Kael's POV
The escape pod streaks through space like a falling star.
I've piloted through worse conditions, but never with a cargo this valuable. Sera sits across from me, her golden eyes reflecting the stars outside. She hasn't spoken since we left the Academy.
"You're thinking too loud," I say.
She blinks, focusing on me. "What?"
"Your face. You're thinking about your father."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know what it looks like when someone loses their family." I check our trajectory. "My parents died when I was twelve. Rival family attack. I watched it happen."
Sera's expression softens. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It made me stronger. Harder. Better." The lie tastes bitter. "Sometimes loss is necessary."
"You don't believe that."
I glance at her sharply. "Excuse me?"
"You said you lost fifty warriors because you followed orders instead of your instincts. That loss didn't make you better. It haunts you." Her eyes are too perceptive. "You're running from it just like I'm running from mine."
"I'm not running. I'm making a strategic retreat."
She almost smiles. "Is that what we're calling betraying the Empire and fleeing with a fugitive?"
"Precisely." I return my attention to the controls. "We'll reach the Neutral Zone in thirty minutes. Luca's station has technology that can broadcast across every Aelarian channel simultaneously."
"And then what? We tell everyone I'm not dangerous?"
"We tell them the truth. That the Empire fears equality more than war. That one enhanced human proves their entire hierarchy is a lie." I look at her again. "You're a weapon, Sera. But not the kind Lyssa thinks."
"What kind am I?"
"The kind that destroys systems just by existing."
She's quiet for a moment. "Back in the Academy, when you decided to help me... you said you wouldn't follow wrong orders again. But helping me is right?"
"I don't know." The admission surprises even me. "But it feels less wrong than locking you in a lab."
"That's a terrible reason to throw away your entire life."
"Maybe. But it's my life to throw away." I meet her eyes. "Why did you really choose enhancement, Sera? Not just because of what they did to you. There's something else."
Her jaw tightens. "I was tired of being powerless. Of people taking everything from me because I couldn't stop them." She holds up her glowing hand. "Now I can stop them. Now I'm the one with power."
"Power is dangerous. It corrupts."
"So does powerlessness." Her voice is fierce. "At least now I have a choice."
The communication panel beeps. Luca's face appears.
"Cousin! You made it. I was starting to worry you'd been blown up. That would've been embarrassing after I told everyone you were coming."
"Everyone?" I frown. "Who exactly did you tell?"
"Relax. Just my crew. And maybe a few contacts in the underground news networks. And possibly half the Neutral Zone." Luca grins. "You're about to be famous, Kael. How does it feel?"
"Like you're an idiot who talks too much."
"Harsh but fair." Luca's attention shifts to Sera. "Sera Vance. I've been researching you. Literature student. AI researcher. Betrayed by everyone close to you. Then enhanced to 73% integration—highest human level ever recorded." He leans forward. "Tell me, how does it feel to be living proof that humans aren't inferior?"
"Terrifying," Sera answers honestly. "And powerful. And confusing."
"Good answer. Honesty plays well on camera." Luca's expression turns serious. "We're broadcasting in twenty minutes. I need you both prepared. Commander Lyssa is already spinning the narrative that Sera is a Resistance weapon and Kael is a traitor seduced by human manipulation."
"That's ridiculous," I snap.
"Of course it is. But lies spread faster than truth." Luca pulls up data on his screen. "The Council vote is in eight hours. If we don't change public opinion before then, Lyssa gets authorization for strikes against human population centers. Millions could die."
Sera goes pale. "Because of me."
"Because of fear," Luca corrects. "You're just the excuse. But we can flip this. Show the Empire that an Aelarian and a human can work together. That enhancement doesn't make humans dangerous—it makes them equals."
"What do you need us to do?" I ask.
"Tell your story. Both of you. No lies. No propaganda. Just truth." Luca looks between us. "The whole Empire is watching. Make it count."
The communication cuts off.
Sera is shaking. "I can't do this. I'm not good at speaking in front of people. I'll mess up and make everything worse."
"You stood up to your father. To the Resistance. To Academy Command." I move to sit beside her. "You can do this."
"That was different. That was survival."
"This IS survival. For millions of humans." I touch her shoulder. "Sera. I've commanded hundreds of warriors. Led them into impossible battles. The ones who survived weren't the strongest or the smartest. They were the ones who fought even when they were terrified."
She meets my eyes. "Are you scared right now?"
"Absolutely. I'm about to publicly betray everything I was raised to believe. My family name will be erased. My achievements forgotten. I'll never be able to go home." I pause. "But saving you? Stopping Lyssa? That matters more than pride."
"Why?" Her voice is barely a whisper. "Why do I matter more?"
The question hangs between us. I should have an answer. A logical, strategic reason.
Instead, I tell her the truth.
"Because when I watched you survive the enhancement, I saw something I haven't seen in years. Real courage. Not the kind that comes from training or duty. The kind that comes from choosing to survive when death would be easier." I hold her gaze. "You reminded me what I used to be before loss made me cold. And I'm not ready to lose that feeling again."
Sera's eyes shine with unshed tears. "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in months."
"It's just the truth."
"Still nice." She takes a shaky breath. "Okay. I'll do the broadcast. But if I mess up—"
"You won't."
"You can't know that."
"Yes, I can. Because you're Sera Vance, and you don't know how to quit." I stand, offering my hand. "Come on. Let's go change the Empire."
She takes my hand and doesn't let go.
We dock at Luca's station ten minutes later. It's smaller than the Academy but well-equipped. Luca meets us at the airlock with a tall woman who has silver hair and calculating eyes.
"This is Mira," Luca introduces. "Best broadcast technician in the Neutral Zone. She'll handle the technical side while you two handle the emotional side."
Mira studies us critically. "You look like fugitives. That's good. Sympathy plays well. But we need to clean up the blood." She points at my injured shoulder. "Get that patched. We go live in twelve minutes."
A medic rushes me to a side room. The treatment is quick but painful. When I return, Sera is sitting in front of a camera array, looking small and scared.
"Remember," Luca is saying. "Just be honest. Let them see the real you."
"What if the real me isn't enough?" Sera whispers.
"Then we're all dead anyway," Luca says cheerfully. "No pressure."
"You're terrible at pep talks," I tell him.
"I know. It's my charm." He checks his tablet. "Two minutes. Everyone in position."
I sit beside Sera. She's trembling.
"Look at me," I say quietly. She does. "Whatever happens after this, you survived today. You became something unprecedented. You chose yourself. That's already victory."
"Even if millions die because of it?"
"Then we'll stop that from happening. Together."
"Together," she repeats softly.
"Thirty seconds," Mira announces.
The lights intensify. Cameras activate. Red indicators blink to life.
"Ten seconds."
Sera's hand finds mine under the table. I squeeze it once.
"Five. Four. Three. Two."
Mira points at us.
We're live across the entire Aelarian Empire.
"My name is Commander Kael Zenthar," I begin, my voice steady. "Until today, I was a loyal officer of the Aelarian military. Today, I became a traitor. And I'd make the same choice again."
Beside me, Sera takes a breath and speaks.
"My name is Sera Vance. I'm human. I'm enhanced. And I'm proof that everything the Empire tells you about human inferiority is a lie."
The words hang in the air.
Somewhere across the galaxy, millions are watching. Including Commander Lyssa. Including the High Council.
Including my family, who will never forgive me.
Luca gives us a thumbs up from behind the camera. We're doing it. We're actually doing it.
Then every screen in the station goes red.
Emergency override.
A face appears on all monitors. Not Lyssa. Someone worse.
High Chancellor Theron Vex. The most powerful Aelarian in the Empire.
His cold eyes find the camera—find us.
"Commander Zenthar. Sera Vance." His voice is like winter. "Your little broadcast has been entertaining. But it's over now."
"You can't shut us down," Luca argues. "We're on an independent frequency—"
"I don't need to shut you down." Vex smiles. "I'm giving you a choice. Sera Vance surrenders herself within one hour, or I authorize Commander Lyssa's strike protocols. Starting with New Angeles, where three million humans currently reside."
The screen shows a live feed. Ships positioned over Earth's largest human city. Weapons charging.
"You're bluffing," Sera whispers.
"Am I?" Vex's smile widens. "You have fifty-nine minutes. Choose wisely."
The feed cuts.
Silence fills the station.
Sera is staring at the screen showing New Angeles. Where her coffee shop was. Where thousands of innocent people live.
"I have to surrender," she says quietly. "I can't let them die."
"If you surrender, you die," I argue. "And they strike anyway. Vex is lying."
"You don't know that!" She's crying now. "What if he's not? What if three million people die because I wanted to be powerful?"
"Sera—"
She stands abruptly. "I'm going. Tell me how to contact them. How to surrender."
"No." I'm on my feet too. "I won't help you commit suicide."
"It's not your choice!" She's shouting. "This is on me. My enhancement. My consequences. I won't let innocent people die for my pride!"
"Then you'll die for nothing!" I grab her shoulders. "Think, Sera! Vex wants you dead or compliant. Either option consolidates his power. This isn't about justice. It's about control!"
She looks up at me with those golden eyes, tears streaming down her face.
"Then tell me what to do," she whispers. "Because I don't know how to save everyone."
Before I can answer, Luca's tablet explodes with notifications.
"Uh, guys?" His voice is strange. "You need to see this."
He projects a hologram. Messages flooding in from across the Empire. Thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands.
Humans. Aelarians. All watching our broadcast.
All saying the same thing.
#WeSupportSera
#NoStrikesOnHumans
#EnhancedEquality
Luca scrolls through more messages. "This is... this is unprecedented. Public support is exploding. Even Aelarians are questioning the strike authorization. Vex didn't expect this."
"Will it stop the vote?" Sera asks desperately.
"I don't know." Luca checks his screens. "But it might delay it. Give us time to—"
Every alarm in the station suddenly blares.
Mira checks her sensors. Her face goes white. "We have incoming. Multiple ships. Military class."
"How many?" I demand.
"Twenty. Maybe more." She looks up. "Commander Lyssa's personal fleet. They're surrounding the station."
Vex's face appears on screen again.
"Out of time," he says simply. "Surrender now or everyone on that station dies alongside you."