The AeroWing's interior glowed with the soft amber light of its navigation systems as Alexis initiated the pre-flight sequence. Her fingers danced across the controls with practiced precision, the violet energy of the Mastron Shard occasionally surfacing beneath her skin like lightning beneath storm clouds.
"Umbral Station," she murmured, more to herself than to you. "I haven't been there in seven cycles. It's not a place one visits willingly." You settled into the co-pilot's seat, watching as holographic displays blossomed before her, showing flight paths and celestial coordinates in configurations you somehow understood despite having no memory of learning them.
"We'll need to pass through Nexiri Gate," Alexis continued, pulling up a navigational chart that showed the vast expanse of SEPT II - The Rift Expanse - and beyond it, the darker territories of SEPT III. "It's the only sanctioned jump-point between SEPTs. Without proper clearance codes, the automated defense systems would reduce us to scattered atoms before we could explain ourselves."
"Do we have these codes?" you asked, noticing her frown as she studied the display.
"Not exactly." A wry smile touched her lips. "But I know someone who does. An old contact at Nexiri who owes me a favor."
The cockpit hummed as systems came online one by one. Through the viewport, you could see the edges of Alkora's eastern district where you had hidden the AeroWing after fleeing the Shrine of Forgotten Light. The sun had fully set now, leaving the city awash in the artificial glow of countless lights that etched the contours of towers and bridges against the night sky.
"We should reach Nexiri Gate in approximately six jumps," Alexis said, entering a series of coordinates. "From there, it's another eight to Umbral Station, assuming we don't encounter any - "
A sharp, insistent beeping cut through her words. Not from the AeroWing's systems, but from somewhere closer. You reached into your pocket, feeling the device that had connected you to Alexis - the small communicator that had guided your early steps through Alkora. Its surface glowed with an intensity you hadn't seen before, pulsing in sync with the alarming tone.
"What is it?" Alexis asked, her hands freezing above the navigation controls.
You pulled out the device, finding its screen filled with fragmented text that shifted and reformed as if struggling against interference:
BEACON --- Incoming ------- Data relay: unknown --- unreadable --- "Enter the Solaris Rift" --- unreadable --- Pl - a St - ms -- End Transmission --
"Enter the Solaris Rift?" you read aloud, confusion evident in your voice.
You looked up to find Alexis staring at the message, her expression cycling through disbelief, uncertainty, and what appeared to be disdain.
"There’s no way," she whispered, reaching for the device with hesitant fingers. "Does it say who it's from?"
"No, nothing," you replied, surrendering the communicator to her examination. She studied it intently, the violet energy beneath her skin pulsing more rapidly as her agitation grew. "Solaris Rift," she finally said, the name carrying weight beyond its mere syllables. "It's a light-rich nebula in SEPT II. One of the few places in the 70 Zones where raw plasma can be harvested directly from space itself."
"Plasma? For what purpose?"
"Energy. Medicine. Weapons." Alexis set the device down carefully between you. "The Rift is surrounded by harvesting stations. Some controlled by the ICA, others by private interests. All of them dangerous in their own way. The plasma there is... unpredictable. It changes those who work with it for too long."
The communicator continued its insistent beeping, the message cycling through its fragmented text as if demanding acknowledgment.
"Could it be a trap?" you suggested, recalling Malachar's pursuit at the shrine. "Isardeth's spawn trying to divert us from our course?"
"Possibly." Alexis frowned, running a hand through her dark hair. "But how would they access this channel? This device was keyed specifically to me… to my unique energy signature."
"Then who else could send such a message?"
“Maybe not who but what?” She turned her gaze to the viewport, to the stars now visible above Alkora's atmospheric haze. "There are few possibilities, none of them reassuring." She sighed, turning back to you. "The question now is what we do about it."
You considered the options, feeling the weight of the amulet Cramlin had given you against your chest. "Umbral Station has the Belstron Shard," you said slowly. "That's our mission. The path we agreed upon."
"Yes," Alexis said, but her voice carried doubt. "But this message..." She tapped the communicator. "The timing is too precise to be coincidence."
"Cramlin said the Belstron Shard would be difficult to claim," you reminded her. "Perhaps this is why. Perhaps we need something from Solaris Rift first."
"Or perhaps something there needs us." Alexis leaned back in her seat, studying you with those color-shifting eyes. "The Mastron Shard gives me glimpses sometimes… fragments of possibility, paths that might be taken. Since claiming it, I've seen the Rift in these visions, though I didn't understand why." She gestured at the communicator. "Until now."
The navigation display still showed the plotted course to Nexiri Gate, the first step on your journey to Umbral Station and the second shard. To divert to Solaris Rift would add hours, perhaps days, to your journey - time that Isardeth's spawn could use to further their own pursuit of the shards.
"What does your instinct tell you?" Alexis asked, her gaze intent upon your face.
You closed your eyes, trying to find clarity amidst the confusion of your still-fragmented identity. Cramlin's words echoed in your mind: "You were made with choice, but also with purpose." And later: "My seal is, and always has been upon you. Alament's gift awaits."
When you opened your eyes again, you found Alexis watching you with an intensity that suggested she understood the weight of the decision more than she had revealed.
"Cramlin said I would know where the truth would lead us," you said finally. "That as each shard is gathered, portions of my true identity would return."
"And do you? Know where to go?" There was something in her voice beyond mere curiosity - a testing quality, as if your answer held significance beyond the immediate question of navigation.
"I think..." you began, but uncertainty clouded your thoughts. The logical path led to Umbral Station and the Belstron Shard. Yet something about the message pulled at you, a familiarity you couldn't place.
"The Solaris Rift message feels like it's meant for me," you admitted. "But the Belstron Shard is our agreed purpose. Without it, we're no closer to stopping Isardeth."
Alexis's expression hardened slightly. "We can't afford to be wrong about this. If we divert to Solaris Rift and it's nothing but a distraction, we may lose our chance at the shard. But if we ignore this message and it contains information vital to our mission..." She left the consequence unspoken.
Your eyes met hers, you squint, "What would you do?" you asked, genuinely curious about her perspective.
She considered for a moment, the violet energy beneath her skin settling into a steady pulse. "I trust the Mastron Shard," she said finally. "It showed me the Rift for a reason. But I also trust the path that was laid before us. Umbral Station. The Belstron Shard." Her eyes met yours. "What I don't yet fully trust is the extent of my own understanding. The shards reveal their knowledge gradually, purposefully. We may not yet be meant to comprehend why both paths call to us simultaneously."
The tension in the cockpit grew palpable as neither of you spoke for several long moments. The communicator continued its rhythmic beeping, a constant reminder of the choice that hung between you.
"Perhaps - " you began, but a new alarm cut through your words - this one from the AeroWing's systems, high-pitched and urgent.
Alexis's attention snapped to the control panel, where a red indicator flashed ominously. Her fingers moved swiftly across the display, bringing up a secondary scanner that showed the space around your vessel.
"Tracker signal," she said, her voice tight. "Active and locked onto our position."
"Malachar?" you asked, remembering the hooded figure from the shrine.
"No." Alexis's expression darkened as she examined the signal's characteristics. "This originates from Novae Traverse - SEPT VIII." She glanced at you, something like fear flickering in her eyes. "The Silent Bastions. Isardeth's spawn maintain a significant presence there. It's where they launch most of their raids across the zones."
"They know where we are," you realized aloud. "Even here, hidden on the outskirts of Alkora."
"Not just where we are," Alexis corrected grimly. "They're broadcasting an identifier code. This isn't just tracking - it's painting us as a target." She began rapidly entering commands, and the AeroWing's engines shifted from standby to active, their hum deepening as power surged through the vessel. "We need to move. Now."
Outside the viewport, you caught movement - a shadow passing across the distant lights of Alkora, fast and purposeful. Then another, converging on your position.
"Pursuit craft," Alexis confirmed, not needing to look up from her frantic preparations. "Two, maybe three. Light attack vessels by their profile. We have minutes, if that."
The navigation display still showed the plotted course to Nexiri Gate, now overlaid with proximity alerts as the pursuing vessels drew closer. Beside it, the communicator continued its insistent signal, the fragmented message about Solaris Rift cycling endlessly.
Two paths. Two possible destinies. And no time left to debate.
You reached for the amulet Cramlin had given you, feeling its warmth against your palm even through your clothing. As you touched it, a certainty blossomed in your mind, not the full truth of your identity, but a fragment, clear and undeniable.
"I know where we need to go," you said, your voice steadier than you expected.
Alexis looked up, searching your face. Whatever she saw there must have satisfied her, because she nodded once, decisively. "Tell me."
You leaned forward, entering a set of coordinates that your fingers somehow knew, though your conscious mind had never learned. The navigation display flickered, recalculating, showing a new course that diverged sharply from both Nexiri Gate and Solaris Rift.
Alexis's eyes widened as she recognized the destination. "Are you certain?" she asked, though her hands were already adjusting the flight path to match your input.
"Yes," you replied, as the first weapons fire from the pursuit craft lanced through the darkness outside, narrowly missing the AeroWing's port stabilizer. "It's where we'll find both what we need and what we seek."
The engines roared to full power, pressing you back into your seat as Alexis executed a maneuver that sent the vessel hurtling away from Alkora at a speed that made the stars blur into streaks of light. The pursuing craft fell behind momentarily, caught off-guard by your sudden departure.
"They'll follow," Alexis said, hands steady on the controls despite the danger. "And they'll call for reinforcements. Whatever awaits us at these coordinates, we'll have company shortly after we arrive."
You nodded, feeling the weight of your choice even as certainty remained. As Alkora receded behind you and the vast emptiness of space opened before the AeroWing, you and Alexis exchanged a look of mutual understanding.
The path was set. The consequences would reveal themselves in time. And somewhere between the message of Solaris Rift and the promise of the Belstron Shard lay a truth that only you, somehow, could recognize.
The AeroWing surged forward into the darkness, carrying you toward a destination known only to the two of you - and to those who hunted in your wake.