Night had fallen hard over Auralis Prime.
Neon billboards flickered in the fog, advertising cybernetic implants, off-world travel, and things too illegal to name. The rain turned every alley into a mirror of color.
Sai and Zypher moved through the narrow backstreets, avoiding the main traffic lanes. Zypher's voice was low. "The Black Circuit has an informant in Sector 12. We cut him off, we cut off Russel's eyes here."
They turned a corner — and stopped.
A figure knelt over a disassembled security drone, tools moving fast and precise. The glow from her wrist-holo lit her face: sharp eyes, short hair dyed streaks of violet and teal. She didn't even look up as she spoke.
"If you're here to steal my salvage, you're going home empty."
Zypher raised a brow. "Relax. We're not scavengers."
"Good," she said, tightening a bolt. "Because this beauty here? She's going to help me pay off a lot of people who want me dead."
Sai stepped closer, noting the modified pulse-rifle slung across her back. "You're not Black Circuit."
"Not anymore," she said flatly.
That answer made Zypher stiffen. "You used to run with them?"
"Briefly. Until I realized Russel doesn't just want power — he wants genocide." She finally looked up, meeting Sai's eyes. "Name's Bily. And if you're planning to put that bastard in the ground, I'm interested."
Sai studied her. There was a toughness in her gaze, but also something else — a quiet anger that felt familiar. "You know how to fight?"
Bily smirked. "Better than you think. And I can do more than fight." She tapped the drone beside her. "I can make their own toys bleed."
Thunder rumbled above, drowning out the distant hum of hovercars.
Sai glanced at Zypher. "What do you think?"
Zypher shrugged. "If she can keep up."
Bily swung the rifle off her back, chambering a glowing blue cell. "Try me."