Invasion - 5

"Any new plan? Our weapons are terrible for use," Graiger says, showing his weapon.

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**POV - ■■■■■**

"We need to regroup and get out of here before these Cybermen surround us," I say quickly, my eyes scanning the room for an escape route until I remember something. "Graiger, did you bring the first prototype of the device?"

Graiger nods, pulling the device from a bag. "But it will only work once, like in the first test, since we haven't improved or adjusted it, and we need to be far enough away not to get caught in the destruction of those Cybermen."

"Alright. Lastra, take your men and exit through the east passage. We'll create a distraction to cover our retreat." I approach one of the control room panels and start typing frantically, trying to access the security system of the complex.

Lastra looks at me, somewhat hesitant.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"No" I say with a smile. "But we should test it. It should work."

Lastra looks at me incredulously but nods and starts heading for the passage.

As I make the final adjustments to the panel, the metallic sound of the Cybermen draws closer. I hear the distinctive sound of laser weapons charging, and I feel a rush of adrenaline. A smile forms on my face. "Ready?" I ask Graiger, who is beside me, helping with the device.

**--------- POV CHANGE ---------**

**POV - LASTRA**

I realize that, despite the playful behavior of Braz and Ross, they are incredibly skilled and calculating in moments of crisis. "Silurians, to the east passage, now! We have to get out of here fast," I order, guiding my men toward the exit.

'Could one of our own really have betrayed us?' The thought sends a chill down my spine. Who could have committed such treason? Could it have been the general? I feel a tightness in my chest as I think about how close we were to losing everything. 'I must find the traitor as soon as possible,' I think with a bad feeling.

The Cybermen are already entering the room when Braz activates the distraction. A flash of light disables most of the Cybermen long enough for us to gain some distance. We run through the metallic corridors, the sound of shots and clashing metal echoing around us.

**--------- POV CHANGE ---------**

**POV - ■■■■■**

We run as fast as we can through the narrow corridors. Graiger and I stay behind, preparing the pulse detonator. "We just need a few more seconds," he murmurs as he finishes the adjustments.

"Cybermen ahead!" One of Lastra's soldiers shouts. "They're surrounding us!"

"Can't you just kill them? We're doing the best we can here," I say hurriedly, adjusting the device.

"Our weapons are proving ineffective against their armor," Lastra says as she continues shooting.

"That's why I hate working under pressure, and I still have to deal with a fifth-rate device, tsk," I say, clicking my tongue and organizing the device.

I grit my teeth. "Damn, looks like we have no choice." I turn to Graiger. "You know what to do."

Graiger nods, and together, we activate the detonator. A wave of intense energy sweeps through the corridors, hitting the Cybermen from both sides. They begin to fall, their systems overloaded by the pulse wave.

But then I noticed movement ahead. One of the more robust Cybermen, resistant to the pulse but damaged, starts moving again, heading straight for us. "Seriously? They couldn't just lie down and sleep while we escaped?" I exclaim indignantly.

"Wanna say that to them?" Graiger asks nervously.

Lastra turns her attention to us, a look of pure terror on her face. "Stop talking! They're adapting faster than we thought! We need to get out of here!"

Graiger shouts, "We have to go through the west passage! It's the only way out now!"

We rush through the west passage, but more of those robust Cybermen appear. "Seriously? You Cybermen are annoying! Couldn't you just let us escape?" I shout at the Cybermen in front of us.

"Cyberman detected enemies. You will not be able to escape. You are surrounded. Prepare for conversion," one of the Cybermen says.

"Thanks, but I'm not at all excited about this conversion you're talking about. Time Lords, couldn't you have given me a TARDIS? If I had one, this would never happen to me!" I say indignantly.

**--------- POV CHANGE ---------**

**POV - LASTRA**

My mind is a mess, but I manage to focus on the situation. "Silurians, move forward! We can't stay here!" I shout. The soldiers move quickly, but the number of Cybermen has significantly increased.

"Lady Lastra, the evacuation route was detonated. They found our explosives, and we had no choice but to detonate them," Lastra receives communication from the elite group that went to create the distraction and set up the escape route.

'This is very bad,' I think nervously. 'Our chances are gone. I hope these two have something.'

I turn to Braz and Ross. "Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

**--------- POV CHANGE ---------**

**POV - ■■■■■**

I look at Graiger. "I think we have something that might work, but it's risky."

Graiger nods. "I think it's time to use the emergency relocation device. We can transport them away from here, but we need a safe set of coordinates."

Lastra frowns. "You have something like that? Why didn't you mention it earlier?"

I shrug. "It's experimental and... dangerous. It was a project our professor gave us to recreate when we returned to class. We were going to finish it after our adventure, but we ended up here. You know, sometimes I think I'm really unlucky: using an experimental device to escape from a wave of upgraded Cybermen," I say with an awkward smile.

"We haven't even gotten to the space control material yet, only basic teleportation," Graiger says grumpily.

That's when something came to mind, but I pushed it to the back because the situation didn't allow for much time. 'How ironic: a Time Lord with 507 regenerations and no time,' I think.

Before Lastra can respond, a robust Cyberman approaches quickly. "Prepare for conversion. Prepare for conversion," they all begin to repeat.

"Now or never!" I exclaim. I activated the relocation device, hoping it worked as planned. "Goodbye, you damned Cybermen! Rest assured that next time, I'll invent something to finish off your circuits, you rusty cans," I say with a teasing smile.

A bright light envelops us, and for a moment, everything is silent.

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Author's Note: I wanted to try a real cliffhanger at a tense moment for the first time, LOL. Now I understand how other authors feel when they leave a cliffhanger for the next chapter. It's interesting. But I feel like there wasn't much tension because of Traveler's behavior. I'll try to work better on tense moments.

I can see that if I keep Traveler too calm, it'll ruin the story a bit, but for now, I can't change it—only in the next regeneration.