Aurelia's Overture

There were unspoken rules in high society, ones that governed the flow of power and expectation with the same precision as the movement of planets and stars. These rules dictated everything—who spoke first, who yielded space in a conversation, and most crucially, when and how one arrived at an event.

Even though the Dominion was engaged in wars on two fronts with the Confederacy, that didn't mean there were no open channels between the two powers. Both understood that their war was just a mask for the Raptures competition going on in the background.

A princess of the Dominion, by all measures of decorum, should have arrived alongside her empire's dignitaries. It was a statement of equal standing, an acknowledgment of structure, a way of reinforcing that power recognized power. To break from this protocol was to fracture the careful balance of tradition, to suggest either arrogance or urgency—sometimes both.

And yet, Princess Aurelia Velstrane had arrived early.

Not with the banners and ceremony of her station. Not as part of the grand procession that would mark the formal meeting of dominions. She arrived in the quiet spaces before the storm, when only those seeking favor and fealty moved among the halls.

This was not an oversight. This was intentional.

She was, in every regard, a contradiction. She was clothed in the wealth of her empire, her gown woven with bioluminescent threads that pulsed faintly, shifting in their patterns like a night sky unraveling with every movement. Yet, for all the grandeur in her attire, there was something contained in her posture, something measured—an absence of flourish, a deliberate effort to not draw attention beyond what was necessary.

That, perhaps, was the greatest anomaly of all.

For if this was not meant as a spectacle, then it could only mean one thing.

She was here for him.

Orion did not move immediately, nor did he allow himself to be the first to acknowledge her presence. To do so would be to accept the weight of her arrival on her terms, and he would give her no such advantage. Instead, he waited, hands folded behind his back, his posture composed, watching as she navigated the room with the precision of someone who had already charted the course ahead of time.

She was not looking for someone to guide her through this foreign court. She was not waiting to be introduced. She knew exactly where to find him.

And when she did, she did not hesitate.

"Heir Orion."

The words were spoken without flourish, without unnecessary adornment.

Orion turned to meet her gaze. Her eyes, unyielding, laced with intent. There was no wariness in them, no uncertainty, only the quiet confidence of someone who had already determined the outcome of this encounter before it had even begun.

He allowed a measured pause, just long enough to acknowledge her without offering immediate deference. A Dominion princess addressing him directly was not an insignificant gesture, but it was she who had breached etiquette first.

His voice was smooth when he finally spoke. "Princess Aurelia. I did not expect your arrival so soon."

Aurelia's lips curved slightly, not quite a smile, not quite a challenge. "Decorum would have had me arrive with the others," she said, her tone carrying the faintest edge of amusement.

"Your reputation suggests you prefer actions over formalities."

Orion did not react immediately. Flattery, if it was flattery, was merely a veneer for something deeper. She had chosen her words with care, shaping them in a way that was neither overtly deferential nor directly confrontational. She was feeling for something, testing for response, and that in itself was an answer.

He studied her a moment longer before inclining his head just slightly, a silent acknowledgment that he had understood her meaning. "Why are you here, Princess?"

Aurelia took a deliberate step forward, closing the space between them just enough to lower her voice without losing its weight. "Because I have something for you."

The words were simple, but their impact was immediate. Not a request. Not an inquiry. A statement of certainty.

Orion's expression remained unreadable, but inside, his mind was already moving. A Dominion princess bringing something—not to the Confederacy, not to his father, but to him.

It was either a gift, a trap, or a challenge.

Or all three.

"Then let us speak where we will not be interrupted."

The garden was a place of curated elegance, a reminder that even beauty could be shaped by control. White marble paths wound through carefully cultivated flora, the air thick with the scent of imported orchids and night-blooming lilies engineered to thrive beneath artificial starlight.

It was a space meant for stillness, but there was no stillness in the exchange unfolding within it.

Aurelia's gaze drifted briefly over the surroundings, not in admiration, but in assessment.

Then, without preamble, she turned back to him.

"I will not waste your time with pleasantries, Orion. You and I both know that we are meant to stand on opposite ends of the board. But that board is not as small as our nations would like us to believe."

Orion regarded her carefully. "You speak as if you know something others do not."

Aurelia exhaled softly. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I simply see the shape of what is coming sooner than most."

Her eyes held his, unflinching. And then, without hesitation, she said the words that would shift the balance of this meeting entirely.

"I know about the Raptures."

Orion did not move, did not blink, did not betray the storm that coiled beneath his skin.

The Raptures were buried beneath layers of secrecy, locked behind controlled intelligence networks, their very existence erased. Only the highest-ranking members of the Confederacy had access to their true nature.

And yet, here she was.

He let the silence stretch before he finally spoke, voice smooth, controlled, razor-edged beneath its surface. "Then tell me, Princess. What is it you think you know?"

Aurelia's lips parted slightly, the barest hint of satisfaction flickering across her features—not triumph, but recognition.

She had expected him to deny. To deflect.

He had not.

Her response came without hesitation. "I know that the war we fight is only the surface. That the real war is the one fought in the places no one dares to speak of. And I have reason to believe that our enemies are not just each other."

"I offer you something, Orion," Aurelia continued. "A channel of communication. Not between our nations, but between us. Whatever is down there, whatever is waiting—it is bigger than the Confederacy and the Dominion combined."

Orion studied her, considering.

To accept would be to acknowledge her as a potential ally.

To refuse outright would be to close the door to intelligence that could prove invaluable.

There was also a third path—to appear to work with her while ensuring the flow of knowledge remained in his favor.

Orion didn't answer immediately. He let the weight of her words settle between them.

If she expected shock, intrigue, even skepticism—he refused to give her the satisfaction.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly. "You speak with certainty, Princess. As if you have seen the depths of the Raptures yourself."

"I know the expeditions into the Raptures have yielded technology far beyond our current capabilities. I know that those who venture too deep often return… changed."

Aurelia's composure never wavered, but Orion saw it now—the flicker of calculation behind her eyes.

She had made a gamble in revealing her knowledge of the Raptures. But she wasn't finished.

She reached into the folds of her attire, retrieving a small, data-sealed capsule, its surface marked with Dominion encryption protocols. A restricted file—something not meant to leave the Dominion's archives.

Orion remained still. Let her speak. Let her show her hand.

"Seventeen years ago, a Dominion research vessel—the Excidium—was lost."

Silence.

"But the truth is, Orion… the Excidium was the first Dominion ship to enter a Rapture."

Orion finally took the capsule, rolling it between his fingers.

He glanced back at Aurelia. "And what do you want in return?"