Dubai – Osiris Corporation Black Site
0100 Hours – September 2054
The alarms howled through the facility, an unrelenting wail of sirens and flashing red lights that bathed the steel corridors in a violet glow. Jackson Osiris barely had time to react before his HUD visor lit up with threat indicators.
They were out of time.
Osiris Security was coming.
Elias Scott's voice cut through the comms, sharp and controlled. "Osiris, we need to move. Now."
Jackson didn't hesitate. He grabbed Dr. Adrian Mercer by the arm and yanked him upright. The scientist grunted, still weak from his confinement, but his fear outweighed his exhaustion.
"We're getting you out of here," Jackson said, his grip firm.
Mercer met his gaze, eyes filled with something more than fear—desperation. "You don't understand. If they catch me, you'll never know the truth."
Jackson had no time to process the weight of those words.
The heavy thud of combat boots pounded against the floor outside. Then came the telltale click of rifles being raised.
"Contact," Elle Favreau warned, already shifting into a firing stance.
Jackson pushed Mercer behind cover just as the first wave of Osiris Security operatives breached the corridor.
The gunfight erupted in an instant.
0102 Hours – The Breakout
Muzzle flashes illuminated the darkness as Bravo Team opened fire. The corridor filled with the concussive echoes of suppressed rifle rounds and the sharp mechanical clatter of empty casings hitting the ground.
Jackson moved with instinct, dropping two hostiles in quick succession, his rifle kicking against his shoulder as he pushed forward.
Elias took point, his combat shotgun booming as he tore through the advancing security team, sending armored bodies crashing against the walls.
Elle was surgical in her precision, one shot, one kill, each round finding its mark through the visors of the incoming forces.
Gaz Brown, always reckless, let out a wild grin as he primed a grenade and lobbed it down the hall. The resulting explosion sent a shockwave through the facility, flames licking at the walls as bodies hit the ground.
But for every enemy they dropped, more flooded in.
Jackson's HUD display marked another incoming unit—heavily armed.
"Reinforcements," he muttered. "We need to move."
Elias reloaded. "Stairwell leads down to the hangar bay. That's our best shot."
Jackson turned to Mercer. "Can you run?"
Mercer nodded weakly.
"Then move."
They pushed forward.
0105 Hours – The Descent into Chaos
Bravo Team swept through the stairwell, clearing the way as Osiris operatives continued their pursuit. Bullets ricocheted off the steel walls, sparks raining down like fireflies.
As they reached the lower levels, the architecture changed—reinforced bulkheads, security blast doors, the unmistakable signs of a high-value containment area.
Mercer staggered but kept moving. "They're trying to lock us in."
Jackson's gut twisted. If Osiris activated the lockdown, they'd be trapped with no way out.
Elle moved to a control panel, working fast. "I can slow them down, but I need a minute."
A second alarm blared—a deeper, more ominous tone.
Mercer's face drained of color. "No. No, no, no."
Jackson grabbed his arm. "What?"
Mercer's voice was barely above a whisper. "They're activating an Acheron unit."
Jackson's blood ran cold.
Then the entire facility shook.
A metal blast door at the far end of the corridor shuddered open.
And something stepped through.
0107 Hours – First Encounter with Project Acheron
It moved with inhuman grace, armor black as the void, seamless plating absorbing the emergency lights. Its visor was blank—featureless. No eyes. No face. Just a smooth mask of death.
The Acheron Soldier.
Jackson barely had time to react before it was on them.
The first strike came at impossible speed.
The soldier lunged, grabbing a Bravo Team operative and slamming them into the wall with bone-crushing force. The body dropped, unmoving.
Jackson fired point-blank. Direct hit—no effect. The rounds impacted the armor, but the soldier didn't flinch.
Elle took a shot at its head. It tilted slightly—dodging the bullet before it even fired.
Jackson's mind raced. This wasn't just enhanced combat. This was something else.
The Acheron Soldier moved again.
Gaz swung his shotgun up, but it caught him mid-motion, gripping his weapon with an iron grasp and snapping it in half like it was nothing.
Gaz barely had time to curse before he was thrown across the room.
Elias unloaded his entire magazine, but the Acheron unit absorbed every round, closing the distance with terrifying efficiency.
Jackson made a decision in an instant.
"Fall back—NOW."
They needed a new plan.
0110 Hours – The Escape to the VTOL
Bravo Team broke into a sprint, racing toward the exit. The hangar doors loomed ahead, their escape transport—a sleek Osiris VTOL—waiting just beyond.
But the Acheron Soldier wasn't done.
It moved to pursue, covering the distance in seconds.
Jackson turned, raising his rifle again, but Mercer suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Wait! I can stop it."
Jackson hesitated. "What?"
Mercer pulled a device from his belt—a neural disruptor, small but powerful.
He activated it and hurled it at the Acheron unit.
The moment it made contact, the soldier froze.
The blank visor flickered. Its movements stuttered—glitching, as if something deep within its system was trying to override an unseen force.
Mercer didn't wait to explain. "It's running on an adaptive neural network. The signal will scramble it—but not for long."
Jackson wasted no time. "Go. Now!"
They sprinted to the VTOL as the Acheron Soldier twitched, its systems recovering.
Jackson shoved Mercer inside, then turned to cover the rear. Elle and Elias were already in position, laying down suppressing fire.
The Acheron unit took a step forward. Then another.
It was recovering.
Jackson hit the ramp controls, the rear hatch sealing just as the VTOL engines roared to life.
As they lifted off, the last thing Jackson saw was the Acheron Soldier standing in the hangar bay, watching them go.
It didn't chase them.
It didn't need to.
It knew this wasn't over.
0120 Hours
The VTOL soared over the burning skyline of Dubai. Below, Osiris Security scrambled to contain the disaster.
Jackson turned to Mercer, his breathing steady but his mind racing.
"Talk."
Mercer hesitated. Then, slowly, he activated his holo-tablet, revealing lines of classified data.
Jackson's name was on the screen.
JACKSON OSIRIS – PHASE ONE PROTOTYPE.
His stomach twisted.
Mercer's voice was barely above a whisper. "Your mother didn't just build Acheron, Jackson." He locked eyes with him. "She built you."
Jackson felt the weight of the revelation settle into his bones.
His entire life, every instinct, every ability—was it ever his?
Or had he been engineered for this?
For war.
The truth had finally found him.
And now, the real fight was about to begin.