Aurania sat in the central room of The Ghost of Mandachor, watching the planet Philos approach on the large wall-screen. The surface stretched out in a broken tapestry of scorched dirt, jagged ridges, and dust storms carving lines through the land like old wounds. The region they approached showed no signs of life. Wreckage from long-abandoned outposts jutted from the dirt, half-swallowed by time and sand.

  Their destination was a ruin near the equator. Once a research station, it was now little more than a skeleton buried beneath rust and sediment. This place hadn’t just decayed. It had fought back. Whatever had happened here had left the land scarred and angry, as if it remembered every trespass.

  Philos sat on the edge of Corporate Expanse territory, caught between the freedom of independent space and the constant crossfire of competing interests. The Expanse wasn’t a true government, just a collection of fractured mega-corporations scrambling for dominance.

  It had been born out of the anarchy following the collapse of Earth's central government, and without centralized leadership, it devolved into a ruthless free-market chaos. Unlike the Conservatory’s empire-like oligarchy, the Expanse’s power was fluid. Companies rose and fell based on how well they could manipulate resources. While not as overtly discriminatory, racism and bigotry still thrived. Non-human races faced steeper climbs up the corporate ladder, often forced to prove their worth with sharper elbows and fewer second chances.

  The Liberty Union briefing had been clear: the ruins on Philos were somehow tied to using Aether Dust to manipulate gravity on a planetary scale. That kind of tech wasn’t just rare, it was exactly what Nox needed. The Conservatory had taken an interest too, but Philos lay far outside their territory. Their nearest holdings were nearly 40 light-years away; they'd have to travel for 2-3 weeks via Jump Drive to reach Philos without traversing locations that considered them hostile, meaning any presence here would likely be through hired muscle or research teams. A direct confrontation was unlikely, but the risk of violence was still real.

  "Approaching Philos," came Raine’s voice over the intercom, snapping Aurania out of her thoughts. The ship’s engines hummed steadily, pulling them closer to their target.

  A sudden jolt rocked the ship as turbulence hit, and Raine’s voice crackled through the speakers again. "Sorry, still getting used to the controls."

  Tamiyo had begun teaching Raine how to pilot the ship, a wise tactic so their team had more versatility. Although the ride was currently a bit bumpy, it made her think about how much Raine had grown since leaving Nox. She wasn’t a fighter and didn’t exactly have a defined role amongst their team, but she had proved indispensable to almost every mission. Whether helping move gear, simply spreading word of scheduled mission briefs, or even helping cook and patch up the ship, Raine had installed herself as a core team member.

  The entire team had been growing and improving in different ways. Tamiyo was becoming more than just a CIPHER with a painful past. Inelius had sharpened his instincts and shown excellent leadership prowess. The tension with Soren was slowly dissipating. And things had even mellowed out with Veolo after Violet helped her get her head on straight.

  The ship’s descent continued, and as they broke through the atmosphere, the landscape of Philos opened up beneath them. Jagged rocks protruded from the earth like teeth, ancient crumbling structures lay scattered across the landscape, and the air itself seemed permeated with a persistent red hue.

  “Yeesh, what a hellscape,” Violet said casually as she looked at the screen.

  “Just need to spruce it up a little,” Soren said.

  “Yeah!” Amalia piled on. “Little bit of spitshine. And dynamite.”

  The team was all together for this op. After a couple split missions, Aurania wanted her entire team together to investigate anything related to saving Nox. Everyone was crammed onto The Ghost of Mandachor, except for their two d’moria teammates.

  Elias sat up in the cockpit with Raine and Tamiyo as he usually did when they were about to deploy. Inelius and Riza were both quietly waiting just to Soren’s left while Veolo talked with him. Aurania had been teaching her about leadership so the two were discussing what Veolo had learned to help Veolo better retain it. No matter what Aurania thought of Soren, the man had good military experience.

  With Tamiyo’s help, Raine set the ship down just a short distance from the ruins, the landing gear crunching against the rocky terrain. The ship shuddered slightly as it settled on the uneven surface, the sound of it reverberating through the hull. Outside, the winds howled, kicking up a storm of red dust and grit, as if the planet itself resented their presence.

  Soren stood, stretching the stiffness from his back, and grabbed his rifle from the compartment near the exit. Aurania and the others formed up behind him and waited. She could already taste the dryness of the planet’s atmosphere, a warning of the harsh environment they were about to step into.

  Just like they had been practicing, Soren opened the starboard hatch and exited down the ramp, clearing the way before anyone else risked stepping out. After he gave the ‘all-clear,’ the other six fighters followed him down.

  They moved quickly, cutting through the dry, cracked ground toward the half-hidden entrance to the ruins. The area was eerily silent, save for the howling wind that swept through the gaps in the broken structures. The air was thick with the smell of rust and decay.

  Suddenly, the sound of engines broke the stillness, and the group froze in place. Aurania felt her senses slam into high alert. The deep thrumming of thrusters grew louder, and from the shadows of the ruins, a ship rose up. It was roughly the same size as The Ghost of Mandachor, but several differences were apparent from the silhouette. The main difference was immediately apparent: mounted on both the left and right sides of the wide ship-face were large guns.

  The ship wasn’t facing directly at them, and for a second, Aurania thought it was just a mercenary ship. Some hired muscle or scavengers from the Corporate Expanse like they’d been briefed on.

  But then Riza yelled out behind them, “That’s a Conservatory gunship!”

  Aurania’s stomach dropped, and a moment later the ship quickly began rotating towards them.

  She immediately began barking orders over comms, cutting through the tension. “Tamiyo, get in the sky! Riza! Take its weapons out! Shit— COVER!”

  They all dove, and a moment later the gunship opened fire.

  A viscous growl of heavy gunfire cracked the air, tearing through the ruins with deafening force. The wall Aurania was behind started to shatter, and the ground trembled under the sheer power of the gunfire. The sharp, metallic sounds of debris raining down filled her ears, and a chunk of stone flew past her head, narrowly missing.

  The ship finally let up for a moment, and Aurania ordered them to return fire. Soren jumped up and ran while shooting at the ship. Aurania laid down fire with the others. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Soren leap over some debris and run into open air, making himself a target.

  He was fast, but the ship spotted him and started to swing in his direction—

  BOOM— The massive shockwave of Riza's cannon slammed through the air, sounding like a planet had punched someone. The blast hit the gunship’s starboard mounted weapon with a satisfying explosion of sparks and fragments, and it disintegrated into a twisted wreck. The gunship veered wildly, its course now erratic. The impact had caused the ship to spin several times, and it lost a bit of altitude while trying to regain some semblance of control.

  The remaining gun opened fire before it even swiveled back toward a target. It came around, a volley of shots tearing through the air, strafing the ruins in a wide arc.

  Another blast rang out from Riza, shearing the left-hand gun off in an explosive fire ball of sparks and shrapnel. The gunship shuddered in mid-air, momentarily crippled, and its engines sputtered as if struggling to stay airborne.

  “Nice work, Riza!” Inelius called out, from his spot behind a collapsed wall.

  The damaged gunship limped through the air, its engines sputtering. It looked like it was faltering, dipping down below the ruins slightly.

  But a moment later, the engines roared back to life. The ship popped back into the air facing away from them. The thrusters surged, and it shot up into the sky.

  “Cowards!” Amalia yelled after them.

  The team regrouped, feeling slightly victorious.

  “Anyone dead?” Aurania said casually as they all walked up.

  “Not for lack of effort,” Veolo quipped, looking at Soren.

  “Yeah, sorry,” Soren said to her. “You can run out there next time.”

  They brushed the dust off, reloaded, and Aurania ordered Tamiyo to touch back down.

  “What the hell were they doing out here?” Raine asked over comms. “I thought we were only expecting hired mercenaries.”

  “Think we were given bad intel?” Veolo said.

  “No,” Aurania answered. “This is Corporate Expanse territory for sure, but no matter how much power someone in this region possesses, they almost always choose to get out of the way if the Conservatory shows up.”

  “Why is that?” Soren asked.

  “Common sense,” Elias’ voice came in from The Ghost. “The Conservatory is better organized, has more resources, more funding, and is just better equipped than any of the Expanse’s mercenaries could ever hope for.”

  “Well, let’s go figure out why they were here,” Violet said, her tone determined. She aimed toward the door of the lab where they were headed and began walking.

  Soren fell in beside her and the rest of the team followed.

  They proceeded cautiously through the ruins of the ancient research lab, their boots crunching over the brittle dirt and fragmented stone. Every few steps, they stopped to check the environment, eyes flicking over the debris as they kept a sharp lookout for any signs of life or danger.

  The further they went, the more the landscape seemed to close in on them. The buildings were mostly shattered, their skeletal remains casting long shadows in the harsh light of Philos’s red-hued sun. Despite the dangers of the gunship’s attack, Aurania couldn't shake the sense that they were being watched, as if the ruins themselves had a life of their own, waiting for them to uncover the secrets buried deep within.

  But they met no further resistance. No sign of anything that might pose a threat. The eerie silence of the ruins pressed in on them, broken only by the occasional crack of stone underfoot or the distant howl of the wind. It was as though the place itself had forgotten time, a tomb for the knowledge and technology once housed here.

  They searched for what felt like hours, moving deeper into the ruins, but nothing came to light. No signs of life. No clues as to why the Conservatory was so determined to have a presence on this forsaken world.

  “Clear,” Inelius said finally, breaking the silence. “Seems like all hostiles left aboard that ship.”

  They fanned out, inspecting what remained of the once-functional structures. The tech littered around them was rusted, cracked, and decayed, but there was still something intriguing about the remnants.

  “How is this place still standing?” Violet muttered as she picked through a pile of debris. “It’s practically begging to be scavenged.”

  Soren nodded as he looked over the ruins with a furrowed brow. “It doesn’t make sense. You’d think a place like this would be stripped clean by now. Anyone find anything of value?”

  Inelius, who had been scanning the area around a broken terminal, looked up from his observations. “It’s likely the Conservatory team wasn’t here for extraction. I think they were mapping things out, gathering intel. All the valuable tech was left behind because they weren’t here for that.” He pointed to a series of tech modules scattered on the ground. “They must’ve been more interested in assessing what was still here, rather than what they could take.”

  “Reconnaissance, huh?” Violet said, her voice thoughtful. “That makes sense, that ship wasn’t very big. They wouldn’t have been able to haul much out.”

  The team began spreading out slightly, checking for salvageable tech and searching for any indication of what the Conservatory had wanted here. Aurania moved quietly between two collapsed beams, eyes scanning across the room for anything that seemed out of place while her ears half-tracked the others’ chatter.

  Then she noticed Soren peeling away from the group. What are you up to?

  He walked toward a section of the ruins with less debris and held his hand out toward it. She watched him closely, he seemed to be focusing on something. Their minds were still linked, although the connection had faded into the background of her perceptions during the past few weeks. He was trying something related to his abilities, but she couldn’t tell what.

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  She saw the air shimmer around a stone with a faint white aura where his palm was pointed, and an instant later, the rock flew across the room like it had a rocket attached to it. It slammed into the wall and shattered into a thousand pieces.

  Everyone turned and looked at him.

  “Ooooh, cool,” Amalia said with a smile. “Do it again.”

  “No, don’t,” Aurania said, more reflex than thought.

  For a moment, Soren didn’t say anything. Then he protested. “I’m more than a meat shield Aurania.”

  She met his gaze with a glare, but didn’t escalate. He wasn’t pushing back out of pride.

  “He’s right,” Inelius said. “The only way to not be afraid of what he can do is to figure out some understanding about his abilities.”

  “Yeah,” Soren went on. “And Tamiyo has been helping me meditate every day to try and understand them. But I can’t do any practical application aboard The Resolute Wind. I don’t want to lose control and accidentally tear a hole through the side of the ship.”

  Aurania held his gaze a moment longer, then rolled her eyes and gave a curt nod. “Fine.”

  “Oh hell yeah!” Amalia lit up. “Let me throw something at you.” She looked around to see who was closest to her. “Riza, you want to get in on this?”

  “Nope,” she said flatly. “I’ve been on the receiving end of that ride, it’s all yours.”

  Amalia just laughed and picked up a stone twice the size of her fist.

  “Now hold on,” Soren said, “I don’t exactly—”

  She hurled the stone at his head.

  Soren flinched and just dodged away from it.

  “Aww, don’t be boring,” Amalia said.

  “I’m still figuring this shit out!” Soren told her. “Don’t just provoke me without warning. It doesn’t go over well.” He made an exaggerated indication towards Aurania.

  She leaned against the wall and watched them with her arms crossed.

  “Just, just go over there, away from them,” Soren said. “I don’t want to accidentally hit someone.”

  Amalia listened and moved over to where Soren had launched the first stone from. She picked up another stone, this one slightly smaller than the last. She weighed it in her hand before tossing it lightly between her palms, like she was trying to decide if she should throw it or not.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you’re an agent of chaos?” Soren said. He crouched a little, trying to prepare for her attack.

  Amalia pretended for a moment like she was deeply insulted. “How dare you, you giant glow stick.” She lightly tossed the rock from her off hand to her dominant hand. “I am a beacon of joy.”

  She hurled the stone straight at him, way faster than expected. For a second, Aurania thought it was going to hit him.

  But then, with a sharp breath, he raised his hand and—

  The stone stopped a few inches away from his palm, held in the air by an invisible force.

  Everyone froze and watched him. The stone vibrated faintly as he held in the air with whatever force he’d wrapped it in.

  “That’s it. That’s it right there,” Soren muttered, his voice strained with concentration.

  But then the stone suddenly shot forward. It flew past Amalia and collided with a nearby pillar, causing the entire structure to vibrate. Soren winced, and said, “Oops.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Aurania could feel his embarrassment.

  Amalia looked where the stone hit then back to Soren, her face a picture of innocent curiosity. “You need more practice.”

  “You think?” Soren said.

  He must not have realized she meant right now, because a moment later another stone came hurtling toward him. He batted at it before it reached him. It obeyed and changed direction mid-air, flying into the wall.

  She threw another, he deflected it down into the ground, shards scattering over his boots. The next he flung into the wall again.

  Then she threw one and he accidentally batted with the other hand. It careened across the room towards the rest of the group. It passed right between Violet and Inelius before breaking apart on the opposite wall.

  “Alright, that’s enough,” Aurania said.

  Soren turned to look at her, not noticing Amalia throw one last small pebble at him. It knocked into the back of his helmet and he turned back to give Amalia an incredulous look.

  “Hehe…” she said with an awkward smile. “Last one, promise.”

  Aurania shot him a look. “You done fucking around?”

  “Me? Yes,” Soren said. “Her? Doubt it.”

  Aurania’s glare softened slightly, her mouth twitching into a half-smirk before she turned away. The others were less serious too, Violet was half-laughing, and Inelius’s face was unreadable, though he couldn’t hide the slight glint of approval in his eyes.

  As Soren and Amalia made their way back over to the rest of the group, Veolo asked, “So do we think they’re coming back at some point?”

  “Either that,” Violet said, “Or something here told them where to go next.”

  Several glances were traded around the room.

  “I think you’re onto something there, Violet,” Inelius said, typing away at a terminal he had got working. “They weren’t here for the technology, just the information it might hold. They probably knew they didn’t have time to secure anything major.”

  Soren glanced back at the ruins for a moment, pondered what Inelius had said. “So, they’re not after the equipment. They’re after... what, exactly? The data? A blueprint? It’s supposed to be connected to planetary gravity effects, right?”

  “This,” he said, looking up at Soren. He pointed at the terminal screen. “There’s a locked data core deeper inside the facility.”

  “Wait, if that’s what they were after, why is it still here?” Violet asked, leaning over Inelius’s shoulder to get a better look.

  “Because this is the backup,” Inelius replied, his brow furrowing as he worked. “There was another module here that looks like they grabbed and left. They didn’t pass over this one, they probably only had time to grab the one. The backup is locked up pretty good.”

  “Then let’s go unlock it,” Aurania said, determination in her voice.

  The team pushed forward, navigating through the rubble and deeper into the structure, following Inelius’s lead toward the sealed-off section of the facility. Along the way, they came across several pieces of older technology, much of it decayed, some of it barely functional, but enough to be worth salvaging. Small power cells, tactical interfaces, and a few pieces of advanced circuitry were all that remained from what had clearly been once state-of-the-art equipment.

  “Interesting,” Riza said, tossing a small, glowing component into her pack. “I think I can rig something useful out of this.”

  They kept their pace steady, collecting what they could as they moved toward the heart of the facility. Every piece of equipment they found seemed to hold the potential for something more, something they could use or learn from. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

  By the time they reached the locked door, they had gathered enough that Aurania felt like they had something tangible. Now, all they had to do was figure out what was on the data core, and why it had been so carefully hidden.

  The door was 10 feet tall and 20 feet wide, a type of blast door that slid along tracks to open. It appeared to be locked via a nearby terminal, but there wasn’t any power running to the computer.

  “Riza, think you can blow it open?” Aurania asked.

  “I can,” she answered. “But I can’t promise the data core will survive.”

  Aurania turned to Inelius. “What about restoring power to the terminal?”

  “I can think of a quicker way,” he said.

  She hesitated before answering, not wanting to acknowledge what he was suggesting. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Come on Aura,” Inelius said, “Give him a chance.”

  After several moments, she reluctantly turned to him, rolled her eyes, and gestured to the door. Then she turned to the rest of the team and said, “We should stand back.”

  Everyone backed away, up against a wall where they could watch but hopefully avoid being collateral damage.

  Amalia was bouncing up and down with excitement. “Tear it the fuck off!”

  He looked nervous, but he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then he raised a hand toward the door.

  Aurania watched the door closely.

  It didn’t move.

  She frowned slightly. She could feel his frustration bleeding through their mental link, like a background hum. But he reached deeper, and then the air began to change. A subtle but unmistakable pressure built, and finally, some dust shook loose from the seams of the door.

  He kept trying, and it began to move. The metal groaned, a low, strained sound that seemed to come from inside the walls.

  Soren grit his teeth, and the door groaned some more. It seemed like he had it, but then something faltered, and the door settled back into place.

  Soren exhaled forcefully, releasing the tension from trying so hard.

  There was a moment of silence from the group. No laughter, no jeering, just the quiet shuffle of gear and a few exchanged glances. But Aurania could feel his embarrassment radiating off of him. He wanted to succeed. The damn mental link was letting his thoughts slip through, and she could feel how much her approval meant to him.

  He rolled his jaw and moved his head side to side, trying to loosen his shoulders up.

  Amalia sympathetically told him, “Hey. You almost had it.”

  “Almost doesn’t open doors,” he muttered.

  Then, without another word, he turned and unhooked his rifle, tossing it lightly to Amalia. She caught it on instinct.

  He reached up and undid the straps on his helmet. Sweat clung to his hairline as he pulled it off and let out a breath.

  She suddenly became aware of how close she was watching his every move.

  He crouched down and set the helmet gently on the ground beside him, then stood and stepped forward again.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, he inhaled deeply through his nose, then opened them again. He raised both palms toward the door.

  The tension in the air returned immediately, and Aurania felt like her ears needed to pop.

  A low sound escaped him, half grunt, half growl, as his muscles tensed and his boots slid half an inch across the floor. His fingers curled slightly, involuntarily, as if gripping something that wasn’t there.

  Then the change hit.

  Tendrils of light began to crawl through his hair, and it once more moved as if buffeted by some cosmic wind. His eyes began to glow as the Aether Dust coursed through him. It was less explosive than in the lab, growing gradually, but it was no less magnificent.

  The blast door shuddered. Once, then again. A harsh grinding noise split the air as the massive structure lurched forward an inch and sparks popped from one of the wall tracks.

  “Easy,” Aurania warned him. If he lost control, it could turn bad quickly.

  He kept going.

  Soren’s fingers curled reflexively and he began to tremble as he strained. She saw veins start to stick up along his neck, and for a moment Aurania thought he might make himself pass out.

  But then he closed his fists, as if locking his invisible grip on the massive metal slabs, and yanked his arms back. The doors ripped towards him with a screech of tearing metal and flew through the air with immense speed. They barely missed his body and slammed into the wall behind him with a deep heavy clang. Dust filled the room, swirling in a red-tinged cloud, then everything began to fall silent.

  Slowly, the glowing light began to recede from his hair and eyes.

  No one spoke for several moments.

  Then Veolo muttered, “Holy shit.”

  Then Inelius, Amalia, and Violet all let out cheers for him. Riza even looked half impressed. Soren looked at her and she avoided his gaze, afraid her thoughts would betray her.

  “I knew you could do it!” Inelius said.

  Soren wiped sweat from his brow, breathing hard. “Thanks—”

  “LOOK OUT!!” Inelius yelled.

  Soren looked to his right, and a moment later the heavy door landed on top of him. Aurania involuntarily took half a step forward and began to reach a hand toward him, as if she could have done something to stop it.

  More dust and silence followed.

  For a second, Aurania couldn’t see him. She held her breath, scanning the ground through the thickening haze.

  Then she heard him groan. Weak, but unmistakable.

  “I’m okay,” came Soren’s muffled voice.

  “Might wanna define ‘okay,’” Violet called out to him.

  As the dust cleared, she saw just the top of his head barely sticking out from under the door. It looked like he was completely pinned on his back, his face held looking away from them.

  She let out a sigh, then turned to Inelius. “Go get the data core.”

  Aurania walked over and stood next to Soren’s head, then crouched down and grabbed the edge. The slab was enormous, and the weight staggering. Her arms trembled under the strain, but she didn’t let it show. She clenched her jaw, and her boots scraped slightly on the stone floor as she lifted it enough for him to crawl out.

  Soren blinked up at her, but didn’t move. He looked dazed, or starstruck, and he just stared up with wide eyes and an innocent look.

  She glared down at him. “What the fuck are you waiting for?!”

  “Shit yeah sorry. Moving.” He scrambled backward, dragging himself out from under the door with all the dignity of a crushed insect.

  Aurania exhaled sharply and dropped the door with a heavy clang, a puff of red dust billowing around her.

  She stood there as he sat up, panting, not yet ready to speak.

  Their eyes met again, and she felt his thoughts slip through as he regained his composure. At least the thoughts were flattering.

  She shifted her weight to one leg and pressed her tongue into her cheek, thinking how much to say. Finally, she said flatly, “You know I can still hear what you’re thinking.”

  He turned red and actually scowled at her for once. “Not fair,” he said, voice thick with irritation.

  Yeah, that’ll do.

  She grinned and walked away.

  Violet and Veolo came over to help him stand. Amalia tossed him back his rifle, and he caught it clumsily with one hand.

  “Where’s your helmet?” Violet asked.

  All four of them looked at the door lying flat.

  “How many helmets have you gone through since we left Nox?” Veolo asked.

  Soren averted his gaze from them awkwardly and said, “Hey Inelius, how’s it coming in there?”

  The lazarco was walking back toward them, and held up his hand, “Got it.”

  “Excellent,” Aurania said. “Good work, Inelius.”

  She motioned the team to head back to the ship, and as they began to move out of the room, Aurania felt the need to linger. She looked back at Soren and met his gaze. She almost wavered, but she kept her tone even and said, “You too.”

  Then she turned and kept walking without waiting for his response.

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