Lira pressed forward, heart pounding as she wound through the station’s main corridor, away from the initial chaos. Explosions had rocked the walls minutes ago, sending tremors through her limbs as she scrambled to escape, clutching the only book she’d dared to save. Now, just a few corridors down, she could still feel the reverberations echoing from deeper inside Zero-VI.
“This is probably just the beginning of a plot twist,” she muttered, allowing a dark chuckle. It was comforting to think that the madness unfolding around her was some great author’s device—a carefully crafted twist that she could prepare for if only she studied it enough. Like some twist from The Iron Rule where every twist had layers within layers. Of course, it was one thing to see the plot unfolding in a book, and another thing entirely to be smack in the middle of it.
“Books didn’t prepare me for this,” she whispered, a little lie she hoped her mother couldn’t hear. Truthfully, she thought books had prepared her for everything. But Zero-VI was different, sprawling with shadows and air thick with the scent of burning metal.
The corridor opened into a larger space, where the low lights barely cut through the dim. Workers passed in small clusters, uniforms rumpled and hands shaking as they exchanged quick, worried glances. The Orbital Empire’s crisp jumpsuits now looked out of place on people as rattled as she was. Lira felt her old, patched coat hang heavy on her shoulders, another reminder that she wasn’t a part of this world. Her clothes—worn boots, that soft blue coat from her mother, and even the faded book—felt like relics in this sterile, metal-lined station.
She edged along the wall, thinking she’d look for an escape pod or some unmarked exit sign, but stopped short when she caught sight of one of the workers up ahead, standing by the shadows of a service hatch. He was wearing the same standard uniform as the others, but something was off. His jumpsuit was heavily patched with makeshift repairs, the fabric looking more like it belonged to someone constantly on the move, used to patching up more than just clothes. His posture was alert, his head turning sharply as his gaze swept the hallway.
That’s not someone just trying to escape, she thought, feeling a spark of curiosity amid her nerves. He was too steady, too focused.
The stranger’s gaze landed on her, and for a split second, she felt exposed, like he was piecing her together faster than she could draw a breath. She looked away, clutching the book tighter as she willed herself to blend into the wall. The feeling lingered, though, leaving her stomach tight with suspicion.
“This is what happens,” she murmured, “when you read too many stories about government plots and double-crossing villains.” But she wasn’t laughing. This didn’t feel like a coincidence. "Probably the beginning of a plot twist", she reminded herself, the words less comforting now.
Another tremor rumbled through the corridor, sending a flicker through the lights overhead. Lira stumbled, catching herself against the wall. The book slipped from her grip but remained in her hand, her lifeline. She reminded herself that she could handle this. If this were Survival on Sandaris or Whispers of the Quorum, the heroine would press forward, ready to face whatever was on the other side of the corridor. Even if that heroine didn’t have a clue what was happening.
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The smoke was thickening, curling in dark tendrils through Zero-VI’s dim corridors. Kaden pressed forward, adrenaline sharpening his focus, his boots pounding against the metal floor. He’d been trailing the figure for nearly five minutes now, his every instinct screaming at him to keep them in sight. Whoever they were, they had answers—about Nexus, about the explosion, about the unraveling chaos around them.
He burst through a sliding hatch into another corridor, blaster raised. The figure moved ahead, their silhouette barely visible through the haze. A patchwork of mismatched armor covered their frame, pieced together in shades of faded red and gray, scuffed and worn—clearly not standard issue. They could be anyone: a rogue, a hired gun, maybe even a defector from another station. And the way they moved—sharp, calculated, knowing exactly which turns to take—made him wonder if they’d spent more time on Zero-VI than he’d realized.
Kaden didn’t hesitate. He fired a warning shot, the blast scorching the wall just inches from the figure’s head. “Stop!” he shouted.
The figure hesitated, glancing back, and Kaden caught the briefest glimpse beneath their helmet—a flash of sharp, amber eyes set against a pale, expressionless face. But there was something hauntingly familiar about their gaze, something he couldn’t place.
The figure straightened, half-raising their hands. “Guess I didn’t lose you after all,” they replied, their voice filtered through a metallic distortion. It was calm, almost indifferent, as if they’d expected him to catch up eventually.
“Who are you? And what’s your connection to Nexus?” Kaden demanded, closing in, his blaster steady.
The stranger’s mouth twisted into a faint smile behind their visor. “Connection? I’d say we’re both just pawns in the same game. But keep digging, and you might not like what you find.”
Before Kaden could respond, the stranger’s hands shot toward a control panel nearby. He fired again, but they ducked, his shot ricocheting off the wall as alarms blared around them. The siren pierced the air, and in an instant, doors around the corridor began to lock in rapid succession.
Kaden’s eyes narrowed. “What did you just do?”
The figure laughed—a low, cold sound that echoed through the corridor. “Reset,” they replied simply. "And if you value your life, I’d suggest you start running."
Kaden lunged toward them, but they slipped past his grasp, diving through the last exit hatch just as it began to slide shut. He cursed, throwing himself forward to follow, managing to wedge his arm between the closing doors and force them back open. As he stumbled into the next hallway, smoke and chaos greeted him, but the figure was already gone.
He scanned the surroundings, frustration building. Whoever this was, they were more than just some rogue or scavenger—they had the skills, the clearance, and the knowledge to outmaneuver him on Zero-VI’s own turf.
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What was she supposed to do now? Her mind darted between a thousand half-formed plans, none of which lasted under scrutiny. She could hide here, wait out whatever Nexus was orchestrating, but she doubted there was anywhere truly safe on Zero-VI anymore. Maybe she could even find someone willing to tell her why every hallway felt like a trap.
Another thought tugged at her. This has to lead somewhere, she thought, almost like an instinct or a hunch from her books. Every mysterious message, every hinted clue, always led to the same thing—a discovery. But there was no protagonist who didn’t face some danger first, and danger was closing in, faster than she could calculate her odds.
She reached a branching path and took the left corridor, hoping it would lead her closer to the transport bays. Maybe she could stow away on a ship and escape this crumbling station before things worsened.
As she turned the corner, she heard faint voices. She froze, listening, heart pounding in her chest.
“…any readings in this sector?” one voice asked, sharp and slightly distorted through the metal walls.
“Some traces, but nothing conclusive. Keep scanning,” replied a second, quieter voice, laced with irritation. “They’re sure it’s here, somewhere on this level. Just focus.”
A pause, then the scratch of static. “They want any… anomaly in this zone isolated. Don’t let anyone slip past.”
Lira’s stomach tightened as she clutched the book closer. She didn’t fully understand what they were looking for, but the tension in their voices made one thing clear—whatever it was, they were under orders, and they weren’t planning to leave without it.
With a silent breath, she retreated, hoping the darkness would keep her hidden. Just then, another tremor rocked the station. Lights flickered overhead as dust fell from the ceiling, showering her with debris. She ducked instinctively, praying the sound hadn’t given her away. The footsteps quickened, now more urgent, and the shadows on the wall shifted closer.
One of the men turned suddenly, his voice impatient. “If it’s here, we’ll find it. Let’s move.”
Lira stayed frozen, her heartbeat loud enough in her ears that she half-expected the strangers to hear it. She kept her breathing steady, staying motionless until their footsteps echoed away down the corridor. Only then did she exhale, feeling the tension slowly release from her shoulders.
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But what now? Her mind raced through a hundred ideas, all splintering into impossibility. Running back toward the library felt absurd, but it was the last place she’d seen with hiding spots. Zero-VI was so vast and strange—labyrinthine hallways, dead-end storage bays, and blank corridors that felt almost… empty. She could only imagine how people could stand it here, tangled up in cables and security checks, their lives looped into the station’s network like machines. That kind of life didn’t seem to leave much space for imagination.
Quietly, she edged back along the hall, moving through narrow side corridors, each one barely lit by the emergency lights. Part of her wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. This was exactly the kind of scene from one of her books. In The Shadows of Iscari, the heroine had hidden in an empty marketplace, clutching the evidence that would clear her father’s name. And now here she was, hiding from strangers and gripping an old book like it was some kind of sacred relic.
Each step brought her closer to the library, and for a moment, she considered dropping the book right there in the corridor. The way the strangers had scanned the area made it clear they were looking for something, and it was better for them to find an object than for them to find her. But even as the thought crossed her mind, she gripped the book tighter. Whatever it was, it had somehow become her responsibility. Besides, she knew herself well enough—she wouldn’t be able to leave it behind.
When she finally slipped into the library, the quiet was startling. She moved deeper into the room, stepping lightly between the rows of bookshelves. The dimness was unsettling, the shadows pooling around her as though waiting. She’d half-expected to feel safe here, but now, the library seemed more like the setting for an ambush.
“Think, Lira,” she whispered, looking around. If this were a story, she’d know what to do. She’d know how to outwit them, some clever trick or hidden tunnel that would lead her to safety. But in real life, there were no secret doors waiting to be discovered, only endless rows of books that reminded her of all the things she hadn’t read yet, all the stories she hadn’t lived.
Another tremor shook the floor, rattling the shelves around her. She caught herself against one of the stacks, holding on tightly as the vibrations passed. The emergency lights flickered overhead, casting eerie, shifting shadows through the room. Her mind cycled through books about crumbling worlds and runaway heroes. This was starting to feel less like an adventure and more like survival.
She stepped into one of the alcoves at the far end of the library and crouched, the silence pressing in around her. There, in the shadowed corner, she finally allowed herself to pause, gripping the book close.
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Kaden caught his breath as the smoke thickened, narrowing his field of view. Zero-VI’s emergency alarms blared on repeat, pulsing in sync with the erratic thrum of his heartbeat. Whoever that figure was, they weren’t just slipping away—they knew this station as well as he did, maybe better. The fact that they’d already vanished into Zero-VI’s labyrinthine corridors gnawed at him, but he forced himself to focus.
He was close to the library now, much closer than he’d planned. He hesitated, the memory hitting him in a rush: he’d told that girl, Lira, to wait there. He pushed forward, retracing his steps toward the library and the girl he’d left waiting. His pulse quickened, a mix of concern and the unsettling realization that his options were narrowing fast. Fixing this station from the inside was out; the reset wasn’t going to save anything. With Nexus actively scrambling controls and access, they’d be lucky just to make it out alive.
He spotted the library doors hanging slightly ajar and ducked inside, eyes scanning for any sign of her. As the smoke curled into the room behind him, Lira emerged from the far end, her back against a wall of shelves, one hand clenched tightly around that worn book. Her eyes flashed when she saw him, and in an instant, she was gripping a broken piece of shelving like a weapon, holding it between them.
"Stop right there!” she warned, voice steady but fierce. “Unless you’re looking for a serious bruise, don’t come any closer.”
Kaden froze, hands lifting slowly in mock surrender, though he couldn’t help the small, bemused smirk. “Easy, alright? I’m not here to steal your… literary arsenal.” He let his hands drop as she lowered the shelf piece, still watching him with sharp, calculating eyes. “Remember? I’m the guy who told you to stay put.”
She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “And you’re the one who ran off right after. You took your time getting back, didn’t you?”
He almost wanted to defend himself, but the urgency took precedence. “Ran into someone who didn’t want me getting too close,” he muttered, voice edged with irritation. “And now the whole station’s on the verge of collapse. We’re not just dealing with some system glitch—Nexus is deliberately tearing things down.”
“I figured out that much,” Lira said, pressing the book closer to her chest. “And you’re saying there’s no fixing it? Then what’s your plan, exactly?”
He gave a short, resigned sigh, glancing at the nearby shelves as if for inspiration. “The hard reset was our best shot. If Nexus had stayed stable, we’d be locking down the core functions, maybe restoring things. But at this rate?” He shook his head. “The whole system’s rotten through. Every backup plan I’d trust has been thrown out the window.”
She let out a small, humorless laugh. “I’m guessing that’s the engineer’s way of saying we’re running for it.”
“Exactly.” He gestured toward a small alcove in the far corner. “There’s a maintenance hatch back there—quiet route out. I was thinking we’d avoid the main halls in case anyone else is still crawling around here.”
Lira shifted uncomfortably, her gaze flicking back toward the entrance of the library. “I saw them too—two guys, right outside here. Dressed like the one who ran past you, I bet.”
Kaden’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. They didn’t get lost by accident.”
“That’s what I thought.” She clutched the book a little tighter, her eyes guarded. “I overheard them talking, though—not much, but enough to know they were after something. They didn’t say what, but the way they were looking around made me think it was important. Like they weren’t planning to leave without it.” She glanced down at the book, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I just hope they don’t realize it’s here”
Kaden stared at the book, the gears in his mind turning, and shook his head, frustrated. “The network’s a mess, Nexus is practically sentient at this point, and now you’re saying some guys in uniform are after… a book? You realize that’s not standard procedure, right?”
She shrugged, face set in determination. “What’s normal around here, anyway? For all I know, this is the key to why everything’s falling apart.” She gave him a look, half-suspicion, half-resolve. “I’m holding onto it. And if those guys want it, they can get in line.”
“Right. Priorities,” he replied, impressed by her decisiveness. “Just… keep it close.”
They made their way toward the hatch, Kaden crouching to unseal the access panel. He shot a glance back at her, noting the way she kept looking around, her movements precise but tense. It reminded him of old blueprints he’d studied of Zero-VI’s innermost structures—each part designed to fit together in an intricate puzzle, but prone to stress when pushed too far. He couldn’t help wondering if she’d hold up the same way.
“You alright?” he asked softly as the hatch opened, revealing a dimly lit, narrow passage.
She hesitated, glancing back at the library entrance one last time. “I’ll be fine once we’re out of here,” she said, her voice steady. “We can’t afford to waste any time.”
Kaden managed a small, approving smile, though guilt prickled at him as they stepped into the narrow maintenance tunnel. He hadn’t exactly stuck to his end of the plan, and it didn’t sit right with him, even if he’d done it to scout out their chances.
“I know I’m not exactly winning any points for reliability here,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as he ducked through the low opening. “Didn’t think I’d be chasing someone down the length of the station and dodging whatever chaos Nexus had queued up next.” He scratched the back of his neck, then added, almost sheepishly, “But if it’s any consolation, I’d bet my whole toolkit we’ll be out of here faster than you think.”
She gave him a flat look, her gaze still wary, but she said nothing as they pressed onward through the confined corridor. As she glanced around, her fingers tightening on the book she held close, Kaden couldn’t help but feel the pang of responsibility settle deeper.
“So you really think Nexus is doing this on purpose?” she asked, after a pause, her voice guarded but curious. “Destroying everything, taking people down with it?”
Kaden nodded grimly. “It’s not just failing—it’s retaliating. Systems don’t just turn this chaotic on their own. There’s someone or something guiding it. Nexus is…” He paused, almost embarrassed. “It’s acting more like it has a mission than just a system failure.”
Lira’s expression sharpened. “Like it's keeping the station intact just long enough to trap us,” she muttered, almost to herself. Her fingers tightened around the book as if it held answers. "Feels like a bad setup for one of those survival novels. Only, they usually give the heroine a bit more to go on."
The words startled him; he was the last person to make book references, but he recalled Marton, during one of his more hopeful stints, handing him an old adventure novel to pass the time—Survival on Sandaris. The heroine’s grit was admirable, but he’d probably tuned out the details. “I think I read something like that once… Sandaris, maybe?” he ventured, hoping he wasn’t missing the mark.
She blinked, surprised. “You’ve read Survival on Sandaris?”
“Read might be generous,” he admitted, a half-smile breaking through. “Let’s say I skimmed the highlights. Figured the whole crumbling world angle would make more sense if I actually… liked books.”
Lira let out a laugh, soft but genuine, and for the first time, he sensed her guard loosening a fraction. “Trust me, even Sandaris had some terrible plot holes,” she said, glancing down at the book she clutched. “But this?” She gestured around the crumbling tunnel. “This is a little too immersive for my taste.”
Kaden gave a dry chuckle. “I’ll agree with you there. For all our escape plans, this station feels like it’s falling apart faster than I can keep up. Every corridor, every panel is just backups patching over backups—none of them really working.”
“Now that sounds like an engineer talking,” Lira muttered, amused despite the tension lingering between them.
He shook his head. “Maybe. But it means we’re on borrowed time. I tried to reset the whole station core, hoping it might stabilize the worst of it. But now, that’s not an option.” The weight of his realization settled hard. “If Nexus is treating the station like expendable scrap, we’ll have to find our own way out.”
Her gaze sharpened, and her fingers instinctively tightened around the book. “Well then, let’s move faster"
With that, they crept forward, navigating the cramped tunnel with urgency. Kaden's thoughts churned, flickering between the decaying structures around them and the weight of everyone still trapped in the chaos. He’d endured too many losses on this station to let Lira slip away now—not when freedom was within reach.