Ethan dismounted from the mech and recalled Shatterstar into its compact form. Activating stealth mode, he sharpened his perception to the extreme, wrapping himself in silence and shadow. Every ounce of focus went into preparing for his infiltration of the enemy's camp.
The frozen plain stretched endlessly around him. Then the stillness broke. Space itself rippled like disturbed water.
To the east, thousands of figures suddenly emerged from the distortion.
Ethan froze. Since arriving on this vast ice field, he had crossed between different sectors himself without ever feeling the slightest ripple in space. Yet now, watching this phenomenon with his own eyes, his heart gave a heavy jolt. Could the beings within that crimson pillar of light have sensed him when he first entered with Shatterstar?
The distortion didn't stop. More figures poured out. In the span of minutes, the trickle became a flood—one hundred thousand strong.
"Why are there so many?" Ethan whispered to himself.
