After two rough missions back-to-back, we finally made it back to the Revenge.

  The hangar doors closed with a heavy clang. The Dragonflies and our newest addition Ladybug powered down one after another. Their engines made those tired ticking sounds as they cooled. Smoke and the smell of burnt fuel and gunpowder stuck to our clothes and gear.

  We were all worn out. The Dead Men looked and felt like they had nothing left—tired, irritated, barely hanging on.

  Malone had a big white bandage around his head. He kept touching it like it annoyed him, but he didn’t complain out loud.

  Harvey walked in and stopped when he saw the Raptors being pulled out of the Ladybug. He ran his hand along the hull, almost like he was petting it.

  “Isn’t she a beaut?” he said quietly.

  “Yeah, she is,” Tony answered.

  Harvey didn’t even look over at him.

  I shook my head and gave a small smile. Even after all that mess, we still manage to joke around. That’s probably the only reason we’re still here.

  I left them in the hangar and went straight to my quarters.

  The door shut behind me. For the first time in days, it was quiet—no radios, no shouting, just the low hum of the ship.

  I took off my armor piece by piece. It felt heavier than normal, not because of the weight, but because of everything it reminded me of.

  I got in the shower. Hot water hit me hard and washed off the ash, sweat, and blood. Steam filled the small room. I stood there with my eyes closed for a while.

  For those few minutes, none of it existed—no Empire, no Union, no core datas. Just the sound and feel of the water.

  Afterward I lay on my bunk, hands behind my head, staring at the plain gray ceiling. The Revenge moved steadily through the water. You could feel it more than hear it.

  And then the old memories came back, whether I wanted them or not.

  I used to be one of them.

  Blue Imperial armor. Captain Jericho Sanchez. Imperial Marines - Black Operations Division.

  I believed in Arthur I back then.

  He wasn’t the monster people call him now. He was sharp, calm, and good at explaining things. He talked about unity, stability, and building something better. A lot of us bought into it. I did too.

  The Empress, Lady Margareth kept things human. She actually cared. She went to refugee systems herself, set up relief fleets, and talked about peace even while we kept taking more territory.

  I saw her once kneel next to a starving kid on a new world we’d just taken. She took her gloves off before touching the girl’s face. No cameras, no show—just her doing it because it was right.

  When she died from cancer, everything shifted.

  Arthur didn’t fall apart. He got colder. Talks turned into demands. Demands turned into attacks. And I kept following orders.

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  I kept telling myself it was for the greater good. For stability.

  I was wrong.

  His children;

  Vice Emperor Arthur Jr. always made me uneasy, even back then. He's heir apparent - the crown prince. He didn’t run any department, but he didn’t need to. He just sat in meetings and watched people. Always thinking, always measuring. Power came naturally to him.

  King James of Sector 2 was the opposite. Also Ministet of Agriculture and Foodstuffs. Friendly, smart, remembered names and asked about people’s families. He was close to Faye—closer than he should’ve been for someone in his position.

  Later I found out he was secretly sending food to Union territory. Faye asked him to. He faked the paperwork to make it happen. If Arthur had caught on, James would’ve been dead that day.

  Queen Ella of Sector 3 was like her mother. Ministress of Energy. Smart and kind. She quietly sent money and supplies for hospitals and clean water—on both sides of the border. She still thought we could fix things instead of just fighting.

  And Faye…

  Lady Faye Tassle. The princess. Arthur’s niece.

  For a while, she was mine too.

  We used to walk in the palace gardens at night. We’d argue about policies, laugh at dumb things, talk about what the Empire could actually be. She pushed me to think harder. She made me feel like I was more than just a soldier in a uniform.

  I met her father once—Joseph Tassle, the Duke, Arthur I’s brother. They sent him to oversee the empty, nuke-scarred barren land that used to be Africa. No people, no real purpose—just a way to get him out of the way.

  Then Faye disappeared.

  No note, no warning. She was just gone one day.

  A few weeks later I heard her father had started something new. A new territory. A new side.

  The Union of the Illuminated.

  I remember thinking, “That’s actually a pretty cool name.”

  But it didn’t feel cool.

  It felt like she left me behind. Or maybe like she did what I was too scared to do.

  I remembered Facility 64. It is still stuck in my head.

  The emperor ordered to destroy it.

  The job was simple: get inside and blow the place up.

  Instead we found tanks full of… things.

  Chimeras. Half-human, mutant experiments floating in liquid. Some of them still had eyes that looked normal.

  One looked right at me through the glass.

  “Please… kill us…” it said.

  I can still hear that voice when it’s quiet.

  Unexpectedly, Marcus was there, checking everything, taking notes. I thought he was behind it—running tests, making more.

  I didn’t realize he was actually trying to help them.

  Our squad retreated, cancels the whole operation mid-point.

  Arthur I was furious and called it treason. He ordered us to be executed.

  Malone, Park, me and others were supposed to be executed.

  I went to Marcus, ask him for something, refuge.

  “I know you were there,” I told him. “I know what you are doing.”

  He just gave me that little smirk and wheeled away.

  They didn’t kill us. They sent us to Antarctica instead—to freeze and starve slowly.

  That was when the last part of me that still believed in the Empire broke.

  Then Gina showed up.

  Lieutenant Regina Mendez. We went through the academy together.

  She stole a Dragonfly, flew through a blizzard, and got us out. No questions, no hesitation.

  That was the night I stopped being Imperial.

  Arthur finds out we escaped and put a kill order on us.

  They sent Jerry. Jeremiah, my brother to finish the job.

  He decided to join us instead. He took the Emperor’s favorite ship—the St. Francis—and brought it to our side.And he introduced us to the foundation.

  Harvey came along after that.

  And that’s how the Dead Men Corps started.

  I kept staring at the ceiling.

  Now. We've gone to that Union facility

  To Facility 64.

  To the Imperial refineries.

  To the Imperial farms.

  To gather these core data.

  Now. Only one left.

  Marcus is in charge again.

  Jerry’s with him.

  Gina…

  Thinking about her makes my chest feel tight in a different way.

  What I had with Faye was calm.

  What I have with Gina is intense. Built in the middle of fights and close calls. That kind of trust or love can keep you alive.

  And Marcus is still the one holding most of the cards. Just like before.

  It feels like everything is happening again.

  I’m not sure I’m strong enough to stop it this time.

  If we actually pull this off…

  If we bring the Empire down…

  Then what?

  Does Arthur Jr. take over?

  Does the Union win?

  Do we even try to build something new?

  I took a long breath and let it out.

  I used to fight for the Empire.

  Now I’m fighting against it.

  But I still don’t know what I want to see when it’s all over.

  The lights went low for night cycle.

  The Revenge kept moving through the dark water.

  I stayed awake, looking up at nothing, wondering if anyone will ever call me a hero…

  or if I’ll just be remembered as the guy who picked the wrong side twice.