“Rach?” Xaleyp asked, his voice quivering and somewhat higher pitched than he expected it to be.

She nodded slightly, though it was impeded by the danger imposed by the knife tip. Immediately, his heart went from its hammering to an apparent stop as the full realization of the scenario hit him. He had not seen her since the day the Hyperions came and kidnapped them, eight years ago. Attempting to choke back his emotions, he let the visor of the exosuit slide up and reveal his face. Her mouth turned to an ‘o’ of surprise and excitement at seeing him, though the knife kept her from sitting up.

“It’s been so long.” He didn’t know what to say; after all, where do you start after not seeing your best friend in eight years? “What are you doing here?”

“Doing what I was trained to do.” Her voice was as gentle as he remembered, though restrained to prevent the knife from digging deeper into her throat.

Xaleyp gestured to Beta, who begrudgingly sheathed the knife and got off Rach. She massaged her throat, smearing the blood that had trickled out over her gloved hand. With a nod of appreciation to Beta, Rach stood, turning to Xaleyp with an almost dazed expression.

“When the Hyperions kidnapped us, they sent me here to a training camp with a bunch of other children from all over the galaxy. Then, after a few years once the Arcadians took over, they transferred me to their Reaper facility. I’ve been training as one of them for the last year or so.”

“But what are you doing here?” Beta asked, interrupting Rach and staring at her with a look that could pierce through metal.

“As a Reaper, it was my duty to defend the Praes Dominion and its government at all costs.” She narrowed her eyes at Beta and pointed to a spot on her armored chest where the Arcadian cog and eagle was emblazoned by a miniature hologram projector. In a fluid movement, she grabbed the projector with her gloved hand and ripped it off, dropping it down the staircase where it hit the ground with a clatter several seconds later. “However, seeing how that means fighting my best friend, I’m going to have to abandon that duty.”

She nearly ran down the steps to where Xaleyp was standing, flinging her arms around him and holding him tight. He hesitated for a moment, shocked at the gesture, before he returned the hug, though it was somewhat awkward through the exosuit.

“I missed you,” she whispered, leaning back to look him in the eye. Only he could hear the words, but they meant more to him than anything.

From the top of the stairs, Beta cleared her throat as she stared down at them, a hand on her hip.

“In case you weren’t aware, we are in the middle of a warzone, so could you two try to make it just a little faster?”

“Right, sorry,” Xaleyp said, clearing his throat and walking back up the staircase. Rach followed just behind him, and they went through the open door with Beta bringing up the rear. “Since you have so much insight into how the Arcadians function, Rach, perhaps you could provide us with some valuable information about what kind of defense they have.”

“You name it, they got it,” she said, shaking her head. “Starfighters, drones, soldiers, the whole nine yards. Castellian authorized full military force until all Siatians have been expelled from the planet and is preparing for a counteroffensive. You guys did quite the job stirring up the hornet’s nest, and now it’s just a matter of time for them to get their shit together. And this won’t end with Castellian’s death, since it seems like the entire planet is ready to go along with his plans, for better or worse.”

Beta looked at Rach funny, as if the statement didn’t make any sense, but she quickly hid her expression again. Xaleyp, however, remembered something that Tober had said, that Ciovyr was able to control people through their CAMs. Was it possible that all of Arcadia was under the unseen alien’s control, and that it was responsible for their actions? Xaleyp stopped just inside the door, turning to look at Rach who continued moving for a moment before stopping as well.

“Rach, have you heard anything about mind control in the population?”

She shook her head again, a puzzled look on her face.

“Nothing definite, just some rumors every now and then about experiments the military was trying, but nothing more than that. I’d like to think I would have heard about it if the government was trying to mind control the citizens of Arcadia though.”

She chuckled darkly as she walked around the corner. Beta reached out and grabbed Xaleyp’s arm, holding him back before he could follow.

“What do you know about mind control, sir?” she whispered to him, allowing him to keep moving forward several seconds after Rach disappeared.

“Just a hunch I wanted to follow up on.” He shrugged, rounding the corner into the disheveled offices. “Nothing more than that, I promise.”

“Where did you get that hunch?” After a second’s hesitation, she hastily added “Sir” to the question.

“I can’t remember,” he lied. “Just something I heard from one of the techs or something, I guess.”

He looked at Beta out of the side of his eye, wondering why she was suddenly so curious about mind control, but she didn’t press the issue further. Rach was several steps ahead, waiting for the pair of them just outside the large, open room of the floor.

Scattered throughout the room were different office supplies that once occupied the desks and rubble where the ceiling had collapsed. Dust hung heavy in the air, catching some of the light streaming in through destroyed windows. Sections of the room were filled with gaping holes, some going outside and revealing the exterior and others showing the pipes and wires of the building’s infrastructure. Under some of the rubble, some burned and some crushed, were bodies of the workers who had been inside when the attack started.

Xaleyp felt a twinge of regret and guilt forming in his chest as he saw the corpses, forcing himself to look anywhere but at them. Could he honestly say that they had this coming, that they were as responsible as Castellian for Arcadia’s destruction of the transport at Siatia?

The whir of an engine drew his attention elsewhere before he could dwell on it longer. Outside, a starfighter slowly made its way past, a narrow beam of light illuminating the floor below them.

“Everyone down, now!” Xaleyp practically screamed through his CAM to his squad.

There was a rustle of movement from elsewhere in the office. He reached out and grabbed Rach, pulling her behind an overturned desk just as the starfighter’s light streamed through the window. Shadows of the destroyed pieces of office danced over the walls as it passed by without slowing or stopping. Just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared again, spiraling higher and higher up the building.

Xaleyp released a breath he didn’t know he was holding and stood slowly, giving the all clear to the other Siatians. He saw their shadows moving slowly towards the other end of the floor where they resumed their positions in the windows. Rach and Beta both stood as well, looking around for any other signs of imminent danger.

“Anyway—Rach, was it?—capturing Castellian is just the start,” Beta said, taking a deep breath. “There are much bigger plans involved in this game of chess. We’re just pawns, working for a higher power, but we have the ability to shape the galaxy how we want it. If we want to make a difference, Castellian is a good stepping stone, but it does not stop there.”

Beta paused for a moment as Xaleyp and Rach exchanged looks, then she pointed at him.

“I need to talk to you,” she said, looking around the room. “In private, that is.”

She walked over to one of the separated offices towards a corner, leaving Xaleyp standing there somewhat surprised. He looked at Rach, offered a quick apology, then followed Beta in. The door closed behind them, and inside was a desk with a chair on either side of it. At the opposite end was a blown out window with a view of the destruction he left in the city. The office itself was, thankfully, free of any bodies, though what had once been a potted plant lay scattered over the floor in the corner.

Beta leaned against the desk, crossing her arms and legs as she stared at him.

“I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Xaleyp, and I just want to make it clear that nothing I say here leaves this room, for my safety and yours.”

Xaleyp hesitated for a moment, both curious and frightened of what he was about to hear. He nodded and gestured for her to continue, hoping that she wouldn’t notice his hand shaking with the movement.

“Now, I am something of a soldier, though not for Siatia and not in any sense of the word that you would recognize. I work for an entity that works in the shadows, attempting to influence events in the galaxy in order to destabilize the current hierarchy and replace it with a better one. From what I’ve heard, you share some similar sentiments, is that correct?” She waited for him to haltingly confirm the statement before she continued. “The organization I work for has been keeping an eye on you as you’ve gone about your life, making sure you make it where you need to, when you need to. For instance, I’m sure you received the note I handed to you just a week before the attack on the transport that brought us here.”

“That was you?” Xaleyp sputtered out, suddenly remembering the note that left his mind ever since seeing his parents. “Why did you give it to me, why do you want me to go to Stariek?”

“Because it is where you will find the truth, and it also happens to be where my organization is based. The people who once led and currently lead the galaxy—Seth Drake, Tober Delargivic, Castellian, Ardus Kain, Hayden Irani, all of them—work together to manufacture terrorism and fund wars under the guise of intergalactic supremacy. What they desire is nothing more than power, and who I work for wants to see that change. And your actions have proven that you deserve to be issued a formal invitation to my organization: the Axiom.”

“Why are you telling me all of this now?” Xaleyp asked, cutting her off. He walked in a small circle, subconsciously wringing his hands as he paced and stared anywhere but at her. “We’re in the middle of a mission that has proven to be anything but a success so far, and this could easily change the fate of the galaxy.”

“Oh, I forgot how naive you were,” Beta said, shaking her head and chuckling to herself. “Ardus and Castellian have plotted every step of this day, ensuring it goes exactly the way they planned for the outcome they want. Whether you like it or not, there’s nothing you can change about how this mission is going to end.”

“What if I just dusted my hands of the situation and walked away?” With the words, Xaleyp began unknowingly inching his way towards the door. “What if I gave myself up to the Arcadians? Surely Ardus didn’t plan for that, so what would happen to his oh so carefully thought out scheme?”

“Someone else will take your place and you’ll rot in some prison somewhere for the rest of your life, unaware of anything going on outside your cell.” Her face was serious as she stared at him, boring holes through his eyes. “Like I said, we’re pawns, easily replaceable with the next unwitting sap who gets stuck with the job. No offense, of course.”

Xaleyp slowly slouched into the chair nearest him, burying his face in his palms. He sat silently for what felt like an eternity pondering what Beta told him, questioning whether it was too good to be true. If it were, he had the opportunity to accomplish what he dreamed of since he first left Vertyn. It gave him a chance to start a new life, a better one for both himself and the rest of the galaxy. More, he would finally have the power to keep those he cared about safe and ensure they didn’t end up like Lina or his parents.

Then again, could he honestly believe what Beta was telling him was the truth? From what she said, the Axiom was in operation for years, and no one else ever found any hint they existed? Siatia’s Celestial Order, Hyperia’s Obsidian Order, whatever the Hell Arcadia had, none of them were able to find the Axiom and put a stop to it before it got to this point? Could they have known about it and simply ignored it, passing it off as unworthy of their attention?

Whether it was real or not, however, was a moot point. Regardless, this was finally his chance to make a real change to the galaxy, moreso than Ardus and Siatia and the Celestial Order had provided.

Finally, he looked back up at her to find she was still staring intently at him. His heart thudded in his chest, once more threatening to erupt with its fierce pounding.

“So, how long do I have to go along with Ardus’ plans before I can join?” he asked, tilting his head slightly to one side as he looked at her.

“Well, first of all, while some of us would be happy to have you among our ranks, joining us isn’t that simple.” Beta pushed herself up from her leaning position, scattering dust from the desktop with the movement. She walked in carefully measured steps around the desk to the opposite side, the window with the view of the decimated skyline framing her. Her hands brushed over the desk as she went, sending more of the dust drifting through the air to the ground. “Though, I do appreciate the sentiment. For now, you go along with it as long as is necessary to ensure that nothing changes before it needs to. We don’t want Ardus or anyone else to get wind of this and put a stop to it before it’s time. Once we’re done here, you will find some sort of excuse to get to Stariek and meet the Axiom in person, at which point they will formally decide whether to allow you into the organization.”

She continued walking around the desk to the door when Xaleyp gently grabbed her arm to stop her.

“How do you now I’m not going to just betray you and tell Ardus what you’re doing?”

With a practiced ease, she detached his hand from the arm of her exosuit and kept heading for the door. Only when she reached it did she look back at him, a slight smile curving her lips.

“Because our sources have done their research on you, and I’d say you know about you than you do. While you may tell Eve, or Mian, or maybe even Rach once you two reconnect, you won’t want to risk passing on this opportunity. Therefore, you wouldn’t tell Ardus just for him to potentially ruin everything you want to accomplish.”

With the final word, she turned and opened the door with a press of the keypad, walking back out and rejoining the Siatian soldiers. Xaleyp continued sitting in the chair, embroiled in his own thoughts, for several moments.

While everything Beta said sounded enticing—perhaps too enticing—there was only one thing that mattered right now. Castellian ordered the destruction of a civilian transport in Siatian territory, killing Xaleyp’s parents, and, for that, he must be brought to justice. Before he could even consider anything else, he needed to avenge them by any means necessary.

Resolutely, he stood and walked out the door.