The northern colony’s ruins were a labyrinth of twisted steel and shattered glass. Smoke and dust swirled in jagged columns, filtered sunlight struggling through the gray haze. Olivia moved carefully, Medi-Stream unit mounted on her shoulder, eyes scanning every corner.

  “Slate, Snapline down that corridor!” Akari’s voice crackled over comms, adrenaline sharp.

  Olivia’s fingers tightened on the Medi-Stream triggers. Around her, BOSF soldiers darted like shadows, engaging Titanium units with chaos and precision. But chaos carried a cost—already, two of her squad were bleeding, sparks flying from damaged armor, staggered and slowed by shockwave pulses.

  She fired the Medstream Beam, the narrow healing stream arcing toward Slate. The HUD displayed a pulse of HP returning, tiny numbers ticking upward. A moment later, a Field Medpak launched from her pack, hovering through the smoke to land in the chest of a crawling teammate, stitching torn armor and flesh together before he could even scream.

  A Nightmare-class unit burst through the corner, its sensors locking on. Olivia didn’t flinch. She twisted, firing a Spark Dart Injector at the puddle near its foot. Electricity hissed, arcs jumping to its metallic limbs, slowing the machine just enough. Her squad used the moment to reposition, sliding past debris, taking advantage of the stagger.

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  “Overload Booster, on Slate!” she shouted. Her nanites surged through the comms-linked armor, boosting Slate’s systems and healing him as he vaulted over a fallen beam to land a punishing strike.

  Akari spun past, Snapline snapping taut. Olivia fired an Adrenal Shot, boosting Akari’s sprint as the DPS flanker disappeared into the smoke, reappearing behind enemy lines like a phantom.

  The final wave of units fell on them suddenly, heavier, faster, more aggressive. Olivia’s heart pounded. She dropped her pack, activating the Bio-Cascade Pulse. Rings of glowing light spread outward from her position, healing her team in a tidal wave of nanites. The squad felt their muscles surge, their reflexes sharpen, and a protective energy coating their armor just enough to shrug off the worst of the incoming fire.

  In the haze, Olivia ducked low, moving methodically between fallen beams and debris. For a moment, the battlefield became a blur of blue-white pulses, orange streaks, and human chaos against cold, calculating steel.

  When the dust settled, the units around them were neutralized—or broken enough to retreat. Olivia exhaled, letting the Medstream power down. She surveyed her squad: all alive, all breathing. Slate gave a nod, Akari grinned, still twitching with residual energy from her Overdrive.

  “Nice work, Stitch,” Slate said.

  Olivia smiled faintly, shoulder aching from the weight of her backpack. “Just keeping you all alive,” she muttered, already scanning the horizon for the next wave.

  For the Blackout Strikeforce, she was more than a medic. She was the thread holding chaos together—the invisible pulse of life amid the mechanical storm of the Titanium Army. Without her, they might win battles, but they wouldn’t survive the war.