The ship shook like it was caught in a storm. Red light carved through the hull as Architect fire hammered them from all sides. Vector fired into the breach, each shot a curse, each step a refusal to give ground. Rei clung to the console, blood streaking his jaw, his eyes wild with desperation.
And Maya—
Maya stood in the center of it, her body trembling as the Archive roared inside her veins. The Ghost Fleet glowed brighter in the void, hundreds of ships pulsing like a heartbeat waiting to be answered.
"Do it!" Rei shouted. "Now, Maya! Command them!"
"Maya, no!" Vector's voice cracked, raw with fear. "It'll kill you!"
The choice slammed into her chest like a blade.
Then the Archive whispered one word, and the world obeyed.
"Awaken."
The void lit up.
The first ship flared to life, glyphs burning across its hull. Then another. Then dozens. A chain reaction surged outward as the Ghost Fleet stirred, ancient reactors roaring awake after centuries of silence. Their engines ignited like suns, their cannons glowing with unspent fury.
The Architects faltered. Their crimson tide slowed, stuttering, as the Ghost Fleet spread its wings.
Maya screamed, the sound tearing from her throat as power poured through her body. Her veins blazed, the rifle fused to her hands thrumming like a living heart. The Archive pulled her higher, deeper, until she wasn't just Maya anymore—she was the fleet.
Every ship's sight was hers. Every cannon's hunger was hers. She raised the rifle, and in the void, the Ghost Fleet raised its guns.
"Fire," she whispered.
The fleet answered.
Blinding lances of energy ripped across the void, cutting through Architect ships like paper. Whole formations shattered, vessels exploding in crimson fire. The swarm broke apart, scattering, desperate to flee the storm they had awakened.
Vector shielded his face from the glow, his voice raw. "Gods…"
Rei staggered forward, awe burning through his exhaustion. "She's doing it. She's really—"
But Maya wasn't listening.
Because beneath the Archive's roar, another voice rose.
Kiran.
"Maya…" His voice threaded through the Ghost Fleet, layered with static, trembling. "Stop. They're using me… through the fleet. Every ship you fire—every system you wake—pulls me deeper. You're not saving me. You're burying me."
Her chest constricted. For a moment the Archive faltered, the fleet flickering in hesitation.
"Maya!" Vector's shout dragged her back. "Stay with us!"
The Archive hissed louder, drowning Kiran's voice, feeding her the fleet's vision of victory, of fire and annihilation.
She stood at the center of a war reborn, holding the power of an empire in her veins—while the only voice that mattered begged her to stop.
🔥 Next chapter: The Cost. Victory never comes without sacrifice, and Maya is about to find out just how high the price will be.