Chapter 59 | Status Quo

"Where did the time go?" Leon muttered as he sat at the edge of his bed, eyes fixed on the black armor mounted on the stand. It caught the soft light and shimmered, casting warped reflections that pulled him deeper into his thoughts.

In the polished surface, his own eyes stared back, faintly glowing with mana. His blurred reflection looked larger, more imposing than he felt.

A year had passed since he signed the dotted line. A simple flick of the wrist had changed everything.

In the months following his first mission, his cavora was deployed non-stop on MRM operations. The only reprieve came during transit between sites.

Yet despite the relentless pace, he hadn't lost a single soldier. He didn't know the average fatality rate for Obsidians on MRM dives, but he was proud of that record.

Still, something felt off. He hadn't seen any other Fulgaris on the missions—only Jeffrey, and only once. The others he came across were in passing during quick resupply stops with nearby fleets.

Every assignment his unit received took them to a newly discovered MRM site. Before they arrived, the forces stationed there were mixed Ordaris-Nullaris units, and the highest-ranking officer was always just a Blade Captain.

Not that he cared.

If a Warcenturion from the regular army had been stationed there, Leon would've needed their permission to command the troops already on-site.

They couldn't give orders to him or his Obsidians, but they could still get in the way—slow things down and make every decision a negotiation.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear the terminal chime. Only the soft, pulsing blue light reflecting off his armor pulled him from the trance.

He synced his CRI to his terminal and the subject of the notification appeared in his visual cortex. New orders.

Leon got up and walked to the terminal to view the full details. As he got closer to the terminal, a hologram of the details materialized.

The Keldris System? He frowned, watching as a map of the frontier systems flickered to life.

Every MRM mission he'd received had targeted newly discovered planets at the farthest edges of Imperial Covenant control.

The Keldris system, while still considered part of the frontier, lay far from the edges. It was on the verge of formal recognition within the Covenant's domain, soon to be assigned to a Domain Archon to oversee colonization efforts and establish a semblance of order.

"A terrorist subjugation mission," he muttered, scrolling through the details.

It was the first time he'd be ordered to fight—and kill—other humans.

A memory of four young recruits of Vora Ten clawed its way up, but he forced it back down with a shake of his head.

He didn't have the luxury of guilt. Not when hesitation could get someone killed.

But the weight of the final assessment and the first mission still lingered. The moment he froze had carved itself into his memory, a quiet shame he carried like a scar.

Since then, he'd built walls around the fear piece by piece, training himself to move without hesitation and to stand at the front.

But no amount of discipline could completely erase the memory of Malco Carl, the awkward oddball, being torn apart. Or the sight of Kara Vex, hurled and left behind, never making it out.

And Nyra—Nyra would've died if not for her shield bearer.

Those moments clung to him, buried but never gone.

Leon sent a message to all his vora leaders, instructing them to gather in the planning room.

An hour later, the cavora's leadership gathered in a compact chamber, all dressed in their standard loose black Obsidian uniforms, standing around the circular planning table at the center of the room.

Above it, a holographic projection of the Keldris system shimmered, casting a faint glow across their faces. The display zoomed in on an asteroid field orbiting the planet Keldris, its dense clusters spinning slowly.

"The Unbounded outpost is located here," Leon said, pointing to a massive asteroid near the edge of the cluster.

The hologram shifted, zooming in on the asteroid.

"There are three known entrances," he continued.

With a sweep of his hand, Leon traced glowing arcs through the air. Blue light flared as he used mana to control the hologram, marking three distinct points on the asteroid's surface.

"Here, here, and here."

"Pheeeew." Four's leader whistled. "Going through the cluster field will be impossible for the Inceptor."

Leon nodded at his comment.

"We can't count on the Corvette to get us close," Leon said, resting one hand thoughtfully on his chin while the other supported his elbow. "The Valkyrie's too big of a target… and there are reports of possible anti-ship. I'm not risking the entire cavora if they get a lucky shot."

Mason turned to Nyra, wide-eyed. "Where the hell did they find anti-ship?"

Nyra just shrugged.

Nullari rifles couldn't justify the expense of projectiles with mana cores to penetrate MRMs, but when it came to taking down an entire ship, the cost was worth it.

"We'll use the Breacher Pods," Leon said after a long moment of silence, deep in thought.

Everyone turned to him, wide-eyed.

"Sir… did you say the Breacher Pods?" asked Six's leader, her voice laced with disbelief. The confusion was warranted, Breacher Pods were designed for boarding and infiltration of other ships.

"Yes. The Breacher Pods." Leon zoomed in on a section of the asteroid. "Our objective is to secure this bay so the regulars can land. Two other cavoras from the Order will handle the other entrances."

The planning stretched on for another hour as they finalized the Breacher Pod placements and locked in the formation. Once Leon was confident his leads understood their assignments and were satisfied with the plan, he headed to the bridge to speak with the Inceptor's captain.

The crew would now have to calculate the exact distance, trajectory, and timing for both the Inceptor and the Breacher Pods.

"You want to use the Breacher Pods? To land on the asteroid?" Henry asked, wearing the same look of confusion Leon had seen earlier on his leads.

"Yes… I need your crew to prep the Pods," Leon said, shifting his weight as he looked past Henry toward the weapons officer at her station. "Can your weapons officer handle the calculations before we arrive?"

"Two days should be enough," Henry said after a brief pause, mentally running the numbers. "But would Command even approve this?"

Leon met the Captain's eyes.

"When has the Order ever cared how we get the mission done?"

"I'm talking about Ruinari Command," Henry replied. "This is insane! If the math's off, you could end up drifting in space for who knows how long."

Leon scratched the back of his head, his eyes dropping to the floor.

I still think it's a great idea, he thought.

"Haaa…" Henry sighed in resignation when Leon didn't respond. "We'll do our best to make sure the calculations don't get you killed."

It didn't take Leon long to go over the plans with Henry. Within thirty minutes, the Captain had everything he needed.

A soft pulse blinked across Leon's visual cortex—a reminder for his next stop.

He headed for the Viewdeck.

Nestled toward the front of the corvette, the chamber opened into a wide arc of reinforced glass, offering a sweeping view of the stars. Lush plantlife lined the curved walls; hanging vines that swayed with the recycled air, low shrubs in soil beds, and tall, slender trees that seemed just out of place enough to remind you this was still a ship, not a garden. The scent was faint but calming: something between damp earth and whatever passed for lavender in engineered flora.

This was one of the few places on the vessel designed to ease the pressure of life aboard a warship.

Leon, Mason, and Nyra would stop by here at least once a week for lunch, hoping to forget their duties, if only for a while. More often than not, the peace would crumble into a familiar argument about which food was actually edible and which of them had the worst taste.

"Where's Mason?" Leon asked as he walked up to Nyra, who was seated on the grass a few feet from the viewing glass.

She had already picked up their lunch from the cafeteria, the familiar metal box resting beside her, a thin trail of steam rising from it. The scent of grilled steak and cooked herbs hit his nose, and his stomach promptly reminded him just how hungry he was.

Nyra glanced over as Leon sat down on the other side of the box.

"He's not coming. He's busy getting his vora's gear sorted," she said, shaking her head. "Idiot's been slacking on his inspection reports again."

"Oh well. That just means I don't have to wait for him," Leon said as he channeled mana into the box. With a soft click, a compartment slid open from the side, revealing two plates of juicy steak with a side of greens.

They ate in silence, savoring the rich flavor of the steak. But to anyone watching, it wouldn't look peaceful. It would look like two people tearing through their lunch without stopping to breathe.

Leon slid his empty plate back into the compartment, then leaned back on his hands, eyes drifting to the slow river of stars outside the viewport.

He glanced at Nyra as she tucked her plate away. A few strands of hair slipped down, partially veiling her face.

It had gotten longer.

It now fell past her shoulders, still that same silken chestnut brown, but under the lighting, he caught hints of reddish highlights, the same ones he'd noticed recently.

The moment pulled him back to Ferros when he first started seeing her differently. When he began to realize just how drawn to her he was.

Things had been non-stop since then. Mission after mission. He hadn't had the time, or maybe the nerve, to really sit with how he felt. But moments like this made his heart race. Made the questions harder to ignore.

What if?

He had never planned on feeling this way again. Not so soon after Vanessa. And not for someone who mattered to him this much. The risk of ruining what they already had—of making things awkward—was enough to keep it all bottled up.

Nyra sat back upright and brushed the loose strands behind her ear. She looked out toward the stars. Leon watched her for a few seconds longer, then turned to face the view as well. The lights in the chamber dimmed as power shifted for departure, softening the room into a quiet shadow.

Beyond the glass, streaks of purple and green drifted like smoke through the stars. The nebula pulsed faintly, as if breathing.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nyra shift. She leaned forward and set her arm along the edge of the metal box, then rested her head against it.

The nebula light softly painted across her face, casting faint shadows down the slope of her cheek and along her neck. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

For a moment, he watched the way the light moved across her eyes more than the stars itself.

"Leon?" she asked softly, still gazing out at the stars.

"Mmm?"

"What do you think of the Imperial Covenant?"

"It's okay," he replied, half-distracted.

Nyra lifted her head and sat back up to look at him.

"Just okay?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?" Leon said, uncertain, noticing her tone was less soft now.

"And when you were a Nullari?"

Leon hesitated, caught off guard.

"I mean… yeah, it was bad back then," he said. "But I was just trying to survive. I didn't really have the time to think about anything else." He scratched the back of his head, a little confused. He was pretty sure he'd already mentioned bits and pieces of his old life. At least when all three of them were around.

Nyra's voice sharpened.

"And what about the mission? We're being ordered to kill other humans. Are you willing to do that again?"

He flinched at the last part. The words hit a nerve that never fully healed. Of all people, he hadn't expected her to ask him that.

"We signed up for the Imperial Army," he said, irritation rising in his voice. "Why does it matter what we think? Besides, they're just a bunch of terrorists."

Nyra slapped both palms on the box and stood up.

"Do you really believe that?!" she snapped, glaring down at him.

Leon stood too.

"What do you want from me, Nyra?" he shot back, louder now, though he was still trying to keep a lid on the frustration building in his chest.

Nyra held his gaze for a few seconds. Then her eyes softened and her shoulders dropped.

"I just want you to think for yourself," she said, quietly.

Then she turned and walked away.

He stood there, staring after her, dazed. Even after she left the viewdeck, he didn't move. When the moment finally caught up to him, the mix of anger, frustration, and confusion surged all at once.

"Ahhh!" he shouted, kicking the metal box with a sharp clang.

What the hell is she trying to say?

The hull plating slid across the viewing glass. The light from the stars dimmed, then vanished completely as the shutters sealed shut.

"Entering warp in five…"