The conference room felt smaller with just the six of them inside. Noah stood at the head of the table, one hand resting on the surface while the other hung loose at his side. Sophie sat to his right with her tablet illuminated, fingers moving across the screen as she pulled up data streams. Diana leaned against the wall near the viewport, arms crossed over her chest, her ice-blue eyes tracking every movement in the room.

Kelvin had claimed a chair and sprawled in it like he was trying to occupy twice the space his body required. Seraleth stood near the far wall, her seven-foot frame making her impossible to miss even when she tried to fade into the background. Lila occupied the corner furthest from Noah, her eyes were fixed on the holographic display that dominated the center of the table.

Sam stood by the door, his tablet tucked under one arm, his expression carrying the particular kind of careful neutrality that Noah had learned meant bad news was coming.

"Alright," Sophie said, her voice cutting through the silence. "Let's establish what we're working with."

The holographic display shifted, resolving into a star map with two points blinking red. One sat over Earth, pulsing with a steady rhythm that drew the eye. The other floated in deep space, three star systems away, marking coordinates that made Noah's jaw tighten just looking at them.

"Vanguard's challenge is locked in for three days from now," Sophie continued. "Fourteen hundred hours, Earth standard time. That's non-negotiable. They've filed the official challenge documentation, secured the arena, and invited independent observers to witness. We either show up or we forfeit."

"And forfeiting means what, exactly?" Lila asked from her corner.

"Eclipse gets absorbed into Vanguard faction," Sam replied. His voice was flat, factual, delivering information without editorial. "That's the standard terms for faction challenges. The losing faction dissolves. All personnel, all contracts, all equipment transfers to the winner. We'd become a subordinate unit operating under Vanguard command."

Diana's fingers tapped against her bicep, the only visible sign of agitation in her otherwise perfectly composed posture. "So we'd lose everything we've built. The independence, the ability to operate without EDF oversight, all of it."

"Correct," Sam confirmed.

Sophie swiped on her tablet and the holographic display zoomed in on the second red marker. "Hollowstar sits in the Kepler system. That's three jumps through FTL space if we're using standard navigation routes. Grey family warships can make the trip in eleven hours if we push the engines and don't worry about fuel efficiency."

"Eleven hours," Kelvin repeated. He'd been quiet until now, just listening, but his expression suggested he was already running calculations. "So we'd need to leave—"

"Tomorrow morning at oh-six-hundred," Sophie finished. "That gives us arrival at Hollowstar with approximately two hours of operational margin before Arthur's confirmed presence window opens."

Seraleth moved closer to the display, studying the tactical data with the focused attention of someone who'd spent her life analyzing military operations. "Arthur's pattern analysis suggests he'll be at the Hollowstar facility for approximately six hours. The intelligence comes from three separate sources including direct observation by Grey family surveillance assets. After that window closes, he could be anywhere in known space."

"So we have six hours to hit him," Noah said. It wasn't a question.

"Assuming the intelligence is accurate," Seraleth replied. "Assuming he doesn't alter his schedule. Assuming his security protocols haven't changed since the last surveillance pass."

"That's a lot of assumptions," Lila observed.

"It's what we have," Sophie said simply. She looked at Noah. "This is our best shot at Arthur. Maybe our only shot. If we don't take it, he vanishes back into whatever hole he's been operating from and we're back to chasing shadows."

Noah stared at the Hollowstar marker, at that blinking red light three star systems away. Arthur. The Eighth. The man responsible for Lucas's capture, for the Purge's foundation, for the organization that had killed millions. Everything they'd been working toward came down to that single point of light.

"We go to Hollowstar," Diana said. It wasn't a question or a suggestion. Just a statement of fact. "Obviously we go to Hollowstar. Arthur's the priority."

"And Vanguard?" Sam asked.

"We forfeit," Lila said from her corner. "Take the hit to our independence, rebuild later after Arthur's dealt with."

"We can't rebuild from inside Vanguard's structure," Sam replied, his voice still maintaining that careful neutrality. "The vanguard faction structured the challenge terms specifically to prevent that. Once we're absorbed, we stay absorbed unless we can prove independence through another formal challenge. Which we can't issue from inside their faction."

"So we're trapped," Lila said flatly.

"We're presented with two incompatible priorities," Seraleth corrected. "Arthur represents an existential threat to human space. The portal network, the Harbinger collaboration, the systematic dismantling of human defenses—all of it traces back to him. Missing this window could cost millions of lives."

She paused, her luminous eyes reflecting the holographic display's light. "But losing Eclipse removes our ability to operate against him anyway. Vanguard answers to military oversight. They won't prioritize hunting Arthur over maintaining their reputation with the EDF. We'd be absorbed into a structure that fundamentally doesn't share our objectives."

"So we need both," Diana said. "Somehow we need to be at Hollowstar and at Vanguard simultaneously."

Silence settled over the room like a physical weight. Noah felt it pressing against his chest, felt the impossibility of the situation crystallizing into something solid and unavoidable.

"Domain travel," Kelvin said suddenly. He sat up straighter in his chair, his prosthetic fingers tapping against the armrest. "Noah's domain link. He can teleport to anyone he's established a connection with. That's instantaneous, right? Not bound by distance?"

"Instantaneous," Noah confirmed. "If you're on Jupiter and I'm on Earth, I can appear next to you in less than a second. The domain link doesn't care about physical distance."

"So we deploy everyone to Hollowstar," Kelvin continued, his words coming faster as he worked through the logic. "Hit Arthur with our full combat strength. Then Noah domain travels back to Earth the moment we're done and makes the Vanguard match with time to spare."

Sophie was already shaking her head before he finished speaking. "That only works if the Hollowstar operation completes in under eleven hours. We have to travel there, which takes eleven hours minimum. That puts us arriving at Hollowstar roughly ten hours before the Vanguard match. Which means the entire operation—travel, combat, extraction, everything—has to finish with enough margin for Noah to be confident he can make it back."

"What if the fight runs long?" Lila asked quietly.

"Then Noah misses Vanguard regardless of instantaneous teleportation," Sam replied. "The domain link solves the distance problem but not the timing problem. If we're still engaged with Arthur at thirteen hundred hours Earth time, Noah can't leave without abandoning the team in the middle of combat. And if he waits until the operation concludes, he might miss the fourteen hundred deadline entirely."

Noah felt the trap closing. The domain link was powerful, genuinely powerful, but it wasn't a solution if the timing didn't work. And combat operations never finished early. Never went faster than expected. There was always one more complication, one more threat, one more thing that required attention before extraction was safe.

"How confident are we that we can handle Arthur in under ten hours?" Diana asked.

Nobody answered immediately. The silence stretched until it became uncomfortable.

"Lucas Grey is one of the most powerful combatants humanity has ever produced," Seraleth said finally. Her voice was measured, diplomatic, choosing words with care. "Alpha-rank classification. Lightning manipulation at scales that made conventional military doctrine obsolete. From what I have been told, he's fought a three horn single handedly and won. And Arthur captured him. Trapped him in a shadow dimension that we still don't understand, that conventional military science can't even detect."

She let that settle before continuing. "Arthur has survived for a thousand years. He founded the Purge years ago and has managed to keep his existence secret from every government and military organization in human space. He commands Infinite Soldiers whose combat capabilities exceed standard classifications. He's brokered cooperation with Harbingers, which should be impossible based on everything we know about their species."

"You're saying we can't predict how long the fight takes," Noah said.

"I'm saying Arthur is dangerous enough that assuming we can handle him quickly is probably a mistake," Seraleth replied. "Best case scenario, we arrive, locate him, engage, and he retreats immediately. That's maybe two hours total. Worst case, he's prepared for assault, has defensive positions established, and we're looking at sustained combat that could run six, eight, ten hours easily."

"And if it runs ten hours, Noah misses Vanguard," Sophie said. "If it runs twelve hours, Noah misses Vanguard by a wide margin and we forfeit anyway."

Kelvin slumped back in his chair. "So we're back to choosing. Arthur or Eclipse's independence. Can't have both unless we get extraordinarily lucky with timing."

"Luck isn't a strategy," Diana muttered.

"No," Noah agreed. "It's not."

He stared at the holographic display, at those two red markers blinking in perfect synchronization. His mind was racing through scenarios, through possibilities, through options that might exist if he could just find the right angle.

The domain link worked through established connections. If someone stayed on Earth, he could port back to them. But that was already out of the window.

Unless.

Noah looked at Sam. "Faction challenge rules. What exactly do they stipulate about representation?"

Sam pulled up documentation on his tablet, swiping through sections until he found the relevant passage. "Independent operator accords, section forty-seven. 'Challenged faction must provide adequate representation through designated champions. Number and classification of champions to be determined by mutual agreement prior to engagement. Failure to provide agreed-upon representation constitutes forfeit.'"

"Adequate representation," Noah repeated slowly. "Not specific individuals. Not specific power levels."

"Correct," Sam confirmed. "The accords were written to be flexible. Some factions have hundreds of members, others have five. What constitutes adequate representation varies based on faction size and resources."

"And if we provided representation that technically fulfilled the letter of the challenge terms but not the spirit?" Noah asked.

Sophie's fingers stilled on her tablet. She looked up at Noah, her expression shifting from confusion to understanding to something that might have been concern or might have been excitement. "You're thinking of a loophole."

"I'm thinking we have options we haven't explored," Noah replied carefully. "We need someone to stay on Earth. Someone who can maintain Eclipse's presence and ensure we don't forfeit by absence. That gives me a domain anchor point so I can return from Hollowstar instantly if needed."

"But whoever stays behind would need to handle Vanguard," Lila said. "Which means either they fight Drex Hithler directly or they find another way to fulfill representation requirements."

Noah didn't respond immediately. He just looked at Sam, and something passed between them that didn't require words.

"You're asking me to handle the Vanguard situation," Sam said. It wasn't a question.

"I'm asking you to make sure Eclipse is represented," Noah replied. "To ensure we technically fulfill the challenge terms while our combat strength is deployed where it matters most. The specific methodology is your discretion."

"That's extraordinarily vague," Sam observed.

"That's intentional."

Kelvin was leaning forward now, his prosthetic fingers drumming against his knee. "Okay, I'm clearly missing something. What aren't we saying out loud?"

"We're saying Sam stays on Earth and handles Vanguard representation while the rest of us hit Hollowstar," Diana said. "That's not complicated."

"But how does Sam represent Eclipse against someone like Drex Hithler?" Kelvin pressed. "The man's taken out six other factions. He's got a body count that makes professional soldiers nervous. Sam's good, but he's not—" He stopped himself. "I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm just stating facts."

"Sam won't be fighting," Noah said quietly.

"Then who—" Kelvin's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, that's—you can't be serious."

"I'm serious about stopping Arthur," Noah replied. "I'm serious about not losing Eclipse. If that requires creative solutions to satisfy challenge terms, then that's what we do."

Seraleth moved closer to the table, her height making her tower over everyone seated. "You're proposing we fulfill the technical requirements of representation while operating outside expected parameters. That's risky. If Vanguard challenges the legitimacy—"

"Then we deal with it," Noah interrupted. "But they'd have to challenge it first. They'd have to admit they're afraid instead of just accepting what we present. That's a dilemma they'll have to deal with in real time."

"This is insane," Lila said from her corner.

"Less insane than forfeiting," Diana countered.

Sophie was making notes on her tablet, her expression thoughtful. "It would require perfect coordination. Timing measured in minutes. And significant risk if Vanguard decides to press the legitimacy question."

"Everything we do carries significant risk," Noah said. "The question is whether we're willing to commit to a plan that gives us a chance at both objectives instead of choosing which one to sacrifice."

He looked around the room, meeting each person's eyes in turn. "I'm not making this decision alone. Eclipse operates as a team. We all commit or we don't do it at all."

Silence stretched. Noah could see the calculations happening behind everyone's eyes, the weighing of risks and benefits, the assessment of whether this plan was brilliance or stupidity.

Diana pushed off the wall. "I'm in. We take the creative approach. Hit Hollowstar with full strength, let Sam handle Earth, trust that the plan works."

"Agreed," Seraleth said immediately.

Sophie nodded. "It's our best option given the constraints."

Kelvin threw his hands up. "Fine. Yes. I'm in. This is either going to be legendary or catastrophic and I can't decide which I prefer."

Everyone looked at Lila. She stared at the holographic display for a long moment, her expression unreadable.

"My parents might be at Hollowstar," she said quietly.

"I know," Noah replied.

"If they are, if we encounter them during the operation—" She stopped, took a breath. "I want them alive if possible. But if it comes down to mission success versus their survival, the mission wins. I need everyone to know that going in."

"Understood," Noah said.

Lila nodded once. "Then I'm in."

"Then that's what we do," Noah said. "Full deployment to Hollowstar tomorrow at oh-six-hundred. Sam stays on Earth and handles Vanguard representation. We trust the plan and we execute."

The meeting broke up gradually. Diana left first, already running through equipment checklists in her head. Kelvin followed, muttering about KROME maintenance. Seraleth departed to coordinate with Grey command. Lila lingered at the door for a moment, looked back at Noah like she wanted to say something, then left without speaking.

Sophie remained. "That was deliberately vague."

"That was intentionally vague," Noah corrected.

"Same thing." She studied him. "You didn't tell them everything. You didn't explain exactly how Sam handles Vanguard."

"Because if something goes wrong, I want plausible deniability for everyone who wasn't directly involved in planning," Noah replied. "Sam knows what needs to happen. That's sufficient."

Sophie was quiet for a moment. Then she reached out and squeezed his hand once, briefly. "Don't die at Hollowstar. I'd be very annoyed if you died."

"I'll do my best. And you have to not die too,"

She left, and Noah stood alone in the conference room, staring at those two red markers. Tomorrow they'd deploy to Hollowstar. Tomorrow everything would change.

He just hoped the plan held together long enough to matter.

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