Sub Terra base was up in arms when Jessica and her friends raced out of the tent. The alarm and red lights pulled sleepless faces, wrinkles of cluelessness, out of the barracks and into combat gear. The hustle inspired a tidal wave of tension under the loom of danger, which is why she quivered in place.

Seconds passed. The large hangar doors opened for the first time, much like how the rebels parted for Monarch. His calm gait contradicted their anxiety, again. He was expecting ...