Osram Time: 05:05, February 24, 2295

  Outside Door Kaamos, Vault of Primal Urges, Mare Imbrium, Near Side, Osram

  Dust swirled around Lorna Weiss as she lay sprawled on the lunar regolith. Her fingers twitched near the handle of Baldr, her Psytum Sword, its azure blade waning like her resolve.

  "I expected more from a Psi Lynx like you, Lorna Weiss." Joon-Seok Pak towered over her, his own sword - a radiant crimson energy - poised to strike her heart.

  Her blue eyes, darting to the side, caught a glimpse of the battlefield around them. The Imperium forces, a relentless tide of crimson and black, were crushing the white and blue of Alliance troops underfoot.

  "Sk?l," she whispered bitterly, the word tasting like ash on her tongue, a macabre toast to her imminent demise.

  But just as despair threatened to consume her, a sudden burst of staccato gunfire shattered the tense atmosphere. The distinctive sound of an SMG filled the air, with bullets leaving trails of quantum radiant blue in their wake. Some grazed Joon-Seok's robe armor and his snow-white countenance.

  "Baw-lah-eh See-kah!" Emmanuel Boateng burst forth from the chaos, his locs trailing like the banner of an avenging spirit. His finger never left the trigger as he unleashed a barrage of bullets, each one adding to the symphony of salvation.

  "Curse you!" With one hand covering his face bleeding face, Joon-Seok retreated and sought cover behind a line of Bloodtroopers who formed a protective barrier around him, the bulk of their crimson armors absorbing Emmanuel's Lunar-enchanted bullets.

  "Milord!" Dilinur's panicked voice could be heard as she folded her silver Psi Fan and her red psionic aura dissipated. She too disappeared behind the Bloodtroopers.

  In that split second of chaos, Lorna saw an opportunity. With quick reflexes born out of desperation, she rolled to safety and stood up again.

  Scanning her surroundings, she saw multiple Psi Lynxes in white attire similar to hers and Emmanuel's, slicing through enemy lines with precision and ease. They moved like specters, blending into the swirling chaos. One of the Psi Lynxes, a tall, dark-haired woman wielding a Psytum Sword resembling Lorna’s, charged into the fray, the energy from her sword leaving a radiant arc in her wake as Bloodtroopers fell like wheat before a scythe.

  Close behind her, another Lynx — a shorter man with chestnut hair—dispatched enemies with clinical precision, his dual 10mm Magnum pistols spitting radiant rounds into the advancing forces.

  Further to the right, a Psi Lynx wielding a shotgun in a white trench coat surged forward, each blast from his weapon sending shockwaves through the thin lunar atmosphere. The scattershot decimated groups of Imperium soldiers at close range, their armor crumbling beneath the force. His pale, flawless face remained impassive, but Lorna could feel the steely determination emanating from him.

  "Come on, you Imperial bastards!" Emmanuel bellowed, reloading his Kinetic SMG with a fluid motion. His eyes met hers for a heartbeat.

  "Give them hell!" she growled to herself, reactivating Baldr and charging back into the fray, her movements a blur of navy blue and flashing steel. She weaved herself between enemies, delivering cuts and thrusts with precision, pushing her body to its limits despite her Aether running dry, her psionic abilities no longer fueled.

  The Psi Lynxes rallied around her, protecting their seniors as Lorna finished her series of attacks.

  "I’ve got new orders from Director Otis!" The comm crackled in Lorna’s right ear, slicing through the cacophony of battle with Diego's voice."Mira, carnal — Thomas, lead the Armed Forces to engage the enemy. The rest of SIMU — get on the Space Rover and head for Door Valkyris!"

  "Roger! Vanguards, Ironbears, on me!" Thomas’s voice chimed in with determination.

  "The old man wants us to quit just when the fight gets good?" Emmanuel shouted over the noise, floating next to Lorna.

  Suddenly, a tremor rippled through the ground, cutting through the cacophony of battle. Lorna's instincts flared to life as she spun around, her eyes narrowing in disbelief at the sight that emerged from behind the Imperium lines.

  A hulking Radi-Mon resembling the nightmarish mix between a mole rat and a hunchback bald man, dripping with slick, oozing flesh, lumbered toward them, its body an amalgamation of sinew and bone. Its maw, lined with rows upon rows of jagged, dripping teeth, gaped wide as it let out a guttural, earth-shaking roar that reverberated through Lorna’s very core. Its limbs were tipped with razor-sharp claws, each as long as a human, slashing through the air as it advanced, its sheer size dwarfing the Bloodtroopers that rallied behind the beast.

  Lorna’s heart skipped a beat, her hand tightening around the hilt of Baldr as her gaze locked on the beast.

  The Imperium soldiers rejoiced, as if the monstrosity were their personal champion.

  "Flesh Pot! Devour their psions!" Dilinur’s command could be heard from behind the beast.

  Lorna barely had time to look before the Radi-Mon closed the distance with alarming speed, its blood-red eyes locking onto the junior Psi Lynxes as its primary targets. The beast’s mouth opened wide, drool and saliva dripping from its fangs like venom as it roared again, louder this time, causing a nearby Psi Lynx to falter.

  Flesh Pot pounced with ferocious hunger, its razor-sharp claws digging into the trembling frame of another female Psi Lynx. The woman's screams echoed through the air as her Psytum Sword clattered to the ground. She struggled and thrashed as it lifted her up towards its gaping jaw.

  With a sickening crunch, Flesh Pot sank its teeth into her body, tearing her in half with a brutal bite. Lorna could see the upper half of the woman being devoured while the lower half floated lifelessly in Osram’s low gravity, blood pouring out from the gruesome remains.

  "This…is the weapon they have," Lorna muttered under her breath, her pulse racing. She had no time to strategize, no time to understand. She just knew they needed to survive.

  "Jessica, no!" Emmanuel yelled in shock.

  "Jesus Christ, you guys, just go!" Thomas’s voice urged over the comm.

  "Manny," Lorna gritted out, her breath steaming in the frigid lunar air. She pivoted on her heel, Baldr humming a dirge in her palm as she deactivated it. The Echo Sapphire at the hilt dimmed, its light snuffing out. "The mission comes first."

  "Hurry! We won’t let them stop us from obtaining the Crystal!" Diego’s voice crackled urgently. "Chingada madre — I'll have to bail out too."

  "The mission comes first," Emmanuel lowered his Kinetic SMG and let out a sigh, making his way towards the Space Rover waiting behind them.

  "Que Dios te bendiga, Thomas..." Diego's StarWhale shuttle was already flying above the rover, cables dangling beneath it as it ascended into the sky.

  "No problemo. Say hi to that Crystal for me!" Thomas’s voice replied, filled not with dread but with a brave finality.

  "Pedis Leporis Lunaris!" Lorna sprang into action, azure energy propelling her over the ravaged moonscape.

  Her boots kicked up regolith dust as she reached Xin's prone form, noticing the two arrows that had pierced through his puffer jacket.

  "Xin!" she called, her voice tender yet laced with urgency. Her hand, calloused from countless hours of swordplay, cupped his cheek.

  His eyes fluttered, disoriented and distant, his glasses reflecting the Earthshine behind them.

  "Snap out of it, Xin," she implored, her sapphire gaze locking onto his.

  And then, there it was — a flicker of recognition in his eyes, the spark reigniting. "Lorna. Where — ?"

  "The Space Rover," she instructed softly, her voice brooking no argument as she hoisted him up. Together, they staggered toward the rover, a beacon of escape amidst the chaos.

  "Let's move!" Emmanuel barked as he stood by the open hatch of the Space Rover.

  Pawan, the Omni-drone, floated into the vehicle's interior. Lorna guided Xin inside, her heart racing as her mind raced with plans.

  "Strap in," she commanded, her tone sharp with adrenaline. The Space Rover’s interior came to life, the consoles aglow. The Gauss Machine Gun atop the rover lay dormant, a silent sentinel awaiting.

  "Thomas will do his best," Emmanuel said, his voice steady amidst the frenzy outside. "We need to make this count."

  Lorna's fingers danced across the console, the auto-driving mechanism whirring to life with an obedient hum. Her gaze turned to Xin, slumped in the driver's seat, his beige puffer jacket a canvas of crimson blooms, with the pair kinetic arrows as grotesque additions to his attire.

  "Hang in there," she murmured, the words caught on a thread of tears as they slipped from her lips. "Manny? Can you?"

  "Yep." Emmanuel leaned over from the backseat and pressed a Medi-Vap vial to Xin's lips, administering a dose.

  With deft hands, Lorna peeled away the layers of blood-soaked fabric, her touch gentle yet determined. The arrows relinquished their hold on flesh with a sickening squelch, painting her hands in the warmth of his blood. Outside, the Space Rover barreled through the lunar landscape, its trajectory a desperate flight from the Imperium's onslaught.

  Xin's body writhed beneath her fingertips as his head cocked to the side, exhaling cerulean mist. His tears etched trails through the grime on his cheeks.

  "Give him another dose," Lorna instructed Emmanuel, holding Xin up with her arms wrapped around his waist for support. She could feel his heart beating frantically against hers as their clothes rubbed against each other.

  "Okay," Emmanuel replied as he pushed the Medi-Vap vial to Xin's mouth once again, the teal liquid inside entering his body with a soft hissing sound. "Deep breaths, buddy."

  "It’ll be alright," she whispered, her breath mingling with his ragged exhales. Her hand cradled the back of his head, a gesture of comfort amidst the carnage they had left behind.

  "Hey, Xin, you're one helluva SIMU warrior," Emmanuel chimed in, his voice a lifeline in the void of despair. "You're gonna pull through."

  The erratic beat of Xin's breaths began to wane. Lorna leaned back just enough to meet his gaze, her smile a fragile bloom.

  "Thank you... thank you both," Xin panted, his voice tinged with the pain he was fighting through.

  The Space Rover continued its auto-piloted drive, the hillside vault door Kaamos left behind them.

  "Ugh. Thirsty," Lorna muttered as she reached into her coat pocket for her bottle of potion. The Indra-Sprite's shimmering blue liquid called to her as she uncorked the bottle and took a long gulp, emptying about a third of its contents. As she drank, the coldness that had been clinging to her body began to fade away as her Aether replenished.

  Suddenly, a wave of pain rippled through Lorna's stomach, intense, making her grip the bottle tighter. A fleeting doubt crossed her mind – had Doctor Nikki truly purged the Nucleus Virus from her system? But as quickly as the thought surfaced, she dismissed it. This was probably just combat strain, the aftermath of their narrow escape. Besides, the pain felt different from the burning sensation the Virus had caused – deeper somehow, more organic. The discomfort faded as the Indra-Sprite worked its way through her system, leaving behind a peculiar warmth she couldn't quite place.

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  She let out a satisfied sigh as she recorked the bottle and tucked it back into her chest pocket. Loosening her half-up ponytail, her soft hair tumbled onto her shoulders. The Space Rover skidded across the desolate moon's surface, its tires churning up clouds of regolith. She glanced back at Emmanuel, his dark eyes wide with a mix of admiration and disbelief.

  "Holy smokes, Lorna," he started, his voice full of wonder, "you went through that hell back there without so much as a scratch on ya. How'd you manage that?"

  She shot him a half-smirk, her fingers absently tracing the Nordic pendant that hung from her neck. "It wasn't just me," she said, her Midwest twang coloring her words. "Xin had Pawan watching my six. That little drone's faster than a Bone Fiend in heat."

  From the driver's seat, Xin offered a modest nod, his expressive eyes meeting hers. "Your Aether helped more, Lorna. You powered both of our Psi Shields." His voice held an undertone of reverence as he spoke.

  Turning to Emmanuel, Lorna continued, though her voice remained heavy, knowing who they had to leave behind. "Thanks for saving us, Manny."

  "Just doing my job," Emmanuel nodded solemnly. "Wish Thomas and the other soldiers good luck."

  "That Radi-Mon that the Imperium sent after us was brutal," Lorna pursed her lips.

  "Yeah, no surprise that the Legion controls half of Mars if they have weapons like that," Emmanuel shook his head. "We scouted ahead and cleared the path to Door Valkyris. Should be the closest vault entrance from here."

  "We'll make it," Xin added as he began manipulating the rover's controls.

  "Why take over? Let the AI do it." Lorna replied, eyeing Xin carefully.

  Emmanuel chimed in, his concern palpable. "Yeah, man, don't need you passing out on us."

  Xin's hands tightened on the steering wheel, his slender frame rigid with determination. "I looked at the AI algorithm before our flight," he explained, wincing slightly as he shifted gears. "It's a power hog — eats up five times the juice we need for manual driving. Might need that extra battery, if things go wrong again."

  Lorna leaned forward, her piercing blue eyes searching his face for any sign of faltering strength. The scent of blood mixed with the sterile tang of Medi-Vap filled the cabin.

  "Alright," she conceded, her voice playful, "but you keep yourself in one piece, hear?"

  "Promise," he whispered back, a ghost of a smile touching his lips as he focused on the path ahead.

  Minutes after, the Space Rover growled to a halt at the precipice of Door Valkyris, dust and pebbles skittering across the lunar landscape as Xin parked the vehicle on the verge of the colossal structure. It resembled a giant bowel, with high edges and a deep center. Lorna gazed out the window, taking in the expansive crater that lay before them as she opened her door.

  Her boots crunched against the regolith as she disembarked, Emmanuel followed close behind.

  "Why do they have to make these doors so big? Ugh," Lorna murmured as they approached the center of the door. Below them sprawled a mysterious canvas of hieroglyphs, etched deep into the stone — a language of curves and angles that teased her mind with its alien beauty but eluded her understanding.

  Xin joined them, his gaze locked onto the cryptic symbols. "Those aren't just decorative," he said as he stood next to Lorna. "According to the Moondust Crystal’s data, these symbols on the various vault doors are oracle bone script. The same one used by Primordial China — back when that mattered."

  "Oracle bones, huh?" Lorna traced a glyph with her ivory finger. She could almost feel the weight of centuries upon her skin. "At least it is not one of those weird Neptunian texts."

  "I have a cheat sheet, too," Xin tapped his Quantum Watch, the green glow casting an otherworldly hue on his olive features. The device projected a series of images in the air before them.

  "Been wanting to buy myself one of those fancy watches," Emmanuel added, his tone light.

  Lorna watched Xin work, his fingers nimbly scrolling through ancient scripts, lines of verdant code floating above his Quantum Watch. She stood close, her body unconsciously leaning towards him.

  "And — got it. This is a rough translation," Xin announced, triumph lacing his words, his gaze on the illuminated dial as it emitted a series of holographic symbols with English texts floating next to them. "On this Door Valkyris, we the followers of the Sand Lotus present to you two riddles. Scribe your responses as one, and the Door shall judge."

  "Wonder what this ‘Sand Lotus’ is," Lorna breathed out, her eyes on the door beneath them. "Seen this term several times since I joined."

  "I could look into it when we go back. In any case, here goes the riddle," Xin murmured, his eyes reflecting the green luminescence from his Quantum Watch. "Two sisters walk hand in hand, but never see each other. Their gaze turns to the world, forever longing for one another. What are they?"

  As the final syllable slipped from Xin's lips, Lorna's heart thudded against her ribcage, the echo of her father Harald's voice whispering the same riddle during a childhood cloaked in Norwegian fables. Her fingers grazed the pendant at her throat, her nostrils flaring slightly as she inhaled the sterile scent of moondust disturbed by their arrival.

  "Ah crap…" Xin muttered under his breath, the embarrassment clear on his olive face. "I — I don't know the answer."

  Emmanuel's shrug was nonchalant, as he ran his hand through his locs, grinning. "Well, I'm no help with Imperial proverbs either."

  "?ynene," Lorna whispered, the crisp syllables like the first light of dawn. "It's not Imperial — it's Nordling. ?ynene, the two eyes that we have. That’s the answer."

  Xin's eyes flickered with surprise, hope rekindling within them. Emmanuel exhaled a soft chuckle, the sound oddly comforting.

  "Leave it to the Valoran lady," Emmanuel said, his voice steady despite the absurdity. “But I’m glad to have you both here.”

  Lorna nodded, the edges of her resolve sharpening like the blade of her Psytum Sword. This was more than a test of knowledge; it was a bridge that led straight to the heart of what she was born as — and who she needed to be for them now.

  Lorna stepped forward, the weight of her boots imprinting on the regolith as she approached the monolithic door. "And what’s the second one?"

  "I hold you close, but when you grow too heavy, I must let you go, like a song in the wind." Xin scanned the hieroglyphs before he recited the other riddle, inscribed on the vault door’s innermost circle. "What am I?"

  "Et hjerte," she murmured, the words slipping from her lips like a sacred chant. The vibration of her voice seemed to resonate with the stone, an unseen force acknowledging the invocation. "A Heart."

  Before her, Xin's fingers paused over his Quantum Watch, green light casting eerie shadows on his features as he looked up at her. "I love it. I love it so much."

  "What?" Lorna asked, pushing back her golden hair as Osram's lunar wind blew behind her, suddenly aware of how she appeared in Xin's eyes.

  "Well, I mean — learning about a culture different from oneself’s is quite fascinating, isn’t it?" he looked down again, his hands hesitated for just a moment before he began inscribing their answer into the dust-covered surface of the vault door. "Alright, here we go. Two eyes — "

  "I hope this works," Emmanuel urged, his eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of impending danger. "Time isn’t on our side."

  Lorna's gaze returned to the door, watching as if through a veil of otherness as Xin's movements grew more fluid, confident. She felt a thrumming energy building around them, the air crackling with the potential of what lay beneath the colossal gateway.

  The door began to hum — a deep, resonant sound that seemed to come from the very core of the moon itself. Lorna's heart pounded in her chest, each beat echoing the rhythmic chanting of Norwegian lullabies that now surfaced in her mind, songs of legends from a world that felt both infinitely distant and intimately close.

  And then, without warning, the ground beneath their feet shifted. The stone door spiraled open, revealing the unknown abyss that would become their descent into legend.

  "It’s working," Xin announced, his voice barely above a whisper, yet it carried the weight of triumph. "Just need to write the second answer now —"

  But before Xin could continue, Lorna's senses were suddenly assaulted by the roar of engines, snapping her out of the reverie induced by the door's partial unlocking. She turned sharply to see a blood-red shuttle descending from the skies, its crimson hue an omen. The vessel touched down with predatory grace on the edge of Door Valkyris, and from its belly spilled forth a host of figures swathed in shadow.

  "Is that…" she hissed under her breath, recognizing the menacing silhouette that emerged from the shuttle. She had always remembered those who ever wronged her, let alone one who had participated in torturing her just a week ago.

  Iron Roach, the ruthless Imperial, was flanked by an array of Amber-Eye archers. Their Kinetic Crossbows, gleaming maliciously, trained on Lorna and her companions as they fanned out into formation.

  "Thought you could hide, huh?" Iron Roach bellowed, his voice echoing off the lunar regolith. A cruel smile twisted his lips as he raised a cybernetic hand, signaling the archers to prepare their volley.

  The air thickened with tension, the stillness before the storm. But Emmanuel stepped forward, his locs swaying like the mane of a war-primed lion. His hands moved with precision, tracing sigils that glowed with brilliance.

  "N-soo-oh eh-dah meh hoh!" he intoned, the words resonant with ancient power. As the incantation reached its crescendo, a quantum blue barrier erupted around them. Arrows loosed from the crossbows disintegrated upon contact with the shimmering dome, turning to dust before they could reach the flesh they hungered for.

  "Xin!" Lorna barked, her sapphire eyes blazing with urgency. "Scribe the answer, now!"

  Xin nodded, fingers tracing the final glyphs needed to unleash the secrets it guarded.

  Lorna kept her gaze locked on the barrier, watching the archers regroup, their movements becoming more frantic as they realized their weapons were rendered useless.

  "Keep chanting, Emmanuel," she murmured, though her words were meant for herself as much as for him. She needed to believe they were safe within this psionic cocoon, even as doubt clawed at her mind.

  "Always," Emmanuel replied through gritted teeth as the barrier pulsed with each chant. "Sa-moo-dra chen-chi, ma yen a-som-dwoe wo saa as-rem yi moo!"

  And then, the ground trembled under Lorna's feet, the regolith and stone swirling like a cyclone as Xin's fingers etched the final glyph onto the ancient surface. The vault door hummed, its resonance deep and beckoning.

  "Got it! It’s really it. Two Eyes, One Heart!" Xin exclaimed, his slender frame vibrating with the thrill of discovery. His eyes sparkled with delight, reflecting the intricate stonework spiraling beneath them.

  "You incompetent retards!" Roach commanded in frustration, his voice slicing through the chaos of battle that raged just beyond their bubble of safety. Lorna could almost feel the kinetic arrows splintering against the psionic barrier, their energy dissipating into azure motes even as the Imperial brute continued. "Keep fucking shooting!"

  "Nothing's getting past me, Lorna," Emmanuel grunted, his imposing figure a pillar amidst the bedlam, his dark braids lashing out.

  "Diego! We’re going under Door Valkyris. Don’t know if this communication will hold. Wish us luck," Lorna bellowed as she pushed into her right ear.

  "Got it, amiga. Good luck down there!" Diego’s suave voice came.

  And then, suddenly, there was no ground at all. Lorna's stomach lurched as she felt herself becoming untethered, her body floating alongside her companions.

  They descended. Gravity twisted around them, a force both gentle and inexorable, as the SIMU team fell through the hidden gullet. The walls of the deep well were slick with the sheen of ancient volcanic glass, the remnants of a fiery past long since cooled into silence.

  They were adrift in an abyss, the vault door above sealing shut with the finality of a tomb's entrance.

  "No way back now," she breathed, arms unfolding to embrace the boundless descent. Her blonde hair fanned out around her like golden solar flares, catching stray glimmers of light from unseen sources.

  "These stoneworks are incredible," Xin marveled, his gaze locked onto the alien geometry that framed their fall. "And our fall isn’t accelerating either, this gravity well is working, however ancient it is."

  Lorna couldn't help but agree, the rush of their descent igniting every nerve. Her dark blue turtleneck hugged her form, as the Pendant of Mánagrát’s cool chain rubbed against her skin below, making her acutely aware of the air that rushed past her.

  "Where is this taking us though?" Emmanuel's voice rumbled, tinged with unease. He looked into the depths below.

  "Don’t really care," Lorna replied, her tone strangely relaxed. "Let’s just…go with the flow." Her blue eyes remained fixed on the kaleidoscope of architecture blurring past.

  A minute passed as the gravity well pulled Lorna and her companions deeper, the sensation of falling both exhilarating and terrifying. But slowly, a heavy languor crept into Lorna’s limbs as they descended, a drowsiness that belied the adrenaline coursing through her veins. The walls, which had once been sheer stone, now thrummed with an alien pulse, veined with violet that throbbed like a monstrous heart beneath a translucent skin.

  "Hold on…these creeps don’t feel man-made…" Xin's voice cut through the thickening haze as he raised his Quantum Watch to scan the alien organism. Then, his voice sharpened with urgency. "It's Radi-Mon!"

  Lorna tried to focus, but her eyelids grew heavier, betraying her. The sweet perfume that emanated from the living walls was invasive, a syrupy scent that clung to the back of her throat and coiled around her senses.

  A glance at Emmanuel showed his jaw set, eyes narrowed in distrust at the pulsating surfaces. They were all ensnared by this sentient tunnel, its intentions unknown, its scent disarming.

  "Fight it!" Emmanuel barked, noticing her struggle and his own. "Stay awake — we must — stay awake…"

  Fighting against the seductive lull, a part of Lorna screamed to fend off the intoxicating lure. Yet another, darker part whispered surrender, tempting her to close her eyes and succumb to the abyss's embrace.

  "Can't... it's too strong." she murmured, her voice barely a whisper against the wind of their descent. Her vision began to blur, the intricate stonework melding with the invading violet flesh that now dominated the gravity well.

  "Lorna! Stay with me — " Xin’s plea reached her, distant and distorted, like an echo from another life. She wanted to respond, to tell him that she would never let go, but the thought dissolved before it could make it to her mouth.

  "Let’s sleep, Xin," Her consciousness waned, the edges of her mind fraying as the aromatic fog seeped into her brain. Lorna's sapphire gaze flickered, a losing battle against the closing weight of her eyelids. The last thing she saw was the panic etched on Xin’s olive countenance as words that did not feel like her own parted from her lips. "I just want to sleep."

  A final thought flickered through Lorna's fading awareness: this was no ordinary descent. A journey laced with peril awaited, the sounds of her allies' voices drowned out by the silence of her own unconsciousness.