Chapter Two: Astra-X Awakens

"Sensory link overload," Astra-X said from deep inside his mind. "Recommend contraction." "No," Leon said through his teeth. "I need to see the battlefield." "Human neural structure is fragile." "Then let me adapt." After a brief silence, the sensations did not shut down. They rearranged. Noise became layered tactical images: storm flow, geological fractures, heat signatures, friendly and hostile signals, all spread before him. For the first time, Leon understood why elite pilots could change a war. They were not operating machines. They were becoming the battlefield. Above the rock, an explosion roared. Astra-X raised its right arm and drove five fingers into the stone wall. Propulsion light unfolded from its back.