Shen Feng, the Scavenger

The wind at the top of the ark carried the sharp tang of cooling metal, scraping across Shen Feng’s crystallized left arm like countless tiny needles creeping between his scales. He looked down at the pale blue light swirling in his palm. It was a sign that the ark’s core resonated with his nerve endings. Each flicker came with a slight throbbing at his temples: a side effect of the fusion, and a signal that the ark’s defense system was syncing with his consciousness. Below, in the municipal square, a makeshift broadcast station kept repeating the Alliance’s declaration. The static from the loudspeakers mingled with scattered gunfire in the distance, forming the distinctive clamor of the city just before dawn.

“Captain Shen, report from the southwest district. The Sentinel swarm is assaulting the third quarantine line. They seem to have activated some kind of new device, and the defense shield’s energy is dropping unusually fast.” Lin Xiaoman’s voice came through the communicator, noticeably breathless. In the background, energy weapons crackled as they overloaded. Just a few days ago, this young woman, who had defected from the Planetary Purification Bureau, had been too afraid of the dark to take a night shift. Now she could calmly coordinate the defenses of three squads. Shen Feng remembered how she had spilled her coffee all over the control console the first time she saw a Sentinel. The corner of his mouth twitched, but a stab of pain from his nerves pulled him back to reality.