The Dominion kill team moved through the facility like ghosts.

  Zak’s breath was shallow as he crouched behind the control console. His mind was racing. The gunfire had stopped, but he knew better than to think they had left.

  They were circling.

  Waiting for him to make a mistake.

  The QSE’s core hummed

  Zak didn’t have time for this. The machine was almost ready.

  All he needed to do was activate the Quantum Solar Nexus and integrate the 47 Hz frequency.

  If he could do that—if he could finish what he started—he might just win.

  But first, he had to survive.

  A sudden metallic clang

  Zak peeked around the corner just in time to see one of the Dominion operatives drop to the ground—motionless.

  Another went down.

  Then another.

  Zak’s eyes widened.

  Someone else was inside the facility.

  A voice crackled through the comms system.

  “Zak Carter. Get up.”

  Zak’s stomach flipped.

  He recognized that voice.

  It wasn’t EOSA. It wasn’t the Dominion.

  It was the Architects.

  A figure stepped out of the shadows. Tall. Cloaked in something that didn’t reflect light or absorb it

  The face was obscured.

  But Zak felt

  “Who the hell are you?” Zak whispered.

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  The figure’s voice was smooth, calm. “The one sent to make sure you finish what you started.”

  Zak swallowed hard.

  He wanted to ask more.

  But the Dominion was still coming.

  And right now, he didn’t have time for answers.

  Only action.

  Meanwhile, at EOSA’s secret command centre,

  On the screen in front of him was real-time data from the QSE.

  It was pulsing. Growing stronger.

  “This machine…” one of the EOSA engineers muttered. “It’s—it's interacting with the sun’s energy in ways we’ve never seen before.”

  A senior official turned to Raines.

  “We have two choices,” he said grimly. “We shut it down, or we see where this goes.

  Raines knew what that really meant.

  They were debating whether to kill Zak Carter.

  His stomach twisted.

  For all his doubts about Zak’s theories, he knew

  If The Dominionwas bigger than any of them.

  Bigger than science. Bigger than politics. Bigger than humanity itself.

  Raines made his choice.

  “I say we let him finish.”

  The room erupted.

  Officials shouted over one another. Scientists panicked.

  And somewhere deep inside EOSA’s classified networks, the order was given.

  EOSA was no longer neutral.

  They were going to help Zak.

  Back inside the underground facility, the situation had escalated.

  More Dominion operatives flooded in, rifles trained on Zak’s position.

  The mysterious figure beside him remained unmoved.

  Zak felt his heart pound.

  He needed time.

  Time to finish integrating the Quantum Solar Nexus.

  Time to lock in the 47 Hz harmonic frequency.

  Time to change everything.

  “SDI,” Zak whispered. “Divert power to facility defences.”

  “Negative,” SDI replied. “If we divert power, the QSE will not complete its final phase.”

  Zak cursed under his breath.

  He had no choice.

  He had to make a run for it.

  The figure beside him turned slightly. “Follow me.”

  Zak didn’t hesitate.

  They moved fast—through the corridors, past shattered control rooms, through the labyrinth of cables and power grids that kept the facility alive.

  The QSE chamber was just ahead.

  But then—

  An explosion rocked the entire base.

  Zak was thrown to the ground. His ears rang.

  He tasted dust.

  Smoke filled the hallways.

  And through the chaos—he heard footsteps.

  More Dominion forces.

  They were coming.

  And this time, they weren’t going to take him alive.

  Before Zak could react, the mysterious figure pulled him to his feet.

  He barely had time to register what was happening before he was shoved through the final doorway.

  The QSE’s core pulsed.

  The energy readings spiked.

  It was almost ready.

  But then, the figure turned to face him directly.

  And for the first time, Zak saw the eyes.

  They weren’t human.

  They weren’t anything he could comprehend.

  A deep, infinite darkness.

  A voice echoed inside his mind.

  "Finish it, Zak Carter. The QSE is the only thing keeping them out."

  Zak’s breath caught.

  “Keeping who

  The figure’s form flickered.

  "The ones who were never meant to return."

  Zak felt his entire body go cold.

  Because he knew exactly who they were talking about.

  The ones Voyager 1 and 2 had detected. who had sent the transmission. who had fled.

  And now…

  They were coming back.