The silence inside the Tribunal command center became heavier than gunfire.Every screen that had carried the drone feeds was now black. The operators did not move for a second. Their hands hovered above their consoles as if the machines had betrayed them. Red warning marks flashed across the control boards, but none of them gave a clear answer.Ethan Xavier stood in front of the main screen, his eyes fixed on the darkness.Captain Zack swallowed hard. “Sir, I am sorry. What just happened is very, very bad news.”Ethan turned his head slowly. “What is the bad news?”Captain Zack’s lips parted, but no words came out at once.Brigadier General Lorne stepped forward. “Captain, speak.”Captain Zack forced himself to look at Ethan. “The drones were shot down.”The words entered the room like a bomb.Ethan’s eyes widened. For a moment, he looked like he had not heard correctly. “Shot down?”“Yes, sir.”“No.” Ethan’s voice was low, but the disbelief in it was sharp. “That is impossible.”Cap

Ethan Xavier should have been asleep, but sleep refused to come. The room was quiet except for the low sound of the television playing in the background. Morning light slipped through the curtains and painted pale lines across the bedroom walls. Beside him, Selene lay close, one arm wrapped around his chest. She gently ran her fingers through his hair, watching him with the patience of someone who already knew exactly what was going on inside his head."You haven't slept properly in days," she said softly. "Every time I think you've finally drifted off, your eyes open again a few minutes later. At this rate, you're going to collapse before Darius ever manages to launch anything."Ethan stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before letting out a tired breath. "I've tried sleeping. The problem is that every time I close my eyes, Thunderfall is still there. Darius is still there. The warheads are still there. None of those things disappear just because I'm tired."Selene shifted closer

Ethan Xavier left home before the city fully woke, but his mind had already gone to war.His convoy moved through the quiet streets with armed escort vehicles in front and behind. Inside the armored car, Ethan sat alone in the rear seat, dressed in a black suit with his coat folded beside him. His face was calm, but his right hand remained closed around a small flash drive.It looked ordinary, but Ethan held it like it carried the future of Verdanis.His phone rang as the convoy turned toward Xavier Tech headquarters. Ethan answered immediately.Mira’s voice came through. “Master Ethan, the emergency meeting is ready. Captain Lorne, Hisan, Colonel Serena Voss, the senior Xavier Tech engineers, and the Tribunal Aerospace division chiefs are all present.”“Are they waiting in the main boardroom?” Ethan asked.“Yes, sir. They have been there for almost an hour. Everyone looks exhausted.”“They should be,” Ethan said. “Nobody in that room has the right to sleep while Thunderfall still exi

Several seconds passed before anyone spoke.The engineers remained focused on the giant display wall as orbital trajectories, satellite coverage zones, and defense grids continued loading across the screens. Some of them looked fascinated by what they were seeing. Others looked completely confused. The longer they stared at Project Aegis, the more obvious it became that not everyone in the room understood what they were looking at.Finally, one of the younger engineers broke the silence.“Master Ethan, with all due respect, some of us have no idea what Project Aegis actually is.”His statement immediately encouraged others to speak.“I was thinking the same thing,” another engineer admitted. “I've worked at Xavier Tech for years, and this is the first time I've ever heard that name.”Several heads nodded around the table.The confusion was genuine. Most of the engineers had spent years working on defense systems, aerospace technology, and military applications. Yet none of them had e

“Sir, if they miss, we expose our positions.”“If we do nothing, we may lose a city,” Ethan said. “Launch them.”Within seconds, confirmation reports started arriving.Interceptor batteries activated.Tracking radars locked onto the incoming threat.Launch crews entered firing sequences.Every officer understood that the chances were poor.But if there was even a one percent possibility of stopping the missile, they had to try.Nobody voiced the obvious fear.If the interceptors failed, the Tribunal would reveal valuable defense positions without gaining anything in return.Yet no one challenged Ethan's decision.A failed interception was still better than standing helplessly while a nuclear weapon crossed the sky.Across the giant display wall, the red trajectory line continued climbing higher into the atmosphere.Nobody knew where it was going.Nobody knew who was about to die.The uncertainty was almost worse than knowing.Every city was a possible target.Every military base was v