Kai walked toward the administrative building.
The Citadel had transformed in the fading light---guard posts illuminated with harsh spotlights, patrol routes visible.
His heart was beating faster than he'd like.
Fifteen years.
Fifteen years of not knowing.
And now he was minutes away from hearing his father's voice one last time.
The night watch guard checked his terminal.
"Yeah, got you here. Restricted section, authorized until 2300 hours."
The door buzzed open.
"Down the stairs, basement level."
Kai descended into the building's lower level.
The Archives entrance was marked with a faded sign.
He swiped his ID badge---the lock clicked open.
Inside: rows of metal shelving, filing cabinets, computer terminals.
Completely empty.
He moved to the back wall where a separate door was marked "RESTRICTED ACCESS - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."
He swiped again.
The door opened into a smaller, more secure room.
Reinforced walls, a single terminal, a safe built into the wall, and a security camera in the corner, its red light indicating it was recording.
The terminal booted up.
Kai's credentials worked.
He typed: MARCUS CHEN - COLORADO MISSION 2102.
The system returned a single result: MISSION FILE 2102-C47 - CLASSIFIED - EYES ONLY
He clicked it open.
The file loaded in sections, large portions blacked out---redacted.
What remained was fragmentary:
MISSION BRIEF (PARTIAL):
Objective: Establish diplomatic contact with Patriarch Ganon, self-proclaimed ruler of Colorado Springs.
Personnel: Ranger Marcus Chen (lead diplomat/linguist), Ranger Sarah Wolfe (tactical support), Ranger James Rivera (signals intelligence), [REDACTED], [REDACTED].
MISSION LOG - WEEK 1:
Successful entry into Colorado territory. Initial contact with Patriarch's scouts. Chen's linguistic abilities effective. Conditions harsh---temperature averaging -15°F.
[SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS REDACTED]
MISSION LOG - WEEK 3:
Chen reports breakthrough. Patriarch has agreed to face-to-face meeting. The city is... unexpected. Pre-war infrastructure largely intact. Evidence of organized government.
Chen's assessment: "Something doesn't add up. They have resources they shouldn't have access to."
MISSION LOG - WEEK 5:
[MAJORITY REDACTED]
Chen has discovered [REDACTED]. Rivera has intercepted communications suggesting [REDACTED].
Chen's last recorded log entry: "If we don't expose this, thousands will die. The Patriarch isn't just a warlord---he's [REDACTED]. I'm going to confront him directly. If I don't return, someone needs to finish this."
FINAL MISSION REPORT:
Contact with team lost on [REDACTED]. Last known position: Colorado Springs, [REDACTED]. Search and recovery efforts yielded no bodies, no equipment, no trace.
Survivors: Ranger Sarah Wolfe (extracted with injuries), Ranger [REDACTED] (extracted, subsequently discharged for medical reasons).
Status: Rangers Marcus Chen and James Rivera - MISSING, PRESUMED DECEASED.
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL. Investigation closed by order of General Victor Hardeman. Further inquiries prohibited.
Kai sat back, processing.
The fragmentary nature of the file was deliberate.
Someone wanted to bury what Marcus Chen found.
He looked at the safe built into the wall.
Label: CLASSIFIED AUDIO MATERIALS.
He tried his ID badge.
The safe beeped and unlocked.
Inside was a small collection of data chips.
He found the one marked: 2102-C47 - FINAL TRANSMISSION - PARTIAL RECOVERY.
His hand trembled slightly as he took it.
He inserted the chip into the terminal.
Duration: 2 minutes, 37 seconds.
He put on the headset.
Positioned his finger over the play button.
He pressed play.
Static.
Heavy static.
Then, breaking through---a voice.
His father's voice.
Fifteen years, but he recognized it instantly.
The same careful, measured tone.
But there was something else in it now.
Fear.
Urgency.
Controlled panic.
"---Sarah, if you're hearing this, it means I didn't make it. I need you to get this information back to command, no matter what Hardeman says. The Patriarch---his name is actually Markus Ganon---he's not just controlling Colorado through force. He's using pre-war technology we didn't know existed. There's a facility beneath Colorado Springs. AI-controlled. It's called---"
Static overwhelmed the transmission.
"---synths. He's producing synthetic humans. Slaves, soldiers, infiltrators. He's been placing them in settlements across the region for years, slowly taking control. That's how he's survived when everyone else struggled. That's how he knew about our mission before we arrived. One of our team---"
More static.
When it cleared, Marcus Chen's voice was strained.
"---captured Rivera. They know we know. I'm transmitting this from the facility's maintenance level, but they're tracking the signal. I can hear them coming. Sarah, listen to me carefully. The synths are indistinguishable from humans. You can't tell by looking. The only way to identify them is---"
A burst of interference.
"---frequency response---auditory test---they can't process certain---"
The sound of gunfire.
Close.
Rapid breathing.
"If I don't make it back, someone needs to finish this. They can't be allowed to expand beyond Colorado. If the synths infiltrate Arizona---if they get into Ranger command---everything we've built will---"
An explosion.
The transmission distorted into noise.
Then, cutting through it, barely audible:
"Tell Kai---tell my son I'm sorry I---"
Static.
Pure static.
Then nothing.
The recording ended.
Kai sat in the silence, the headset still on his ears, his father's voice echoing in his mind.
Synths.
Synthetic humans.
An AI facility beneath Colorado Springs.
The Patriarch had been infiltrating settlements for years.
And one of the mission team was compromised---possibly a synth themselves.
"Tell Kai I'm sorry."
He was thinking of his son.
In his final moments, facing death, he was thinking of the eleven-year-old boy he'd left behind.
Kai removed the headset carefully, his movements mechanical.
His mind was racing, but his training---years of controlling reactions in dangerous situations---kicked in.
Process.
Analyze.
Plan.
What he knew:
Marcus Chen discovered the Patriarch is using pre-war AI technology to create synthetic humans
These synths are infiltrators, placed in settlements
One of the Ranger team members might have been a synth
Marcus Chen died trying to expose this
The transmission's technical data about identifying synths was corrupted
General Hardeman ordered the investigation closed---possibly because synths had already infiltrated Ranger command
What this meant:
The Colorado mission was walking into a facility that creates perfect infiltrators
The Patriarch had been preparing for years
Anyone could be a synth
If his father discovered this fifteen years ago and the Patriarch is still inviting Rangers to Colorado now...
The critical question:
Why is the Patriarch inviting Rangers to Colorado now, after fifteen years of silence?
Kai ejected the data chip and returned it to the safe.
He shut down the terminal properly and sat for a moment, composing himself.
Wolfe said to bring her the truth first before acting.
But could he trust her?
She survived the mission.
Could she be a synth?
No.
If Wolfe were a synth working for the Patriarch, she wouldn't have kept the transmission for fifteen years.
But Hardeman.
The General who ordered the investigation closed.
He retired wealthy, with connections.
What if he was compromised?
The implications were staggering.
And terrifying.
Kai checked the time.
1847.
He had time before lights out, but he needed to process this carefully.
He stood, checked his appearance in the terminal's dark screen.
His face was composed, neutral.
Good.
He exited the restricted section, walked through the main Archives at a measured pace, and left the building.
As he walked back toward the barracks, his mind worked through implications with cold analytical precision.
The synth threat.
The cover-up.
The current situation.
The terrifying possibilities.
Paranoia was survival in this situation.
But paranoia without evidence led to paralysis.
He reached the barracks and climbed the stairs.
Through the windows, he could see recruits.
Normal.
Everything looked normal.
But his father's team looked normal too.
Until one of them wasn't human.
He pushed open the door to Bay 3.
Most of his bunkmates were there---Marcus reading, Darius writing, Rodriguez asleep, Park maintaining equipment.
Dos Santos and Kowalski playing cards.
They looked up as he entered.
"You're back," Darius observed. "How was the administrative stuff?"
"Boring paperwork."
Kai moved to his bunk, pulling off his boots.
"The kind of thing that makes you appreciate actual training."
He settled onto his bunk, pulling out his manual.
But his mind was elsewhere, cataloging every detail about the people around him.
Marcus Webb---natural leader, pragmatic, cautious.
Normal behavioral patterns or calculated persona?
Darius Webb---idealistic, genuine emotions.
Too perfect? Or actually just a good person?
Stop.
This was what paranoia did.
It made you suspect everyone.
"Hey Chen," Marcus called. "You good? You look like you're processing some heavy shit."
"Just thinking about tomorrow's schedule."
"You sure you're okay?" Darius asked with genuine concern. "Finding out about your father today, the Archives---that's a lot to process."
"I'm fine," Kai said. "It's good to know what happened, even if it's not the answer I wanted."
"What did happen?" Kowalski asked. "If you don't mind talking about it."
"Mission to Colorado went wrong. Team got separated. My father and another Ranger went missing, presumed dead. The rest made it back."
Kai kept his voice neutral.
"The details are classified, but the outcome is clear---Colorado is dangerous, and people who go there don't always come back."
"And they're sending you there anyway," Dos Santos said quietly.
"They're sending whoever's qualified," Kai corrected.
Marcus closed his manual.
"Look, I don't know you well enough yet to give you advice, but I'll say this---in the Rangers, you need people you can trust. People who'll watch your back when things go sideways. If you're heading into the same place that killed your father, make sure you're not going alone."
Trust.
The thing he was worst at.
The thing that might get him killed if he chose wrong.
"That's the plan," Kai said simply.
At 2145, Corporal Hayes made his rounds.
"Lights out in fifteen. Get your sleep---tomorrow's PT is going to be hell. Kozlov's leading it personally."
At 2200, the lights went out.
The barracks settled into darkness.
Kai lay in his bunk, staring at the ceiling, his mind refusing to quiet.
His father died discovering that synthetic humans were infiltrating the wasteland.
Fifteen years later, he was being sent to the same place.
The question was: was he being sent because they needed his skills, or because someone wanted to see if he'd discover the same thing?
From across the room, Darius's quiet voice: "Can't sleep either?"
"Too much to process," Kai admitted quietly.
"Yeah."
A pause.
"For what it's worth, I think your father would be proud. You're here, doing the work, trying to make a difference. That's what Rangers do."
Rangers also died in classified missions while uncovering conspiracies that got buried by their own command.
"Thanks, Darius."
Silence settled again.
Eventually, Darius's breathing slowed---sleep.
But Kai remained awake, thinking, planning, calculating.
Tomorrow: Morrison's assessment.
She'd test his abilities, probe his knowledge.
He needed to be impressive enough to be valuable but not so knowledgeable that he seemed like a threat.
He needed to find out more about pre-war synthetic human technology without raising suspicions.
He needed to identify at least one person he could trust completely---if such a person existed.
And he needed to figure out how to finish what his father started without ending up like him.
Somewhere around 0300, exhaustion finally claimed him, pulling him into uneasy sleep filled with static, his father's voice, and the sound of gunfire echoing through frozen corridors.
His last conscious thought: They can't be allowed to expand beyond Colorado.