Chapter 16: NuLL

Emma stood at the viewport, the cold breath of space pressing against the reinforced glass. Beyond, the stars stretched out in silent defiance, scattered across the abyss like distant promises. There had always been something comforting about the sight—the vastness, the certainty of their glow—but tonight, it felt different. It felt heavy, as if it carried the weight of everything yet to come.

Her father's journal remained unopened in her quarters, resting atop a stack of reports and neural interface logs. But it lingered in her thoughts, a tether to the past that refused to fade. *The green holds secrets,* he had once said, his voice wrapped in childhood memories, in whispered theories beneath sprawling tree limbs. She had unraveled some of those secrets—WoodDust's raw energy, its connection to life itself—but here, now, the puzzle was larger. And if she failed to solve it, Earth would cease to exist.

The K'tharr weren't like the Zogarians.

They didn't come to trade, to dominate, or to bargain for Earth's forests.

They came to erase.

Their fleet moved across galaxies like a wildfire—burning planets down to barren husks, leaving only silence where life had once thrived. And now, Earth was within their gaze. The Arbor, humanity's fragile defiance against extinction, had become the last barrier between survival and annihilation.

Mark stepped beside her, quiet in his approach, his presence weighted but familiar. His dark eyes reflected the same unease—the unspoken fear neither of them had yet named.

"The crew's ready," he said at last, folding his arms across his chest, his voice low.

Emma kept her gaze locked on the void. "They need to be."

His stare lingered on her, measuring. "We've never faced something like this. The Zogarians… that was war. This is different."

Emma exhaled slowly, the faint hum of the Arbor vibrating beneath her feet. "I know."

Mark's hand rested briefly on her arm, grounding her for a moment.

The bridge remained still, every pair of eyes trained on her—Chloe scanning navigational data, Maya analyzing intercepted transmissions, Liam hesitating near the sensor array. Each one carried their own weight, their own fears, but none of them backed down.

Emma straightened, forcing away the exhaustion creeping at the edges of her resolve.

"We'll figure it out."

The words settled between them, more a vow than reassurance.

"We've faced the void before—Zogarians, rival forces—and we're still here." She turned to face the crew, her voice steady, unwavering. "The K'tharr think they're inevitable, but they don't know us yet."

She let her gaze sweep the bridge, meeting each set of eyes, allowing the fire inside her to rise again—the same fire that had carried them through the first war.

"They'll learn."

A ripple of unspoken agreement moved through the crew, solidifying the moment, grounding them in what lay ahead.

As the Arbor's engines pulsed, driving them deeper into the unknown, Emma felt the weight of their mission settle fully onto her shoulders.

This wasn't survival.

This was war against extinction.