The catacombs kept firing, now concentrating everything they had on Hyperion and Theia. Unlike the ships and orbitons the two Fallen Units had been cutting through fearlessly, the catacomb fire was in an entirely different class of threat. Once a beam was fired, it locked onto its target and followed at supersonic speed, tailing both orbitons relentlessly. Hyperion unloaded a barrage of laser fire straight into the beam, hoping to scatter the energy, but it made no difference — the beam kept coming.
"Fucking catacombs," the pilot snarled. "Hey, Roxie — is it chasing you too? This goddamn beam won't get off my ass!"
Explosions bloomed everywhere Hyperion went as the beam tore through anything in its way to keep pace with its target.
"Yeah, Lars," came the reply. "Mine won't die off either. It's cutting through everything between us and it. We had no data on this — how are they even able to fire into orbit? None of the intel we had matches this at all."
"Shit," said Larsen. "Then there's only one thing left to do."
Hyperion lunged toward Terria's surface, thrusters burning at full power. "I'll give those nodes a taste of their own medicine." It dropped closer and closer to the nearest node, closing to within a few meters — when a second beam of light came streaking in from the left, striking Hyperion at the exact same moment the node's own beam connected.
"Larsen!" Roxan screamed, watching the explosion from inside Theia's cockpit. The blast bloomed into a vast cloud of smoke at the point of impact — and a few seconds later, Hyperion burst out of it and back up into space, its left arm and back scorched black by the twin hits.
"Lars, are you okay?"
"That fucking bitch!" Larsen snarled, hammering at the controls. "That second beam was her doing. I'm going to tear her apart."
"So that second beam was Iapetus," Roxan murmured.
Iapetus appeared in front of Hyperion, floating there like a green monster. Pale green armor covered it from head to toe, sharp edges jutting from every surface. Its legs were split into segments, almost like exposed muscle. In place of hands, it carried two enormous blades on each arm, and its torso protruded forward to a point like a dagger. Its head was compact and streamlined, a single purple sensor glowing at the center, flanked on each side by a pair of straight horns.
"You damn imbecile," Patricia's voice crackled over the comms. "You think you can insult me like that and walk away? Your life ends here today."
Larsen burst out laughing. "You bitch. The one dying today is you."
Hyperion lunged at Iapetus, its trident materializing in its grip as it prepared to strike — but before the two could clash, the nodes fired on both of them, forcing the two Fallen Units into a defensive scramble to avoid the beams.
Larsen and Roxan were siblings, the only two pilots the Progressive Union had at its disposal — an organization that, until recently, had operated only from the shadows, funding and supporting rebels across the galaxy against Terrian rule for more than two centuries. Only now had the Union truly shown itself. There'd been the incident seven years ago, when they'd hijacked the catacombs to test their new unit, the Hound, on Terrian orbit for the first time — but this was the second time the Progressive Union had struck Terria directly, and it wouldn't be the last.
Its founder was none other than Dino Steelspear, one of the few surviving members of the legendary Steel Spear crew — the first renegades the Terrian Empire had ever formally recognized — led by its legendary captain, Miko Avenoir. Dino was long dead now, but his lineage, and his captain's sacrifice, had stayed with him until the end. He'd founded the Progressive Union in their memory: an organization that had single-handedly dealt blow after blow to the empire without ever revealing itself, always operating in the shadows. That changed seven years ago, when the Union made its first open attack on Terria — the first faction ever to strike the empire at its own front door, and the first stage of a three-part plan to finally bring the ruthless Terrian Empire down for good.
Explosions rolled across the whole of orbit as Hyperion and Iapetus tore into each other, destroying everything in range, the node beams still tailing both of them. Hyperion's trident met Iapetus's bladed arms in a shower of plasma sparks.
"Come on, bitch," Larsen shouted over the comms. "Don't tell me you're getting tired. I was just starting to have fun!"
Hyperion's trident gained the upper hand, driving its prongs into Iapetus's shoulder. The blow rattled the entire cockpit, and Patricia ground her teeth. "You son of a bitch—"
The beam struck Iapetus from behind before she could finish, detonating in a vast cloud of smoke. Iapetus burst free of it moments later and rushed back toward Hyperion, firing laser rounds into its back, escalating the duel between the two Fallen Units even further — until a voice cut sharply across both pilots' comms.
"You two. What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Who the fuck are you?" Patricia snapped.
"Serin Valis. I'd suggest you turn your attention back to your ship. Look to your left — your plan won't hold for much longer. Over ten nodes are firing on it simultaneously. If you don't take them out, you won't have a ship left to return to."
"Fuck!" Patricia slammed her hands against the controls. "This isn't over!" she shouted at Larsen over the comms. "Once this is done, you're next!"
Larsen smirked. "Sure. But try surviving first. I doubt you can take another hit after I tore through that shoulder."
Iapetus and Hyperion broke apart, the beams still trailing both of them. Serin turned her attention to Larsen. "What the hell were you thinking? You damaged Iapetus. You knew the plan, and you still went rogue. What is your problem?"
"Ah, leave me alone, Valis. That bitch insulted me and my sister. If it weren't for you, she'd be burning inside that cockpit right now. So don't go crying to the Chairman about this."
"You're such an idiot," Serin sighed. "Anyway — deal with those nodes. We'll make our entrance shortly. I'm not planning on dying in Terria, I'll tell you