Ch 56: The Next Step

The industrial district of Gron was a maze of rusting machinery, towering smokestacks, and flickering neon signs barely holding onto life. Kael moved through the streets with a steady pace, the distant hum of factories and the occasional hiss of venting steam filling the air. The metallic scent of oil and melted slag clung to everything, mixing with the acrid tang of burnt circuits.

Two days. It had been two days since Mira left.

Her absence wasn't something he dwelled on—at least, that's what he told himself. But as he walked alone, without her sharp quips and restless energy at his side, the silence gnawed at him. He had spent years surviving alone before they met, but somewhere along the way, "alone" had started to feel… unnatural.

He shoved the thought aside and focused on his destination.

Lora's workshop sat at the edge of the district, a repurposed pre-war fabrication plant with reinforced steel doors and a crude but effective security system. The sign above the entrance had long since faded, but the place had a reputation. It wasn't the biggest operation in the city, but if you needed something built, fixed, or stolen, this was where you went.

Kael knocked twice. A moment later, the door slid open with a hiss.

Inside, the chaotic mess of Lora's domain was as he remembered—blueprints pinned to the walls, half-disassembled drones hanging from chains, and workbenches cluttered with everything from microchips to heavy-duty plasma cutters. The hum of generators in the back gave the room a faint vibration.

At the center of it all was Lora herself, hunched over a table, her fingers flying across the surface of a tablet as she adjusted schematics. She didn't look up.

"You're late."

Kael smirked, stepping inside. "I wasn't aware we set a time."

Lora finally turned, giving him a look somewhere between amused and unimpressed. She was in her late thirties, her dark hair tied back in a messy bun, and her sharp, analytical eyes were always scanning, always calculating.

"You should've known better," she said, tossing a tablet onto the table. "Your next projects. Some legal. Some… less so."

Kael stepped closer, scanning the files she had pulled up.

Project 1: Power Grid Optimization

Description: Upgrade Gron's decentralized energy grid, integrating salvaged pre-war technology for greater efficiency.

Client: City of Gron (Official Contract)

Risk Level: Low

Payout: Moderate

This was the safe choice. Stable, respectable, and it would keep him in good standing with the city. But it wasn't particularly exciting.

Project 2: Personal Defense System

Description: Develop a compact, high-output energy dispersal unit. Capable of temporarily disabling electronics and unshielded cybernetics.

Client: Unnamed (Anonymous Request)

Risk Level: Moderate

Payout: High

A gray-market deal. Someone wanted an EMP-style weapon, likely for less-than-legal purposes. Useful tech, though. And well-paid work.

Project 3: Reactor Core Retrofit

Description: Modify a salvaged pre-war reactor core, integrating custom cooling solutions to stabilize an unstable energy output.

Client: Unknown (High-Priority Request)

Risk Level: Extreme

Payout: Very High

Kael frowned. This was dangerous. Pre-war reactor cores weren't something you messed with lightly. If done correctly, it could provide massive energy output to whoever was asking for it. If done wrong—it could turn an entire district into slag.

Lora leaned back against the worktable, arms crossed. "Well?"

Kael exhaled. "Who wants the reactor work?"

"You don't need to know that," she said smoothly. "Just that they'll pay very well."

Kael's fingers hovered over the schematic, already running calculations in his head. The cooling problem was solvable—if he could get the right materials. The instability could be countered with an external regulator. But the question wasn't if he could do it—it was if he should.

Lora's eyes flicked over him. "I need to know what you're taking."

Kael studied the projects again. Each choice led to a different path.

The official contract kept him inside the law, respectable, steady work. The defense project put him in the murky waters of Gron's underground economy. The reactor retrofit was a risk—a big one. But it was also a challenge. And Kael never could resist a challenge.

His fingers traced over the schematic, decision forming.

"Give me the details on the reactor job," he said finally.

Lora smirked. "I thought you might say that."