Three days out from Karrak, Ren still couldn't sleep.
The black fragment sat inside him like a stone. Not painful. Just... heavy. It didn't pulse with the others. Didn't join their rhythm. It just existed, dark and still, carrying the weight of his father's failures.
He lay in his bunk, staring at the ceiling, feeling every regret his father had ever had. The faces of the dead. The choices that couldn't be unmade. The words left unsaid.
"You're doing it again."
Aiko stood in his doorway. She'd stopped knocking about a week ago. Said it was pointless since she could always tell when he was awake anyway.
"Doing what?"
"Thinking too much." She walked in and sat on the edge of his bunk. "Move over."
"There's no room."
"Make room."
He shifted. She lay down beside him, both of them staring at the ceiling now. It was weird. Comfortable. Weirdly comfortable.
"Talk to me," she said.
"About what?"
"About whatever's keeping you awake. Again."
Ren was quiet for a moment. Then: "The black fragment. It's different from the others."
"Different how?"
"It doesn't... join. It just sits there. Reminding me of everything my dad did wrong. Everyone he couldn't save."
"That sounds terrible."
"It is."
Aiko was quiet for a moment. Then: "You know what I think?"
"What?"
"I think your dad put that fragment here on purpose. Not just to hide it. But because he knew you'd need it eventually."
Ren turned his head to look at her. "Need it? Why would I need to carry his failures?"
"Because failures teach you more than successes. Because if you only knew the legend, you'd think you had to be perfect. And nobody's perfect." She met his eyes. "Not even your dad."
Ren stared at her. At this girl who'd lost everything and still found ways to be wise.
"When did you get so smart?"
"Always was. You just weren't listening." She smiled slightly. "Now try to sleep. We've got a long way to the next fragment."
"The next fragment. Right." He closed his eyes. "Aiko?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
The next morning, everything changed.
Ren woke to alarms.
Not loud ones. Not emergency ones. Just a steady beeping from the cockpit that meant something had been detected. Something important.
He found Sara already there, staring at the viewscreen.
"What is it?"
"A message." Her voice was strange. Shaky. "Encrypted. Old encryption. Your father's personal code."
Ren's heart stopped.
"A message from Dad?"
"I don't know. It's automated. Could have been sent years ago. Could have been triggered by something." She turned to look at him. "It's addressed to you."
"Play it."
Sara pressed a button.
And his father's face appeared on the screen.
He looked tired.
That was Ren's first thought. The recordings from the fragments showed a warrior. A legend. This showed a man. Worn down. Weary. But his eyes still burned with that familiar fire.
"If you're seeing this, my son, then you've found at least five fragments. Maybe more. This message was programmed to activate when the fifth fragment was claimed."
Ren sat down heavily. His father was talking to him. Really talking.
"I don't have much time to record this. The Five are getting closer. I can feel them. But there are things you need to know. Things I couldn't put in the fragments."
The image shifted. Kael was walking now; through corridors Ren didn't recognize. A ship? A station? Hard to tell.
"First: you're not alone. There are others out there. People who fought with me. People who survived. They're scattered across the galaxies, hiding, waiting. When you're ready, seek them out. They'll help."
He stopped at a viewscreen, looking out at stars.
"Second: the Twelve have a weakness. I spent centuries looking for it. Never found it completely. But I got close. Very close. They're not gods, Ren. They're just beings. Powerful beings, yes. But they can be hurt. They can be killed."
A pause.
"Third: your mother knows more than she's told you. Don't be angry with her. She was protecting you. But when the time comes, ask her about the night we met. Ask her about what she found in the MILTONS research. Ask her about the thing that scared her more than anything else in the universe."
Ren glanced at Sara. She was pale. Shaking.
"Fourth: trust your crew. Trust the people who choose to follow you. I had allies once. Thousands of them. They died because I didn't trust them enough. Because I thought I had to carry everything myself. Don't make that mistake."
Kael turned from the viewscreen, looking directly at the camera.
"And fifth... fifth is the hardest. I don't know if you'll ever see this. I don't know if you'll ever hear my voice again. But if you do, I need you to know something."
His eyes glistened.
"I'm proud of you. I've always been proud of you. From the moment you were born, I knew you'd be something special. Not because of the prophecy. Not because of your power. Because of who you are. Because of the light in you that nothing could dim."
He wiped his eyes roughly.
"I have to go now. They're close. But remember, Ren. Remember everything. Remember me. Remember your mother. Remember why you're fighting."
The image flickered.
"I love you, my son. Forever. No matter what."
The screen went dark.
Silence filled the cockpit.
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Ren stared at the blank screen, his father's words echoing in his mind.
"He recorded that," he finally said. "He knew. He knew he was going to die."
Sara's voice was barely a whisper. "He always knew. From the moment you were born, he knew the Five would come for him. He just didn't know when."
"And he made this. For me."
"For you." She reached out, taking his hand. "He loved you so much, Ren. So much."
Ren felt tears on his cheeks. When had he started crying?
Aiko appeared in the doorway. She must have heard everything. Her face was soft in a way he'd never seen before.
"Your dad," she said quietly. "He was something else."
"Yeah." Ren's voice cracked. "Yeah, he was."
They spent the rest of the day in quiet.
Sara retreated to her quarters. Ren didn't follow. He knew she needed space. Needed to process the message in her own way.
Aiko stayed close. Not talking. Just present. She brought food he didn't eat. Made tea he didn't drink. Sat with him while he stared at nothing.
Finally, as the ship's artificial night cycle began, she spoke.
"What now?"
Ren thought about it. About his father's words. About the fragments still waiting. About the Twelve and the Five and everything that stood in his way.
"We find the others," he said. "The people who fought with him. The survivors."
"You know where to look?"
"The message didn't say. But the fragments might. They contain his memories. His knowledge. If I dig deep enough, I might find something."
"That could take years."
"Then it takes years." He looked at her. "I'm not going to do this alone, Aiko. Dad was right about that. I need people I can trust."
She met his eyes. Held them.
"You've got me," she said simply. "For as long as you need me."
Ren felt something shift inside him. Not the fragments. Something else. Something warmer.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it." She stood. "Now get some sleep. Tomorrow, we start searching. And searching is exhausting."
She walked out, leaving him alone with the stars.
The next morning, Ren dove into the fragments.
It was harder than he expected. The memories weren't organized. They were chaos. Emotions and images and sound all jumbled together. He had to sift through them carefully, looking for anything that might help.
Hours passed. Then days.
Sara handled the ship. Aiko handled repairs and maintenance. Ren sat in his quarters, eyes closed, swimming through his father's life.
He saw battles. Thousands of them. He saw victories and defeats. He saw friends die and enemies fall. He saw worlds burn and worlds born.
And finally, buried deep in the chaos, he found it.
A face.
An old man. Wrinkled. Wise. His eyes held the weight of centuries. He was standing in a garden, talking to Kael.
"When the time comes," the old man said, "send them to me. I'll be waiting."
"How will they find you?" Kael asked.
"They'll find me. The same way you did. The same way all my students do." The old man smiled. "The universe has a way of bringing people together when it matters."
The memory faded.
Ren opened his eyes.
"Aiko! Mom! I found something."
They gathered in the galley. Ren projected the memory, showing them the old man's face.
"Who is he?" Sara asked.
"I don't know. But Dad trusted him. Called him a teacher. Said he'd be waiting for me."
Aiko studied the image. "Any idea where he is?"
"No. The memory didn't show location. But Dad said I'd find him the same way he did. The universe would bring us together."
"That's not very helpful."
"It's all we have." Ren looked at them. "I think we need to trust it. Trust that if we keep going, keep looking for fragments, we'll eventually find him."
Sara was quiet for a long moment. Then she nodded.
"Your father believed in things like that. Destiny. Fate. The universe having a plan." She smiled sadly. "I never did. But he was right about a lot of things. Maybe he was right about this too."
"So, we keep going?" Aiko asked.
"We keep going." Ren stood. "Next fragment. Where is it?"
Sara pulled up the navigation data. "A planet called Xylos. In the Andromeda fringe. According to the signals, it's the closest."
"Then that's where we go."
They set course. The Starfire hummed to life, carrying them toward the next piece of the puzzle.
Six fragments down.
Six to go.
And somewhere out there, an old man in a garden, waiting to be found.
END OF CHAPTER 13