Jack jolted upright, gasping for breath, his chest slick with sweat. The fragments of his nightmare clung to him: the crumbling ceiling, the sharp crackle of gunfire, the desperate cries of dying men. He could still feel the chaos—the weight of his severed left forearm and the Marine who’d tried to carry him, only to be shot dead. Alone and bleeding, Jack had fired an entire magazine into the chest of an advancing Federation soldier, his hands eerily steady despite the fear consuming him.
He glanced down at his left arm. It looked normal under the soft moonlight spilling through the window, but beneath the synthetic skin lay a network of cybernetics, a simple graft that the military had paid for upon his medical discharge. He flexed his fingers, the simulated sensation close to real but never quite right. The loss was always there, like a phantom limb he could never fully forget.
The screams of Lakota Company and his platoon still echoed in his mind, their dying cries a specter that haunted his every dream. He was one of only six survivors from the assault, and the weight of their sacrifice gnawed at his conscience, relentless and unforgiving. He could still see the atomics blossoming over Vermillion after the retreat order had come down—millions of lives erased in an instant. Not just Federation troops, but Imperial civilians too. The Empire was losing, and in a desperate bid to keep Mars within its grasp, Admiral Baines had wiped an entire city from orbit. The horror of it was seared into Jack’s memory, an image he would carry forever. Many called Baines a hero, but to Jack, he was nothing less than a monster.
The distant hum of the city filled the room, broken only by flashes of light from the skyway through his bedroom window. He had forgotten to activate the shaders to keep the light out. Jack rubbed his eyes, the clock glowing 05:00 in crimson digits.
Beside him, the bed shifted. A gentle hand rested on his shoulder, and he turned to see Sophia. Her auburn hair was tousled, her eyes still heavy with sleep as she scooted closer, wrapping an arm around him. Resting her head against his shoulder, she offered silent comfort in the quiet dawn, a steady presence against the storm inside him.
"Night terrors?" she asked gently.
"Just couldn’t sleep," Jack replied, brushing it off. "Go back to bed."
"I can’t sleep when you’re not here," she murmured against his shoulder. "Come lie down with me."
He reached out, brushing his fingers through her hair and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "I need to get up anyway. You get some rest."
He rose from the bed, feeling the silent disappointment radiating from her as she curled back under the covers. He loved her deeply, but he knew he was putting her through more than she deserved. The constant worry in her eyes whenever she looked at him was a weight he couldn’t shake. She knew he had changed since coming back from the war, but he had no words to comfort her, no way to offer real reassurance.
"I thought your meds were supposed to help with the nightmares," she said, settling back onto the pillow.
"I stopped taking them," he admitted, avoiding her gaze as he sensed the frustration rising in her. "They make me feel... numb. They don’t fix anything. They just shut everything off."
"Jack, we talked about this—" Sophia began, her voice tense.
"Soph, what do you want me to say?" He replied, tugging out a shirt from their small dresser and pulling it over his head. He knew he wasn’t okay, but it wasn’t as simple as taking pills and hoping the pain would vanish.
"I want you to get real help," she snapped, her frustration sharp. "I want you to talk to someone and not walk out whenever you get uncomfortable.”
“ll be in the workshop," he said in an end of discussion tone, still avoiding her gaze as he stepped out of their bedroom. She wasn’t going to let it go and he knew that, but it was the last thing he wanted to talk about.
Jack stepped into the compact space he and Sophia called home, perched on the two hundredth floor of Heavenly Heights Apartments. The entire apartment was a single room designed to make every square foot count. Their L-shaped couch was nestled into an inlet in the floor, a collapsible table nearby, and a holo-projector hung overhead for their evening escapes into entertainment. A narrow kitchen lined one wall, offering just enough room for a compact stove and a few cabinets, while a door led to a modest bathroom equipped with the rare luxury of an in-unit washer and dryer.
Next to the kitchen, Jack’s personal workshop occupied a reconfigured walk-in closet. It was small but functional, with a cluttered desk, a dormant holo-terminal, and shelves crammed with tools and half-finished projects.
The apartment was cramped, like most in Nexus City, where space was a luxury even for veterans like Jack. After his discharge, the Empire had patched him up with a cybernetic limb and left him to fend for himself with a meager stipend. Nexus City—a sprawling vertical metropolis of steel and neon—had promised opportunity, but for Jack, it felt like a prison.
Sophia’s unwavering support was his only solace, but even her presence couldn’t fill the void left by his lost purpose. The Marine Corps had been his identity, and now he was adrift, haunted by the deaths of his Marines and the Empire’s corruption. What had once been a beacon of strength was now a fractured shadow of its former glory, plagued by crime and corporate greed.
“Shaders,” Jack said as he entered the room.
The window above the couch turned transparent, revealing the city stretching endlessly in every direction. Nexus City’s layers were a testament to humanity’s ingenuity—and its stark inequalities. The ground level teemed with factories and housing for laborers, shrouded in smog. Above, the midsection buzzed with workers navigating narrow walkways and crowded platforms, an unrelenting maze of commerce and survival. And high above it all, the elite resided in pristine skyscrapers that pierced the clouds, untouched by the struggles below.
The apartment was far from quiet. The relentless thrum of electronic music pounded through the walls from slaggers partying at all hours. Jack had considered confronting them, but disputes in Nexus City could escalate quickly, and he wouldn’t risk Sophia’s safety for something so petty.
With a sigh, he stepped into his workshop, pressing the door panel to slide it open. The small space welcomed him with its organized chaos—tools scattered across the desk, half-assembled gadgets, and his holo-terminal glowing faintly in the center. He took a seat, tapping the terminal to life. As the blue interface flickered to life, he focused on the only thing that gave him a semblance of control in a world that had left him behind.
“Activate the Artemis System,” Jack commanded, watching as a loading bar pulsed on the display.
Reaching to the nape of his neck, he felt for a patch of synthetic skin. Finding it, he pressed inward until he heard a faint click. A small chip slid free from the concealed compartment—a reconfigured omni chip he could detach at will, a rare feature he’d modified himself. Holding the chip delicately, he inserted it into the terminal.
A projection flickered into view—a tall, thin man with jet-black hair and a neatly trimmed pencil mustache, dressed in an elegant tuxedo straight out of the twenty-first century. The AI’s choice of attire always amused Jack.
“Your Artemis System has been activated, Master,” the man said in a smooth, formal tone. “What parameters are we running today?”
“Your parameters are nearly set,” Jack replied, focusing on the streams of data appearing on the holo-terminal. “I want to ensure your settings are flawless before I upload you back onto the omni chip. Once you’re connected to the full network, I can’t risk any errors getting us zeroed out.”
“Quite understandable, Master,” Artemis responded. “Today marks your first day at CyberTech, does it not?”
“It does,” Jack said, his attention fixed on the screen as he analyzed data feeds and diagnostic reports.
"Are you nervous?" Artemis inquired.
"No."
"Are you lying?"
"Artemis, focus," Jack replied, deflecting. "How are your security protocols?"
"Top-notch, Master," Artemis assured him. "No one can reach me without first going through you. And even then, I have multiple layers of encryption to keep out unwanted visitors."
"Decision-making matrix?"
"Superb," the AI responded cheerfully. "Every decision is calculated solely to benefit you."
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"Operational compliance?"
"Seventy percent."
"Seventy?" Jack repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, Master," Artemis replied, folding his hands behind his back. "My understanding of human intention is limited by my lack of emotional processing. I’ve observed that the complexity of the human mind often means the best decisions aren’t purely logical. My core function is to serve you as effectively as possible. If my compliance were set to one hundred percent, I’d lack the flexibility to navigate those complexities."
Jack studied the AI thoughtfully, then nodded. "Seventy it is," he agreed, masking a hint of satisfaction. "Adaptive learning rate?"
"My adaptability and cognitive functions surpass any current AI model, even those aboard fleet starships," Artemis replied confidently.
"Very well," Jack said, entering a few commands into the holo-terminal. "Ready for full integration?"
"Of course," Artemis said smoothly.
Jack keyed the final command, watching the progress bar fill as Artemis fully integrated into his Omni chip. Years of work had led to this moment, tying Artemis permanently to him—a project so advanced it had secured his position at CyberTech, the Empire’s tech giant and innovator in military and civilian technology.
Once the upload completed, Jack removed the chip and reinserted it into the nape of his neck. He walked into the kitchen, where Sophia stood at the stove, flipping breakfast in her thick blue "Medical Services" jacket—a job she’d worked tirelessly at since before his deployment to Europa.
Sophia had dreamed of going to school, but the Empire’s educational stipends for military families were long gone, replaced by prohibitive costs. Jack’s guilt weighed heavy. He had hoped to give her more than this crumbling apartment in the heart of a decaying city. Instead, they were stuck—money tight, their connection strained, and hope slipping away.
This job at CyberTech was supposed to change everything. It wasn’t just a job; it was his chance to fix their lives and start over. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.
"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to set the table?" Sophia asked, turning to him with a gentle smile.
Jack did as she asked, setting the dishes on their small two-person table by the stove. Sophia filled his plate with eggs and bacon, poured him a coffee, and sat across from him. She ate slowly, glancing at him with a trace of worry in her eyes. Jack tried to ignore it, but her gaze was hard to shake.
“What is it, Soph?” he asked around a mouthful of eggs.
“Are you nervous?”
“No.”
“Are you lying?” She raised an eyebrow, watching him closely.
“I asked the same thing,” Artemis interjected, materializing beside the table. His nanites allowed him to project himself at will. “He does seem nervous, doesn’t he, ma’am?”
Sophia laughed. “A little scared, even.”
“I am not,” Jack replied, rolling his eyes. “I just want to make sure I leave an impression. I want to get us out of this place.”
“I think you live in quite the opulent palace, Master,” Artemis added, hovering too close for comfort. “If palaces were the size of broom closets.”
Sophia laughed again. “Did you turn up his humor settings?”
“No,” Jack said, half-serious. “But I might turn him off if he doesn’t learn about personal space.”
Artemis looked puzzled, glancing at Jack until he followed his pointed gaze. “Apologies, Master. I will resume my core functions.”
“Great idea,” Jack replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm as Artemis faded from sight.
“He’s quite the character,” Sophia said with a smile. “A bit odd, though. I heard him the other day reciting an equation while I was in the shower. I had to ask him to stop.”
“He’s learning,” Jack explained. “He’s a self-adapting AI designed to model human behavior. Probably thought he was ‘studying.’ He’ll get better with time.”
“I hope so,” she said, glancing at her watch. “You’re going to be late, big shot—you’d better hit the shower and get ready.”
Jack nodded and finished his meal quickly. He stood in front of the small mirror outside the bathroom, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair. Tall and lean, he had a tattoo on his chest: a skull crowned with a Native American headdress, a nod to his unit in the marine corps who often named their companies after Native American tribes. An old tradition that stemmed from the Empires roots. When Cassian Rehn conquered the remnants of the old world he clung to many of the old American traditions. Democracy was not among these traditions.
His features had sharpened since returning home—he smiled less, his eyes carrying a distant, hardened look. His regiment had called it the “warrior’s gaze,” that hollow, far-off expression of someone who had seen too much combat. Sophia recognized it too; he could see it in her eyes. He wasn’t the same man who had shipped out on the Hammerhead with the eleventh fleet.
After a quick shower, he dressed in business-casual attire, checked the wall safe, and secured his pistol to a magnetic strip inside his jacket before slipping it on. As Sophia tidied up, he stepped over and kissed her cheek, a gesture that brought a soft smile to her face.
“I love you,” he said, hoping she felt the sincerity in his words.
“And I love you,” she replied. “Now go—don’t be late.”
Jack kissed her once more before stepping out of the apartment, closing the door quietly behind him. He was immediately met with the noise and chaos of Nexus City’s midsection. The floating walkway outside stretched ahead, a strip of scuffed metal lined with flickering caution lights. Suspended between towering buildings, it was framed by the jagged steel-and-glass facades looming above like silent giants.
Artemis materialized beside him, his slender, ghostlike form keeping pace as Jack started down the walkway. The crowd was a mix of worn-out laborers heading to their shifts, their practical clothing patched and stained from use. Most moved silently, their faces hard with fatigue. A few led small, clattering automated carts patched with mismatched parts, their movements jerky but functional.
Below, the hum of the skyway filled the air as VTOL vehicles zipped past in steady streams, ferrying goods and workers between the city's layers. Occasionally, a sleek, polished shuttle cut through the flow, a flash of wealth and privilege that stood in sharp contrast to the grime-coated midsection.
A nearby platform buzzed with a cluster of slaggers gathered around a pulsating music cube, its erratic beats echoing off the walls. Most were slumped on benches, slack-jawed and glassy-eyed, too far gone to register Jack’s presence. One of them, a wiry man tapping out a rhythm on the cube, looked up with a wide grin and raised a hand in greeting. Jack ignored him, his focus on the horizon and the city’s endless layers of chaos.
“Ay, bruddah!” he called to Jack. “Yuh come fi join wi?”
“Not today, Kingston,” Jack replied, striding briskly past the group without breaking stride.
"Ah, one day den, man, one day," Kingston called back, chuckling as he resumed his beat, his laughter mingling with the thumping electronic sounds.
As Jack walked, the floating walkway split into larger platforms ahead, each leading to a maze of interconnected buildings. These platforms were cluttered attempts to mimic parks or shopping centers, their faded greenery and battered planters scattered with benches and synthetic trees. Flickering holographic signs flashed ads for everything from meal deals to augmented reality games. Food stalls and tech repair kiosks bustled with activity, offering quick fixes for both hunger and hardware. Laborers lingered between shifts, grabbing meals or essentials from the crowded marketplace.
A flicker of light caught Jack’s attention. A holographic display materialized beside him, projecting the black silhouette of a hooded figure with a glowing question mark at its center. Bold text below read: “Any information on the cybercriminal Rogue? Report it now for fifty thousand chits.” The image lingered momentarily, its glow casting faint shadows, then vanished.
Jack barely spared it a glance, but the name stayed with him: Rogue. The figure was legendary across the Empire—a phantom whose audacious hacks targeted the highest echelons of power. Rogue’s exploits weren’t just about breaching systems; they were revelations, exposing classified projects and illegal dealings with a mocking calling card left behind. To some, Rogue was a criminal; to others, a symbol of rebellion. Either way, the Empire’s desperation to capture them was clear in the bounty offered.
Jack moved through the crowd, Artemis trailing silently, his gaze flicking between the worn-down machinery and the vendors. Above them, the midsection’s endless layers of skyways and platforms loomed, a vertical labyrinth that seemed both awe-inspiring and oppressive. The faint scent of machinery, fried food, and ozone hung in the air, a reminder of the city’s ever-churning heart.
He reached the far edge of the platform, where a public transit station buzzed with life. Signs pointed to routes heading toward the Elysium District, the central hub dominated by Elysium Spire. The transit system, a sprawling network of shuttles, was packed with workers commuting to their jobs. Owning a vehicle was a luxury few could afford, making the shuttles a lifeline for most.
As he waited, a holo-news feed sprang to life above the station, its bright projection grabbing his attention. The anchor’s voice rang out: “In breaking news, a bombing in the lower districts has been attributed to the Azure Syndicate. The target, SynthCore Innovations, suffered twelve confirmed fatalities, including CEO Domingo Hodges. Emergency services report twenty casualties rushed to local hospitals…”
Jack frowned. “Odd target for terrorists,” he muttered to Artemis, who tilted his head in thought.
The feed shifted: “And as always, Lord Aleron asks for vigilance. Security is everyone’s duty. If you see something, say something. In other news, Admiral Baines of the Eleventh Fleet successfully dismantled a terrorist operation on Mars. The Red Scourge had taken several miners hostage in Valles Marineris, demanding the mines be reopened and calling an end to the alleged suffering of the Martian people. Admiral Baines with the help of the Red Legion of Praetorians destroyed the scourge and freed the miners trapped inside…”
Jack tuned out the chatter as the shuttle descended onto the platform, its doors hissing open. A ramp extended, connecting to the platform, and Jack made his way to a seat at the back. Artemis followed, settling beside him. A few workers glanced at the AI, some with unease, but Artemis remained composed, his gaze fixed ahead.
The shuttle hummed as it merged into the skyway, gliding effortlessly through the labyrinth of Nexus’s midsection. Outside the window, a blur of weathered buildings, glowing neon signs, and crowded floating walkways flashed by. The shuttle rose steadily, weaving through the layers of tangled platforms and bustling paths, each teeming with people absorbed in their routines.
"Are people staring at me?" Artemis asked, finally noticing the wary glances from the workers nearby.
“It’s your outfit,” Jack replied, still gazing out the window.
“I think I look rather dashing,” Artemis said, giving his jacket a little tug.
Jack chuckled.
The shuttle ascended, breaking through the cloud layer and revealing an entirely different world. Below, an endless sea of clouds stretched out, while above, gleaming high-rises shimmered in sunlight, their glass facades radiating wealth and power. The grime and chaos of the midsection were left behind, replaced by platforms adorned with manicured gardens, leafy parks, and winding pathways. Families strolled peacefully, children laughed, and exclusive schools dotted the pristine terraces.
It was a realm of calm and privilege, untouched by the struggles below—a skybound Eden. As the shuttle climbed higher, a singular structure loomed on the horizon, dwarfing the others: CyberTech Tower, an imposing monolith that seemed to dominate even the heavens.
