Asteroids shattered, plasma fire streaked across the stars, and Havenreach shook under the weight of war. Kael stood on the Ark's command deck, jaw set, every muscle taut.
At the center of the chaos loomed Taren's flagship—a leviathan of black steel, glowing crimson where its weapons burned.
The Ghost Admiral's voice haunted Kael's comms."You've delayed the inevitable, brother. But you'll learn, as I did—hope is a weakness."
Kael's knuckles whitened on the console. "And you'll learn that it's the only strength that matters."
He pointed at the dreadnought. "Take us in."
The Ark surged forward, alien thrusters bending space in shimmering arcs. Enemy cruisers closed to intercept, but Rhea's shadow squad peeled them away, slipping through the void like predators.
Joran's deep laugh echoed across comms. "Keep them busy, I'll crack their flanks wide open!"
Missiles streaked. The Ark twisted through them, shields flashing. Lyra's hands danced across controls, her voice calm even as alarms wailed. "I can buy us a path, but it won't last."
Kael stood at her side, eyes fixed on Taren's ship. "That's all we need."
They couldn't destroy the flagship from the outside. It was built to withstand fleets, not a single ship.
But inside… inside was Taren.
Kael's heart thundered with the realization. If they could breach, if he could face his brother, perhaps this war could end without Havenreach burning to ash.
He turned to Darius, whose scarred face was lit by firelight from the displays. "Prepare a boarding team."
Darius blinked. "You want to storm that?" He barked a laugh. "Finally, a plan I can enjoy."
Rhea appeared at Kael's shoulder, silent until now. "He'll be expecting you. Walking into his jaws is suicide."
Kael met her gaze, voice steady. "Then we'll choke him from the inside."
The Ark shot forward, faster than the human eye could follow. Its alien cannon unleashed a pulse, blasting open a wound in the dreadnought's armor. The impact rippled like molten fire across the hull.
Kael's team launched in shuttles, darting through the opening before defenses could close. The breach sealed behind them with ominous finality.
Inside, the corridors of the dreadnought stretched like veins of black metal. Crimson lights pulsed along the walls, as though the ship itself was alive.
Darius grunted, weapon ready. "Feels like walking into a beast's throat."
Kael raised his rifle. "Then we'll cut our way to the heart."
As they pushed deeper, enemy soldiers emerged—ghostly pale, eyes burning with the same crimson light that marked Taren's fleet. Cybernetic implants glinted under their skin. These weren't just soldiers. They were remnants—men and women rebuilt, bound to Taren's will.
The firefight was brutal. Plasma bolts hissed, grenades roared, steel and flesh shattered.
Kael fought with controlled fury, every shot precise, every strike purposeful. Yet with each ghost he felled, a weight pressed heavier on his chest. These had once been free people. His brother had turned them into slaves of war.
Lyra's voice carried over comms from the Ark, tense but steady. "Kael, you're close to the command deck. But Taren knows you're there."
Kael whispered under his breath. "Good. I want him to."
They reached a vast chamber, its walls rising like a cathedral of steel. At its center, a throne of black iron loomed, wires and conduits feeding into it like veins.
And there sat Taren.
His armor gleamed like obsidian, etched with crimson light. His eyes—Kael's eyes, mirrored and twisted—glowed with the fire of the implants that bound him.
He rose, the throne hissing as it released him. His voice was calm, even gentle.
"Brother. You came."
Kael stepped forward, rifle lowered but grip tight. "End this, Taren. Havenreach doesn't need to burn. You don't need to do this."
Taren tilted his head, almost curious. "Do you think I wanted this war? No, Kael. It was forced on me. The galaxy is a corpse, gnawed on by the powerful while the weak starve. I will tear it down and build something stronger. Something eternal."
Kael's throat tightened. "At the cost of free will? At the cost of everything we once swore to protect?"
Taren's eyes flared. "At the cost of weakness."
The silence shattered.
Taren drew his blade—a weapon of pure plasma, its edge humming with death. Kael raised his rifle, firing. Taren deflected with a single slash, bolts sparking harmlessly off his blade.
The chamber erupted in violence.
Kael dodged, rolled, fired, every movement desperate yet precise. Taren struck like a storm, each swing cracking the floor, sparks showering.
Darius roared, charging, only to be hurled back by a shockwave from Taren's armor. Rhea tried to flank, but drones swarmed from the walls, dragging her into cover.
It was Kael and Taren. Brother against brother.
Blades of plasma met steel. Sparks rained like falling stars. Kael's rifle shattered under the force of Taren's strike, forcing him to draw his combat knife, meeting power with grit.
Their eyes locked. For a heartbeat, the years between them melted away—memories of childhood, of training together, of swearing to protect each other against a cruel galaxy.
Kael's voice cracked as he strained against Taren's blade. "You're not lost! I know you're still in there!"
For a moment, Taren faltered. The crimson glow in his eyes flickered, and Kael saw something—pain, regret.
But then the fire returned, fiercer than ever.
"You're wrong."
And he struck, sending Kael crashing into the steel floor.
The comms blared—Lyra's voice, fierce and desperate. "Kael! The Ark is charging its main cannon. I can destroy the dreadnought—but you'll be inside when it fires."
Kael coughed blood, forcing himself to his knees. He stared at Taren, who stood over him, blade raised.
He had a choice.
Destroy the dreadnought, end the battle, but lose himself in the fire.Or reach his brother—save him, if such a thing was still possible.
Kael's grip tightened on his knife. His voice was steady, even through the pain.
"Lyra… hold your fire."
The battle raged outside. Havenreach's shields trembled. The Ark stood ready to unleash its final strike.
And in the heart of the dreadnought, Kael rose to face his brother—not as an enemy, but as family.
"Then it ends here, Taren. One way or another."
The brothers' blades clashed again, sparks flying like starlight, as the fate of Havenreach—and the galaxy—hung in the balance.