The warning came not from alarms but from the void itself.
The stars shifted. At first Maya thought her eyes blurred — then the darkness peeled apart, and shadows poured from the rift. Architect ships. Sleek, angular, lit with crimson glyphs. Dozens. Then hundreds.
"They followed the signal," Vector growled, shoving Maya back from the viewport. "We're boxed in."
Rei's fingers danced frantically across a shattered console, trying to patch together a defense scan. "Not boxed. Surrounded." His face lit with the glow of crimson runes spilling across the system. "And they're already locking onto us."
The first strike hit like thunder. The derelict ship lurched violently, plating screeching as explosions rippled across its broken hull. Sparks rained from the ceiling.
Maya staggered, clutching the rifle tight. The Archive pulsed in her chest, flaring hotter with every impact. The Ghost Fleet shimmered in answer, dormant glyphs glowing faintly, as though straining to wake.
"They're waiting for you," Rei shouted over the din. "Wake them, Maya! Command them!"
Vector grabbed her arm, dragging her toward cover as another blast tore through the chamber. "You'll kill yourself! You're not ready!"
The ship bucked again. Outside, Architects swarmed like a tide, their crimson beams lashing into the derelict's bones.
Maya pressed her forehead against the cold wall, trying to breathe. The Archive hissed louder, voices threading through the chaos. Activate. Anchor. Command. Her veins blazed with light, her pulse hammering in time with the fleet's glow.
And then, layered through the Archive's roar, came another voice.
Kiran.
His outline flickered faintly across the viewport, projected from the fleet itself. His voice cracked with static but carried with chilling clarity:
"Maya… if you wake them, you won't survive."
Her chest tore open with conflict. The ship shuddered again, sparks blinding her vision. Vector cursed, firing into a breach as drones poured through. Rei screamed for her to act, his eyes wild with desperation.
"Maya!" Vector's voice was raw, pleading. "You wake them, you burn yourself alive. You hear me? You'll die!"
"Maya!" Rei countered, blood streaking his face as he fought the console. "If you don't, we all die! Every second you hesitate, they close in!"
The walls trembled. Drones swarmed through the breaches, claws scraping, optics blazing crimson. The Ghost Fleet pulsed brighter, the Archive surging with power until it clawed at her throat.
And Kiran's voice whispered once more — softer this time, almost breaking.
"Please… don't."
Maya screamed, torn in two, her body trembling from the force building inside her. The Ghost Fleet was seconds from waking — if she gave the word.
🔥 Next chapter: The Awakening Fleet. A choice is made, and the void itself will burn.