STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

recesses of the passage. The pulsing lights cast jagged shadows, warping the walls into strange, shifting shapes.

The heart of AstroSYS. This is it.

If they were caught now, there would be no escape.

***

Lyra reached the thick, heavy door to the control room, her knife already in hand. She crouched, inspecting the small keypad mounted on the side, her eyes scanning the faint lines of wear where fingers had pressed countless times before. “Harun, get this open.”

He moved quickly, pulling out his toolkit with a sharp click and starting to work. “Give me a second.”

Lucien stood beside him, his eyes darting to the corridor behind them, every shadow a potential threat. His heart pounded against his ribs as his ears strained for any sound—footsteps, drones, anything. Are we really going to do this? Are we really about to break into the core of AstroSYS?

The door slid open, revealing the control room beyond.

A raised circular platform lined the perimeter, terminals and workstations embedded into the walls. A set of stairs led down to the central relay station, where the primary system controls pulsed with dim orange light.

Lyra moved in first, her boots barely making a sound as she descended toward the core of the room.

Lucien followed, the enormity of what they were doing crashing over him, but before he could fully take it in —

Click.

The sharp sound echoed through the room. He froze, his pulse spiking. “What was that?”

Lyra’s eyes narrowed instantly, her knife flashing in her grip as she turned toward the source of the noise.

The vibration of the relay shifted, deepening into a low, ominous rumble beneath their feet. A section in the ceiling split open, revealing a hidden mechanism. Before anyone could react a barred gate began descending from the ceiling at the top of the stairs.

Lyra’s voice was sharp and unyielding. “It’s a defense response! Harun, stop it! ”

Harun cursed under his breath, rushing to the nearest console and frantically tapping at the controls. “It’s locking down—this isn’t a barrier; it’s a

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