The explosion had been Gideon's parting gift. Literally.

He'd planted charges under the southern wall during his first attack, triggered them remotely once he'd retreated far enough to be safe. Classic misdirection. Make us think the medical station fire was his endgame while the real trap waited beneath our feet.

But he'd miscalculated one thing.

We'd already evacuated most of the southern section when we'd baited him with the false intelligence. The explosion had been impressive, sure. ...