it did no good to dwell on what he couldn’t change. All he could do now was to move forward, like a spear. Unrelenting. Because if he cracked now, he didn’t know what he’d do. Probably something stupid.

MC walked past a mangled Reaver as he made his way to the back of the hangar. Thanks to Edana’s quick thinking, they’d just barely managed to recover the gunship after their battle with the Legatus, though with its wings and ducted fans gone, it had taken significant damage. Reaver’s emergency parachute had kept Edana and her crew alive, but it did little to protect the craft itself. The vast majority of its parts required replacement, and MC imagined it’d be several months before the bird flew again.

Assistants awaited at the powered suit bay along the rear wall of the hangar. Ironically, all of the suits had been in use during the battle, and many of them had made it out with only minor damage. That included his M37. The Resistance engineers had retrofitted some Dyn upgrades to the stealth suit, upgrading its armor and sensor suites. As hard as it was for MC to believe, its defenses were now on-par with the X42, despite the suit’s diminutive stature.

The Resistance techs had even managed to build internal magazine pouches and a belt-fed system that connected to the brand new shoulder-mounted railguns. Unlike its bigger brother, these mounts were designed to attach to normal firearms, slaving the guns to the operator’s own weapon, effectively delivering three times the firepower per shot. When out of use, the firearms tucked neatly into indented slots on the suit’s back, minimizing its radar profile.

“Sir, we’re ready to help you equip your suit. Just say the word.”

“No time like the present,” MC said. “Let’s get it done.”

He stood with his arms raised as the several Zevan Resistance fighters helped him into the claustrophobic armor. Almost like a medieval knight donning his heavy plate armor. Luckily, this stuff would protect him a helluva lot more than ancient iron or steel.

As much as he’d wanted to use the similarly-upgraded X-42, its size made it a no-go. For this op, stealth and compactness would be the key to fitting inside the narrow tunnels through which they planned to descend.

Nina approached the area at some point, standing at a distance as the crew finished arming his armor.

“Magnus?” she asked with obvious hesitation, “you don’t have to do this, you know.”

MC met her gaze. His cold eyes made her startle.

“Oh, but I do. We still have no clue where Nova is, or whether she’s even alive. For all we know, the Legatus could be torturing her right now, and there’s not a damn thing we can do.”

“We’re flexing every connection we have, Magnus. Just give it some time, we will find her.”

“Nina, do you honestly expect me to just wait around until we have more intel? I need to strike back against that motherfucker in any way I can. Or I might just end up doing something reckless. Like assaulting the Legatus’ HQ on my own.”

“You can’t seriously mean that?”

“The thought had crossed my mind. But don’t worry. I haven’t quite gotten to that point… yet.”

“I—” Nina opened her mouth, but was unable to voice her thoughts. “I get it. Just, please come back to me? I can’t help but feel like this operation is reckless. More reckless than your usual MO. I cannot lose you, Magnus.”

MC put his armored hand on her shoulder. “Princess, I got this. Trust me.”

“You better. Go kick some ass,” she replied with a strained smile, her eyes red.

MC teleported to a newly-dug corridor that led away from the hangar. At several hundred feet in length, it made for the perfect kill zone. The tunnel bristled with Gatling drones, mines, and other delightful explosives of all kinds, ensuring that anyone coming down that corridor was either friendly… or extremely dead.

Beyond the heavy blast doors at the end of the tunnel was a large room containing Gatling drones and mounted laser cannons, all pointed directly at the three man-sized portals lined up beside each other along the far wall. A small mountain of basketball-sized objects lay stacked in a corner—the mines that represented the core of this operation.

Each portal linked to one of the three assault teams, allowing them instant retreat back to Sanctuary if need be. Unfortunately, those portals also represented a danger to the base—an enemy could walk through before MC severed the connection, which was the reason for all of these precautions.

“Best of luck, sir. On behalf of everyone stationed at Sanctuary, we wish you success,” an operator said.

MC gave the Qephyx Dyn a two-fingered salute before walking through the leftmost portal that led to Alpha squad’s location.

Frigid nighttime air greeted MC as frozen snow crunched underfoot. Nearby, his team was finishing the final assembly of their submarine, which they’d transported in dismantled sections—with a little help from MC’s teleportation abilities.

The full moon lit the nightscape with a pale, ethereal glow. A large lake loomed in the distance, and at its center sat an aquatic white tree upon a floating island. The night was quiet apart from the occasional arctic wind.

Nostalgia overtook MC as he recalled his first night on Kelruhn. He’d taken refuge under a tree much like this one, though that mutagenic lake wasn’t nearly as large. To think he had hoped for a rescue at the time…

Given all that he knew now, the very concept of being rescued was downright absurd. Almost as absurd as his delusions of returning return home within a few days, one month tops. Yet here he was, likely to spend the rest of his short life on this planet.

At least Kelruhn wasn’t lacking in spectacular beauty, even if it was swarming with hostile monsters. Would there ever be a day when he’d find the time to just sit down and appreciate it all?

“Sir,” a squad member said, interrupting his reverie, “the submarine has been prepared and is ready for launch on your command.”

“Understood, soldier. Bravo team. Charlie team. Report,” MC barked over his suit’s comms system.

“Bravo team is suited up and ready to go, Executor,” B-team’s leader responded immediately.

“Charlie team, ready on our end.”

“Alright, listen up,” MC commanded, addressing all three squads. “You’ve already been briefed on this operation, so there shouldn’t be any surprises here. Each team will operate independently, infiltrating the tunnels that pump water into the mutagenic ponds. The destination is the underground abyss that serves as the nerve center of Ubiquity Prime’s little freak fest. Alpha squad’s got the shortest path, so we expect to arrive there first. We’ll report back with current status on the ground. Or, underwater, in this case.

If things look good on the inside, we’ll begin hollowing out the pillars’ foundations, laying our mines as we go. We’ve got Illusion Generators on board, so we should go undetected even if they’re looking for us, but we cannot take any chances here. Not after the forces we’ve recently lost. Operate as though the enemy knows we’re coming, and be ready to scram at any moment. Understood?”

Affirmative responses chorused back.

Nina’s face popped up on MC’s HUD. “Magnus, mind if I address the troops?”

“You bet, princess,” MC said, patching her in.

“Everyone, Nina here. Just wanted to reiterate your goal. You’re going for the permanent incapacitation of the underground compound, not the elimination of every Dyn worker within those pillars. Please try to keep collateral damage to a minimum. We need as many allies as possible when Ubiquity’s fleet gets here, and your actions here will have a huge impact on how that plays out. Once the Legatus has been eliminated, we’re going to need all the good PR we can get.”

“You heard the lady,” MC said. “When detonated, our charges should raise the waterline of the mutagenic ocean, causing the very trees that generate the water to mutate permanently—rendering them inoperational. Any questions?”

One of the squad leaders raised his voice. “To confirm, our contingency plan is to blow the mines and retreat to safety through your portals?”

“Affirmative. And if we haven’t placed enough mines to take the pillars out, I’ll bring in an antimatter bomb.”

“That would be our very last option,” Nina clarified. “Activating that bomb will annihilate everyone inside that chamber; it’d be the worst-case scenario. I almost feel like it’d be better to just abandon the operation rather than use that thing.”

“I’ll be the one to make that call,” MC replied, “but let’s hope it never comes down to that. Let me reiterate what I said earlier: your lives are worth more than this operation. Squad leaders, if you find yourselves in jeopardy, do not hesitate to abandon the subs and retreat with your teams through your portals. Each and every one of you is indispensable. Understood?”

Voices sounded off one by one.

“Well alright then! All teams, you are clear to dive. Operation Pillarfall is now underway.”

Nina once again popped onto his HUD after he’d closed the comms call with the team. “Magnus, how’s the headache? I’m willing to bet that maintaining three man-sized portals isn’t the most pleasant experience you’ve ever had.”

“Thanks for the concern, princess. The drain is noticeable, but my recent upgrades have been helping in that department. I’ll be fine.”

In a bid to distract himself from Nova, MC had thrown himself at his abilities, staying up late at night to train high up on the crater rim. Teleporting. Relocating. Portaling and creating barriers. He’d manage to fill up more of the gory vidbubbles for every ability, but only his portals had actually leveled up, allowing him to maintain a handful of larger wormholes, separated by longer distances than he was previously able.

“Okay,” Nina replied anxiously. “I’m monitoring your suit’s vitals, so don’t be surprised when I nag you if you try to push things too far. And thank God.”

“What?” he asked.

“You finally cracked a smile. I don’t think I’ve seen you smile even once after we lost Nova.”

MC’s smile grew a little wider. “Thanks, princess. For everything. Machine-One out.”

Two of his squad of ten waited for him at the shore, along with the conning tower of the small submarine that peeked out of the lake. He Relocated his troops to the vessel one by one before teleporting himself over.

Though well-built, the deck was barely wide enough for a single person to walk, and he had to shimmy through the access hatch to get inside, even with his compact M37. As soon as he’d crawled in, the conning tower retracted flush into the hull of the sub, turning it into a sleek bullet that lacked protrusions of any kind.

With the hatch secured, he gave Edana the universal thumbs down signal. Dive! Dive! Dive!