Page 159 of Broken Sentinel

The plan is coming together—risky but not impossible. The kind of mission I used to run as a Sentinel, except this time I'm breaking into Unity territory rather than defending it.

"Timeline?" I ask.

"Intelligence suggests prisoner transfer will begin at 0600 tomorrow," Jo reports. "We need to move no later than 0100 tonight to position for infiltration during the pre-dawn shift rotation at 0400."

Less than twelve hours from now. Sooner than I'd hoped, but later would only reduce our chances further.

"What about the other Haven children?" I ask. "If the mission fails, if Unity captures us?—"

"The remaining Haven children will be evacuated to the secondary sanctuary immediately after our departure,"Naomi says, entering the command tent. "Including Michael and Adrian Lin."

I hadn't realized she was listening in. Her expression makes it clear she still doesn't fully support this rescue attempt but has accepted it as inevitable.

"If we don't return within twenty-four hours," Jo adds, "the secondary location will initiate full lockdown protocols. Unity won't find them easily."

Cold comfort if we're all captured or killed, but better than nothing.

"We'll need equipment," I say, turning back to the tactical display. "Non-lethal weapons effective against modified operators, communication devices that won't trigger Unity detection systems, medical supplies for potentially injured prisoners."

"Already being assembled," Jo confirms. "Limited cache but sufficient for mission parameters."

I look around at our small team—determined faces, all knowing the risks yet willing to attempt this rescue regardless. For some, it's about saving friends and community members. For others, it's about denying Unity access to more test subjects for Project Duality.

For me, it's simpler and more complex all at once. I need to bring Trent and Vex home. I can't leave them in Unity's hands, can't abandon them after everything they've sacrificed. Whatever complications exist between the three of us, whatever choices might eventually need to be made, those can wait.

First, I need to find them. Free them. Save them, as they've saved me so many times.

"We depart at 0030," I announce. "Final equipment check and resonance connection calibration at 0000. Get whatever rest you can before then."

As the group disperses to make preparations, Naomi approaches me.

"This is incredibly risky," she says quietly. "You know that, right?"

"I do," I acknowledge. "But necessary."

She studies me with those mismatched eyes. "Your mother would be proud of you, you know. Not just for the protocol, but for this—for choosing loyalty despite the risk."

"I'm not doing this because of her or her grand vision," I tell her plainly. "I'm doing it because it's my choice. Because some people are worth any risk."

A small smile touches her lips. "And that, Zara Thorne, is exactly why she would be proud. True adaptation was never just about physical capability. It was about evolving beyond imposed limitations—including those she might have placed on you herself."

With that unexpectedly profound statement, she turns and leaves me to my preparations.

I spend the remaining hours checking and rechecking equipment, reviewing the approach plan, and trying desperately not to think about what condition I might find Trent and Vex in—if I find them at all.

Unity's processing procedures are notoriously brutal. For a former Sentinel like Trent, they would be particularly vigorous, as Unity would consider his defection the highest form of treason. And for Vex, a modified Splinter with valuable genetic adaptations...

I force the thoughts away. One step at a time. Get to Resonance. Find them. Extract them. Then deal with whatever Unity has done.

The hours until departure pass with agonizing slowness. I check my equipment one final time—non-lethal weapons, communication devices, medical supplies. Everything we might need for a successful extraction. Everything except certainty.

As zero-hundred approaches, our team assembles at the camp's edge. Lily joins me, her slender form wrapped in darkclothing that makes her silver eyes seem even more luminous by contrast. Jo and Sara arrive with the other fighters, all moving with the quiet efficiency of people who understand the stakes.

"Resonance connection calibration," Sara says, producing three crystals from a protective case.

The crystals pulse with subtle blue-green light, responding to our proximity. Different from the ones used in the final protocol—smaller, more focused in their purpose. Sara hands one to me and another to Lily, keeping the third for herself.

"Limited network only," she explains. "Focused on masking our presence from Unity's detection systems, nothing more."

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