Chapter 12 — The Price of Power
Kael woke to the sound of distant shouting.
His vision swam — ceiling lights, blurred faces, the metallic smell of antiseptic and ozone. He tried to sit up, but pain carved through his chest like a blade.
Mira shoved him back down.
"Don't move."
Her voice was firm, but her hands shook. Kael blinked until her face came into focus. Dark circles under her eyes. Blood on her sleeve — not her own.
"What… happened?" he rasped.
Lyra stepped forward from the med bay wall. Arms crossed. Jaw tense.
"You saved us," she said. "Then you nearly died."
Kael tried to speak, but the armor surged like fire beneath his skin — red threads crawling up his throat.
Mira grabbed his wrist. "Stop fighting it. Just breathe."
Kael forced slow breaths. The glow gradually dimmed.
[HOST VITAL SIGNS: UNSTABLE — NEURAL STRESS ELEVATED]
He squeezed his eyes shut. "Armor… shut up."
Mira looked at him sharply. "It's talking again?"
Kael nodded, exhausted. "Won't stop."
Central Chamber — Asteron Underground
Hours later, Kael hobbled into the war room, refusing medical orders.
The meeting erupted the second he appeared.
"You brought a Dominion warship here!"
"You activated PRIME— do you know what that means?"
"Lyra, we can't let him stay."
Kael stood silent under their accusations — until a voice cut through them all.
"That's enough."
Mira walked in, the PRIME core locked in a containment case at her hip. Her glare silenced grown soldiers.
"We would all be dead if not for him."
A ripple of uneasy silence settled over the room.
Lyra stepped up to the holo table and tapped a panel. A projection flickered to life — Dominion high command, a list of their priority objectives.
Kael's name was number one.
KAEL RENN — ASSET CLASSIFIED: 'LIVING PRIME CATALYST'
CAPTURE ON SIGHT — DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED
Mira cursed under her breath.
Lyra pointed to a different name.
ASSET 47-B — STATUS: MISSING / MUST BE RETRIEVED
Their eyes moved instinctively to the boy sitting in the corner, tense shoulders hunched, clutching a worn datapad.
"Me," the boy whispered.
He was trying to be brave, but Kael could see the fear beneath it.
Lyra continued. "Kael isn't the Dominion's only objective. They want both PRIME-compatible subjects."
Kael froze.
"Compatible?"
Mira turned to him slowly.
"You… didn't know?"
Kael stared at the boy.
The memory hit hard — needles of light, the command signatures, that cold voice calling him 47-A.
He whispered, "He's the other one. The one they made after me."
The room shifted as the truth landed.
**
"Enough." Kael pushed himself upright, ignoring the pain.
"We have two problems: the Dominion—and that this kid's life is tied to mine."
Lyra shook her head. "We can't defend Asteron against another warship. We have to move."
Mira gestured toward Kael. "He can't travel."
Kael scowled. "I can stand."
Mira shot back, "Standing is not traveling. You're still bleeding internally."
Kael opened his mouth to argue — then a shrill alarm split the air.
[ALERT: INTERNAL SECURITY BREACH — EAST REACTOR]
Kael and Mira locked eyes.
Lyra checked the monitors.
A single figure in Dominion armor was sprinting through the maintenance tunnel, dragging a heavy case — Kael's armor schematics.
Mira choked out a hard curse. "A spy."
Kael's blood ran cold.
"Who?"
Lyra zoomed in on the image.
The screen resolved into the sharp face of a young engineer — someone Kael had seen joking with Mira just last night. Someone who'd laughed with the other refugees. Someone Kael had trusted.
Kael whispered, "Rynn…"
The traitor triggered the emergency airlock.
Mira grabbed her rifle.
"I'm going after him—"
Kael grabbed her wrist.
"No. I will."
Mira stepped closer, voice shaking with anger.
"He sold us out. He's giving them everything. If he gets out—"
Kael finished the thought.
"They'll know where the PRIME core is."
The armor responded, sensing threat — wrapping Kael's arms with crimson coils.
Pain stabbed through his skull.
[WARNING: HOST NEURAL LOAD CRITICAL]
Kael ignored it.
"You said I can't travel. I don't need to travel."
He pointed toward the tunnel entrance.
"He's only one floor up."
Lyra nodded once. "Take him alive. We need to know who he told."
Kael didn't answer.
He moved.
Maintenance Corridor — Lower Hangar
Rynn sprinted down the narrow tunnel, clutching the stolen data core. Sweat streamed down his face. His voice shook as he whispered into a hidden comm:
"I have the intel. Prepare extraction."
Kael stepped out of the shadows.
"You're not leaving."
Rynn skidded to a stop, eyes wide.
"I— Kael, I had no choice. They have my family. If I didn't—"
Kael didn't flinch. "The Dominion always offers a choice. It's just never the right one."
Rynn backed away, raising a pistol. His voice cracked.
"They promised they wouldn't hurt them."
The armor pulsed — wanting blood.
‹ Execute. ›
Kael whispered, "No."
He moved faster than Rynn could flinch.
He seized Rynn's wrist, twisted, and pinned him hard to the wall. The pistol clattered to the floor.
Rynn sobbed, voice breaking. "Please— it's not just my family. They have others. Hundreds. They said if I didn't deliver PRIME… they'd start killing them."
Kael's grip loosened.
And that hesitation cost him.
Rynn slammed a fist into a concealed trigger on the wall.
A hidden beacon activated.
[DOMINION TRACKER SIGNAL SENT]
Mira's voice screamed through Kael's comm:
"KAEL— THEY KNOW WHERE WE ARE!"
Kael looked at Rynn — pale, shaking, eyes hollow with guilt.
"…I didn't mean for this," Rynn whispered.
Kael closed his eyes.
"Neither did I."
He knocked Rynn unconscious.
War Room
Lyra stood frozen at the tactical display.
Dominion signatures appeared one after another — drop ships, scout drones, heavy infantry carriers.
Mira whispered, horrified:
"They're coming."
Kael stepped into the room, armor flickering weakly.
"No," he said, voice low.
"They're already here."