Chapter 13 · The Order of Betrayal

The Saint Leda’s weapons painted three red circles across the bridge glass.

Evan did not breathe.

Beyond those circles, the stars stretched into pale needles as the fleet drifted toward the jump corridor. Refugee haulers crowded the formation, patched hulls glowing with emergency heat. The ships had been built to carry grain, mining equipment, and families—not to stand beneath the targeting reticles of their own escort cruiser.

Jalen Ro’s voice came through every speaker on the bridge.

“Captain Vale, by authority of Emergency Continuity Law, you are relieved of command. Surrender the bridge and submit to detention. Navigation Officer Evan Venn is to be taken alive.”

The word alive struck Evan harder than the weapons lock.

Not dead. Not executed. Not silenced.

Alive.

The Dominion file had used the same word beside his name. The same clinical instruction. Capture priority: three. Hale, Thorne, Venn.

His fingers curled around the edge of the navigation console. The metal was cold beneath his gloves, but the skin of his palm felt feverish.

Sera stood beside the command chair with one hand braced against its back.