Chapter 98 A Desperate Escape

The single crimson eye pulsed menacingly, a chilling reminder that their victory was far from complete. The central nexus, though weakened, still hummed with a faint energy, a testament to the hive mind's resilience. Cyrus, his arm throbbing with pain, knew they had mere moments before the enemy recovered. Elara, ever the pragmatist, helped him to his feet. "We need to get back to the hangar," she urged, her voice laced with a desperate urgency. "The Strike Fighter won't hold forever." Cyrus gritted his teeth, ignoring the searing pain that flared with every movement. They stumbled back through the darkened corridors, the silence broken only by their ragged breaths and the faint hum of the recovering central nexus. As they rounded a corner, a pair of glowing red eyes materialized from the darkness. A bio-mechanical creature, its systems seemingly unaffected by the disruption, charged towards them with a feral snarl. Elara reacted instantly, her plasma rifle spitting a bolt of super