The Virek home wasn't loud. It never had to be. Even when tensions rose or voices lifted, the walls seemed to absorb the emotion, grounding it beneath the quiet hum of filtration vents and recycled air. But the night after the UG broadcast, the silence was different. Thicker. Waiting.
The door to Jace and Lenn's room slid open faster than usual, slicing through the stillness like a snapped wire.
Kael didn't turn. He didn't need to.
From where he sat at the main table, his hands idly turning the same worn relay coil, he could hear the shift in weight, the speed of the steps, the electricity in the air as his older brothers strode into the room.
Adrenaline made noise, even when it didn't speak.
Mirena was at the sink, methodically washing their cups from dinner. She didn't pause, but her posture stiffened. One hand lingered too long in the rinse basin.
Arik sat across the room in his chair, boots off, his arms folded loosely, as if already bracing for the flood of energy that came with the two young men.
Jace entered first, all swagger and fire. At just past twenty, he moved like the world owed him momentum. His sleeves were rolled back, grease stains tattooed into his forearms, and his face carried the flush of possibility.
"That was a real call, wasn't it?" he asked.
Arik didn't blink. "It was."
Lenn followed a step behind. Calmer. But his eyes were brighter than Kael had seen in months.
"Recruitment trials," Lenn said, his voice low and reverent. "Two years. That's enough time to train, test, and prep. You know what this means?"
"It means a thousand things," Mirena murmured without turning. "And not all of them are good."
Jace stepped forward, hands moving as he spoke, voice rising. "But the chance, Mom, the chance to get off this rock. To be more than just diggers. To serve. Earn a sector track. Maybe even a command path. Don't you see what this could mean for us?"
Kael kept his eyes on the coil in his hands. Turn. Feel. Balance.
Arik leaned forward, elbows on knees. His voice didn't rise. It didn't need to.
"It could mean opportunity," he said. "Or it could mean the front lines. The UG dresses up their offers in fancy language, but it's still conscription in all but name."
"We know the risks," Lenn said.
"And we're not stupid," Jace added. "We've done the hard stuff, outer maintenance, hull patching, salvage during wind surges. We've run emergency overrides on panels older than the canyon. That's more than most backline recruits ever see."
Mirena finally dried her hands. She turned, eyes calm but firm.
"I won't stop you," she said. "But you need to be clear-eyed. They don't send calls like this unless they need bodies. And if they need bodies, something bigger's moving in the dark."
Lenn nodded. "That's why we go in ready. We go in knowing more than they think."
Kael stood silently and stepped back from the table. His brothers didn't notice, caught in the flame of their dreams.
But Mirena did.
"You're not leaving tonight," she said gently. "So, sit. Eat something. Let your heart slow down."
Jace exhaled and dropped into a chair, fingers drumming the wood.
Lenn followed, then looked over at Kael with a half-smile. "You hear all that?"
Kael nodded.
"Scared?"
Kael looked him in the eye and shook his head once.
"Good," Lenn said, grinning. "Because you'll be watching us lead the charge."
Kael said nothing. But he walked back to the table, sat across from them, and placed the relay coil down with care.
He wasn't watching.
He was remembering.
He was planning.
He was wondering what kind of charge he would one day lead and whether his brothers would still be there to see it.
****
The next morning, Grey Hollow felt like it was holding its breath.
The wind had fallen into a whisper. The air was crisp and still carried the ozone scent of the previous day's storm. The ground was firm, the sky above dustless and pale. It was the kind of morning that made the world feel bigger.
Kael padded beside Vessa along the outer maintenance path. The trail wound along the canyon's lower edge, just beyond the dome's perimeter, where old access lines and broken conduits snaked through the red-brown rock like veins.
He didn't say anything. Not for a while. He rarely did at first.
But Vessa, as always, waited.
It was nearly fifteen minutes before he finally spoke.
"What is the UG?"
Vessa glanced down, shielding her eyes against the glare of the rising twin suns.
"Universal Government," she said. "They run almost everything beyond this place. The biggest force out there. The biggest rules. Biggest reach."
"Are they good?" Kael asked.
Vessa was quiet for a moment.
"That depends on where you're standing," she said. "They keep order. But not always peace.
Kael kicked a loose stone down the trail, watching it bounce along the canyon wall. "They pick people?
"They pick. They test. They shape," Vessa said. "And if they like what they see, they either send you to one of their academies… or straight to a deployment field."
Kael looked up at the edge of the canyon, where the light bent through the dust in slow swirls.
"Is there a way to get picked… before sixteen?"
Vessa was quiet again.
Then she said, "There's GAMA.
Kael blinked. "What's that?"
"Galactic Apex Military Academy," she said. "You start at twelve. Four years of training, encompassing mental, physical, and tactical aspects. They don't take just anyone. But if you graduate, you're not just a number. You're a leader. And you don't just survive, you command.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Do they protect people?
Vessa smiled faintly. "The best ones do. The rest follow orders.
Kael was silent for a long time. The wind tugged lightly at his coat. Then he said, "If I joined… could I protect Jace and Lenn?
Vessa stopped walking.
She turned to face him, crouched low until she was eye-level.
"If you joined GAMA," she said slowly, "and kept that mind of yours sharp and your heart even sharper, you wouldn't just protect your brothers.
She placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"You'd be the reason people like them made it home.
Kael didn't smile.
But his hands curled slightly into fists at his side.
"Then I need to learn faster.
Vessa exhaled through her nose. "Stars, kid. You scare me sometimes.
They walked on.
Ahead of them, the canyon bent toward the ridge where the signal repeaters flickered in the distance. The path was narrow, the shadows long.
But for the first time in Kael's life, he wasn't just walking toward something.
He was walking for something.
And he had a purpose.