Orion stepped through the breach, his boots striking polished obsidian flooring that mirrored the harsh, white glare of the Spire’s mid-level executive atrium. All around him, corporate middle-managers in sharply tailored, slate-grey suits drifted across the open-air balconies, sipping synthetic caf and discussing supply chain optimization while the rest of the planet choked on radioactive dust."Act like you belong here, Theron," Orion murmured through clenched teeth, adjusting the heavy canvas sanitation bag over his shoulder as a pair of senior financial analysts strolled past without even sparing him a glance. "Or at least stop looking like you’re about to throw up on the CEO’s welcome mat."Theron wiped a line of cold sweat from his forehead with the back of a grime-streaked glove, his eyes darting frantically toward the towering holographic ticker tape scrolling across the three-story atrium ceiling. "It’s not the janitorial disguise that’s going to get us killed, Orion. It’s th

"Give me forty-five seconds, Orion, or we’re both breathing through tubes," Theron snapped, his cybernetic deck already plugged directly into the exposed junction box as blue sparks showered his knuckles."You’ve got thirty before these corporate execs realize my boots are tracking radioactive mud all over their pristine obsidian," Orion hissed, his hand hovering instinctively near the concealed slug-thrower tucked inside his waistband.Above them, the three-story atrium ceiling suddenly shuddered with a deep, bone-rattling bass note that made the synthetic potted ferns shiver in their planters. A klaxon didn’t blare—the Apex Resource Syndicate was far too civil for sirens—instead, the ambient mood lighting shifted from a soothing alabaster white to a stark, pulsing crimson."That wasn't me," Theron whispered, his eyes widening in the dim blue glow of his terminal. "That’s an external air-space breach. The whole tower’s defense grid just woke up.""Cassian," Orion muttered, a cold rea

"While a dozen corporate mercenaries use my chest as a shooting gallery?" Orion finished, his voice tight with rising panic as the heavy steel security shutters at the far end of the obsidian corridor suddenly began to grind downward with a deafening, hydraulic screech. "Theron! We are out of time! The blast doors are dropping!""I'm at ninety-eight percent!" Theron yelled over the shrieking machinery, his fingers moving across his cybernetic deck in a blur of motion as sweat dripped freely from his chin to strike the polished floor. "Do not let those doors seal, Orion! If they drop, we are cut off from the main stairwell permanently!"Orion didn't hesitate. He tore his slug-thrower from his waistband, spun on his heel, and fired three rapid, deafening rounds directly into the hydraulic control housing above the descending bulkhead. A cascade of orange sparks and shredded copper wiring erupted from the bulkhead's spine, but the massive slab of reinforced steel only shuddered once befo

"Keep moving!" Orion shouted, his voice echoing sharply inside the cramped, metallic confines of the ventilation bypass shaft as the dull, muffled thump of corporate plasma fire continued to scorch the reinforced steel plating mere inches above their heads. "Vance isn't going to let us crawl out of his backyard without a fight, and if those security troopers figure out which pipe we're using, they're going to turn this entire run into an oversized toaster!""I'm moving as fast as my knees and this pathetic rust-bucket duct will allow!" Theron panted back, his breath coming in ragged, audible gasps as he scrambled furiously through the tight, horizontal metal tube, his cybernetic deck clutched tightly against his chest like a newborn child. "You try crawling through a corporate exhaust manifold while dodging live steam vents and carrying twenty pounds of sensitive telemetry hardware!""Quit complaining and keep your head down!" Orion barked, shoving hard against the back of Theron's ja

The massive holographic billboards towering over New Horizon’s central corporate plaza flickered violently, shedding their pristine, multi-colored advertisements of corporate benevolence in favor of Vela’s raw, unfiltered data stream."Look at that!" Orion roared over the deafening roar of sirens and shattering glass, pointing a bloodied hand toward the plaza's main display as the corporate financial ledgers scrolled past in glaring red text. "Every credit they stole, every acre they poisoned, every contract they forged in blood—it’s all right there! They lied to you!"A heavy-set salt-miner in the front of the surging mob grabbed a steel wrench, his face twisted in a mask of pure, unadulterated fury as he stared up at the towering numbers. "The bastards starved my family for three months while claiming the wells were dry! Tear the gates down!""Hold your fire! Fall back to the inner lobby!" a corporate security captain screamed into his comms, his voice cracking with absolute panic a