The Unity soared along the edge of interstellar shadow, its hull reflecting fractured light from the debris field they navigated. The closer they got to the coordinates Aderyn had revealed, the more unstable reality felt—space itself beginning to shimmer and hum with unnatural energy.
Elara stood on the bridge, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the holographic map. The structure they approached pulsed gently in orbit around a dead star, a geometric leviathan asleep in darkness. Triangular in shape, built of matte-black alloy and ancient circuitry, it bore the unmistakable signature of the artifact they'd encountered weeks ago.
Nova stood to her right, silent but present. Aderyn stood to her left, arms clasped behind her back, the image of composed strategy.
Three women, three histories, and one impossible destination.
"Scans?" Elara asked.
Nova spoke first. "The energy field surrounding the structure is stable, but layered—there's a secondary resonance. Something's responding to our presence already. It knows we're coming."
Aderyn leaned forward. "Then let's not keep it waiting."
Elara shot her a look. "This isn't your mission."
"It never was," Aderyn said. "But it's always been yours."
Preparations for descent were quiet, methodical. The Unity couldn't approach the structure directly—the gravitational distortion was too strong. They'd take a shuttle, modified for interference shielding. Elara insisted on leading the expedition. Nova didn't argue. Neither did Aderyn.
Still, the tension coiled tighter with every passing minute.
In the docking bay, Nova ran final diagnostics. Elara stood nearby, checking her gear but mostly watching Nova's hands, the precise way she worked, the way her synthetic skin caught the glow of the overhead lights.
"You don't have to come," Elara said, not for the first time.
Nova glanced up. "And leave you alone with her? Not a chance."
Elara smiled, but it faded fast. "You trust her even less than I do."
Nova stepped closer, her voice low. "She left you broken once. I won't let it happen again."
That caught Elara off guard. "Why do you care so much?"
Nova's eyes searched hers. "Because I've seen you fight for everyone else. For your crew, for the lost, for justice. But never for yourself."
Elara swallowed. "And you want me to fight for myself now?"
"I want you to know someone is willing to fight for you."
Their eyes held. Time slowed. Then, Elara leaned forward—just a fraction, just enough to feel the pull of something unsaid.
Aderyn's voice crackled over the comm. "Ready when you are."
The spell broke.
The shuttle broke through the interference field and immediately the world changed.
Stars faded. Sound distorted. Lights inside the cockpit flickered as if unsure whether to remain solid. And before them, looming and immense, was the structure—an alien cathedral forged from obsidian angles and glistening wires.
A docking ring emerged from the structure's surface, unfolding like petals. It welcomed them.
Or maybe summoned them.
Elara landed the shuttle. They disembarked in silence.
The interior was cavernous, pulsing with faint energy. The walls shimmered with embedded lights that moved like fluid under glass. The air felt too still, as if this place had been waiting for them for eons.
Nova kept her hand near her pulse rifle. Aderyn walked like someone entering a temple.
Elara paused beneath a triangular arch. "Why me?"
Aderyn stopped. "Because you carry both fire and mercy. Because you can choose destruction or transformation."
"That's a fancy way of saying I'm a pawn."
"No," Aderyn said. "You're the queen. The most dangerous piece on the board."
They moved deeper into the structure. Each step seemed to echo across dimensions. The energy signature grew stronger, more focused, until it wasn't just a signal—it was a presence.
And then they reached it.
The heart of the structure.
It hovered above a dais—another artifact, but unlike the one they'd recovered before. This one was awake. A glowing tetrahedron suspended in gravity, its edges shifting like liquid metal. Light pulsed from its center in rhythm with Elara's breath.
She stepped forward.
"Be careful," Nova warned.
Elara didn't listen.
As her fingers brushed the surface, the world fractured.
She wasn't on the station anymore.
She was falling.
No—rising.
Images tore through her mind: Earth burning, rebuilt, rising again. Nova, lifeless. Aderyn, kneeling in surrender. Herself—crowned in fire, surrounded by voices not her own. Futures, possibilities, warnings.
A voice echoed through her:
"Will you lead them to peace… or obliteration?"
She screamed—
And came back.
Elara collapsed to her knees. Nova caught her.
"Are you with me?" she asked, voice urgent, fingers gripping Elara's shoulders.
Elara nodded, dazed. "It showed me… everything."
Aderyn stepped closer. "Then it chose you."
The artifact had embedded something into her neural interface. A code. A star map. A sequence.
Nova pulled up her wrist display. "I'm picking up something… inside you. It's broadcasting a new coordinate set."
"Where does it go?" Elara asked.
Nova stared at the screen. "Earth."
Back aboard the Unity, the crew scrambled to analyze the data. The artifact had fused with Elara's systems, uploading not just a map but a protocol—a signal designed to interface with something on Earth's surface.
"This is old," Ren said, looking over the code. "Pre-Humanity old. Whatever this is… it's been waiting for someone like Elara to complete it."
"Or activate it," Nova added grimly.
Elara stood quietly, processing. Her mind felt different—sharper, humming with low-frequency data she couldn't interpret. But beneath the noise, one thing was clear:
This had never been about the stars.
It had always been about going home.
Aderyn stepped into the room. "It's a beacon. You're not just chosen—you're a signal now. And Earth is the final node."
Nova's fists clenched. "You said this would help us stop what's coming."
"It will," Aderyn replied. "But first, Elara has to go back to where it all began."
Elara looked between them. Her past. Her present. Her heart. Her mission.
"I'm going back," she said. "And I'm not doing it alone."
Nova stepped forward without hesitation. "Then I'm with you."
Aderyn's smile was slow, bittersweet. "So am I."
Three women. Three paths converging. One final journey.
And Earth, waiting in the dark.