The news was classified.
Officially, the Federation announced that **Deep Space Listening Station Epsilon-12** had suffered a catastrophic reactor failure during a routine observation mission.
Few believed it.
Too many ships had disappeared during the recovery attempt.
Too many encrypted channels had suddenly gone silent.
Within hours, every major military command across the Earth Sphere had received the unedited recording.
They all reached the same conclusion.
The Helix Core had been telling the truth.
---
The *Argonaut* docked at the Federation's Lunar Headquarters.
Unlike its previous visits, there were no welcoming ceremonies or honor guards.
Only soldiers.
Security checkpoints.
And a palpable sense of unease.
Leon stepped off the gangway alongside Captain Rolf, Mira, Flint, and Rika.
The corridors of Lunar Headquarters were crowded with officers from every branch of the Federation military. Engineers hurried between laboratories carrying stacks of data tablets, while technicians rolled sealed containers marked **TOP SECRET** toward underground research facilities.
No one looked relaxed.
Everyone had seen the recording.
---
Inside the Strategic Command Chamber, the room fell silent as Leon entered.
Standing around the massive holographic table were some of the Federation's highest-ranking commanders, representatives from several colony governments, and, to Leon's surprise...
Flit Asuno.
The young pilot looked up as Leon approached.
"You made good time."
Leon smiled slightly.
"I figured if the Federation called every senior officer and both Gundam pilots to the same meeting, it probably wasn't for paperwork."
Flit's expression almost softened.
"Probably not."
---
Admiral Hayes, commander of the Earth Sphere Defense Fleet, activated the central display.
The image of the unknown vessel appeared above the table.
Even enlarged, it was difficult to comprehend.
"It is approximately twelve kilometers long," Hayes began.
"A single ship?" Mira asked.
Hayes nodded.
"A single ship."
The room remained quiet.
"Our largest battleship is less than one kilometer."
Flint let out a low whistle.
"...That's not a ship."
"No," Leon said quietly.
"It's a mobile fortress."
---
Hayes changed the display.
Another image appeared.
"This was recovered from the station's final telemetry."
The room leaned forward.
The unknown vessel wasn't alone.
Hidden beyond the spatial fracture were dozens more.
Some larger.
Some smaller.
Each one carrying the same strange symbol.
Rika felt her stomach tighten.
"An invasion fleet..."
"No," Flit corrected.
He stepped closer to the display.
"If Helix built an entire civilization around preparing for them..."
He looked toward Leon.
"...then this is only an advance scout."
No one argued.
---
A scientist cleared her throat.
"We've translated part of the transmission."
The strange symbol rotated in the center of the room.
"We believe this is not the name of the species."
"It appears to represent... a governing authority."
She enlarged the symbol again.
"Our best translation is..."
She hesitated.
"...The Ascendancy."
The name settled over the room like ice.
---
Leon broke the silence.
"What do we actually know about them?"
The scientist changed the display once more.
"Almost nothing."
"Helix records were heavily corrupted, but we've reconstructed fragments."
Ancient star maps appeared.
Millions of years old.
"According to Helix archives, the Ascendancy predates human civilization by hundreds of thousands of years."
Another image appeared.
Ruined worlds.
Dead stars.
Broken megastructures.
"They do not conquer civilizations."
"They evaluate them."
Mira frowned.
"...Evaluate?"
The scientist nodded grimly.
"If a species demonstrates sufficient potential..."
She stopped.
"And if they don't?" Leon asked.
Another image appeared.
A lifeless planet.
Its continents split apart.
Its oceans gone.
The scientist answered quietly.
"They erase them."
---
Silence returned.
Even Flint had nothing to say.
---
Later that evening...
Leon found Flit standing on one of Lunar Headquarters' observation platforms.
The Moon hung beneath them.
Earth filled the horizon beyond.
Neither pilot spoke for several minutes.
Finally, Leon leaned against the railing.
"So..."
Flit looked sideways.
"So."
"You ever think we'd end up saving humanity together?"
Flit almost smiled.
"I was hoping for fewer meetings."
Leon laughed.
"Fair."
The laughter faded quickly.
"You think Helix was telling the truth?"
Flit looked toward Earth.
"I think..."
He chose his words carefully.
"...they believed they were."
Leon nodded.
"Same."
---
Behind them, the platform doors opened.
Flint walked out carrying a small metal case.
"I've been looking for both of you."
He placed the case on a nearby table and opened it.
Inside rested a small crystalline fragment.
It glowed with the same faint blue light that had once flowed through the Helix Core.
Leon frowned.
"...You recovered that from the Citadel?"
Flint nodded.
"It survived."
Flit stepped closer.
"The energy pattern..."
"It isn't Helix technology," Flint interrupted.
"It's older."
He activated a portable scanner.
The readings filled the display.
Rika hurried onto the platform, breathing heavily.
"I've been trying to contact you!"
She stopped when she saw the scanner.
"...You already found it."
Leon looked between them.
"Found what?"
Rika swallowed.
"This crystal..."
She looked directly at Leon.
"...is transmitting."
---
Everyone froze.
Flint slowly turned the scanner around.
A weak signal pulsed across the display.
Repeating.
Repeating.
Repeating.
"It's not broadcasting to Earth," Flint said.
"It's answering something."
Flit's expression darkened.
"The Ascendancy."
Flint nodded.
"I think they know exactly where we are now."
---
Suddenly—
Every light on the observation platform flickered.
Emergency alarms echoed throughout Lunar Headquarters.
A voice sounded over the station-wide intercom.
"Unknown gravitational distortion detected!"
"All personnel to emergency stations!"
The four of them rushed toward the command center.
---
As they entered, every screen showed the same image.
Not beyond the frontier.
Not near the destroyed listening station.
Much closer.
A fracture had opened at the edge of the Solar System.
Near Pluto.
Admiral Hayes stared at the display in disbelief.
"They crossed the distance..."
An officer looked up from his console.
"...in less than a second."
No warp signature.
No hyperspace transition.
No known propulsion system.
They had simply...
Appeared.
---
The fracture widened.
One ship emerged.
Then another.
Then five more.
Each one larger than the last.
The Ascendancy had arrived in humanity's home system.
Leon looked at the tactical display.
"They're heading inward."
Flit nodded once.
"They're coming for Earth."
The command room fell completely silent.
The war Helix had spent generations preparing humanity for...
Had finally begun.