Rigged to Break

The safehouse's back room was a scavenger's dream, cluttered with crates of black market tech and weapons that hummed with low grade Aether. Kael rifled through a pile, pulling out a battered shard pistol. Its grip was worn, but the barrel glowed faintly, promising a kick. Better than nothing. The air smelled of oil and scorched metal, and the faint buzz of Dax's servers vibrated through the floor.

Rhea was at a workbench, tweaking her shock knife with a tool that sparked every time it touched the blade. "Red Veil's no joke," she said, not looking up. "They're not just shard dealers they're fanatics. Think Harbingers, but organized. And they don't like visitors."

Kael checked the pistol's charge, his ribs still throbbing from the lab fight. "So we go in quiet. Grab the shard, get out. No heroics."

Rhea snorted. "You? Quiet? I'll believe it when I see it."

Mira emerged from the lab, her face drawn but focused. The shard case was slung across her back, secured with a makeshift strap. "I've stabilized the shard's signal for now," she said, adjusting her cyber lenses. "It won't broadcast, but it's still active. I found more data fragments of a language, pre Fall. It's pointing to a temple in the Wastelands."

Kael's chest tightened, the shard embedded there pulsing in sync with her words. Another vision flickered *a gate of twisted bone, a sky bleeding violet, the woman's voice: Find it.* He gripped the pistol harder, shoving the image away. "Great. Another death trap. Any chance this temple's got a welcome mat?"

Mira's lips twitched, almost a smile. "Doubtful. But it's our only lead. The shard's map is incomplete, but it's clear: whatever's out there is tied to the Oblivion Cycle."

"Oblivion Cycle," Rhea muttered, testing her knife with a quick jab. A spark jumped, lighting her face. "Sounds like a bad holo-drama. You sure it's not just static?"

"It's real," Mira said, her voice sharp. "And it's why the Protocol wants this shard. They're not just hunting Harbingers—they're hiding something."

Kael didn't like the sound of that. The Protocol had always been cagey, but Mira's words echoed the scout's warning: *higher ups, people you don't cross.* He was about to press her when Dax's voice cut through, smooth and oily from the doorway.

"Gearing up, I see." The dealer leaned against the frame, his cybernetic eye scanning the room. "Good. Red Veil's stash is in their stronghold, old corpo vault, three levels down. My intel's solid, but you'll need more than knives and attitude."

Kael spun the pistol, aiming it casually at Dax. "Your intel better be worth it. What's the layout?"

Dax didn't flinch, his smile unwavering. "Vault's rigged with shard-traps—think lasers, but nastier. Guards are half-Harbinger, augmented with Aether implants. The shard's in a containment unit, center of the main chamber. Get in, disable the traps, grab it. Simple."

"Nothing's simple with you," Rhea said, holstering her knife. "What's the real catch?"

Dax's eye whirred, focusing on her. "Catch is, the Veil's leader, Zara Kain, doesn't take kindly to thieves. Cross her, and you're not just dead you're a trophy."

Kael lowered the pistol but kept his grip tight. "And you're sure this shard's clean? No corruption?"

"Clean as it gets," Dax said. "Pure Aether, straight from the Fall. Worth more than this city."

The shard in Kael's chest hummed, a low warning. He didn't trust Dax, didn't trust the job, didn't trust the damn shard whispering in his head. But they needed the safehouse, and Toren was still out there. No choice but to play the game.

"Fine," Kael said. "We move tonight. Rhea, can you hack the traps?"

She grinned, cracking her knuckles. "Child's play. Just keep the psychos off me."

Mira adjusted the shard-case, her voice quiet but firm. "I'm coming too. If this shard's like ours, I need to see it in context."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "You're a scientist, not a soldier. Stay here."

"No," Mira said, meeting his gaze. "This is bigger than you, Kael. I'm not sitting it out."

He wanted to argue, but the fire in her eyes stopped him. She wasn't backing down, and they didn't have time to bicker. "Stay close, then. Don't make me regret it."

Rhea's comms unit beeped, pulling their attention. She scanned the screen, her grin fading. "Protocol drones just hit the tunnel we came through. They're sweeping fast. And… shit. Harbinger signals, moving this way."

Kael's shard pulsed, and the vision hit again *Zara Kain's face, violet eyes blazing, a bone gate opening behind her.* He staggered, catching himself on the workbench. Rhea grabbed his arm. "You okay, Varn?"

"Yeah," he lied, shaking it off. "Just get us to that vault. We're running out of time."

Dax's smile widened, like he knew something they didn't. "Good luck, shard hunters. Don't die."

As they grabbed their gear and headed for the tunnels, Kael's shard hummed louder, a warning he couldn't ignore. The Red Veil was waiting, and so was something worse.