Commander Voss was in his office, staring at the orders on his screen.

His hands weren't shaking. Years of military discipline kept them steady. But his mind was racing through calculations, consequences, and the possibility that he was about to commit treason.

Or save his own life. Depending on how you looked at it.

The orders were simple. Deploy Garrison Seven on a routine patrol through Sector 15, an industrial area that had seen minor trouble from the resistance fighters.

Except Seraph had told him what to add to those orders. A small change to the patrol route that would take his men through a specific warehouse district.

The same district where Sterling was conducting "field tests" with newly created Weavers.

Unstable ones.

Voss took a deep breath and made the modifications. His access codes worked fine. Nobody would question it until after the fact. And by then, it would be too late.

He hit send.

The orders transmitted to Garrison Seven's commander, Lieutenant Hayes. A good man. The kind of soldier who followed orders without question because he believed in the chain of command.

That loyalty was about to get him and his unit caught in something terrifying.

Three hours later, Garrison Seven moved out.

Lieutenant Hayes led forty-three soldiers through the city streets. All of them were human, equipped with standard military gear. They'd been told this was a routine patrol to check for resistance activity.

They had no idea they were walking into a nightmare.

"Stay sharp," Hayes said into his comm. "Intel suggests possible insurgent movement in this sector."

His second-in-command, Sergeant Park, nodded. "Copy that. Teams Alpha and Bravo, maintain formation. Charlie, watch our six."

Then they turned onto the Factory Row.

The street was strangely quiet. No civilians. No traffic. Just empty buildings with broken windows.

"Sir," Park said quietly. "Something's wrong. This area should have activity."

Hayes felt it too.

"Weapons ready. Proceed with caution."

They moved to another block.

That's when the screaming started.

The scream wasn't human. it was a terrible sound like metal scraping glass mixed with the cry of a wounded animal.

From the warehouses ahead, people started coming out.

Young people. Teenagers, mostly. Each one moving in an awkward way.

Sterling's failed Weavers.

"What the hell?" Hayes whispered.

The first Weaver pointed at the soldiers. Then he summoned his Progeny.

The creature that appeared was all wrong. It had too many legs, eyes in places eyes shouldn't be, and it moved with a stuttering motion.

It charged.

"Open fire!" Hayes commanded.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Gunfire covered the empty street. The Progeny went down, but three more appeared to replace it. And then five more. And then dozens.

The Weavers were swarming now, pouring out of the warehouses like disturbed ants. Each one summoning corrupted creatures.

"Fall back!" Park shouted. "Form defensive positions!"

But there was nowhere to fall back to. The Weavers were everywhere, surrounding them.

Sergeant Park went down first, tackled by something that looked like a wolf. His scream came through the comm channel before going silent.

Hayes tried to reach his friend but was forced back by another wave of corrupted Progeny.

"Command, this is Garrison Seven! We are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack by hostile Weavers!"

In his office, Commander Voss received the distress call exactly as planned.

He let it ring three times. Long enough to seem like he was in another meeting. Then he answered.

"Garrison Seven, report your status!"

"Commander, we are being attacked!" Hayes's voice clearly showed he was panicking. "These things, they are everywhere! We need immediate backup!"

Voss made sure his next words were broadcast on the open channel. The one that every soldier in Sterling's forces could access.

"Garrison Seven, those are designated field test subjects. They are operating under authorized guidelines."

"Sir?" Hayes's voice cracked. "Are you saying these things are ours?"

"I'm saying maintain position and continue engagement. This is a live combat evaluation."

"Commander, my men are dying! This isn't a test, this is a massacre!"

"Lieutenant, you have your orders."

Voss cut the transmission and sat back in his chair.

He waited two minutes. Then he opened the channel again, but this time his voice was different.

"Hayes, this is Voss. The official line is off. Listen to me carefully."

"Sir?"

"Get your men out of there. Sterling doesn't care about you. About any of us. Those Weavers? They are what he values. We're just data points. Acceptable losses to test his monsters."

"But the orders..."

"The orders are sending you to die so Sterling can gather combat statistics." Voss allowed his true feelings to show in his voice. Part of him genuinely did feel guilty. "I didn't know. I swear I didn't know what was in that sector. But now I do. And I'm telling you to save your men."

Hayes made a sound that might have been a sob or a laugh or both. "Where do we go?"

"North. There's a neutral zone controlled by General Ironwood's forces. They're accepting defectors. They'll protect you."

"That's treason."

"No." Voss closed his eyes. "Treason is sending soldiers to die for data. Treason is treating humans as disposable while protecting machines. What I'm offering you is survival."

Another long pause. In the background, Voss could hear gunfire and screaming.

"Hayes? Are you still there?"

"Yeah." The lieutenant's voice was steady now. "Yeah, I'm here. Garrison Seven is moving north. Tell Ironwood we are coming."

The transmission ended.

Voss sat alone in his office. Somewhere out there, forty-three soldiers were running for their lives. Running from the regime that was supposed to protect them.

And their story would spread. Fast.

By morning, every human soldier in Sterling's forces would have heard the recording. They'd know that their commander had called them "acceptable losses." They'd understand that they were being phased out, replaced by machines and monsters.

Seraph had been right. Fear was a powerful weapon.

And Voss had just armed the entire human military with it.

Two days later, the resistance safe house was loud and busy with people moving around.

Lieutenant Hayes and his remaining thirty-seven soldiers were in the converted warehouse, being processed by General Ironwood's people. Medical attention. Hot food. Safety for the first time in months.

Seraph stood with Ironwood and the Headmaster, watching through one-way glass.

"It's spreading," Ironwood said, reading reports on his datapad. "Six more garrisons have made contact requesting defection terms."

"Good." Seraph smiled a bit. "The fear of losing usefulness pushes people to act."

"But it won't be enough," the Headmaster warned. "Sterling still has his cyborg legions. His Weavers. Even if every human soldier defects, he has more than enough robotic forces to maintain control."

"True." Seraph pulled up her own reports. "But now we have something we didn't have before. Human intelligence from inside his command line. Hayes has provided information on supply routes, security protocols."

"And Voss?" Ironwood asked.

"He's still in place. As long as Sterling believes his human staff is loyal, we have an advantage."

A knock at the door interrupted them. One of the resistance fighters poked his head in.

"Ma'am, we just received an urgent transmission from the Academy. Marked priority one."

Seraph's smile disappeared. Priority one meant something big.

They moved to the secure communications room. The holographic projector came on, showing Jonah's face.

"Seraph," he said. "We just got your report about the moon facility. About the Nexus."

"And?"

"And we are leaving." Jonah glanced at something off-screen. "We found a star-chart in the Artificer data. There's an ancient base called Haven. A Life-Weaver shipyard from before the fall. If we can reach it, we might find the technology to fight Sterling's fleet."

"How long will you be gone?"

"We don't know. Weeks, maybe. Possibly months depending on what we find." Jonah's face turned serious. "But we are out of options. If Sterling activates that Nexus before we return..."

"Then the war is over." Seraph finished for him. "Understood. We'll hold the line here as long as we can."

"I know you will." Jonah managed a weak smile. "You're the toughest person I know, Seraph. If anyone can keep the resistance alive, it's you."

"Just come back in time to make it matter."

"That's the plan."

The transmission ended.

Draven spoke up from the corner where he'd been listening. "So our best hope of winning is flying off into deep space on a risky mission while we fight a losing ground war against killer robots?"

"Looks like it," Seraph confirmed.

"Great!." Draven cracked his knuckles. "Always wanted to be part of a desperate last stand. Those makes for great stories. Assuming anyone survives to tell them."

Despite everything, Seraph laughed. "I really admire how positive you are."

"I try."

General Ironwood cleared his throat. "Captain Seraph, if you're willing, I'd like to officially put you in command of all ground resistance operations. Your people trust you. And frankly, you understand this new kind of warfare better than any of my old guard."

Seraph blinked. She'd gone from an Academy instructor to an insurgent leader to the commander of an entire underground army in less than six months.

"I accept," she said simply.

"Good." Ironwood offered his hand. "Then let's show Sterling that humans aren't as disposable as he thinks."

They shook hands to agree.

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