Location: Tavara – Nora's Medical Research Facility, North Block
The polished floors of the North Block reflected the muted sunlight filtering through reinforced skylights. This place—Nora's pride—had once symbolized her quiet defiance against corruption, and her devotion to innovation and healing. Now, even here, shadows stretched far too long.
Dr. Elina Mbeki, Nora's chief researcher, paced into the glass-walled meeting room, her expression tightly drawn. "Nora, I thought you should see this. It was planted in the bloodwork from our newest humanitarian trial."
Nora scanned the file. At first, it seemed like a routine lab report—until her eyes narrowed on the flagged anomaly: a synthetic pathogen strain. One that had no business being in her lab. One that could destroy everything.
Her breath caught. "This... wasn't an accident."
"No." Elina's voice was grim. "It was embedded deliberately. If we hadn't double-verified the donor batches..."
Nora closed the file and stood, pacing to the wide window. "The Serpent Directive has infiltrated us. They're trying to weaponize our credibility."
Elina hesitated. "If we go public—"
"We don't," Nora said quickly. "Not yet. We quarantine the samples, silence the chain of custody, and dig. No one—not even within our own teams—knows what's happening until we have answers."
---
Location: Damien's Private Estate – War Room
Damien, Logan, and Ashford surrounded a projected timeline of Tavara's stability efforts. Blips of red were spreading like infection markers—media misreports, utility disruptions, localized unrest.
"They're seeding chaos through infrastructure," Ashford explained. "Cyber hits on our grids, blackouts in the industrial zones. All perfectly timed to weaken public confidence."
"And the media's already spinning it as internal mismanagement," Logan added. "They want the world to believe Tavara's reform is a façade."
Damien's voice was hard. "We'll tighten media control and bring in specialists from the Orion Alliance. If Tavara falls to perception, we lose more than power—we lose our purpose."
Ashford nodded. "I'll have Zina looped in. She's an expert in high-level cyber forensics."
---
Location: Zina's Hidden Data Den – Tavara's Tech Outskirts
Zina, one of Damien's oldest allies, worked best alone. Surrounded by holographic nodes and floating code streams, she was already peeling through the corrupted digital veins that were now pulsing through Tavara's systems.
"Serpent's not just feeding disinformation," she muttered, eyes flicking from line to line. "They're rewriting truth in real time."
A secure call blinked on-screen. Damien.
"They're smarter than we thought," Zina told him bluntly. "Every time I isolate a virus, it reshapes itself like a living organism. It's not just code—it's... behavioral AI. Adaptive and lethal."
Damien's jaw clenched. "Then we fight fire with fire. Build a counter-AI. Something personal."
Zina raised a brow. "You mean... you want me to build an AI that thinks like you?"
"No," Damien said darkly. "I want it to think like them—but be loyal to us."
---
Location: Unknown – Serpent Directive Observation Deck
Kael Morran stood beside a wide screen showing a live feed of Tavara's capital. Smoke from isolated skirmishes curled upward like a silent omen.
"Stage One is almost complete," Kael said. "By the time they realize, we'll already be inside their most sacred walls."
Another operative leaned in. "And Nora?"
Kael tapped her image again. "She still thinks this is about science and sabotage. She doesn't know the true prize... is what she's hiding."