Chapter 227: LOCKDOWN

Imperial Black Site

"All bulkheads to Level 6—lock them down. Now!"

THUD.

The first impact shook the barricades.

THUD. THUD.

A dent. Another.

Inside the Command Center, the tension was suffocating.

A younger officer—green as hell, barely old enough to grow a proper beard—watched the monitor with wide, horrified eyes. "That's six feet of iron composite," he whispered. "That thing can tank a fucking nuke—"

CRUNCH.

The first layer split. A jagged crack slithered down the reinforced frame like a lightning bolt.

Rinehart rolled her shoulders. "Yeah," she muttered. "Too bad Caspian doesn't give a shit about physics."

Krause shot her a look of pure venom. "Oh, you think this is fucking funny?"

Rinehart tilted her head. "I think it's predictable."