Public Revelations

You crack the wax seal under the gaslamp's amber glow, and the crew leans in despite themselves. The Admiralty's words are stark: Solar disturbances suspected artificial. Investigate Dr. Cassius Morrow — rogue aetherist, last sighted aboard a sun-skimming station three months past.

A ripple of disquiet passes through the deck. Stokers exchange glances; the wireless operator crosses himself. Captain Vance's jaw tightens beneath his greying whiskers. "A man playing god with our sun," he mutters.

Then, at the edge of your vision, you catch it — Navigator Halloway folding her charts with trembling haste, slipping toward the companionway. No one else seems to notice. Whatever she knows, she means to keep it below decks.