Chapter 121 (YEAR 2052)

The Firmament was built to function at a high altitude, but that didn't necessarily mean that its inhabitants were.

The massive tower was well above the height that command capsules could safely travel, as the winds were so strong that they would be blown off course.

The second issue was the fact that the entire upper dome of the ship was swarming with Zephyrus.

Having breached the glass dome that took up most of the tower's roof, the winged mechs were using the remainder of the surface as a staging ground, gathering up top before descending into the tower to wreak havoc. With the dome gone, the surface area of the Firmament's highest point was about the same as an interior level-a large, circular platform with a gaping hole in its centre.

Alyx, Draco and I stood in an emergency airlock on the top level of the Firmament, staring across the open surface of the tower.

In its past life as a launch platform, the Firmament's upper deck had been where satellite and weather systems were loca