Steam and heat hit you in the face as the rocket's mechanism activated. Hastily, you pulled out the cable that connected you to the hull.

The images changed before your eyes and suddenly you could see the world from the air. Your own body became smaller and smaller beneath you, as if in a trance and completely unaware of what was going on around.

Kurt crouched next to you and surveyed the surroundings. His eyes were on your body, flickered red to make sure that your vitals were stable.

In control of the rocket, you sent the explosive device through the air. The wind and air rippled. Militech's ship was getting closer and closer.

Modern technology could do a lot, but it couldn't take back an impact. You had to aim well, find a weak spot to take the ship out of the sky with a single blow.

Force fields threatened to disrupt the connection to the air defence missile. A code appeared in a window. Five took over, fixed the problem and sent a message back to the cargo ship that would keep the crew busy for a moment.

A huge shadow fell over the unfinished stadium of Pacifica. Dust and rubble were swept across the ground.

Your eyes narrowed. A single attempt was all that remained.

With a command, you let the missile fly around the ship's snout. A glass wall appeared. Surprise showed on the faces of the crew, who stood unsuspectingly on the bridge. Eyes widened. Silent panic broke out.

A single command was sent from you.

Then the air defence missile hit the command bridge of the cargo ship with full force. Green light flickered before your eyes, the connection was cut.

Panting and sweating, you lost your footing and fell back. Nausea constricted your throat, your limbs felt as if they were no longer listening to the commands of your mind. Suppressing a choke, you doubled over.

But not for long and a shockwave engulfed your body. Thrown to the ground, you gasped. In the corner of your eye, an explosion flashed in the dirty sky, tearing apart clouds and casting a veil of agony over the stadium.

The cargo ship was swallowed up. Burning, it began to fall from the sky like a mountain. Concrete shattered under the weight and containers broke free. Like huge stones, they fell into the depths, carving craters in the ground.

Blood dripped from your nose.

Kurt rushed to your side.

"Whistler!", he had regained his stamina, his gaze was steely and disciplined again.

You raised your hands in defence.

"Now the fun begins, Colonel.", you gasped with a stifled laugh. "Ever taken spoils of war?"

With a nod, he helped you back to your feet and looked around. The stadium was now completely shrouded in dust and agony, the ship having crashed directly into the unfinished complex.

A jet of flame burned up into the sky. The temperature changed, humidity disappeared.

Goose bumps crawled over your arms.

"What a beautiful mess~!", you purred. "Up, up, Colonel. Destruction awaits us."

With these words, you jumped off the roof of the shopping centre and ran towards the inferno that was growing right before your eyes.

Red and orange firelight enveloped your body and bathed you in the colours of the devil. It smelled of war and destruction. You paused just a few steps away from an entrance.

"If we're lucky, their line of defence have been killed at impact.", Kurt took a revolver from the holster on his hip and checked the ammunition.

"But where would be the fun in that?", your eyes lit up red as you let Three run an analysis.

You cautiously entered the shadows. Heat immediately hit your face. There was something sour in the air, as if a barrel of vinegar had been spilt. Electricity crackled. Sparks flew above your head from damaged cables.

This was a battlefield like you had never seen before.

"Yuri, report something good.", you said over a phone call as your steps led you slowly along a wall.

Kurt sat down in front of you. It was better to take the lead when you were distracted. Tactically well thought out.

The answer was a long time coming. Yuri took the call. Gasps filled the silence, his lungs rattling with each breath.

"Battle has broken out!", he shouted. "Second tank has reached the neutral zone."

"Retreat.", the colonel ordered and stopped at the edge of a crater. "We need support to take over the ship."

You nodded in agreement.

"Time to make the NUSA suffer the consequences of their ignorance.", you confirmed.

Your eyes glowed red again.

One accepted the order, ran an algorithm and several windows opened in your mind's eye. The night before, when Kurt was already asleep, you had positioned an insurance at the base. And also to the one between NUSA territory and the neutral zone.

In the distance, far from your control, explosive devices lit up in their hiding places. Quiet beeping emanated from them. But only the ones outside the base blew up.

Roads and infrastructure were destroyed, blocking the way and forming barricades of rubble. You could hear the blast over the call from Yuri.

"Main road lost!", he reported as the uneven panting of his breath sounded.

He ran. Presumably away from the battlefield and into the abandoned buildings, as had been planned.

"Good, stick to the plan.", you ended the call and turned to the Colonel. "Thirty minutes, get in the ship, secure cargo, go into hiding."

"Everything is going according to plan.", he smiled contentedly and set off again.

You followed. You liked walking in his shadow. That way, no one could guess you were there until it was too late. And Kurt knew at all times that you had his back.

A good deal with a relationship that had long outlived its purpose. Slowly, work became a pleasure.

And you didn't mind. Quite the opposite.

His offer from the night before to rule an empire of profit and chaos together tasted sweeter by the second. As was the prospect of continuing to enjoy his company.