The rain fell in sharp, metallic drops, bouncing off the rusted rooftops of Meridian District. Alleyways buzzed with the hum of cybernetic vendors and the chatter of augmented voices. Nadia, a young engineer with violet hair and a coat stitched together from discarded synth-leather, moved quickly through the maze of flickering neon signs. In her gloved hand, she clutched a small, intricate device—a mechanical rose with glowing petals of blue and silver.
To anyone else, it would seem like a novelty trinket. But Nadia knew better. This was a fragment of something far more dangerous.
She ducked into a repair shop tucked between two towering holo-billboards. The shop was dim, lit only by the warm glow of Nadia’s makeshift workbench. She placed the rose on the table, pulling off her gloves to reveal hands lined with delicate cybernetic enhancements. Tiny tools extended from her fingers, whirring softly as she began her work.
As she adjusted the petals, they unfolded like clockwork, revealing a crystalline core pulsing with light. The rose wasn’t just a machine—it was a key.
“Still tinkering with toys, Nadia?”
The voice startled her. She spun around to see a woman leaning casually in the doorway. Her hair was a cascade of silver wires, her eyes glowing like twin suns. It was Juno, a rogue operative who had become infamous in the district for stealing tech no one else could touch.
“It’s not a toy,” Nadia said, stepping protectively in front of the rose.
Juno smirked, her eyes narrowing. “You have no idea what you’ve found, do you? That ‘toy’ can open something the corpos have been hiding for years.”
“I don’t trust you,” Nadia replied, her voice steady.
“Good,” Juno said, stepping closer. “You shouldn’t. But I’m not here to take it from you—I’m here to warn you. If you don’t destroy it, they’ll find you. And trust me, when they do, you won’t live long enough to regret it.”
Before Nadia could respond, the shop’s power flickered. The hum of surveillance drones filled the air, their searchlights casting long, jagged shadows through the cracked windows.
“They’re here,” Juno said, drawing a sleek plasma blade from her side. “Decide fast, Nadia. Fight with me, or hand it over and hope they kill you quickly.”
Nadia’s mind raced. She didn’t know if she could trust Juno, but the alternative was unthinkable. With a deep breath, she grabbed the rose, its light now burning brighter than ever.
“Let’s fight,” Nadia said, stepping beside Juno.
Juno grinned. “Good choice.”
As the drones closed in, the mechanical rose pulsed in Nadia’s hand, as if alive and aware of the chaos it had unleashed. What secrets it held—and whether Nadia could survive long enough to uncover them—remained a mystery, one she was now determined to solve.
Images extracted from freepik.com