The cell rotated slowly, indifferent to its prisoner.

  Keve, still crackling from the aftershock of the system’s awakening, stared through the transparent glass beneath him. Below, a burning star howled in silence as an ocean of molten gold flared in convulsions. Around it, prison pods orbited like glowing coffin-lanterns in the storm, as the sphere rotated around the star. Some erupted into flame as their shields cracked from being too close to the star. One section of the sphere was closer to the star and was reserved for death row inmates. Keve watched as some of their cells simply blinked out of existence, swallowed by the solar chaos.

  They wanted other inmates to watch, to fear that it could be them next and Council's power thrived on fear.

  Even though he wasn’t alone in this hell, to him it felt like it.

  Until a voice broke the silence.

  “You’re awake.”

  It wasn’t in his head. It came from the pod beside his. A glass wall separated both of their cells on the inside. Till now Keve had not taken notice of the person in the other cell.

  Now attentive, Keve turned to face him and was greeted with a 7 feet tall muscular man with pale skin and crimson tattoos which spiraled up his neck like coded scripture. His black hair was buzzed close at the sides and his grey eyes hauntingly looked at Keve with suspicion.

  Keve's his body was still numb. “Who…?”

  “Vael,” the man said smiled. “Inmate 6A93.”

  Then his smile turned thin, without any warmth. “They call me the Red Ghost.”

  Keve studied him. “What are you in for?”

  Vael leaned forward and tapping the glass with a single fingertip, he whispered against it, fogging the area. “I organized an uprising on Drec-3." His grey eyes turned more black with every word, "The Council didn’t like the idea of free-thinking miners with railguns.”

  Keve blinked in surprise. “You started a rebellion?” He must be insane to organize a rebellion against the council.... and he knew what happened to the last man he met like that.

  “I almost ended one,” Vael corrected, a glint in his eye.

  A notification pulsed behind Keve’s eyes.

  [Connection Established: VAEL — Class: Rebel Strategist ]

  [Status: Death Row Inmate]

  [Trust Level: 1/10]

  [Hint: Not a council spy, can be trusted with the plan.]

  [1/3 Hints used]

  [New Questline Available]

  The system was tracking people now. Classifying them, giving hints and assigning roles.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Good,” Keve muttered. “Because I may need you for one.”

  Vael raised an eyebrow. “In here? You’re out of your mind.”

  Keve smirked. “Staying in here made you sane?”

  "Ha! I wish it did." Vael paused and then let out a low chuckle. “If you’re serious... you’ll need more than fire. You’ll need brains.”

  Keve tilted his head. “Know anyone?”

  Vael nodded at his question and pointed toward a pod 6 pods away from there own, they could only see the foot of the pod as it conclaved above them. They both looked up as their necks stretched to look at his pod. “Smartest bastard in this sphere. Hacked a Council flagship when he was sixteen and Built an AI so advanced that it tried to colonize a black hole. Council caught him mid-upload. He is in for Banned tech creation. Level 10 threat,”

  Keve let out a whistle. “Why didn't the council recruit him? I am sure they can think of a better use for him”

  “Bastard is insane, spit on the council ambassador while in custody, will only do stuff if he wants too,.” Vael said. “Name’s Milo.”

  Keve thought about a plan , even though it was a reckless one, Keve loved it.

  "I was able to sneak in some tech inside the cell. I have a plan.", Keve spoke after a calculated pause.

  "You are not a council spy right? How were you able to sneak a tech inside? That is not possible." , Vael looked at him suspiciously. "What are you in for?"

  "Artifact Theft, rebellion conspiracy, was betrayed by a crew member.", Keve let out an empty laugh, as Vael continued staring at him.

  "Look I have nothing to lose but I know for sure if we don't do anything and wait for our deaths then our chances of dying here are 100% but if we try even if the chance is 1% than its still worth all the trouble"

  Vael stared at him for few minutes, staring at him with empty grey eyes.

  "1% is more than enough for me." he finally spoke. "Tell me your plan"

  "Yes."

  .

  .

  .

  The Dyson Sphere rotated on a mechanical schedule. Twice per Orvak cycle (every 48 Earth hours) and the prisoner pods shifted position randomly, recalibrating against the tidal drag of the star. During that brief orbital drift, for exactly 64 seconds, he had a shot.

  A chance to Blink.

  He locked eyes with Vael. “Ready?”

  “You’re certifiably insane.”

  “I hear that a lot.”

  Keve took a breath. “System, calculate jump angle.”

  [BLINK VECTOR: LOCKED]

  [STAMINA RESERVE: 57%]

  [PRECISION MODE: ACTIVATED]

  He vanished in a pulse of gold.

  Mid-air, heat slammed into his skin like an open furnace. His vision narrowed to a tunnel of fire. His boots scraped against the curved hull of the pod, Pod 71K, just as the emergency hatch hissed open from the force of impact.

  He crashed inside, burn marks slowly scorthing his skin, if it wasn't for the prison suit, he would have fried to dust.

  Schematics hovered in the air like glowing spirits. Broken drones littered the walls. Wires snaked across the floor like vines reclaiming a ruin.

  And in the center of it all, stood a man - tall, wiry with his eyes hidden behind dark lenses as he worked on something, Around his neck hung a necklace made of old keyboard keys and salvaged chips. He didn’t flinch.

  Is this even a cell? It resembled a lab more than a pod.

  “You’re early,” he said flatly, as if Keve had arrived for a meeting.

  Keve blinked. “I—wait, what?”

  “You activated a system. I saw the flash. No one has those anymore. Not since the purges.” He turned, scanning Keve. “And yours isn’t tracked. Off-grid.”

  Keve tensed. “You’re not going to report me?”

  Milo snorted. “To who? The drones?” He waved dismissively at the corners. “They monitor for aggression and noise. Whisper and stay calm, you’re invisible.”

  Keve’s eyes darted around the pod. “You hacked this?”

  “I rebuilt it,” Milo corrected. “Used to be a death cell. Now it’s my lab.”

  [Connection Established: Milo — Class: Tech Oracle | Status: Council Blacklist Lv. 10]

  [INTELLECT BONUS: +2 While Near Milo]

  The system pulsed with excitement around milo, as if a child to a long lost father.

  “I’m breaking out,” Keve said. "and I need your brains”

  Milo turned to look straight at Keve , crossing his arms, he asked “What’s in it for me?”

  Keve smiled. “Freedom. Revenge. And a front-row seat to the fall of the Council.”

  Keve had deduced that if Milo chose to rather come to this prison than work for the council, than it would mean only one thing - This wiry man in front of him had a deep rooted hate for them.

  "You think you have the guts?"

  "If I have you on my team? Endless."

  There was a long pause.

  Then—Milo smiled back.

  “You’ll need power cores. Access to the comm satellites. And five plasma converters.”

  Keve raised an eyebrow. “Where do I get those?”

  Milo turned toward the glass wall and pointed towards the molten heart of the Dyson Sphere.

  “Level 3,” he said. “The Arena Pits.