Building The Strongest Family

The debate erupted once more; voices clashed like swords:

"Total sanctions first..."

"...a decapitation strike on their command..."

"...let's blackmail their entire finance ministry..."

Amidst the chaos, Dravik remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the holograms flickering before him.

When he finally spoke, his voice barely rose above a whisper, but it sliced through the noise like a scalpel. "All three."

The room froze in disbelief.

Arthur raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Explain."

Dravik stood tall, casting a long shadow across the war table. "Ethan destabilizes their currency. Petrovna recruits their politicians. And Orlov..."

He met the general's steely gaze directly. "...prepares our forces for action. We strike them from every angle atonce."

A slow smile unfurled across Arthur's face,a glimmer of intrigue lighting up his features. "Interesting."

Vaul's cybernetic fingers danced over the interface, merging those three strategies into one formidable blueprint that sent shivers down spines:

"It's reckless... unprecedented... but it just might work."

Ethan grinned widely as if he had just discovered a hidden treasure: "Now this is politics!"

As their plan solidified, black budgets allocated and timelines synchronized, Petrovna hesitated for a moment and asked quietly, "What if they see it coming?"

Arthur stood up abruptly; suddenly he filled the room with an undeniable presence that demanded attention. "Let them."

---------

The private hangar at Black Valley Military Base buzzed with the low, throaty growl of the Osborn Phantom-X's engines warming up.

This sleek, matte-black aircraft resembled a predator more than a mere transport, its angular wings sliced through the hangar's artificial light, while its hull absorbed the glow like an abyss.

Arthur stood at the foot of the boarding ramp, his coat billowing slightly in the engine's backwash.

The air around him crackled with tension,an electric mix of anticipation and unease.

To his left, Dravik stood rigidly, flanked by two trusted generals whose crisp uniforms couldn't mask their tight expressions.

On Arthur's right, Vex's cybernetic eye flickered as he processed last-minute security updates, while Gunnar loomed nearby like an unyielding sentinel with massive arms crossed over his chest.

Ethan, ever nonchalant, flipped a silver coin between his fingers.

"You're leaving already?" Dravik asked, his voice barely audible over the engines' roar.

Arthur didn't meet his gaze; instead, he stared beyond the hangar doors,toward the horizon and Aurelia. "I have other business to attend to."

Turning slightly, Arthur locked eyes with each of them in turn.

"Vex."

The colonel straightened as if jolted awake by command. "Sir."

"I want Neo-Arcavia's surveillance net compromised within a month," Arthur stated firmly. "Full access to their intelligence feeds, no blind spots."

Vex's fingers twitched,a subconscious gesture akin to a pianist preparing for a concerto. "Their quantum encryption is..."

"...not a problem," Arthur interrupted sharply. "Is it?"

A tense moment passed before Vex nodded resolutely. "It'll be done."

Arthur shifted his focus. "Gunnar."

"The Aegis-7 battalions near the Kharzin border are yours," Gunnar replied steadily. "If those rebels so much as sneeze toward our territory, turn their outposts into glass."

Gunnar's jaw tightened at Arthur's casual tone when he added: "And if others interfere?"

Arthur smiled thinly. "Let them."

Ethan perked up from where he lounged against a wall. "Oh? Are we finally starting something big? Should I pack snacks?"

Ignoring him completely, Arthur turned back to Dravik.

"Keep your people in line," Arthur warned sharply. "No deviations from our plan,no personal initiatives."

His gaze was piercing enough to flay away any semblance of composure Dravik had left intact. "Or have you forgotten what happens to loose ends?"

Dravik's cybernetic eye whirred softly in response as he replied evenly: "I haven't."

"Good."

Finally, Arthur turned to Ethan, his expression as serious as a storm cloud brewing on the horizon.

The spy master flashed a grin that could light up the darkest corners of Zenith City. "Let me guess,I get to do something fun?"

Arthur's voice was flat, stripped of any excitement. "The Neo-Arcavian chancellor's daughter arrives in Zenith City tomorrow for a 'cultural exchange.' Your job? Make her disappear. Quietly."

Ethan's grin widened, mischief dancing in his eyes. "Kidnapping. Classic."

"Not kidnapping," Arthur replied, his gaze darkening like an approaching thunderstorm.

"This is a message. Leave her where their embassy can find her,with the proper… modifications."

Ethan's coin froze mid-flip, and for once, even he looked mildly unsettled. "Right. Message received."

The Phantom-X's engines roared to life, their pitch rising like a battle cry echoing through the hangar.

Arthur took a step toward the ramp but paused, not turning around as he added ominously:

"One last thing."

The group fell silent, tension thickening the air.

"If I return to find Varenya in chaos," he continued calmly, almost conversationally, "I won't bother fixing it. I'll just burn it down and build something better from the ashes."

A chill swept through the hangar like an icy wind cutting through warm air.

With one final glance at Dravik, Arthur concluded:

"Try not to disappoint me."

As the ramp hissed shut behind him, silence enveloped them.

For what felt like an eternity, no one spoke; only the roar of the Phantom-X's takeoff rattled the hangar doors and shook dust from above.

Then Ethan broke the stillness with a low whistle. "Well... that was… motivational."

Gunnar cracked his neck with determination. "We have work to do."

Vex was already typing commands into his wrist-comm with swift precision; his cybernetic eye whirred as data streams flickered across its surface like shooting stars.

"I'll need to recalibrate the quantum decryption algorithms and hack their satellite grid."

Dravik stood gazing at where the Phantom-X had disappeared into the sky, his expression unreadable, a mask hiding thoughts too complex for words.

Petrovna finally broke her silence with a question that hung heavy in the air: "He's not coming back, is he?"

Ethan chuckled softly while flipping his coin again; its silver glint caught the light as it spun gracefully through the air.

"Oh, he'll be back," he said confidently. "But will any of us still be here when he does?"

Outside, raindrops began to fall, hissing against the tarmac like nature itself issuing a warning.