Chapter 35
She breathed in deeply, her eyes set on the reflection of herself in the mirroring shift. The battlefield was silent, with dead bodies of comrades and enemies lying all around. The air was heavy, thick with guilt and loss.
She fisted her hands. This was her truth, her biggest failure-the mission that cost lives because of the choices she had made. The faces of those who trusted her stared back-lifeless-and their eyes looked right at her.
"You were supposed to save us," one whispered.
"No," she said firmly. "I did what I could. I didn't want this."
The reflection shifted again; this time, it showed her standing in a deserted darkness, shadowy surroundings looming all around.
“You’re afraid of being alone, of failing again,” the reflection accused.
“I’m afraid,” Selene admitted. “But I’m still standing. I’m still fighting.”
The mirror began to crack, the battlefield fading away. Selene exhaled, her shoulders relaxing. The truth hadn’t broken her.
\---
Before his mirror, Dante stood bereft of the usual semblance of confidence. A much younger one stared back from a room that was gray-scaled, dimly lit; in the background, there was the cry of a child.
"I couldn't save him," Dante whispered.
"You left him," the reflection said icily.
"I didn't have a choice," Dante snapped, voice quivering. "I was just a kid myself. What was I supposed to do?
The reflection didn’t answer. Instead, it showed him walking away, his hands clenched into fists.
“You’re still running, Dante. From the past, from yourself.”
“I’m not that person anymore,” Dante said, his jaw tight. “I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve also made up for them. Haven’t I?”
The reflection didn’t reply, but the mirror began to dissolve, leaving Dante standing alone, his heart heavy.
\---
Wren turned to her mirror with a feeling of dread combined with determination. A reflection showed her standing in a lab, the prototype glowing dangerously in her hands.
"No," she whispered, her body moving backward.
The reflection followed her, accusatory eyes filled with judgment. "You thought you were saving them. But you didn't listen. You rushed in, and they paid the price."
"I didn't know!" Wren cried. "I didn't know it would. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."
"But they did," the reflection said, his voice like ice. "And you're still trying to fix it. Still trying to prove you're not a failure."
Wren's hands shook. "I'm not a failure. I'm not."
The reflection softened, the lab fading away. "Then prove it."
The mirror shattered, and Wren took a shaky breath in, her resolve hardening.
\---
Xara's mirror reflected a stark, empty room. She was alone-skipped of weapons, her usual confidence stripped from her.
"You're nothing without them," the reflection said, its voice calm but cutting.
"I'm more than my weapons," Xara shot back.
"Are you? You've spent so long building walls, pushing people away. What do you have left if the walls come down?
Xara clenched her fists. “I have myself. That’s enough.”
“Is it?” the reflection asked. The room grew darker, the emptiness pressing in on her.
Xara gritted her teeth. “Yes. I’ve survived worse than this.”
The darkness receded, the mirror dissolving. Xara stood tall, her heart steady.
\---
Kade approached his mirror with an unreadable expression. The reflection was blurred, its features shifting.
“Your secrets define you,” the reflection said. “But they also trap you.”
He didn't answer him; his eyes didn't blink.
"What is it that you're hiding, Kade?" it persisted.
"Enough," he whispered.
"Enough for them to turn on you?"
Kade's lips curled into a slight smile. "Perhaps. But that's my cross, not theirs."
The reflection said nothing more; the mirror flickered out with no more argument from it. Kade turned away, expressionless.
As they came together once more in the central chamber, words of emotion were unspoken but hung in the air. All of them had his or her own burdens, yet they faced and emerged from them. The cold, mechanical voice of the hologram flickered to life once more: "You have confronted your truths. You are worthy of the knowledge you seek."
The console in the middle of the room flickered to life, symbols dancing across its surface.
Wren stepped forward cautiously, hovering her hands over the controls. "This is it. Let's see what it has."
\---
As Wren worked, the console projected a series of images and schematics before them; the prototype's true nature unfolded.
“It’s a power source,” Wren said, her voice filled with awe. “But it’s more than that. It can manipulate energy on a scale we’ve never seen before.”
“Energy for what?” Selene asked.
Wren's face turned dark. "Weapons. Shields. Even planetary destruction."
The room fell silent.
"We can't let this fall into the wrong hands," Selene said, her voice steady.
"We know the Coalition and the Syndicate are after it," Xara said. "What's to stop them from coming here next?"
Wren's fingers flew across the controls. "There's a self-destruct mechanism built into the station. We could trigger it after we leave, make sure no one else gets this.
"Do it," Selene ordered.
\---
The self-destruct alarms screamed as Wren initiated the sequence, and the crew was racing back toward the Aquila as the walls of the Nexus took on an ominous light.
"Time to go!" Xara yelled as they flew aboard.
The engines of the Aquila roared to life, racing away from the station. Behind them, the Nexus started collapsing in on itself, ripples of energy pulsating through the nebula.
Selene watched from the viewport, her expression unreadable. "One less weapon for them to use against us."
"But the fight's not over," Kade said quietly.
"No," Selene agreed. "It's just beginning."
\---
As the Aquila vanished into the stars, the crew knew their journey was far from over. But for the first time, they felt a spark of hope. They had faced their fears, their failures, and their truths.
And they had survived.