The barrage stopped with one last thunderous crackle, the glittering shells exploding in clouds of white sparks that fell to the ground and sizzled in the frozen snow. Alice struggled upright, her body throbbing with bruises as minor damage alerts scrolled across her vision. She hauled up Xavi as the stealth troops reached the double doors, the leader bending over to attach an explosive to its surface. As he stepped back, an automated defense system activated and sliced him in two, the mechanized rattle of a machine gun echoing away.