Chapter 187: One Last Option

"Do you think the pod will save the Admiral?"

The two men stared at him.

Ares turned away from the window.

"It will suppress the miasma. But that’s all. It cannot purify what has already entered his body, and it cannot repair the damage caused by the corruption. Even if we place the Admiral inside that pod right now, we would still need a Guide with enough purification strength to cleanse the miasma."

His expression grew darker.

"And right now, we don’t have one."

The first Sentinel looked down, his hands tightening over his knees as he asked, "So we’re just supposed to wait?"

"We’ll wait for the Federation’s answer."

The second Sentinel immediately shook his head. "They already refused. What difference does another request from us make? They will still reject it!"

Ares looked at him silently before turning his gaze back toward the window and saying, "The situation has changed."

The two men exchanged glances.

Ares’s expression remained thoughtful. "The Federation knows they won’t want to pass on this opportunity."

The first Sentinel frowned.

"What opportunity?"

"To make the Association feel a loss," Ares answered.

Silence filled the cabin again.

Ares continued, "The Federation knows how much the Admiral is worth to the Association, and they also know the political consequences if the Association loses him because they refused to help."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"And the Imperial Loyalist Army will be watching this situation too."

The second Sentinel’s expression changed.

Ares leaned back against the seat.

"If the Federation suddenly decides to cooperate, they gain something, and if they refuse completely, the Imperial Family can use that refusal to their advantage. Either way, there is something to gain politically. They will both be trying to use the situation to their advantage."

The first Sentinel slowly understood.

"So you think they’ll both send someone?"

Ares paused before replying, "They will. And how they choose to help the Association is another matter because they will do so on their own terms. And there’s another thing to consider..."

The two Sentinels looked at him.

Ares’s expression became thoughtful.

"The Chief Master will eventually have to choose which side he becomes indebted to," Ares murmured.

Neither man spoke.

Either way, if the Association takes this loss, it will be treated as though they have surrendered to whoever they become indebted to.

The shuttle continued forward.

***

Back inside the residence, Aisha closed the door and remained still for a moment.

The house had become quiet again.

She turned around, and her eyes immediately went toward the hallway before she finally started walking.

The farther she went, the more serious her expression became, and when she finally reached the room, the first thing she saw was the pod.

Zenick was still inside.

He remained motionless behind the transparent surface, his face pale beneath the faint lights running along the machine, while the machinery continued regulating the miasma surrounding him, keeping the energy trapped inside his body and preventing it from spilling into the room.

Aisha approached slowly.

She stood in front of the pod and looked at him for a long time.

There was no response or movement, and there was no sign that he even knew she was there.

Her hand rose and rested against the glass.

"I promised you," she whispered softly.

Her voice was barely audible inside the quiet room.

"I swore I’d keep you safe."

Aisha’s fingers moved slightly against the glass as she looked at him. "You’re staying in there until I find a way to save you completely."

Her eyes lowered. "I won’t give it to them."

She knew what she had just decided might bring about trouble because the Association could return in two days. They would send more Sentinels, bring someone with higher authority, or even come with orders she couldn’t resist.

But it didn’t matter.

Aisha wouldn’t hand over the pod.

It was the only thing keeping Zenick alive, and more importantly, it was keeping him hidden.

But keeping it also meant she could no longer stay here.

Aisha slowly lowered her hand.

The instant Ares said they would retrieve the pod, one thought had already appeared in her mind: she needed to move Zenick.

Not only Zenick. She needed to move the entire pod.

Preferably somewhere beyond the Association’s reach, possibly somewhere outside the planet.

But the moment she took the pod through the gate, there was no guarantee that the Association wouldn’t hear about it, and even if she tried to hide the movement, equipment like this was too unusual. Its absence alone would be enough to attract attention, and once word spread, the search would begin.

Aisha’s brows tightened.

How could she move it without attracting attention?

She already knew the answer, although she didn’t want to rely on it.

There was only one person she could think of.

A man who had already proven capable of disappearing in front of powerful Sentinels, concealing her presence inside a contaminated zone while the Association surrounded the entire area, and entering and leaving places without being noticed.

Nykos.

Aisha leaned closer to the pod, and through the glass, Zenick remained still.

A bitter, sad smile appeared on her lips.

"If only I could control my purification ability..."

She closed her eyes for a moment.

"I wouldn’t need to do this," she whispered.

Her thoughts returned to the narrow window Ares had given her, leaving her with very little time to think, find a route, and move the only thing keeping her brother alive before the Association returned.

Aisha looked at Zenick again.

She had survived impossible situations before, and she would find a way.

She had to.

***

Elsewhere on Gaia, the Federation’s emergency conference had already begun.

A vast holographic display occupied the center of the long conference chamber.

It showed the first dual contaminated zone from every angle the Federation had managed to record, while the strange structure of the zone rotated slowly above the long table and revealed the unusual formation that had caused so many questions across the military and research divisions.