The Nihlus Energy Plant

The sounds of guns reverberated all over the warehouse. The sharp retorts of gunfire echoed through the vast space, punctuated by the distant hum of hover engines and the muffled shouts of enforcers. At the south entrance, CIX and Vega crouched behind a small wall, their heads tilted toward the source of the commotion.

“Wait! We are supposed to scout and report only,” a Grace C scout shouted.

CIX didn’t reply. His eyes narrowed, his neural interface highlighting heat signatures in the distance. Without hesitation, he broke from cover, raising his plasma rifle. Vega sighed but followed close behind, her own weapon in her hands.

From their new vantage point, they spotted the skirmish—a group of enforcers locked in combat with three unidentified hostiles. One figure moved with terrifying precision, cutting through the Directorate’s forces like a knife through water. The others provided cover fire, pinning the remaining enforcers down.

“CIX, wait!” Vega called, but he was already charging forward. A shot from his rifle caught one of the hostiles on the roof, the hooded figure tumbling to the ground with a resounding thud.

“DAX, connect with the drone, give me visual from above.”

“Connecting… Error: connection failed. Device is not found.”

CIX saw the drone spiraling downward, and its systems were disabled. He cursed under his breath as the three hostiles broke away, slipping into a tunnel while an enforcer gave chase.

He started to follow, but Vega grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

“Let them go,” she urged, her voice firm. “The agent will find them. Let’s focus on helping our fellow agents capture those left.”

The area around them erupted as bullets struck scrap metals and the walls, sending clouds of dust and debris into the air. CIX hesitated but nodded, his tactical instincts overriding his frustration.

With a burst of speed, CIX leaped from their cover, rolling towards a nearby dumpster. He drew his plasma rifle and fired a series of expertly aimed shots at the enemy position.

Vega, taking advantage of the distraction, quickly shifted her position. She raised her weapon, and her HUD lit up, showing targets in her display. Lining up the crosshairs on the enemy, she squeezed the trigger. The shot was clean. The individual fell crumpling to the ground, writhing in pain. The two of them quickly went to where a black hovercraft was parked, circled it, and opened the doors but found no one.

The Nihlus Energy Plant loomed ahead, a complex of towering reactors and tangled pipelines. Its massive chimneys spewed plumes of steam into the night sky, making a cover to the surrounding industrial wasteland. This was no ordinary facility—it was the heart of the Directorate’s energy network, and if Dominic’s information was correct, it also hid the secrets Grayson was desperate to uncover.

The trio approached the plant under the cover of darkness. Grayson’s neural interface projected an overlay map of the facility, highlighting guard patrols and automated turrets. Tala crouched beside him, her expression grim.

“Place is locked down tighter than a vault,” she muttered. “I count at least twelve patrols and a dozen automated defenses.”

“Standard Directorate overkill,” Grayson replied, his voice low. “Dominic, your codes better work.”

Dominic adjusted his wide-brimmed hat, his demeanor calm despite the tension. “They will. Just get me to the access terminal.”

Tala raised an eyebrow. “And what if they don’t?”

“By now, I hoped to have earned a bit of trust,” Dominic smirked.

Tala rolled her eyes as she activated her wrist-mounted micro-drone and sent it toward the nearest turret. Its tiny frame slipped through the gaps in the machinery, releasing a pulse that fried the turret’s targeting systems. One by one, the other turrets went offline, their menacing barrels drooping as they lost power.

“Weapons down,” Tala whispered. “But we’ve got a five-minute window before their system flags the anomalies.”

“Great.” Grayson nodded. “We need those codes now.”

The trio slipped past the disabled defenses, their movements precise and silent. They reached a service entrance, where Dominic keyed in his access code. For a tense moment, the terminal blinked red. Then, with a soft chime, the lock disengaged.

“See? Told you,” Dominic said, stepping aside as the heavy door slid open.

Tala rolled her eyes. “Lucky break.”

The plant’s interior was a labyrinth of humming machinery and glowing conduits. The air was thick with the smell of coolant and ozone. Grayson’s neural map updated in real-time, guiding them toward the archive vault beneath Reactor Core 3.

As they navigated the corridors, a soft whirring sound caught Tala’s attention. She froze, holding up a hand. “Wait. Surveillance droids.”

A pair of floating droids rounded the corner, their cameras sweeping the area. Tala acted quickly, firing an EMP dart that struck one of the droids, causing it to collapse to the ground with a metallic thud. Grayson neutralized the second with a silenced shot to its power core.

“Wow, you two are good together,” Dominic said, slowly clapping and stepping over the wreckage.

“Can you please shut up?” Tala snapped. “Arrgh, so annoying.” 

They reached a massive steel door embedded in the floor of a reactor control room. Dominic crouched below on the floor and pulled out a hidden panel. He opened the access panel whistling, his fingers flying over the holographic keyboard.

“This is it,” he said. “Give me a…minute…”

Grayson and Tala took up defensive positions, their weapons at the ready. The faint sound of boots on metal alerted them to approaching guards.

“Make it fast,” Tala hissed.

Dominic muttered under his breath, sweat forming on his forehead as he worked.

“…and done.” Finally, the door hissed open, revealing a narrow staircase that spiraled downward.

“Go!” Grayson ordered.

The archive room was a stark contrast to the rest of the plant—dimly lit, with rows of glowing data terminals and shelves lined with old physical records.

Grayson wasted no time. “Dominic, find the archive on the Jackal operation. Tala, secure the room.”

“That’s why you have me,” Dominic said smiling. “I will need some time though.”

Tala nodded, planting motion-sensitive charges on the entrance. “That’ll buy us a few minutes.”

As Dominic searched through the terminals, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from above. Grayson’s neural interface flagged multiple heat signatures approaching rapidly.

“They’re here,” he said grimly.

The door burst open, and a squad of Enforcers stormed in, their weapons blazing. Grayson fired back, his shots precise and lethal. Tala’s charges detonated, taking out the first wave in a fiery explosion, tearing through the corridor.

Dominic ducked behind a terminal, yelling, “I’m almost there!”

A hulking figure stepped through the smoke—a heavy Enforcer in reinforced armor emerged from the smoke, the same one they’d encountered at the warehouse. His rail gun cannon spun to life, spraying bolts of energy that forced Grayson and Tala into cover.

“Take him down!” Grayson shouted.

Tala flanked the Enforcer, firing EMP rounds that fizzled against his armor. Grayson charged, activating his wrist-mounted blade. He slid under the Enforcer’s cannon fire and slashed at the power core embedded in the armor’s chest. Sparks flew, and the Enforcer staggered but remained operational.

“Grayson!” Tala tossed him a high-impact charge.

Catching it mid-air, Grayson planted the charge on the Enforcer’s core and dove for cover. The explosion rocked the room, leaving the Enforcer a smoking heap on the floor.

“I’ve got it!” Dominic yelled, holding up a glowing data drive.

“Time to go,” Grayson said.

The trio raced up the stairs, fighting their way through waves of Enforcers. Explosions rocked the facility as Tala set off her remaining charges, creating chaos to cover their escape. As they reached the surface, they stole an Enforcer-issued hovercar, Grayson sat in the driver’s seat and the automated car drove off.