The drive to the dockbay was a short, silent affair, the cityscape blurring past the speeder's windows. Soon, they were stepping into the familiar, hushed environment of their ship.

"Cleo, I brought her back," Rex announced as the command room doors hissed open. He moved with a predator's ease, settling into the central command chair as if it were a throne.

Lyra followed, her earlier pout replaced by a focused professionalism. A moment later, a side door slid open, the one that led to Cleo's private laboratory.

She emerged, her form silhouetted against the bright lab lights. She was clad in her usual form-fitting white undersuit, designed to be worn beneath power armor, but draped over it was one of Rex's large jackets, the sleeves rolled up multiple times to free her hands. The casual intimacy of the garment contrasted sharply with the sharp intelligence in her golden eyes.

"Welcome back, Rex and Lyra," she said, her voice calm and precise. "I called you here because I have a new mission for you and a new item I've just finished developing."

"What is the mission, Miss Cleo?" Lyra asked while taking a seat with obedient attention.

Cleo's gaze lingered on Lyra for a calculated second before summoning a holographic screen that glowed between them. A man's face, data streams, and blueprints of a fortified complex materialized.

"This is Dr. Aris Thorne, a lead scientist of Nexum Dynamics, specializing in the reverse-engineering of superior technology from ancient empires. After a deep hack into his personal network, I confirmed he has acquired and is actively studying a piece of intact Kaelzar technology."

Her voice turned cold and final. "I want you to infiltrate his lab, eliminate him, and destroy the facility. We will not allow our technology to be weaponized by our enemies."

Lyra's fingers danced across the interface, scrolling through the target's security protocols, daily routines, and the lab's schematics. "Teacher!" she said, raising her hand like an eager student. "Would I be going alone?"

"While you will be the sole operative inside the lab itself, a full squad of Phantom units will be positioned on the perimeter, providing overwatch and ready to offer any support you require. Any more questions?"

"There are no more, Teacher!" Lyra chirped, her earlier cheerfulness returning, now channeled into mission-ready excitement.

"Very well. The next item is this." At Cleo's gesture, a silent bot maid glided forward, holding a polished metallic tray. On it rested two sleek, upgraded arm devices.

"Mmm? And what's new about these?" Rex asked while picking one up and turning it over in his hand. Lyra quickly snatched the other, examining it with wide-eyed curiosity.

"This device is linked to my new project on the ocean world," Cleo explained, fastening her own new device around her wrist.

"I have begun constructing a megastructure for galactic-scale communication. It is currently forty percent complete. While real-time calls are still impossible due to interstellar lag, text-based communication is now operational." She began typing on her device. A few seconds later, a soft chime came from Rex's wrist.

He glanced down at the screen.

[Cleo: Testing the new function. Did it arrive safely?]

A familiar, mischievous smirk tugged at his lips. His thumbs moved over the interface.

[Rex: No.]

The message was delivered instantly. Cleo's head snapped up, one elegant eyebrow arching high as she fixed him with a stare that could freeze plasma.

She visibly resisted the urge to stride over and punch his shoulder. Seeing her flustered, controlled reaction, Rex's smirk only widened, a silent victory in their endless, playful war.

{Planet Kator—Kaelzar and Humanity-controlled Space—Under Siege}

The conquest of Kator had been the first major step in humanity's ascent, a jewel handed to them by Rex and Cleo to manage, a source of wealth and a foothold for their expansion.

For years, it had thrived as a bustling commercial hub, its profits fueling the rebuilding of their civilization. But a beacon of wealth in the dark of space inevitably draws predators.

A pirate overlord, a ruthless figure who had bent four other self-styled pirate kings to his will, had set his sights on the undefended prize. His combined armada now choked the space around Kator, outnumbering the human defense fleet twenty-four to one.

Yet, against these overwhelming odds, the humans, guided by their Holy Saintess Lilla from the bridge of her flagship, were putting up a ferocious, desperate fight.

"Saintess, our right flank is being swarmed by pirate fighters! They're requesting immediate reinforcements!" an officer shouted over the din of alarms and tactical updates.

Lilla, her posture serene amidst the chaos, turned her head slightly. "How many fighter wings do we still have in reserve?" she asked, her voice remaining calm even in this situation.

The female Paladin acting as her guard and third-in-command consulted a data-slate. "According to command data, we have one hundred wings remaining. If we commit more to the right flank, our center will be vulnerable to their bomber squadrons. I must advise against it, Saintess," the Paladin reported while offering a slight bow.

Lilla's clouded, beautiful eyes, though blind, seemed to see straight through the ship's hull and into the void. "Any news from the Kaelzar reinforcements?"

"The last report from the Kaelzar fleet command stated they would arrive in three days, at the earliest," a new, strained voice announced from the entrance.

Lilla's brother, the High Inquisitor, limped into the command room, supported by one of his own Paladins. His armor was scarred and blackened, and the scent of ozone and blood clung to him. He had just been extracted from a week of brutal, nonstop fighting on the planet's surface.

"What are you doing here, High Inquisitor?" Lilla's voice was sharp, a mother's worry layered over her command tone. "I gave a direct order for you to rest in the medical bay."

"I am not so injured that I can lie idle while our brothers and sisters spill their blood for us..." he insisted, his voice gritty with pain.

But as he spoke, the artificial stimulants and pain-blockers that had been pumped into his system by his power armor began to wear off. A violent tremor ran through him, and the full, crushing weight of his injuries and fatigue became terrifyingly clear. That he was even conscious was a testament to his sheer will.

Lilla did not need to see him to know his state. She turned her head toward the female Paladin at her side, a silent question hanging in the air.

The Paladin took a deep, resigned breath. "Reporting to the Saintess," she stated formally, preempting the unspoken command.

"The High Inquisitor's body is critically fatigued, and his organic integrity is severely compromised. The chief medical officer insists he requires a minimum of forty-eight hours in a Kaelzar healing tank for full recuperation. He has refused the treatment."

Lilla's expression hardened, not with anger, but with the heavy burden of leadership. "High Inquisitor," she declared, her voice ringing with finality.

"By the authority of the leader of humanity herself, you are hereby forbidden from leaving the medical bay until you are fully healed. Effective immediately, I am transferring full authority over your person to your attending physician."

She gave a nod to the Paladins flanking him. "Now, please, help me escort him back. The battle requires my focus, and your recovery is vital to our cause."

A flicker of protest crossed the High Inquisitor's face, but the tide of exhaustion was too powerful to fight. His body, pushed far beyond its limits, was finally shutting down.

As his eyes closed against his will, the last image he saw was his sister, Lilla, her head tilted as if watching him, her clouded gray eyes seeming to hold a universe of concern and resolve. All he could manage was a faint, proud smile before consciousness fled, and he slumped fully into the arms of his Paladins.

With her brother safely being escorted away, Lilla's focus returned to the tactical hologram, her expression turning unreadable. "Since we cannot spare more fighter wings, dispatch a squadron of gunboats with enhanced anti-aircraft capabilities to support the right flank. Now,"

she continued, her voice regaining its steely calm as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the command chair, "how fares the battle on the planet's surface now that their commander has been... forcibly retired?"

The officer at the planetary defense station responded promptly.. "Reporting, Saintess. After their orbital drop assault was repelled by the city's Kaelzar barrier, the pirates have shifted to establishing siege points in the surrounding badlands. We have confirmed sightings of heavy artillery being moved into position."

He paused, bringing up new data. "The High Inquisitor's earlier counterattacks successfully neutralized several of these positions, which greatly bolstered the defenders' morale."

"However, since his extraction, morale has plummeted. Without his aggressive leadership to disrupt their formations, the pirate ground assaults have intensified tenfold."

Lilla was silent for a moment, the weight of the situation settling in the quiet hum of the bridge. "Mmm," she finally murmured. "Is there no one else who can step into the High Inquisitor's role and lead the defenders?"

It was a question to which she already knew the answer, a formality to set the stage for what she knew must be done.

The female Paladin at her side, long accustomed to her Saintess's methods, let out a soft, knowing sigh. She had already begun inputting commands into her arm device.

"Reporting to the Saintess," she said, her voice formal yet laden with unspoken concern. "The only individual whose presence can restore the broken morale of our forces and whose strategic command can match the moment is... your holiness."