The Dark Angels had made it their mission to rid the wasteland of criminal organizations like the Cabal. It was a dangerous job, but one that Sally and the team her father gave her were more than capable of undertaking. But that usually meant taking the fight to the enemy. The inverse had never happened until now. As she pushed Jet’s wheelchair, the tarmac was peppered with bullets from the flying drones that were descending upon them. She had to get to the bunker. That was the only way they would have a chance.

How did they find us?

Even with the burden of Jet’s wheelchair, Sally ran fast. She passed groups of men hunkered behind parked aircraft, vehicles, and anything else that would provide cover.

“When I stop, get on my back, piggyback style,” Sally said.

Moments later, Sally lifted a hatch. Jet could not see anything below. Sally pushed her in, then followed. Jet cried from the fall, but with Sally’s urging, she climbed onto her back and they made their way through the underground tunnels that led to their base, a hidden fortress tucked away from the prying eyes of the Cabal. Sally couldn’t help but feel a sense of comfort as they entered the familiar place, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the halls.

As they approached the control room, Sally’s heart raced with the strain of carrying Jet. She deposited her in a chair, then took her place at a command console, fingers already flying over the control panel. The screens flickered to life, showing various feeds from their surveillance cameras and drones.

Suddenly, an alarm blared to life. Sally’s father, Damien rushed to her side, his eyes fixed on the screens.

“It’s the Cabal,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “They’ve breached the perimeter. They’re here.”

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Sally felt a surge of adrenaline. Her hands moved even faster over the controls. She pulled up a map of their base, quickly assessing the situation. The Cabal was moving quickly, already making their way through the outer defenses.

“We need to mobilize,” Sally said. Her voice was calm but firm. “Everyone, get into position. We can’t let them advance any farther.”

The Dark Angels sprang into action. Pilots ran to their planes. And while some made it off the ground, the drones destroyed or disabled most of them.

“These are not like the previous drones we fought,” Jet said.

They came in waves, an army of skinless cyborgs and drones filling the screen as they invaded the base. Sally watched in horror as her teammates were mowed down. She couldn’t let the Cabal win. They were the society’s last hope. If the Cabal succeeded in taking down the Dark Angels, they would be free to wreak havoc throughout the world. Sally gritted her teeth, firing round after round at the throng of cyborgs. Many looked human, but many didn’t have skin, or distinguishing features. Hundreds invaded the runway, eviscerating the ground crew as they charged.

“Do these…these machines have any weaknesses?” Damien asked.

Sally only knew from her nightly radio chats with various resistance leaders that each cyborg had various power sources. Some were nuclear, but more advanced models were mostly organic, relying on special compounds of amino acid mixtures to maintain optimum performance. These cyborgs were rare and acted like humans, while the attacking horde seemed primitive and robotic.

“The tower has been taken,” Jet said.

“Deploy the electro bomb,” Damien said.

“Are you sure, Father? We only have one.”

“It won’t matter if we’re all dead.”

Sally couldn’t believe her eyes: a gigantic robot, about the size of a house, rolled onto the tarmac, shooting massive guns at hangars where their reserve planes were kept. The entire bunker went dark.

“It won’t be long now,” Damien said.

Sally held her breath as a missile exploded just above their base. A purplish glow emitted from the explosion. The cyborgs, drones, and robots, including the massive tank, fell onto the tarmac. Sally let out a deep breath. They might have won the battle, but the war was far from over.