Caleb pulled his knife free of the Trench-Hound after the last tremor passed through the rock. The body settled beside his boots. He wiped the blade on an unburned patch of his trousers and sheathed it before checking the turn.
Another impact shook dust from the canopy. He kept his left palm against the wall until the smaller stones stopped rolling.
Suzu checked the deployment map. Their detour still skirted the mountain's outer quarry galleries. The A- and B-rank assault lanes ran miles inward toward the biological anchor, and their artillery was shaking the approaches apart before the lower squads finished crossing them.
"We keep to the outside," she said. "Kei, check the opening."
Kei adjusted his optic and moved beside Caleb. Taichi covered the ravine behind them, resting most of his weight on his unburned leg. The acid had left a dark streak down his shin plate.
