the hub at ninet project/kai and toon

Kai and Toon

In the outskirts of the Hub

Nitooni Kaupp Nia, called Toon by those who knew her, was a prodigy. At an age when most were still in basic training, she worked alongside Zamani himself on the Letellian Tablets and helped develop the theories that made the Axis functional. Two decades after Zamani opened the passage to the second world, Nia had her choice of prestigious postings, opportunities that would have secured her place in the Order's highest ranks. Instead, she requested assignment to "the Haunted Castle," a massive but dormant tower in one of the Hub's most remote sectors. Kai, an atmospheric engineer with no such illustrious history, was assigned to maintain the environmental systems and keep Nia's research station operational. For months, their reports were routine: atmospheric readings, seal integrity checks, minor equipment maintenance. Then the reports stopped. The investigation found their habitat intact, equipment missing, and no trace of either researcher. In her final logs, Nia had written about sounds in the structure at night and movement outside their pressurized bubble. The investigators dismissed it as irrelevant. But Nia's notes suggested something else: that the Haunted Castle had earned its name, and she had gone to find out why.