Hull-Shear Countdown: 11 minutes
A constant groan vibrated through the Iron Menagerie's spine as twisted spokes redistributed weight after the hangar implosion. Bulkhead seams oozed molten rivulets; beyond the plating, Earth's curve spun in dizzying silence.
Aiden wiped blood from his neck seal and forced his voice steady. "Last core is in the torus hub. Straight shot down central tram."
Maya flicked her visor, projecting a ghost-blue track through the next three junctions. "Tram rails are magnetised. If those fail we'll pinwheel off the ring."
Lin Xi inhaled shallowly. "Qi can't patch a mechanical failure, but I can mute vibration nodes—once."
Cassie re-clamped her cracked visor, lantern guttering but alive. "Get me line-of-sight to the forge; I can blind its sensors long enough for the Dawn-Core surge."
Nephis tore the burned fringe from his cloak, leaving a short mantle of living night. "I'll clear whatever guards the door."
They moved.
The Tram of Knives
The tram tunnel was a narrow cylinder lined with retractable tool arms. With power flickering, the arms had emerged and frozen—jagged like serrated teeth. Zero-g debris drifted between them, lit by emergency strobes.
Aiden led, hooking one boot to a guide cable and pulling himself hand over hand. The Dawn-Core nudged at his thoughts, eager to burn away everything in its path; he hushed it like a restless animal.
Halfway through, the tunnel shifted. Metal screeched, the Menagerie rolling several degrees as orbit decayed. The arms sprang to life, scissoring blindly.
Lin Xi closed his eyes, whispered a mantra. A thin pulse of jade rippled down the cable; several arms seized then powered off, creating pockets of stillness. But the effort cost him—the Qi splints flickered, and he drifted limp until Aiden caught his harness.
They pushed on. Cassie's lantern flashed bursts of dawn-beam to dazzle rogue sensors, Maya slicing control relays with gauntlet-born code knives. Nephis flowed from shadow to shadow, shearing arm joints before they could fully extend.
Behind them the tunnel sealed, severed sections spinning away into the void.
The Forge Cathedral
The hub forge was bigger than the last two combined: a cathedral of rusted gantries strung around a central crucible where a dull orange heart throbbed. Polyhedral racks held skeletal Sentinels in dormant ranks. Above the crucible floated an obsidian obelisk—another Herald drone, this one elongated, draped in tattered star-cloth.
The drone's voice echoed like knives on glass. "Last lattice aligned. Menagerie re-birth in four minutes."
Maya whispered, "Power readings spiking. If we melt this one, the torus will tear itself apart before we can undock."
Aiden looked from the Dawn-Core to the crucible. "Then we don't melt it—we rewrite it from the inside."
Nephis launched first, shadows trailing like comets, slicing into racks to keep Sentinels dormant. Cassie orbited high, drawing sentinel targeting to her flickering lantern. Maya dived for a console alcove, jack-in needle flashing. Lin Xi drifted low, fierce focus on micro-runes he painted across support pylons.
Aiden set boots on the crucible rim. Heat bled through suit layers. He raised the Dawn-Core—its peach-gold halo casting new constellations on scored metal—and let it pulse.
The orange forge heart responded, flaring hungry red. Streams of molten alloy clawed upward, trying to swallow the new light. Aiden pushed back, channeling images of Wellspring freshness, Coral gentleness, Lantern hope. Threads of dawn seeped along the crucible walls, frosting slag into pale coral crystal.
The drone shrieked, cloth flaring. It hurled spears of compressed error code that slashed Aiden's shoulder anew, chipped Dawn-Core facets. He almost dropped the crystal into the furnace.
Cassie dove, lantern streaming a curtain of blinding radiance that forced the drone to recoil. But a Sentinel batch stirred, stepping from racks with blades unfolding.
Nephis met them mid-air, cloak stumps lashing like vipers. One arm severed; another—but numbers pressed in.
Maya's voice cracked across comms. "Index hook engaged. I can swap crucible firmware—but I need a fifteen-second lock!"
Aiden gritted teeth. "Hold on me." He thrust Dawn-Core deeper; light cascaded down crucible seams, battling red glow. Suit alarms screamed—core temperature passing limit. Still he poured resonance.
Lin Xi's last rune ignited, damping vibrational hum. Gantries stabilised. He sank, spent.
The drone dove again, whole forge vibrating. Cassie's lantern sputtered, nearly dark. Nephis yelled, overwhelmed.
Aiden knew he had one breath left. He let go of the rail, braced Dawn-Core with both palms, and shouted, "Now, Maya!"
A data shockwave burst from her gauntlet, slamming into the drone, ripping it free of its process loop. For thirteen heartbeats the crucible's code was naked.
Dawn-Core light rushed in. Orange turned coral, then brilliant white. Sentinel torsos froze mid-stride, sweeping into stone. The drone spasmed, systems dead.
The forge hummed once—then sighed silent.
Evacuation
Hull-shear clock: thirty seconds.
Maya scooped the unconscious Lin Xi; Nephis hauled Cassie. Aiden tucked Dawn-Core close and kicked off. They tore back through the tram tunnel, now mostly collapsed, bulling through jagged debris as structural warnings boomed.
The Helix-Ascender's docking collar was half-melted, but its emergency pod still clung to the pier. One by one they dove into the cramped shell, Nephis slicing the last iron tendril free.
A metal scream shook the torus. The pod detached, thrusters flaring. Below, the Menagerie split along the old forge seams, halves drifting apart as internal fires guttered out.
From their window the Guardians watched wreckage tumble into atmosphere, burning like faulty meteors. Then stars steadied; orbit held.
Afterglow
Aiden finally set Dawn-Core on his lap. The crystal looked different—facets reflecting not just dawn-gold but a hint of iron-blue. "It learned something," he whispered.
Maya leaned back, lids drooping. "Two nodes reclaimed."
Cassie managed a weak laugh. "And only a Martian dream-chapel left to visit."
Nephis pulled cloak bits tight around his shoulders. "Plenty of time to bleed on the way."
Lin Xi murmured, half-conscious but smiling, "Threads hold."
Outside, ruined forge shards winked out one by one as orbital decay began. Far below, a slender ring of aurora circled Earth—brighter now, steadier, as though the Loom itself exhaled in relief.