"We're taking him – tonight," Darien told them. "We made it this far – time to cash in. No more weapons, no more deals. Nobody else dies because of Parker's crusade."

Amber swallowed hard. There was a worrying undercurrent of anger boiling beneath Darien's skin, clear as day. Whatever had happened between him and Parker had riled the streak of viciousness that she knew lurked beneath the surface. She'd seen first-hand what could happen if that little part of him was allowed to run unchecked.

"Are you sure?" Niamh asked. Her lips twisted into a thoughtful grimace. "We're in with him now. We've got access to high level intel. We stick with this we might get tapped into more of their network."

"He's got all the intel we're going to need," Darien replied coldly, not looking at her. "I saw the recording room. He's the one that was sending those damn transmissions. He's the one Merlynn wants."

"That's as may be," Vanna Proctor spoke up, her voice stiletto sharp. "But that doesn't mean we can assault that compound. That place is a fortress."

Rigel Squad had been recalled for the briefing, their efforts moving through the narcotics trade routes now regarded as non-essential. Having reviewed the vid-caps and diagrams of Parker's hideout, their demure leader clearly hadn't liked what she'd seen. Having her there now made Amber feel a little more at ease. A level head with no personal axes to grind. She leaned in over the map that filled the table the operatives had gathered around, her bright eyes glinting in the light of the room.

"We don't have a proper interior layout to use as reference," she continued. "So a Blink insertion is dangerous, and even if we can get in, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to find Parker and get him out without alerting every guard in that building. If it comes to a firefight we don't have the numbers."

"We don't need the numbers," Vass grunted. "We've cracked tougher."

Taggs raised a bemused eyebrow at Tundra's leader. "Oh aye? How many bodies did ye leave behind?"

"Careful, slanger." Vass straightened up with a glare, the members of Tundra squad bristling behind him at the jibe.

"Enough!" Darien barked, thumping the table and drawing the eyes of both squad leaders back to him. "We can do this, but we have to work smart, and we have to work together. Vanna is right. It is a fortress. There's one main entrance in this gully where all transit runs." He ran a finger down the line in question on the map. "It's covered with guard towers on either side of the approach and seems to be the only way in or out."

"You're hundred percent on that?" a girl from Panther interjected. A slim, almost pixie-like girl with short clipped brown hair, she cupped her sharp chin in one hand. "If this is supposed to be their main base having only one entrance is a screwy tactical step. We could bring the Dragoons right down on top of them and they'd be stuck – bottled up like fish in a barrel."

"She's right," Amber agreed nodding. "They'd never back themselves into a corner like that." She didn't miss the flickering look that passed between the girl and Idas who was lounging across the room from her. Dimly she remembered Uther telling her that their comrade had a special someone in Panther squad, but the two units had been so dispersed for most of their time on Ravine that she hadn't noticed it until now.

But there were more important things to dwell on at the moment. Whoever, she happened to be hooking up with, the girl from Panther had hit the nail on the head. There had to be another way into the compound.

"What about it, Darien?" Bandle said, backing up his squad-mate.

Darien shrugged and made a sweeping gesture to the map. "If there's another entrance we've never seen it. The only surface access that the trucks use is right there. Even if there is another way in we have no idea where it is, and we don't have the time to go digging around the rocks looking for it. For all we know there are tunnels under that thing that could pop out miles from here."

Amber frowned, a sense unease creeping over her. "Sounds like we're going to have to pull an inside job."

"What've you got in mind?"

"Well, Parker knows us – knows you." Amber leaned forward, resting the elbow of her uninjured arm on the table as she examined the terrain in more detail. "Take a crawler in with the promise of some juicy merch. Say you, me, Idas and half a dozen others inside the crawler, and we roll right in the front door."

"Just us against that whole compound?" He looked doubtful. "I don't like those odds."

She shook her head, tracing a finger across the guard posts as she spoke. "We take an EMP in with us. Once the front door's open we blow the EMP, and it'll stay open. At the same time, we send teams to take the observation posts overlooking the entrance gully. Hit that whole trench all at once before anyone can get a signal out." Even as she spoke she could feel the uncomfortable jangle of nerves, but she pushed on. "Once the trench is secured we Blink the rest of our force in to take the entrance." She looked up at Darien. "You know the way to Parker. We move fast and grab him before the alarm can spread – run him right back out the way we came."

He made a noncommittal sound, brow furrowing as he examined the map. His head lolled from side to side in thought. Then, after several long, silent seconds, he nodded. "I like it."

"Damn, Garret," Vass chuckled. "You got some spine."

"And I've got a brain to go with it," she returned smoothly.

"Well, Vass, you wanted some action and you're going to get it," Darien said with a wry smile. "You, Rigel and Panther divvy up the observation towers. And all of you – it needs to be quick and quiet. Any explosions; you'll give the game away and bring Parker's whole army down on top of us. Once the EMP blows we'll lose radios so timing is everything. Taggs, I want an obs team directing traffic out of range. As soon as the lights in that entrance go out, signal the rest of the teams to hit the towers."

"Kels," Taggs said, glancing at Vandal's sharpshooter. "You up for it?"

"Yes, sir," Brannigan replied, nodding, her sharp eyes flickering over the map.

"Amber, you go with her."

She looked at Darien in surprise, straightening up sharply. "What?!"

"This is going to be a smash and grab job." He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but with your arm trussed up like that you're no good in a firefight. The two of you stay clear and keep an eye out for any surprises."

A ripple of frustration passed through her as she glanced down at the medical sling that enveloped her arm. The pain was mostly gone now, and Hekket had assured her that she'd be mostly functional again in a matter of days. But Darien didn't want to wait days. She bit her lip. There was no argument to be made. She couldn't be part of an assault team if she couldn't even hold her carbine.

"Okay," she said in a small voice.

His gaze lingered on her for a moment, a shimmer of guilt passing across his face before he cast his eyes over the other operatives. "The rest of Hammerhead and Vandal are taking the crawler in. Just like she said, right through the front door."

Amber swallowed hard. A small part of her wished she'd kept her mouth shut instead of outlining the hair-brained scheme. It had felt better when she envisioned herself riding into the lion's den with them, but now... now a sick feeling of worry churned in her stomach. If this plan went south, she would feel brutally responsible.

"Squad leaders, stay," he continued. "We'll draw up deployment plans. The rest of you get some rest. We move out at 0100 Ravine time."

*

They approached Parker's compound like shimmering wraiths.

Under the cover of volcanic night the operatives of Tundra, Rigel and Panther edged through the surrounding crags, swathed in their Chameleon coats. The malleable environment mirroring of the coats blended in with coal of the rocks, making them virtually invisible as they approached. They moved on predetermined advance lines, utilising dark-sight goggles and hand signals alone to communicate their positions down the ranks.

Darien had gotten a good enough look at the compound's interior to know they would be sweeping the immediate area constantly with active sensors, probing for any kind of wayward transmission that didn't belong.

But while Blink teams were not trained as soldiers, they excelled at stealth. Sure-footed and swift they tightened the noose, slithering past guard emplacements and motion sensor grids, making their way to the two lines of observation posts that guarded the main approach.

Far ahead of the supporting units their crawler rumbled, grinding its way through the crags and lava fissures. Darien focused on keeping his breathing steady, running over the plan in his mind, over and over and over. The operatives joining him in the breaching team busied themselves with checking weapons and gear, a low whisper of conversation just barely audible over the vehicle's engine. Most carried carbines and volt-guns, but Idas had his jackhammer; a female operative from Vandal – Whikker – had one too. The pair would be leading the charge through the facility.

The plan was simple. Once they were through the door, the EMP bomb would be detonated, frying the nearby systems and jamming the entrance. With darkness descending the entire force within the crawler would Blink out into the main hangar and hit the guarding forces like a storm. A rapid, surgical strike would allow them to race through the facility and find Parker before any kind of resistance could be mounted.

With Blink reinforcements flooding down from the seized towers, the entrance could be held indefinitely until they could subdue Parker, and get him clear of the complex. The operatives only needed to make a show of their defence before Blinking back to their assigned rendezvous points. In theory it would all be over in a matter of minutes.

"Five minutes," called Taggs from up front in the driver's compartment.

There was a rattle of equipment as the operatives rose from their seats, unclipping restraints and gripping overhead hand-holds for stability, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Idas, when we're out you head straight for the hall out to Parker's office," he said, speaking in a low voice as though afraid someone might overhear the instructions. "Nobody goes in or out. Secure that exit."

"Copy that."

"Everybody else, you know what to do. I want a complete sweep of the loading bay before these bastards know what's hit them."

A mutter of acknowledgement passed through the operatives before silence descended on them, the only sound the grinding of the crawler's wheels over the volcanic ground. Darien felt the shift as they hit the smoother ground of the approach ramp, the floor beneath him tipping slightly as they descended towards the entrance. Not long now. His confrontation with Parker ran circles in his mind, striking chords of guilt, frustration and anger every time it did. He didn't talk about his parents – even his own squad members didn't know the real story – and there was a very good reason for it.

Ravine's rebels had a point, and he knew it better than most.

But Parker was a zealot, someone who would get what he wanted by butchering anything standing in his way. Whatever his misgivings about how the colonial powers had treated Ravine's settlers, Darien would never go down that road. They would put an end to one man's crusade here and now.

Even within the confines of the crawler he heard the heaving mechanisms of the main door as it was hauled open to allow them access. Guns would be tracking them every step of the way. A tingle of adrenaline seeped into his system. Right this instant, with an operation to perform, he was in his element.

The crawler trundled to a halt under direction from the loaders within the complex, and Darien could hear the muffled voices outside ordering them to disembark. He glanced at Uther. The lanky tech was crouched over the tube-shaped, jet black casing of the EMP bomb, waiting expectantly with the trigger mechanism under thumb. Darien nodded once. Uther clicked his thumb down against the button.

The EMP fired and the crawler was plunged into darkness.

"GO!" Darien barked, and an instant later made his Blink happen. They were only going a matter of meters – just far enough to get outside the crawler walls – child's play for the veteran operatives. He emerged back into reality, his world accentuated by the electric blue of the light-gathering goggles perched on his face. Figures stumbled blindly in the dark, shouts of surprise beginning to rise through the confusion. Most didn't even see the operatives appear, the Chameleon coats instantly darkening into oil-black shrouds in the darkness making them all but invisible.

Then the operatives opened fire.

In a matter of seconds the air was filled with the snarl of volt-gun shots, the thump of jackhammers and the needle-like flashes of lance-carbine fire. Stun grenades clattered into groups of confused guards and loaders before exploding, taking down groups of three or four at a time. Darien tracked and fired with mechanical precision, taking down running figures with precise shots from his carbine as they tried to escape and raise the alarm.

"Main route's shut!" Taggs shouted urgently over the clamour.

"Cut it!" Darien called back between shots. He slung the carbine across his chest and pulled his volt-gun free, darting forward and blasting away at the injured guards. He'd tried to avoid lethality, leaving half a dozen groaning crippled figures littered across his firing route. Around him the other operatives followed his lead, dispersing from the crawler and subduing any remaining guards with ruthless efficiency.

With the enemy force dealt with, he loped over to the door where Idas and Taggs were already frantically working away with a pair of hand cutting torches, slicing an oval incision into the heavy metal bulkhead that had been sealed by the power outage.

"Time?" he whispered.

Taggs raised a hand – two fingers raised.

And for two long minutes the other operatives had to watch and wait as the pair carved a new door. Frustration gnawed at him but Darien forced himself not to say anything. The cutting would take as long as would take – no amount of cursing or cajoling could change that.

At last the pair stood up, a smouldering orange ring now glowing in the darkness where they'd cut through the metal. Idas took a step back, jackhammer held crossways along his chest, and slammed a boot into the door. With the a grinding screech of metal on metal the oval of metal caved inwards, falling into the corridor beyond with a thunderous bang.

In an instant Whikker was through the gap, jackhammer raised, with Idas hot on her heels. The two point-gunners disappeared for a couple of seconds. Then Idas's voice came echoing back through the aperture they'd just carved.

"Clear!"

Darien looked back over his shoulder, back towards the gaping door of the complex that hung ajar like a drunken mouth. A new group of figures had entered the loading bay – even at this distance he could tell from their silhouettes that it was the other operatives who'd been tasked with taking the observation towers. The lead figure jogged towards them, close enough for him to make out the familiar hungry features of Vass Juntaar.

Tundra's leader raised one hand, a thumb extended and made a circular motion. All objectives taken. Darien responded, positioning his fists together in front of him and tapping one on top of the other. Lock down the area. Vass raised his hand, opening and closing his fist twice in acknowledgement of the order. Darien didn't need to do any more. The three teams had been briefed and knew exactly what was expected of them now.

"Cavalry's arrived," he hissed as he turned back to his contingent. "Everybody move it out, now! Idas, Whikker, on you!"

Like mice the operatives scampered through the hole, spilling through in the wake of the lead-gunners. Darien stepped through in the middle of the pack with Taggs and another of Vandal squad bringing up the rear. Following the memorised route to Parker's quarters they raced through the hallways, occasionally running into an unaware guard or technician in the dark. There was no coordination to anything that they saw. The suddenness of the operatives' strike had caught the defenders of the base totally off guard.

Most of them.

As they rounded a bend in the passage, Darien's contingent ran straight into a group of six armed guards with none other than Gazi at their head. The woman had a set of dark-sight goggles of her own strapped in place, and so did her companions

There was a split-second of surprise that hung in the air like an upbeat to the oncoming crescendo of violence. Then a melee erupted in the darkened passages as the two sides clashed. Muzzles flashed and voices rose in a panicked swell as both sides tried to communicate, but the Blink operatives had the advantage, their camouflage making them difficult to track even through the dark-sight goggles. The thump of jackhammers ripped through the air and one of the guards was thrown into the wall, their chest cratered by the powerful weapons.

Darien dropped low and dived, taking out Gazi's legs in a single powerful bound. As the woman crashed to the ground with a curse, Niamh pounced, wrapping her arms around Gazi's neck in a chokehold, clamping her legs around the woman's waist and clinging on like a limpet. Darien kept moving, leaping into the fray. He saw Hekket grappling with one of the guards, then the medic jerked his head to the side as a pistol fired.

The action saved his life. The bullet that had been destined for his brain instead tore a gash in his cheek, clipping his ear on the way before impacting onto the wall. Hekket screamed in pain, twisting his body against the man's gun-hand.

Darien leapt to his squad-mate's aid, smashing the pistol away with a vicious kick before shooting a lance into the guard's throat. The man went down gurgling, pawing at his neck. Hekket staggered away, but Darien plunged deeper into the mayhem. Shooting one guard in the back with his volt-gun, he clubbed another across the face with the butt of the weapon, sending the woman tumbling backwards into the waiting stock of Whikker's jackhammer. They heavy-set girl from Vandal reared up and smashed the end of her gun into the guard's face, dropping her like a log.

Then everything went quiet. Taggs stood over one guard, his carbine smoking and chest heaving as he took heavy breaths. The last lay further down the corridor, a trio of holes where his heart ought to have been. Back where they'd rounded the bend Niamh slumped into a sitting position, Gazi's unconscious form lying just in front of her.

"Hekket, you okay?" Darien whispered through the gunsmoke.

"Flesh wound," the medic replied, voice tight with pain. "I'm fine."

Taggs motioned Vandal's medical officer over. "Isaac, patch that, sharp like."

"Walk and work," Hekket told his counterpart. "C'mon, let's keep moving."

"Back in formation," Darien ordered, locking his carbine back to his shoulder. "We're close now." He silently thanked Hekket for his willingness to press on. It would keep the minds of the others occupied. They'd left several dead guards behind in that hall – the less time they had to dwell on it the better.

With Idas and Whikker taking the lead they resumed their silent scuttle through the hallways, moving as fast as they could towards Parker's quarters. As they drew closer, however, they found that the lighting rigs in the ceiling were functioning again – they'd either passed beyond the radius of the EMP or the central portions of the compound were hardened against such an attack. The Chameleon coats flickered and adjusted to blend with the new environment, they no longer had the advantage of near-invisibility they'd enjoyed in the darkness.

Just before they reached the corridor connecting to Parker's quarters an alarm finally blared, low and throbbing at a frequency that made Darien's eardrums hurt. He winced but shoved the sensation to the back of his mind, urging the operatives to pick up the pace.

As they rounded the final bend, they encountered Parker and a quartet of guards who were in the process of escorting him from the room. They took one look at the Blink operatives and started firing.

In an instant the corridor was a blizzard of bullets and lances. Darien folded into a crouch and those around him hurled themselves behind the supporting ribs of the corridor. Out in front Idas dropped flat, his jackhammer booming as he put a shot into the shoulder of one of the guards. Alongside him Whikker went spinning as a spray of shots clattered across her leg and chest and she collapsed with a screech, only for Taggs to heave her to the side out of the line of fire.

Darien dropped another of the guards with a lance to the knee before Uther sent a stun grenade arcing down the passage. One of the guards tackled Parker back into the room, while his companion threw himself onto the grenade, trying to smother the blast. The flash and crack of detonation was contained by his body. He screamed as it burned through his armour and clothing, scorching his whole torso and leaving the man in a groaning, smouldering heap on the floor.

"On me!" Darien shouted, leaping over Idas's prone form and racing to the open door of Parker's refuge. He was through in a flash with the remaining operatives barrelling through behind him. The guard tried to bar their path but two volt-gun blasts sent him crashing to the ground, and Darien bounded over him, spotting Parker disappear through the side passage, making for the video room.

"Niamh, with me – Blink and cut him off," he hissed. "Everybody else box him in."

He glanced back and saw Niamh; she nodded once, stopping in her tracks and hugging her carbine close to her body, her biological eye shutting as she ran through the swift calculation to jump into the corridor. He followed her lead as the others raced past him to cover the hallway entrance. He exhaled a slow breath, calculated the distance to get to the far end of the passage, well in front of their quarry. Even with the urgency of the chase he took no chances, giving himself a couple of precious seconds to make sure he didn't misposition.

The pair materialised right in Parker's path.

He tried to stop, his face contorting with surprise as he tried to process what had just happened. By the time he figured it out Niamh was already on top of him, grabbing his gun hand and slamming it into the wall, dislodging the weapon and leaving it to clatter to the ground. His other hand went to his belt, but before Darien even had the chance to shout a warning his second office leaped back as though scalded, whipping up her carbine.

Parker's hand reappeared with a long knife clutched in his fingers. He glared at them, even as the rest of the Blink contingent took up their positions behind him, carbines and volt-guns bristling. Darien let his carbine drop, freeing his own volt-gun and letting it hang loosely in his left hand. He met Parker's glare.

"It's over," he said quietly. "Drop the knife."

"So you're a traitor after all?" Parker sneered, shaking his head. "I hope it feels good." Then his arm flashed up, the knife flipping round as he caught it by the point, ready to throw.

Darien didn't let him finish the movement. With an almost careless gesture he flicked the volt-gun lazily in the man's direction and fired, sending him to the ground in a spasming heap, the knife bouncing off the metal plating beside him. Shoving the volt-gun back into its holster he nodded to Idas and Uther.

"Bag him and let's get out of here," Darien breathed, his shoulders slumping he exhaled. He looked at Parker's body and felt a twinge in the back of his mind, one word hanging there from the rebel leader's accusation.

Traitor.