Heartstone - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Alarms blared across Sector X-3, the heart of the covert military zone buried beneath layers of steel, satellites, and armed towers. Red lights pulsed like blood through its corridors. Soldiers rushed through the base with orders. Voss’s command had gone out:
> “Find Ashen. He’s compromised. Kill on sight.”
Inside Hangar 17, hidden behind false security codes and a cloak protocol Ashen had programmed himself months ago, the massive AG59 Jet stood prepped and humming quietly.
Sleek, fast, and loaded with long-range stealth tech and onboard weapons, the AG59 wasn’t just a jet—it was the fastest aircraft in the world, designed for high-altitude warfare and off-radar penetration. Only a few in X-3 even knew it existed.
Ashen walked calmly through the hangar’s shadowed edge, coat flapping in the wind from the rising engines. His face was hard, set. He’d seen enough. He’d given them everything—until he saw what they truly planned to do with the , what they had become.
> They weren’t saving the world. They were rewriting it—with death.
Through his earpiece, voices crackled:
> “Ashen spotted near Hangar 17.”
“All units converge.”
“He’s escaping in AG59. Orders from General Voss—terminate.”
Ashen sprinted now, throwing off his jacket and sliding beneath the closing hangar gates. Gunfire rattled behind him. He ducked into the cockpit just as bullets slammed into the rear armor of the jet.
> “Override launch protocol. Code 71-Ashen—now.”
The engines roared like beasts.
As the blast doors opened to the night sky, Ashen activated stealth mode, flipped the weapon systems online, and pulled the jet up into the air like a thunderclap breaking free.
Anti-aircraft turrets opened fire.
But the AG59 sliced through the clouds—invisible, untouchable.
Ashen exhaled hard and slammed the throttle forward.
> “Avera… Dalen… you better be ready.”
Behind him, the base shrunk into the horizon. Ashen had just gone rogue—and he was flying straight for the resistance.