Contents
Chapter 27
Overview
After tense fallout from Neema’s death, Xavier explains the force field’s activation, inflaming conflict with Evlynne and Gray. A live broadcast shows Travis executing sixteen civilians in retribution, while Cross is detained. That night, Gray flies Wren to meet Cross, who signals desertion and reveals hidden Company projects tied to a looming corrupted-Mod threat.
Summary
At breakfast, tensions simmer: Saint, Gray, and Mako are quiet, Evlynne grieves Neema, and Tana shuts down upon recognizing Xavier from her detention. Debate over the failed extraction’s force field erupts until Xavier explains it was activated because a Redden commander was on-site, provoking Evlynne and Gray.
A sudden Company broadcast from South Plaza interrupts. Travis Redden declares that sixteen Prime deaths in Ice Canyon will be avenged with sixteen civilian executions. Cross is conspicuously absent. Wren fails to reach him telepathically, then learns he’s detained. Helpless, the Aberrant watch a firing squad execute sixteen bound civilians, reigniting Wren’s rage and grief.
By afternoon, Cross finally links to say he’s free “for now” and summoned to a one-on-one with Travis. He urges a clandestine meeting at midnight on a decommissioned Ward E runway. Wren asks Gray to fly her; despite resentment, he agrees, combining the trip with Declan’s return to Bramble Base.
That night, Gray and Wren fly dark, parachute-drop Declan, and land near Ward E. Wren treks to a deserted quarry, meets Cross, and they embrace. Wren insists he must leave the Company after the broadcast. Cross agrees but first shares findings from secretly tailing Travis and probing their late father’s sanctioned projects.
Cross reveals ominous hidden initiatives connected to the Uprising. He distinguishes the “fragmented” Mods seen in the hospital from a more urgent issue: “the corrupted.” The meeting ends with the implication that Cross will desert and that a deeper, more dangerous Mod-related threat is emerging.
Who Appears
- Wren (Darlington)Protagonist; witnesses mass executions, arranges secret meeting, secures Gray’s transport, confronts Cross about desertion.
- Cross ReddenDetained after the rescue; later meets Wren, signals desertion, reveals hidden Company projects and a corrupted-Mod threat.
- GrayCold toward Wren but flies her at midnight; drops Declan, waits while she meets Cross.
- XavierExplains force field protocol tied to Redden presence; antagonizes Evlynne; accompanies Wren earlier.
- Travis ReddenNew general; orders live execution of sixteen civilians in retaliation for Ice Canyon losses.
- Tana ArcherWithdrawn at breakfast upon seeing Xavier; later offers Wren silent support during the broadcast.
- EvlynneGrief-stricken over Neema; clashes with Xavier; vows vengeance on Redden.
- DeclanRecovered from injury; reassures Wren about Neema; parachutes to Bramble Base during flight.
- SaintDiscusses intel reliability with Gray; present during broadcast’s shock.
- MakoUncharacteristically quiet at tense breakfast after Neema’s death.
- TeriqAlerts mess hall to incoming Company broadcast.
- Roe ReddenAppears beside Travis at the plaza; visibly enjoys the executions.
- Deron RadekSilver Block’s acting captain; on the platform during the broadcast.
- Ivy EverseaCross’s ex; stands with Travis and Roe during the broadcast, expression unreadable.