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Was history really about to repeat itself? Did anyone really believe that they had received a revelation from the Prophet of Pyro and now had to fight for supremacy in Pyro? My fears seemed to be coming true. When I reached the community center, I saw armed guards running around everywhere, even on the roof. I hurriedly got off the hoverbike and went into the building. The air was tense to bursting. There was a hustle and bustle, almost everyone had a weapon in their hand.

“Zero, grab a weapon. We can use all the help we can get,” one of the settlers called out to me.

It was a bizarre sight. The settlers were not dressed in uniform armor, as we knew from PMCs like TYR. They wore whatever they could find that offered a little protection. Open faced mining helmets, light armor over normal pants or shirts, and completely worn out weapons. After grabbing a weapon, I joined two of the settlers.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“We’ve received reports of raids on settlements belonging to the Free Settlers and the Citizens for Prosperity.”

“I can confirm that,” I added. “I’ve just come from the cave at Sunset Mesa. There were weapons on the ground, but not a soul to be seen. On the way back, I was shot at near the garage.”

Suddenly a strange noise was heard. A mixture of growling and howling. It sounded like an ominous warning from hell. I got goose bumps. Memories of my childhood came flooding back.

“Was that a Kopion?”

“Yes. That’s not good.”

I had never seen a Kopion, but I had often heard them in my childhood on the planet Ashana, especially at night. There were many horror stories about the aggressive hunter that hunted in groups and could take over entire ecosystems.

“They’re coming!” someone shouted in a loud, shaky voice.

My counterpart craned his neck and looked over my shoulder towards the door.

“Secure the entrances,” he ordered. ”Don’t let them into the building under any circumstances. Be firm. There’s more at stake than a single life.”

Then he looked deep into my eyes and said, “Here we go.”

I took cover behind a table and pointed my rifle at the front door. It was quiet for a moment. It was the calm before the storm. Then the first shots rang out outside. They increased to a staccato, accompanied by the howling of the Kopions.

Suddenly the door opened. A guy in black armor stood in the doorway. A barrage poured into the room from his weapon. Then a Kopion leapt past him and came straight at me in one great leap. The deadly beast had its four eyes fixed on me and its mouth wide open. The teeth and claws approached like throwing knives. A load of buckshot from my gun hit it in mid-leap. A fiddling howl sounded. The Kopion landed on the table in front of me. A second shot roared from my shotgun. The four-legged monster collapsed on the table.

In the meantime, the attacker had advanced several steps into the room and a second one followed him. Right next to the entrance, one of the settlers was waiting behind a corner. He had only a pistol and no armor on. When the black attacker was in his field of fire, he fired two shots at him. The bullets ricocheted off the black armor. The attacker turned his weapon towards the settler and fired a short burst of fire. The settler slumped against the wall. Then the rattle of several assault rifles brought the two attackers down.

“Break out!” shouted one of the settlers.

We stormed towards the exit. Just at that moment, an attacker ran towards us with a hand grenade in his hand. A shot from my BR-2 shotgun stopped him. As I unloaded, a Kopion came growling around the corner and started to jump. My gun jammed. I looked at the light brown predator with the dark brown stripes. It wore a wide collar, its ears were close-set and its fearsome fangs flashed at me.

In my mind’s eye, I could already see the Kopion’s claws tearing open my skin and its teeth digging into my flesh. The whistle of several bullets flying past me snapped me out of my state of shock. The Kopion fell to the ground, howling. A settler with an assault rifle ran past me and tapped me on the shoulder.

Outside the building, we saw a scene of horror. Bodies lay everywhere. Dead settlers and dead attackers in black armor.

“Secure the area,” shouted one of the settlers.

I bent down to the dead Kopion. His horn was sticking out from under his chin. It was made of a combination of bone and naturally occurring carbon nanomaterials. The Kopion’s horn was a valuable raw material. I cut it off and put it in my pocket.

Then I took a closer look at one of the attackers. The sight of him made me shiver. This couldn’t be true. In disbelief, I walked over to another attacker. He was wearing the same black armor. Was this really possible? My heart began to race.

Inside the building, I inspected another attacker. There was no doubt. They all wore the same armor. It was the same armor that the TYR mercenaries wore. Or were they TYR mercenaries? I knew that TYR wanted to come to Pyro to finally end Project ENOS and free the abductees. But what did the independent settlers have to do with ENOS? I had to be sure and sent a message to Kjeld Stormanson, the leader of TYR.

Hey Kjeld,
I’m in Pyro right now and witnessed an attack on peaceful independent settlers. We were able to repel the attack, but when I looked at the attackers I got suspicious and now I have questions. Is TYR on a mission in Pyro right now? You will understand my astonishment when you look at the pictures of the attackers that I sent. I hope you can shed some light on this.
Greetings Zero

In the attachment I sent some pictures of the attackers.

It didn’t take long for a reply from Kjeld.

We are currently not yet in Pyro and are still stuck on Hurston. Our equipment is not exclusive. There are various factions on Grim Hex with similar equipment who buy their goods from Skutters. As far as I know, the Kastak Arms merchandise is sold to many factions, even in Pyro. So I’m less surprised that the equipment is worn there.

I had known Kjeld for a long time and had a trusting relationship with him. That’s why I believed him. The question was, who were the attackers then? And why had they attacked?

Was it a false flag operation to discredit TYR? Were even the powers of ENOS behind it? Or was it just a stupid coincidence that the attackers were wearing the same armor? In any case, they were well organized and knew exactly what they were doing. The attackers were not a wild bunch, but a militarized group.

Then I remembered what one of the settlers had said to me. The Frontier Fighters would attack anyone in Pyro. But why? The Frontier Fighters, just like the Citizens for Prosperity, wanted to counter the threat of the Slicers. Only by different means. The Frontier Fighters wanted to take the fight against the Slicers from Stanton into the Pyro system. But why should they attack everyone in the Pyro system? Even the Citizens for Prosperity? That made no sense.

Then I remembered Brubacker’s criticism when we brought the supplies for the Citizens for Prosperity to the Pyro Gateway. The Frontier Fighters had also asked for relief supplies. Both groups wanted to prepare the jump from Stanton to the Pyro system. Brubacker had feared that pirates or even the Slicers themselves were behind the orders and that we would only use the supplies to arm the pirates and prepare for the next raid.

Something didn’t add up here.

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