[INTRO] 0:00

(3058, Present day)

Things had been calm for a long time, ever since she discovered the Cyber Core and brought it to light. Tensions had suddenly gone quiet, as if the Core had fixed all issues Astralis had once faced. Despite things being so smooth sailing however, Aurora and TEC were still up to their mischievous acts as per usual. It was because of these acts that Aurora had obtained an

Astralis Military Communications System - (AMCS for short). This was not intended for civilians to own, as it allowed connection to the world beyond Astralis' borders which was strictly forbidden. Aurora never knew why things were this way, as she'd always dreamt of exploring the world outside of what she's been raised in.

She had tried several times to communicate with someone or something beyond the perimeter, but to no avail. Every time she made an attempt, she would wait days, only to be met with no response. She would lose hope over and over, but be rejuvenated by the fact that the AMCS exists in the first place. If it was created, there must be something out there, out in that wasteland.

Aurora was lounging around, just like any other slow day she had. She begins to realize that she hadn’t seen TEC at all that day. As if on cue, TEC comes barrelling into the room beeping and chirping, trying to alert her of something. She doesn’t immediately catch on, but follows him to her console room. “Did you get something, TEC? What’s with the-” she freezes mid sentence upon seeing what TEC was trying to show her. Her AMCS was reading a transmission. “Yeah but how do we know it’s…” She questions, sitting down in front of the screen, reading the location it was sent from.

[DROP A] 0:33

“It just says north.” She mumbles. “But that’s impossible.. There is nothing north.” She pauses to think for a moment, before turning her head to look at TEC, who is hovering next to her. “Just Astralis’ perimeter.” She mumbles to TEC. As a second of silence turns into two, which turns into three, her expression changes to a look of curiosity, her ears perking up. “Unless…” She whispers. She grabs the AMCS and stuffs it in her small bag, before walking to the door, halting just before she reaches it. “Let’s go, TEC.” She calls back, as TEC hovers in her direction.

[BREAKDOWN A] 1:01

The two sit on the roof of a highrise as they observe the perimeter of Astralis, being guarded just a few hundred feet from the base of the building. “You remember the plan, TEC?” She asks as she looks at him. He chirps at her, assuring her that he knows what to do. “Great. Then I’ll head down. No point in waiting.” She calls out to him as she turns around and enters the stairwell, heading down the building.

[DROP B] 1:30

TEC is able to connect to their communications system from afar, interrupting their otherwise clear signals. In theory, this would cause a distraction which draws the guards’ attention away just long enough to give Aurora a window of time to squeeze past. Unfortunately, this leaves TEC to meet up with her afterward, as he wouldn’t be able to reach the gate in time to go through with her.

[BREAKDOWN B] 1:58

After several minutes of waiting, he notices her shining her laser pointer at him from afar, signaling to him that she is ready for their plan to commence. Without a moment of hesitation, TEC begins to interrupt the guards’ signals, temporarily crippling the North Gate’s security. Just as they’d hoped, the plan works exactly how it had in Aurora’s head.

[DROP C] 2:27

The guard’s turn their attention to the technical issue at hand, taking their eyes off the gate for just a moment. In this short moment, Aurora uses the darkness of the night to her advantage, and slips through just milliseconds before the guards turn back around. TEC sees her success and immediately ceases his cyber-attack before they locate the source of it. Meanwhile, Aurora is sprinting at full speed away from the walls, still utilizing the darkness to avoid being seen.

[OUTRO] 2:55

After what seems like several minutes of a full sprint, she falls to her knees, weak after having pushed herself to such limits. Though this wave of weakness falls over her, she can’t help but laugh and smile. She had done it, she was outside of the city. She looks up at the sky, seeing the full beauty of the stars. For the first time, she was seeing the true sky, not limited by the neon signs and architecture of Astralis.