CHAPTER 301: CHAPTER 301: KEEP THE PRESSURE ON

19-5-1561 WC

Aurelia Republic

21:00 Hours – Beneath the Mountains

Old Code: Iron Flame Protocol // Subset: Polaris 4-9

The signal reached them as nothing more than a pulse—brief.

In a cellar beneath a quiet vineyard north of Glyveris, a rusted relay node buzzed back to life. Dust fell from the rafters. Green crystals flickered with life for the first time in decades. Three figures stood in silence around a stone table as the final command flashed:

ACTIVATE. IRON FLAME PROTOCOL. PHASE TWO.

One by one, they removed their masks—weathered faces marked by age, scars, and silence.

They opened the floor hatch.

Below: four crates, sealed with wax and runes. Inside: gear-triggered rifles enhanced with compressed flame tanks, and eight units of rogue automatons—no longer bound to Aurelia’s core command.

Each man took a weapon.

And across the countryside, dozens more awakened.

08:00 Hours – Interrogation Room 3-A

Ilyra sat at the metal table, restrained at wrists and ankles.

Across from her stood Commander Ashek, Intelligence Division.

"You gave the order," he said, voice calm. "You’re not denying it. We confirmed the transmission. We traced the access. Mirror Lakes relay. Deadzone tech—pre-archive encryption. No pattern. No known signature. Just... noise."

He placed a data crystal on the table. A red indicator blinked.

"This is all we pulled. And it means nothing. Unless you tell us."

Silence.

"You know how this works, Senator," he said. "You’ve seen history. Tyrants. Resistance. Torture."

Still, silence.

He pressed a button.

A screen lit up beside her. A small girl appeared—ten, maybe eleven—bound to a chair. Her eyes were wide with fear. Her breathing sharp and panicked.

"She called you ’auntie.’ Her name’s Tessa. We found out that she lived in your estate for five years after her parents died."

Ilyra’s jaw tightened. Her knuckles whitened.

Ashek stepped closer.

"You give us the decryption key, and she walks free. Simple. You withhold, and we begin organ-by-organ interrogation. She’s young. The nerve matrix will last hours."

Still, Ilyra said nothing.

Then, quietly, she looked up.

"You’ll kill her anyway."

Ashek didn’t blink.

"Not if you cooperate."

She smiled, just slightly.

"That’s what tyrants say before every genocide."

He sighed. "Very well."

He gave the signal.

08:00 Hours – Glyveris City, Capital Square

The new flags went up at dawn.

The flag of the Bernard Empire now fluttered over the broken dome of the Senate Hall. Where once the Republic’s flame banner stood tall, now draped the gray-black standard of occupation.

Colonel Volst stood before a cluster of press drones as a crowd of citizens was forced into the plaza.

"This is the beginning of peace," he said, voice projected from a Bernardian amplifier cuff. "The Republic has collapsed. But you, its people, will live on—under order."

Behind him, his soldiers stood in symmetrical formations. Tactical armor. Visors down. No expressions.

Volst continued.

"As of today, all provinces are under direct administration by the Bernard Empire. New laws will preserve structure, prevent chaos, and punish sedition."

A pause. Then the list began:

Curfew begins at 20:00. Ends at 06:00.

No gatherings of more than three people.

All firearm and arcane item possession is now punishable by execution.

The Senate is dissolved. Civic representation is void.

Use of old Aurelia flags, coins, or anthems is treason.

All citizens are required to register with the Reconstruction Bureau within 14 days.

All clockwork-based devices are property of the Empire. Tampering is punishable by dismantlement.

At the word "dismantlement," eyes widened. They had seen what Bernardian soldiers did to disobedient machines—how they tore the heads from sentinels, melted the cores, and disassembled proud icons like livestock.

Volst didn’t flinch.

"This is not punishment. It is preservation. Order will be our offering. In time, peace will follow."

He didn’t wait for applause.

He turned and walked back toward the Ministry steps as black-armored troopers moved forward with megaphones. A large automaton—one of the remaining Clockwork sentinels—was pulled into the square by chains and detonated before the gathered crowd.

The message was simple.

The old Republic was dead.

10:45 Hours – Interrogation Room 4-C

Technarch Vallen screamed again.

They’d already taken his eyes.

Now they were working on his hands.

Two Bernardian medics in clean white coats calmly operated the gear-assisted saw across the second knuckle of his right index finger.

"Stop! STOP—" he choked. "The signal—yes—we had the node under the lake—pre-war—coded through Flame dialect—"

"Who else had access?" the interrogator asked. "Give us the names."

"I don’t know—only Ilyra had the full matrix—I swear to the gears—I was only there!—dammit—AAAH—!"

The interrogator raised a hand.

Pause.

"Where’s the Forge? The one referenced in the Flame directives. The Iron Forge. We have scattered intel from the Eastern Crescent."

"Well," Vallen gasped. "It’s not just a single place... Iron Flame is everywhere."

The interrogator stepped back.

"We’ll test that theory."

He nodded to the guards.

"Bring in his daughter."

17:30 Hours – Bernardian Command Hub, Glyveris

Morgan stood with General Kael and Commander Volst before the tactical map.

"Interrogations yielded a few site names," Morgan said. "One confirmed cell bombed a Bernardian convoy north of Greymere Ridge. Eight dead."

"Resistance?" Kael asked.

"Yes. Coordinated. They’re operating autonomously. Whoever controls the Iron Flame, it’s not a single commander. It’s a distributed node structure—layered. Redundant."

"Which means even if we break Ilyra," Volst muttered, "others will carry on."

Kael exhaled through his nose.

"Then break her anyway. And everyone else. Burn every seed before it grows."

"What about public response?" Morgan asked. "Some factions are already growing sympathetic to the resistance."

"Then we respond harder. Round up ten citizens for every soldier they kill. Execute five. Imprison the rest."

Kael turned to a comms officer.

"Transmit the new order to all occupied sectors. Double the petrol. Checkpoints every three streets. Deploy signal-jammers. Set up drone recon in the wild zones. Shoot on resistance."

He then faced the two officers.

"In two days, a new Governor will arrive. With more soldiers. Until then, keep the pressure on."

"Yes, General"