The storms had barely begun to taper when Kerrick stood atop the ridge, the acidic wind tugging at his long indigo cloak. Beneath him stretched a battered expanse of metal and glass ruins—Layer 22 of Nivora City, one of humanity’s final bastions among the stars. His silhouette was lean but muscular, his caramel-toned skin burnished by the twin suns of Erythraea, and his dark, shoulder-length braids whipped around his angular face. The cloak, edged with shimmering threads of iridescent light, marked him as a “Starforged,” a guardian in service to the Architects of Unity. But Kerrick’s heart burned not with duty, but defiance.
“They’ll come for you, you know,” said a voice from behind him. Kerrick didn’t turn. He knew the speaker too well—Raya Thaen, a scavenger from the Outer Wards of Nivora. She had sharp, foxlike features, wild curls dyed electric blue, and a patchwork outfit of salvaged armor: metallic shoulder plates, worn leather tunic, and boots made for silent steps across treacherous terrain.
Kerrick tightened his grip on the hilt of his zenith blade, its crystalline edge humming faintly at his side. “Let them come,” he muttered. “If the Architects think they can keep the truth hidden, they’re wrong. I won’t stop until the galaxy knows.”
Raya snorted, stepping closer, boots crunching on the shattered cerulean glass that glittered like a dead sea below them. “You’re really doing this? Declaring war on the Architects? You, Kerrick Solan, the golden boy of the Starforged? Do you even know what you're asking for? They’ll burn entire planets to keep their secrets buried.”
He finally turned to face her, his eyes glowing faintly silver—a side effect of the Starforged nanoflux that coursed through his veins. “They already have, Raya. I saw the records myself. Whole colonies erased because of the Starfold Project. The Architects promised unity, but they’ve been using us—using me—to erase rivals and suppress those who won’t kneel. They made me their weapon. No more.”
The Secret of Starfold
Raya crossed her arms, studying him. Behind her, a fractured spire groaned under its own weight, threatening to collapse at any moment. “Alright, solider-boy,” she said. “Explain it to me. What’s this ‘Starfold’ thing that’s suddenly worth your gallant rebellion?”
Kerrick took a deep breath. “You know the Ansible Probes?”
“The ones that let the Architects map the galaxy? Sure. Every kid in the Wards knows about those glittering marvels. Saw them in airshow parades once.”
“That’s the lie they fed us,” Kerrick replied, a spark of anger igniting in his tone. “The Ansible Probes weren’t meant just for exploration. They’re creating foldpoints—connecting distant galaxies like threads on a loom. The Architects have found a way to use entire dwarf galaxies as conduits for faster-than-light communication and travel. But the process destroys the galaxies—sundering their star systems, destabilizing planetary orbits, and snuffing out millions of lives. The five dwarf galaxies they’ve started with? They’re cooperating, but it’s not unity. It’s survival. They’re fighting for the right to exist, Raya.”
The Decision
Raya narrowed her eyes, her voice sharp. “And you know this how? Don’t tell me you were stupid enough to hack into the Construct.”
Kerrick gave her a crooked smile. “Stupidity is a kind of bravery, right?”
She groaned, running a hand through her hair. “Gods, you really are trying to get yourself killed. Do you even have a plan? Or are you just winging it like some tragic hero in an old holovid?”
He stepped closer, the faint glow of his blade reflecting in Raya’s dark eyes. “You don’t have to follow me, Raya. But you know as well as I do that if the Architects succeed in linking those galaxies for their ‘Starfold Network,’ they’ll do it again. To other galaxies. Other worlds. This is bigger than Nivora, bigger than me. Help me or don’t… but I have to stop them.”
For a moment, only the wind spoke, whispering through the jagged remnants of Nivora’s fallen skyline. Then Raya smirked, pulling a small plasma pistol from her belt and spinning it on her finger. “Alright, hero. Count me in. Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t die too soon—I’ve got bets riding on you.”
A Spark of Rebellion
The two descended into the wreckage of old Nivora, where Kerrick’s hidden shuttle awaited. The stars above pulsed faintly, a reminder of the forces both natural and artificial that shaped the universe. Kerrick glanced at them as one might glance at distant sentinels, wondering if the dwarf galaxies—those maverick clusters defying the Architects—knew they now had an unexpected ally in him.
Through the vastness of space, a war loomed not of soldiers and fleets, but of ideologies—of freedom versus control, of unity as sanctuary versus unity as dominance. And at its heart stood a man marked by betrayal, driven by purpose, bound to the impossible: to outlast the Architects and ignite a rebellion that spanned the starscape.
Kerrick Solan stepped into the cockpit of the shuttle and fired the engines. The stars seemed to shimmer in response, quietly watching as a single man hurtled forward to disrupt the great cosmic order—and light a fire that might burn forever.
The Source...check out the great article that inspired this amazing short story: New cluster of interacting galaxies defy prevailing model of our universe
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