The desert battle didn't stop when the sun went down.
It only changed shape.
During the day, the battlefield was all heat, sand, and fire. Tanks pushed through dunes, helicopters roared low over the ground, and artillery shook the desert until the horizon looked like it was burning. At night, the fighting became colder and sharper. Tracer rounds cut through the darkness. Searchlights swept across ridgelines. Soldiers on night shift held the line while the rest slept in trenches, armored carriers, and temporary bunkers dug into the sand.
By the next morning, the day shift was waking up.
Soldiers crawled out of shelters, tightened armor, loaded magazines, and stepped into the rising heat before the sun had even fully climbed into the sky. Night-shift soldiers dragged themselves back, exhausted and covered in dust, finally getting their turn to rest.
Stark stood near the desert command line, watching the battlefield through a tactical display as new reports came in.
Then his comm buzzed.
He keyed in to the warship.
"Ian, over the night our supply lines got cut behind our position."
Up on the STF warship, Ian was already at the command table, dark circles under his eyes but his voice steady.
"Send a recon squad to deal with it."
"Got it, sir."
Stark lowered his hand and looked across the trench line until he found Voltron.
The massive cyborg was standing near a heavy gun position, damaged plating already patched from the previous fighting, but still looking like he could outlast the desert itself.
"Voltron," Stark called, "take a squad and check our supply line. Find out what happened."
Voltron turned his head slightly. "Understood."
He gathered a small group of STF soldiers, climbed into an armored vehicle, and rolled out from the front.
The farther they got from the battlefield, the quieter the desert became. The sound of artillery faded behind them, replaced by engine noise, shifting sand, and the occasional distant explosion.
Then they found it.
A small demon camp had been set up between the supply routes, hidden behind broken rock formations and heat-shimmering dunes. Crates from destroyed transports were scattered around the camp, and torn Imperial markings lay half-buried in the sand.
The demons noticed them immediately.
They scrambled up and opened fire.
Rounds pinged off the armored vehicle as Voltron swerved hard, sand spraying from the tires.
One soldier braced himself against the side. "They're dug in!"
Voltron looked ahead at the camp, then at the path cutting straight through it.
His mechanical voice stayed completely calm.
"Would you like to stop the vehicle and shoot from cover, or drive through the camp?"
The soldiers exchanged one quick look.
One of them grinned. "Drive through."
Voltron stepped on the gas.
The armored vehicle surged forward.
Demons scattered too late.
The vehicle smashed through the outer barricade, crushed supply crates, and plowed through the center of the camp, running over anything too slow to move. Gunfire bounced off the armor as Voltron drove straight through their formation and then slammed the brakes on the far side.
The doors opened.
The STF squad poured out.
They moved with precision, using the vehicle as cover while clearing the rest of the camp. Voltron stepped forward through the gunfire, absorbing shots that would have dropped normal soldiers, then cut down the nearest demons with brutal efficiency.
Within minutes, the camp was silent.
One soldier searched the area and called out, "Sir, we found a tunnel entrance."
Voltron walked over and looked down into the hidden passage. It ran beneath the dunes, deep enough to bypass Imperial scans.
"So that is how they reached the line," he said.
The squad marked the tunnel, planted charges, and secured the stolen supplies.
Not long after, an Atlas heavy-lift ship descended nearby, carrying replacement supplies for the front. Its engines kicked sand in every direction as it hovered above the cleared route.
Voltron stepped into view and contacted the pilot.
"The supply line is clear. You are free to proceed."
The Atlas lifted again and moved toward the battlefield.
Voltron watched it go, then turned back to his squad.
"Return to the front."
By the time they reached the desert line again, the fighting had already picked back up. Tanks were firing from ridge positions, anti-air vehicles stitched the sky with rounds, and soldiers were preparing for another demon push.
Steel saw Voltron return and walked over.
"How'd it go?"
Voltron stepped out of the vehicle like he had just completed a simple errand.
"We eliminated the demons. They were using underground tunnels to reach the supply lines. The issue has been handled."
Steel nodded slowly. "That's one way to say you probably drove through their whole camp."
Voltron looked at him. "Correct."
Stark walked up beside them, hearing the end of it. "Good. At least our supplies are moving again."
Steel looked back toward the desert horizon. "For now."
Up on the warship, Ian studied the updated battle map while Blade stood beside him.
Red markers showed where the demons had hit the supply routes. Medical transports. Fuel lines. Ammunition convoys. Repair crews.
It wasn't random.
Ian tapped the display, drawing a line through the attacks.
"The commander isn't trying to beat our army head-on."
Blade's eyes narrowed. "He's trying to starve it."
Ian nodded. "Medical ships, food shipments, power cells, ammunition, repair convoys. He's targeting everything that keeps us moving."
Blade crossed his arms. "Smart."
"Too smart," Ian said. "Which means we return the favor."
He enlarged a section of the map, showing suspected demon rear positions hidden beyond the desert front.
"I'm sending a team in tonight. We hit their supply line, draw attention, and force the commander to respond."
Blade glanced at him. "You're trying to pull him out of his base."
Ian's expression hardened.
"Exactly."
Outside the bridge windows, the warship's guns continued firing into the far distance. Below, the desert front roared under the rising sun.
The first day had been about surviving.
The second was about learning.
And now Ian was ready to start hunting the enemy commander back.