Kael stood on the command deck, eyes locked on the void beyond the viewport. Stars glittered cold and distant, but one by one, they were swallowed by shadows.
Ships.
Dozens. No—hundreds.
The Ghost Admiral's fleet slipped from the darkness of the Serath Belt, emerging like predators from a nest of rocks and ice. Battleships, cruisers, swarms of fighters. Their engines burned like crimson suns, casting blood-light across the void.
At their center, a colossal dreadnought loomed. Sleek, angular, bristling with weapons—Taren's flagship.
Kael's chest tightened. He could almost feel his brother's presence inside that steel monster, watching, waiting.
Lyra's voice broke through the silence. "They've arrived."
Kael nodded, his voice low. "Then it begins."
The war room came alive. Officers shouted orders, comms crackled, defensive batteries hummed with power.
Kael moved among them, not sitting above but standing beside. "Hold formation. Let them think our defenses are weaker than they are. Make them believe Havenreach is ready to break."
Rhea smirked from the shadows. "Nothing draws in a predator like wounded prey."
Darius barked orders to the soldiers, his voice thunderous. "Positions! Shields at half strength—make it look real!"
On the outer ring, Havenreach's cannons dimmed, their firepower masked. The Ark drifted at the edge of the station, its alien systems dormant, appearing damaged.
The stage was set.
The comms flared again, Taren's voice filling the chamber.
"Havenreach. This is your one chance. Surrender now, and I will spare your lives. Resist, and I will burn you from the stars."
Kael stepped forward, his voice steady, resolute. "Taren. It doesn't have to be this way."
Silence. Then soft laughter.
"Oh, brother. It was always going to be this way."
The line cut.
The Ghost Admiral's fleet advanced, crimson fire lancing toward Havenreach. Explosions blossomed across the outer ring, shields flaring under the impact. Civilians screamed as the station trembled.
"Return fire," Kael ordered.
Cannons roared, missiles streaking into the void. But Kael had told them to hold back—only half their power unleashed. To Taren's eyes, Havenreach looked desperate, its guns straining, its shields faltering.
Lyra's hands danced across the Ark's controls, her voice steady. "The longer we hide our strength, the closer he'll come."
Kael nodded. "Hold. Just a little longer."
Fighters swarmed, a storm of steel and plasma. Havenreach's pilots launched to meet them, ships streaking from hangars like arrows of fire. The void became chaos—dogfights twisting between asteroids, explosions scattering debris.
Joran's voice crackled through the comms, a feral grin audible in his tone. "Finally! A fight worth roaring for!"
Rhea's squad darted through the chaos, shadows in the dark, slipping past enemy fighters to strike at cruisers with surgical precision.
Darius commanded ground troops on the station, coordinating defenses as boarding parties tried to breach. "Repel them! Havenreach will not fall!"
And Kael moved between it all, his voice binding the chaos into unity.
The dreadnought cut through the battle like a blade, its cannons tearing through asteroids, clearing a path straight for Havenreach.
Kael's chest clenched. Taren wasn't holding back. He was coming to end this.
Lyra's eyes flickered across the alien displays of the Ark. "He's closing faster than expected. Another volley like that and Havenreach's outer shields will collapse."
Kael drew a breath. "Then it's time."
Kael slammed his fist against the comms console. "All units—now! Full power to shields and weapons! Strike with everything you've got!"
The station roared to life. Hidden cannons unfolded, blazing streams of fire cutting through enemy cruisers. Shield strength surged, shrugging off the dreadnought's barrage.
The Ark awoke, its alien systems flaring with light. Its cannons unleashed a pulse that tore through an enemy battleship in a single blast, ripping it apart in silent fire.
The Ghost Admiral's fleet reeled in shock. The prey had shown its teeth.
Rhea's laughter crackled over comms. "They didn't see that coming!"
Kael's voice carried over the battle. "Push them back! Show them Havenreach still stands!"
But Taren was no fool.
The dreadnought's cannons shifted, firing not at Havenreach—but at the asteroid belt itself. Massive chunks of rock shattered, debris hurling toward the station.
Lyra gasped. "He's turning the battlefield into a weapon!"
Asteroids rained down, smashing into shields, tearing through defenses. Fighters scattered, pilots screaming as the void itself became lethal.
Kael's fists clenched. His brother wasn't just attacking Havenreach. He was reshaping the battlefield, twisting Kael's trap against him.
The Ark darted through the chaos, its alien thrusters cutting impossible paths between the falling asteroids. Lyra's voice was fierce, steady. "We have to counter this, or Havenreach will be torn apart."
Kael's mind raced. "If we destroy the largest fragments before they strike, the rest might scatter. But it'll put us right in Taren's sights."
Lyra met his gaze. "Then we'll survive it. Together."
He nodded. "Do it."
The Ark surged forward, alien cannons blazing, tearing asteroids apart before they struck the station. Fighters rallied behind it, covering its path. But the dreadnought's guns turned toward them, fire lancing close.
Every blast felt like Taren's eyes, locked on Kael, daring him to survive.
The battlefield was chaos—Havenreach fighting tooth and nail, the Ark carving through the storm, the dreadnought pressing ever closer.
Kael's heart pounded, sweat dripping, his voice raw from shouting orders. But his resolve never wavered.
For the first time, he wasn't just fighting for himself, or against Taren. He was fighting for Havenreach. For Lyra. For something greater.
And as the Ghost Admiral's flagship loomed larger, Kael knew the true battle—between brothers—was only beginning.