Aria did not remember walking toward the ship.
She remembered the feeling of Kael's hand closing around hers. His grip was firm but not crushing, steady in a way that made her feel both anchored and unbalanced at the same time. The dockyard noises faded into something distant, like she was already leaving before her body had caught up.
The Starborn soldiers moved in perfect coordination around them. No shouting. No panic. Just controlled precision. They disarmed the Core officers without bloodshed, though it was clear they could have ended it differently if they wanted to.
Kael did not look back.
He guided her toward the open hatch above, and for one strange second she hesitated.
Sector Nine had always felt small to her, but it had also been safe in its own rough way. It was predictable. She knew which walls leaked during acid rain cycles. She knew which supervisors cut wages unfairly. She knew where to hide during inspections.
She did not know what waited inside that ship.
"You can still let go," she said quietly.
Kael glanced at her.
"If I let go, you will be dead before the hour ends."
He did not say it to frighten her. He said it like a fact.
She believed him.
The lift beam activated beneath their feet, and the world dropped away.
The sensation was smoother than any transit system she had used before. No jolting. No mechanical hum. It felt almost like being carried on air.
When they stepped onto the ship, the hatch sealed behind them seamlessly.
The interior was nothing like the bright, sterile designs of Core vessels. It was darker, but not oppressive. The walls were lined with faint luminous patterns that resembled star maps shifting slowly over time. The air felt warmer, less processed.
Aria realized her heart was still racing.
Kael released her hand once they were fully inside.
The loss of contact made something inside her stir again.
She rubbed her palm unconsciously.
The relic was gone from her skin, but she could still feel where it had entered her.
"Sit," he said, gesturing toward a curved seat that formed naturally from the wall.
She did not argue.
The ship began to move.
Not with violent acceleration, but with a smooth, powerful glide that pressed gently against her senses.
Through a transparent panel at the front of the chamber, she watched Sector Nine shrink.
Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
That had been her life.
Milo was still down there.
Her mother's old tools were still in their small apartment.
Everything ordinary was shrinking into a blur.
She swallowed hard.
"You are quiet," Kael observed.
"I am calculating," she replied automatically.
That seemed to interest him.
"Calculating what?"
"How long before your enemies decide I am not worth protecting?"
He studied her face carefully, like he was trying to see beneath the surface.
"You assume I protect what is convenient."
"I assume you protect what is useful."
A faint smile touched his mouth, though it did not reach his eyes.
"You are not wrong."
She looked away.
"Then tell me what I am useful for."
The ship broke the atmosphere.
Stars opened around them in endless darkness.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
"You activated a relic designed for Starborn bloodlines," he said finally. "Those relics do not respond to ordinary genetics."
"I am ordinary," she said quickly.
"No," he replied calmly. "You are not."
The certainty in his voice unsettled her more than an accusation would have.
"I have no noble registry," she insisted. "No hidden training. I fix engines."
"You bent gravity," he said.
Her stomach flipped.
"I panicked."
"You crushed a Core drone without touching it."
Her hands trembled slightly, and she folded them in her lap.
"That was not intentional."
"Intentionality is irrelevant."
His gaze sharpened.
"The relic bonded to you. That means your blood carries dormant Starborn markers."
She laughed softly, though it held no humor.
"That is not possible. The Core eradicated Starborn two centuries ago."
"They eradicated visibility," he corrected. "Not existence."
Silence stretched between them.
Her mind felt like it was trying to rearrange itself around new information that refused to fit.
"If what you are saying is true," she said slowly, "then why was I not detected before today?"
"Because whatever you carry was dormant."
"And the relic woke it."
"Yes."
The word landed heavily.
She stared at the moving starfield outside.
"I did not ask for this."
"None of us did," he said quietly.
Something shifted in his tone then. Not softness. Not quite. But something close to memory.
She looked at him more carefully now.
Up close, he did not look like a myth. He looked human. Tired, maybe. Controlled. His dark hair fell loosely across his forehead, and faint luminous lines pulsed beneath his skin near his collarbone, fading in and out like restrained light.
"Why did you come personally?" she asked.
"Because relic activation signatures are rare."
"That is not what I meant."
He met her eyes again.
"Then what did you mean?"
She hesitated.
"You are the Star King. You have soldiers. Why come yourself for one mechanic in Sector Nine?"
He did not answer immediately.
The ship entered faster travel mode, and stars blurred into streaks.
"Because," he said eventually, "I felt it."
Her breath caught.
"Felt what?"
"The shift."
The way he said it made her pulse jump.
"The relic you touched was ancient. Older than the Core. Older than the empire. When it activated, every Starborn alive felt the tremor."
Alive.
"How many are there?" she asked.
"Not enough."
The simplicity of the answer told her everything.
She leaned back slowly, absorbing it.
"So now what?" she asked. "You take me to your hidden base and train me to overthrow the government?"
His eyes flickered with faint amusement.
"You think very dramatically for someone who claims to be ordinary."
She exhaled sharply.
"My life was simple this morning."
"It no longer is."
The ship slowed gradually.
Ahead of them, something massive emerged from the darkness.
At first, she thought it was an asteroid field.
Then she realized the shapes were too structured.
It was a hidden station, built into the hollowed interior of a drifting planetary fragment. Lights glowed along its surface in quiet patterns, concealed from normal travel routes.
Her mouth went dry.
"You built that?"
"We survived in it," he corrected.
The ship entered a concealed docking bay.
As they descended, Aria felt the thing inside her pulse again.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
"What is it?" Kael asked sharply.
"I do not know," she admitted. "It feels… louder here."
He studied her carefully.
"That is because you are near others like you."
The hatch opened.
Warm air rushed in.
Voices echoed beyond the chamber.
Aria stood slowly.
This was the point of no return.
If she stepped out, she would be making an irreversible choice.
She turned to Kael.
"Tell me the truth," she said. "If I cannot control this power, what happens?"
His expression did not soften.
"Then you will either learn quickly," he said, "or you will die."
Honest.
Brutal.
Strangely reassuring.
She nodded once.
"Fine."
She stepped out of the ship.
The docking bay was larger than she expected. Dozens of figures moved across platforms, some in armor, some in civilian clothing. They all paused when they saw her.
Whispers spread quickly.
"That is her."
"She is the one."
"She triggered it."
Aria's skin prickled under the attention.
A woman approached from the far side of the bay. She looked older than Kael, her expression sharp and assessing.
"This is the anomaly?" the woman asked.
"Yes," Kael replied.
The woman circled Aria slowly, studying her like a scientist examining a volatile sample.
"She looks unimpressive," the woman said bluntly.
"Thank you," Aria muttered under her breath.
The woman's lips twitched faintly.
"Power does not announce itself," she said. "It waits."
Aria felt irritation flare.
The metal framework above them trembled slightly.
Several Starborn nearby looked up.
Kael's gaze snapped back to her.
"Control," he warned softly.
She forced herself to breathe.
The tremor stopped.
The woman's eyes widened just slightly.
"Interesting," she murmured.
Kael stepped closer to Aria again, lowering his voice.
"The Core will not ignore what happened," he said. "They will escalate."
"How quickly?" she asked.
He did not hesitate.
"They already have."
As if summoned by his words, alarms suddenly echoed through the hidden station.
Not panicked.
Measured.
A holographic display ignited in the center of the docking bay.
Core insignias filled the air.
A mechanical voice spread through every corridor.
"Unregistered Starborn activity confirmed. Hidden coordinates partially traced. Military mobilization authorized."
Aria's heart dropped.
"How did they find this place?" she asked.
Kael's expression darkened.
"They did not," he said. "Not fully."
"Then what is mobilizing?"
The holographic projection shifted.
A massive fleet appeared on display.
Dozens of Core warships are moving toward the outer perimeter.
"They are not searching," Kael said quietly.
"They are hunting."
The entire docking bay fell silent.
Aria stared at the incoming fleet projection.
"I have been here five minutes," she whispered. "And they are bringing an army."
Kael looked at her, and this time, there was no calculation in his eyes.
Only certainty.
"You were never ordinary," he said. "You were hidden."
The station lights dimmed slightly as defense systems activated.
Aria felt the power inside her rise again, not chaotic this time, but steady.
Responsive.
I like it that I understood what was coming.
She looked at the approaching fleet.
Then at Kael.
"Tell me what to do," she said.
And for the first time since she had touched the relic, she was no longer asking how to survive.
She was asking how to fight.
Outside the hidden station, the first Core warship fired.