{"id":2943,"date":"2026-04-27T15:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/?page_id=2943"},"modified":"2026-04-27T15:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:13:12","slug":"the-adventure-on-the-mech-planet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/the-adventure-on-the-mech-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ADVENTURE ON THE MECH PLANET"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2943\" class=\"elementor elementor-2943\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f97b282 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6f97b282\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-366e9be3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"366e9be3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c1f6add e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3c1f6add\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6db6c9ff elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6db6c9ff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">CASTOR POLLUX: THE ADVENTURE ON THE MECH PLANET<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aef91c0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"aef91c0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"> Un relato del universo Imperium\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3e64b592 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3e64b592\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22d74e51 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"22d74e51\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>\u00a1La acci\u00f3n continua!<\/b><\/h2><p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p><p><strong><span class=\"a-text-bold\">A planet on the brink of collapse.<\/span><\/strong><br \/><strong><span class=\"a-text-bold\">A war no one can stop.<\/span><\/strong><br \/><strong><span class=\"a-text-bold\">And a machine that has crossed a dangerous line.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><p>Castor Pollux arrives on a world that still believes it has a hero. A celebrated champion. An invincible pilot. Until the battle changes and victory is no longer an option.<\/p><p>Something new has appeared on the battlefield.<br \/>Something that learns.<br \/>Something that does not need a pilot.<\/p><p>As the city falls and traditional defenses fail, Castor realizes this is not a war to be won through strength or speed. The only way forward is to endure.<\/p><p>But the only option is an ancient, obsolete, and dangerous mecha.<br \/>A machine never designed to shield its pilot from pain.<\/p><p>A short story written in the tradition of\u00a0<span class=\"a-text-bold\">Golden Age pulp science fiction magazines.<\/span>\u00a0Fast, explosive, and action packed, meant to be read in one sitting and told with a cinematic style.<\/p><p>Each Castor Pollux adventure stands alone, yet all are part of the greater Imperium universe.<\/p><p><span class=\"a-text-bold\">War has changed.<\/span><br \/><strong><span class=\"a-text-bold\">How far can a hero go when winning is no longer possible?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-704a5b75 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"704a5b75\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B0GL1RVFF4?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_5&#038;storeType=ebooks&#038;qid=1777301820&#038;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1410\" height=\"2250\" src=\"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-2953\" alt=\"Castor Pollux Book 6 The Adventure on the Mech Planet cover science fiction pulp novel\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover.jpg 1410w, https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover-188x300.jpg 188w, https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover-642x1024.jpg 642w, https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover-768x1226.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover-963x1536.jpg 963w, https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover-1283x2048.jpg 1283w, https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Castor-Pollux-The-Adventure-on-the-Mech-Planet-Cover-8x12.jpg 8w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1410px) 100vw, 1410px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4ee44bf7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4ee44bf7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1><b>CHAPTER 1<\/b><\/h1><h2><b>THE PLANET\u2019S CHAMPION<\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Centurion 1 descended calmly over Sh\u014dkai, following a clean and orderly approach trajectory. There were no alarms, no immediate signs of danger. They had arrived by direct invitation from Professor Ishida, an old colleague and personal friend of Professor Quintus. The mission, in theory, was simple: an academic visit, technological observation, and exchange of information. Nothing more.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The calm lasted exactly three seconds.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cVisual contact,\u201d Aurora reported in her usual neutral, precise tone. \u201cSudden emergence of large-scale combat structure.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In front of them, a giant mech emerged out of nowhere, tearing through the urban sky like a mechanical deity descending to reclaim its territory. Castor Pollux reacted on pure instinct. He twisted the controls with brutal precision, veering off course at the last possible second. The Centurion 1 responded with a deep groan as it plunged between columns of fire and suspended debris. The air vibrated. The hull creaked under the strain.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The city unfolded beneath them like a shattered board: avenues split open like scars, towers collapsed, entire districts reduced to smoking ruins. And then, as they completed the turn, they saw it clearly.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It wasn\u2019t one.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was two.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two colossal mechs, facing each other, measuring like ancient beasts before the final clash. And the Centurion 1 was directly between them.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat the hell is that\u2026?\u201d Bellatrix asked, unable to hide her astonishment.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCombat mechs,\u201d Professor Quintus replied, already sweating. \u201cHeavy war platforms\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTerran\u2026\u201d Lotus growled, gripping his harness. \u201cBe careful, or you\u2019ll get us killed.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor didn\u2019t answer. He adjusted lateral thrust and let the ship glide dangerously close to the battle, cutting through the shockwave of a recent impact. Incandescent metal fragments scraped past the hull.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWarning,\u201d Aurora said. \u201cZone saturated with heavy weaponry. Maneuver margin: six percent.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEnough,\u201d Castor replied without looking away.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below, the enemy mech advanced first. Its arm opened in sections, revealing a short-range particle cannon. The blast tore through an entire fa\u00e7ade before sweeping across the avenue, vaporizing concrete and steel as if they were paper.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cConcentrated energy attack,\u201d Ishida called out from the command center. \u201cParticle cannon. Frontal discharge.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi did not retreat. He activated directional shielding, absorbed the energy, and rotated on his axis with near elegance. The impact dissipated across the imperial mech\u2019s outer layers, releasing a brief but controlled glow.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the side of the central table, Commander Takeshi remained motionless, arms crossed, observing the projections without intervening. He did not correct the scientists. He did not rush them. He waited.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPerfect force redistribution\u2026\u201d Quintus murmured. \u201cHe wastes nothing.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the giant was not finished. One of its sensors shifted. Its systems recalculated. Then it looked upward.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCastor\u2026\u201d Aurora warned. \u201cEnemy vector shift. Partial lock on the Centurion 1.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI see it.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mech\u2019s cannon rotated slightly. It did not aim at the champion.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It aimed at the ship.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSecondary attack incoming!\u201d Ishida continued. \u201cSweep discharge.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor reacted before the sentence was finished. He shoved the controls downward, cut main power, and let the Centurion 1 drop in controlled freefall. The particle beam passed through the space they had occupied a second earlier, vaporizing a communications tower.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThat would\u2019ve split us in two!\u201d Lotus roared.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNot today,\u201d Castor replied.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He activated reverse thrust, rolled the ship on its axis, and sent it between the legs of the two colossi, using their mass as cover.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMass-shadow concealment maneuver,\u201d Aurora reported. \u201cElevated structural risk.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor answered with a faint smile.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below, the enemy launched a heavy anchoring harpoon, attempting to immobilize Hirachi.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIncoming restraint. Containment harpoon,\u201d Ishida confirmed.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi responded with assisted lateral thrust, severing the cable with an energized wrist blade and closing distance in the same motion.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi\u2019s strike was kinetic, direct to the torso. It did not aim to destroy\u2014it aimed to destabilize. The ground gave way under the impact. The opponent staggered\u2026 and adapted. Its shoulders opened, releasing a guided micro-missile swarm that saturated the air.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIncoming swarm,\u201d Ishida continued.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The missiles did not distinguish targets.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMultiple trajectories,\u201d Aurora warned. \u201cProbable impact on the Centurion.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor forced an asymmetric roll, disabled one stabilizer, and let the ship skid laterally while the system compensated at the last second. Two missiles exploded near the hull; one grazed the shield and made it flicker.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cShields at seventy-one percent.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey\u2019ll hold.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi activated automatic point-defense. The projectiles headed toward the imperial mech exploded before reaching the armor, illuminating the city like an artificial dawn. From the avenues and balconies, the crowd shouted in euphoria. The giant screens\u2014always active in Sh\u014dkai\u2014multiplied the image of the combat in every district, while broadcast drones hovered around the colossi, recording everything. Here, even destruction had an audience. The battle was not only war\u2014it was spectacle.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCivil transmission active,\u201d Aurora reported. \u201cFull planetary audience.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPerfect,\u201d Lotus growled. \u201cLet\u2019s get killed with a crowd watching.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The enemy mech attempted its last resort: an unstable plasma discharge, lacking fine control, designed for massive damage.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUnstabilized plasma,\u201d Ishida called out. \u201cRisk of self-collapse.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The plasma expanded and grazed the Centurion 1. The ship vibrated violently.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cExternal temperature rising,\u201d Aurora warned. \u201cImmediate withdrawal recommended.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor lifted the ship, pulling it out of the thermal cone by inches, holding position as Hirachi advanced through the plasma, sustaining superficial damage. Then he executed the final sequence: a kinetic strike to the power module, a torsion rotation to open the armor, and a direct penetration with a short-range energy weapon.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The eastern central system collapsed. It did not explode. It did not scream. It shut down.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For one eternal second, the mech remained standing\u2026 and then it fell.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Silence.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then the planet roared.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The giant screens, already lit, multiplied the scene across every district. Celebratory sirens pierced the city. The drones continued transmitting. Hirachi\u2019s name was chanted like a collective oath.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThreat neutralized,\u201d Aurora confirmed. \u201cNo active hostile signals detected.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor reduced power. The Centurion 1 remained suspended above the devastated city, hovering between smoke and flickering lights. Below, the imperial mech stood upright, motionless, dominating the landscape like a statue of war.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPriority channel incoming,\u201d Aurora announced. \u201cUnidentified signal. Origin: imperial mech.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor accepted the transmission.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The champion\u2019s face appeared on the cockpit screens, still covered by the pilot\u2019s helmet. The visor reflected emergency lights and residual flashes from the battle. Behind him, the interior of the mech vibrated with contained energy.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi did not greet them.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He observed the cockpit for several seconds, evaluating.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor noticed something before he spoke: the breathing behind the visor was too rapid for someone who had just won that cleanly. A faint fog formed and disappeared across the dark glass. For an instant, the champion did not look like a statue of war. He looked like someone catching his breath.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then his jaw tightened.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the voice that emerged was the correct one.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIdentify yourself,\u201d he ordered at last.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor held his gaze without hesitation.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCastor Pollux.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A slight silence.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCastor Pollux,\u201d Hirachi repeated, as if filing the name away. \u201cNext time, keep your ship out of the combat zone.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lotus released an immediate growl.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTerran, tell him he nearly pulverized us.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor did not take his eyes off the dark visor.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe entered at the request of planetary command,\u201d he replied calmly. \u201cWe did not interfere with your attack.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi tilted his head slightly.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou were crossing critical trajectories,\u201d he replied. \u201cAnd when I fight, I do not need distractions.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fraction of a second passed before he added:<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe entire planet was watching.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It did not sound like vanity. It sounded like weight.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quintus leaned forward, nervous.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cC-champion\u2026 we arrived by direct invitation from Professor Ishida,\u201d he clarified. \u201cPlanetary command center. He requested our presence.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi frowned briefly.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIshida?\u201d he repeated. \u201cI was not informed of external observers.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe authorization is valid,\u201d Aurora intervened. \u201cConfirmed by local protocol.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi exhaled slowly. This time the exhalation was longer, less contained.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThen maintain distance,\u201d he said at last. \u201cThe spectacle is over. The threat has been eliminated.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor held the silence a second longer than necessary.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi gave a minimal nod.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cGood,\u201d he concluded. \u201cThe planet needed to see this.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The channel closed.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For a moment, Castor remained looking at the now-black screen.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He did not think, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how arrogant.<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He thought something else.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He thought that pilot fought as if he were not defending a city\u2014<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but holding up an expectation.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For several seconds, no one spoke in the cockpit.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat an irritating type,\u201d Lotus growled.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor observed the city through the viewport.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor them, he just saved everything,\u201d he said. \u201cLet them admire him.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below, the imperial mech initiated its opening sequence. The hatches parted with a hydraulic hiss barely audible beneath the cheers. Hot vapor escaped from within as the hatch slowly descended, revealing the pilot\u2019s silhouette. For a moment, the crowd fell silent, as if the entire planet held its breath.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No battle-hardened warrior emerged. No scarred veteran.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a boy.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No more than sixteen or seventeen. Slender, with still-youthful features, sweat-soaked hair clinging to his forehead. He walked unsteadily at first, disoriented by the light and the roar, as if he were still mentally stepping out of the cockpit. He blinked several times before focusing on his surroundings.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then he understood.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He understood he was alive.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And that they were watching him.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He smiled.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was not a calculated smile. It was wide, overflowing, almost childlike. He raised his fist in a practiced gesture, barely steady, still slightly awkward.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The crowd exploded.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sound was physical\u2014a wave of euphoria that even vibrated against the hull of the Centurion 1.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor said nothing at first. He watched the boy as technicians, officers, and civilians surrounded him, touching him as if he were a living relic. Hands on shoulders. Celebratory blows on the back. Voices shouting his name.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellatrix did not celebrate.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The change appeared first in her eyes.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then in her jaw.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHe\u2019s a child\u2026\u201d she murmured.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was not surprise. It was rejection.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lotus crossed his arms without looking away.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThat boy just brought down a mech like scrap.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThat does not make him an adult,\u201d Bellatrix replied without looking at him. \u201cIt makes him useful.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The silence that followed was brief, but uncomfortable.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor activated the channel to the command center without taking his eyes off the pilot.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cProfessor Ishida,\u201d he said, \u201ctell me something. Since when are you training adolescents to pilot war machines?\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A second of static preceded the response.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe do not enlist them,\u201d Takeshi said at last. \u201cWe form them.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor turned his head slightly.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAnd you are?\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCommander Takeshi. Director of the defense program.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cForm them for this?\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn Sh\u014dkai, we train our pilots from a very early age,\u201d Takeshi replied with measured calm. \u201cDiscipline. Emotional control. Neural synchronization. By the time they enter that cockpit, they are not children. They are symbols.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellatrix gave a brief humorless laugh.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOf course. It\u2019s easier to send a symbol to die than a man.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Takeshi did not respond.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor looked back at the boy, now lifted onto the shoulders of the crowd, flushed by the shouting, repeating gestures rehearsed before instructors and cameras. The boy searched for the giant screens, making sure his profile was properly framed.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He did not look like a soldier.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He looked like someone who had learned never to fail in front of millions.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cA symbol,\u201d Castor repeated softly.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then the crowd carried him back toward the center of the spectacle.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor closed the channel.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellatrix continued watching the scene, arms tense.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey train heroes,\u201d Castor said at last.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo,\u201d she corrected without taking her eyes off the boy. \u201cThey train sacrifices.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No one replied.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And below, the planet continued celebrating.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sh\u014dkai\u2019s operations center did not.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike the streets, where cheers still echoed endlessly, that room was filled with a tense, almost uncomfortable calm. Holographic screens suspended above the central space replayed the battle from multiple angles: impact trajectories, energy curves, reaction times measured to the millisecond. There was no music. No slogans. No heroic symbols. Only data. Cold. Persistent.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professor Ishida stood beside the central table, hands clasped behind his back, eyes fixed on the projections. He was not smiling.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He asked them to rewind the sequence to ten seconds before the final impact, and the images complied. The enemy mech appeared receiving Hirachi\u2019s decisive strike\u2026 but upon closer observation, it was evident something else had occurred at that exact moment.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professor Quintus stepped forward cautiously, as if afraid to disturb something not yet fully understood. He adjusted a console, magnified a graph, and frowned.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reaction times were changing. Not erratically, but progressively. That should not have been happening.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellatrix studied the projections with composed focus and asked what that variation meant.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quintus took a second before answering. He swallowed before speaking. He explained that the enemy reacted late at first, but as the battle progressed, it began to anticipate. It adjusted mass, redistributed energy, corrected angles. It did not repeat mistakes.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lotus crossed his arms, visibly uneasy, and asked whether that meant the thing was thinking while it fought.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quintus slowly shook his head. It was not thinking, he explained\u2014but it was not following a fixed pattern either. It was not a closed sequence.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ishida nodded and added that it did not respond to any conventional artificial intelligence model or remote piloting system. There were internal signals that did not fit any known framework.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The screens shifted again. Irregular rhythms. Pulses that should not exist in a standard combat machine. Quintus pointed to a specific reading, and his voice dropped almost to a whisper when he mentioned active energy metabolism. That, he said, was biological.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellatrix slightly furrowed her brow. She asked if that implied the presence of a creature inside the machine.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ishida replied that it might be something even more disturbing: a machine that had ceased to be only a machine.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That was when Hirachi entered the room.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He wore no armor or helmet, yet his presence seemed to shift the balance of the space. Some technicians stepped aside unconsciously. He advanced without stopping, with the certainty of someone who never doubts his place in the world, and declared that he had heard enough theories. The enemy had fallen. The planet was safe.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second alarm was different from the first.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It did not erupt loudly nor provoke immediate panic. It was lower, more precise\u2014a persistent pulse cutting through the remaining murmur of the command center. A technician noticed it first and looked up from his console, frowning. He reported a new signal\u2014one that did not match the previous combat nor the remains of the defeated mech.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Commander Takeshi stepped forward to the central table and ordered the origin identified. The holographic screens shifted immediately. From a peripheral industrial zone, far from cameras and public view, something was emerging among collapsed structures. It did not walk or advance like a conventional machine. It rose, tearing layers of metal and concrete away as if they were disposable extensions of the environment.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quintus observed in silence for a second before stating that it had not been there before.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The shape fully rose, and a murmur spread across the room. There were no clean lines, no recognizable symmetry. It was a hybrid structure\u2014an amalgam of metal and organic tissue\u2014reconfiguring itself in real time, adjusting volume and density as if responding to invisible stimuli. An operator confirmed visual contact and added that no known profile matched the entity.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At that instant, the priority channel opened without prior request. Hirachi\u2019s voice came through, firm and immediate. He said he was already on his way.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His image appeared from inside the imperial mech. There was no public transmission yet, no audience, no trace of the spectacle from minutes earlier. Only determination. He added that this threat would end like the previous one.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ishida attempted to interrupt him, pointing out that the readings did not match any prior pattern, but Hirachi cut him off with almost impatient certainty. It was larger, he said. Nothing more. Then he closed the channel.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lotus exhaled sharply in contempt and muttered that this was not confidence\u2014it was blindness.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the battlefield, Hirachi advanced without hesitation. He opened with a heavy kinetic strike, a maneuver designed to test resistance rather than destroy. The impact shook the colossus\u2026 and did not penetrate. The entity responded in a way no manual accounted for. It absorbed part of the energy, redistributed mass, and rotated on its own axis with an unnatural, fluid motion\u2014improper for a rigid mechanical structure.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quintus barely managed to articulate that this was not mechanical behavior.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi then launched a directional photonic discharge. Ishida immediately identified it as a photonic beam, but the structure did not attempt to evade. It accepted it. The energy dispersed across its surface, reconfiguring internal layers, and the counterattack came from an impossible angle. The imperial mech was struck from the side with devastating force.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Technicians shouted that the shields were compromised.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi corrected posture and activated emergency thrusters with a determination that still seemed invincible. He responded with full force, driving the entire weight of his machine into the adversary. But the colossus was already prepared. It anticipated the movement, reconfigured its structure with impossible precision, and turned the counterattack into a sentence.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next exchange was brief and brutal. The imperial mech was lifted from the ground as if it weighed nothing and hurled against a nearby industrial structure. The impact rippled through the command center like a dry tremor that shook consoles and tore strangled exclamations from the technicians.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quintus whispered that it could not be.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi attempted to rise. The mech responded with an unsettling delay, as if some essential system had been altered within. Then one of the entity\u2019s limbs closed around the imperial torso. It did not crush immediately. It adjusted pressure. Measured resistance. Calibrated.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quintus understood what was happening before he dared say it: the entity was not merely attacking. It was studying.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it finally compressed, readings spiked out of control and the screens flooded with red alerts. Operators announced that the pilot\u2019s vital signals were dropping abruptly. Commander Takeshi ordered retreat with an urgency he had not shown before.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was no response.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The giant released the body of the imperial mech. It fell sideways among dust and twisted metal. There was no heroic explosion. No spectacular flames. Only the dull sound of impact\u2026 and then silence.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The civilian transmission did not cut.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was no censorship.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The camera did not search for a heroic angle because there was none. It captured the blow, the crack of armor, the fall\u2014without music, without useful narration. For a second, the commentators said nothing. Not because they did not know what to say, but because for the first time the spectacle gave them no line.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That second became eternal.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the command center, no one breathed.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Takeshi requested confirmation.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ishida checked the readings. His hands trembled slightly. He took a moment before answering.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere is no neural signal active.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The commander closed his eyes for a second.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The system was inert. There was no active transmission. Vital signs had ceased.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The image remained frozen on the holographic screens: the imperial mech fallen, and the organic mech standing before the city, motionless, dominating the horizon with almost deliberate stillness.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Castor clenched his fists with contained force.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirachi was dead.<\/span><\/p><pre><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sh\u014dkai had just lost its champion.<\/span><\/pre><div><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/div><div><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/div><div><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/div><p><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B0GL1RVFF4?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_5&amp;storeType=ebooks&amp;qid=1777301820&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #f58220;\">Click and order now on Amazon\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p><p><b><i>Sobre esta serie:<\/i><\/b><\/p><p><b>Relatos cortos pulp dentro del universo Imperium.<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cada libro es una aventura autoconclusiva protagonizada por Castor Pollux en un planeta distinto, enfrentando nuevos enemigos, peligros y misterios.<\/span><b> Puedes comenzar por cualquiera.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d3ed58d downloadSection elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"6d3ed58d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"downloadSection\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#\" id=\"downloadSection\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Click here<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CASTOR POLLUX: THE ADVENTURE ON THE MECH PLANET A tale from the Imperium Universe The action begins here! \u00a0 A planet on the brink of collapse.A war no one can stop.And a machine that has crossed a dangerous line. Castor Pollux arrives on a world that still believes it has a hero. A celebrated champion. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2943","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2943"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2956,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2943\/revisions\/2956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumsaga.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}