Fifteen years later.
The galaxy knew Kael Veyron by a different name: Ashborn.
He was tall, scarred, and silent. His right eye had been replaced with a military-grade optic—black with a faint red glow. His left arm, from elbow down, was synthetic alloy grafted after a mining accident he barely survived. The arm wasn't just metal; it housed hidden plasma blades and a pulse cannon.
He worked as a bounty hunter across the outer systems. Not for money. For information.
Every captured pirate. Every dismantled crime syndicate. Every smuggler interrogated. He asked only one thing:
"Where is Malrik Thorne?"
Most people in the galaxy whispered that name with fear. Once a decorated admiral. Now ruler of the authoritarian regime known as the Iron Dominion.
To the galaxy, Malrik was a tyrant.
To Kael, he was a debt unpaid.