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The footage resumes in Pavonis, Wendy’s camera carrying the visual as they duck and weave through the city.
The chaos of the fleeing nightclub patrons had bought them time, but it was a lead they couldn’t count on having forever. The city was covered in cameras, guards, biometric scanners, and no doubt snitches of every variety. Dodging everything for very long wasn’t a realistic plan.
The mission was a bust. It was clear what had happened to the team before them, and their only objective now was to make sure they didn’t fall victim to the same trap. Their only objective now was escape.
Easier said than done.
The city was a winding maze of scientific and architectural marvels, veritable art against the Martian desert and covered in bioengineered plants native to the very laboratories the group passed as they entered the science and schooling districts.
The walkways were wide — infused with panels that generated kinetic energy when walked on and lined with bioluminescent ferns that looked more akin to peacock feathers.
The buildings themselves were colossal structures of glass and white metal, sleek and efficient in their design. Ivy crawled up the walls in neat patterns, dotting them with multicolored flowers, and their roofs sprouted petals of solar panels aglow in the biodome’s light from above.
Most of the windows were dark at this hour, but not all of them.
They overlooked a park of sorts, well maintained but scattered with enough biodiversity to rival a forest. Grasses, clovers, ferns, shrubs, twisting trees — even small animals. Most were draconic infusions of their earthly cousins — feathered dragons the colors of songbirds, wingless critters scurrying in the brush.
The sidewalks were too open, but the green had some cover from the watchful eyes.
The Ebonhand detachment ducked into the trees, tucking themselves against the roots of the trees to catch their breath.
They’d been running for several minutes now, and there was still an entire biodome to cross to get back to their sleds and supplies — if it was still there at all. Realistically, Wendy imagined they would have to just take what they could get and leave on it. Even if they had to exit the biodome on foot, there had to be somewhere they could hunker in to hide until a rescue team could find them.
Everyone put their back against a tree, readying their weapons and scanning the woods.
“Riiight. So what the hell did we miss?” Kalser asked as he felt around and confirmed his gun and other tools hadn’t been lost in the scramble.
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