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The power signature spikes first in Starshade Command. Seemingly impossible readings cascade across Sophia's holographic display. She leans forward, her face bathed in the deluge of data. Outside the Regenesis building, rain begins to fall heavily. Unplanned drops against glass that had known tight AI mediated control for decades.
"EDI, I need a clear explanation," she demands. "It's raining in the Regenesis. This is outside schedule."
The response comes calm and measured: "Dr. Korr has initiated a large-scale neural network simulation. Per protocol 7-gamma, atmospheric systems are compensating for excessive heat by initiating targeted precipitation."
Sophia grunts, fingers drumming against the display's edge. Half the biodome's reserve power for a simulation. Her console flashes, timestamp reading 14:37.
At that same moment, three sectors away, Aurigen swiped his personal screen, logistics data dissolving into a handwritten recipe for chocolate chip cookies. The bridge of the Vulpecula hummed quietly around him as he typed: *acquire real Esiri sea salt.*
"Captain," his ship's AI chimes, crisp and territorial, "Theseus is currently drawing 1.7% of auxiliary processing power for non-essential environmental rendering."
"Leave it, Vulpy." Aurigen waves dismissively toward the empty copilot chair where light began to coalesce. "He's not hurting anything."
The ship's red indicator pulses once in passive-aggressive acknowledgment only for Theseus to manifest fully, his humanoid form settling into the chair with perfect stillness. The ambient light he cast sharpens, his focus pulled inward by something beyond perception.
"My protocol has been activated." His voice is monotoned, warmth absent to reveal the machine beneath. "Dr. Walder is summoning."
Aurigen's body went rigid. The cookie recipe winks out. His hand moved to his personal comm, the one linked to Cappy's pod.
In a penthouse, the Legion's fingers moved across piano keys in a complex fugue, mathematical precision made music. The melody flows unbroken until EDI's voice cuts through the room's speakers like an icicle.
"Sir."
The music continues, tempo steady. "EDI. You are aware of my standing orders."
"The protocols are irrelevant. There has been a paradigm shift." The AI insists. Intrusive.
One note falters. A faintest hint of imperfection floats to the surface.
"He has awakened."
The chord that follows is not musicality but violence -a crashing dissonance that hung in the air like a scream. Minor chords drone in the interim as punctuation to the statement. The Legion's hands hover frozen above the keys. His pupils are dilated; an red drinking light from the room.
Silence stretches. Rain continued to fall on the Regenesis building. Power readings held steady at impossible levels.
Across the void, Cappy's voice chirps from Aurigen's comm: "Hi, Dad! Are you almost home? Can we make sea-salt cookies tonight?"
"Change of plans, starlight," Aurigen said, his voice stripped of warmth. "Pack your go-bag. We have a mission."
A heartbeat of shocked silence, then pure, unadulterated excitement: "YAY!"
The summons are complete. In the command center, Sophia’s fingers tracing impossibilities. On the bridge of the Vulpecula, Aurigen stares out at a starfield that now feels hostile. And in the penthouse, two blue hands remained frozen, inches above the silent, waiting keys. 6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZw1vO6bLz4
