Page 52 of New World

“You,” Andri said, his voice cutting through the howling wind echoing from outside the hanger. “With me.”

Quar swallowed hard and nodded, falling into step beside Andri as he brushed past Stronauss without another word. The general stiffened but said nothing, watching as Andri disappeared into the depths of the lab.

Inside, the air was sterile and cold, the walls lined with terminals and containment units. Scientists moved like ghosts, their gazes darting toward him before quickly averting.

Fear. Good. Let them fear.

Andri stopped in the center of the lab. His eyes swept over the massive room—over the rows of empty cryo tanks lining the walls, their glass interiors dark, hollow. A cold rage coiled in his chest.

“Where is it?” he demanded.

Quar’s hands trembled as he gestured to the empty tanks. “Director… all viable iROS specimens were taken aboard the Legion Space Lab before its departure. Dr. Mella oversaw the final phase of the project personally.”

Andri’s gaze snapped to him. “And why haven’t you replicated his success?”

A bead of sweat trickled down Quar’s temple. “We… we have tried, Director. But large portions of Dr. Mella’s research data are missing. We suspect he deliberately withheld crucial details—possibly to prevent unauthorized use.”

Andri’s fingers flexed at his sides. “Then why are you not using the data you do have?”

Quar hesitated, glancing at the other scientists. “Without Dr. Mella, we cannot fully reconstruct the process. We are working tirelessly, but?—”

“Enough,” Andri cut him off. He turned, his cloak swirling behind him as he stared at the empty cylinders, their presence a stark reminder of failure.

Of Coleridge’s failure. Not mine. Never mine. Coleridge promised he would not fail, but he did. He is responsible.

Andri breathed in a deep breath, his words careful, measured. “You mean to tell me, that in all your brilliance, all your resources, none of you have been able to make progress?”

Quar stammered. “We—w-we were solely focused on iROS. There was nothing else— It’s just that Dr. Mella–Dr. Mella insisted that none of us know exactly what he was doing. He—he regularly rotated us so we couldn’t learn his process.”

Andri’s breath came slow and deep. He bowed his head for a moment, the silence stretching unbearably. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and walked out.

Stronauss was waiting for him in the outside corridor. “Director, I?—”

Andri didn’t stop. He brushed past the general as if he were nothing more than an insect, his pace unwavering as he stepped onto his shuttle.

By the time he returned to the Battle Cruiser, his decision was made.

He strode onto the bridge, his expression blank, his voice devoid of emotion.

“Destroy it.”

The bridge officers froze.

One of them swallowed. “Sir?”

Andri’s eyes burned like dying embers. “Obliterate the facility. Nothing is to remain.”

A silent, horrified pause. Then the order was relayed.

Andri watched.

From the viewport, he observed the planet below, the faint glimmer of the lab barely visible against the ice. Then?—

A surge of blinding energy erupted from the cannons of the Battle Cruiser, streaking down toward the surface like the fist of an angry god, cutting through the intense winds and heating the freezing air.

The lab stood no chance. Explosions rippled across the facility, metal crumpling like paper, entire sections disintegrating as fire and plasma consumed it whole. The shockwave spread outward, shattering ice and rock, sending massive clouds of debris spiraling into the atmosphere.

Inside Andri’s mind, the voices rose.

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