The base hummed with subtle energy, the Null Core now docked in the heart of the chamber where it pulsed with rhythmic calm, unlike the erratic flares of the Rift. Dex lay in the healing pod, his face calm for the first time in days. For a fleeting moment, it felt like the storm had passed.
Kael wandered the halls, tension still coiled in his chest. Even with Dex safe, a strange pressure remained. Not fear, not exactly. Anticipation. Like the next blow was winding up.
He found Aya outside the observation ring, where starlight filtered in from the translucent dome above. She stood in silence, arms crossed, gazing into the stars with a furrowed brow. Kael approached slowly, his boots whispering against the polished floor.
"You always watch the stars when you're thinking?" he asked.
Aya didn't turn immediately. "Only when I'm afraid of the answers waiting inside."
Kael stood beside her, hands in his pockets. "You? Afraid?"
"I used to think I was done being afraid," she said, her voice soft. "But the Rift changes everything. It's waking up, and Dex barely made it out alive. What if we're not enough for what's coming?"
Kael was silent for a beat. Then, "You remember that old watch I used to wear? The one that couldn't even tell the right time?"
Aya blinked at him, puzzled. "The one with the cracked face?"
He nodded. "My mum gave it to me. Said it didn't need to be perfect. It just had to remind me that time keeps moving. No matter what."
Aya finally looked at him. "And?"
"We're not perfect either. But maybe we don't have to be. Maybe we just keep moving. Together."
Aya stared at him, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then she stepped closer.
"Kael... you keep doing that. Saying exactly what I need to hear. Even when I don't want to."
He smiled faintly. "Is that a bad thing?"
"It's terrifying."
There was a long pause. The air between them felt different now—charged, unspoken.
Aya reached up slowly, brushing her fingers just briefly along Kael's jaw.
Kael leaned in slightly, heart thudding, breath catching.
Then,
"Am I interrupting something?"
Elrik's voice shattered the moment.
They both jumped back subtly, as if the weight of the stars above had suddenly doubled.
Aya cleared her throat. "We were just talking."
Elrik raised an eyebrow, smirking but not commenting further. "Good. Because we've got movement. Sensors picked up a spike beyond the Parallax Ridge. It's time."
Kael nodded, forcing his focus back. "How long do we have?"
"Two hours. Maybe less."
Aya was already moving. "Then we prep now."
The crew moved quickly. Jessa re-checked the weapon packs. Kura ran last diagnostics on the anchor field. Elrik coordinated mapping data while Kael slipped one last glance toward the room where Dex lay.
They moved with purpose, but not panic. The kind of urgency born of experience. Battle-worn hope.
As they boarded the dropcraft, Aya gave Kael one last look. Something unspoken passed between them. It didn't need to be said yet. But it was there. Real.
The hatch closed.
Outside, the Rift's edge pulsed faintly, like a distant heartbeat.
Ahead lay answers.
Or extinction.
They launched into the dark.