Leah watched another streak of burning light cut across the afternoon sky.
A satellite.
One of thousands.
Its broken frame glowed white-hot as it tore through the atmosphere before disappearing beyond the horizon.
A second followed.
Then a third.
The command center remained silent. Earth was starting to come apart. A sharp chime interrupted the stillness.
James looked up from his terminal.
"They made it."
Every monitor immediately switched to the exterior cameras.
The massive blast doors at Dock Three groaned open. The first armored transport rolled inside. Its front armor was shredded. One wheel had been replaced with an emergency crawler assembly. Scorch marks covered nearly every panel.
Behind it came another. And another.
Seven trucks.
Workers standing inside the bay stopped what they were doing. They simply stepped aside, making a clear path toward the freight elevators.
The rear door of the lead vehicle dropped with a heavy clang.
Jace stepped out first. His armor was blackened by smoke. Blood had dried along the side of his face. His left shoulder plate was cracked nearly in half.
He looked around the dock.
"...Still standing."
James snorted.
"Barely."
Jace grinned.
"Counts."
The second motorcycle rolled to a stop.
Kael removed his helmet.
His silver eyes immediately swept across the docking bay.
Not looking for damage.
Looking for threats.
Nothing escaped his attention.
The emergency repair teams.
The new defensive barricades.
The additional Legion squads James had quietly repositioned while Kael was gone.
Leah crossed the dock toward him.
"You brought them home."
Kael looked toward the surviving convoy.
"We brought enough."
Leah followed his gaze.
Five trucks.
Two were empty.
One still burned quietly despite the suppression foam coating its engine.
"How many?"
Kael answered without hesitation.
"Thirty-two."
Leah lowered her eyes.
Thirty-two Legion soldiers.
Gone.
And they had only recovered seven trucks.
"General."
Captain Rourke jogged across the bay.
"We've secured the perimeter."
"For now."
Kael caught the wording immediately.
"For now?"
Rourke nodded.
"They disappeared."
"Not retreated?"
"No, sir."
"They vanished."
Jace walked over, removing one glove.
"They fight like they planned every exit."
Kael's expression remained unreadable.
"They weren't trying to win."
James looked up from his datapad.
"They were collecting data."
Kael met his eyes.
"Exactly."
The rear doors of Truck Three slowly unfolded.
Every engineer in the bay gathered around it.
Inside sat the fusion control assembly. Nearly four meters tall. Encased in reinforced magnetic supports. Its polished alloy surface reflected the overhead lights.
The room instinctively grew quieter.
One elderly engineer stepped forward, removing his cap.
"I've waited years to install this."
Kael gave a single nod.
"Then don't waste another second."
The engineer smiled.
"You heard the General!"
His voice echoed across the bay.
"Move the heart aboard!"
Hydraulic lifters locked into place.
Massive support cables descended from overhead cranes.
Despite the damaged automation, the Legion had restored enough manual controls to move the enormous component.
The reactor assembly rose into the air.
Every eye followed it.
No one breathed.
If it fell, then Ark 0 would never fly.
A shrill alarm cut through the bay. Ava looked at her console. Her face drained of color. This was the worst of the worst that could happen.
"...James."
He turned.
"What?"
She enlarged a satellite image.
The display zoomed far above the city.
Heat signatures.
Hundreds of them. Moving.
Toward the docks.
Leah stared.
"...Those can't all be soldiers."
"They aren't," Ava whispered.
James' fingers raced across the display.
Traffic cameras. Civil defense satellites. They painted the same picture. The roads surrounding Ark 0 had disappeared beneath people. Civilians on foot. Families carrying children
All moving toward the same destination.
Ark 0.
"They know?"
Leah barely recognized her own voice.
"This is the last ship."
The secret was out.
Another officer ran into the bay so quickly he nearly collided with one of the engineers.
"General!"
Kael turned.
"Report."
The officer struggled to catch his breath.
"Our outer checkpoints have stopped responding."
"Which one?"
"All of them."
James immediately opened the tactical map.
Blue defensive markers surrounded Ark 0.
One after another...
They disappeared.
Not flashing red.
Not signaling distress.
Simply...
Going dark.
Leah felt the room tighten around her.
"That's impossible."
James stared at the screen.
"No..."
His voice dropped.
"They're cutting us off."
Kael's gaze remained fixed on the dying perimeter.
"Sound full battle stations."
The order echoed through every deck of Ark 0.
Sirens came alive.
Blast doors began sealing throughout the docking complex. Barricades locked into place. The loading operation didn't stop.
It simply continued behind an army preparing for war.
Kael looked once toward the enormous reactor assembly still hanging beneath the crane.
Then toward the sealed dock entrance.
His voice carried across the bay.
"From this moment forward..."
He paused just long enough for every soldier to look at him.
"...no one reaches this Ark without coming through the Legion."
It was serious outside.
Something heavy struck the main gate. Another impact slammed against the outer blast gate. The reinforced steel shuddered.
Then another impact.
And another.
The sound echoed through every deck of the docking complex.
No one mistook it for machinery.
Someone was testing the gate.
"Visual."
James immediately switched to the exterior cameras.
The first image appeared through a haze of dust.
Thousands of people. Every road leading toward Ark 0 had become a river of humanity.
Leah's stomach tightened.
"They're refugees."
James didn't answer.
He cycled to another camera.
This one zoomed deeper into the crowd. A man stumbled, clutching his daughter. An elderly couple leaned against one another. Two teenagers pushed an improvised cart loaded with bottled water. None of them were armed.
"They're scared," Leah whispered.
Kael remained silent.
"Zoom farther."
James obeyed.
The camera magnified the rear of the crowd.
There.
Between frightened civilians.
Black tactical armor.
Only for a moment.
One figure disappeared into the mass of people before the camera could lock onto him.
James cursed.
"They're hiding inside the refugees."
Another camera.
Different street.
Again. A glimpse of black armor.
A third feed.
The same thing.
Leah felt cold.
"They're using the civilians."
Kael nodded once.
"They always intended to."
Captain Rourke approached carrying a tactical tablet.
"General."
Kael accepted it.
"Status."
"We've established three defensive rings."
The display expanded.
Outer perimeter.
Vehicle barricades.
Second line.
Portable shield generators and heavy weapons.
Final line.
The blast doors of Dock Three itself.
"If the first line falls?"
Rourke answered immediately.
"We collapse inward."
"And the second?"
"We fall back again."
Kael handed the tablet back.
Forklifts were still moving.
Crawler tractors dragged reactor components toward the cargo elevators.
Engineers shouted measurements as cranes lowered the fusion assemblies into Ark 0's engineering deck.
The loading hadn't stopped.
It couldn't.
Kael turned toward James.
"How long?"
James looked at the logistics board.
Every remaining pallet.
Every fuel tank.
Every medical crate.
Every seed vault.
Every reactor component.
His fingers flew across the projections.
"If nothing else goes wrong..."
He hesitated.
"...two hours."
Kael nodded once.
"You have them."
James blinked.
"What?"
"Two hours."
Kael's voice carried across the command center.
"Forget the perimeter."
Every officer looked at him.
"The cargo is the mission now."
He pointed toward the massive Ark resting inside the dock.
"If that ship launches without those supplies, everyone aboard dies before they ever reach Mars."
"James."
"I'm here."
"You are in command of Ark Zero until launch."
James stared.
"...Me?"
"You know the systems better than anyone."
Kael stepped closer.
"In exactly two hours..."
His silver eyes locked onto James.
"...you launch."
James swallowed.
"What if you're still outside?"
"You launch."
"What if we're still fighting?"
"You launch."
"What if—"
"You launch."
Every word landed harder than the last.
"No delays."
"No negotiations."
"No waiting for me."
James looked away for a moment before nodding.
"...Understood."
Kael continued.
"If I am not back..."
He pointed toward the command schematic.
"...I will assume command from the Captain's Quarters."
Leah frowned.
"The Captain's Quarters?"
James looked at her quietly.
"The Captain has override authority over the entire Ark."
Kael nodded.
"I can command internal security from there even after departure."
He looked toward Captain Rourke.
"If the enemy breaches the loading decks before launch..."
His voice became cold enough to silence the room.
"...activate Protocol Black."
The captain's jaw tightened.
"Confirmed?"
"Confirmed."
Leah looked between them.
"What is Protocol Black?"
No one answered.
Finally James spoke.
"The internal defense drones."
Leah's stomach tightened.
"The maintenance bots?"
James slowly shook his head.
"No."
"The security battalions."
He enlarged a blueprint of Ark 0.
Hidden compartments appeared throughout the ship. Behind bulkheads. Inside maintenance shafts. Above the cargo decks. Hundreds of sealed weapon pods.
Leah's breath caught.
"They're armed..."
Kael answered without emotion.
"They were built to stop mutiny during the voyage."
James finished quietly.
"They'll stop anything."
Leah looked at Kael.
"...Including civilians?"
His gaze never wavered.
"Including anyone who attempts to seize the Ark."
Silence settled over the command center.
The weight of the order pressed against every person in the room.
Captain Rourke was the first to answer.
"Protocol Black acknowledged."
Kael gave a single nod.
"Our line holds."
He looked toward the cranes lifting the last reactor assembly into the ship. His silver eyes moved from engineer to soldier to the enormous blast doors protecting the dock.