Terra Fragment — Haven
The sky had flickered three times in two days.
That alone was enough to shake a society that had lived for generations beneath a ceiling of silent wreckage.
Haven was not a large city.
It was carved into the crust of a shattered world fragment, protected by a semi-transparent atmospheric dome reinforced by scrap alloy and hope.
Population: 3,412.
Farmers. Engineers. Watchmen. Archivists.
Survivors.
They had always believed the war above ended long ago.
That nothing moved in the sky except drifting metal.
But now—
The sky moved with purpose.
Inside the Council Hall, the leaders gathered once more.
Elder Mara stood at the center.
Captain Reth Talon stood to her right.
Archivist Sol activated the projection field.
Above them shimmered the recorded Sky-Scope feed.
A faint lattice pattern glowed across the upper debris layer.
Straight lines.
Structured symmetry.
Unnatural.
Murmurs filled the chamber.
"It's artificial."
"It's organized."
"It wasn't there last month."
Reth spoke firmly.
"It is not debris."
He turned to the council.
"We launch a probe."
Silence.
Launching anything upward had been forbidden for decades.
Fuel was precious.
Technology fragile.
Elder Mara closed her eyes briefly.
"If something watches us…"
"…remaining blind will not protect us."
She opened her eyes.
"Approve it."
The chamber fell quiet.
The decision was made.
Launch Preparation
Haven's engineers worked through the night.
The probe was small.
Primitive.
Constructed from salvaged satellite components and patched thruster modules.
No weapons.
Just sensors.
Archivist Sol adjusted its scanning array.
"It won't reach high orbit."
Reth nodded.
"It doesn't need to."
The goal was simple:
Confirm.
Are they alone?
At dawn-cycle, the entire city gathered quietly.
Children held their parents' hands.
Farmers paused work.
The Watch stood ready along the launch perimeter.
Reth raised his hand.
"Launch."
The engines ignited.
Weak, but steady.
The probe rose slowly through the dome's exit corridor.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then it passed into the debris layer.
Signal static filled the control room.
Sol adjusted frequencies.
"Stabilizing…"
The feed sharpened.
Metal fragments drifted past.
Twisted hull plates.
Broken cannons.
Shattered hull cores.
Then—
Something new.
A clean surface.
Perfect edges.
Smooth alloy untouched by corrosion.
The probe camera zoomed.
There it was.
A tall pylon structure embedded into debris.
Glowing faintly with controlled energy.
Symmetrical.
Alive.
The control room went silent.
Sol whispered,
"That's not ancient."
Reth's jaw tightened.
"Zoom further."
The probe tilted.
Beyond the pylon—
More structure.
Organized corridors of cleared debris.
Metal stacks.
Processing towers.
A faint glow of industrial output.
Sol's voice trembled slightly.
"That's a facility."
The probe rose higher.
And then—
It saw it.
A wide circular zone where debris had been completely cleared.
At the center stood towering refinery structures.
Defensive pylons.
Drone movement.
Light reflecting from ordered metal platforms.
Haven had never seen anything like it.
The sky was not dead.
The sky was being rebuilt.
Suddenly—
The probe feed flickered.
Warning signals flashed.
"Energy fluctuation detected!"
Sol's hands moved quickly.
"Something locked onto us—"
The screen distorted.
For one final frame—
The probe captured a formation of sleek metallic drones hovering in patrol formation.
Not drifting.
Not broken.
Controlled.
Then—
Signal lost.
Silence.
The probe was gone.
The control room felt heavy.
Reth exhaled slowly.
"They know."
Elder Mara looked at the darkened screen.
"No."
"They tolerated us."
Reth turned sharply.
"What?"
"They could have destroyed us earlier."
Mara's voice remained calm.
"They chose not to."
The room fell quiet.
Across Haven, rumors spread like wildfire.
"The sky is alive."
"There's a city above us."
"They're coming."
"They've always been there."
The Watch increased patrol rotations.
Old anti-ship turrets were activated.
Primitive rail cannons pointed upward.
Engineers diverted power from agriculture to defensive grids.
Hope and fear moved together.
Reth stood again at the observation tower.
The lattice shimmered faintly overhead.
"Who are you?" he whispered.
Stormhold Dominion — Command Chamber
Snow's voice echoed softly.
"Unauthorized atmospheric probe detected and neutralized."
Daniel stood calmly before the display.
"Destroyed?"
"Disabled. Recovered for analysis."
Aris stepped forward respectfully.
"Their technological level is primitive. Reaction defensive, not aggressive."
Lyra examined the probe data.
"They are frightened."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Of course they are."
He looked toward the industrial complex.
"We proceed."
Order of Expansion
Daniel activated the Production Panel.
"Drone Fleet Expansion — approved."
"Begin Military Fabrication Complex."
"Begin Civilian Manufacturing Complex."
Snow confirmed:
"Construction initiated."
▣ NEW PROJECTS
• Military Weapons Factory• Military Vehicle Assembly Yard• Civilian Industrial Complex• Satellite Fabrication Lab
Massive industrial frames began forming.
Automated arms assembled weapon components.
Light infantry rifles.
Defensive exo-frames.
Shield generators.
Vehicle chassis rolled from assembly platforms.
Armored transports.
Mobile artillery prototypes.
On the civilian side—
Transport vehicles.
Communication devices.
Energy-efficient housing modules.
Basic satellite units for orbital network expansion.
Drone count increased again.
620 → 900 → 1,200 projected.
Daniel continued calmly:
"Prepare orbital drone deployment."
Snow responded:
"Space collection protocol available."
He nodded.
"Send mining drones beyond Sector 01."
Hundreds of small extraction drones detached from platforms.
They moved past the debris field boundary—
Into open space.
Toward metal clusters.
Toward asteroid fragments.
Toward future fleet material.
Aris spoke respectfully.
"Fleet construction possible within projected 18 days."
Lyra added:
"Corvette assembly bay nearing completion."
Daniel then opened the Summoning Panel.
"Unlock High-Rank Personnel."
Energy surged briefly.
A new option appeared.
▣ ADVANCED SUMMON PROTOCOL
Tier 3 Command PersonnelSenior Military OfficersAdvanced Research Directors
Daniel's expression remained steady.
"Summon one Tier 3 Strategic Officer."
Light formed in the chamber.
A tall figure emerged in dark uniform with embedded command insignia.
He bowed deeply.
"Grand Strategist Caelum Dray reporting to Stormhold Dominion. I stand in absolute loyalty, System Lord."
Daniel nodded.
"Welcome, Strategist."
Snow updated the panel.
Civilization Tier: 29%Military Development: RisingOrbital Expansion: Initiated
Daniel turned toward the Terra fragment projection.
"They saw us."
Snow replied:
"Yes."
He crossed his arms calmly.
"Good."
"Now we prepare."
Above Haven, the lattice shimmered faintly.
Below, a civilization armed itself in fear.
Above, a Dominion built factories and fleets in silence.
Two worlds.
One sky.
Collision inevitable.