The Sovereign's Network didn't just flicker; it suffered a catastrophic amputation.
When the obsidian claw unfolded inside Mara's chest, the synaptic bridge erupted in a surge of freezing, jagged static. Will felt it as a violent, physical blow to his cerebral cortex—a sensory amputation where a burning node of tactical data had been a heartbeat ago. On the far perimeter of his mental map, the node associated with Mara went pitch black, leaving a cold, dead void in his consciousness that induced a jarring spike of vertigo.
The Faction staggered in unison, a multi-limbed organism suddenly missing a vital sensory organ. Tyson's breathing hissed through the parched, rhythmic failure of his suit's respirators. They were no longer a squad; they were pieces of a broken machine.
