Jonah woke up to the sound of his own heartbeat echoing through the station.

Every pulse sent ripples through Haven's systems. He could feel the whole station synchronized to his body like they were one organism.

"Jonah?" Vanessa's face appeared in front of him, her face looking so worried. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah." His voice came out rough. The memories of the bonding were already fading. "How long was I out?"

"Six hours." She helped him sit up slowly. "Your vital signs stabilized about an hour ago, but we didn't want to wake you. Your body needed the rest."

Ariana stood nearby, still holding her sword. "The enemy ship is twelve hours out. We are running out of time."

Twelve hours. Jonah closed his eyes and reached out with his new awareness. He could feel the approaching ship closing in on them.

"Warden," he said aloud. "Status on the guardian units?"

Warden appeared instantly.

[Guardian synthesis requires eighteen hours per unit using standard Genesis Forge protocols. At current pace, we will have two units operational before the enemy arrives which is not enough for effective defense.]

"Two guardians against a warship." Vanessa ran the numbers on her datapad. "We would be lucky to survive the first shots."

"We need the fleet," Ariana said. "The dormant ships in the hangar. That is our only real defense."

Jonah knew she was right. He could feel those ships, sleeping in their docking bays. Dozens of them. Each one a masterpiece of Life-Weaver engineering. Together, they could turn Haven into a fortress that even Sterling's people would think twice about attacking.

But there was a problem.

"Warden, explain what it would take to awaken the fleet."

[Each ship requires a spark of will. A living mind is needed to start its inactive systems and create a symbiotic bond. With your current capabilities, you could awaken one ship every forty-eight hours before psychic stress becomes fatal.]

Vanessa did that math too. "Forty-eight hours per ship. That would take years to wake them all. We have twelve hours."

"So we need a different approach." Jonah stood, his legs feeling more stable now. The bond with Haven was already helping, feeding him energy from the station's reserves. "What if I didn't use my own power?"

"What do you mean?" Ariana asked.

"The Genesis Forge is created to channel creative energy, right? To take will and intention and transform it into life. What if I used it as a power channel? What if I got power from somewhere else?"

[It's possible in theory . However, the power source would need to be immense. Cosmic in scale. Nothing on this station has that much energy.]

"I know." Jonah touched his God Mark, feeling it's familiar warmth. "But I know where to find it."

Vanessa understood first. Her eyes went wide. "The Dragon. You are talking about the Immortal Golden Dragon."

"I made a promise to it." Jonah remembered that moment beneath the city. The ancient god trapped and suffering. The deal they had made. "I said I would find a way to set it free. But before I can do that, I need to save our world. And to save our world, I need its help."

"Can you even reach it from here?" Ariana asked. "We are months away from your planet at normal speeds."

"Distance doesn't matter. Not for this." Jonah moved toward the Genesis Forge, feeling it call to him. "The Dragon's star-chart is part of me now. That cosmic knowledge it gave me. It's not just data. It's a connection."

He climbed back into the Forge's heart, placing himself into the same spot where he had nearly died just hours ago.

"Jonah, wait." Vanessa grabbed his hand before he could fully connect. "What if this doesn't work? What if you can't reach the Dragon, or it refuses to help?"

"Then our situation will be no worse than it is right now." He squeezed her hand tightly. "But I have to try. It is our only way at waking the fleet in time."

"And if it works? If you channel that much power through your body?" Her voice cracked slightly. "You just barely survived bonding with the station. This could kill you."

"It could." He pulled her close, pressing his forehead against hers. "But you know what will kill us? That warship when it comes and we have no defenses. At least this way, we are fighting back."

She closed her eyes, and he felt a tear roll down her cheek onto his. "You are not allowed to die out here. We have plans, remember? After the war. After all this. You promised me a peaceful life."

"And I will keep that promise." He kissed her gently. "But first, I have to make sure there's a world left to have a peaceful life in."

Ariana cleared her throat politely. "Not to interrupt, but we really are running out of time."

Vanessa pulled back, cleaning her tears. "Okay. Do it. But I'm watching you every second. If your vitals crash, I'm pulling you out."

"Deal."

Jonah took a deep breath and let himself merge with the connection to Haven. This time around, he didn't stop at the station's boundaries. He pushed further. Following the golden thread of the star-chart back to its source.

The feeling was like falling through the galaxy at impossible speed. Stars turned into streaks of light in his mind. Nebulas blurred into clouds of color.

Then he was there, standing before a prison of light that held a god.

The Dragon recognized him instantly.

You returned, it seemed to say. But you are far away.

"I need your help." Jonah said. "I need to borrow a small amount of your power to wake the ships that will let us fight back against the people who keep you imprisoned."

The Dragon was quiet for a moment.

Then slowly, it began to glow.

You seek to honor your promise by first protecting your people. This is wisdom. This is worthy.

A small mote of light separated from the crystal heart, glowing with more power than Jonah had ever felt.

Take what you need, young Weaver. And when you return, bring your newfound strength. We shall have much work to do together.

The spark flew toward Jonah's mind.

Back in Haven, in the Genesis Forge, Jonah's body jerked as the Dragon's gift arrived. Golden-white light exploded through the chamber, so bright that Vanessa and Ariana had to shield their eyes.

[WARNING.] Warden's voice was very loud. [DETECTING COSMIC-GRADE ENERGY INFLUX. POWER LEVELS EXCEEDING SAFE PARAMETERS.]

"Jonah!" Vanessa shouted. "Your readings are spiking!"

But Jonah wasn't listening. He was focused on the spark, on holding it, containing it and shaping it. The power wanted to explode. He had to fight to control it using nothing but will.

Through the bond with Haven, he reached for the station's systems. Used them like tools. Like extensions of his own hands.

The Genesis Forge became a prism. The Dragon's spark hit its crystalline heart broke into many pieces, then into thousands of smaller motes of light.

Each one still carried a piece of the Dragon' power.

Jonah reached out through Haven's network and found the dormant ships. He touched them gently, like waking someone from a long dream.

Then he sent the sparks of starlight to it.

In the largest hangar, something happened.

A skeletal ship frame that hadn't moved in three thousand years suddenly became active. Crystalline armor plates appeared all over its body. Organic circuits began to glow with golden energy.

And then another ship joined it. And another. And another.

All across Haven, in every docking bay, the fleet was returning to life.

Vanessa's datapad went crazy trying to track all the new energy signatures appearing at once. "It's working! Jonah, it's actually working!"

Through the viewport, they could see it happening. Dozens ships were activating. Each one unique in design. Some looked like massive beetles. One resembled a flying castle.

[ALERT. GHOST FLEET STATUS CHANGE.]

[FORTY-THREE SHIPS NOW OPERATIONAL. PRIMARY SYSTEMS ONLINE. AWAITING COMMAND.]

Forty-three ships.

Forty-three weapons of war created by the greatest civilization in history.

All of them connected to Jonah through the bond.

All of them ready to fight.

In the Genesis Forge, Jonah opened his eyes. They still glowed faintly golden.

"Did it work?" he asked, though he could already feel the answer through the bond.

Vanessa laughed. "Work? Jonah, you just woke up an entire fleet! In minutes! You're insane!"

"Probably." He climbed out of the Forge, his legs shaky but functional. "But we now have forty-three ships between us and Sterling's people."

"Correction," Ariana said, with a smile on her face. "We have an army."

Outside Haven, hidden in the swirling nebula, the approaching enemy ship was still twelve hours away.

It was coming to attack what it thought would be a defenseless prize.

Instead, it was sailing straight into a trap.

The hunt had just reversed.

And the prey had grown fangs.

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