Event Horizon

The Truth Unveiled

The silence on the bridge of Event Horizon was deafening as Earth's warships closed in around them. The sheer scale of the fleet was staggering—dozens of sleek, black vessels, their hulls gleaming with cutting-edge technology. The largest among them, a behemoth of a warship marked UED Indomitus, took point in their formation.

Captain Elias Vance kept his expression neutral, but his grip on the armrest tightened. This was no welcoming committee.

"This is Admiral Kain," the fleet commander's voice came through the comms. "You are to follow the designated flight path to Earth Spacedock. Any deviation will be treated as a hostile act."

Vance exchanged a glance with Dr. Alexandra Pryce. Neither of them spoke, but the message was clear—Earth's new government didn't trust them.

"Understood, Admiral," Vance said evenly. "Following designated course."

Pilot Commander Raj Patel adjusted their trajectory, aligning Event Horizon with the glowing guide markers displayed on their navigation screens. The massive warships flanking them moved in sync, their formations impossibly precise.

"This is unreal," Lieutenant Adrienne Cormac muttered. "Their maneuvering—those ships are flying as if they're one entity."

"Military coordination at an entirely new level," Pryce added. "They've refined combat formations to a point we didn't think possible."

"Or necessary," Vance said under his breath.

The bridge crew watched in stunned silence as their ship approached Earth Spacedock, a structure unlike anything they had ever seen. It was massive—larger than any space station that had existed in their time. It spanned miles, a network of docking arms, defense platforms, and shimmering energy fields. It was a fortress in orbit.

And it was clear that Event Horizon was being treated as a potential threat.

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Arrival and Containment

As the docking clamps locked onto Event Horizon, the tension aboard the ship remained thick. No one spoke. No one moved. Every crew member was waiting for what came next.

The main airlock hissed as it pressurized. Then came the sound of heavy boots.

Armed soldiers in sleek, black armor flooded the entrance corridor. They moved with cold efficiency, weapons holstered but ready. At their center was a woman—tall, composed, and wearing a high-ranking uniform. Her insignia marked her as Director Evelyn Raine of the United Earth Directorate's Special Affairs Division.

"Captain Vance," she said, her voice cool and measured. "Welcome back to Earth. You and your senior officers will accompany me immediately."

Vance squared his shoulders. "And the rest of my crew?"

"They will be processed accordingly. No harm will come to them."

There was something unsettling about her phrasing, but Vance had no choice. He nodded. "Lead the way."

With an armed escort flanking them, Vance, Pryce, Dr. Jonas Ibarra, Patel, and Cormac were led through the corridors of Spacedock. The station was pristine—almost eerily so. Every surface gleamed, every corner was monitored. The deeper they went, the more apparent it became that this was more than just a military installation.

This was a command center for an empire.

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The Truth Revealed

They were taken into a high-security briefing room, its walls lined with holographic displays. A single long table dominated the center. Admiral Kain was already waiting, along with Director Raine and a small assembly of intelligence officers.

"Sit," Kain instructed.

The Event Horizon officers complied. The doors locked behind them.

Kain leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. "Before we go any further, I need you to understand that what I'm about to tell you is classified at the highest level."

Vance's jaw tightened. "I think we deserve answers."

Kain nodded. "You do. But you might not like them."

A holographic display activated, showing a timeline.

Departure Date: June 7, 2089.

Current Date: April 12, 2591.

The silence in the room was deafening.

Pryce was the first to react, barely able to form words. "That… that's not possible."

Ibarra shook his head in disbelief. "That's over five centuries."

Cormac's hands clenched into fists. "No. There's no way we were gone for that long."

Kain's expression was unreadable. "I assure you, the records are accurate. Event Horizon was declared lost centuries ago. Monuments were built in your honor. Your mission became legend."

Vance's breath was slow and measured. He had known something was wrong—the technology, the military strength, the way they were treated. But hearing the actual number…

Five hundred years.

His voice came out rough. "What the hell happened while we were gone?"

Kain exchanged a glance with Raine before answering.

"When you vanished, humanity assumed the worst. But instead of giving up on space, we accelerated. We expanded aggressively, first through the solar system, then beyond. Medical advancements allowed for extended lifespans. Breakthroughs in gravitational manipulation led to the development of singularity-based warships. We fought wars. We won. We became something new."

He gestured to the station around them. "This is the United Earth Directorate—the governing body of all human colonies. Earth is no longer just a planet. It's the capital of an interstellar power."

Vance barely registered the words. His mind was reeling, trying to grasp the scale of it all.

Five hundred years.

Everyone they had known was dead. Their families, their friends. Even the nations they had come from were likely gone or unrecognizable.

Ibarra exhaled shakily. "We… we need time to process this."

"You'll have time," Raine said. "But first, there's one more thing you need to know."

The holographic display shifted, showing another image. It was the wreckage of the reptilian warship—the one Event Horizon had unintentionally dragged with them. Scientists in advanced suits swarmed the debris, scanning, analyzing.

"We're already reverse-engineering the enemy vessel," Kain explained. "Its technology will be integrated into our own within months."

Cormac's eyes widened. "You're planning to use it?"

Kain's expression hardened. "We don't have a choice."

Vance narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Raine stepped forward, her voice colder than before. "Because they are coming."

The room fell into silence.

Kain's face was grim. "The reptilian forces you encountered were just a scouting fleet. Their empire is vast, and they now know about us. We have no illusions about what happens next."

The image changed again—this time to deep-space scans, showing an expanding energy signature in a distant system.

"We believe they're mobilizing," Kain continued. "And that means war."

The weight of his words pressed down on them all.

Five hundred years ago, they had left Earth as explorers.

Now, they had returned to a world preparing for its greatest battle.

Vance leaned forward, his voice steady. "What do you need from us?"

Kain met his gaze.

"Everything you know about them."

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