[Flashback - 1.6 years ago...]

  Max ducked behind the iron storage containers, heart hammering against his ribs. The Skrell patrol had nearly spotted him, their mandibles clicking as they passed. His satchel felt heavy, filled with stolen medicine from the overseers' quarters.

  "What are you doing here?" The whisper came sharp and sudden.

  Max spun, nearly dropping his contraband. Emilia stood there, her sky-blue eyes narrowing in the dim light of Easton's perpetual dusk.

  "Just... getting supplies," he said, trying to steady his voice. She'd helped him three months ago when he'd been beaten for cheating, and since then, they'd formed an unlikely friendship—meeting in shadows, sharing stolen moments and rations.

  Emilia's gaze flickered to his satchel. "More gambling winnings?"

  "Something like that." He managed a grin, though sweat beaded on his forehead. The medicine wasn't for gambling—it was for the rebellion's wounded.

  She stepped closer, dark hair falling across her face as she peered up at him. "You seem different lately. Always running off, always hiding things." Her fingers brushed his arm. "Max, what's going on?"

  The touch sent electricity through him. At fifteen, with his growing frame and awkward movements, Max felt clumsy next to her grace. Something about Emilia drew him—her strength, her defiance of the camp's filth with that impossibly clean skin, the way her eyes reflected starlight.

  "Nothing's going on," he lied. "Just surviving, like everyone else."

  Her face softened. "I brought you something." From her pocket, she pulled a small, worn book—a real one, with pages. "Found it in an overseer's trash. Thought you might like it."

  Max took it, fingers trembling slightly. "A book... how'd you—"

  "Don't ask." She smiled, and for once, the harshness drained from her face. "It's about old Earth games. Thought it might help you cheat better."

  He laughed, the sound startling them both. Laughter was rare in the camp.

  "Thanks." His voice caught. "Emilia—"

  The warning siren wailed, cutting through the moment. Red lights flashed across the compound.

  "Perimeter breach! All units respond!" The Skrell announcement boomed through crackling speakers.

  Max froze. The raid—it was happening now. Diovis had moved the timeline up without telling him.

  Emilia's face changed instantly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," he said too quickly. "We should get to shelter."

  But the camp erupted into chaos. Plasma fire lit up the night, streaking blue against the red star's glow. Explosions rocked the ground beneath them.

  "It's the rebels," Emilia whispered, face paling further. "They're attacking the north section."

  Max's stomach dropped. The north section—where she lived. "We need to move, now."

  They ran, ducking through narrow passages between shacks, the sounds of battle growing louder. Max felt the weight of his secret crushing him. He knew this attack was coming. He'd helped plan it.

  As they rounded a corner, the north section came into view. Flames licked the sky, orange and angry against the darkness. Three rebel ships hovered above, raining down targeted plasma fire on Skrell emplacements.

  "My bunk," Emilia gasped. "My things—"

  Max grabbed her arm. "It's too dangerous."

  "Let go!" She wrenched away, eyes wild. "My brother's compass is there—it's all I have left of him!"

  Before he could stop her, she darted toward the burning section. Max cursed and followed, the medicine satchel slapping against his side. They weaved through panicking slaves and shouting Skrell, the heat growing oppressive.

  Emilia reached her bunk first, a small iron structure now half-collapsed. She dropped to her knees, frantically digging through charred belongings.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "We need to go," Max urged, watching rebel troops advancing in the distance. They didn't know he and Emilia were here—friendly fire was a real possibility.

  "Found it!" She clutched a small metal compass, its surface blackened but intact.

  As they turned to escape, a Skrell soldier rounded the corner, plasma rifle raised. Max reacted without thinking, pulling the small blaster he kept hidden in his boot. Two shots—the Skrell fell, mandibles twitching.

  Emilia stared at Max, then at the weapon in his hand. Horror dawned on her face.

  "You..." she whispered. "You knew this was coming."

  "Emilia—"

  "You're one of them." Her voice cracked. "A rebel. After everything I told you about my brother—"

  An explosion rocked the ground, throwing them both off balance. Max reached for her, but she backed away, clutching the compass.

  "Emilia, please—"

  "Get away from me," she hissed, tears cutting clean tracks down her dusty cheeks. "You're just like Diovis—playing with people's lives. My brother died for nothing, and now you'll get more killed."

  The sound of approaching troops grew louder.

  "We have to go," Max pleaded. "I can explain everything—"

  "I trusted you." The look in her eyes cut deeper than any blade. "I was wrong."

  She turned and ran, disappearing into the smoke and chaos, her slight figure vanishing between burning structures. Max called after her, but another explosion drowned out his voice.

  He stood alone, the rebellion's medicine in his satchel, the taste of betrayal bitter on his tongue. That night, as the raid continued, he reached for his flask for the first time, letting the harsh liquor burn away the image of her sky-blue eyes filled with tears.

  [Present day - Eastoria]

  "Max! Focus, damn it!"

  Max blinked, the memory dissolving as Diovis snapped his fingers in front of his face. They stood in what had once been the Skrell command center on Easton, now the heart of their new nation's operations. Screens flickered with data, and the air hummed with the sound of freedom—chaotic, uncertain, but theirs.

  "Sorry," Max mumbled, reaching for his flask. It was empty. Again.

  Diovis frowned but continued. "As I was saying, we need to accelerate production. Zorak says the Obliterator technology requires specialized materials."

  Across the room, Nira hunched over a terminal, her fingers dancing across the interface as she translated Skrell research data. The captured scientist, Zorak, stood nearby, mandibles clicking nervously as armed guards watched his every move.

  "The quantum vacuum fluctuations are unstable," Nira explained, not looking up. "We need a containment field that can handle negative mass particles."

  Diovis paced, energy radiating from his lean frame. At nearly seventeen, he carried himself like a general twice his age, the weight of an entire rebellion—no, a nation now—on his shoulders.

  "Eastoria can't survive a direct assault," he said. "The Skrell are regrouping. That month we bought with the station bombs? Half gone already. We need leverage."

  "Or a drink," Max muttered, earning a sharp look from Diovis.

  Zorak's translator crackled. "The technology is theoretical. Even with your sister's intelligence, a prototype would take years—"

  "We don't have years," Diovis cut in. "We have days, maybe weeks. Figure it out."

  The Skrell scientist's compound eyes reflected the harsh lighting. "Then you doom yourselves. The Empire will crush you whether you have me or not."

  Max lit a cigarette, ignoring the disapproving looks. His heavier frame slumped against a console. "Maybe the bug's right, D. Maybe we're just postponing the inevitable."

  "Like you postpone sobriety?" Diovis shot back, then immediately softened. "Sorry, Maxie. I know you're carrying things."

  Things. That was one way to put it. Max hadn't seen Emilia since that night. When the rebellion secured the camp section by section, she wasn't among the survivors. No body was found either. Just... gone, like so many others. One more ghost haunting his dreams, driving him deeper into the bottle.

  Nira looked up, her gaze moving between them. "I need more processing power. The Skrell databases here aren't enough."

  "There's that research outpost in the Mira system," Max suggested, reaching for steadier ground. Strategy he could handle. Feelings were another matter.

  Diovis considered this. "Lightly defended, on the edge of Skrell space. Could work." He turned to Zorak. "What would you need from there?"

  "Quantum stabilizers. Exotic matter samples." The scientist's voice was resigned. "And access to the Nexus."

  "The what?" Max asked.

  "Skrell central research database," Nira explained. "They keep it isolated, terminal access only. No wireless transmission to prevent hacking."

  Diovis's eyes lit up. "Perfect. We send a small team, extract what we need, get out before they know we're there."

  Max felt the familiar weight settling in his stomach. "And who leads this suicide mission?"

  The silence that followed told him everything.

  "Of course," he sighed, crushing out his cigarette. "Supreme Ruler Diovis stays safe while Maxie risks his neck. Some things never change."

  "I'd go myself, but—"

  "But you're too important now." Max waved dismissively. "Don't worry, D. I've got this."

  Nira stepped forward. "I should go too. I understand the technology better than anyone."

  "No way," Diovis said firmly. "We can't risk both of you."

  "We can't risk failure either," she countered. "And besides, would you rather send Larissa?"

  The name hung in the air. Since their return, Larissa had remained... off. Different. Her behavior erratic, her reports contradictory. Diovis had placed her under discreet observation, but nothing concrete had emerged.

  "Fine," Diovis conceded. "But a small team. In and out, quiet as shadows."

  Max nodded, already planning the logistics, the danger a welcome distraction from memory. But as he left the command center, heading for his quarters to prepare, a flash of dark hair and sky-blue eyes passed through his mind.

  For a moment, just a moment, he could have sworn he saw Emilia's face in the crowd of former slaves. But when he looked again, there was nothing but shadows and strangers, and the endless ache of what might have been.

  Behind him, unseen, Larissa watched his departure, her sky-blue eyes following his movements with an intensity that wasn't there before.