Page 68 of Sy

“Readings are stable,” Kraath announced calmly. “Primary interface is ready.”

Ready.

The word echoed in her mind as she stared at the alien tech, its surface reflecting the dim emergency lighting like black glass. They’d told her she could do this, that she was the only one who could, but now that the moment had arrived, her legs felt like lead weights. The responsibility of what they needed to do—what she needed to do—pressed down on her chest until each breath was a struggle.

Boots crunched on stone behind her. She turned to find Tor behind her, his red eyes fixed on her face with an intensity that was purely his own, not the legion thing inside him. The fact that he was there made her feel more comfortable, even before he reached for her hand.

The warmth of his fingers closing around hers cut through the cold fear in her chest. When he smiled, it transformed his whole face, softening the sharp angles and making him look younger, more human.

“I’m scared,” she admitted, the words barely audible over the distant sounds of battle and humming equipment. She didn’t have to explain for whom. Tor’s grip tightened, telling her he understood. They all had people they cared about fighting above.

“We just step into the light and let it take over. Okay?” His voice carried no doubt, no hesitation. Just certainty, and something else—trust. Trust in her, in what they were about to do. Kal appeared on her other side, his hand finding hers and completing their connection.

Together, they faced the ancient weapon that could save them all. The tech’s glow intensified, and a beam of light—just like the one that had changed everything for her before—cut through the darkness of the cavern. A hum of power filled the air, vibrating through the soles of her boots. This was it. This was their chance to end the battle above, to save everyone—if she could do what they needed her to do.

The spotlight settled on them, and her heart thundered. This was why they were here. This was what they’d prepared for. She squeezed both hands that held hers, drawing strength from their presence as they took their final step forward.

The beam enveloped them in brilliant light, and her world exploded into sensation. One moment she was herself, contained within the boundaries of her own skin, and the next?—

She was everything.

The transformation swept through her like a tide, washing away all limitations. She was the planet beneath her feet, every grain of soil, every blade of grass, every creature that walked its surface. She was the ancient tech buried in its depths, a vast network of power and knowledge threading through the world like veins of gold through stone. She was legion itself, consciousness expanding until the very concept of individual identity seemed like a distant dream.

Understanding crashed over her in waves. Legion’s origins, its purpose, its very nature unveiled themselves in her mind with crystalline clarity. As her awareness expanded further, pinpoints of light bloomed before her consciousness—a living map of the galaxy, each bright spot a beacon of legion DNA.

She saw them all. An elderly male, his weathered hands tending crops on a distant farm, the legion presence in him a quiet hum. An infant, barely more than a few months old, sleeping peacefully in his crib while the legion’s potential waited dormant in his cells. Her consciousness swept outward, faster than thought, until?—

Earth.

Her first home appeared before her, a blue marble suspended in space. But where the Lathar worlds blazed with countless points of light, Earth held only a scattered few. The few carriers of legion DNA glowed like lonely stars in a vast dark sky, hidden, their potential yet to be realized.

The galaxy map stayed vivid in her mind, each point of light a story, a life, a potential waiting to be realized.

She saw the truth of what legion was, what it had always been—not a parasite, not a mere tool, but a bridge between worlds, between species, between past and future.

And now she was the bridge, holding within herself the power to shape the destiny of worlds.

You think this is all you are?

The voice in her head was ancient and powerful but comforting, like her mother’s voice. Like her own voice as she imagined it when she was older.

Then reality twisted, the galaxy map dissolving like stars at dawn, and she stood atop a mountain peak beneath an alien sky. For a moment she could only stare at the changed world around her, trying to orient herself in this new space.

Three suns painted the landscape in shades of amber and gold, their light reflecting off countless pieces of armor below. The army stretched as far as she could see, filling the vast valley that spread out from the mountain’s base. Row upon row of warriors stood at attention, their presence a physical weight in her mind. Not just soldiers—they werehersoldiers. The knowledge settled into her bones with absolute certainty, though she couldn’t have explained how she knew.

The air here held the sharp bite of approaching winter, carrying with it the metallic scent of weapons and armor, the musk of alien beasts used for transport, the subtle electrical charge that always accompanied large gatherings of warriors. Each breath filled her lungs with these forgotten scents, triggering memories that felt simultaneously ancient and brand new.

We are legion.Youare legion personified.

Power hummed through the mountain beneath her feet, through the air itself—the same frequency from the alien techin the garrison cavern. This was where it had all begun, where legion had first gathered its forces. The memory of it resonated through her entire being. It was as if her cells themselves remembered standing on this spot, preparing to face an enemy whose name had been lost to time.

The army below shifted as a single unit, the movement rippling across their ranks like wind through a field of grass. Their minds touched hers, each connection bright with loyalty and purpose. The weight of their trust, their absolute dedication, should have been overwhelming. Instead, it felt like coming home—like remembering who she had always been meant to be.

Yessss…

She wasn’t alone on the mountaintop. Two presences stood with her, their energies familiar even in this dream setting. She turned, finding two huge legion warriors beside her. Tor and Kal… as solid here as they had been in the cavern. Their forms shifted, the dream state overlapping the legion warrior versions of them with the boys themselves as if the dreamscape couldn’t quite decide which to show her.

Tor’s red eyes met hers, and his smile held both recognition and something deeper—understanding. When he spoke, his voice was as ancient and terrible as the one in her head.

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