They walked back through the tunnels in silence.
Ren's mind was full of green light. Hope pulsed inside him, warm and steady, joining the others. Nine fragments now. Nine pieces of his father's soul. He could feel them all working together, each contributing its note to the song.
But something was bothering him.
Veyna walked ahead, her ancient form moving with surprising grace. She'd helped him. Led him to the fragment. But the silver fragment kept showing him possibilities. Paths. Warnings.
She was hiding something.
They reached the surface. The gray dust stretched endlessly under the cold sun. In the distance, Ren could see two ships. Veyna's military vessel and, parked nearby, the Starfire.
Sara and Aiko were waiting.
"Ren!" Sara ran toward him, her suit clumsy but her speed undiminished. She grabbed him, held him tight. "Don't you ever do that again. Ever."
"I'm okay, Mom."
"You better are." She pulled back, checking him for injuries. Her eyes landed on Veyna. "Who's this?"
"Veyna. She used to work with Dad."
Sara's expression changed. Something flickered in her eyes. Recognition? Fear? Ren couldn't tell.
"Veyna," Sara repeated slowly. "I've heard that name."
"From Kael, I hope." Veyna smiled. "The spoke of you often, Sara. With great love."
Sara didn't smile back. "The spoke of you too. Not all of it was love."
The tension between them was thick. Aiko moved closer to Ren, her hand resting on her weapon.
"Maybe we should have this conversation somewhere more comfortable," Ren suggested. "Inside. Where we can all talk."
Veyna nodded. "Agreed. Your ship or mine?"
"Ours."
They gathered in the Starfire's galley.
Sara made tea. Aiko sat with her back to the wall, watching everyone. Ren sat across from Veyna, the fragments pulsing, the silver fragment showing him possibilities.
Veyna sipped her tea like she had all the time in the world.
"You knew my father," Ren said. "How?"
"For centuries. I was there when he was just a boy, discovered by Eldrin on that dying world. I trained alongside him. Fought alongside him. Loved him." Her eyes grew distant. "And betrayed him."
Silence.
Sara's voice was cold. "You were the one. The one who told the Twelve about the prophecy."
Veyna didn't deny it.
Ren felt something shift inside him. The black fragment stirred. Regret. His father's regret. And now he understood.
"You told them about me. About the prophecy. That's how they knew to send the Five."
"Yes." Veyna set down her cup. "I was young. Stupid. Angry at Kael for something that seems so small now. I wanted to hurt him. I didn't know they'd kill him. I didn't know they'd—" Her voice cracked. "I didn't know."
Sara stood. Her face was white. "You're the reason my husband is dead. You're the reason Ren grew up without a father."
"Yes."
"And you want us to trust you?"
"No." Veyna looked at Ren. "I want him to understand. To know the truth. To decide for himself what to do with me."
Ren stared at her. The silver fragment showed him paths. Kill her. Spare her. Trust her. Reject her. Each led to different futures.
"Why now?" he asked quietly. "Why wait all these years to find me?"
"Because I wasn't ready. Because I was a coward. Because every time I thought about facing you, I remembered what I'd done and couldn't move." Tears streamed down her ancient face. "But the fragments called to me. Told me you were coming. And I realized this might be my only chance to make amends."
"Amends." Sara's voice was sharp. "You think helping him find one fragment makes up for getting his father killed?"
"No. Nothing makes up for that. But maybe I can help him find the rest. I know where they are. All of them. I helped Kael hide them."
Ren's heart stopped. "You know where the last three are?"
"Yes. And I know how to reach them. How to survive the trials. How to claim them without dying." She met his eyes. "Let me help you, Ren. Let me do something right for once in my miserable life."
The silver fragment showed him possibilities. Trusting her was dangerous. She could betray them again. Lead them into a trap. Get them all killed.
But it also showed another path. A path where her knowledge saved them. Where her guilt made her loyal. Where her centuries of experience became their greatest weapon.
"What do the others think?" he asked.
Sara shook her head. "I don't trust her. I'll never trust her."
Aiko shrugged. "I don't know her. But if she betrayed your dad once, she could do it again."
Ren nodded. He understood. He felt the same doubts.
But the silver fragment kept showing him that another path.
"I need to think," he said. "Alone."
He stood and walked out.
Ren sat in the cargo bay, surrounded by boxes and equipment, staring at nothing.
The fragments pulsed. Nine of them now, each with its own voice. Blue courage. Purple endurance. Gold wisdom. Red love. Black regret. White power. Silver strategy. Green hope.
And the ninth. The one he'd just claimed. What was its name? He hadn't asked. Hadn't thought to ask.
It's forgiveness.
His father's voice. Soft. Gentle.
The ninth fragment is forgiveness. For Veyna. For myself. For everyone who failed and hurt and made mistakes.
"She betrayed you. She got you killed."
Yes. And I forgave her. Before I died, I forgave her.
"How? How could you forgive something like that?"
A long pause. Then:
Because I made mistakes too. Terrible mistakes. I destroyed worlds. Killed billions. If I couldn't forgive others, how could I forgive myself?
Ren thought about that. About the weight he carried. About the faces of the dead, he'd seen in his father's memories.
"Should I trust her?"
That's not for me to decide. That's for you. But I'll tell you this. Veyna was my friend for three hundred years before she betrayed me. She knew me better than almost anyone. And in her own way, she loved me. That love is what broke her when I died.
Ren closed his eyes.
"Dad?"
Yes?
"I miss you. Even though I never really knew you, I miss you."
I miss you too, my son. More than you'll ever know.
The presence faded.
Ren sat alone in the cargo bay, feeling nine fragments pulse inside him, trying to decide what to do.
He walked back into the galley.
Veyna was still there. Still waiting. Her eyes were red from crying, but her face was calm.
"I'll give you a chance," Ren said quietly. "One chance. Help us find the last three fragments. Help us survive. And when it's over, we'll talk about what comes next."
Veyna nodded slowly. "That's more than I deserve."
"Probably." He sat down. "Where's the tenth fragment?"
She pulled out a data slate, activating a holographic display. A star map. Three locations marked.
"The tenth is here. A space station in the Kryll Empire. Abandoned during the wars. Your father hid it in the station's core."
"The Kryll Empire again?" Aiko groaned. "They hate us there."
"We'll be careful." Ren looked at the second marker. "Eleventh?"
"A planet called Morvath. In the Vorath Sector. Controlled by one of the lesser empires, but heavily guarded. The fragment is in a fortress. Impenetrable."
"Great. And the twelfth?"
Veyna was quiet for a long moment. Then she zoomed in on the final location.
"The heart of the Twelve Galaxies. Their capital world. The place where the Lords sit on their thrones."
Silence.
"The last fragment is in the enemy's stronghold," Sara said flatly.
"Yes." Veyna looked at Ren. "Your father wanted to make sure that whoever claimed it was ready. Truly ready. Because once you take that fragment, the Twelve will know. They'll feel it. And they'll come for you with everything they have."
Ren stared at the map. At the three locations. At the impossible final challenge.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said. "First, the station. Set course."
Sara hesitated. Then she nodded and headed for the cockpit.
Aiko followed, muttering about crazy plans and certain death.
Ren and Veyna were alone.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For the chance."
"Don't thank me yet. Thank me after we survive."
Veyna smiled. It was small. Tired. But real.
"Your father's son," she said. "Through and through."
She stood and walked out, leaving Ren alone with the map and the fragments and the weight of everything still to come.
END OF CHAPTER 20