Ryan ran through the chaotic heart of the battle, his mind a whirlwind of focus and fear. The air was filled with the shriek of tearing metal, the boom of plasma explosions, and the guttural war cries of the Marauders.
A stray energy bolt sizzled past his head, so close he could smell his hair burning. He didn't even flinch. His eyes were locked on a single point in the center of the besieged Enclave: the faint, flickering light of the Genesis Seed.
He skidded to a stop in front of the ornate pedestal, his friends and the last of the Precursors forming a desperate, living wall between him and the chaos.
Scarlett, having left the "Odyssey" on autopilot, was now fighting on the ground, a phantom of deadly grace with her twin pistols. Chris would have been proud of Emma and Zara; they had found a pair of Precursor energy rifles and were firing methodical, precise shots from behind cover, their faces grim with determination.
