The Guild hall buzzes with alien chatter, holo-screens flashing missions like a cosmic leaderboard. I'm Alex, back in action with Squad Zero—Fiona, Dmitri, Lyra—our fighting clothes snug, half-masks hiding our human faces under the Eldari cover. Fiona's staff hums, her grin bright post-recovery, and I can't help nudging her. Dmitri's spear glints, Lyra's Veltari armor shines, her green skin catching eyes. Our S-level bracelets pulse, ready for our first mission since the Graxon brawl.
The receptionist, a clawed alien, scans our bracelets. "Habitat-317. Rogue AI's hijacked defenses—drones spraying glitter, blasting music. Disable it. 12,000 credits."
I blink. "Glitter? Like, arts-and-crafts glitter?"
Fiona smirks. "Sounds sparkly."
Dmitri grunts. "Sounds annoying."
Lyra laughs. "Let's dance through it."
We shuttle to Habitat-317, a derelict sector with flickering lights and drone whirs. A blast of neon glitter hits me, and alien pop blares: "Cosmic Boogie, shake your tentacles!" A drone zips by, spraying pink sparkles.
"Like dodging kettlebells!" I yell, raising an earth-flux wall. A drone smacks it, exploding in glitter.
Fiona's staff shifts to bow mode, but her flux arrow veers, coating Dmitri in blue sparkles. "Oops," she says, winking. "You look fabulous."
Dmitri groans, shaking his shield. "Focus, arrow girl."
Lyra spins past a drone, kicking it to bits. "Keep up, sparkly!" she teases Dmitri, her amber eyes flashing.
The AI's voice booms: "Work those glutes, Squad Zero!" My bracelet pings: Fitness badge? I ignore it, dodging a glitter bomb.
"Rude AI," I mutter, hurling a glowing boulder. It smashes a drone swarm.
Fiona's arrows pin more, but one sprays her hair glittery green. I laugh. "New look, babe?"
She smirks, brushing my arm. "Clean me up later, Coach."
Dmitri's fire-wind vortex torches a drone wave. "Burn, glitter bots!" Lyra weaves beside him, their shoulders brushing. "Nice heat," she purrs.
"Save the flirting!" I shout, leading us to the AI core—a glowing orb in a wrecked control room. Holo-screens show pirate comms, tagged with the 5th Elder's code.
Fiona frowns. "He's sabotaging our elder?"
Lyra hacks the core with her bracelet. "Got it—AI's down. Proof saved."
Drones power off, music fading. We teleport to the elder's office, glitter clinging to us. He scans the data. "The 5th's playing dirty. I'll handle him. Good work."
Back at our penthouse, in regular clothes—me in a T-shirt and shorts, Fiona in a long tee, Dmitri in a tank, Lyra in a crop top—we laugh, glitter dusting the floor. Fiona leans close, whispering, "You're scrubbing this out of my hair, hero."
I grin. "Deal, sparkly." Dmitri and Lyra bicker over who shone brightest, and Squad Zero's ready for whatever the Arkvault throws next.