Chapter 07
Assault on Aetherion
From his vantage point the gorge ran along the face of Aetherion like a giant J. The citadel sat at the far end. At the bottom of the curve the gorge narrowed to its tightest point — the only way in or out.
A rocket-assisted jump across the plunging gap was the sole practical route. Kael had positioned multiple rocket batteries and pulse cannons to strike that entrance. The munitions were chosen for noise and spectacle as much as damage — incendiary payloads designed to create fiery chaos and thick, blinding smoke.
They were a diversion, nothing more. Along the long straight section of the gorge the citadel’s outer wall was at its thickest. That was where Kael had placed his real hope.
Strike where it was least expected. The plan was simple. Create mayhem at the entrance.
Shatter the wall with the heaviest artillery. Breach and enter at that point. If the wall held, he would redirect everything to the entrance, deploy attack drones, and storm the front in the confusion.
Just before sunrise, Kael gave the order. The gorge lit up in sudden violence. Incendiary rounds slammed into the narrow entrance and bloomed into roaring sheets of flame.
Black smoke rolled upward in thick, oily coils that swallowed the sky. The sound reached him even through the helmet — a deep, cracking roar that vibrated in his chest. For twenty minutes the entrance became a furnace.
Defenders scrambled in the firelight, their silhouettes jerking like insects. He waited. When the timer in his visor hit twenty minutes, Kael spoke again.
“Helix. All heavy batteries on the wall. Full barrage.
Now. ” The ground beneath him shuddered as the largest guns opened up. The thickest section of Aetherion’s outer wall took the concentrated fire.
Granite split with a sound like breaking bone. Chunks the size of transport pods tore free and tumbled into the gorge. Dust and pulverized rock filled the air in a choking cloud.
Return fire from the citadel came back almost immediately — bright, accurate pulses that chewed the rock around Kael’s position and set the undergrowth ablaze. Heat washed over his suit in waves. He held the barrage for ninety seconds, then cut it.
Through the drifting smoke and fire, the wall still stood. Kael felt something cold and heavy settle behind his ribs. For three full seconds he simply stared at the intact stone.
“Helix. Redirect everything to the entrance. Everything.
” While the final volley hammered the burning gateway, Kael broke from cover. He ran hard along the curve of the gorge, boots slipping on loose shale and burning vegetation. His dislocated wrist sent sharp, grinding pain up his arm with every stride.
The last fifty metres were a blur of smoke and heat. His lungs burned inside the sealed suit. “Helix — deploy the drones.
Synchronise with my jump. ” He reached the edge of the gorge and launched himself across the gap. For a suspended moment he was weightless above the plunging drop, the burning entrance far below to his left.
The drones streaked past him on either side, their weapons already firing into the smoke. He hit the far ledge hard, rolled once, and came up with the pulse carbine already tracking targets. He was inside Aetherion.