The silence between Kian and Elena deepened as they stood across from each other, the weight of unspoken truths pressing down like a storm about to break. Outside the abandoned observatory where they had taken refuge, the night howled with restless winds, but it was the tension in the room that froze Kian to the core."You owe me the whole story, Elena," he said at last, his voice low but firm. "All of it."Elena’s hands trembled slightly as she nodded. Her lips parted, and the truth spilled out — hesitantly at first, then gathering speed like a river bursting through a dam."It wasn’t supposed to happen this way," she began, eyes glistening. "After I left you… after everything... Marcus lied to me. He said you had betrayed the Federation. That you were working with the Forgotten Ones. I believed him, Kian. I believed the man who had always stood in your shadow."Kian’s fists clenched at his sides. Every muscle in his body screamed to lash out, to rage — but he held it all in, locking

Blood slicked Kian’s hands as he pressed them against Aryen’s wound, his breaths shallow, his jaw tight. The forest around them was eerily silent now, save for Aryen’s labored breathing and the faint rustle of the wind in the treetops. The twins had disappeared into the undergrowth minutes ago, their terrified faces burned into Kian’s mind.He could still hear Darius’s mocking voice ringing in his ears: “You can’t save them all, Kian.”But Kian had to try.“Stay with me, Aryen,” he whispered, pulling off his tattered shirt to use as a makeshift bandage. The boy’s eyes fluttered open, glassy with pain.“I didn’t cry,” Aryen murmured, his voice a ghost of itself. “Even when they hit me. I didn’t cry.”Kian’s throat constricted. “You were brave. So brave.”He hoisted Aryen into his arms, legs burning as he forced himself to his feet. Every step was a struggle through dense underbrush and jagged terrain. His system implant pulsed faintly, the interface flickering in and out—likely scrambl

The silence after the revelation was a chasm. Kian’s fingers trembled as he stared at the image still flickering on the holo screen—Elena, standing defiantly, with four children behind her. Not one. Four. His breath hitched. Each child bore a shadow of his features—his eyes, his jawline, the unmistakable Arlen blood.His mind raced, connecting timelines, calculating possibilities. It wasn’t just betrayal now; it was concealment of blood. His blood.Ryder stood nearby, equally stunned, though his eyes were trained more on the encrypted trace signature attached to the transmission. “This wasn’t sent from inside the Inner Federation. It came from the Dead Zone.”Kian turned sharply. “The Dead Zone was declared uninhabitable years ago.”“Exactly,” Ryder said, his tone low. “Which means either someone faked that transmission... or Elena’s been hiding in the one place the Federation wouldn’t dare look.”Kian didn’t waste another second. “Get the Phoenix geared and prepped. We leave at dawn.

Kian stood frozen.The message from Elena still flickered across his communication slate, her voice etched in his mind. “Kian… they’re yours. All four.” His breathing quickened. The holographic image showed the children—two girls, two boys—all with traces of him in their eyes. One had his determined brow. Another, his quiet gaze. The youngest had his faint dimple.The silence in the room was deafening. Darius had vanished into the shadows after their confrontation, leaving Kian to process the reality that had shattered everything he thought he knew. His children had been out there. All these years. Hidden. Protected… or imprisoned?A knock echoed through the safehouse. Not the hesitant kind—this one was sharp, deliberate.Kian stood immediately, the weight of fatherhood now joined by suspicion. He approached the door cautiously, hand grazing the pulse blade at his waist.“Who is it?” he asked.A pause.Then a familiar voice: “Don’t do anything stupid, Arlen. I come alone.”It was Varn

The dropship's engines roared as it veered sharply, evading the relentless pursuit of the Federation warships. Inside the cockpit, Kian's knuckles whitened as he gripped the controls, his eyes darting between the flashing indicators and the vast expanse of space ahead. "They're gaining on us," Kalen reported, his voice tense. "We won't outrun them for long." Kian's mind raced. The revelation of his children, the betrayal by those he once trusted, and now the imminent threat of capture—it was overwhelming. But he couldn't afford to falter. Not now. "Is there any way to lose them?" he asked, glancing at Kalen. Kalen hesitated. "There's a debris field ahead—a remnant of the old wars. It's risky, but if we navigate it carefully, we might shake them off." Kian nodded. "Do it." The dropship plunged into the debris field, weaving through the remnants of shattered ships and floating wreckage. The Federation warships hesitated, their larger sizes making the maneuver treacherous.