Ra’haam.
An enemy set to swallow the races of the galaxy one by one.
Until there’s nothing left but it.
As far as we can tell, only the Octavia nursery has hatched so far. Maybe it has something to do with the assault, or the Terran colony that settled there, some other variable. All we know for certain is that as bad as things are now, they’re gonna get twenty-one times worse once those other nursery worlds hatch.
This war is over almost before it’s begun.
The fear of it is like a wildfire, sweeping the Milky Way just as the enemy sweeps out into the Fold. The other races begin panicking, some going so far as to destroy the FoldGates into their systems—cutting themselves off into a new, pre-Fold Dark Age rather than allow the Ra’haam to colonize their worlds. And all the while, those spores billow outward, glowing ghostly blue even in the muted colorscape of the Fold.
Endless.
Relentless.
The corrupted fleet rides the spore wave, cruising like dark shadows among a glowing, glittering storm billions of kilometers across. And as I watch the snatches of footage on the feeds, awash in the terror of it all, I can’t help but sink into hopelessness.
I did just what my vision told me. I stopped the destruction of Aurora Academy, averted whatever calamity might have followed the destruction of the Galactic Caucus. I did as I was asked.
And in doing so, I’ve helped hand the Ra’haam a massive battle fleet it might otherwise never have had.
Scar and Fin carved a pathway across time, Zila gave her life to form the Aurora Legion in the past to fight against this thing, Auri and Kal gave up their lives to try to secure the Weapon, and yet, here the Ra’haam is, spewing out into the Fold just like it always wanted, just like it always planned.
Maybe after all we’ve done, Squad 312 only made things worse.
And even after all I did to save Aurora Station, it will count for nothing. Because Aurora Station is where that Ra’haam fleet is headed next.
Our logistics teams have confirmed it. Course plotted. Data correlated.
The Ra’haam is coming here.
And it’ll arrive in less than twenty hours.
No help is coming. No miracle on its way. We’re outnumbered and outgunned—though we still have reserve ships and a defense grid, the simple fact is, a fleet that size will make short work of any resistance we can muster.
“Scar, you’ve gotta get out of here.”
We’re standing on the promenade, the chaos of the crowd milling around us. What’s left of station command has confirmed the Ra’haam is inbound to Aurora Station, and all nonessential personnel have been ordered to evacuate. Vendors and their families are hastily packing up their stores and possessions, the dark outside lit up by the flare of hundreds of engines—shuttles and carriers and freighters streaming through the FoldGate, headed toward whatever safety they can find.
“Brother mine,” Scarlett says, “you’re out of your mind.”
“I mean it,” I say, waving to the station around us. “The time for diplomacy is long gone, Scar. There’s no sense you staying here.”
“There’s no sense in anyone staying here, far as I can tell,” Fin says.
“Thank you!” Scar cries, giving Fin a dramatic bow. “At last, someone here is talking sense!”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be talking at all,” I mutter.
My Gearhead flashes me a grin, his new exosuit hissing softly as he shrugs. “We all knew it was too good to last.”
“Seriously, Tyler, we should evac with th—”
“I can’t do that, Scar. I swore an oath to the Legion when I joined it.”
“The Legion?” she scoffs. “Tyler, we lost most of our commanders and nearly all our ships when Octavia bloomed! The Legion is absolutely fuc—”
“I know!” I say, my temper flaring. “I know better than anyone! Trust me, I’ve run this math with de Stoy a thousand times! But if I’m gonna die, then I’m gonna die fighting! And the best place to fight from is here!”
She meets my stare and simply shrugs. “Then I’m staying with you.”
“Scar, no, there’s no—”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Scar shouts. “I didn’t join the Legion because I wanted to make the galaxy a better place! I didn’t join it to be a hero! I joined it because you’re my baby brother and I look after you! And I didn’t drag my fabulous ass across time and space and collapsing paradox loops just to turn and run at the first sign of a little galaxy-shattering cataclysm, you hear me?”
I look my sister in the eye.
I’ve known Scarlett Isobel Jones my entire life. I know her better than anyone in the ’Way. I know she coasted her way through the academy, that she never really took this as seriously as she could, that maybe she was never the best recruit in the Legion.
But I can see now how the trials she’s faced and the battles she’s fought have changed my sister. She’s harder than she used to be. Braver. I can see that over the past few months she’s found a well of strength inside herself even she never knew existed. But there’s one thing about Scarlett Isobel Jones that’s remained the same. One thing all this loss and struggle haven’t managed to change.
She still loves more fiercely than anyone I’ve ever met.
“Scarlett,” I say. “If you stay here, you’re going to die.”
“I lost you once, Ty,” she replies, chin raised. “I’m not doing it again.”
Fin steps up beside her, taking her hand. “Looks like you’re stuck with both of us, boss.”
I sigh, looking out the massive viewport to the stars outside. The fleeing ships. The fall of a galaxy.
I know there’s no way out of this. I know we’re looking down the barrel of our own execution. And I remember what it felt like fighting Cat in the reactor. Looking into those glowing eyes. Bleeding out on the floor. That awful moment when I wondered if it wouldn’t be better to just lose myself in the Ra’haam rather than die alone.
I know how stupid that fear was now. Because even in my darkest hours, I’ve never been alone. And so I put my arms around Scar, hold her tight, grabbing Fin and pulling him in, too.
This is what family is, I realize.
To never be alone.
The lighting around us shifts to red. An alarm pitches across the PA, a metallic voice echoing across the promenade.
“Aurora Station, this is Battle Leader de Stoy. Red alert: Unauthorized vessels inbound. All stations Ready one.”
“Oh shit … ,” Scarlett whispers.
“Repeat, this is Battle Leader de Stoy. Multiple unauthorized vessels breaching Aurora FoldGate. All stations Ready one status.”
“It’s here,” Fin breathes.
“No,” I frown, easing them both out of my arms and looking through the viewport at the gate beyond. “The Ra’haam is still nineteen hours fr—”
“Legionnaire Jones, this is de Stoy, do you copy?”
I tap the comm badge at my chest.
“I read you, Commander.”
“You’d best get your tail up to C&C on the double, soldier.”
I look to the FoldGate again, my belly twisting as dark shapes begin pouring through the rift.