Back at SHQ—
The fighting had stopped.
But movement had not.
The grounds around the weapons complex were now littered with bodies.
UPSDF soldiers.
SHQ staff.
Some lay where they had fallen mid-stride, others collapsed behind cover that hadn't saved them.
Blood marked the pavement in wide, uneven spreads, trailing between vehicles, pooling near the entrance checkpoints.
Across the wider SHQ grounds—
More of the same.
Alarms blared without pause.
Buildings stood damaged, sections blackened from explosions, windows blown out. Smoke drifted upward in thick streams from scattered points across the facility.
And moving through it all—
The bipedal androids.
They walked with steady, unhurried steps.
Their optics burned red.
Mounted weapons tracked as they moved, scanning, locking, firing.
A group of UPSDF soldiers sprinted between two buildings, dragging an injured man between them.
"Move—move—!"
They didn't make it far.
One of the androids turned.
