Chapter 13

The military convoy drifted silently through the barren expanse, the sky above painted in violent hues of orange and red, ash swirling like dark snowflakes in the thin apocalyptic air. Below the convoy, the once-solid surface of the city had turned into a twisted landscape of blackened rock and fiery chasms, the aftermath of the volcanic eruption that had torn Aeon Prime apart. It was now reduced to crumbling ruins and molten rivers of lava.

The convoy, a series of massive, armored vehicles hovering on invisible fields of energy, moved in eerie silence across this newly formed hellscape. They floated effortlessly over the scorched earth, guided by the hum of anti-gravity engines buried deep within their hulls.

Each vehicle in the convoy was a fortress, built to carry hundreds of survivors out of the disaster zone. They had been stolen from the SEA and repurposed. The blackened sky overhead rained ash onto their thick, metallic exteriors, but the convoy pressed forward, undeterred. The convoy’s leading transport, known as “The Colossus,” hovered like a massive leviathan, casting long shadows over the twisted remains of what had once been the outskirts of Aeon Prime and the eastern side. Once a gleaming modern metropolis, Aeon Prime had been reduced to skeletal ruins, its towering buildings now bent and broken, buried beneath layers of volcanic debris. Only the west side remained untouched, as it was high upon a hill. There remained the wealthy district of the now desolate metropolis. The Capitol building and major technology companies remained virtually unscathed.

Inside the convoy, civilians and soldiers alike huddled together in cramped quarters, their faces smeared with soot and exhaustion. The air inside was thick with tension, as the rhythmic hum of the anti-grav engines did little to ease their fear. Rows of harnessed seats lined the walls, with civilians strapped in, eyes wide and silent. There was no talking. There was only the dull drone of the engines and the occasional crackle of the emergency comms. Children clung to their parents, their wide eyes reflecting the flickering lights of the interior as the convoy passed through the dying remnants of their once-home.

The convoy's anti-grav systems had been pushed to their limits. The volcanic eruption had not only reshaped the land but had also disrupted the delicate electromagnetic fields. The floating vehicles occasionally faltered, their hum turning into a groan as they struggled to maintain their altitude. The convoy would occasionally lurch downward, the rubber of its underside skimming the broken surface before rising again. Each time it happened, gasps filled the cabins as people clutched their harnesses tighter, praying the technology would hold.

Inside the armored bellies of the transports, enormous tanks stored this precious fuel, a glowing, iridescent liquid that was an SEA secret. All that was known to the SR, was that they called the liquid, Solaris. It was said to have properties not found anywhere else in the solar system.

The convoy commander Beck, a woman with stern features and battle-hardened eyes, stood in the control room of The Colossus. Before her, a holographic map flickered, displaying the fractured landscape they were navigating. The map showed where once there had been towering spires and sprawling sectors. Now, there were only canyons of lava, rivers of molten rock cutting through what was left east of Aeon Prime. The convoy’s path was treacherous; the eruption had triggered aftershocks, and each quake risked destabilizing the anti-grav systems.

“Status on the anti-grav cores?” she barked, her voice carrying authority despite the chaos outside.

“Stable for now,” came the response from a technician droid, his hands moving quickly across a holographic interface. “But the volcanic ash is interfering with our sensors. We’re flying half-blind.”

SEA drones lurked in the shadows. Commander Beck cursed under her breath. She knew they were being hunted. The droids on the craft began sending updates and reports of them being surrounded. The reports all came in the same: small white disc like craft with two small propellers above that are equipped with advanced weaponry. Namely, plasma coil guns and hyper-penetrating nanite bullets, designed for versatility and ruthlessness in both crowd control and targeted elimination.

The plasma coil gun, a high-energy weapon that fires bursts of ionized plasma. These weapons were perfect for crowd suppression, as they could be set to different power levels, from non-lethal stuns to devastating, flesh-searing blasts. The plasma coil guns worked by harnessing magnetic fields to accelerate charged plasma particles, which were then fired in glowing bolts that can incapacitate or kill targets depending on the settings.

The drones’ plasma coil guns had adjustable settings, allowing them to deliver anything from a mild shock capable of disabling electronics or incapacitating humans with temporary paralysis to a high-intensity bolt that can melt through armor or vehicles. The lowest setting was the Crowd Control Mode: In this mode, the drones fired wide dispersal plasma bursts, causing severe disorientation and panic among groups of people without immediately lethal effects. The drones used this to maintain control over civilian populations during protests or riots.

The higher level was called Precision Fire: When targeting specific individuals, the plasma coils could fire precise, focused shots that disintegrate the target's armor and flesh on contact, leaving little behind but scorched remnants. The SEA felt the need to set their drones at Precision Fire. Inside the poor innocent civilians prayed they survived the dreadful lava flow and lahars, but also their own government was now attacking its own citizens. Nevertheless, the Colossus prevailed and the droids picked off the drones, leaving the civilians confused and afraid. 

For miles, the convoy traveled through this nightmarish landscape. The sky overhead glowed faintly from the ever-burning crater in the distance, where the volcano still spewed its molten fury. The ground below them cracked and shifted as they moved, but the convoy’s anti-gravity fields kept them aloft, skimming the surface like phantoms through the ruins. The hum of their engines blended with the distant roar of the still-erupting volcano.

Inside the Colossus, soldiers prepared their weapons, knowing that at any moment, the SEA could strike with more drones. The ash storm outside would be the perfect cover for an ambush, and there were whispers that some factions had developed ways to disable anti-grav systems, leaving convoys stranded, ripe for plunder.

Suddenly, a tremor passed through the convoy. The ground below heaved, and the anti-grav engines groaned in protest. For a moment, the bottom brushed the ground again, sending a wave of panic through the cabins. The civilians clutched their seats as the convoy buckled and rose once more, the anti-grav systems stabilizing.

"Another quake," the commander muttered, her hands gripping the edge of the holographic console. "We need to reach the evacuation zone before we lose anyone."

Ahead of them, on the horizon, the remnants of Alantica glinted in the ash-filled haze. Behind them Aeon Prime was broken, buried, and burning.