Before David could respond, alarms blared throughout the hall. The celebration lights dimmed, replaced by harsh red emergency lighting. A hologram appeared in the center of the room, showing a coalition officer with fear in his eyes.
"Priority alert to all military personnel. Outpost Delta 9 is under attack. The enemy is there... shadow entities. The void has returned."
The hall erupted into chaos. Warriors rushed toward the exits, calling for their weapons and their ships. Kira grabbed David's hand, her eyes wide.
"The void," she whispered. "After all these years."
David had heard stories about the void. Ancient tales of shadow creatures that consumed entire worlds that even the mighty draconians feared. He had thought they were legends, warnings told to children. But the fear in Kara's eyes told him otherwise.
"I have to go," she said. "David, stay here where it's safe."
"Kira, please."
She squeezed his hand. "I cannot fight if I'm worried about you."
David nodded slowly. What else could he do? She was right. He would only be in the way. Kira kissed him quickly, then ran after the other warriors.
Roth paused at the doorway, looking back at David with something almost like pity. "Stay hidden, human. Leave the fighting to those strong enough to face it."
Then he was gone, and David stood alone in the empty ceremony hall. The Star of Valor lay forgotten on the platform. Its light dimmed by the emergency alarms. David looked down at his sword, the ancient blade that everyone mocked. In the red light, he could almost see something moving within the metal. A shimmer like heat rising from summer pavement.
"Maybe," he whispered to himself. "It's time to stop hiding."
He didn't know why he said it. He didn't know what he meant. But deep inside, in a place beyond thought or reason, something ancient woke up and whispered back. "Soon."
David refused to stay behind. He pulled rank as a diplomatic liaison, a position he rarely used, and secured a spot on the transport ship heading to outpost Delta 9. Kira hadn't been happy about it, but she had too many other problems to argue.
Now he sat in the troop compartment, surrounded by warriors who pretended he didn't exist. Draconian soldiers checked their plasma rifles and energy blades. A group of Thorian shock troops, massive beings made of living crystal, meditated in silence. Even the pilot was a decorated veteran, a four-armed Satari with enough combat experience to fill a library. And then there was David, wearing a simple environmental suit and carrying a sword that belonged in a museum.
The ship shuddered as it dropped out of hyperspace. Through the viewport, David could see Outpost Delta 9, or what was left of it. The station hung in space like a dying star. Sections of it were simply gone, as if something had taken bites out of the metal. The defense shields flickered weakly, barely holding. Worse were the shapes moving around it. Dark things that seemed to absorb light itself, leaving holes in space where they passed.
"By the ancient fires," someone whispered, "There are hundreds of them."
Roth stood at the front of the compartment, his face grim. "Listen well. These creatures feed on energy. They will drain your shields, your weapons, even your body's natural energy. Stay together. Watch each other's backs. And for the sake of all life, do not let them touch you."
The ship docked with the station through an emergency airlock. The moment the door opened, David heard the screaming. Warriors poured into the corridor, weapons ready. David followed, keeping close to Kira. She had given up trying to send him back. Instead, she had assigned herself as his personal guard, which made several soldiers grumble about wasted resources.
The outpost was a nightmare. Emergency lights cast everything in shades of red and black. Bodies lay scattered in the corridors, their faces frozen in expressions of terror. Some were dried husks as if every drop of moisture had been sucked out of them. Others looked peaceful, like they had simply fallen asleep and never woken up.
"They drain life itself," Kira explained, her voice tight. "Not just energy. Everything that makes something alive."
A shadow moved at the end of the corridor. It had a roughly humanoid shape, but its edges kept shifting and blurring. Where it touched the walls, the metal corroded and crumbled.
"Open fire," Roth commanded.
Plasma bolts filled the corridor with blue-white light. The energy beam struck the shadow creature dead center. But instead of destroying it, the creature seemed to drink the energy in. It grew larger, more solid, more real.
"Cease fire," Roth shouted, but three more soldiers had already fired.
The shadow creature swelled to twice its original size. Then it lunged forward with impossible speed. The creature tore through the front line like paper. Soldiers fell, their shields useless. Their energy weapons became liabilities. Every shot they fired only made the creature stronger.
David watched in horror as a Thorian warrior, a being strong enough to punch through starship hull, was touched by the shadow. The crystal giant didn't even have time to scream. He simply crumbled to dust. His life force consumed in seconds.
"Fall back." Kira was pulling David away back toward the ship. "Everyone fall back."
But more shadows were appearing now, cutting off their escape. The warriors found themselves trapped between the creatures. Their most powerful weapons useless against an enemy that fed on energy itself.
Roth roared in frustration, launching himself at the nearest shadow with just his claws and teeth. For a moment, David thought it might work. Physical attacks didn't feed the creatures. But Roth's natural energy, the power that ran through every draconian, was still fuel for them. The shadow wrapped around him like a blanket, drinking deep.