Cassian activated a holographic display, showing the intercepted Dominion transmissions. "The proof is here. The timing of their movements matches the details he was given."
Varrin's face went pale, but he straightened, his voice steady. "This is a farce. You're trying to frame me."
Cassian stepped closer, his voice low and menacing. "You betrayed your oath, Varrin. Did you think your treachery would go unnoticed?"
A single shot cracked through the air.
Varrin's body jolted, his chair tipping back as he crumpled to the floor. Blood pooled beneath him, his eyes still frozen in that moment of realization—of knowing, too late, that he had been caught.
The council recoiled, some leaping to their feet, others going deathly still. Cassian, however, barely acknowledged the corpse. His gun was already holstered, his expression unreadable as his gaze swept the room.
Elder Seraphine was the first to rise, her sharp eyes flashing. "Chancellor, this is madness! What if the leak came from elsewhere? You cannot—"
Cassian cut her off with a glance, cold and steady. "No one else had that specific piece of misinformation." His voice was quiet, yet it carried across the chamber. "Everyone here received slightly different details, but only Varrin was given the false delay in avian deployment. And that is precisely what the Dominion acted upon."
The other elder, the one who had been part of the earlier strategy discussions, shook his head. "Perhaps he spoke carelessly. Perhaps—"
"Perhaps nothing." Cassian's voice didn't rise, but it was sharper than the gunshot. "His betrayal cost lives. Do you think I would act on a hunch?"
The chamber fell silent again.
Cassian turned, his tone measured but final. "Strip his estates. Seize all his assets. Everything he owned is now property of the family." He let his gaze sweep the room, daring anyone to challenge him. "A portion will be allocated to compensating the families of those who died because of his treachery. Make sure they receive a sum that reflects the weight of their loss."
There was a pause, then a hesitant nod from one of the aides.
The chamber was thick with tension, but Cassian's focus never wavered. The council's murmurs were meaningless; he was reading them, dissecting every flicker of muscle, every slight hesitation.
They could control their words, their actions, perhaps to the extent of maintaining an illusion of composure. But their faces will eventually betray them.
Most reacted as expected—shock, disbelief, anger. But if there is another traitor he would show something different. Not surprise, but fear.
Most of them showed the reactions he expected—shock, outrage, tightly controlled surprise. But then, just for a fraction of a second, his eyes flicked to Alaric.
And there it was.
Not the same shock as the others. Not just anger or shock.
Panic. Faint, almost imperceptible, but there. A flicker in his eyes, a tightening around the corners of his mouth. The minuscule twitch of a muscle in his jaw. The briefest hesitation in his breath. The sheer effort it took for him to suppress what his face had already betrayed.
Cassian didn't linger. Didn't let his gaze rest too long. He moved on as if he hadn't noticed.
Alaric had been caught in that split second of vulnerability, and now Cassian knew.
Cassian turned back to the council, his voice steady, unshaken. "Let this serve as a reminder," he said coolly, stepping over Varrin's body as though it were nothing more than an afterthought. "Disloyalty will not be tolerated."
Cassian turned to face the display screens. "Commence the assault," he ordered, his voice echoing.
The command set a chain reaction into motion. Within moments, avian mechas units launched into action, their sleek forms slicing through the atmosphere with a precision born of careful planning. Below, the ground forces repositioned in a seamless transition, their movements a testament to the rigorous drills Cassian had insisted upon.
Decoy drones swarmed ahead, executing intricate patterns to confuse and scatter the remaining biologicals. Behind them, the avian units struck with surgical efficiency, dismantling enemy strongholds with plasma-infused strikes. Cassian monitored the operation closely, his expression impassive but his mind racing, already calculating the next steps to exploit this hard-won momentum.
The battlefield erupted in a symphony of destruction. Plasma cannons roared, slicing through the enemy's ranks, while the avian units methodically dismantled their command nodes. By dawn, the 8th Outpost stood secure.
Cassian watched the aftermath from the command center, his expression unreadable. Rylan approached cautiously. "The biological threat is neutralized."
Cassian gave a curt nod but hesitated for a moment, his mind working through the implications. "Begin a full sweep of the outpost. Ensure no remnants remain. The codex've already cost us valuable resources and time. This kind of manipulation—this scale of deceit—suggests that the codex is every bit as dangerous as the Dominion, if not more so."
Rylan straightened, his voice tinged with urgency. "Should we alert the council? If there's a larger threat at play—"
"No," Cassian interrupted sharply. "Not yet. For now, we proceed under the assumption that the Dominion is our enemy, at least publicly."
He turned to the holo-map, gesturing at the display with a sweeping motion. "I want every inch of this outpost scoured for evidence. Traces of communication, unfamiliar technology, any anomaly that doesn't align with Dominion tech."
Rylan nodded grimly, his determination matching Cassian's. "Understood, Chancellor. I'll mobilize the teams immediately."
Rylan's expression shifted from confusion to growing concern. "But why go to such lengths to impersonate the Dominion?"
"To exploit our fear of an established enemy and distract us from their true identity." Cassian said sharply, stopping and locking eyes with Rylan. "They want us so focused on defending against what we expected that we'd miss the signs of their presence."
Rylan swallowed hard, his gaze darting to the holo-map still displaying the battlefield. "If that's true, Chancellor, then we're dealing with an unknown force—one that's already proven capable of manipulating us into a costly engagement."
Cassian nodded, his jaw tightening. "Exactly. And an enemy willing to use deception at this scale is more dangerous than even the Dominion. They've already succeeded in drawing our attention and resources. The question now is what their real objective is—and how much damage they've already done."
Twelve days passed in a relentless blur. Cassian had barely rested since the night he dealt with the traitor, his every waking moment consumed by strategy, countermeasures, and the weight of command. When he finally called the council again, their wary expressions told him they had not forgotten what happened at the last meeting.
The 4th Outpost had been a consistent thorn in Cassian's side for weeks. The attacks were persistent, calculated, and unrelenting, but something about them gnawed at the back of his mind. Sitting in the council chamber of the Reyes estate, Cassian addressed the gathered council members.
"Councilors," Cassian began, his voice calm but imbued with a quiet authority. "We've had a series of troubling attacks at the 4th Outpost. Recent developments suggest these aren't random—they're coordinated, deliberate. The situation is escalating, and we need to act swiftly."
The council members exchanged uneasy glances. Even through the holographic projections of those off-world, Cassian could feel their hesitation. He pressed forward.
"I will be deploying a reconnaissance team to the 4th Outpost," he continued. "We need to assess the situation on the ground, gather intelligence, and ensure that we're prepared for any further attacks. The 4th Outpost is strategically significant, and it's time we focus our efforts there."
Councilor Morin furrowed his brow. "Chancellor, you're asking to be deployed to such a volatile region. Are you sure this is the right course of action?"
Cassian met his gaze unwaveringly. "The recent attacks show we can't afford to wait. The 4th Outpost is near vital communication relays that link us to our outer territories. If we lose those, we risk not just military corridors but our ability to coordinate effectively across the sector."
Councilor Narev, ever the voice of caution, spoke up. "And sending a small reconnaissance team will give us the answers we need? We don't know what we're dealing with."
"That's precisely why we need eyes on the ground to gather information." Cassian replied. "The longer we delay, the harder it will be to respond effectively. "