The Imperial Capital, known as Aureus Prime, was not built to be lived in; it was built to be worshiped.
From the cockpit of the White Raven, hovering miles away in the cloud cover, it looked like a mirage. In a world of rust, grey ash, and dying forests, the Capital was a blinding spike of gold and white marble.
It was a mega-city laid out in perfect concentric circles. At its center stood the Palace of the Echo, a tower so high it pierced the stratosphere.
But the most striking feature was the Aether-Wall.
It was a translucent, shimmering dome of golden energy that encased the entire city. It hummed with enough voltage to vaporize an army. It kept the smog out. It kept the "unclean" out. It kept the peace in.
"It's beautiful," Lyra whispered, looking through the scope. "And I hate it."
"It consumes 40% of the world's energy output," Skid said, reading the sensors. "While the outer sectors freeze, they use enough power to heat a sun just to keep their air conditioning running."
"We can't fly through that," Isolde said, tapping the glass. "That field is hard-light. The Raven would smash against it like a bug on a windshield."
"We aren't flying in," Julian said. He was cleaning his new black-metal arm with a rag. "We're taking the train."
The Plan
Julian pulled up a schematic on the holotable.
"This is the Gilded Express," Julian pointed to a massive, armored train line snaking through the wastelands toward the city. "It runs supplies from the outer provinces directly into the Capital. Food, water, luxury goods. It's the only thing allowed through the wall without a Level-10 clearance."
"And how do we get on an armored train moving at 200 miles per hour?" Zephyr asked.
"We jump," Julian said.
He zoomed in on a bridge crossing a deep ravine twenty miles outside the city.
"The train slows down here for the turn. We drop from the ship, magnetic-lock onto the roof, cut a hole, and ride it inside."
"And then?" Lyra asked. "We're inside the most heavily policed city in history. Where do we go?"
"To the Engineering Sector," Julian said. "To find Marcus."
"Your brother," Isolde said. "You never talk about him."
Julian stopped cleaning his arm. He looked at the golden dome in the distance.
"Marcus and I were... different," Julian said quietly. "I liked to break things to see how they worked. Marcus liked to build walls to keep things safe. When the Empire came... I ran. He stayed. He believed them. He believed that if he built the cage pretty enough, people wouldn't mind being prisoners."
He looked at the team.
"He built the Aether-Wall. He has the frequency codes. If we want to wake the Titan, we need him to drop the shield."
"And if he refuses?" Zephyr asked.
Julian clenched his metal fist. The servos whirred.
"Then I break his wall the hard way."
The Drop
The White Raven shadowed the supply train from high altitude. The train was a silver snake, fifty cars long, hovering on a mag-lev track.
"Approaching the bridge," Isolde called out. "Matching speed. You have a ten-second window."
The cargo ramp lowered. The wind howled, carrying the dust of the badlands.
Julian, Lyra, Zephyr, and Isolde stood on the edge. Skid stayed behind to pilot the ship and maintain comms from a safe distance.
"Don't miss," Julian said.
He jumped.
They free-fell through the clouds. The train rushed up to meet them—a blur of silver metal.
Julian activated the thrusters on his Abyssal Suit (which he wore without the helmet for mobility). He adjusted his trajectory.
THUD.
His mag-boots slammed onto the roof of the moving train car. He stuck instantly.
Lyra landed next to him, rolling to absorb the impact. Isolde landed heavy, cracking a roof plate. Zephyr glided in silently, folding his wings.
"We're on," Lyra shouted over the wind. "Car 14. Luxury Imports."
Julian knelt. He placed his nanite hand on the roof.
Analyze.
He sensed the locking mechanism. It was simple steel.
He pressed his palm against the metal. The lens glowed blue.
Heat.
He melted the lock in seconds. He pulled the hatch open.
"Inside. Before the drones spot us."
The Belly of the Snake
They dropped into the cargo car. It was filled with crates of velvet, rare wines, and fresh fruit—things that were myths in the Rust-Sea.
"Look at this," Isolde picked up a peach. She stared at it like it was an alien artifact. "Fresh fruit. I haven't seen a real peach in ten years."
"Don't eat it," Julian said. "We're approaching the Wall."
The train began to decelerate. The hum of the mag-lev tracks changed pitch.
Through the slats in the car wall, they saw the golden light of the Aether-Wall approaching. It was a massive curtain of energy.
"Signal check," Julian ordered. "Skid, are you jamming our bio-signatures?"
"I'm trying," Skid's voice was tense. "But the scanning grid at the gate is intense. Stay low. Don't use any Resonance. If you spike the energy field, the turrets will shred the train."
The train entered the wall.
The light inside the car turned blinding gold. The air buzzed with static electricity. Julian felt the hair on his arms stand up. His nanite arm hummed dangerously, reacting to the field.
He grabbed his left arm with his right hand, forcing it down, suppressing the energy.
Quiet. Stay quiet.
The scanning lasers swept over the train. A red beam passed through the car, sweeping over the crates.
It passed over Julian. It paused.
Julian held his breath. He visualized the Void. I am nothing. I am a crate. I am cargo.
The laser moved on.
The train passed through the barrier. The light faded.
They were inside.
Aureus Prime
Julian pushed the door open a crack.
The view took their breath away.
Aureus Prime was a city of glass and light. Hover-cars zipped between gleaming spires. Parks with green grass and holographic waterfalls dotted the landscape. Citizens in clean, white robes walked the streets, their faces buried in data-feeds, oblivious to the wasteland outside.
"It's... peaceful," Zephyr whispered, disgusted. "It is a silence bought with blood."
"It's a theater," Julian said. "Look closer."
He pointed to the street corners.
On every corner stood a Silence Sentinel. A tall, faceless droid painted gold, holding a suppression staff. And floating above the streets were Watcher-Orbs.
"The people aren't happy," Julian said. "They're terrified. One wrong word, and the Sentinels take you."
The train slowed as it entered the Central Station—a cathedral of steel underneath the Palace.
"We get off here," Julian said. "The Engineering District is on the lower levels. Sector 7."
The Confrontation
They moved through the shadows of the station, avoiding the patrols. They blended in by stealing maintenance cloaks from a locker room.
They reached the Sector 7 Engineering Complex. It was a fortress within the city, guarded by heavy blast doors.
"How do we get in?" Lyra asked. "That door is DNA-coded."
"We don't break in," Julian said. "We knock."
He walked up to the intercom. He pressed the button.
A holographic face appeared. A receptionist AI.
"State your business."
"Tell High Engineer Marcus Vane," Julian said, pulling back his hood, "that his brother is here to return his wrench."
The AI paused.
"Processing... Alert. Identity Match: Priority One."
The heavy doors didn't lock down. They hissed open.
Standing at the end of a long, pristine hallway was a man.
He looked like Julian, but sharper. Cleaner. He wore the pristine white-and-gold uniform of a High Imperial Officer. His hair was slicked back. He wore glasses that displayed constant data streams.
Marcus Vane.
He stood with his hands behind his back, flanked by two Gold-Guardians.
Julian walked down the hall, his team flanking him.
The brothers stopped ten feet apart.
Marcus looked at Julian. He looked at the scarred coat. He looked at the black, mechanical arm.
"You look terrible, Julian," Marcus said. His voice was smooth, devoid of the grit that filled Julian's.
"You look expensive, Marcus," Julian replied.
"I saw the reports," Marcus adjusted his glasses. "The North. The Ocean. The Volcano. The Canyon. You've been busy breaking my world."
"I'm waking it up," Julian corrected.
"And now you're here," Marcus sighed. "To kill me? Or to beg?"
"To offer you a choice," Julian stepped forward. "Open the Wall, Marcus. Let the Titan wake up. Help us fix what the Emperor broke."
Marcus laughed softly. He shook his head.
"You still think like a child, Julian. You think 'fixing' means breaking the chains. But chains are what hold the structure together."
He raised his hand.
The Gold-Guardians raised their weapons.
"I can't let you destroy the peace, brother," Marcus said, his eyes cold. "Arrest them."