The hangar was supposed to be a place of cold steel and military order, but for Luke Hampton, it had become a chamber of haunting echoes. While the rest of the Vanguard Squad was at the mess hall celebrating their first kill, Luke stayed behind. He stood on the gantry of his training mech, staring at the arm where the Drealius oil had splashed.
The maintenance drones had scrubbed it with industrial solvent, yet a faint, iridescent stain remained. It didn't look like oil anymore; it looked like a bruise on the metal.
"...Luke..."
He jumped, nearly falling off the gantry. The voice wasn't in his ear—it was in the marrow of his teeth. It sounded like his father, but layered with the static of a thousand radio stations.
"Who's there?" Luke demanded, his hand reaching for his sidearm.
"...The gate... is only... the beginning... find the core..."
"Luke? You talking to the machines again?"
He spun around to see Mira 'Ghost' Vane standing at the base of the gantry. She was holding a handheld scanner, her dark eyes tracking the flickering energy readings coming from Luke's mech.
"It's talking, Mira," Luke whispered, his face pale. "It's not just a stain. It's a receiver."
Mira climbed up, her expression turning clinical. "My father always said the black oil was a neural-lattice. If it's talking to you, it's because your DNA matches the 'Source' it remembers. It thinks you're the General."
The Senator's Arrival
The eerie moment was shattered by the sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps and the clicking of high-heeled boots on the polished floor. Senator Alistair Vance, Sloane's father and the Chairman of the Sol Defense Committee, marched into the hangar. He was flanked by four "Iron-Guard" peacekeepers in black tactical gear.
Sloane followed behind him, looking unusually stiff and uncomfortable.
"The Hampton twins," the Senator boomed, his voice carrying the practiced authority of a man who moved planets with a signature. "I came to congratulate the boys who saved my daughter's life today."
Zane appeared from the corridor, his face hardening instantly. He didn't like politicians, and he especially didn't like the way the Senator was looking at the scorched stars on their father's armor.
"We did our jobs, Senator," Zane said, crossing his arms. "Just like our father did."
"Exactly like your father," Vance smiled, but his eyes remained cold. "Which is why we need to discuss the future. The United Sol government is worried, boys. The Tenth Fleet is gone. The public is terrified. They need a symbol. They need to see the 'Sons of the Vanguard' leading the new defense initiative."
The Golden Cage
The Senator stepped closer to Luke, his voice dropping to a confidential tone. "I've seen the reports. The 'whispers' you've been reporting. The anomalies. We want to move you and your brother to a private facility—the Prometheus Lab. No more Academy drills. No more Thorne. We give you the best tech, the best ships, and in return, you become the face of the new war."
"And if we say no?" Luke asked, the voice in his head suddenly turning into a low, warning growl.
"Then the Academy loses its funding," Vance replied simply. "And Captain Thorne loses his commission for 'endangering cadets' by taking them into combat too early."
Sloane looked at the ground, her jaw tight. She knew her father wasn't offering a promotion—he was offering a cage. He wanted the Hamptons under his thumb so he could control the narrative of the war.
"We'll think about it," Zane snapped, stepping between Luke and the Senator.
"Don't think too long," Vance said, turning on his heel. "The Drealius aren't the only ones who can dismantle a legacy, Zane. Sleep well, boys."
The Breach of Trust
As the Senator's entourage left, the hangar felt colder than the vacuum outside.
"He's going to use us," Zane hissed, turning to Luke. "He doesn't care about Dad. He wants to weaponize the name."
Luke didn't answer. He was looking at his hand. Where he had touched the "stain" on the mech, a small, black thread of oil was beginning to weave itself under his fingernail.
"...Don't... go... to the lab..." the voice whispered, clearer than ever. "The lab... is where... the Harvest... began."
Luke looked at Zane, then at Mira, who was staring at his hand in horror. "We aren't going to the lab," Luke said, his voice sounding older, more certain. "And we aren't staying here. If the government is involved in the Harvest, then there's only one man we can trust."
"Thorne?" Zane asked.
"No," Luke replied, looking at the data-chip in his pocket. "The man who's still out there. We're going to find a way to jump back to the Abyss. Tonight."