A few days before the summit passed quickly. Alex trained, hunted, and spent time with his family.But on the last night before traveling to council headquarters.Alex was sitting in the garden. He felt this place brings him peace with all day of training and work.The fountain murmured beside him, and the flowers swayed in the artificial breeze. The Stargate's sky was a deep blue, scattered with the first stars of evening.Footsteps approached.Alena walked toward him.She sat beside him, her arms crossed, her expression thoughtful. She wore simple clothes, not the elaborate business attire she usually favored. Her hair was loose, falling around her shoulders."Tomorrow we have to leave for the meeting," she said."Yes." Alex looked at the sky. "In a few days, the future of the human race will be decided.""Are you nervous?""A little but not about the future but the present how a normal human is gonna take this huge secret.”"Me too." She looked at the fountain. "The Council has been

Then a figure detached itself from the crowd and strode toward them with the easy confidence of a man who owned whatever room he walked into. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair streaked with grey and eyes the color of storm clouds. His features were sharp, aristocratic, and achingly familiar, the same high cheekbones as Alex’s mother, the same curve of the jaw.“Henry Blackwood.”“Rey! Alena!” The man’s voice boomed across the marble, and for a moment, the noise of the hall seemed to part around him. He spread his arms wide, a grin splitting his face. “It’s been too long.”Alex’s father Rey, Alex thought with a small shock, he’d never heard anyone call him that smiled back, a genuine expression that softened the hard lines of his face. “Henry. You’re looking well.”“Liar.” Henry laughed, a deep, rolling sound. “I look exhausted. This summit has been months in the planning, and I’ve had approximately four hours of sleep in the last week. But I’ll survive.” He turned to Alen

The night brought a different kind of tension. Alex stood on a balcony overlooking the Council gardens, the sky painted in shades of orange and gold that faded into a deep, star-scattered purple. Below, the fountains sparkled, their water infused with spiritual energy that made the air hum. He could hear music from somewhere distant, the faint strains of a celebration he wasn’t part of.Footsteps came from behind then Henry appeared in front of him.“Your great grandfather wants to meet you,” his uncle said, his voice quiet. “Privately. Tonight.”Alex didn’t turn around. “Does he?”“You’re angry.”“I’m not sure what I am.” Alex’s voice was tired, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up. “I grew up alone, Uncle. Isolated. Kept apart from everyone including your family. I didn’t even know your name until a few days ago. And now I’m supposed to smile and nod and pretend it didn’t happen?”Henry was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “No. You’re not suppo

Alex watched the faces around the room. Some nodded, their expressions thoughtful. Others frowned, their brows creased with doubt. The Preservationists, as Henry had named them, were already aligning behind Aethan’s banner. They wanted to keep the secret, or at least manage its unraveling so carefully that it never really unraveled at all.Lady Morwen of the Ironheart family rose next. She was a solid woman, her face weathered by wind and sun, her hands scarred from decades of handling weapons. She had no time for pretty speeches, and it showed.“Panic is a risk,” she said, her voice carrying the sharp edge of practicality. “But so is secrecy. If the truth comes out without our guidance, if some portal flare or monster incursion exposes us before we’re ready then we might lose all credibility. The people will never trust us again. We must lead, not follow.”“And how do you propose we lead?” Duke Valerius of the Solarian Empire was on his feet before Morwen had finished speaking. His

The afternoon session was less dramatic, more procedural debates about tariffs and trade routes and the maintenance of Stargate infrastructure but Alex couldn’t focus. His mind kept circling back to the pilot program. The training halls. The instructors he would need to recruit. The curriculum he would need to design. The students who would walk through the doors, scared and uncertain, trusting him to show them a path forward.‘It was overwhelming. It was terrifying.’‘It was,’ he realized, ‘exactly what he wanted.’When the session finally ended, Alex escaped to the same balcony he’d visited the night before. The gardens below were empty now, the flowers glowing faintly in the evening light. The stars were just beginning to emerge, faint pinpricks in a lavender sky.Diana found him there, as she always seemed to.“You’re predictable,” she said, leaning against the railing beside him.“I prefer ‘reliable.’”“That works too.” She was still wearing the formal blue gown from the session,