Helius Prime Academy did not return to normal after the Wrong Sky.
It only pretended to.
The corridors still operated on schedule. The instructors still enforced timing. The arena systems still activated exactly on cycle.
But underneath that structure—
everything had changed.
People spoke quieter now.
Not from fear.
From weight.
Because every senior currently walking these halls had watched friends die less than a week ago.
And every academy in the Federation knew it.
───
Helius Prime — Elite Dormitory Wing
Morning light spilled through the tall reinforced windows of Tower A while the Elite dormitory slowly came back to life around exhaustion nobody had fully recovered from yet.
Some seniors slept.
Some couldn't.
Others pretended they were fine because that was easier than explaining otherwise.
The tactical lounge at the center of the floor remained active despite the early hour.
Mostly because Adrian Alejandro Torres had apparently decided sleep was now optional.
"THIS IS A COVER-UP."
Torres stood in front of three floating holographic screens wearing academy sweats, one sock, and the expression of a man personally betrayed by civilization.
Around him—
the surviving Helius seniors looked deeply exhausted.
Aria Kestrel sat sideways across one of the couches rubbing her temples while Lucian Valerius reviewed Federation traffic feeds with the expression of someone rapidly losing patience with humanity.
Lysander and Sylas Forest occupied opposite ends of the lounge in complete silence while Mei Tanaka calmly typed across two datapads simultaneously.
Several surviving upperclassmen from Vega and Stella occupied nearby seating areas, all temporarily housed in Helius after recovery clearance.
Nobody interrupted Torres.
Mostly because it was too early to fight him.
"THEY CALLED IT AN 'UNEXPECTED ENGAGEMENT.'"
Torres pointed dramatically at the projection.
"UNEXPECTED?"
He spun toward the room.
"WE GOT THROWN INTO HELL."
Aria looked half asleep.
"You screamed for thirty seconds because a drone touched your hair."
"That was a DIFFERENT emotional event."
Lucian adjusted another report calmly.
"The language is deliberate."
That quieted the room slightly.
Because he was right.
Every Federation statement currently circulating through official channels sounded carefully sterilized.
"Tactical anomaly." "Hostile incursion." "Operational instability."
No mention of cadets trapped in collapsing sectors.
No mention of seniors dying while protecting evacuation lanes.
No mention of the black unmarked ships hidden behind enemy formations.
Torres looked personally offended by vocabulary itself.
"They are trying to make this sound manageable."
Mei finally looked up from her datapad.
"Because panic spreads faster than truth."
A pause.
"Especially political panic."
That landed.
Because everyone understood what this really was now.
Not just a battlefield disaster.
A Federation disaster.
Aria leaned back slowly against the couch cushions.
"…they're scared."
"Yes," Lucian answered immediately.
"Of what?"
Lucian's silver eyes shifted toward the largest tactical display.
"Loss of control."
Nobody argued.
Because for the first time in decades—
the Federation failed publicly.
And thousands of cadets watched it happen live.
───
Vanguard Fleet — Restricted Recovery Wing
Far away from Helius Prime—
Kael Ardent sat upright in a medical bed looking deeply suspicious of breakfast.
"…why is this green?"
Dr. Leona Voss didn't even look remotely sympathetic.
"Because your body needs nutrients."
"It looks radioactive."
"That's because your diet normally resembles a survival challenge."
Kael looked toward Ryven hopefully.
Ryven betrayed him instantly.
"She's right."
Kael looked devastated.
"You too?"
Ryven remained completely calm beside the bed.
"You drank anchovy juice."
"That happened once."
"It happened voluntarily."
"That feels judgmental."
The restricted recovery ward remained quiet around them, isolated deep within Vanguard Fleet's secured medical division.
Soft white light reflected across polished floors while medical scanners hummed steadily nearby.
Several recovering seniors from Titan and Stella occupied nearby recovery sectors, though most had already transferred back toward their academies after stabilization.
Only the severe cases remained.
Including Kael.
Unfortunately for him—
everyone around him currently possessed medical authority.
Which made escape difficult.
Dr. Cassian Rho reviewed another projection calmly.
"Your neural strain is improving."
Kael narrowed his eyes slightly.
"That sounded like there was a 'but' attached."
"There is."
"I knew it."
"You are still not fully healed."
"That sounds fake."
Cassian finally looked at him directly.
"You intercepted a superweapon."
"…details."
Ryven exhaled softly beside him.
Kael pointed immediately.
"You're supposed to support me emotionally."
"I am."
"That sounded extremely unsupportive."
"You're alive."
Kael paused.
"…okay that's fair."
Near the far side of the room, Supreme Commander Serena Benton stood beside the observation windows silently reviewing incoming command traffic.
Marcus Voss remained beside her.
Quiet.
Watching.
The atmosphere around them felt tense in a way that had nothing to do with the medbay.
Because the Federation was moving.
Fast.
And nobody trusted the direction yet.
A secure notification chimed softly across Serena's datapad.
She opened it once.
Read.
Then exhaled very slowly.
Marcus noticed immediately.
"…confirmed?"
"Yes."
That single word changed the atmosphere of the entire room.
Ryven looked up first.
Kael noticed second.
"…that sounded bad."
Serena turned toward them calmly.
"The Federation officially confirmed tomorrow's inquest."
Silence settled.
Not shocked.
Expected.
Kael leaned back against the pillows carefully.
"…that was fast."
"They're panicking," Marcus answered quietly.
Cassian nodded once toward the projection.
"Too much footage escaped containment."
That was the real problem.
Not the ambush itself.
The witnesses.
Every academy had already seen fragments of the Wrong Sky recordings.
They saw seniors holding evacuation lines while sectors collapsed.
They saw Kael Ardent command battlefield movement after official structures failed.
And they saw Ryven Voss refuse retreat repeatedly to protect him.
The Federation could not erase that anymore.
Kael rubbed the back of his neck carefully.
"…Helius knows."
Serena met his gaze directly.
"Yes."
A quieter silence followed that.
Not political.
Personal.
Because Kael understood what that meant now.
Everyone at Helius Prime knew.
About the bond.
About him.
About everything.
Ryven spoke before the silence could settle too deeply.
"They were always going to know eventually."
Kael looked sideways toward him.
"…still annoying."
"That sounds like denial."
"It IS denial."
That almost made Marcus laugh.
Almost.
Then another secure comm request flashed across Serena's datapad.
Torres.
Serena looked tired instantly.
"…should I answer this?"
Kael looked horrified.
"No."
Too late.
The holographic call activated automatically.
Adrian Alejandro Torres immediately appeared mid-rant from Helius Prime.
"SUPREME COMMANDER, I REQUIRE ARCHITECTURAL ACCESS."
Serena blinked once.
"…good morning, Torres."
"IT IS NOT A GOOD MORNING."
The projection shifted violently as Torres apparently started walking while talking.
"I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT KAEL IS BEING TRANSPORTED TO THE BENTON VILLA WITHOUT SECURITY PREPARATION."
Kael already looked exhausted.
"You are not getting the layout."
"THIS IS A VIOLATION OF MY TRUST."
"You don't have trust."
"THAT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE HIDE FLOOR PLANS FROM ME."
Ryven folded his arms quietly beside the bed.
"He wants it to be a surprise."
Torres froze mid-sentence.
Then looked personally betrayed.
"…you planned this?"
Kael looked far too pleased with himself.
"Maybe."
"YOU ARE BOTH TERRIBLE."
Behind Torres, several Helius seniors visibly pretended not to listen while absolutely listening.
Aria could actually be seen laughing in the background.
Lucian looked one sentence away from leaving the call entirely.
Torres pointed dramatically toward the screen again.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS TO SECURE A LOCATION I HAVE NEVER SEEN?"
"You're not securing it."
"THIS IS WHY I HAVE STRESS."
"You had stress before this."
"THAT IS IRRELEVANT."
Even Serena looked dangerously close to smiling now.
Torres narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"…why does everyone look calmer than me."
Marcus answered immediately.
"Experience."
"That felt targeted too."
Mei appeared briefly behind Torres holding another datapad.
"You left classified reports in the cafeteria again."
Torres gasped.
"THAT WAS A STRATEGIC STACK."
"That was a sandwich sitting on tactical projections."
"MULTI-TASKING."
Mei disconnected his side audio instantly.
The hologram vanished.
Silence followed for two full seconds.
Then—
Kael started laughing.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to break the pressure suffocating the room.
Ryven watched him quietly for a moment.
Alive. Laughing. Still here.
The tightness in his chest eased slightly.
Outside the medbay windows, Vanguard Fleet traffic continued moving steadily through distant docking sectors while somewhere far away—
the Federation prepared for war against itself.
Because tomorrow was no longer just an inquiry.
It was a line.
And everyone could already feel it approaching.