She stared at her hands.

“Kai…”

“I see it.”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“That’s good.”

“No.”

She looked at him.

“That’s worse.”

The entire corridor shook again.

Astra City Seven’s emergency lights flashed.

A mechanical voice echoed through the city.

“ECLIPSE PROTOCOL ACTIVE.”

Kai looked at the ceiling.

“We have to get out.”

“Where?”

“To the central tower.”

“That’s where Voss is.”

“Exactly.”

Lena stared at him.

“You want to go toward the man trying to capture me?”

“Yes.”

“Your plans are terrible.”

“I’ve been told.”

They ran.

---

The city was in chaos.

People were running through the streets.

Screens displayed warnings.

ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM FAILURE.

ALL CITIZENS REMAIN INDOORS.

Lena watched terrified families being pushed into shelters.

“What is happening?”

Kai shook his head.

“The Eclipse Engine is drawing energy from every Astra City.”

“Then my father was right.”

“Maybe.”

A loud explosion shook the street.

A building lost power.

The artificial sky above them flickered.

For the first time, Lena saw the real darkness of space.

Stars appeared above the city.

Beautiful.

Cold.

Endless.

She stopped.

Kai grabbed her hand.

“Come on.”

She followed.

---

They reached the central tower.

The doors were locked.

Kai pulled out his security card.

Red light.

ACCESS DENIED.

He tried again.

Nothing.

Lena touched the door.

The blue light beneath her skin flashed.

The door immediately opened.

Kai stared.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

Lena looked at her hand.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Apparently the city disagrees.”

They entered.

The elevator opened automatically.

Inside was a single button.

ECLIPSE CORE

Lena pressed it.

The elevator began descending.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Far beneath the city.

Lena looked at Kai.

“How far does this go?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s reassuring.”

The elevator continued downward.

Then suddenly stopped.

The doors opened.

They stepped into a massive chamber.

At its center floated a sphere of blue energy.

Around it were hundreds of cables.

The machine was enormous.

Kai whispered,

“The Eclipse Core.”

Lena felt something inside her react.

The blue light in her chest became brighter.

She stepped forward.

The machine responded.

WELCOME, LENA VALE.

She froze.

Kai stared at the machine.

“It knows you.”

A holographic image appeared.

Her father.

“Lena.”

She looked at him.

“Dad.”

“I know you’re angry.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“I should have told you everything.”

“Yes.”

He looked down.

“The Eclipse Engine was built from technology recovered from an object found beneath the Arctic ice.”

“What object?”

“A spacecraft.”

Lena stared.

“An alien spacecraft?”

Her father nodded.

“Yes.”

Kai looked shocked.

“Why didn’t anyone know?”

“Because the government wanted the technology.”

“What did they find?”

Her father hesitated.

“A message.”

“What message?”

His hologram changed.

A strange symbol appeared.

Then a translation appeared beneath it.

DO NOT WAKE THE SKY.

Lena’s face went pale.

“What does that mean?”

Her father looked terrified.

“We don’t know.”

The chamber suddenly shook.

The Eclipse Core began spinning faster.

ENERGY LEVEL: 78%

Kai looked at the machine.

“Something is wrong.”

Lena stepped closer.

“What?”

“The engine is powering itself.”

“Isn’t that what it’s supposed to do?”

“No.”

He pointed at the display.

“Nobody is controlling it.”

The screen changed.

A new message appeared.

EXTERNAL INTELLIGENCE DETECTED.

Lena whispered,

“What does that mean?”

The lights went out.

Then a voice filled the chamber.

Not human.

Not mechanical.

Something else.

“LENA VALE.”

She froze.

Kai reached for his weapon.

“Who are you?”

The voice ignored him.

“YOU HAVE RETURNED.”

Lena’s heart raced.

“Returned from where?”

Silence.

Then:

“FROM THE STARS.”

The entire chamber filled with images.

Lena saw a planet.

A blue planet.

Then a massive spacecraft.

Then hundreds of strange beings.

And finally—

herself.

A little girl.

Standing inside the alien spacecraft.

Lena gasped.

“No.”

Kai stared at the images.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know.”

The hologram showed Lena’s father.

He was carrying a baby.

Lena.

Behind him stood several scientists.

And an alien symbol.

Her father spoke.

“We found her inside the spacecraft.”

Lena’s eyes widened.

“You found me?”

The recording continued.

“She was alive.”

“We didn’t know where she came from.”

“Her DNA wasn’t completely human.”

Lena stepped backward.

“Stop.”

The recording continued.

“We studied her.”

“Her body could communicate with the alien technology.”

“That’s why the Eclipse Engine responds to her.”

Lena covered her mouth.

Kai moved closer.

“You didn’t know?”

She shook her head.

“No.”

Her father’s hologram looked at her.

“I wanted you to have a normal life.”

“You lied.”

“I know.”

“You made me believe I was human.”

“You are human.”

“Am I?”

He smiled sadly.

“You were raised human.”

Lena looked at the alien symbol.

“What am I?”

The voice answered.

“OUR LAST CHILD.”

Everything went silent.

Kai stared at Lena.

She couldn’t speak.

The voice continued.

“YOUR WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME.”

Lena’s eyes filled with tears.

“Where is my home?”

The machine displayed a distant galaxy.

“BEYOND THE STARS.”

Suddenly, the entire Eclipse Core turned red.

WARNING.

WARNING.

UNKNOWN SHIP APPROACHING.

Kai looked at the display.

“Something is coming.”

Lena stared at the image.

A massive spacecraft was approaching Earth.

It was unlike anything humanity had ever built.

Its surface was black.

Its engines burned white.

And on its side was the same symbol from the Eclipse Engine.

Kai whispered,

“They followed you.”

Lena shook her head.

“No.”

She looked at the ship.

“They’re not following me.”

“Then what?”

“They’re coming for Earth.”

---

The central tower doors exploded open.

Commander Voss entered with armed soldiers.

“Lena!”

Kai raised his weapon.

“Stay back.”

Voss looked at the alien ship on the screen.

His face changed.

“What have you done?”

Lena stared at him.

“I didn’t do anything.”

Voss looked terrified.

“The signal.”

“What signal?”

“The Eclipse Engine.”

He pointed at Lena.

“Your DNA activated it.”

Lena understood.

“The engine called them.”

Voss nodded.

“And now they’re coming.”

Kai looked at the sky.

“How long?”

Voss checked the system.

“Twenty-three minutes.”

Lena took a deep breath.

“Then we have twenty-three minutes to stop them.”

Voss stared at her.

“You don’t understand.”

“What?”

Voss’s voice became quiet.

“They aren’t coming to attack us.”

Lena frowned.

“Then why are they coming?”

He looked at her.

“They’re coming to take their daughter home.”

The blue light inside Lena’s chest suddenly became brilliant.

Her eyes glowed.

And a voice whispered inside her mind.

“Come home, little star.”

She closed her eyes.

For the first time, she remembered.

A strange planet.

A mother with silver eyes.

A spacecraft.

And a promise.

We will come back for you.

Lena opened her eyes.

Kai stood beside her.

“Whatever happens…”

She looked at him.

“Don’t leave me.”

He took her hand.

“Never.”

The alien ship entered Earth’s atmosphere.

The sky turned white.

And humanity looked upward.

For the first time in history—

the stars were coming down.

To be continued…