Home / Sci-Fi / The Red Rock / Chapter 104: Hearts and Minds
Chapter 104: Hearts and Minds
Author: Neo Moroeng
last update2025-09-10 23:04:54
The air in The Oasis was a thick, recycled soup that tasted of rust, fried yeast, and the faint, metallic tang of fear. Neon signs in Martian Khomani script flickered, casting lurid glows over crowded corridors where the air processors groaned under a load they were never meant to bear. This was the Rim: a toss-up settlement of pressurized desperation, where the proud, sharp-featured faces of my people were etched with a new kind of weariness.

I felt it like a pressure headache behind my eyes. I stood in the settlement administrator’s cramped office, the man behind the desk a fellow Khomani named //Urgo. His face was a map of traditional lineage markings, but his eyes were those of a cornered animal.

“The disappearances started two cycles ago,” //Urgo said, his voice low, avoiding my gaze. He spoke in Standard, a deliberate distancing. “A few from the lower levels. Then more. They speak of… whispers in the walls before they vanish. Bad dreams that walk.”

“And you didn’t think to report
Neo Moroeng

And there you have it—a new chapter, a new set of rules for our characters. This isn't just about the Rakes' relentless march anymore. We've just witnessed a terrifying kind of collaboration, a perfect storm of ambition and transcendence. Valerius, now the 'Shepherd,' isn't just a brute; he's a weapon of intellect and cunning. And //Xóre, our brilliant but ruthless manipulator, has found the perfect partner in him. Their alliance, sealed by Ta'klan's unwitting hand, completely changes the game. This is no longer a simple war of attrition; it's a terrifying game of psychological warfare, and our characters are about to find themselves caught in the middle of it. The chess board has been flipped, and the real game is about to begin. -N.M

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