Innate Trigger – Catalyst of a Fractured Alliance
For the Wasteland Nomads, the alliance with Buck’s deserters seems to be the only path left for their existence to regain meaning something beyond mere survival. Most of them have grown weary of wandering through scorched wastelands, living in a constant state of waiting. Buck’s proposal the leader of the deserters from the Overlords’ army, who themselves are seeking a reason to exist for a coordinated strike against Megacity 4 of the South America Grid feels more like a chance at redemption than a military operation.
Zero is trying to convince Fernanda, leader of the Wasteland Nomads, that participation in the operation is essential. During the open transmission, with Buck joining from the deserters’ camp, tension fills the air. No one trusts anyone, and every word feels as if it’s being weighed on an electronic scale. Zero knows that if Fernanda refuses, the plan will collapse before it even begins.
Even if they reach a fragile agreement, the biggest challenge will be convincing the resistance fighters within Megacity 4 of the South America Grid. Those who have been fighting from the inside for years know how dangerous any involvement with the Neural Seraphs or the Mystic Covenant can be. And the idea of allying with Buck and the former soldiers of the Overlords seems almost unthinkable. No one inside the cities has forgotten who pulled the triggers or who signed the execution orders of the resistance members.
At the same time, the Wasteland Nomads themselves are far from united. Fernanda knows that if she decides to join the effort, internal unrest will follow. The more radical factions will see cooperation with Buck as betrayal. Some might even defect. The old warriors, who remember the cruelty of the Overlords’ army, will not easily accept standing alongside those who once hunted and imprisoned their own.
Cipher and her high-tech freaks remain the most unpredictable piece of the equation. They don’t fully trust the Neural Seraphs or the Mystic Covenant, but in Buck and his deserters, they see a rare kind of sincerity they never expected from ex-military men. Their technological mindset, fused with Cipher’s cold rationality, leads them to believe that anyone standing against Decius is at least a potential ally even if only temporarily.
The situation is shaping into a dangerous balance of powers. Buck and his deserters trust or at least intend to use the resistance factions within the Neural Seraphs and the Mystic Covenant. Fernanda, however, remains cautious toward everyone, believing that any alliance with those once part of the Grid is a risk with no return. Cipher, on the other hand, wants to believe in Buck and his honesty, but not in the Seraphs or the Covenant. In her mind, the Seraph network is a silent serpent, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Behind it all lies the Barrier System the discovery that ignited everything. A network of energy and sensory fields capable of isolating entire Megacities or Grids, cutting off all physical and electronic connection to the outside world. Its existence, revealed by the heretic Neural Seraphs inside Megacity 4 of the South America Grid, changes everything. If Buck and his allies manage to reach the Barrier’s control centers, they could isolate Megacity 4 from the rest of the South America Grid. But if they fail, the Grid will consume anyone who dares to touch it.
In any case, the first step is clear: without cooperation from the resistance inside Megacity 4, the strike cannot happen. The operation will die before it ever begins.
Fernanda knows that her decision will determine not only the fate of the Wasteland Nomads but perhaps that of the entire South America Grid.
On the other side stands a fragile alliance, woven with suspicion.
No one is certain who will end up controlling the Barrier.
Only that when it happens, nothing will ever be the same again.
Innate Trigger : Catalyst of a Fractured Alliance
Release date : 23 – 11 – 2025
Music by : Innate Trigger
