LOGINI stepped out of the hospital and squinted in the bright sunlight.A black hover car was waiting at the bottom of the steps.Eve leaned against the car door in a long red dress. She looked stunning.When she saw me, she smiled and opened her arms."Honey, are you done?"I walked over and pulled her into my arms."All done.""Home, then?""Yes. Home."Our wedding was two weeks away, and the entire base was already celebrating.The celebration wasn't just for the governor's wedding. It also marked our victory over the SS-class beast tide.The night before the wedding, I sat on the balcony, looking out at the lights across the base.Eve joined me with two glasses of red wine and handed me one. "What are you thinking about?" She leaned against the railing as the night breeze stirred her long hair."Where I'd be if I hadn't met the old captain ten years ago." I took a sip. "Maybe I'd be living quietly in some forgotten corner. Maybe I'd have ended up alone."Eve turned to me. "It wouldn't h
If Ryan hit me, Nightfall would lose its balance. The queen's final attack would tear me apart."Idiot!"I gritted my teeth and prepared to break off the attack and dodge.But at the last second, something flashed into view from the side.A battered mecha cockpit hurtled toward us.It was Sienna.With only one thruster still working, she slammed what was left of her cockpit into Ryan's pod.Boom!The impact shook the battlefield.Ryan's pod spun off course and crashed into a pile of rubble.But the force of the collision sent Sienna plunging straight into the pool of acid the queen had sprayed."Ah!" Her scream tore through the channel.The acid ate through the outer shell and burned its way into the cockpit.I didn't stop.I twisted the light blade and drove it deeper, finishing the queen.The massive beast crashed to the ground.With its queen dead, the beast tide quickly scattered.The battle was over.I landed Nightfall beside the acid pool.The medical team was already there, spra
Nightfall roared to life and shot into the clouds ahead of the other mechas.The battlefield was pure chaos.Mutant beasts howled as explosions tore through the sky.I cut through the swarm like a bolt of black lightning.Nightfall's solo neural link synced perfectly with my rebuilt neural net.Every movement felt natural, as if the mecha were part of my own body.I swung the light blade through the swarm, cutting mutants apart one after another.Eve stayed beside me in her red mecha, Blaze.We didn't need to speak. We moved in perfect sync.I tore open a path through the swarm while Eve laid down heavy cover fire."That's my husband!" Eve said with a laugh over the open channel.Sienna wasn't doing nearly as well.She'd been forced to deploy in the damaged Daybreak with Ryan as her co-pilot again.The moment they faced the SS-class beast tide, Ryan fell apart."Sienna! Help! There's one on the right! And another on the left!"He cowered in the co-pilot pod with both hands over his hea
Sienna went pale."What do you mean?""I mean all those victories you're so proud of weren't really yours. I was controlling the mecha from the co-pilot pod whenever you couldn't handle it."I didn't bother to sugarcoat it."You think you're a genius? You only made it this far because I spent years covering for you. I'm done doing that. Take your precious Ryan with you next time and see how far you get without me."Sienna started trembling, tears spilling down her cheeks."You can't do this to me! My father saved your life three times!"There it was—her last card to play.I looked at her without a trace of emotion."Yes. The old captain saved me three times. So I gave you three chances. I forgave you for taking my serum and giving it to Ryan. I forgave you for leaving me alone on the battlefield. I gave you one last chance at City Hall, and you chose Ryan over me again. Three chances. You used every one of them. We're even now."Sienna broke down.She dropped to her knees and clung to
Sienna sliced the beast in half, but the attack had already wiped out half of her shields.Sweat soaked her uniform, and her mental reserves were draining fast.When I was her co-pilot, all she had to worry about was fighting. I could calculate the best route and send it straight to her in a fraction of a second.Now she had to fight, watch the radar, manage power, and dodge attacks all at once.And Ryan was no help at all. He just screamed from the co-pilot pod.Ryan shouted without even checking the data, "Sienna, left! Something's coming from the left!"Sienna jerked the mecha left, but there was nothing there.The real attack came from behind and to the right. It ripped Daybreak's right arm clean off."Shut up! If you can't give me accurate coordinates, don't say anything!"Sienna finally lost her temper.She stared at the mess of data flashing across her screen, and for the first time, she regretted losing me.Kane never made mistakes like this.He always had everything under cont
The broadcast camera zoomed in on the document in my hands.Governor's Consort Registration.Under "Spouse," everyone could see two names: Eve's and mine.Eve rose from her seat of honor and began to applaud."Let me reintroduce him." Her voice carried across the square. "This is Kane, my lawful husband and the new Governor's Consort of Base Seven."A few days later, Sienna finally returned with Ryan.He didn't have a scratch on him.Apparently, he'd never even powered up a mecha. He'd simply sat in the bay and cried.Sienna spent the next three days comforting him.By the time she thought of me and returned to my old quarters, I'd already moved out.She called me immediately.I answered, and her furious face filled the screen."Kane! Where did you move all your things? How long are you going to keep this up? Do you have any idea how exhausting these past few days have been? I've had to take care of Ryan nonstop! Can't you be reasonable for once and stop making things even harder for m







