The black metal doors of Starship Valor's induction chamber hissed open. Kyle's retinal overlay pinged crimson with warnings:
[Neural Sync Required]
[Armored Hostile Detected: XV-9 Warden Mech]
Three Dominion officers stared from behind bulletproof glass. The tallest leaned forward, her platinum insignia glinting – Commodore Veyra, according to Kyle's implant feed. She jabbed a data pad toward the hangar below. "Seventy-nine percent casualty rate for Rigel recruits. Sign the contract, Rayne. Or we toss you back to that scrapheap colony."
Kyle barely glanced at the holographic terms flickering above the table:
Ten-year mandatory service
Experimental Neuro-Enhancement Protocol: "subject to irreversible cellular degeneration..."
Chapter XI - Termination Clause: "biological assets reclaimed by..."
His thumb hovered over the biometric scanner. Uncle Jack's last words echoed – "Dominion eats their young" – but beneath the hangar's flickering lights, he saw it.
A Titan-74 Siegebreaker stood chained to magnetic anchors, its cobalt armor scarred by particle burns. Twin plasma cannons curved over its shoulders like dragon wings—identical to the mech that had vaporized his academy squadron during the Krell ambush.
"Done." Kyle slammed his palm onto the scanner. A cold sting shot through his wrist as nanobots injected the Silver Core's combat tags.
Veyra smirked. "Good dog. Now meet your welcoming committee."
The hangar gates collapsed. The XV-9 Warden's reactor roared to life, its six-barrel railgun spinning. Raw sewage dripped from its cockpit hatch – Dominion initiation rituals were rarely sanitary.
[Dominion Battle Protocol Activated]
[User Designation: K-RAYN-0927]
[Primary Weapon System: M-49 Modified Ballistic Rifle]
"Son of a—" Kyle dove