After exposing the government, after dragging the captain out of rubble and locking my father underground, I knew there was no turning back. The war had started, but this—this was the silence before the storm.
Luka Industries is thriving—but still not ready to self-fund the suite upgrades I've been planning. Thankfully, the suite itself is complete. It just needs fine-tuning. The flaws? I'll iron those out soon enough.
Earlier today, the captain called me.
Said he was punished for doing his job too well.
Typical.
The Black Department claimed it was his fault. That if he had just followed orders, none of this would've happened. Now he and his crew are jobless—just like that.
They apologized, of course. Told me it was "nothing personal."
They said it like that made it better.
They were "just doing their job."
So was I.
I'm bringing the captain and his crew in. They served better than the government ever did. We may not have worked together long, but we bled together. Failed together. Survived. That counts.
But first—I need to make sure they're out of the government's reach. For good.
I've spent the last few days inside the building's system. I pulled security footage, confidential files, comm logs—everything. I even created a simulation of myself, a virtual double to run decryption and analysis. What I can't do physically, it handles. Efficient. Relentless. Just like me.
We estimate a day to break the encryption and produce a full summary. Until then, I keep studying—learning how to run a company like a real leader.
I made Nkhensani the CEO. She runs operations with my mom. It's more than most could handle, but they push through.
They're stronger than people realize.
The warp machine is finished. Like the suite, it only needs calibration. I own the design rights. The government is licensing the tech under my terms—for now.
But I'm already thinking ahead. A smaller version—one that fits inside the suite. A long-distance personal teleporter.
We'll see how it holds up in mass production.
Discussions have started on The Mission—our next move.
A covert infiltration into the Rikapud civilization. Peace negotiations are the goal. I'll lead the operation. Once we're on the ground, I'll decrypt their language. Learn their systems. Their culture. Within two weeks, we'll have a detailed report. If peace fails, some of our operatives will remain behind. Undercover.
There's a separate team tasked with relaying data back to Earth for deeper analysis.
We have one month to prepare.
And only one month left to spend with my mother.
I'm leaving some of the babies behind—to protect her.
It takes 48 hours to transmit information between the Rikapuds and Earth. That's not fast enough if something happens.
But it's all I have.
This mission? To the world, it's diplomacy.
To me?
It's vengeance.
I interrogated my father. Tore him down piece by piece. After enough pain, he gave me what I wanted—information, grief, truth. But he's not dead.
Not yet.
Death would be mercy.
Before I left Earth, I looked him in the eyes and said:
"What I felt today—your people will feel it too. Your real family? They'll feel every damn second. And when it's done, I'll bring back the footage so you can watch."
And I meant every word.
I'm begging for the Rikapuds to reject the peace deal.
Because I want to burn their world down.
But when the fire fades… a thought lingers.
Am I changing?
Is this who I really want to become?
Killing. Breaking. Not as a soldier—but as something else.
Something darker.
But just like a soldier, I shove the feeling deep down.
This is about revenge.
If it leads to peace… or just another cycle of death—I'll deal with that later.
For now, I keep moving.
And I don't look back.