The desert stretched endlessly before them, a barren expanse of dunes and jagged rocks illuminated by the twin moons of Kynara. The hover truck hummed steadily as it traversed the rugged terrain, its cloaked exterior blending into the shadows. Ethan sat in the driver's seat, his focus divided between the navigation system and the faint outlines of the rocky outcrops ahead. Beside him, Zyrix Korran lounged with his psma sniper rifle resting across his p, his rexed posture betraying the sharp vigin his eyes.

  "This better be worth it," Zyrix muttered, sing the horizon.

  "It will be," Ethan replied, his voice steady. He didn't look away from the path ahead, though his mind ed with apprehension. The coordihey were following were a tightly guarded secret, provided only after extensive iatioween the guild branch master and Joran Kren's inner circle. Eveing permission for this meeting had been a moal challenge.

  Joran Kren wasn't known for weling outsiders, especially not meraries. His resistance fa, hidden deep in the norther, had long waged a guerril war against the Syndicate. To them, the guild was little better than the Syndicate itself, a group of profit-driven opportunists looking to exploit Kynara for their own gain.

  Zyrix broke the silence again. "You know this guy's not going to roll out the red carpet, right? If anything, we're walking into a den of wolves hoping they don't bite."

  "I know," Ethan said. "But we don't have a choice. If Ve Drasik's forces keep growing, we won't be able to hold the line on our own."

  The truck slowed as they approached the coordinates. Emerging from the dunes was a fortified settlement, its natural barriers augmented by reinforced walls and cealed turrets. The structure seemed to rise out of the desert itself, a testament to the resistance's resourcefulness.

  Ethan and Zyrix stopped at the ate, where a squad of heavily armed guards greeted them with ons drawn. Their armor was cobbled together from salvaged Syndicate gear, and their expressions were anything but weling.

  "State your business," one of the guards barked, his on trained ohan.

  "We're here to meet Joran Krehan said evenly, raising his hands slightly to show he wasn't a threat.

  The guard's eyes narrowed. "Step out of the vehicle. Slowly."

  Ethan plied, motioning for Zyrix to follow. They were patted down and their ons fiscated, standard protocol but the tension in the air alpable.

  "Don't wander," the guard warned, gesturing for them to follow.

  The walk through the settlement was an exercise iraint. Resistance fighters lihe pathways, their eyes b ihan and Zyrix with open hostility. The air buzzed with the activity of a unity always on edge, fighters cheg ons, engineers maintaining defenses, and medics tending to wounded rades.

  "Friendly bunch," Zyrix muttered under his breath.

  "They've got every reason not to trust us," Ethan replied quietly.

  They were led to a tral a, its interior stark and utilitarian. A rge map of Kynara domihe room, pio a table surrounded by a handful of resistance officers. At the head of the table stood Joran Kren.

  Joran was a tall, lean man with weathered features and pierg eyes that seemed to see straight through a person. His stance was rexed, but there was a coiled tension in his frame, like a predator ready to strike.

  "So," Joran said, his voice cold and cutting. "The meraries finally crawl out of their safe little city to see how the real war is fought."

  Ethan ighe insult, meeting Joran's gaze steadily. "We're here because we want to end the Syndicate's hold on Kynara. Same as you."

  Joran's lips twitched in somethiween a smirk and a sneer. "Is that so? Five me if I don't believe you. Meraries don't fight for justice, they fight for credits. Why should I trust anything you say?"

  Zyrix leaned against the table, his tone light but firm. "You think we'd be here if we didn't mean business? Trust me, there are easier ways to make a living than dealing with Syndicate scum."

  Joran's gaze flicked to Zyrix, then back to Ethan. "You talk a good game. But the guild hasly been a bea of hope for Kynara's people. Where were you when the Syndicate started carving up the outposts? Where were you whearted their experiments?"

  Ethan didn't flinch. "We 't ge the past, but we're here now. Xelthar is dead. His operations are dismantled. And Ve Drasik is ."

  Joran's expression hardened. "Don't pare killing one warlord to what we've endured. You took dowhar because it suited you, not because you cared about the people suffering under his rule."

  The words hit a sore spot, but Ethan knew not to act out a his calm. "We did it because it was necessary. And now we're asking for your help because we both know the Syndicate won't stop with us. If Ve solidates her forces, it won't just be our territory at risk...it'll be yours, too."

  Joran's fists tightened against the table. "And why should I believe you won't turn on us the sed it's ve?"

  Ethan took a step closer, his voice low but firm. "Because we have nothing to gain by fighting each other. The Syndicate is the real enemy here. If we don't work together, they'll pick us off one by one. You've seen what they're capable of. Is your distrust of us worth risking everything you've fought for?"

  The room fell silent, the weight of Ethan's words settling over the gathered officers.

  After a long pause, Joran straightened. His gaze softened slightly, though his tone remained guarded. "Fine. A ditional alliance. You get our help against Ve, but we keep our autonomy. And if you step out of lihe deal's off."

  "Agreed," Ethan said without hesitation.

  Jestured to the map. "There's a supply depot near Ve's manufacturing hub. It's critical to her operations. We hit it hard and fast, together. If this alliance works, maybe we'll talk about future pns."

  Ethan nodded. "When do we start?"

  "Tomorrow night," Joran said. He leaned forward, his eyes log ohan's. "Don't make me regret this."

  As Ethan and Zyrix were escorted back to the hover truck, the tension in the air remaihick. Even with Joran's relut agreement, the alliance felt fragile. It was built more on y than trust.

  Ohey were safely out of the settlement and ba the ope, Zyrix exhaled. "Well, that weer than I expected."

  "Barely," Ethan replied, gripping the wheel tightly. "He doesn't trust us. I don't bme him."

  "Trust doesn't matter right now," Zyrix said. "Results do. We hit that depot, a it hard."

  Ethan nodded, his resolve hardening. The fight against the Syndicate was about to escate, and there was n back.