The air in the Wastelands was heavy, charged with an almost electric tension as if the land itself recognized the conflict brewing. Beneath the shadow of the crumbled industrial towers of Sector 12, Atlas, Mari, and Kael regrouped in a small, sunken alcove that had once been part of a subterranean transit station.
The tunnels Kael had sabotaged were quiet now, but the trio knew better than to rest easy. The Enforcers weren't just machines—they were weapons of war, engineered to adapt.
Mari crouched, sharpening her blade methodically, the rhythmic scrape of steel against stone the only sound. Kael was pacing, his head down, running calculations on his battered datapad. Atlas sat against a rusted support beam, staring at a holo-projection of their next objective—a facility deep in the mountains labeled Athena Station.
"That blast bought us time, but not much," Kael said, breaking the silence. "Whoever's controlling those Enforcers is going to notice their command node is offline. When they do, they'll send reinforcements."
Mari snorted. "Let them come. I could use a rematch."
"We can't afford to waste energy on a prolonged fight," Atlas said, his voice edged with fatigue. He gestured toward the projection. "Athena Station might be the key to stopping this. The files we pulled suggest it's where Evelyn Pryce conducted her most advanced experiments—before the collapse."
Kael frowned. "If it's still operational, it won't just be Enforcers waiting for us. Pryce wasn't known for restraint. We could be walking into something worse."
"Worse than an army of murder-bots?" Mari quipped, sheathing her blade.
Atlas didn't answer immediately. The image of Evelyn Pryce loomed in his mind: a brilliant, ruthless scientist who had treated the Genesis Protocol not as a project, but as her legacy. Her name was whispered with a mix of awe and dread in engineering circles—a woman who had rewritten the boundaries of human possibility and morality.
"Pryce doesn't take chances," Atlas finally said. "If Athena Station is operational, it'll be fortified. But if we don't go, she'll finish whatever she's building there—and we won't survive the aftermath."
---
They moved under the cover of darkness, their silhouettes blending into the jagged landscape of the Wastelands. The path to Athena Station was treacherous, a labyrinth of shattered highways and collapsed structures.
Kael took point, his scanner sweeping for heat signatures or movement. Mari trailed close behind, her eyes darting to every shadow, her blade ready. Atlas brought up the rear, his modified rifle slung across his back, his mind running through contingency plans for every scenario he could imagine.
Hours passed in tense silence until they reached the edge of a vast canyon. Across the chasm, built into the side of a sheer cliff, was Athena Station. The facility was partially hidden by the rock face, but faint lights glimmered through cracks in the structure, and the faint hum of machinery carried across the wind.
"Looks like it's still kicking," Kael muttered, lowering his binoculars.
Atlas scanned the perimeter. The bridge that once connected their side of the canyon to the station was long gone, reduced to a tangle of rusted cables. Beneath them, the canyon dropped into darkness, its depths obscured by a swirling mist.
"We'll have to climb," Atlas said, pointing to a jagged path that wound down the cliffside.
Mari grinned. "Finally, a real challenge."
Kael groaned. "You mean a death sentence. One slip and—"
"Then don't slip," Mari said, already starting down the path.
---
The descent was harrowing. The path was narrow and unstable, crumbling under their boots with every step. Atlas's hands were raw from gripping the jagged rocks, his muscles aching from the effort of keeping his balance.
Halfway down, a rock dislodged beneath Kael, sending him sliding toward the edge. Mari lunged, grabbing his arm and yanking him back.
"Careful," she said, her tone more amused than scolding.
Kael glared at her but didn't argue, his face pale.
When they finally reached the canyon floor, they found themselves in a narrow, enclosed space. The walls of the canyon were etched with strange, jagged symbols—remnants of a forgotten civilization, or perhaps warnings left by those who had ventured here before.
"Keep moving," Atlas urged. The longer they lingered, the more vulnerable they were.
---
Athena Station loomed above them like a fortress. The entrance was a massive steel door set into the rock, its surface etched with faint, glowing lines that pulsed rhythmically, like a heartbeat.
"Power's still running," Kael noted. "But this tech is… off. It's not Genesis-standard."
"Pryce's modifications," Atlas said. He stepped forward, examining the door. A small panel blinked to life at his approach, displaying a series of glyphs.
"It's a lock," Kael said, studying the symbols. "But not one I recognize."
Mari glanced at the panel. "Can't we just blow it open?"
Kael shook his head. "Not without triggering an alert. Whatever's inside will know we're coming."
Atlas traced a finger over the glyphs, his mind racing. The symbols were familiar, fragments of designs he'd seen in the files they'd decrypted. He tapped a sequence, hesitated, then pressed a final glyph.
With a low hum, the door slid open.
"You did it," Mari said, impressed.
"For now," Atlas replied, stepping through the threshold.
---
Inside, Athena Station was a maze of sterile corridors and cavernous rooms, the air thick with the smell of ozone and decay. The walls were lined with screens displaying streams of data, most of it incomprehensible.
"This place gives me the creeps," Kael muttered.
"It's too quiet," Mari agreed.
They moved cautiously, their footsteps echoing through the empty halls. As they passed one of the larger rooms, Mari froze, her eyes widening.
"Atlas. Kael. Look at this."
They turned to see what she was pointing at. Inside the room, dozens of pods lined the walls, each one filled with a viscous, greenish liquid. Suspended in the liquid were figures—human-like but unmistakably artificial. Their skin was pale and translucent, their bodies connected to the pods by a web of wires and tubes.
"Clones," Kael whispered, his voice trembling.
Atlas stepped closer, his stomach twisting. These weren't just clones—they were weapons, perfected versions of the Enforcers they had fought in Sector 12.
"Pryce has been busy," he said grimly.
Before they could process the sight, an alarm blared, the harsh sound reverberating through the station.
"We're out of time," Kael said, his scanner lighting up with heat signatures. "They're coming."
---
The first wave hit them hard. Enforcers poured into the corridors, their glowing eyes and mechanical limbs cutting through the dim light like specters of death.
Atlas fired his rifle, the weapon's modified rounds tearing through the Enforcers' armor with brutal efficiency. Mari was a blur of motion, her blade slicing through their ranks with deadly precision. Kael stayed back, using his EMP grenades to disrupt their movements, buying precious seconds for his teammates.
But the Enforcers kept coming.
"We can't hold this position!" Kael shouted.
Atlas scanned the room, his mind racing. His gaze fell on a terminal in the corner, its screen flashing red with the words ACCESS DENIED.
"If I can get to that terminal, I might be able to shut them down," he said.
"You'll never make it," Mari replied, cutting down another Enforcer.
"I'll make it," Atlas said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Cover me."
---
Atlas sprinted toward the terminal, the chaos around him fading into a blur. He slid behind the console and began typing, his fingers moving with desperate speed.
The screen displayed layer after layer of encryption, each one more complex than the last.
"Come on," he muttered, bypassing security protocols with every trick he knew.
Behind him, Mari and Kael fought with everything they had, their movements growing slower as exhaustion set in.
Finally, Atlas found it—a backdoor into the station's mainframe. He accessed the control systems for the pods, his heart pounding as he typed a series of commands.
The pods began to hiss, their lights dimming as the clones inside were disconnected from the network.
"It's working!" Kael shouted.
The Enforcers faltered, their movements becoming sluggish and uncoordinated.
But before they could celebrate, a voice echoed through the room—a cold, emotionless tone that sent a chill down Atlas's spine.
"Well done, Atlas," the voice said. "You've made it farther than I expected."
Atlas turned to see a figure standing in the doorway. It was a woman, her features sharp and commanding, her eyes glowing faintly with an unnatural light.
"Evelyn Pryce," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Pryce smiled. "Welcome to Athena Station. Let's see if you're ready for the truth."