Fractured Resolve

The city streets were eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos that had consumed them mere days ago. Fires from the last battle had finally died, but the scars remained—crumbling buildings, shattered roads, and the lingering stench of blood and smoke.

The team was spread out, patrolling different sectors, making sure no enemy forces remained.

Kai sighed, kicking a loose piece of rubble. "This feels pointless. If Lionel's really planning something big, we should be hitting him first, not playing cleanup."

Rose smirked, twirling her Yari. "Aw, what's wrong? Getting tired of walking?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying—"

His communicator beeped.

Aika's voice came through. "Change of plans. We've been summoned by Mars' Sovereign."

Kai frowned. "That's… unexpected."

Markus, who had been silent up until now, tightened his grip on his weapon. "Let's move."

The Sovereign's Palace stood untouched amidst the ruins of the city, a beacon of authority despite the growing shadow of war. The towering entrance loomed over them as golden doors slid open, leading them inside.

Massive pillars lined the halls, carved murals of Mars' history decorating the walls. But there was no pride in these halls today. Only whispers, urgency, and fear.

At the end of the grand chamber, seated upon a throne of obsidian and steel, was Sovereign Kaelus Redspire.

His regal robes, deep crimson with golden embroidery, looked heavier than usual, as if the weight of his decision was already pressing on him. His sharp silver eyes studied them, unreadable, but there was something different about him today.

Something none of them expected.

Defeat.

The room was filled with advisors, all whispering frantically amongst themselves, maps and documents scattered across the war table.

Kaelus exhaled, standing from his throne. His voice was calm, but heavy.

"Mars is lost."

The words hit like a hammer.

Kai narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Kaelus walked forward, his gaze hardening. "Lionel's forces are beyond what we can handle. This war is already over. We do not have the manpower or the time to mount an effective defense." He turned to face them fully. "I am ordering the evacuation of Mars."

Silence.

Rose's tail flicked in agitation. "You're running?"

Kaelus met her gaze. "I am ensuring our people survive."

Markus' jaw tightened. "Where will you go?"

Kaelus turned toward the war table, pressing a hand against the holomap. A projection of the colonies flickered to life.

"As much as it pains me, yes... But this evacuation is going to be a brutal one," he admitted, his voice steady but laced with frustration. "It will take a month to prepare. In that time, we will need you—alongside the best soldiers we have—to hold Lionel at bay."

Before anyone could respond, the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps echoed through the chamber.

Crowne walked in, arms folded, a smirk stretched across his face. "What a coward…"

The tension in the room snapped.

One of the Sovereign's guards immediately stepped forward, hand on his weapon. "You dare speak to him that way?!"

"Enough," Kaelus raised a hand, stopping the confrontation before it escalated. His gaze, however, remained firm. "Let him speak."

Crowne didn't hesitate, his grin unfaltering. "I just call it how I see it. You're running because you know we can't win."

Kaelus exhaled slowly. "I am no coward. I am putting the people first." His expression hardened. "We were not prepared for an invasion this soon after the Pirate War. And Lionel—he is mass-producing ships at a record speed. Faster than anything we've ever seen."

Kai narrowed his eyes. "How? We still don't know how he built an entire war fleet so fast."

Kaelus shook his head. "No, but what we do know is that we cannot outmatch him. Our only hope is to evacuate to Mercury. They may not have the most powerful orbital fleet, but they are already using the information we have gathered from this war to enact countermeasures."

Kaelus met her gaze without hesitation. "Pray those countermeasures work."

The room fell silent again, the weight of the situation pressing down on them.

Markus clenched his fist. "Then we hold the line."

Kaelus nodded. "Yes. And we only have one month to do it."

- 3 Hours later

Marsnia, the last stronghold of Mars, stood defiant. Its towering walls, reinforced with advanced alloys and puling neon-blue circuits, fed into the city's vast defense grid. Above, drones patrolled the perimeter, scanning for any sign of Lionel's forces.

Inside, steel skyscrapers loomed over tense streets. Holographic displays warned of evacuation orders, while hover trams zipped between civilians and armed patrols. The air was thick with unease—Marsnia's time was running out.

At the edge of the wall, Arnik sat, battle-ready, his gaze locked on the horizon. Wind whipped through his hair, but he didn't move. His fingers twitched against his knee, ready. Marsnia wouldn't hold forever.

But until then, he would fight.

Footsteps approached from behind.

Aika.

She hesitated for a moment before softly speaking. "Mind if I sit with you?"

Arnik didn't answer immediately. His gaze remained locked on the horizon, but after a brief pause, he nodded.

She settled beside him, pulling her legs close, hugging them tightly. For a while, neither spoke, the distant hum of patrol ships the only sound in the cold night air.

"…It doesn't feel real," Aika finally murmured.

Arnik's fingers twitched slightly. "War never does."

Aika exhaled shakily. "I almost died."

Arnik's grip on his arm tightened, but he didn't respond.

Her voice was quieter now, barely more than a whisper. "I thought that was it. That my life was just… over." Her hands curled into her sleeves. "I keep thinking about it. How close it was. How fast it could've all just—ended."

She swallowed hard. "I don't want to die."

Arnik closed his eyes for a second, inhaling deeply. "None of us do."

"But we will, won't we?" she said, her voice breaking slightly. "If Lionel sends another one of those things after us, if we fight again like that—we might not make it next time."

Arnik's jaw clenched. He wanted to tell her she was wrong. That they would survive. That there was no 'next time' where they lost.

But he couldn't.

Because she wasn't wrong.

Instead, he shook his head. "We don't have the option to think like that."

Aika turned to him, her brows furrowed. "That's not an answer."

His grip tightened on his arm. "It's the only one that matters."

Aika let out a short, breathy laugh—one that held no amusement. "Right. Just push it down and keep moving forward."

Arnik didn't say anything.

She looked down at her trembling hands. "I don't think I can do that." Her voice was small. "I don't want to be afraid all the time. I don't want to wake up wondering if today is my last day."

Her fingers dug into the fabric of her sleeves. "I hate this." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I hate being this scared."

Arnik finally looked at her. "That fear means you're still alive."

Aika swallowed. "And what if we fail?"

"We don't."

She turned toward him, her eyes wet. He didn't say it with arrogance or blind optimism. He said it like a fact. Like something set in stone.

Her shoulders trembled.

And then, the weight of everything finally crashed down.

Tears spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them. She tried to hold it in, tried to keep herself together, but the dam had already broken.

Without thinking, she turned into him, clutching his shirt in her hands.

Arnik stiffened.

He wasn't used to this. Wasn't used to being the one someone relied on.

But when she sobbed into his chest, shaking from something deeper than exhaustion, he didn't pull away.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he rested a hand on her back, fingers tightening slightly.

He let her cry.

And for the first time in a long time, Arnik allowed himself to just be there.

Then—

Her voice, quiet, uncertain. "Arnik…"

He glanced down at her.

"Do you remember when we talked about what we would do after graduation?"

Arnik's brow furrowed slightly. "Yeah… you couldn't make up your mind."

Aika let out a small laugh, but it was weak, shaky. "I think I always knew, though."

Arnik blinked. "Oh?"

Her heart pounded in her chest, but she forced herself to look up at him.

"What I always wanted was…" she hesitated, then moved closer, her face inches from his. Her wide, innocent eyes locked onto his with a vulnerability he hadn't seen before. "I wanted to be a mother."

Arnik's entire body locked up. His face went red for a brief second before he managed to respond. "That's… so awesome."

Aika smiled weakly, looking down. "I want to have someone I can love… I'm not a fighter."

Arnik tilted his head slightly. "Then why join?"

She hesitated. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Because… I don't want to be separated from my friends." She looked back at him, her eyes filled with something raw, something painful. "You're all I have left."

Arnik's breath hitched slightly.

She's sacrificing her sanity… for us.

…Do you really think we'll win?" Aika finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Arnik exhaled, his breath visible in the cool night air. "We don't have a choice."

Aika turned to him, her eyes wide, filled with uncertainty. "That's not an answer."

He didn't look at her, his gaze locked on the horizon. "It's the only one that matters."

Aika let out a bitter laugh, looking down at her hands. "I don't want to die."

Arnik clenched his jaw. He had nothing to say to that.

Because he didn't want to either.