The corridors of the guild's Valeris branch were quieter than usual, tension rippling through the coalition like an unspoken currehan sat in his quarters aboard his docked ship, studying the gathered intel from ret missions. The pieces were beginning to form a pattern, each clue addi to a grim realization.

  "Ardan Kole," he muttered, leaning ba his chair as Iris highlighted the name on his s.

  "Based on cross-referenced patrol logs, supply discrepancies, and Syndicate movements," Iris said, "Lieutenant Ardan Kole's activities deviate signifitly from expected Federation protocols. The likelihood of involvement in Syndicate operations exceeds y pert."

  Ethan exhaled, his mind rag. Kole was a senior officer, someorusted by Captain Thorne, someone who'd been part of the Federation guards' efforts to stabilize Kynara. The betrayal cut deep.

  "This isn't just desperatiohan said to himself. "There's more to this."

  The first step was firmatioha an encrypted message to Eliara and Voss, requesting a private meeting in the guild's secure briefing room. When they arrived, he wasted no time.

  "It's Kole," Ethan said, sliding the piled evideo the holographic table.

  Eliara's sharp eyes sed the data. "Patrol logs rerouted to avoid Syndicate voys, shipments disappearing along their watch, and encrypted messages inating from their terminal. It's damning."

  Voss leaned forward, his expression dark. "You're certain?"

  "Absolutely," Ethan said. "Kole isn't just w with the Syndicate, they've been instrumental in smuggling alloy ons and mind-trolled victims into Valeris and numerous other settlements. They're the mole."

  Voss nodded grimly. "We'll o front Thorne about this. He won't take it well."

  "He doesn't have to," Eliara interjected. "The evidence speaks for itself."

  With the phe three moved to front Kole. The Federation guards' headquarters in Valeris was heavily fortified, its steel-and-gss structure a symbol of order amid chaos. Ethan's team entered uhe guise of a routiing, escorted to a private feren where Captain Thorne and Lieutenant Kole were waiting.

  "Kole," Thorne said, gesturing for the lieutenant to sit. "This meeting wasn't on my schedule. What's this about?"

  Ethan stepped forward, his gaze locked on Kole. "We know you've been w with the Syndicate."

  The room fell silent. Kole's face paled, their fiwitg slightly.

  "What is this?" Thorne demanded, his fusion quickly turning to anger.

  Eliara activated the holographic dispy, projeg the evidehey'd piled. Patrol logs, encrypted unications, and supply discrepancies filled the air around them. Thorne's eyes narrowed as he sed the data, his jaw tightening.

  "Kole," he said slowly, his voice low. "Expin this."

  For a moment, Kole said nothing, their shoulders slumping as the weight of the evidence pressed down on them. Finally, they spoke, their voice trembling. "I didn't have a choice."

  Ethan's fists ched. "You always have a choice. You chose to betray your people, to endanger civilians, to help the Syndicate spread their terror."

  Kole looked up, desperation in their eyes. "They had my family. They threateo kill them if I didn't cooperate. And the Federation... the Federation's governor up there doesn't care about what happens in Kynara or the Asheor as long as their core is aren't harmed. You know that. I had to protect them."

  Thorne smmed his fist oable. "You should have e to me! We could have helped you!"

  "Helped me?" Kole ughed bitterly. "The Federation forces here don't even have enough resources to keep Valeris safe. What could you have done?"

  Ethan stepped closer, his voice cold. "You didn't just protect your family, you ehe Syndicate to kill i people, to destroy settlements and outposts, to spread chaos. How many lives were you willing to trade for your own?"

  Kole looked away, their silence damning.

  Kole was taken into custody, escorted to the guild's secure holding cells. The interrogation room was stark, a siable and chair illuminated by harsh lightihan stood on one side, Eliara and Thalor fnking him.

  "Yoing to tell us everything," Ethan said, his voice steady. "Every shipment, every tact, every order you received from the Syndicate."

  Kole hesitated, their gaze flickering to the neural dampener devi the table. "If I talk, they'll kill my family."

  "They'll kill you if you don't," Eliara said bluntly. "And believe me, we're your best shot at keeping them safe."

  After a long silence, Kole began to speak. They described how they'd been approached by a Syndicate operative months ago, bckmailed into cooperating. Their role involved diverting patrols, falsifyis, and ensuring Syndicate shipments passed through Federation-trolled zones without interference.

  "They paid me," Kole admitted, their voice hollow. "But it wasn't just about the mohey said... they said the Federation was already pulling out of Kynara, that it was a lost cause. I thought... I thought maybe they were right."

  Ethan's jaw tightened. "And the shipments? Where were they going?"

  Kole hesitated again before providing a list of locations, including a facility on Kynara's eastern pins where the Syndicate was reportedly produg mind-trol devices.

  "Raeth is preparing for something big," Kole added, their voice barely above a whisper. "He's pnning to hit a major settlement soon. He wants to break the coalition's morale."

  As the interrogation cluded, Ethan stepped out of the room, his mind rag. The betrayal stung, not just because of Kole's as but because of what it represented. A failure of the Federation, the coalition, and himself to protect Kynara's people.

  Voss joined him in the corridor, his expression grim. "This is bigger thahought. If Raeth's pnning atack, we o act fast."

  Ethan nodded. "We'll stop him. No matter what it takes."

  Meanwhile ih's stronghold. The Syndicate ander watched a live feed of Valeris, his cold smile refleg in the dim light.

  "The mole served their purpose," he murmured to his lieutenant. "Now, let's show them the true power of fear."

  In front of him, rows of newly pleted mind-trol devices are shown, their eerie glow a chilling promise of what's to e.