Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 230: New Mission

Chapter 230: New Mission

The Special Force soldiers all figured this mission would be intense—risky, sure, but just another day at work packed with some good ol’ adventure and a shot at some serious glory.

As departure approached, everyone went about the usual prep: cleaning gear, sharpening weapons, and throwing around a few jokes to break the ice with the new recruits.

But when they gathered at dawn in the training grounds, a surprise awaited them.

An old lady strode in. Her silver hair was swept back in a ponytail, catching the first light of the morning.

She was tall, her frame lean and powerful. She wore a pristine white cape, slightly damp from the dew, and it trailed behind her like a banner.

Wrinkles traced her stern face, but there was nothing frail about her—she moved with authority that was palpable. And those eyes—sharp as steel—made it clear this wasn’t a woman you’d want to cross.

The insignia on her shoulder caught the soldiers’ eye, and a wave of recognition rippled through the team.

Almost as one, they straightened up, saluting sharply.

"Admiral Valeria, ma’am!"

Valeria gave them a subtle nod, her gaze sweeping over the group with an assessing, no-nonsense stare.

Her voice, steady and commanding, cut through the morning chill: "This mission is under my command. Prepare to move out!"

The team glanced at each other, especially at Ryan, who looked completely unbothered, like he’d expected this. He probably had. But the others? They were still trying to wrap their heads around it.

An admiral leading their mission? That was practically unheard of.

As they loaded into the armored vehicles, one of the younger recruits leaned over to another and whispered, "Admiral Valeria’s a level-nine...you think we’ll be safer with her this time?"

His words lingered in the air, met with quiet, unsure glances.

Lyra traced the handle of her particle gun, Marty’s advice playing in her head on repeat: "Follow commands, stick with Ensign Shedd, and don’t go rogue." And for good reason—Lyra’s healing skills were often the thin line between survival and doom out there.

Meanwhile, back at the base, Hazel poured herself a steaming mug of coffee, her eyes fixed on the departing convoy from her office window. A couple of teammates waved, calling out, "Catch you later, ma’am!"

Hazel didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned closer to her assistant, voice low. "You might not know this, but the last time a Vice Admiral went into the field...no one—no one—made it back."

Her assistant’s eyes went wide, face pale as Hazel took a steadying gulp of her coffee. "Notify the departments. They should be ready for whatever might come."

"So soon?"

"Start with the death report forms. Print them out. And pull the service records for every member of T9," Hazel said, her voice flat but her eyes betraying a hint of dread. "Every single one."

She could only hope she wouldn’t need them.

The disappearances were all connected to one place—EPMA. Every missing cadet had trained there, which made it clear that the enemy’s target lay somewhere on Elden Prime.

Up in the lead vehicle, Valeria’s sharp eyes never left the map display on the screen in front of her, her lips pressed into a thin line.

In a strategic move, the military had started equipping students with discreet tracking devices after realizing the pattern. Sure enough, the signal from one of the abducted cadets had finally come online, allowing them to pinpoint an exact location.

The memory of the AMAT incident four years ago hung heavy over the mission. The brass suspected that Empire operatives were likely behind the kidnappings, but no one knew for sure.

After much back-and-forth, the decision had been made: Admiral Valeria would lead the mission herself.

Still, she hadn’t let the Special Force in on any of these details.

Suddenly, a blinking dot appeared on the screen.

Valeria’s posture tightened, her eyes narrowing at the display. Even Ryan, who’d been stoically steering the vehicle, sensed the shift in the air.

"Take us to these coordinates," she ordered.

Ryan nodded, glancing at the map. Surprise flickered across his face. "That close? Right outside Central City, near the Everlongest Mountains?"

Valeria’s frown deepened. "They’re bold enough to be, that’s why."

’They?’ Ryan raised a brow, curiosity getting the best of him. "Admiral Valeria...do you know who we’re up against?"

Her gaze remained steady, fixed on the direction of the Everlongest Mountains. "Not personally," she replied, "but I’ve heard stories."

Ryan wanted to press further, but Valeria shut him down, her tone as sharp as the edge of a blade. "No more questions. You’ll understand when we get there."

Normally, Admiral Valeria was the most approachable of the senior officers. Today, though, she radiated irritation, her intense focus on the mission making it clear that she wasn’t to be pushed.

Ryan held back, but a knot of unease started twisting in his gut.

The convoy came to a halt about a kilometer out from the dense forests skirting the Everlongest Mountains.

Surrounded by towering trees and thick underbrush, Valeria studied the 3D map, then signaled to Ryan. "Send in the scouts. I want the area surveyed."

At her command, a few soldiers with stealth capabilities slipped into the shadowed woods.

A squad leader with flight powers hovered above, ready to assist if anything went sideways.

Though it was morning, heavy clouds blotted out the sun, draping the forest in a dim, eerie gloom. The quiet was heavy, disturbed only by the occasional whisper of wind stirring the trees.

Half an hour ticked by, Valeria waiting with her arms crossed, eyes glued to the direction where her scouts had disappeared.

"Should I send in a backup team?" Ryan ventured.

"No need," she cut him off, her words like ice. "They’re likely dead already. No sense wasting more lives."

The harshness of her reply settled over the team, but they all knew the reality of missions like this. Death shadowed their every step.

Lyra toyed with a silver dagger, casting a sidelong glance at Valeria, her instincts kicking in. The Admiral was hiding something. ’Is it that quote from Westros?’

Lyra remembered his words: "Something beyond humanity."

’Does the higher-ups know exactly what—or who—we are up against?’ Lyra wondered.

"But we don’t even know what the enemy is capable of," Ryan tried, keeping his voice low.

"You don’t need to know." Valeria’s voice hardened. She swung her hand to the side, releasing a controlled burst of energy that punched a neat hole in the trunk of a nearby tree. The power of the shot left the air charged.

Without missing a beat, Lyra flicked her dagger forward, making it sail into the depths of the forest.

The blade struck true, embedding itself in a shadowy spot between the trees.

A thin line of blood appeared, dripping from the darkness before the sound of a heavy body crumpling into the undergrowth reached them.

Lyra lunged forward, flattening the grass with a powerful kick.

She spotted the fallen figure.

A brief, tense silence fell over the group, and they all understood—they weren’t alone here.

Lyra didn’t waste a second. She summoned a blast of concentrated green light, sending it forward.

A pained groan echoed out as the figure reappeared. It was a short-haired woman. She was in black combat gear, blood seeping from a wound on her shoulder, and a fresh cut marking her cheek where Lyra’s blade had sliced.

The woman’s gaze burned with fury as she locked eyes with Lyra. Then, she flickered and vanished, blending back into the shadows with a quick, skilled maneuver.

The woman moved like a wraith, weaving between trees and branches, leaving only the rustling of leaves in her wake.

But Lyra didn’t flinch. She tracked her movements, listening intently, and then she spun, lashing out with a kick so fierce it sent the figure reeling.

THUD!

The woman collided with a tree trunk, her face twisting in shock. Her eyes blazed with disbelief, as if to say, ’How can this be?’

Just then, a light on her earpiece blinked, a signal coming through. With a grimace, she triggered her powers, her figure dissolving into thin air once more.

"Don’t let her escape!" Valeria commanded sharply, and Lyra was on her in an instant.

The enemy, named "No. Fifteen", moved as if propelled by sheer desperation. Her body became a blur as she dashed from tree to tree, hoping to lose Lyra in the darkness.

Blood loss had weakened her, forcing her to rest briefly against a tree trunk. But before she could recover, a flash of silver shot toward her, and she ducked just in time—only to be struck by a hard kick that sent her sprawling.

Her invisibility flickered and failed, leaving her lying exposed, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

She glared up at her pursuer, a young woman who’d leaped down from the trees with terrifying precision. Disbelief and frustration burned in her gaze.

"How can you see me?" Fifteen asked.

Lyra pointed her dagger at the woman, her eyes cold and unyielding. "Your tricks don’t work on me."

Fifteen’s expression turned to one of utter humiliation, rage simmering beneath her pained stare.

A dangerous glint flickered in Fifteen’s eyes as she locked onto Lyra, sending a rippling wave of psychokinesis through the air.

The force made Lyra’s balance waver, just for a moment—a moment Fifteen seized to whip out a dagger with triumphant speed.

SHHKT!

She froze, disbelief twisting her face as she glanced down to find the blade buried in her own chest.

Slowly, she looked back up to meet Lyra’s cold, unwavering gaze.

"I warned you," Lyra murmured, voice laced with scorn, "your superpowers don’t work on me."

With zero hesitation, Lyra wrenched the blade free, then gripped Fifteen by the throat, lifting her as though she weighed nothing. "Last time, you thought it was fun to invade my dreams. So tell me—where’s Westros?"

A grimace of pain marred Fifteen’s face, but defiance still sparked in her eyes.

"Even if you reach him, you’ll be the one captured," she spat, blood trickling down her lip. "By now, your teammates are probably dead."

Fifteen’s fingers dug into Lyra’s arm, a twisted smile pulling at her mouth. "All that power, and you walked right into our trap! You’re nothing more than bait, pulled away from your team!"

"Yeah, I know," Lyra answered with a chilling calm. "After all, you’ve been waiting for me, haven’t you?"

Without another word, she began dragging Fifteen back towards the camp.

Lyra was certain that as long as she stayed close to Valeria, the enemy would hesitate to launch a full-on assault.

Westros had underestimated her once, and she was counting on him to make that same mistake again.

But she knew the plan: lure her away, dismantle the rest of the team, then come for her.