Page 1 – Panel 1:
The lights hum softly in the sterile, chrome-toned hospital wing. Phantomark and Mirage lie unconscious in separate beds, bandaged, pale, and still. Monitors beep steadily. The crew surrounds them silently. Dr. Vaen stands over them, calm but visibly drained.

Dr. Vaen (quietly, to the crew):
“They’re stable. Thanks to alien physiology and some... very old knowledge. But their systems are in collapse. They’ll need rest. Time.”
A heavy pause.
“I did what I could.”

Page 2 – Panel 1:
The crew nods, somber. The atmosphere is heavy. No cheers, no relief — just quiet pain. The team steps out of the room slowly, the glass doors sliding shut behind them with a soft hiss.

Page 3 – Panel 1:
In the hallway, Voltfist lingers, eyes locked on the floor. The rest of the crew stands around him in silence. No one knows what to say. A faint alarm echoes in the distance, distant and unimportant.

Voltfist (barely audible):
“That could’ve been any of us in there.”

Page 4 – Panel 1:
Mindquake turns to him, confused at first, but the look on Voltfist's face is distant... haunted.

Voltfist:
“I’ve seen too many friends die. Too many times I said I’d fight beside someone... and then ended up burying them. I thought this crew... maybe we’d be different.”

Page 5 – Panel 1:
The group quiets. He continues, voice harder now — defensive, like the emotions are fighting their way out of him.

Voltfist:
“You know what’s funny? I haven’t seen my family in decades. Never even told them where I went. I left Dravon-9 because I didn’t wanna see them live under that boot anymore... but now I don’t even know if they’re still alive. And I never said goodbye.”

→ Flashback Panel:
A younger Voltfist on Dravon-9, arguing with his brother in front of a burning settlement. His little sister clutches his arm, begging him not to go. He looks away.

Sister:
“Please don’t leave us behind.”

→ Back to present-day Voltfist, eyes dark.

Page 6 – Panel 1:
Aegis steps forward. Quiet, grounded.

Aegis :
“I was a war criminal. On Vahros. Did awful things. Claimed I was ‘just following orders.’ When they finally exiled me, I thought I’d die in space. But I didn’t. I just... drifted. Until I found something worth bleeding for.”

→ Flashback Panel:
A battlefield scorched red. Civilians scream in the distance. Aegis, younger and in armor, stares down at his own bloodied hands as an injured child backs away from him.

→ Present Aegis closes his eyes in shame.

He leans against the wall, staring at his reflection in the glass.

Page 7 – Panel 1:
Mindquake  steps into the light. Her jaw is tight, but her voice is steady.

Mindquake:
“My sister... she was a revolution. She could make people believe they deserved more. Our ruler saw her as a threat. Shot her in the middle of a rally. I watched her die from the rooftop across the square. I didn’t even cry. Not then.”

→ Flashback Panel:
Her sister standing tall on a podium mid-speech, crowds roaring. Suddenly—
A red laser pierces through her chest. Blood. Silence. Mindquake watches from a rooftop, hand over her mouth, knees buckling.

→ Present Mindquake grips her forearm, her fingers trembling.

Mindquake (softly):
“I joined this life to make someone like him afraid of someone like me.”

Page 8 – Panel 1:
The three stand in silence, their confessions sitting like scars on their backs. A beat. Then Voltfist chuckles faintly, shaking his head.

Voltfist:
“Funny how trauma turns into family, huh?”

Page 9 – Panel 1:
Mindquake nods slowly.

Mindquake:
“We all found each other on Kraznir. One job gone wrong. Five strangers who didn’t want to run anymore.”

Aegis:
“...One broken team that decided to stand for something.”

Page 10 – Panel 1:
Cut to Evan and Lena sitting on a stairwell, further down the hall. The lights here are dimmer. A subtle distance between them. Evan stares at his hands.

Evan:
“You know... when I saw Phantomark lying there, bleeding out... I panicked. Not because he might die — but because I realized how damn much I need all of you now.”

Page 11 – Panel 1:
Lena is silent, letting him speak.

Evan:
“I don’t even remember my parents’ faces. When the Eclipse hit... we were fighting. I stormed off. Told them I didn’t care...”

→ Flashback Panel:
A younger Evan on Aethon, yelling at his father while his mother cries behind them. The sky glows an ominous purple — the early signs of the Eclipse beginning. Evan turns and runs toward a small spacecraft.

Father (yelling):
“Sevrin, don’t go! Not now—!”

→ Cut to him watching his planet burn from orbit. His face numb. Tears float in zero gravity.

Evan:
“And when I came back... it was ash. The whole damn planet. I never got to apologize.”

Page 12 – Panel 1:
He wipes his face with the sleeve of his jacket. Holding back something. Eyes red.

Evan:
“Then I land on Earth. Some family takes me in, loves me like I was theirs. Gives me a home. A name. And now I’m dragging them into this. War. Aliens. Death.”

Evan:
“They think I’m just their kid. But they don’t know who I really am. What I’ve seen. What I’ve done.”

Page 13 – Panel 1:
Lena speaks quietly, looking forward.

Lena:
“You think guilt makes you less worthy? I hopped from planet to planet after the Eclipse. Looking for purpose. For someone to tell me what to do next.”

→ Flashback Panel Series:

1. Lena sneaking aboard a cargo freighter leaving a desolate outpost.
   
   

2. Fighting in an underground ring on a mining colony — blood on her knuckles, crowd cheering.
   
   

3. Sleeping alone on a rock under three moons.
   
   

→ Back to present Lena — jaw clenched, but her hand is resting on Evan’s.

Lena:
“I didn’t find that. I found people. Misfits. Survivors. Fighters like you.”

Page 14 – Panel 1:
From the shadows, Captain Hawke stands halfway up the stairs, having overheard everything. He doesn’t say a word. Just... sighs and walks away, shoulders heavy. Understanding without intrusion.

Page 15 – Panel 1:
Footsteps echo again. The rest of the crew walks over. Voltfist first. He plants himself in front of Evan and Lena, arms crossed, but there's warmth in his tone.

Voltfist:
“No more ‘what ifs’. We’ve all lost things. Homes. Families. Whole damn worlds. But what we’ve got now? This crew?”

Page 16 – Panel 1:
Aegis adds, solid and calm.

Aegis:
“It’s more real than any banner we’ve ever fought under.”

Mindquake (softly, but fiercely):
“We’ve survived tyrants. Betrayals. Entire systems crumbling around us. And we’re still standing.”

Page 17 – Panel 1:
The team forms a half-circle around Evan and Lena.

Voltfist (smiling faintly):
“Whatever happens next... we face it together.”

Page 18 – Full-page panel:
Wide shot. The team stands side by side, in the glow of the hallway light. Some bruised, some broken — but all united.

Evan (thought box):
“I thought I was alone after the Eclipse. I was wrong.”

Caption (bottom of page):
“Whatever it takes. Even death.”