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“ O uch! That hurts,” Dorane hissed, peering up at Mei’s thunderous expression.

“You weren’t supposed to get hurt. I had plans for tonight,” she snapped.

Dorane ignored Sergi and Ash’s snickers. Instead, he tried to lie still and not wiggle out from under Mei’s torturous hands.

“Why don’t you let me and Cassa finish this, Mei?” Julia offered.

Mei looked up at Julia before she closed her eyes, pulled in a calming breath, and nodded. Dorane mouthed a silent thank you to Julia and Cassa. He reached out and gripped Mei’s hand, pulling her closer to the top of the medical bed so Julia could work on his wound.

His heart melted when he noticed the glisten of tears in her beautiful brown eyes. Lifting her hand, he kissed her knuckles and gave her a crooked smile.

“Thanks for saving my ass again,” he murmured.

“Somebody has to. Asta and Jammer would be upset if I brought them back a corpse,” she sniffed.

“Mei, how many did you get back there?” Ash asked.

Mei frowned and looked over her shoulder. “How many what did I get?” she asked.

“Body count, pandochka . We have a bet going,” Sergi said.

Mei rolled her eyes. “That’s goes against my moral compass,” she said.

Ash snorted out a laugh. “And killing doesn’t?”

“Why should killing the bad guys go against a moral compass?” Kella asked, then frowned and added, “What is a moral compass, anyway? Does it help you find someone to kill?”

“Yes, it is definitely a compass to help you kill,” Sergi said, clearly enjoying his mischief.

“Then why haven’t you given me one yet?” Kella asked Ash. “I would like to have one.”

Julia smothered a giggle while Sergi threw his head back, laughed, and slapped Ash on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince.

“Now, to get out of this one,” Sergi said.

“Thanks a lot, pal. Come on, love. I’ll see if I can explain this without you trying to kill me to see if it works,” Ash muttered, sliding his arm around Kella’s shoulders and guiding her out of the room.

“I think La’Rue won the body count,” Mei said.

“ Net, net .” No, no. “The transport only counts as one,” Sergi argued.

“Definitely La’Rue,” Cassa and Julia said, grinning.

Sergi’s face fell and he gave them his best pout before he perked up. “But, because La’Rue and I are a couple, we get to add ours together! Hey, Ash!”

Dorane chuckled, his body relaxing as the healing agents kicked in and the pain in his side began to fade.

“I like him,” he murmured, looking up at Mei.

Her lips twitched. “He kind of grows on you once you get to know him,” she said in a beleaguered tone.

“Speaking of getting to know someone, how about you explain the way you fight?” Josh asked.

“Busted,” Julia murmured, pulling off her gloves and looking at Cassa. “Would you like to go grab a tea?”

Cassa chuckled and nodded, glancing back and forth between Josh and Mei. Dorane gripped Mei’s hand, and she looked down. His eyes were soft.

“I’ll be here when you’re finished,” he said, his eyelids heavy from the sedative Cassa had given him. “He should know.”

Mei sat next to Josh on the platform, staring out at the settlement. Life had returned to normal—if you could call this new world she had woken in normal.

“I am—was—a spy for the Chinese government. My mission was not quite the same as yours, not at first,” she said, staring straight ahead as she spoke.

“Oh. Well… bygones, huh? I thought I recognized a few of the moves you did; what level are you?” he asked.

Mei’s lips twitched. She knew he was asking what level of karate or jujitsu. She swallowed, looking down at the steaming tea Julia had given her as they passed the galley.

“10th dan by the Kōdōkan,” she murmured.

“10 th !” Josh hissed.

“Only because they did not go higher,” she said, bowing her head before she took a sip of her tea and looked up at the night sky. “I don’t ever remember seeing this many stars when we were on Earth.”

Josh looked up. “I think humans have forgotten they are even there sometimes.”

“I’m glad that you made the decision to go through the gateway,” she said.

Josh was silent before he released a dry laugh. “If you had told me going through it would take us to a new world, filled with danger, intrigue, prophecies?—”

“And love?” she murmured.

Josh chuckled and nodded. “And love, I would have said you were crazy.”

Mei laughed softly. “I think you would have eagerly sent us through if you knew. You have always been the bold rule-breaker.”

“Yeah, maybe so,” Josh said ruefully with a smile. “Would you have wanted me to?”

“Yes,” Mei said without hesitation, her lips tilting in a secret smile. She drew her knees up to rest her chin on them. “So, what happens next?”

Josh stared out at the mixture of alien crew members and dock workers laughing, chatting, and going about their lives as if it wasn’t strange to be traveling to moon ports, secret bases, and worlds with floating islands. It was just another day.

“I don’t know, but for once, I’m excited to find out,” he said.

“Me too.”

Mei sighed with contentment as she thought of Dorane. She would go wherever he went. If it was on Cryon II, she would have new friends: Asta, Jammer, Tiv, Yi, and the crew of the Gliese and their mates. Her eyes followed the movement of a spaceship approaching. She still marveled at the beauty of watching the ships take off, land, and disappear. Her thoughts moved to Earth and she wondered what would happen now that the Gliese had disappeared. Would they give up? Would they try again?

Who cares what they do? I’m free, and that is all that matters.

Jeslean, Neri

Three months later

Mei gripped Dorane’s hand tightly as they climbed the steps to the Grand Hall of the Knights of the Gallant tower. Her gaze swept over the scorch marks left from the Legion’s attack on the city.

Representatives from all the inhabited planets in the galaxy, large and small, were here tonight to celebrate history in the making. Banners bearing the new sigil of the Gallant Order hung from the high vaulted ceilings, golden threads shimmering beneath the glow of elegant chandeliers. The air was charged, not with the tension of war, but with something far more profound—hope.

“It’s good to see the recovery,” Cassa murmured.

“I agree,” Roan replied, his voice laced with emotion.

Mei’s expression softened when she saw Julia pull Roan’s face around to kiss him. By the time Julia was finished, the look of regret and guilt had vanished from Roan’s eyes, replaced with desire. She would have to remember to try that on Dorane.

“You are beautiful. Have I told you that tonight?” Dorane asked.

Mei’s lips twitched with amusement. “Maybe once or twice.”

“Dorane, I forgot to ask, is the bounty on your head canceled?” La’Rue asked.

Dorane gave La’Rue a wary look. “I don’t know. You aren’t going to try to collect on it, are you?” Dorane’s eyes flashed between La’Rue and Kella.

“No, we’re just wondering if we should keep an eye out for assassins,” La’Rue said.

“Yes, I have found my moral compass. If I cannot kill good people like you, then I can kill the bad ones who try to kill you,” Kella replied.

“I didn’t say you had to kill them, honey. Just if there’s no other way. Not all bad guys are actually bad,” Ash said.

Kella glared at Ash before she shook her head. “Sometimes you make no sense at all.”

Mei turned slightly when Sergi wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned closer. “Are you ready for all of this? Life could be boring now that there is no Legion.”

Mei snorted. “There will always be a wannabe Legion. You know that as well as I do. Besides, I think we’ve earned a little peace and quiet, don’t you?”

“Where’s the fun if everything is a piece of cake?”

“Pie, Sergi. A piece of pie,” Mei growled.

“I still like cake better,” he grumbled before La’Rue pulled him away and motioned for him to be quiet.

At the center of the hall, a great circular dais had been erected, where those who had fought, bled, and sacrificed now stood. The crowd—a mixture of warriors, freighter captains, former rebels, and the newly reformed Knights of the Gallant—waited in hushed reverence.

Roanna, Roan’s grandmother, stood regally at the forefront, her silver-lined black hair swept back, her Gallant Staff gleaming in the light. Beside her, Hutu, Kubo, and Natta, along with other Gallant generals, observed the gathering with solemn pride. And at their side stood Ri Manta—the man who now guided the reformed Legion.

"The universe is not won with war," Roanna began, her voice strong yet gentle, the kind that commanded wisdom and respect. "It is healed through those who never stopped believing in something greater than themselves."

She turned, her sharp eyes sweeping the gathered warriors. "And today, we honor those who gave us back our future."

Mei’s cheeks warmed when the crowd erupted into applause. She followed Josh, Ash, Sergi, and Julia as they stepped forward. Cassa, Kella, La’Rue, Roan, and Dorane stepped up behind them.

Mei wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to ceremonies, especially when they involved her. But as she stood beside Dorane, she suddenly felt no discomfort, no hesitation. Instead, she felt something stronger than she ever had before.

Belonging.

Roanna motioned for a large cloth-covered frame to be unveiled. A group of Gallant soldiers pulled the covering away to reveal an image—one so familiar, yet so impossible that the entire room fell silent.

A patch from the Gliese was embedded at the base of the image, but what captured everyone’s attention was the etched depiction of five figures standing together, their Gallant Staffs raised high.

A perfect, ancient replica of the very people standing before them.

Roan released a soft curse, eyes widening.

His grandmother bowed her head at him, a knowing smile curving her lips.

Sergi leaned in, grinning. "I don’t know about you, but I find it a little unsettling when a prophecy gets it right."

Ash nodded solemnly. "Maybe we missed a time-travel subplot. Would that be weirder than an accurate psychic? I think it’d be weirder."

Julia rolled her eyes. "No one is getting into a time machine, Ash."

“I was just saying! Weirder could be good.“

La’Rue elbowed Kella. "He’s your problem now."

Kella grinned. "I know. Isn’t it great?"

Dorane’s hand tightened around Mei’s, his warmth anchoring her.

"This was always meant to be," Roanna murmured, as if speaking to herself. She turned back to them, nodding deeply. "And now, the future belongs to you."

A thunderous applause rose in the hall, but Mei hardly heard it.

She looked at Dorane and he looked at her, a silent understanding passing between them.

They had won.

They were free.

And as Dorane pulled Mei into his arms and captured her lips, she knew with certainty that at long last, she was home.

Time seemed to fade as the universe stretched before them, endless and filled with wonder. Dorane’s starship glided effortlessly through the void, heading back to Cryon II.

In the quiet sanctuary of their private cabin, Mei sat curled up against Dorane, a warm blanket draped over her shoulders and his arms wrapped around her waist. Their bodies were bare and tangled, skin warm from the lingering embers of their lovemaking, their breaths steady.

Through the viewport, stars pulsed softly, distant and unknowable, yet Mei had never felt so certain of where she belonged.

Dorane let out a contented sigh, shifting so he could look at her. "You’re thinking too much."

Mei smirked. "I thought you liked my thinking."

"I do." His fingers traced lazy patterns on her bare shoulder. "But not when it pulls you away from me."

She tilted her head back, studying his face. The battle-worn edges were still there, the grief of the past still lingering, but it no longer consumed him.

"Do you ever miss it?" he asked suddenly.

"Miss what?"

"Your world. The one you left behind."

Mei leaned in, pressing her lips to his, slow and deep, pouring everything she felt into him.

When she finally pulled back, she held his gaze and her voice was steady when she said, "I am exactly where I was always meant to be."

Dorane let out a slow breath, his eyes dark with something she recognized all too well—love. Fierce, unwavering love.

He pulled her back into him, kissing her deeply, and this time, there were no words left to say.

There was only the stars, the silence, and the promise of forever.

Earth – Paris, France

Two years after the last contact with the Gliese 581g

A quietly lit chamber in Paris hummed with tension, the gathered officials speaking in hushed, deliberate tones.

At the center of the room, a projection screen flickered, showing a celestial object far beyond the solar system, an unnatural structure suspended in space. The classified image bore five distinct seals, each representing a different nation.

"How recent is this image?" a woman in a dark suit asked.

Markus Landborne’s fingers tapped quickly as he pulled up the date of the image.

"The next interplanetary mission is approved," Liu Zhang declared. "The technology we've gained from the Project Gliese mission will be implemented in the new prototype."

Silence fell.

Then an older man at the head of the table leaned forward. His expression was grave but determined.

"The Gliese 581g mission was just the beginning. This time… we go prepared."

The room erupted into quiet discussions, but above it all, one thing was clear.

Earth was about to reach for the stars again.

And this time, they would not go alone.