The smuggler's rig tore through the Lower Wards, its Aether-engine roaring as it weaved past crumbling tenements and flickering holo-signs. Kael slumped in the back, blood soaking his sleeve, the Red Veil shard pressed against his chest like a hot coal. Its pulse synced with his own shard, a relentless hum that buzzed in his skull. Rhea gripped the controls, her bloody lip set in a grim line, while Mira hunched over her analyzer, its screen casting jagged light across her face. The air inside the rig stank of sweat and scorched wiring, the walls rattling with every turn.
Protocol drones buzzed behind, their scanners slicing through the night's smog. Kael's shoulder throbbed, the Harbinger's graze and drone blast leaving him lightheaded, but he kept his shard-pistol ready, its grip slick with sweat. A vision flickered: a bone gate in a wasteland, violet light bleeding from its cracks, a woman's voice whispering, *The spark burns.* He clenched his jaw, forcing focus. "Rhea, how far to the Wastelands?"
"Hour, maybe," she said, swerving to avoid a stalled hauler. Her implants glowed faintly, scanning the rig's hacked nav-system. "Assuming we don't get shot down first. Those drones are sticking close."
Mira's analyzer beeped, her voice tense. "The shards are still amplifying. The Red Veil shard's data confirms the temple's in sector seven, but it's picking up interference. Something's responding to them."
Kael's chest tightened, his shard pulsing harder. "Responding? Like Harbingers?"
"Worse," Mira said, her cyber-lenses glinting. "The signal's structured, not random. It's not Protocol or Red Veil. It's… old. Pre-Fall."
Rhea glanced back, her grin strained. "Great. More ghosts. Speaking of, that new signal on my comms? It's gaining. Not a drone. Not Harbinger. Moving too fast."
Kael leaned forward, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. "Show me."
Rhea tossed him the comms unit, its screen showing a blinking dot closing in from the east. The signal's frequency was erratic, spiking in time with the shards' hum. Kael's vision blurred, another image hitting: *a wasteland horizon, a shadow moving under a fractured sky, the woman's voice: The hunter wakes.* He dropped the unit, gasping, his shard burning against his ribs.
"You alright?" Rhea asked, her eyes flicking to him, then back to the road. The rig shuddered, a drone's blast grazing its side, sparking metal.
"Peachy," Kael muttered, grabbing the pistol. He leaned out the window, the wind biting his face, and fired at the nearest drone. The Aether-shot clipped its thruster, sending it spiraling into a tenement with a crash. But more lights blinked in the distance, Protocol reinforcements closing the net.
Mira's analyzer spiked, its alarm shrill. "Kael, the shards are overheating. If we don't dampen their resonance, they'll fry us or broadcast our position to everything in the city."
"Do it," Kael said, firing another shot. The rig swerved, throwing him against the wall, pain flaring in his arm. "Whatever it takes."
Mira fumbled with the shard-case, pulling out a dampening coil from her kit. She wrapped it around the original shard, its violet glow dimming slightly. The Red Veil shard in Kael's jacket pulsed harder, as if resisting. His vision swam: *a temple of bone, Aether crystals pulsing, a shadow with violet eyes.* He gripped the rig's frame, steadying himself.
Rhea's comms unit beeped, the new signal now dangerously close. "Brace yourselves," she said, flooring the accelerator. The rig lurched, barreling through a market stall, scattering crates and shouting vendors. A shadow flickered in the rearview, too fast, too sleek. Not a drone. Not Red Veil.
"Contact!" Rhea shouted, as a sleek, black skimmer roared into view, its hull etched with faint Aether runes. Its cannons glowed, firing a pulse that rocked the rig, blowing out a tire. The vehicle spun, scraping a wall, but Rhea wrestled it back, cursing.
Kael aimed his pistol, but the skimmer's speed was unreal, weaving through the Wards like a predator. Its pilot was a blur, but its Aether signature matched the shards' hum, sending Kael's chest shard into a frenzy. "Mira, what the hell is that?"
Her analyzer sparked, readings off the charts. "It's shard-powered. Pre-Fall tech. I've never seen anything like it." Her voice shook, but her hands kept working, securing the dampening coil. "It's locked onto the Red Veil shard."
The skimmer fired again, a pulse grazing the rig's roof, showering sparks. Kael returned fire, but the shots missed, the skimmer too agile. His shard pulsed, and a vision overwhelmed him: *a figure in black, standing in a temple, holding a shard that burned like a star, the woman's voice: The hunter claims.* He gasped, dropping to one knee, the pistol clattering.
"Kael!" Rhea yelled, swerving to avoid another blast. "Stay with us!"
He grabbed the pistol, blood dripping from his arm. The rig was slowing, its engine coughing from the damage. The skimmer circled, cannons charging, but a new sound cut through: a low, guttural roar. Harbingers. Their violet eyes glowed from the alleys, drawn by the shards' signal, lunging toward the rig.
"Perfect," Kael muttered, firing at a Harbinger that leaped onto the rig's hood. Its Aether-blade slashed, denting metal, but his shot sent it tumbling into the street. More closed in, their twisted forms illuminated by the skimmer's lights.
Mira's coil finally clicked, the original shard's glow stabilizing. The Red Veil shard in Kael's jacket calmed, but the skimmer didn't slow, its cannons locking on. Rhea veered into a narrow alley, the rig scraping walls, but the skimmer followed, relentless.
"We can't outrun it," Rhea said, her voice tight. "Wastelands are close, but we need a plan."
Kael's shard pulsed, the vision lingering: *the hunter, a temple, a star-like shard.* He met Mira's eyes, her face pale but resolute. "The temple's our shot," he said. "Whatever's hunting us, it's tied to the shards. We face it there."
Mira nodded, her analyzer still humming. "The map's locked. Sector seven. But the skimmer's not alone. I'm picking up more signals, converging."
The rig burst from the alley, Neo-Shanra's edge giving way to the Wastelands' barren sprawl. Dust stung Kael's face, the horizon a jagged line under a fractured sky. The skimmer roared closer, its cannons glowing, but a new shadow loomed ahead: a massive Aether storm, its violet lightning crackling over the temple's coordinates.
Rhea's comms unit screamed, the new signal spiking. The skimmer's pilot leaned out, a figure in black, their eyes glowing violet. Kael's shard burned, and the woman's voice echoed: *The hunter is here.