Nova's Blade

Chapter 23

Siren grits her teeth, pushing through another grueling round of her training regimen. Every muscle in her body screams in protest, begging for mercy, but she doesn't relent. Sweat pours down her face, mingling with the stubborn determination etched in her features. Then, without warning, the room plunges into darkness.

"Again," she groans, exasperation bleeding into her tone.

She braces herself for the impending shock. She squeezes her eyes shut, awaiting the sharp pain, but it doesn't come. The suspense stretches thin in the air, the silence disrupted by hushed whispers darting around the room. Siren's heart hammers in her chest as uncertainty knots her stomach.

Then, a soft glow flickers to life in the room's center. A holo-screen projects, illuminating the dim surroundings with a ghostly hue. On-screen, Nova appears, engaged in a battle against Lyssa and then Morgana. Her graceful moves are contrasted with a brutal efficiency that sends a chill down Siren's spine.

Taranis' voice reverberates through the room, analyzing Nova's fighting style. His cold, calculated tone mirrors the sterile room, devoid of any emotional attachment.

"Observe her patterns, her gestures. Her predictability is her weakness," he instructs, pointing out specific moves and flaws. "Get close to her. Use this information to gain her trust."

His warning slices through the silence, sharp as a blade.

"Our time is running out, Siren. Act swiftly. Failure is not an option."

A glint catches Siren's eye from the floor beneath the holo-screen. Intrigued, she bends to retrieve a seemingly ordinary patch about the size of her hand. Its surface is smooth, akin to synthetic silk, cool to touch, and it carries a matte finish that subtly absorbs the surrounding light. It's incredibly thin, almost weightless. Its edges are smooth and it has an unassuming matte finish that belies its true purpose.

"Before you engage her, I want you to shake her hand with this," Taranis instructs, his cold, analytical voice piercing the room. "It's been engineered with micro-darts loaded with a potent neurotoxin. Upon contact, they'll penetrate her skin and into her system without her noticing, causing disorientation and lethargy, making her an easy target for you to strike," he continues, outlining his plan in that detached, unfeeling manner.

The gravity of his words weighs heavily on Siren. She bites back a sarcastic retort, swallowing the lump of apprehension in her throat. Instead, she voices her discontent, her tone soaked in annoyance.

"Next time, can't you just send a text instead of this cloak-and-dagger routine?"

Her snarky remark is met with a stunning silence, before the dreaded stun gun fires. The pain shoots through her like a live wire, her body buckling under the onslaught. As the darkness creeps back in, the last thing she sees is the flickering image of Nova battling on the holo-screen. Nova's face, painted with concentration and determination, sears into her mind, a haunting reminder of the task at hand.

***

On beach Kaida lay basking in the sun. Augmented reality sunglasses painted a glowing neon grid over the azure sky while her genetically enhanced, bronzed skin soaked up the heat. Her daughter, a spitting image of her in miniature, built elaborate sandcastles.Around her, the sandy expanse was deserted, save for her child and a couple of loyal guards, their armed frameworks glinting in the sun. Kaida scrolled through her phone, grimacing at public posts criticizing her. High above, a hover car silently descended, barely audible over the gentle drone of the shoreline.

"I thought this beach was bought out," Kaida sighed, her voice laced with an easy confidence.

A broad-backed figure emerged from the hover car, striding towards the guards.