City-21 “Kyiv”, UNSA Protectorate, Avril Dominion

Industrial Zone “NES Factory”, August 14, 2049, 4:57 AM

It’s been 48 hours since the Invasion began...

He glanced at the unfriendly sky. No more shelter from now on. It was only left to run and fight.

A faint hum echoed, and the massive bulk of the TACTA’s Drone shuddered slightly. Within seconds, this thirteen-meter-long machine, resembling a streamlined shipping container with small wings and a broad T-shaped tail, slowly – almost reluctantly – lifted off the ground.

The shimmering barrier of the force field, which had steadfastly protected this place from the Invaders, flickered one last time and then disappeared completely. It revealed that for several kilometers around, numerous similar Drones were ascending and silently vanishing into the pre-dawn sky…

At that moment, as if bidding farewell to the last peaceful seconds, the Factory’s vast territory was pierced by the wail of a battle alarm.

@System/001: .select(battlemode,01,00)

@System/004: .set(observer, true, .1f, 7)

@System/004: .set(battleInterface, global, m4, 10)

The augmented reality interface abruptly switched to “combat mode.” It was still just a prototype for a future hardware-software complex, but better unfinished one than nothing.

In the toolbar at the upper left corner, a sequence of mediaglyphs flashed rapidly: “cellular network lost,” “switching to local secure network,” “Connecting to TACTA communication modules, successful, 5/5.”

Was Maksim ready for something like this?

For the numerous monsters coming through portals? Definitely not. For an invasion of alien conquerors? Absolutely not. But for guerrilla warfare in an urban environment with communication issues — undoubtedly, yes.

Maksim and Dasha installed P2P communication modules in their sub-brains, and Nikola had a military-grade cyber-core with this function enabled by default. As for Alisa, she was an android, so Maksim had long ago integrated a professional P2P switch for her. Replacing the standard Earth radio transmitters with the newly purchased modules from TACTA and reconfiguring the team’s local network didn’t take much time, as it had been prepared and rehearsed in advance.

The communication provided through these modules was secure from eavesdropping and jamming by the Protectorate, free from radio interference, and functional underground. This became the cornerstone of the entire operation’s success. Now the group could communicate safely and securely in AR/VR conferences without uttering a single word aloud. Most importantly, nothing threatened their connection with Moira, their artificial intelligence, which managed the “System” and its interface, ensured communication among the party, and performed a multitude of additional functions.

“The Drone has just left the rooftop. The force field is down. Protectorate attack expected within the next couple of minutes,” said Maksim. “Switching to conference mode communication, no verbal chatter. Comms check.”

[Aura, online,] Alisa responded in the conference.

[Echo, channel stable,] confirmed Dasha.

[Atlas, ready,] nodded Nikola, the red-haired cyborg girl.

[Great. Echo, what’s the status on the Factory’s cameras and security network?] Maksim straightened up and adjusted his rifle strap.

[The network is completely down,] responded the black-haired girl, tightening the fasteners of her military helmet, and trying to hide that her hands were slightly trembling with fear. [We’ll deploy our drones, and I’ll try to connect directly. One more time... maybe something is still alive...]

[Drones deployed,] confirmed Alisa. [Blaze, should I bring all of them here, to this floor?]

[No way!] He replied. [Send a couple of scouts only, keep the rest in place.]

Maksim glanced out the window but didn’t spot any incoming invaders — the roof of the neighboring building blocked most of the view.

[Can’t see anything from here. Let’s head up together and see where the Protectorate’s coming from. Atlas?]

[Copy that,] Nikola reported briefly, fully geared up in armor and holding a heavy HX-90 assault rifle.

They rushed to the stairs, skipping the elevator — good thing, it was only one floor up. The first landing had windows facing the right direction. Instinct kicked in — seeing the black silhouettes of hostile machines in the air, Maksim and Nikola quickly crouched and moved out of sight.

[Set up the camera and fall back,] he nodded toward the windowsill.

A hand flashed, placing a small mobile camera, and the “partisans” sprinted back down.

[Blaze, this sucks. We can only see one side. They’re bound to have more than one group,] Nikola commented, leaping down the stairs in one jump.

[Aura, drones,] Maksim commanded curtly.

The platform with the flying units was on the first floor, so rather than dragging the scouts through the entire building, Alisa took the simplest, shortest route. Two fast machines crashed through the window and arced upwards to the roof.

[Aura, what the hell?!] the guy reacted. [The Protectorate’s gonna notice the broken window!]

[Based on the situational modeling, most likely not.] The android girl countered calmly. [There’s already plenty of noise around. And the time gain is significant. Plus, I sent the drones on a wide arc to avoid drawing attention to their launch point.]

[Okay, you’re right. I’m just getting paranoid.]

[Blaze, I checked — the Factory’s security system is completely down,] Dasha interjected, having just detached smart cables from the ports of a tech block mounted on the wall. [A hacker attack… Somehow, they managed to connect to the central terminal… Forget about the local cameras; I can’t do anything from here.]

[Got it. Then there’s no point staying here. Everyone, down! Move it!] Maksim commanded.

[Stairs will take too long, let’s use the elevators,] Dasha responded. [They just cut the cameras, didn’t connect to them! No one’s gonna see us!]

[Alright!]

The elevator gave them a half-minute breather and a chance to closely observe the beginning of the assault on the Factory grounds, captured from the two released flying scouts. The air was already filled with combat drones and Protectorate transports, commencing the active stage of the siege.

Moira connected to the video signal analysis. Amid the jumble of machines in the sky, she unerringly identified and highlighted those headed for the rapidly evacuated building.

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The Protectorate had formed a capture team of five two-meter search-and-strike drones, resembling terrestrial police multicopters but without rotors.

Two jet fighter drones were providing cover. These “flying killers” were the invaders’ main strike force, capable of engaging both aerial and ground targets, rapidly accelerating by boosting their engines, and hovering in place.

Next came the transport — a relatively small airship, looking like a chopped-up flatiron with small wings at the back. Judging by the mounts on the surfaces, it could also act as a bomber.

[It’s about twenty meters long...] Nikola mused. [We could fit around twenty troopers in something that size.]

The elevator doors opened on the first floor. Dashing diagonally across the hall, the “partisans” disappeared into the ground-level tunnel leading to the large assembly shop next door.

Though the vast territory of the Factory had long been occupied by commercial or storage facilities, some constructions were still used for industrial production.

Setting up a temporary base on the ground floor of building “13-2-B” in the assembly shop was Nikola’s idea. It provided excellent natural camouflage, thanks to the heat from four large generators and the noise from assembly robots. Moreover, Dasha had tweaked their programming a bit, and Maksim and Alisa had adjusted the cooling system to dump heat directly into the room.

The cyborg-girl, leading the way, stopped by the large entrance and slapped her hand on the sensor. The opening doors released a wave of hot air and machinery noise. It got so loud that their helmet noise-cancellation systems kicked in.

Backpacks with gear, extra weapons, drones, and bots had been left in the passageway between the machines, covered with thick plastic sheeting. The team’s next actions were pre-coordinated. Maksim and Nikola rushed to the weapon crates, while Alisa and Dasha went to activate the drones and other tech.

Meanwhile, the Protectorate’s raid moved into a new phase. The “flatiron-like” ship, surrounded by a small swarm of drones, reached the building. The heavy, seemingly clumsy flying machine hovered, its belly opened into a wide assault hatch, and semi-transparent, barely noticeable figures began to descend.

Seeing that it wasn’t a drop but a controlled descent, Maksim changed the type marker from “bomber/combo” to “assault.” The escort drones scattered to survey the Factory buildings.

[They’ve got optical camo!] Nikola commented.

[I accounted for that in the combat interface design,] Dasha noted. [It’s not 100% invisibility after all… Moira will handle processing and targeting!]

However, they didn’t get a chance to examine the assault squad further, as the Protectorate immediately launched their attack. Both fighter drones, engines roaring, sped towards the team’s scouts, opening fire. Despite Alisa’s lightning-fast reflexes, she didn’t stand a chance. The drone feeds went dark.

A series of powerful explosions followed, shaking the walls, and causing plaster to fall from the ceiling. These were the charges Maksim had planted on the roof where they had called the TACTA Drone. The blasts were mirrored by similar outbursts on the building’s first floor.

The expensive explosives purchased from Miro had paid off — Maksim and his party had no intention of making the Protectorate’s job easier.

[If they all jumped now and survived the blast, we’ve got ten guests,] Alisa quickly processed the video.

[They could be bots or even holograms. We don’t know. And either way, we’re not waiting for them here,] Maksim smirked, slinging a box of smart mines over his shoulder. [But we’ve got a minute while they figure out where we are and get here. I’ve got an idea! Echo?]

[Yeah?]

[Did the Protectorate disable just the security perimeter or all the Factory systems?]

[Only the security. Cameras, terminals, turrets… that’s it,] Dasha responded, a bit surprised, quickly bringing up a virtual remote access terminal.

[Do you still have access to the local engineering network?]

[Of course.]

[Excellent,] Maksim nodded. [The Protectorate will soon figure out where we went. The explosion won’t hold them for long. So, let’s place a little trap!]

[What should I do?]

[Let’s loop the overheated steam from the external circuit into the ring system. Keep the pressure near critical, venting the bare minimum. We’ll leave one drone here to monitor, and when the Protectorate comes, we’ll just close the vent and let it blow.]

[Not a bad idea. Their sensors will only see working machinery, not mines or bombs. They might not realize it’s a trap right away,] Nikola agreed. [Plus, the steam explosion will interfere with their thermal imagers and optical camouflage systems.]

[Good,] Dasha nodded. [I’m already connected. Just tell me how to release it without blasting everything immediately! ‘Cause I’m only expert with this kind of steam.]

She waved her vape device in the air, which she had with her, as always, despite Maksim forbidding vaping during the operation.

[Of course,] Maksim nodded, unfolding a multi-layered schematic of the building and its communications network in the conference. [Let’s get to work!]

----------------------------------------

The renouncer team’s preliminary plan was solid — to delay the enemy on the surface using their knowledge of the terrain. This was a significant advantage, as there was no complete map available on the open network, and the Factory’s premises, both commercial and engineering, were intentionally convoluted to thwart raids. Normally, these raids would be by police, but in this case, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Miro had a fairly accurate and up-to-date schema of the latest renovations and changes to the engineering communications. This fact was crucial in helping the group to work out the final part of their plot.

If they traversed the entire assembly shop “12-B/1” to the side opposite the entrance, they’d find inconspicuous gates leading to a small ramp covered by an awning. It was nearly adjacent to a whole “mini district” of offices, mostly assembled from old containers and other junk. Inside, it was a real labyrinth, nearly impossible to observe from the air.

To the northwest, these “business slums” butted up against the high walls of concrete storage units, packed closely together, separated only by narrow passageways, about a meter wide. This created a network of concrete “canyons.” Adding to the “partisans’” advantage was a whole web of pipes, walkways, floor-slabs, cables, plastic bridges, and grates.

All this provided excellent cover from satellite and drone surveillance, as well as stray bullets. More importantly, these tight corridors meant that the Protectorate’s combat drones, and assault UAVs couldn’t enter freely.

Therefore, a breakthrough was possible. The key was to run and not slow down. After running three hundred meters through one of these canyons, they would reach a platform with a small structure. Inside was just some old equipment and a hatch. Opening it and descending a long ladder would lead to the entrance of the communication tunnels. This was the team’s ticket to safety: through these tunnels, they could trickily flee the Factory’s grounds, ultimately leaving the Protectorate empty-handed. Everything necessary for this escape had been prepared in advance.

Of course, it was obvious that the enemy wouldn’t passively wait but try to use scout drones and ground equipment. Naturally, they would also try to leverage their firepower advantage, as they outnumbered the renouncers by tens.

Thus, the plan was: to blow up the building they started from, to mine the escape routes, and improvise with diversions in the workshop. Maksim and Nikola had good assault rifles, grenades, and smart mines. Dasha and Alisa, who only had virtual combat experience, were armed with light firearms with intelligent control through augmented reality. But the most crucial assets were the drones and bots.

The four-legged robotic platform CaTZ was compressed as much as possible in width so this clever machinery wouldn’t get stuck in a concrete corridor. They had to sacrifice some protective side armor, but installed instead an additional foldable shield on top, behind which a couple of people could take cover, and a small machine gun turret.

It turned out to be quite a fierce thing. Besides this “tank,” the team managed to build four wheeled bots equipped with large-caliber rifles, and nineteen flying scout drones, two of which had already been lost.

This entire robo-park could be tactically managed on a global map, and Moira’s AI would help to control all of it.

----------------------------------------

But there was a “little” surprise prepared for everyone. A finale piece of today’s bloody puzzle.

Maksim’s team and other daring renouncers urgently fleeing the Factory and fighting for their outlaw freedom…

Cunning TACTA, already gathering its network of Independent Partners...

Straightforward and harsh Protectorate, which had announced the salvation of Earthlings but only on its terms...

Actually, neither of them had any inkling that another participant was already rushing to join the fun on the Factory grounds.

Deep underground.

Auxiliary room by technical tunnel C-PT-4 in sector JO-26, one and a half kilometers beneath the Factory’s territory.

HE IS COMING, IT’S TIME!

She slowly opened all her fourteen eyes. The room was dark, but she didn’t need light. It was time… to open?

Oh yes, it was. She captured the warm and pleasant thought-image of the Sector Coordinator. The order was deciphered, the transition point set. She was overwhelmed with feelings of pleasure and happiness, as always when executing an order precisely... when fulfilling her mission – to serve the SWARM.

The massive heap of flesh lying on the floor came to life and quickly rose. Calibrating tentacles confidently and swiftly ran across the stigmatic control crystals embedded in her flesh, activating the three-meter living ring before her that would become the portal. The cloudy film of the rift began to glow... into their world... the World of Shaiszu...

She crawled back to free up space. Three power tentacles had already taken their positions, ready to take control of the tumultuous energies of the interdimensional transition.

Opening a stable small portal right under the Protectorate’s nose, considering all the countermeasures the cursed sky-dwellers had already deployed, was not a trivial task, requiring utmost concentration from this entity, which was now exactly ten hours old.

The portal flared brightly and…

KABOOM!

The door to the room was blown off its hinges by an explosive wave, and from the brightly shining rift leaped the first creatures out of millions, ready to act on command and for the benefit of the SWARM!