Ethan pushed the throttle of the hover truck forward, the engine humming with a renewed sense of purpose. The wind was less fierce today, but the route ahead was much more dangerous. This was no lohe retively safer terrain of his previous supply missions; now, he was venturing into the most desote and treacherous part of Kynara.

  The outpost he was tasked with resupplying sat at the far edge of civilization, close to where Federation soldiers rarely patrolled. It was an area notorious for weak defenses, making it a prime target for the bandits allied with the Bck Sun Syndicate. And given the esg attacks, this mission carried more than just supplies, it carried the hopes of survival for those statiohere.

  "ETA to outpost, four hours," Iris reported. "Weather ditions stable, but sers detect high-energy signatures along the route."

  Ethan frowned. "Bandits?"

  "Possible, but unfirmed," Iris replied, her toral. "Reeened caution."

  "Noted."

  The hover truck's upgraded shields and ons system gave him some fidence, but there was still that lingering unease in the back of his mind. This sector, this remote and wless part of Kynara, was like the wild frontier ahan knew better than to take anything franted. Even the ndscapes here seemed more unfiving, with jagged roations, sharp ravines, and unstable cliff sides.

  He g his HUD, trag the route ahead while also keeping a close eye on the various sensor readouts that Iris rocessing. His gut told him that the Syndicate wouldn't leave such a high-value supply run alone, especially after the ret wave of coordinated outpost attacks.

  "Keep sing," he muttered, fog on navigating through a particurly narrow se of the pass. "If they're out there, we'll find them."

  For a while, the trip tinued smoothly. Almost too smoothly. The sun began to dip behind the rocky horizon, casting long shadows that only made the rough terrain appear more dangerous. The trail twisted and turned, making it impossible to gain much speed. Even with the truck's reinforced chassis and hover system, Etha every jolt and bump.

  Suddenly, a warning beep echoed through the .

  "Multiple energy signatures closing in," Iris announced. "Three fast-moving objects approag from the east. Estimated time to tact: thirty seds."

  Ethan's hands tensed on the trols. "Bandits?"

  "Most likely," Iris firmed.

  Ethan activated the truck's defensive systems, readying the psma turrets aing additional power to the shields. His heart raced, but his mind remained focused.

  "They never make it easy, do they?" he muttered to himself.

  As he crested the ridge, the source of the ining signatures became clear. Three hoverbikes, sleek and fast, appeared from the dust clouds, speeding toward him with precision. They were not just regur bandits; their bikes were outfitted with better onry than the ones he'd entered in the past. It was clear that the Bck Sun Syndicate had stepped up their game, and these riders were likely part of the Syndicate's vanguard, better trained aer equipped.

  "They're targeting the truck's power core," Iris warned, highlighting their approach patterns on the HUD. "If they disable it, we'll be sitting ducks."

  "Not happening," Ethan gritted, gripping the trols tightly.

  Without hesitatioivated the psma turrets. The rear one swiveled and fired a volley of blue-hot psma toward the closest bike. The rider dodged expertly, swerving to the side as the psma bolts narrowly missed. The other two riders took advantage of the distra and closed in ohan's fnks.

  They opened fire, their ser ons peppering the truck's shields with rapid, trated bsts. Ethan winced as the shields flickered and strained uhe onsught. He had to act fast before they overwhelmed the truck's defenses.

  "Iris, divert power to the forward shields!" he barked, yanking the trols hard to the right. The truck veered sharply, causing the leftmost rider to lose his line of fire for a brief moment.

  In that split sed, Ethan smmed his fist down on the manual override for the psma turret. The turret fired again, this time catg the sed rider off guard. A direct hit. The bike spun wildly out of trol, smming into a nearby rock outcropping and exploding in a bright fsh.

  "One dowhan muttered, but the victory was short-lived.

  The two remaining riders adjusted their tactics. One pulled ahead, unleashing a barrage of sers toward the truck's windshield, while the other hung back, likely pnning to attack from behihan cursed under his breath. They were coordinating their assault, clearly more disciplihan the average gang of raiders.

  "Forward shields at 60%," Iris reported, her calm tone trasting with the chaos.

  Ethan knew he had to act quickly. The truck wasn't built for speed ility, especially pared to the nimble hoverbikes. He o level the pying field.

  Without warnihan smmed on the brakes. The truck lurched violently, and the rider in front overshot his mark, flying directly into the line of fire of the front psma turret. Ethan pulled the trigger without hesitation. The psma shot ected, tearing through the rider's bike in a fiery explosion.

  "Two down," he growled.

  The final rider, realizing that his rades were gone, pulled back, clearly weighing his options. But Ethan wasn't about to give him the ce to retreat. He pushed the throttle forward, sending the truck speeding toward the st bike. The rider, startled by the sudden burst of speed, tried to bank to the side, but it was too te. Ethan swerved the truck at the st sed, sideswiping the bike and sending it crashing into the rocks below.

  "All hostiles ralized," Iris firmed. "Truck status: operational, though shields are depleted to 40%."

  Ethan exhaled, his pulse pounding in his ears. He had survived the ambush, but he k wouldn't be the st. The Syndicate was getting bolder, and this attack had been far more coordihan any he'd experienced before. The outpost he was headed for wasn't far now, but he had to move quickly.

  "Let's get out of here before more of them show up," Ethan muttered, pressing down on the accelerator.

  The truck surged forward, ahan pushed through the narrow pass, his eyes sing the horizon. He had barely escaped this time. The Bck Sun Syndicate's presence was growing, and the stakes were only getting higher.

  As the outpost came into view in the distahahis mission was far from over.