[Day 63 Post-Awakening | LE: 1,919/10,000 | Time Remaining: 37 Days]
SCENE 1: MIDNIGHT — KIERA'S ESCAPE
[0000 Hours | Containment Wing]
The alarm didn't sound.
That's how I knew she wanted to be found.
I stood outside Kiera's cell—door open, energy barrier disabled, security feed looping a perfect forty-minute window of her sleeping peacefully.
Professional work.
Mira appeared beside me, tactical vest half-zipped, pistol drawn.
"She's been gone six hours," she said flatly. "Could be in Beijing by now."
"She's not."
"How do you know?"
I pointed to the cot.
A single jasmine flower—fresh, delicate—rested on the pillow.
"Because she's playing," I said. "And she wants me to play back."
Mira holstered her weapon.
"You let her out."
Not a question. An accusation.
"I gave her a choice," I corrected. "Stay imprisoned, prove she's just a saboteur. Or leave, prove she's got bigger plans."
"And if she sells us to Helix?"
"Then we were already dead. Helix has had spies here since day one. Kiera's just the only one honest about it."
Mira's jaw tightened. "You're playing with fire."
"I'm dying, Mira. Fire's the least of my problems."
I picked up the jasmine flower. Crushed it between bark fingers.
The scent—sweet, cloying—filled the cell.
Kiera's signature perfume.
She'd left a trail.
[Network Analysis: Jasmine scent concentration mapped]
[Trail leads to: ROOF ACCESS | External Facility]
[Estimated destination: 2.4 km northeast]
[Helix Regional Office.]
"She went to Helix," Mira breathed. "Ethan, we need to lock down—"
"No. We follow."
"That's suicide—"
"It's trust." I met her eyes. "Kiera had six hours. If she wanted us destroyed, Helix strike teams would already be here. She's not betraying us."
"Then what is she doing?"
I smiled. Grim.
"Hunting."
SCENE 2: HELIX REGIONAL OFFICE — AMBUSH AFTERMATH
[0200 Hours | 2.3 km from Facility]
The Helix office was a slaughterhouse.
Mira and I approached with Thorn and Whisper as escort—heavy muscle and stealth, in case this was a trap.
It wasn't.
It was a gift.
The front entrance was blown open.
Shattered smart-glass, warped steel frame, scorch marks from precision explosives.
Inside: twelve Helix security personnel.
All dead.
Professional kills—throats cut, spines severed, one clean shot each. No wasted movement. No hesitation.
Mira swept the room, weapon raised. "Clear. Jesus Christ, she did this alone?"
"She had help."
I pointed to the far wall.
A Primordial—not one of mine, something crude—lay dismembered. Its core was exposed, LE matrix shattered.
"Helix cloned one," I said quietly. "They're making their own."
"And Kiera killed it."
"Kiera killed everything."
A slow clap echoed from the back office.
Kiera emerged—bronze skin smeared with blood (not hers), black hair loose now, amber eyes bright with adrenaline.
She was smiling.
"Took you long enough, Sovereign."
Mira's gun snapped up. "Hands where I can see them—"
"Relax, darling." Kiera raised both hands—one held a data-chip, the other a severed finger. "I'm here to help."
She tossed the finger to Mira. "Biometric key. Their lead researcher. He won't need it."
Then the data-chip to me.
I caught it. Bark fingers clicked against polymer.
"What is this?"
"Helix's Primordial cloning program. Full specs. Templates. Genetic sequences. Everything."
She stepped over a corpse—didn't even glance down.
"They've made forty-seven attempts. Twelve survived past infancy. All of them are feral. No Network. No Sovereign. Just rage and hunger."
Her smile faded.
"They're building an army, Ethan. And you're the prototype they're trying to copy."
Mira lowered her weapon. Slightly.
"Why give this to us? You worked for Helix."
"Worked. Past tense." Kiera's eyes hardened. "They killed my sister trying to clone her. Told me it was 'necessary sacrifice for progress.' So I smiled. Nodded. Waited."
She gestured to the carnage.
"Tonight, I stopped waiting."
"This is revenge," I said.
"This is justice." She stepped closer. "And I'm offering you a deal, Sovereign. I give you Helix's secrets. You give me a purpose that isn't just burning the world down."
"What kind of purpose?"
"Let me kill the people who deserve it. For you. So you don't have to dirty your hands."
Her voice dropped—almost vulnerable.
"Let me be your monster. So you can stay human."
Silence.
Thorn shifted—uneasy. The Network buzzed with Primordial confusion.
Mira's expression: Don't you dare—
I looked at Kiera.
Blood-soaked. Broken. Deadly.
And completely, utterly honest for the first time since I'd met her.
"No," I said.
Her face fell.
"I don't need a monster, Kiera. I need an ally. Someone who knows Helix from the inside. Who can predict their moves. Sabotage their plans before they launch."
I held up the data-chip.
"You want purpose? Help me turn this into a defense. Teach my Primordials how to fight the clones. Be our tactical intelligence."
"You're asking me to be a spy."
"I'm asking you to be family."
Her breath caught.
For a moment—just one—the armor cracked.
The woman underneath: scared, grieving, desperate to belong somewhere.
Then she smiled. Smaller. Real.
"Family gets messy."
"I'm already a dying tree-man with twelve plant-children. Messy is my baseline."
Kiera laughed. Actual, genuine sound.
"Okay, Sovereign. You've got yourself a spy."
She offered her hand—blood-slicked, steady.
I shook it.
Bark on skin.
"Welcome to the war," I said.
"Oh, honey." Her grin turned wicked. "I've been at war. You're just finally joining me."
[Kiera Navarro: RECRUITED]
[Role: Intelligence Operative | Threat Assessment | Helix Countermeasure]
[Loyalty: 67% (Revenge-driven, but stable)]
[WARNING: Kiera's methods = lethal. Recommend oversight.]
I dismissed the warning.
If Helix was building clone armies, we needed someone willing to get bloody.
Kiera was perfect.
SCENE 3: DATA ANALYSIS — THE CLONE THREAT
[0400 Hours | Facility Command Center]
Dr. Sato pulled up the stolen files.
Her face went pale.
"They've been doing this for eight months. Before you even woke up, Ethan."
The holographic display showed timeline:
Month 1-3: Failed clones (immediate death)Month 4-6: Partial success (survived hours, braindead)Month 7: First feral Primordial (survived, killed three researchers)Month 8 (current): Twelve active ferals in containment
"They're not trying to make allies," Vivienne said, joining us. Her grey eyes scanned the data. "They're making weapons. Primordials without conscience. Just obedience and violence."
"Can they control them?" Mira asked.
"Not yet." Selene pointed to behavioral logs. "The ferals attack anyone except their 'birth technician'—the person who triggered their LE ignition. It's imprinting. Primal."
She looked at me.
"Your Primordials imprinted on you. That's why they're loyal. Helix can't replicate that—they're trying to brute-force obedience through pain conditioning."
"Will it work?" I asked.
"Eventually." Vivienne's voice was grim. "And when it does, they'll have disposable soldiers. No moral qualms. No hesitation."
Kiera leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"How many can they produce per month?"
"If they solve the stability problem?" Dr. Sato checked projections. "...Hundreds."
The room went silent.
Hundreds.
Against my twelve.
"We're going to lose," Mira said quietly.
"Not if we move first." Kiera pushed off the wall. "Helix's main cloning facility is in Shanghai. Underground. Heavily guarded."
"You want us to assault a Helix stronghold?" Mira's voice rose. "That's—"
"—our only option," I finished. "If we wait for them to perfect the clones, we're already dead."
I looked at my team.
Mira—loyal, terrified.
Selene—dying, determined.
Vivienne—conflicted, but committed.
Kiera—bloodthirsty, eager.
"We have thirty-seven days before I'm sessile," I said. "Let's make them count."
[NEW MISSION UNLOCKED: Operation SCORCHED GARDEN]
[Objective: Destroy Helix Shanghai cloning facility]
[Estimated Success Rate: 11%]
[Casualties Projected: High]
[Primordial Vote: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL]
["We fight together. We die together. We WIN together." — Thorn]