CHAPTER 378: HOME SWEET HOME

Lucas’s quarters were unusually pristine at 0600 hours. His military-issued gear was folded with regulation precision, but the single travel bag beside his bed told a different story. Personal items carefully selected for an unknown duration—a photo of his team after their first successful mission, a worn training manual from the academy that he got three years ago, and a small device that looked like a communicator but felt heavier than it should.

He’d packed the night before, each item placed with deliberate care. The process had been methodical, almost meditative, as if organizing his belongings could somehow organize the chaos in his mind. But sleep had been elusive, and now he stood at his window watching the station’s artificial sunrise cycle through its daily routine.

The decision to leave felt both inevitable and impossible. His team needed him, but his family’s summons couldn’t be ignored. The Grey bloodline carried responsibilities that extended far beyond EDF protocols, and Lucas had always known this day would come. He just hadn’t expected it to come so soon.

At 0630, he shouldered his bag and began what he told himself would be his final walk through the station. The corridors were quiet except for the hum of life support systems and the distant sounds of the night shift finishing their duties. He took the long route, passing through sections he rarely visited during normal operations. The observation lounges, the secondary medical bays, the engineering workshops where Kelvin had spent countless hours modifying equipment.

Every corner held memories of the past month. The team briefing room where they’d first met other recruits as strangers. The medical bay where they’d recovered from their first real mission. The common areas where they’d laughed and argued and slowly become something more than just assigned partners.

His footsteps echoed in the empty corridors as he made his way to the training levels. He hadn’t planned to stop, but something drew him toward Training Room 7. The door slid open silently, and Lucas stepped inside to find his team already there.

They were running combination drills, working through the exercises he’d designed the day before. Noah and Sophie moved with fluid synchronization, their abilities complementing each other in ways that spoke of genuine partnership. Diana and Lyra had developed an almost telepathic understanding, timing their actions with precision that made their combined abilities devastating. Kelvin was running diagnostics on his cybernetic arms while calling out tactical observations to the others.

They looked good. Better than good—they looked like the soldiers he’d always known they could become.

A lump formed in Lucas’s throat as he watched them work. Part of him had hoped they would abandon training without him, would need him enough to prove his importance to the team. But seeing them pushing forward, adapting, growing even in his absence, he felt something unexpected. Pride. And beneath that, a hollow ache that he recognized as the first real heartbreak of his life.

"Morning," he called out, his voice echoing in the training room.

The team stopped their exercises immediately, turning to face him with expressions that ranged from carefully neutral to barely concealed hurt. Noah’s face was the most guarded, but Lucas could see the questions burning in his eyes.

"Commander Cassandra has made preparations for my transport," Lucas said, his voice steady despite the emotion threatening to break through. "I’ll be leaving within the hour."

"So that’s it?" Sophie asked, her probability field flickering slightly around her. "You just... leave?"

"I wanted to speak with all of you," Lucas replied, ignoring the question. "This is the last time we’ll see each other, and there are things I need to say."

He looked at each of them in turn, memorizing their faces. "Noah, my first introduction to you was on a battlefield on planet Cannadah when our school went on what was supposed to be a routine expedition. You were a first-year fighting beside me, a third-year, against a two-horn Harbinger. You had no business being that brave, that skilled, that determined. You’re a true leader in the making—brilliant mind and even bigger balls."

Noah’s carefully maintained composure cracked slightly, but he said nothing.

"Sophie," Lucas continued, his voice softening, "I won’t lie to you. During our first year, I had a crush on you. But I had to keep my head straight and remember why I was in the military academy. You’re smart, brilliant, and every inch the soldier I always knew you’d become."

Sophie’s eyes widened, her cheeks flushing, but Lucas had already moved on.

"Diana, we started as enemies. Academy 8 and Academy 12—bitter rivals from different schools on Earth. You were one of the finest soldiers I’d ever faced in competition, and you’ve become one of the finest people I’ve ever known."

Noah laughed suddenly, the sound cutting through the tension. "Just a month ago, we were bitter rivals from two different schools. Now look at us."

"Kelvin," Lucas said, his expression warming, "the smarty pants and tech guru. The glue that holds this team together. You’re everyone’s friend and no one’s enemy, and that’s rarer than you know."

Kelvin’s cybernetic arms whirred softly as he shifted his weight, but he remained silent.

"And Lyra," Lucas finished, looking at the newest member of their team. "We just met you on the vanguard station as a fellow recruit. We haven’t known you as long as the others, but I’m asking the rest of the team to take care of you because you’re one of us now."

He stepped back and raised his hand in a formal salute. "It’s been an honor serving with you all."

The salute was returned with military precision, but Lucas could see the emotion in every face. Without another word, he turned and walked toward the door.

"Resume training," he called back without turning around. "Work on your combinations. You’re going to need them."

As the door slid shut behind him, Lucas allowed himself one last look through the small window. His team was already moving back into formation, continuing their exercises with the discipline they’d all learnt. It was the right thing to do, he told himself. They would be safer without him, and he would be able to focus on his family’s crisis without worrying about their safety.

The walk to the hangar bay felt both too long and too short. Lucas found himself memorizing details he’d never noticed before—the way the lighting changed in different sections, the subtle variations in the station’s atmospheric hum, the worn spots in the flooring where countless soldiers had walked before him.

The hangar bay was bustling with activity despite the early hour. Mechanics worked on fighter craft while supply crews loaded transport ships. But Lucas’s attention was drawn to a small, sleek vessel at the far end of the bay. A pilot was speaking with Commander Cassandra, and even from a distance, Lucas could see the tension in both their postures.

"—be very careful," Cassandra was saying as Lucas approached. "The Raiju System isn’t like other territories. The security checkpoints alone—"

She stopped speaking when she noticed Lucas approaching. The pilot, a grizzled man in his forties with the weathered face of someone who’d seen too much of the galaxy, looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Lucas," Cassandra said, turning to face him. She raised her hand in a salute that he returned immediately. "You’re a brave young man. You’ll be greatly missed here, and perhaps one day, we’ll meet again."

There was something in her voice that sounded like a goodbye that expected to be permanent. Lucas wanted to ask what she knew about his family’s situation, but the pilot was already making impatient gestures toward the ship.

"Take care of yourself," Cassandra said, her expression softer than he’d ever seen it. "I’ll take care of them," she added, nodding toward his team.

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Lucas alone with the nervous pilot.

"Ready, sir?" the pilot asked, his voice betraying his anxiety.

Lucas nodded and followed him aboard the small craft. The interior was cramped but functional, designed for speed rather than comfort. As the ship powered up, Lucas strapped himself into the passenger seat and watched the hangar bay disappear behind them.

"Good-bye," were his last words as he turned away.

___

Three hours later, the pilot’s voice crackled through the comm system. "Approaching the Raiju System now, sir. Please prepare for security protocols."

Lucas looked out the viewport and felt his breath catch. Three planets hung in the void ahead of them, each one surrounded by an intricate web of orbital defense platforms. The structures bristled with weapons and detection equipment, and every surface bore the lightning bolt insignia of the Grey family. This wasn’t just a star system—it was a fortress.

"Identification confirmed," came a voice through the comm. " You are cleared for approach to Raiju Prime."

The pilot’s hands shook slightly as he navigated through the security checkpoints. Each scan was thorough, each clearance granted with the efficiency of a military operation that had been refined over centuries. Lucas had forgotten how impressive his family’s domain could be to outsiders.

As they descended toward the planet’s surface, the pilot was visibly struck by the contrast between the orbital defenses and the world below. Raiju Prime was a dream made manifest—gleaming cities that rose toward the sky like crystalline flowers, transportation networks that moved with the fluid grace of living organisms, and everywhere, the soft glow of advanced technology that made Earth’s greatest achievements look primitive by comparison.

The people moved through the streets with the confident ease of those who had never known want or fear. Markets bustled with goods from across the galaxy, while gardens bloomed with plants that seemed to glow with their own inner light. This was prosperity beyond anything the pilot had seen in the outer territories.

The ship landed at a private facility that was clearly reserved for family use. As Lucas disembarked, he was immediately greeted by a group of men in distinctive uniforms that marked them as palace guard. Their equipment was advanced beyond anything the EDF possessed, and their bearing spoke of training that went far beyond standard military protocols.

"Welcome home, Prince Lucas," the lead guard said, bowing his head respectfully. The others followed suit, their deference absolute and immediate.

---

Meanwhile, at the Vanguard Station, Commander Cassandra sat in her office reviewing personnel files. The morning briefing had covered routine matters—supply deliveries, training schedules, minor disciplinary actions. But the absence of Lucas Grey had left a noticeable gap in the command structure.

She activated the station’s communication system and spoke into the microphone. "Pathfinder Team 7, report to my office immediately."

The minutes ticked by without response. Cassandra frowned and tried again. "Pathfinder Team 7, this is Commander Cassandra. Report to my office for briefing."

Still nothing.

After fifteen minutes of silence, she called for a junior officer. "Corporal Sergio, I need you to locate the members of Pathfinder Team 7 and have them report to my office immediately."

The corporal saluted and hurried away. Cassandra turned back to her files, planning to inform the team that they wouldn’t be receiving a replacement officer for some time. The recent mission casualties had necessitated a reshuffling of teams, and Pathfinder Team 7 would need to adapt to operating without their designated leader.

Twenty minutes later, Corporal Sergio returned, his expression troubled.

"Well?" Cassandra asked, not looking up from her paperwork.

"Commander," Sergio said carefully, "I checked their quarters, the training rooms, the common areas, even the medical bay. They’re not in any of their usual locations."

"What do you mean they’re not in their usual locations?" Cassandra asked, her attention fully focused on the corporal now.

Sergio swallowed hard before delivering his report. "Ma’am, I’ve searched the entire station. Pathfinder Team 7 is gone."