Noah woke to the sound of laughter filtering through his door. Not the usual morning chatter of people heading to breakfast or training. This was different, pointed in a way.

There were multiple conversations happening simultaneously with his name attached to them.

He sat up slowly, trying to piece together what could possibly warrant this level of attention before he'd even left his room. Then yesterday's events came flooding back. Seraleth. Truth or dare. The kiss. Her running back for a second one before fleeing down the hallway like a kid who'd just stolen candy.

'Oh no.'

Noah got dressed faster than strictly necessary, hoping maybe he was paranoid and this was about something else entirely. He made it approximately ten steps outside his quarters before a passing recruit looked at him, grinned knowingly, and kept walking while whispering to his friend.

The common area was worse. Thirty people scattered around tables, and at least half of them glanced his way when he entered. Some smiled. Others quickly looked away. A few were clearly in the middle of discussing something they didn't want him to overhear.

Noah grabbed coffee from the dispenser, trying to ignore the attention, and nearly made it to an empty table before Diana materialized beside him.

"So," she said, her expression absolutely gleeful. "Heard you had an interesting evening."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really? Because approximately forty people have heard about it." Diana pulled up a chair, settling in like she was preparing for a show. "Apparently our resident space elf is also a kiss-and-tell enthusiast. Who knew?"

Noah closed his eyes. "She told people."

"She told EVERYONE. Started this morning at breakfast, completely unprompted, just announced to a table of recruits that she'd played a human courtship game with you and experienced her first kiss." Diana's grin was predatory. "Then she described it. In detail. Including the part where she came back for a second one because the first was so pleasant she required another sample."

"Kill me now."

"Can't. You're faction leader. Also this is way too entertaining." Diana took a sip of her own coffee. "Rita asked if Seraleth understood human privacy customs. Seraleth said yes, but this seemed like important cultural information to share. That humans often discuss romantic experiences with peers to gain perspective and validate emotions."

"That's not how that works."

"Apparently it is in Seraleth's interpretation." Diana was actively fighting laughter now. "The best part? She's completely sincere about it. Not bragging, not trying to claim territory. Just genuinely happy and wanting to share her joy with the community. It's actually kind of adorable if you ignore the part where you're now the subject of faction-wide gossip."

Noah buried his face in his hands. "Sophie's going to hear about this."

"Sophie already heard about it. She was in the medical wing when one of the healers mentioned it. From what I understand, her response was 'good for them' before going back to reviewing training schedules." Diana's expression softened slightly. "You're not actually in trouble. Everyone thinks it's cute. Seraleth's naive enthusiasm is endearing. You're just going to get teased mercilessly for the next week."

"Great."

"Could be worse. At least she didn't demonstrate the kiss on a volunteer." Diana stood, patting his shoulder. "Welcome to relationship drama in a faction where everyone lives in close quarters. Privacy is a fond memory."

She left, still grinning, and Noah sat there trying to figure out how to address this without making it worse. Talking to Seraleth might embarrass her. Ignoring it would let the gossip continue unchecked. There was no winning move here.

He was contemplating hiding in his domain for a few hours when his comm device buzzed. Kelvin's voice came through, tense in a way that immediately shifted Noah's attention.

"We've got a problem. Lila caught a recruit trying to access the faction database. You need to get down here now."

Noah was moving before Kelvin finished speaking, coffee abandoned, gossip forgotten. He found them in the server room, a space most recruits didn't even know existed. Lila had the recruit pinned against the wall with one hand, her other hand glowing with telekinetic energy that made the air shimmer. Kelvin stood beside a console, his cybernetic fingers working across holographic displays.

The recruit looked terrified but defiant. Noah recognized him now from the screening process. Mid-twenties, claimed military background, passed all the initial checks. His name was Davis or Daniels or something generic that didn't matter anymore.

"Found him copying data to an external drive," Lila said without releasing her grip. "Faction personnel files, capability assessments, equipment inventories. Everything someone would need to profile our combat effectiveness."

"I can explain," the recruit started.

"Don't." Noah's voice was cold enough that the recruit shut up immediately. "Kelvin, what did he get?"

"Personnel profiles on the core team, training records for senior members, equipment specifications." Kelvin pulled up the copied files, displaying them in the air between everyone. "Nothing classified exactly, but enough to build tactical profiles. Know who we'd send for what kind of mission, anticipate our response patterns."

"Vanguard," Noah said.

"That's my assessment." Kelvin's expression was grim. "They're four days from a formal challenge and they want intelligence on who we'll field as representatives. Or maybe they're planning something worse."

Diana arrived then, took one look at the situation, and her expression went ice cold. "A spy. We have a fucking spy."

"I'm not a spy," the recruit protested. "I'm just doing my job."

"Your job was to join Eclipse. Learn our capabilities. Report back to whoever's paying you." Lila's grip tightened. "That's literally the definition of espionage."

Noah studied the recruit for a long moment. The fear was genuine. But underneath it, something else. Resignation. Like he'd known this would eventually happen and had made peace with the consequences.

"Confiscate the drive," Noah said. "Then let him go."

Everyone looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

"What?" Diana's voice carried genuine disbelief. "He just tried to steal faction intelligence and you want to let him walk?"

"Yes."

"Are you serious right now?" Lila hadn't released her grip on the recruit. "This is a betrayal. He infiltrated us, stole our data, and you're just going to let him leave?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing."

Kelvin looked between Noah and the recruit, confusion written across his face. "Noah, I don't understand. This guy compromised our security. We need to at least interrogate him, find out who he's working for."

"We already know who he's working for. Vanguard." Noah's voice was flat. "Take the drive. Let him go."

Diana stepped forward, anger radiating from her posture. "This is insane. We don't just release spies with a slap on the wrist. What kind of message does that send? That Eclipse is soft? That we don't protect our own?"

"It sends the message I want it to send." Noah met her glare without flinching. "Now do it."

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut. Lila looked ready to argue further, but something in Noah's tone must have convinced her this wasn't a debate. She released the recruit, shoving him toward the door. Kelvin confiscated the external drive, his expression troubled.

The recruit stumbled toward the exit, looking back once like he expected this to be a trap. When no one stopped him, he fled.

The moment he was gone, Diana exploded. "What the hell was that? We catch a spy red-handed and you just let him walk? Do you have any idea how that makes us look?"

"Weak," Lila added, her voice tight with anger. "It makes us look weak. Like we're afraid of confrontation."

"I'm not afraid of anything," Noah said quietly. "I'm making a tactical decision."

"A stupid one." Diana crossed her arms. "That recruit is going to report back to Vanguard with everything he learned. They'll know our capabilities, our personnel, our response patterns. You just handed them a tactical advantage."

"Did I?"

"Yes!" Diana was practically shouting now. "What part of this isn't getting through? We had him. We could have extracted information, turned him, used him as a counter-intelligence asset. Instead you gave him a free pass."

Kelvin was quiet, staring at the confiscated drive in his hands. "There's got to be a reason. Noah doesn't make decisions like this without cause."

"Then he should share that cause with the rest of us," Lila snapped. "Because right now it looks like terrible leadership."

Noah said nothing. He could explain. Could tell them about the plan already forming in his mind. But that would undermine the whole point. So he just stood there, accepting their anger, knowing it would make sense eventually.

"I'm going to check the systems," Kelvin said finally. "Make sure he didn't plant anything while he was copying data. If there's malware or intrusion software, I'll find it."

"Good," Diana said, still glaring at Noah. "At least someone's thinking tactically."

She stormed out. Lila followed, shaking her head in disgust. Noah remained in the server room, alone except for Kelvin who was already absorbed in his technical work.

"You really think there's more to this?" Kelvin asked without looking up from his displays.

"I think you should check the systems thoroughly," Noah replied. "Let me know what you find."

He left Kelvin to his work, heading back to his quarters to field the inevitable confrontation with the rest of the core team.

***

Three hours later, Noah sat in the main conference room with every core member assembled. The atmosphere was tense. Diana and Lila still looked furious. Sophie seemed confused but willing to hear him out. Sam was calculating, trying to piece together Noah's reasoning. Seraleth observed quietly.

Kelvin entered last, looking exhausted but energized in the way he always did when he'd solved a complex problem.

"Everyone's here," Noah said. "Kelvin, you called this meeting. What did you find?"

Kelvin pulled up holographic displays, showing layers of code and system architecture. "When I examined our network after the spy incident, I found something. A virus. Sophisticated piece of work, designed to create backdoor access into our systems. It was already spreading through connected terminals by the time I caught it."

Diana leaned forward. "The spy planted it."

"While copying data, yes. It was hidden in his access protocols, probably uploaded the moment he connected his drive." Kelvin's expression was grim. "If I hadn't checked, it would have given Vanguard remote access to everything. Personnel files, mission logs, strategic planning. Complete intelligence infiltration."

"So Noah was right to be suspicious," Sophie said slowly. "But why let the spy go? We could have interrogated him about the virus."

Kelvin smiled then, the expression slightly manic. "Because I told Noah to let him go."

Everyone stared at him.

"You what?" Lila demanded.

"I found the virus about the time Lila called me in to catch the spy. Analyzed its structure, traced its connection protocols." Kelvin's hands moved across the displays, pulling up more technical readouts. "And I realized something beautiful. This virus creates a two-way connection between their systems and ours. Which means if I can control our end of that connection, I can ride it back to the source."

Understanding dawned across Sam's face. "You're going to hack them using their own virus."

"Already did." Kelvin's grin widened. "The virus phoned home about forty minutes ago, confirmed successful installation. Their receiving server accepted the connection. And I was waiting on the other end, already inside their infrastructure."

Diana's anger was transforming into something like awe. "You hacked Vanguard."

"I counter-hacked them using their own intrusion attempt as an access point," Kelvin corrected. "I'm in their personnel database. Their mission logs. Their communication archives. Everything. And they have no idea."

"Holy shit," Lila breathed. "That's why Noah let the spy go. So Vanguard would think the virus was working."

"Exactly." Kelvin pulled up captured data. "Look at this. Orders to gather intelligence on Eclipse ahead of the formal challenge. Authorization signed by their commanding officer. They were planning to use stolen data to predict our champion selection and prepare counters. Now we know everything they were planning."

Sophie was staring at Noah with new appreciation. "You coordinated this with Kelvin."

"He talked to me after finding the virus. We discussed options. Letting the spy go was the best play." Noah kept his voice neutral. "I knew you'd all be angry. But explaining the plan would have risked the spy noticing something was wrong."

"You let us think you were incompetent," Diana said slowly. "On purpose."

"I let you think I made a questionable decision. There's a difference."

"You're a demon," Lila muttered, though she was smiling now. "Both of you. That's absolutely demonic."

"It's efficient," Kelvin countered. "Also, for the record, everyone should trust their resident genius more often. This worked out perfectly."

"Don't get cocky," Diana warned, though her earlier anger had completely evaporated. "You still have to cover our tracks so they don't realize we reversed their hack."

"Already handled. I'm leaving false access logs showing their virus is functioning normally. They think they have backdoor access to our systems when really they have access to a quarantined sandbox I control." Kelvin's expression was gleeful. "If they try to use it, I'll feed them whatever misinformation we want them to believe."

"That's brilliant," Sam admitted. "Dangerous, but brilliant."

"Speaking of dangerous," Sophie added, "what did you actually find in their systems? Anything actionable?"

Kelvin pulled up more files. "Their complete tactical database. Strategies, personnel capabilities, political connections. We know exactly how they operate, who they'll field for the challenge, what counters they've prepared. This is basically their entire operational playbook."

The mood in the room had shifted completely. What started as anger at Noah's decision had transformed into something close to celebration. Even Diana looked grudgingly impressed.

"I'm sorry for doubting you," Lila said to Noah. "That was actually perfect execution."

"You had reason to doubt. The situation looked bad from your perspective." Noah allowed himself a small smile. "But yes. It worked."

They were still discussing the implications when Sam's communication console chimed. He glanced at it, then his expression shifted. "Incoming transmission. Priority encryption. Lucy Grey."

The celebration died immediately. Lucy didn't use priority channels for casual updates.

Sam activated the array, and Lucy's holographic projection appeared. She looked exhausted but determined, the way someone does when they've been working toward a single goal without rest.

"Noah," Lucy said without preamble. "I've found something. Same portal energy signature from the northern facility. But not on Earth. Different solar system entirely. A planet called Hollowstar."

Sophie leaned forward. "I've never heard of it."

"Neither had I until three days ago. It's not on any standard charts, no colonial presence, no registered claims. But my scouts picked up massive energy readings matching Arthur's portal technology. And thermal signatures suggesting significant inhabited structures."

Noah felt something cold settle in his chest. "You think that's where Arthur's based."

"I think it's one of his major operational centers. Maybe the primary one." Lucy's expression hardened. "My scouts also detected what might be holding facilities. Large structures that could be designed for anything. If the captured originals are anywhere, this is it. Including my father. Including Lucas."

The room went silent. Lucy had been searching for her brother for months. Damien Grey had been missing even longer. And if the other original family heads were there too, this was bigger than a rescue operation. This was recovering captured leadership.

"What's the timeline?" Noah asked.

"Recon team is gathering detailed intelligence. Building layouts, guard rotations, detection systems. I need another few days for actionable data." Lucy paused. "Then we go. Full assault, no half measures. This is our chance to get them all back."

"We'll be ready," Noah said.

Just then Lila frowned because she saw something they were all overlooking. "The Vanguard challenge. It's in four days. If your intelligence comes through when you expect, the timing might overlap."

Lucy's expression didn't change. "I'm not worried about Eclipse's political schedule. I'm worried about my family. You handle your priorities however you need to."

"Could we postpone the challenge?" Sophie asked after Lucy's transmission ended.

"Refusing or postponing means forfeit," Sam pointed out. "And forfeit means absorption under faction takeover rules. Eclipse ceases to exist. Everyone here becomes Vanguard property, all our contracts, our resources, our people. Vanguard would use it as the ultimate propaganda. The upstart faction that talked big but folded the moment actual accountability arrived."

"But if we attend the challenge and miss the Hollowstar window, we lose our chance at the originals." Lila crossed her arms. "That's not a choice. That's just different versions of losing."

"We don't know they'll actually conflict," Kelvin offered. "Maybe the intelligence takes longer. Maybe the challenge concludes quickly. We're borrowing problems from a future that might not happen."

Noah looked around the table at his core team. Everyone thinking of a way out.

"We handle both," Noah said finally. "We prepare for the Vanguard challenge. We prepare for Hollowstar assault. When Lucy's intelligence comes through, we make the call based on actual timing rather than speculation."

"And if they conflict?" Sam pressed.

"Then we choose what matters more. Saving the originals or preserving Eclipse's political reputation." Noah's voice was quiet. "That's not actually a hard choice."

The meeting dispersed eventually, everyone processing the implications. Potential combat on two fronts within days. Political consequences no matter which choice they made. The comfortable routine of the past week suddenly obliterated by reality.

Noah found himself in his quarters after everyone else had gone to sleep, staring at tactical projections without really seeing them. Hollowstar was deep space. That meant travel time, logistics, coordination with Lucy's forces. If they went, they'd be committing everything Eclipse had.

A knock interrupted his thoughts. Sophie entered without waiting for permission, closing the door behind her.

"You're overthinking," she said.

"We might lose everything. The faction, our reputation, political standing. If we abandon the Vanguard challenge for Hollowstar and the intelligence turns out wrong, we've destroyed Eclipse for nothing."

"Or we get Lucy's family back. And the originals. And strike a major blow against whatever Arthur's building." Sophie sat beside him. "You're acting like this decision matters politically. It doesn't. We do what's right. We always have."

"That's easy to say when we're small. When failure only affects us." Noah gestured vaguely at the headquarters around them. "Now we've got two hundred people depending on Eclipse. Contracts, income, purpose. If we make the wrong call, they all suffer."

Sophie was quiet for a moment. "Do you remember why we left the EDF? Why we started Eclipse in the first place?"

"Because they prioritized politics over people."

"Exactly. And now you're worried about doing the same thing." She turned to face him directly. "Noah, if Lucy's intelligence is good, if there's really a chance to rescue the originals, we go. Period. The Vanguard challenge is just ego and reputation. Rescuing actual people from Arthur's imprisonment is saving lives. That's the difference."

"And if we're wrong?"

"Then we're wrong trying to do the right thing. That's still better than being right while choosing politics over people." Sophie's hand found his. "We'll handle whatever consequences come. Together. Like we always have."

Noah felt some of the tension release. She was right. This wasn't actually that complicated. They'd made their choice the day they left the military to start Eclipse. Everything else was just details.

"I'm glad you're here," Noah said quietly.

"Where else would I be?" Sophie smiled. "You're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere."

She leaned in and kissed him, soft at first but quickly intensifying. Noah's hands found her waist, pulling her closer. Her fingers threaded through his hair as the kiss deepened, months of tension and worry temporarily forgotten in simple physical connection.

Sophie pulled back slightly, breathing hard. "We should probably talk about the whole Seraleth situation."

"Do we have to right now?"

"No." Her smile was genuine. "Right now I just want this."

She kissed him again, harder this time, hungry in a way that made everything else irrelevant. Noah responded in kind, all his worry about Hollowstar and Vanguard and political consequences temporarily forgotten in favor of something simpler and more immediate.

The world outside could wait. Politics could wait. Battles and decisions and consequences could all wait.

Right now there was just this. Just them. Just Sophie kissing him hungrily while everything else faded to background noise that didn't matter anymore.

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