"The Null Guard."

  "Null as in nothing?"

  "Hidden. Secret. Off the grid. We guard against what we consider the improper use of relics. Any relics. Doesn't matter which faction claims them or how they plan to use them."

  "Are you from the Oridian Galaxy?"

  "Only a few of us. Most of our members are Earth-born, descendants of people who arrived generations ago. The Null Guard exists in Oridian, too. Have for centuries. But we don't have an effigy, so we can't communicate with one another across the distance. Two separate organizations, same goals, no way to coordinate."

  "How did it start?"

  "The Null Guard was founded by a secret member of one of the ruling houses. Someone who saw what the empires were becoming and decided to act against it. They snuck through the Arcaeon, came to Earth, and started building something different."

  The name caught Evan's attention. "The Arcaeon?"

  "A Maker relic. Designed to transport a being from Oridian to Earth. Legend has it that the Makers installed them before they left Oridian. Gifts for their most loyal followers, so they could join them here if they chose."

  "How many gates are there?"

  "One on Earth. Three in Oridian."

  "And they belong to the three empires hunting me?"

  "Exactly. Those empires believe the presence of a gate on their homeworld means they're the rightful inheritors of the Maker's legacy." Adam's tone carried a note of disdain. "Of course, the other empires disagree. They think either everyone should have access, or no one. But that's a hard argument to make."

  "How come?"

  "The Makers left their mark on so many worlds, especially on the empire homeworlds. Those relics helped the people of those planets rebuild faster than any of the others, regain the stars, and start expanding again. It's hypocritical. The only reason they say that is because they want a shot at the effigies, too."

  "I can understand why."

  "Can you imagine how much harder our job would be here if we had to deal with all nine empires?" Adam grinned. "Three is enough of a headache."

  "I still can't quite get my mind around the fact that Earth has been home to aliens for, what? Four thousand years?"

  "Only if you mean the Makers," Adam replied. "The Arcaeon Gates were lost for a long, long time. Part of ancient legend. The Red Scar Empire discovered theirs first. The Skytrace gate was rediscovered during excavation of a tunnel."

  "What about the gate here on Earth?"

  "Hidden in a cave."

  "Where?"

  "I'm not going to tell you that."

  Evan shrugged. "Figured I'd ask. If you hate relics, why don't you destroy it?"

  "You make it sound so simple. The Arcaeon is heavily fortified, guarded by units from all three empires. Its continued operation is pretty much the only thing they agree on."

  "Okay, so why don't they send thousands of people through? Millions? Enough to take control of the planet?"

  "Because the gates only work one way," Adam continued. "Oridian to Earth. And the person going through comes out completely naked. Anything external to the flesh is incinerated during the transfer, including hair. The factions have accumulated impressive resources over the years, but I don't think they'd stand much of a chance sending a million naked citizens against most countries' militaries. Plus, you can imagine the revolt that would follow if the empires even whispered about sending that many people across."

  "That makes sense." Evan's fingers moved to the bracelet on his wrist. "But in that case, how did this get to Earth?"

  "The Makers brought some of their devices with them when they came. Personal items. Things they couldn't bear to leave behind. That bracelet you're wearing once sat on the wrist of a Maker. One of the nine emperors who nearly destroyed our galaxy."

  The weight of that statement settled over Evan. He looked down at the bracelet, at the impossibly fine etchings that covered its surface. Thousands of years old. Worn by a being who had commanded fleets capable of scouring worlds clean of life. Whose technology still remained out of reach for even the Oridian Galaxy's advanced civilization.

  "Hypocritical, isn't it?" Adam said. "The Makers destroyed all knowledge of their technology. Abandoned Oridian because of the damage they'd done and set their own subjects back millennia to ensure the wars could never happen again. But they still couldn't fully abandon their tech in the end. Couldn't let go of the things that made them powerful."

  "Some people never can."

  "No. They can't." He motioned to the bracelet. "I like to think the Maker that wore that did so because they never trusted the others wouldn't try to kill them."

  "Or maybe they were afraid of the wildlife," Evan said.

  Adam laughed. "Perhaps you're right."

  They reached a metal door at the end of the corridor, hanging bent on its frame after being forcibly opened. The command center beyond held workstations arranged in rows, humming computer terminals, and monitoring equipment stacked along the walls. Some screens displayed feeds from security cameras around the compound, though many showed nothing but static now. Others cycled through traffic camera footage from what looked like a dozen different cities. One terminal showed a grid of social media feeds, automated searches flagging keywords. Another displayed financial transaction logs, credit card activity scrolling past in real time. A large monitor on the far wall was split into quadrants—dark web marketplaces, encrypted forum traffic, airline passenger manifests, and what looked like a law enforcement database.

  This was how they'd tracked him. Not just the effigy tracker, but all of this. An entire surveillance operation running twenty-four hours a day, monitoring every digital footprint he might leave.

  The Skytrace personnel who had worked here were all dead. Some were still slumped over their stations, others had already been piled in a corner by the Null Guard members already in the room. They were sitting at a few of the terminals, copying data onto portable devices and searching for anything else they considered useful.

  One of the operators approached and held out a device Evan recognized immediately.

  The final tracker.

  "Commander, we found this."

  Adam took it and held it out to Evan. "Yours to do with as you wish."

  Evan took it.

  Set it on the floor.

  Drew the Glock from his hip.

  He aimed, waiting for Adam or another Null Guard to make a move to stop him.

  None of them did.

  He fired three times.

  The rounds tore through the device, shattering its casing, scattering components across the floor. By the time Evan holstered the weapon, nothing remained but fragments and smoke.

  "Now you're free," Adam said.

  Evan stared at the wreckage. Free. The word felt foreign after what he'd already been through.

  "Are you sure there are only three?" he asked. "Did the Makers bring them to Earth, or can new ones be made?"

  "New ones can be made, but not easily," Adam answered. "The technology requires materials and expertise that are extremely difficult to acquire. We would know about it if someone tried."

  "But it's possible."

  "Theoretically, yes. But with the surveillance capabilities available on Earth today, it may not even be worth the effort. You're free from direct tracking now. But take a look around. You can see how connected the other groups are."

  "I know. It's hard to get around with only cash that you can't use a debit card to withdraw without clearing out immediately afterward."

  "That's why you're better off with us. We can protect you better than you can protect yourself on your own. They won't stop coming for you. Not until they have no more reason to come."

  "So you want me to do what? Stay with you and use the Ascendant to find the Zero?"

  "No." Adam's response was immediate. Emphatic. "That's the last thing we want. No one should ever find that ship, if it exists at all."

  "What do you mean, if it exists?"

  "There's no definitive proof it's a real ship and not just myth. A legend that grew in the telling for over four thousand years. Unlike the Ascendant, there's no known effigy. No historical record of sightings. Nothing. Even the legend says it was never activated. It could be all bullshit. I really hope it is."

  "So what do you want from me, then?"

  Adam was quiet for a moment. The command center hummed around them, Null Guard operators continued to strip it of intelligence, the destroyed tracker still smoking on the floor.

  "There is something you could help us with," Adam said finally. "If you want to help us, that is…"

  18

  "That depends on what kind of help you want from me," Evan said, his insides twisting at what the Null Guard operative might ask him to do.

  "We could really use you as a liaison," Adam said. "Between Earth and Oridian."

  Evan stared at him, waiting for more. When nothing came, he shook his head. "A liaison. You mean a messenger."

  "If you want to put it that way."

  "How else would I put it? You just told me that you don't want the Zero found. So what's left? I transfer my consciousness between galaxies carrying notes like some kind of interstellar carrier pigeon?"

  Adam fought to keep amusement out of his expression, not quite managing it. "Let me put it this way. Since its inception, the Null Guard has operated on Earth and in Oridian without any way to communicate. No coordination. No shared intelligence. No ability to warn each other about faction movements or planned operations. We've been working blind, Evan. Two separate organizations with the same goals, stumbling through the dark."

  "And you want me to help you change that."

  "You're the only one who can. The empires use their effigies for the same purpose. High Commander Abrelle commands the Möbius from Earth through her effigy. The Skytrace and Red Scar commanders do the same with their relic ships. They coordinate across galaxies because they have the means to do it. We don't."

  Evan considered the implications. He'd known the effigies allowed consciousness transfer across impossible distances. He hadn't considered what that meant for communication. Real-time intelligence sharing. Strategic coordination. Valuable for any operational group.

  "So I'll be your phone home," he said flatly.

  "In effect, yes. You become our connection. A very valuable one." Adam's tone carried something that might have been frustration. "Look, I'm not going to pretend this is glamorous work, but what we're doing here, what we're trying to prevent matters."

  "I'm still not thrilled about the idea of being a glorified messenger."

  "I get that, E. T." Adam paused, seeming to choose his next words carefully. "But we can make it worth your while."

  "How?"

  "Since you haven't given up the effigy, I can only assume that means you want to spend more time in Oridian. Correct?"

  "I didn't give it up because the people who wanted it tried to kill me instead of asking nicely. Those aren't the kind of people I want to hand anything over to. Knowing what the Ascendant is, what it could lead to, I don't want to see billions of people killed. I don't care what galaxy they're in."

  "We agree on that. But our intelligence suggests the Ascendant was spotted multiple times. Is that correct?"

  "Yeah. That's right."

  "Where's the ship now, while you're here?"

  "Making a beeline through space toward nothing in particular."

  Adam grinned. "Smart, but not sustainable. Once the vector and velocity are determined, someone will bring a ship up alongside the Ascendant and lock on for boarding."

  Evan's stomach clenched. "Do you think⁠—"

  "No. Not this quickly," Adam interrupted. "The point is, now that the ship's been seen, it can't remain without a crew for long periods."

  "We agree on that, too," Evan said.

  "Good. I can offer you training, for one. Right now, you can't communicate with anyone you meet in Oridian. You can't read the Maker language, and you don't speak Oridian Standard—the common tongue most of the galaxy uses. That's a significant limitation. We have people who can teach you to read every system on the Ascendant, access functions you don't even know exist. And others who can teach you Standard, so you're not limited to violence every time you encounter someone out there."

  Evan thought about the Red Scar commander barking orders, growing increasingly furious when Evan couldn't comply. If he'd been able to respond, to negotiate, maybe that encounter would have ended differently.

  Then again, probably not.

  "What else?"

  "Protection here on Earth. You've seen what we can do." Adam gestured around the command center, at the Null Guard operators still stripping it of intelligence. "We took down a Skytrace regional headquarters tonight. We have resources. Safe houses. People who can watch your back while you sleep. You won't have to keep running."

  "And in exchange, I carry messages."

  "In exchange, we work together." Adam's voice hardened slightly. "To make sure the Zero stays out of the hands of any of the empires. All of them. Forever."

  "How am I supposed to do that?" he asked. "Everyone wants the Ascendant because they think it can lead them to the Zero. Even if I never help them find it, they won't stop coming. They'll never stop."

  Adam was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice carried a different quality. Less certainty. More honesty. "I don't know. We haven't figured that part out yet. But we will. Together. That's the whole point of having allies, Evan. You don't have to solve every problem alone."

  Evan turned the offer over in his mind. The Null Guard wanted him as a messenger. A liaison. A connection between two halves of an organization forced to operate separately. In exchange, they'd teach him the languages he needed, protect him from the factions hunting him, and work alongside him to prevent galactic catastrophe.

  "There's one more thing we can offer in time," Adam said. "A crew in Oridian. Null Guard who can be entrusted with the ship, so you don't have to be on it all the time, or leave it shooting across space like a comet."

  It wasn't a bad deal. Certainly better than anything the other groups had offered. And Adam not only hadn't tried to kill him, he'd actively promoted destroying the effigy tracker, which put the Null Guard significantly ahead of the competition.

  But trust didn't come easily. Not after everything he'd gone through. Maybe it would never come easy to him again. Especially not knowing exactly what secrets someone, in this case Adam, might be holding close to the vest.

  "I'm not saying no," Evan said carefully. "But I'm not ready to say yes either. Not yet."

  Adam nodded, his expression suggesting he'd expected exactly this response. "Fair enough. Take whatever time you need." He gestured toward the doorway. "The garage is at the side of the compound. The car keys are in an open lockbox on the wall near the entrance. Take whatever vehicle you want."

  Evan started to move, then stopped. "All of those cars. They're monitored, aren't they? GPS trackers. Connected systems that report back to somewhere."

  "Not somewhere. Here." Adam's mouth twitched toward a smile as he motioned to the terminals surrounding them.

  "And you have control here now."

  The smile widened. "We do. But fresh Skytrace assets will arrive. That much is a certainty. We don't intend to be here when they do. And we don't intend to leave any of this intact."

  Evan studied the younger man's face, looking for the angle. The trap. The hidden agenda that would reveal itself the moment he let his guard down.

  "You're really not going to try to stop me," he said.

  "Not at all." Adam spread his hands. "Go pick a car and give us ten minutes. That should be enough time."

  "Enough time for what?"

  Before Adam could answer, another operator appeared in the doorway. Young, female, her face still flushed from the assault. She crossed to Adam and leaned close, whispering something Evan couldn't hear.

  Adam's grin transformed into something brighter. Genuine amusement mixed with satisfaction. "Change of plans," he said. "I'd like to suggest you come with me first."

  "Why?" Evan replied cautiously.

  "Because I think you'll appreciate what we found. Trust me on this." Adam turned and headed for the doorway, not looking back to see if Evan followed.

  Against his better judgment, Evan followed.

  They moved through the mansion's lower level, past rooms that showed the scars—bullet holes, shattered glass, the occasional body that hadn't been removed yet—from the recent battle. Null Guard operators nodded to Adam as they passed, some of them casting curious glances at Evan but none of them challenging his presence.

  Adam led him to a door at the back of the house. A stairway—the steps concrete, the walls unfinished—descended into darkness. "Basement," Adam said. "Skytrace kept their real treasures down here." The temperature dropped as they descended, the air taking on the cool stillness of underground space.

  At the far end of the basement, a vault door stood open.

  The safe was impressive. Eight feet tall, six feet wide, with a door thick enough to stop most explosives. Even so, someone had cracked it during the assault, the locking mechanism hanging loose like a broken jaw.

  Inside, Evan saw exactly what Adam had promised. Cash. Stacks of it, bundled in neat rows along one wall. Hundred-dollar bills, by the look of it. Enough money to disappear for years if someone knew how to carefully spend it.

  Tactical gear filled another section. Body armor, communications equipment, night vision devices, medical supplies. Everything a well-funded paramilitary operation might need. And weapons. Rifles racked in neat rows. Pistols in foam-lined cases. Ammunition crates stacked three deep along the back wall.

  "Help yourself," Adam said.

  Evan stared at him. "What?"

  "You heard me." Adam leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Take whatever you need. Cash, gear, weapons. Consider it a signing bonus, whether you sign on or not."

  "What's your play here?"

  "There is no play." Adam's voice carried no trace of deception. "We're on the same side, Evan. Whether you want to believe it or not."