The beam from the Imperial flagship tore through space like a second sun.

Its blinding light rushed toward Nova-7, swallowing everything in its path.

People screamed.

Ships scattered in every direction.

The station’s defensive shields flared one last time before shattering into millions of glowing fragments.

“Move!” Orion shouted.

He grabbed Aiden and Noah as a hidden transport ship rose from beneath the cargo platform.

Its sleek silver hull bore no military insignia, only a single blue star engraved near the cockpit.

The rear hatch opened automatically.

“Get inside!”

The three of them leaped aboard just as the transport blasted away from the station.

Seconds later…

The Imperial cannon struck Nova-7.

A massive explosion lit up the darkness of space.

Entire sections of the station broke apart, drifting into the endless void.

Aiden watched through the rear window in disbelief.

The place he had called home for nineteen years was gone.

His voice trembled.

“…There were millions of people.”

Orion remained silent, his hands firmly on the controls.

The small ship accelerated toward a nearby asteroid field.

Behind them, black Imperial fighters launched from the flagship.

“They’re following us!” Noah shouted.

More than twenty enemy fighters closed in, their engines glowing crimson.

Lasers flashed across space.

The transport shook violently as explosions erupted around it.

One blast struck the left engine.

Warning lights flooded the cockpit.

“We’ve lost engine stability,” Noah said after checking the control panel.

Orion stayed calm.

“Good.”

Aiden stared at him.

“Good?”

Orion smiled slightly.

“They’ll think we’re slowing down.”

Instead of escaping, he steered directly into the dense asteroid field.

Huge rocks spun through space at incredible speeds.

The Imperial pilots hesitated.

“Sir,” one of them reported, “the asteroid field is too dangerous.”

The squadron commander replied coldly.

“Destroy them.”

The fighters entered the field.

Orion’s transport twisted between the massive asteroids with unbelievable precision.

One fighter miscalculated.

It smashed into a floating boulder and exploded instantly.

Another collided with a second Imperial ship.

The field became a deadly maze.

Aiden held onto his seat as the transport narrowly avoided a rotating asteroid larger than a skyscraper.

“You’ve done this before…”

Orion’s eyes never left the controls.

“I trained your mother.”

Aiden looked at him in surprise.

“You knew her well?”

Orion nodded.

“Better than anyone.”

“Elena Vale wasn’t just a scientist.”

“She was one of the greatest pilots humanity has ever known.”

Before Aiden could ask more questions, the cockpit radar beeped.

Three Imperial fighters had broken through the asteroid field.

“They’re still behind us,” Noah warned.

Orion sighed.

“I was hoping to avoid this.”

He pressed a hidden switch.

The transport’s engines suddenly glowed bright blue.

The entire ship seemed to transform.

Panels shifted.

Wings expanded.

Energy surged through the hull.

Aiden stared in amazement.

“This isn’t a cargo ship…”

Orion smiled.

“No.”

“It’s a Starborn Scout.”

The ship accelerated with unbelievable speed.

Within seconds, the distance between them and the Imperial fighters doubled.

One by one, the enemy ships disappeared from the radar.

Noah let out a long breath.

“I think we lost them.”

Orion looked toward the stars ahead.

“No.”

“We’ve only delayed them.”

---

Hours later…

The transport emerged from hyperspace.

Aiden looked through the cockpit window.

There was no space station.

No colonies.

No fleets.

Only a lonely gray planet floating beneath a dying blue sun.

The world looked completely lifeless.

“What planet is this?” Aiden asked.

Orion answered quietly.

“Elysia.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“You weren’t supposed to.”

The ship landed inside a massive canyon hidden beneath thick clouds.

As the hatch opened, cold wind swept across the rocky landscape.

Ancient ruins stretched as far as the eye could see.

Towering stone pillars.

Broken statues.

Half-buried buildings unlike anything humanity had ever built.

Aiden stepped onto the ground.

He felt… something.

A strange connection.

Almost as if the planet itself recognized him.

The air suddenly shimmered.

A blue hologram appeared before him.

A woman’s figure slowly took shape.

Aiden’s heart stopped.

“Mom…”

Elena Vale smiled gently.

It wasn’t really her.

Only a recorded message.

“If you’re seeing this, Aiden…”

“…then Orion succeeded.”

Aiden took a step forward.

“I knew this day would come.”

“The Starborn Core has chosen you because there is no one else.”

She looked toward the distant ruins.

“Long before humanity reached the stars, another civilization protected this galaxy.”

“They called themselves the Starborn.”

“They created worlds.”

“They ended wars.”

“And they sealed away something far more dangerous than any empire.”

Her expression became serious.

“The Imperium believes the Starborn left behind weapons capable of ruling the universe.”

“They’re wrong.”

“What the Starborn sealed…”

“…was never a weapon.”

“It was a prison.”

Aiden felt a chill run down his spine.

“A prison?”

“For what?”

Before the recording could answer…

The ground began to shake violently.

Orion immediately drew a plasma pistol.

“No…”

“We’ve been followed.”

A deafening roar echoed across the canyon.

Above them, black dropships descended through the clouds.

Their engines illuminated the ruins.

Imperial soldiers poured onto the ancient world.

Standing at the front of the invasion force…

Was Grand Admiral Kael Draven himself.

His cold eyes locked onto Aiden.

He smiled.

“I finally found you.”

Behind the Admiral…

The largest stone gate in the ruins slowly opened by itself.

Something ancient…

Something alive…

Awakened beneath the planet.