“No,” she said, her voice calm aached. “I am a servitor in all but fun. I exist to serve. If this body is damaged, it will be repced. I am not burdened by such cepts.”

  Kayvaan's mind ed with a whirlwind of thoughts, tangling together like a basket of loose yarn tossed into a storm. It was chaos, pure and simple. Frustrated, he spped his cheeks to shake off the muddled haze and made his way to the wine et. P himself a generous gss of amasec, he dow in one gulp. Then another. By the third gss, he exhaled deeply, the warmth of the alcohol loosening the tension in his chest. Finally, he felt clear-headed enough to think.

  The first question he o answer was simple: Should he help Valyra? Should he stand by her side?

  The answer came almost immediately. Of course, he should. Valyra was his sister, after all. But then doubt crept in, gnawing at the edges of his resolve. Was she really his sister? “What a ridiculous question,” Kayvaan muttered, shaking his head at his own cowardice. Without hesitation, he spped himself hard enough to sting. “Of course she is. If I’m Kayvaan, then Valyra is my sister.”

  Blood ties weren’t something that could be debated. Even if her veins now carried something strange—be it electricity or motor oil—it didn’t ge the fact that they shared the same father. That bond was undeniable.

  Still, the question lingered: What had he doo deserve this life? He’d been thrust into this world with a strong body, a renowned name, and a level of power most people could only dream of. It had all e to him effortlessly, leaving him feeling uneasy, as if suearned fortune might vanish like a mirage.

  Kayvaan ched his fists. If he spent his days simply enjoying what he had without a care in the world, then he would be nothing more than a bastard—a boy, not a man. And the differeweewo, he knew, came down to responsibility. Boys could apologize and move ohey made mistakes. Men, oher hand, bore the weight of their faults and the sequences of those tied to them.Valyra was his responsibility. His burden.

  No, not a burden. She was the only thing in this vast, unfamiliar world that truly felt real. Empires, pary governors, and humanity as a cept all seemed abstract, distant. But Valyra, with her struggles and sorrow, grounded him. She gave him purpose. His resolve firmed, and strength surged bato his body. “I’ll help her,” Kayvaan murmured. “No matter what it takes.”

  But how? Where would he even begin? Her mind, ed by turies of existehin a metal shell, was the root of the problem. That wasn’t something he could fix ht. It would take time, patience, and trust to help her find her way back.

  For now, the priority was keeping her safe and hidden.Kayvaan's gaze shifted to No. 74, who stood silently in the er. She was a servitor—young and strikingly beautiful in appearance, but her role was one of uioning bor. Her presenawed at him, ingruous and uling. Like a pearl tossed into the mud, her beauty only made her more noticeable. “You ’t walk around looking like that,” Kayvaan said, gesturing at her. “You’ll draw too much attention. Do you have a disguise?”

  Without a word, No. 74 nodded. From within her cloak, she produced a standard rebreather mask and slipped it on. She zipped up her robe, c her figure entirely, and stomped into a pair of oversized, battered leather boots. The transformation was startling. Where oood a figure, there was now a ragged, nondescript servitor.No one would give her a sed gnce. Just like the tless workers who toiled in the manufas, servitors were invisible to society—too insignifit to care about.“That’ll do,” Kayvaan said with a nod. His unease eased. “Once we’re done here, I’ll colpse this tunnel.”

  “Yes, Master,” she replied quietly. Kayvaan took a deep breath, steeling himself. He’d seal this secret underground and bury it food. Ohat was done, he’d focus on eliminating the dahat threatened Valyra.

  Wheuro his study, a house servant approached with news: two important visitors were waiting for him aboard the Ebony Shadow.

  One was an old acquaintance, Inquisitor Elizabeth. She was as striking as ever, her battle-sister-pattern power armor. The white pting gleamed with intricate engravings, and the strips of purity seals hanging from her shoulder ptes hi her many aplishments. Despite her beauty, her icy demeanor kept everyo arm’s length.The other visitor, though unfamiliar, was someone Kayvaan had already beled as “dangerous.” He wore a dark green robe and had eight meical arms extending from his back. His fair plexion and gold-rimmed gsses gave him the air of a schor, especially with the nervous energy flickering in his light blue eyes. If not for the fmboyant meical appendages, he could have passed for an ordinary intellectual. This was Gustav Magos, the manufa overseer of Ferrum-3.

  Elizabeth gestured invitingly toward the man sitting across the room. "This is Gustav," she said, introdug him. "He’s the pary and manufa director of the Ferrum-3 Fe World, which falls under your purview. Gustav, this is Lord Kayvaan, the sectovernor."

  Gustav rose from his seat, bowing slightly. "It’s an honor to meet you, my lord. I should’ve e sooo gratute you on assuming your station, but matters of grave importance kept me. Now, though, I’m here to request your aid with something urgent."

  Kayvaan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what would that be?"

  “It’s about STCs,” Gustav said simply. Kayvaa his heart skip a beat. It was as if his chest would explode. He’d only just learned from his sister about the moal secret of the Standard Tempte struct. He had barely begun to process the revetion or strategize how to keep it from the Adeptus Meicus, and now Gustav had e out of nowhere, casually dropping the term.

  Despite the storm within, Kayvaa his expression posed, showing only faint curiosity. His posture exuded a dismissive calm, as if to say: ‘STC? Impressive, perhaps, but what does that matter to me?’

  Gustav, anticipating the rea, leaned forward slightly. "As you are aware, the Meicus has scoured the gaxy for Standard Tempte structs. Most of our searches rely ments of records uhed from the vaults of Mars. A long time ago, data suggested an STC fragment might be hidden in the Eastern Frihe search area spans thousands of systems, and the Reach Star in your sector was once listed as a didate."

  Kayvaan’s pulse quied. He kept his voice calm, though, and asked casually, "An ST my territory? Are you certain? What evidence do you have?"