Vernon arrived in the hollow silence of the training chamber, the only light coming from the glowing tactical table at its center. Marius wasn’t here yet. With a sigh, Vernon activated the table’s interface, his fingers flicking through the data-stream. He pulled up cultural briefs, old customs of the Coreworlds versus the Outerworlds—dry, diplomatic texts about symbolic gifts and honorifics. He was skimming an entry on Veridian March burial rites when the first sound cut through the quiet.

It was a distant, metallic shriek. The unmistakable sound of a power saber meeting its match. Then, a sharper crack. A plasma shot.

His head snapped up. All boredom vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp focus. The sounds were coming from beyond the chamber’s heavy doors, somewhere in the residential wing. He moved without thinking, his body crossing to the weapon cache embedded in the far wall. The panel hissed open at his touch. Inside, the gear was pristine, maintained daily. He grabbed a standard-issue officer’s dagger-saber, its hilt cool in his palm, and a compact pulse-pistol, checking its charge with a practiced glance. Fully loaded.

The chamber door slid open.

Marius stood there, his usual calm replaced by a grim, battle-ready tension. His dark flight suit was smudged, and he held a rifle loosely at his side. “Vernon. With me. Now.”

“Marius, what is happening?” Vernon demanded, falling into step beside his mentor as they moved into the corridor. The sounds of combat were louder here, echoing.

“The bastion is under attack,” Marius said, his voice low and urgent. He took a corner at a sprint, Vernon keeping pace.

“By whom?”

“House Laurien.” Marius didn’t look back. “They infiltrated the compound disguised among the Outerworld delegates. Triggered a cascade failure in the perimeter defenses. They’re inside the walls.”

House Laurien? A Coreworld rival, yes, but this was an act of war. “Why? Why would they attack Artanis? Now?”

“I don’t know,” Marius bit out. “But the ‘why’ doesn’t matter if we’re dead. Your mother’s chambers. First.”

A knot of dread tightened in Vernon’s stomach. They navigated through service corridors, avoiding the main halls where the sounds of screaming and weapons fire were most intense. Twice, they passed the bodies of Artanis guards in their sky-blue livery, cut down.

His mother’s apartment door was sealed. Marius bypassed the lock with a code Vernon didn’t recognize. The door slid aside.

Freiga was on …