THE WAR THAT ECHOES
Arc 2, Chapter 1: The Miners' Choice
New Titan was beautiful in the way that practical places often were...functional, efficient, and completely unconcerned with aesthetics.
The colony sprawled across the surface of the moon like a mechanical organism, all industrial scaffolding and mining equipment glinting in the reflected light of the gas giant it orbited. Massive excavators tore into the mineral-rich crust, extracting the rare earth elements that had made New Titan valuable enough to colonize in the first place. Refineries chucked processed materials into cargo containers that would eventually make their way back to Earth, fueling humanity's expansion across the stars.
Two million people called this place home. Miners, engineers, refinery workers, and their families. People who'd chosen a hard life on a harder world because the pay was good and the work mattered.
People who had no idea they were about to become the galaxy's next battleground.
"Captain," Lieutenant Hayes said from the communications console, "I'm being hailed by New Titan Colonial Authority. They're ordering us to maintain our current position and await instructions. They sound...not friendly."
Stellar studied the tactical display. The Pathfinder hung in orbit alongside the thirty-seven refugee ships that had accompanied them from the future. It was an eclectic fleet. Vessels of different designs, different technologies, all bearing the marks of species who'd learned to survive against impossible odds.
"Not surprising." Stellar replied. "Admiral Chen had a three-day head start on us. She probably contacted every colony in human space, warned them about the 'rogue captain' who's been spreading lies and collaborating with aliens."
"They think we're traitors." Clark observed from his station.
"They think we're the enemy." Thorne corrected. She stood at tactical, her face still showing faint bruises from her fight with the shapeshifter on Sanctuary. "Which means we need to be very careful about how we approach this."
"Open a channel, Hayes." Stellar ordered. "Let's at least try diplomacy before things get violent."
The viewscreen flickered, and a man's face appeared. He was in his late fifties, weathered and hard, with the kind of face that came from decades of making difficult decisions. He wore a colonial governor's uniform...simple, practical, decorated only with the insignia of New Titan.
But it was Thorne's sharp intake of breath that told Stellar this wasn't just any colonial governor.
"Hello, Farrah." the man said, his voice carefully neutral. "I was told you were aboard the Pathfinder. I'd hoped the reports were wrong."
"Hello, Father." Thorne replied, her voice equally controlled.
Stellar's mind raced, reassembling everything he knew about Commander Farrah Thorne. Her file had mentioned family on New Titan, but she'd never talked about them. Never mentioned that her father was the governor of one of humanity's largest colonies.
"Governor Thorne," Stellar said, stepping forward. "I'm Captain Bub Stellar of the UES Pathfinder. I know what Admiral Chen has told you about us, but I'm asking you to hear us out before making any decisions."
"Admiral Chen warned me that you were persuasive." Governor Marcus Thorne replied. "That you'd come here with fabricated evidence and alien collaborators, trying to undermine Earth's authority. That you'd use my daughter's presence to manipulate me." His eyes shifted to Farrah. "She was right about that part, at least."
"Father, listen to me..." Farrah began.
"I am listening, Commander. I've been listening to reports about you for the past three days. Reports about mutiny. About desertion. About collaboration with aliens while Earth is under threat from The Confluence." Marcus's expression hardened. "You left home to serve Earth, Farrah. To be a soldier. To protect humanity. And now you're coming here with aliens and a captain who's wanted for treason. What am I supposed to think?"
"You're supposed to think that maybe, just maybe, the daughter you trained to question authority and think for herself might have a good reason for what she's doing." Farrah shot back.
"I trained you to think critically, not to commit treason."
"It's not treason if the admiral you're defying is the actual traitor!" Farrah's composure cracked. Took a beat to calm. "Father, Admiral Chen sold eight hundred thousand humans to The Confluence forty years ago. We have proof. She's been facilitating their harvest operations for decades, buying technology with human lives. And now The Confluence is coming here to claim New Titan, and Chen is going to let them do it because that's what she does!"
Marcus was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was quieter, more dangerous. "If that's true, and that's a very big if, then you'll present your evidence to the Colonial Council. We'll evaluate it. And if we determine it's legitimate, we'll take appropriate action through proper channels."
"All due respect, we don't have time for proper channels." Stellar interjected. "Governor, The Confluence filed a legal claim on New Titan six months ago. Their adjudication session is scheduled for ten days from now. If you don't have a defense prepared...a real defense, not just legal arguments, they will take this colony. They will sell your people to the highest bidder. And Admiral Chen has already been contacted to facilitate the transaction."
"That's a serious accusation, Captain."
"I'm okay with that because it's the truth." Stellar pulled up the data they'd recovered from the Korath database. "We'll transmit everything we have. Encrypted, so only the Colonial Council can access it. Review it. Then decide if we're the enemy."
Marcus studied him for a long moment. "Very well. Transmit your evidence. But Captain, understand this...New Titan has defensive capabilities that Admiral Chen helped us develop over the years. If you're lying, if this is some elaborate alien trick, you'll find that two million miners can be very resourceful when defending their home."
"We're counting on that, Governor," Stellar said. "Because if The Confluence comes here, you're going to need every miner, every engineer, every person who knows how to wield a plasma cutter to turn this place into a fortress."
The transmission ended.
The bridge was silent for a moment.
Then Stellar turned to Thorne. "Seriously, Commander? You want to explain why you never mentioned your father is the governor of New Titan?"
Thorne's jaw was tight. "Because we haven't spoken in seven years, sir. Not since I left home."
"Why did you leave? Mining wasn't in your future?"
"Because we disagreed about everything. About duty. About service. About what it means to protect people." Thorne's hand unconsciously touched her blaster. "He wanted me to stay here, take a position in the Colonial Guard, eventually succeed him as governor. I wanted to explore. To see what was out there. We had a...significant argument about it."
"Let me guess," Clark said. "He said you were abandoning your responsibilities. You said he was trying to control your life. Both of you said things you didn't mean. Classic father-daughter conflict."
"Something like that." Thorne admitted. "And now I'm back, asking him to believe that everything he's worked for, his relationship with Earth Command, the security agreements he's made, the technology transfers...all of it is based on a lie."
"Do you think he'll believe the evidence?" Stellar asked.
"I think he'll want to believe it's fake," Thorne said quietly. "Because if it's real, it means he's been played for years. That he's been helping Admiral Chen facilitate her conspiracy without knowing it. My father has a lot of pride, Captain. Admitting he was wrong about this... it'll break something in him."
Mitchell, perched on Stellar's shoulder, released a soft chirp. Carmelon, standing nearby, tilted his head listening to the bird.
"Mitchell senses deception," the professor said. "But not from Governor Thorne. From somewhere else on New Titan. Someone in the colonial government is lying."
"A Confluence plant? He can sense that?" Clark a little impressed.
"Maybe. Or maybe just someone who's been paid to feed information to Chen." Stellar moved to his command chair. "Either way, we need to be careful. Hayes, transmit the evidence package to Governor Thorne as promised. Full encryption, council-eyes-only. Clark, I want continuous scans of New Titan's surface. If there are any unusual power signatures, any hidden facilities, anything that suggests Confluence presence, I want to know about it."
"Yes, Captain."
"And Thorne..." Stellar looked at his second-in-command. "I need you to prepare a security team. If your father agrees to meet with us, we're going planetside. And I have a feeling whoever's feeding information to The Confluence isn't going to want that meeting to happen."
---
Six hours later, Stellar stood in a shuttle descending toward New Titan's main settlement, a city called Foundation that housed nearly a quarter of the colony's population.
Beside him sat Thorne, armed and alert. Clark had insisted on coming, claiming he wanted to see a working mining colony up close. Carmelon was there too, with Mitchell in his specially designed carrying case that allowed the eagle to observe while staying protected. And James sat near the back, his mechanical augmentations drawing curious stares from the shuttle pilot.
His grandfather had been quiet since they'd returned from the future. Knowing what was coming. Knowing his own fate in just a few days...had changed something in him. Made him more focused. More determined.
"You're thinking about it." James said quietly, breaking his silence.
"About what?" Stellar replied, though he knew exactly what his grandfather meant.
"About whether you can change it. Save me. Find another way." James's organic eye met Stellar's. "I've been thinking about it too. Whether I should try to avoid my fate. Whether knowing changes anything."
"And what did you decide?"
"That some things are worth dying for." James said simply. "And if my death in a few days saves New Titan, saves millions of people, starts the cascade that brings down The Confluence...then maybe that's the best ending I could ask for. Better than seventy years of slavery, certainly."
"I'm not ready to lose you, selfishly. " Stellar admitted. "I just found you."
"Then make the time we have count." James managed a slight smile with his organic half. "Besides, who knows? Maybe we'll find a way to change it. The Architects said the future knowledge was a guide, not a script. Maybe my fate isn't as fixed as we think."
"You don't believe that," Stellar said.
"No," James admitted. "But I'm trying to. For your sake."
Mitchell chirped from his case, a sound that Carmelon had learned meant sympathy, understanding.
"The bird knows, Commander." Carmelon said to James. "He senses your acceptance. Your peace with what's coming. And he's telling you, there's honor in that. In facing your fate with clear eyes."
"I hope he's right." James said.
The shuttle touched down on a landing pad near Foundation's government complex. Through the viewport, Stellar could see the city sprawling in every direction. Modular buildings designed for efficiency, connected by enclosed walkways that protected against New Titan's thin atmosphere. In the distance, the massive mining operations continued day and night, their lights visible even in the settlement's artificial glow.
And everywhere, people were watching.
Word had spread about the Pathfinder's arrival. The alien fleet in orbit. The accusations against Admiral Chen. Foundation's streets were filled with miners and their families, all of them trying to understand what was happening to their colony.
"Hostile crowd?" Thorne assessed.
"Confused crowd." Stellar corrected. "They don't know what to believe yet. That's what we're here to change."
The shuttle's ramp lowered, and they stepped out into New Titan's gravity, slightly lower than Earth standard, enough to make everything feel just slightly easier. A security detail waited for them, armed but not threatening. Colonial Guard, by their uniforms.
And at their head stood Governor Marcus Thorne.
Up close, he was even more imposing than he'd appeared on the viewscreen. Tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of presence that made people instinctively straighten their posture. Stellar could see where Farrah had gotten her intensity, her refusal to back down.
"Captain Stellar," Marcus said formally. "Welcome to New Titan. The Colonial Council has reviewed your evidence. They're waiting in the assembly hall."
"Did they believe it?" Stellar asked.
Marcus's expression was unreadable. "That's what you're here to explain. Follow me."
As they walked, Marcus's eyes fell on James, and the governor stopped mid-stride. "Commander James Stellar. I thought you were dead. Seventy years dead."
"Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated. James replied. "Though only technically. It's a long story, Governor."
"One I'm sure I'll want to hear." Marcus studied James's augmentations with something that looked like pity. "The Confluence did this to you?"
"They did. And they'll do worse to your people if you let them."
Marcus nodded slowly and continued walking.
They walked through the settlement, and Stellar was struck by how similar it felt to Earth. Yes, the buildings were different, the atmosphere was artificial, the gravity was lighter. But the people were human. Families walking together, children playing in designated areas, workers heading to and from shifts. This was someone's home. Two million someones.
And The Confluence wanted to turn it into a labor camp.
The assembly hall was a large circular chamber, designed to hold several hundred people but currently occupied by about twenty...the Colonial Council, Stellar assumed, along with various department heads and security personnel.
They all stopped talking when Stellar's group entered. And more than a few stared at James, recognition dawning on their faces. Commander James Stellar was a legend, the man who'd led humanity's first deep-space mission and disappeared into the void.
"Members of the Council," Marcus said, his voice carrying through the chamber, "I present Captain Bub Stellar of the UES Pathfinder, his officers, and...my daughter, Commander Farrah Thorne. And Commander James Stellar, who I'm told has returned from a very long journey."
A murmur ran through the crowd. Several council members were staring at Farrah with expressions ranging from surprise to disapproval. Others couldn't take their eyes off James.
"Commander Thorne," one council member, an elderly woman with sharp eyes, spoke up. "We heard you'd left Earth Fleet. We were told you'd deserted."
"I committed what Earth Command calls mutiny, Councilor Reyes," Farrah replied. "I refused to follow orders from an admiral who I discovered was a traitor to humanity. If that makes me a deserter in their eyes, I'll accept the label. But I'm not a traitor to my species."
"Strong words." another councilor said, a younger man, maybe forty, with the look of someone who'd spent years in the mines before moving into administration. "The evidence you transmitted makes even stronger accusations. You're claiming Admiral Elizabeth Chen, the woman who gave humanity the technology to expand beyond Sol system, has been selling human colonies to aliens. That's...that's insane."
"It's true." Stellar said, stepping forward. "I know it sounds impossible. I didn't want to believe it either. But the evidence is undeniable. Admiral Chen facilitated The Confluence's claim on the Novara colony forty-two years ago. Eight hundred thousand humans. She gave them coordinates, population data, everything they needed. And in exchange, The Confluence gave her the Sakura-Chen propulsion system."
"Every ship we've launched for the past four decades runs on technology bought with human lives," Clark added. "Including the ones that brought most of you to New Titan."
"If that's true," Councilor Reyes said slowly, "why? Why would she do it?"
"Because she thought she was saving Earth." Stellar replied. "The Confluence had filed a claim on Earth itself. Admiral Chen believed that if she gave them smaller colonies, sacrificed the few to save the many, she could keep Earth safe and gain technology that would make humanity stronger."
"The greater good argument." Marcus said. "Sacrifice some to save all."
"Except it doesn't work that way." Stellar countered. "Because The Confluence doesn't stop. Every deal makes you more dependent on them. Every transaction ties you deeper into their system. Chen bought Earth forty years of safety. But the bill is coming due now. The Confluence is claiming Earth, New Titan, and every other human colony they can find. All at once. And Chen can't stop them because she gave them the precedent. She taught them that humanity can be bought."
"Show us." The younger councilor demanded. "Show us proof that isn't just documents that could be forged. Show us something we can verify independently."
Stellar nodded to Carmelon, who opened Mitchell's case. The eagle emerged, spreading his wings and flying up to perch on the podium at the center of the council chamber.
"This is Mitchell," Stellar said. "A genetically enhanced bald eagle with augmented cognitive abilities, including the capacity to detect deception with remarkable accuracy. He's been right about every threat we've faced, every lie we've encountered. If you don't believe me, believe him."
Mitchell fixed his golden eyes on the council members, studying each one in turn.
Then the eagle released a sharp, harsh cry and launched himself at one of the councilors, a middle-aged man who'd been sitting quietly in the back. The man tried to duck, but Mitchell was faster, raking his talons across the man's face before Carmelon could call him back.
"What the hell!" the man shouted, blood streaming from the scratches. "That thing attacked me!"
"Mitchell doesn't attack without cause." Carmelon said calmly. "The bird is telling us something. Councilor...I'm sorry, I don't know your name."
"Councilor Weber." the man said, pressing a hand to his bleeding face. "And I'll be filing charges against..."
"Mitchell senses deception." Stellar interrupted. "Strong deception. Councilor Weber, what are you lying about?"
"I'm not lying about anything! This is insane!"
"Clark, scan him." Stellar ordered.
Clark pulled out a handheld scanner and pointed it at Weber. His expression changed as he read the results. "Captain, I'm picking up unusual energy signatures. Something implanted in his skull. It's...it's transmitting."
"Transmitting what?" Marcus demanded.
"Everything." Clark replied. "Audio, probably visual. Councilor Weber, you're broadcasting this entire meeting to someone."
Weber's expression changed, the panic replaced by cold calculation. "You can't prove that."
"The scanner proves it," Stellar said. "Who are you working for? Admiral Chen? The Confluence?"
"Does it matter?" Weber stood, backing toward the exit. "You're too late anyway. The arrangements have already been made. New Titan will accept Confluence terms. The people will be processed. The resources will be transferred. And humanity will be one step closer to..."
He didn't finish the sentence. Thorne moved like lightning, closing the distance and striking Weber in the throat. The councilor dropped, gasping for air, as Thorne secured his hands behind his back with practiced efficiency.
"Someone want to call medical?" Thorne asked calmly. "Also, we're going to need a technical team to remove that transmitter before whoever's on the other end decides to detonate it."
"What?" Clark's look on his face echoed the rest of the room. "That's a thing?"
The chamber erupted into chaos. Council members were shouting, security was moving in, and Governor Marcus Thorne was staring at his daughter with an expression that might have been pride or might have been horror.
"Order!" Marcus's voice cut through the noise. "Everyone calm down. Captain Stellar, Commander Thorne, you've made your point. Councilor Weber will be detained and interrogated. The transmitter will be removed and analyzed." He looked at the other council members. "As for the evidence Captain Stellar provided...I say we can now consider it credible."
"Governor," Councilor Reyes said, "if The Confluence is really coming here, if they really intend to claim New Titan...what can we possibly do? We're miners, not soldiers. We have some defensive capabilities, but against an alien fleet?"
"You fight like your life depends on it...because it does." Farrah said simply. "We prepare every defense we can. We turn this colony into a fortress. And we make The Confluence pay for every foot of ground they try to take."
"That's suicide." the younger councilor protested.
"Maybe," Stellar said. "Or maybe it's the beginning of something bigger. We're not just fighting for New Titan. We're fighting to prove that The Confluence can be resisted. That humanity doesn't have to accept slavery just because some ancient aliens think they own us." He looked at Marcus. "Governor, I know this is a lot to process. But we have ten days before The Confluence arrives for their adjudication session. In that time, we need to fortify this colony, coordinate with other human settlements, and build a coalition strong enough to make The Confluence think twice about their claim."
Marcus was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he looked at his daughter. "Farrah, is this really what you believe? That fighting is the only option?"
"I believe," Farrah replied, "that surrender is not an option. I believe that some things are worth dying for. And I believe that if we don't stand up now, there won't be anything left of humanity worth saving." She paused. "You taught me that, Father. You taught me that sometimes the hard choice is the right choice. Even when it costs everything."
Marcus's stern expression finally cracked, just slightly. "I taught you to be stubborn, I'll grant you that." He looked at Stellar. "Captain, you and your crew are officially guests of New Titan. We'll provide whatever support we can for your preparations. But understand, I'm not committing this colony to a war just on your word. The council will need to vote. The people will need to be informed. Democracy takes time."
"We don't have much time, Governor."
"Then I suggest you spend what time we do have wisely." Marcus gestured to his security detail. "Escort Captain Stellar and his officers to the guest quarters. And someone get Councilor Weber to the medical bay...after you sweep him for any other Confluence surprises he might be carrying."
As they were led out of the chamber, Stellar could hear the council erupting into heated debate behind them. Some voices calling for immediate action, others urging caution, still others demanding more evidence.
Democracy was messy. Slow. Frustrating.
But it was also what they were fighting to preserve.
"That went well." Clark said once they were in the corridor. "We only got attacked once. I'm calling that a win."
"We convinced them Chen is a traitor," Thorne agreed. "But we didn't convince them to fight. That's going to be harder."
"Not just harder," Stellar said. "Impossible, for some of them. There will be people on New Titan who think surrender is the logical choice. Who would rather accept Confluence terms than risk everything in a war they don't think they can win."
"Can we win?" Carmelon asked quietly, Mitchell now perched on his shoulder. "Even with the future knowledge, even with our allies from Sanctuary, can seventeen people and thirty-seven alien ships really defend a colony of two million against a Confluence fleet?"
James spoke up from behind them. "In the memories, the encoded ones from the future, I see fragments of the battle that's coming. New Titan holds. But the cost..." He paused. "The cost is significant. And I'm part of that cost."
"We're not talking about this here." Stellar said firmly. "Not in an open corridor where anyone could be listening. Back at the ship."
"Captain," Hayes's voice came through his comm. "We have a problem. Long-range sensors are detecting an incoming ship. It's broadcasting Earth Fleet identification codes."
"I've been waiting on a ship sent by Admiral Chen to arrest us." Stellar as calm as he could be, considering the circumstances.
"No, sir. This one is broadcasting diplomatic credentials. It's requesting permission to speak with Colonial Governor Thorne regarding the upcoming Confluence adjudication session."
Stellar felt cold dread settle in his stomach. "It's them. The Confluence envoy. They're already here."
"How is that possible?" Thorne demanded. "The session isn't scheduled for ten more days."
James stepped forward, his mechanical hand clenching. "I remember this moment. From the memories. The envoy arrives early with human prisoners. They use them as leverage."
"Yes...You remember it too?" Stellar asked.
"We all do, to varying degrees. The Architects encoded the knowledge in everyone who came back." James's expression was grim. "But remembering and experiencing are different things. I know what happens in a few days. But these next few days? These moments we're living right now? They're new. We can shape them. Maybe even change the outcome slightly."
"What do you mean?" Clark asked.
"I mean the timeline isn't completely fixed." James replied. "The Architects showed us the path to victory. But there's some flexibility in how we walk that path. Small deviations are possible. Maybe even necessary." He looked at Stellar. "You're wondering if you can save me. Change my fate. The answer is maybe. But you have to weigh that against whether changing it will cascade into other changes that lose us the war."
"Time travel..." Thorne muttered.
"Imagine living through it for real." James said with dark humor. "Knowing the day you're supposed to die. Knowing how. Knowing why. And having to decide whether to accept it or fight it."
"We're not discussing your death like it's inevitable." Stellar said. "We're going to find another way."
"Bub..."
"That's an order, Commander. We find another way."
James smiled slightly. "You sound like your grandmother. She never accepted the inevitable either."
"Hayes," Stellar said into his comm, "what's the ETA on that Confluence envoy ship?"
"Six hours, Captain."
"Clark, what do the memories tell us about the prisoners?"
Clark was quiet for a moment, accessing the encoded knowledge. "Three hundred humans. From a colony called Far Reach. The Confluence claimed it two years ago. The envoy will offer to release them if New Titan accepts terms."
"And if we refuse?"
"Then the prisoners return to Confluence custody. To the Collector's Guild." Clark's face darkened. "Captain, one of the prisoners...the memories are fragmentary, but I think...I think my sister might be among them."
The corridor went silent.
"Your sister?" Stellar asked carefully. "The one on the Destiny?"
"The same. The Destiny was en route to Far Reach when it disappeared. If Far Reach fell to The Confluence two years ago, and they're holding survivors..." Clark's hands were shaking. "Captain, I need to be there when that envoy ship arrives. I need to see if she's aboard."
"We'll all be there." Stellar promised. "But Clark, we need to be prepared for the possibility that..."
"That she's not there. Or that she is there but we can't save her without compromising everything." Clark took a breath. "I know. I understand the stakes. But I have to know."
Thorne placed a hand on Clark's shoulder. "We'll get her back, Commander. However we can."
"Actually," James said slowly, "we might be able to do both. Save the prisoners and expose The Confluence's true nature. But it's going to require something risky."
"How risky?" Stellar asked.
"We're going to have to let them board New Titan." James said. "Let the envoy present their case. Let them parade those prisoners in front of the colonial council. And then we're going to have to prove that those 'well-treated' prisoners aren't as willing as The Confluence claims."
"They'll be conditioned," Carmelon observed. "Drugged, perhaps. Or psychologically manipulated. The Confluence wouldn't bring hostile prisoners as evidence of their benevolence."
"Exactly," James agreed. "Which is where Mitchell comes in. The bird can detect deception, yes. But can he detect coercion? Manipulation? Break through whatever conditioning The Confluence has imposed?"
Everyone looked at Mitchell. The eagle tilted his head, studying them with those unsettling intelligent eyes.
Then he screeched once...sharp, clear, confident.
"The bird says yes." Carmelon translated. "He can sense when beings are not acting of their own free will. He can reveal the truth."
"Then that's our play," Stellar said. "We let the envoy arrive. We let them make their case. And then we use Mitchell to expose them. Show New Titan, show everyone watching, what The Confluence really does to the people they claim to treat fairly."
"It's a gamble." Thorne warned. "If it doesn't work, if Mitchell can't break through their conditioning, we'll have strengthened The Confluence's position."
"It'll work." Stellar said. "It has to. Because we need New Titan to fight, and they won't fight unless they understand what they're fighting against."
"Captain," Hayes's voice came through again, "Governor Thorne is requesting you return to the assembly hall. He says the council wants to meet the Confluence envoy, and they want you present when it happens."
"Tell him we're on our way." Stellar looked at his team. "Everyone back to the shuttle. We've got six hours to prepare for first contact with a Confluence diplomatic mission. Let's make it count."
They walked back through Foundation's corridors, and Stellar noticed the crowds had grown larger. Word was spreading fast. The Confluence was coming. The rogue captain had arrived with aliens and accusations. The colonial council was in crisis.
And through it all, two million people were trying to decide: fight or surrender? Risk everything or accept terms?
Democracy in action. Beautiful. Terrifying. Slow.
But freedom was what they were fighting for.
As they boarded the shuttle, James pulled Stellar aside. "You know this is where it starts, right? The cascade. The moment that begins the chain of events that, four hundred years from now, brings down The Confluence."
"Then let's not screw this up."
I have faith in you, grandson. You've got your grandmother's stubbornness and your father's tactical mind. Plus, you've got me. For a few more days, at least."
"Stop talking about your death like it's already happened."
"But it has happened. Just not yet...time travel is confusing."
Despite everything, Stellar smiled. "I missed having family, you know. For all my life, you were just stories. Legends. The grandfather who disappeared into space. And now I have you, and I'm going to lose you almost immediately."
"Then make these days count," James said. "Teach me about who you are. Let me get to know my grandson. Because when the time comes, IF the time comes, I want to die knowing I helped raise a captain worth following."
"You didn't raise me. That was my father."
"Well, I raised him. So by the transitive property of parenting, I get some credit." James's mechanical hand gripped Stellar's shoulder. "Come on. We've got a Confluence envoy to confront and three hundred prisoners to save. Plus, we need to stop by the ship and brief the rest of the crew. Chief Ramos is going to want to hear about the governor's defensive capabilities."
They climbed into the shuttle, Mitchell settling onto Stellar's shoulder as the engines powered up.
And as they lifted off, heading back to the Pathfinder in orbit, Stellar felt the weight of the future pressing down on him. He'd seen how this would end...or at least, one version of how it could end.
But James was right. The timeline had flexibility. Small changes were possible.
Maybe even necessary.
The question was: which changes helped, and which ones doomed them all?
Six hours until the Confluence envoy arrived.
Six hours to figure out how to save three hundred prisoners, expose The Confluence's true nature, and convince two million miners to fight an impossible war.
Mitchell screeched. Not a warning, but something that sounded almost like encouragement.
"The bird believes in you." Carmelon said. "That should count for something."
"He's a member of my crew. It counts for everything," Stellar replied.
The shuttle climbed toward the Pathfinder, toward the fleet of refugee ships, toward the coming confrontation.
And somewhere, racing toward New Titan at faster-than-light speed, a Confluence envoy ship carried three hundred human prisoners and the fate of two million more.
The war was about to get very real.
And very personal.