Anna_book

Kael Riven is a deserter, a man who vanished into the silence of space to forget a war—and the woman—he left behind. But when a hidden message from Mira resurfaces, Kael is pulled back into a deadly game of secrets, war, and redemption.

In a galaxy ruled by fear, one man’s past may be the key to its future.

The Last Orbit

Captain Seris Halden didn't look like a woman who owed anyone anything. She stood at the head of her bridge with the confidence of someone who had survived too much and trusted too little. Her ship, The Pyre, was one of the last flame-class carriers still operational—a relic, but one that still had bite.

I followed Allan down the ramp of our skiff, Mira trailing behind. Seris watched us approach, arms crossed, eyes sharp as ever.

"Allan Cort," she said without a smile. "Still picking bad company, I see."

"Better bad company than no company," Allan replied with a lazy grin.

She turned her attention to me. Her eyes lingered, not in recognition but in calculation. "You're Kael Riven."

"Then let's not waste time. What do you want?"

Direct. I respected that. "The Aethran Ring intercepted data from the Obsidian Protocol," I said. "They're replicating neural war-bending tech. And they're baiting me."

"You want to stop them," she guessed.

She raised a brow. "And why should I care?"

I didn't flinch. "Because they won't stop with me. They'll take every tool, every person, every ship they can bend to their cause. Including yours."

A silence stretched between us. Mira stepped forward.

"We're not here to beg," she said. "But we can offer something no one else can—Kael."

I shot her a look, but she didn't waver. She was right, in a way. I wasn't just a name to the Ring. I was a symbol, a threat, a ghost from their past with knowledge they couldn't afford to let roam free. That gave me leverage—and danger.

Seris finally spoke. "I'll give you one ship. A scout. Take it and go. If you come back alive, we'll talk."

We boarded The Sparrowhawk at dusk. It was a lean, fast vessel outfitted for stealth and rapid maneuvering. Mira took the helm, Allan handled comms, and I slid into the co-pilot seat. The stars awaited, endless and cold.

We launched in silence. I could feel the ship's hum in my bones, steady and alive. Out here, trust was a currency. Seris hadn't given much—but it was enough.

As we neared the edge of sector 7-C, the region where the transmission had originated, Mira broke the silence.

I looked at her. "We see if they're still human."

We dropped out of FTL near a derelict orbital station. Its hull was riddled with plasma scars, but there was power—just enough. A proximity alert pinged.

"Ship inbound," Allan called. "Single-man fighter. Unarmed. Approaching slow."

I narrowed my eyes at the display. "Put them through."

The comm crackled, then a voice. Female. Calm. Measured.

"Kael Riven. You shouldn't have come."

My throat tightened. That voice…

There was a pause. Then: "You knew me as Sera. Obsidian Unit 7."

I stared at the console. Sera was gone. Or so I'd believed.

"Allan, Mira—power down weapons. Not a scratch," I said.

The fighter docked. A moment later, a woman stepped into our bay—tall, hair cropped short, eyes sharp. She wore a plain jumpsuit, no insignia, no weapon drawn.

"I didn't come to fight," she said.

"They let me live. For my data. For what I knew about you."

Mira shifted beside me, tense. "What do you want?"

Sera looked at me. "To warn you. They don't want you dead, Kael. They want you to lead them."

"They'll make you. And if they can't… they'll make something worse."

The words hung between us like ash in the air. Then she turned.

"You have seven days before they move. After that, the Ring won't hide anymore."

We stood in silence as her ship peeled away into the black.

Allan broke it first. "So… what now?"

I clenched my jaw. "Now we go to war. But on our terms."

Phoenix And Ashes