The stars had always fascinated Aiden Vale.

As a child, he would spend hours staring through the transparent observation dome of Nova-7, one of humanity’s largest orbital stations. While everyone else admired the endless beauty of space, Aiden wondered what was hiding in the darkness between the stars.

His mother used to smile whenever she found him there.

“One day,” she would say, “those stars will answer your questions.”

She had disappeared twelve years ago during a deep-space research mission.

No wreckage was ever found.

No distress signal was ever received.

Only silence.

Since then, Aiden had stopped believing in miracles.

At nineteen, he worked as a maintenance technician aboard Nova-7. It wasn’t a glamorous job. While military pilots protected the colonies and scientists explored distant worlds, Aiden spent his days repairing damaged power lines, replacing air filters, and fixing old service drones.

His life was ordinary.

At least…

Until the day everything changed.

---

Nova-7 floated above the blue planet Eryndor, one of humanity’s richest colonies. Millions of people lived aboard the station, making it feel more like a floating city than a machine.

The station never truly slept.

Cargo ships arrived every hour.

Military cruisers departed for the frontier.

Commercial shuttles crossed the docking bays like schools of fish.

Aiden loved watching the traffic from the maintenance tunnels.

His best friend, Noah Briggs, often laughed at him.

“You spend more time looking at spaceships than fixing them.”

Aiden shrugged.

“They’re easier to understand than people.”

Noah grinned.

“You seriously need a vacation.”

Before Aiden could reply, every maintenance tablet in the tunnel beeped.

Emergency Maintenance Request

Sector 47-C

Restricted Access

Authorization Level Required

Noah frowned.

“Restricted?”

“Maintenance crews aren’t usually sent there.”

Aiden looked at the message.

“I’ll check it out.”

“I’ll be back in an hour.”

---

Sector 47-C had been abandoned for decades.

Most of its lights no longer worked.

The metal corridors were covered in dust, and the air carried the scent of burnt wiring.

As Aiden walked deeper into the forgotten section, his scanner began behaving strangely.

The screen flickered.

Signals appeared…

Then disappeared.

Almost as if something nearby was interfering with every electronic device.

He stopped outside a massive steel door.

Its identification number had faded long ago.

The emergency panel beside it flashed red.

Power Failure

Aiden connected his repair tool.

The damaged circuit should have taken five minutes to replace.

Instead…

The entire door suddenly unlocked by itself.

A loud metallic groan echoed through the corridor.

The giant entrance slowly opened.

Cold air rushed out from the darkness beyond.

Aiden frowned.

“I definitely didn’t do that.”

He activated his flashlight.

The beam revealed a gigantic chamber unlike anything else aboard Nova-7.

The walls weren’t made of ordinary metal.

They shimmered with strange silver patterns that seemed almost alive.

Thousands of glowing symbols covered the ceiling.

None belonged to any human language.

In the center of the chamber stood a massive crystal floating several feet above the floor.

It emitted a soft blue light.

Aiden slowly approached.

“This wasn’t built by humans…”

His scanner displayed only one message.

UNKNOWN MATERIAL

As he reached toward the crystal…

Every light aboard Nova-7 suddenly went out.

Darkness swallowed the station.

Emergency alarms echoed through every corridor.

Then…

The crystal opened.

Not cracked.

Opened.

Like a flower blooming.

Inside floated a small metallic sphere covered in glowing blue lines.

It drifted silently toward Aiden.

His heartbeat quickened.

He stepped backward.

The sphere stopped directly in front of him.

For several seconds…

Nothing happened.

Then a calm female voice echoed throughout the chamber.

“Genetic verification initiated.”

Aiden looked around.

“Who’s there?”

No answer.

The blue light surrounding the sphere scanned his face.

A second later…

The voice spoke again.

“DNA match confirmed.”

Aiden froze.

“Identity recognized.”

“Heir of Commander Elena Vale.”

His heart nearly stopped.

His mother’s name.

No one outside military records even knew it.

“Starborn Protocol activated.”

Before Aiden could move, the sphere shot forward.

It disappeared into his chest.

An intense surge of energy spread through his body.

His vision blurred.

Images flashed before his eyes.

Ancient starships…

Destroyed planets…

A civilization unlike anything humanity had ever imagined…

And his mother…

Standing beside beings made entirely of light.

She turned toward him.

As if she could actually see him.

“If you’re seeing this…”

“It means I failed.”

“But humanity still has one chance.”

“You.”

The vision shattered.

Aiden collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

Every alarm aboard Nova-7 suddenly stopped.

Silence returned.

Then a new voice echoed throughout the station.

Unlike the gentle voice before…

This one was cold.

Mechanical.

Emotionless.

Unauthorized Starborn technology detected.

Alerting Imperial Command.

Target identified: Aiden Vale.

Threat Level: Omega.

On the far side of the galaxy, aboard the colossal battleship Oblivion, a man dressed in black military armor slowly opened his eyes.

An officer rushed into the command bridge.

“My Lord…”

“The Starborn Core has awakened.”

The man’s expression hardened.

“So…”

He stood and looked out at the endless stars.

“After twenty years…”

“We’ve finally found the last Starborn.”

His flagship engines ignited.

A fleet of hundreds of warships turned toward Nova-7.