The Forgotten Ones

Adam survives the collapse of the Dulce base and emerges alone in the aftermath, badly shaken but still driven by the wider war. He discovers that the enemy has been hiding and experimenting on a captured species, and that the fate of these beings may matter to the larger conflict.

As he moves through the ruins and beyond, Adam is forced into an uneasy alliance with a surviving enemy soldier, Rex, whose loyalties and motives are uncertain. Together they navigate danger, survival, and distrust while trying to uncover what the captives are and how to free them.

The novella follows Adam’s search-and-rescue mission as he learns more about the hidden prisoners and what the Garde have been missing. It ends as a bridge into the next main installment, with new information, new allies, and a sense that the war’s balance may shift.