The White Prophet, a man in a pearlescent suit with a diamond-studded bracer on his forearm, looked confused for a moment as his silent gaze swept across Yellow Sun’s bridge.

“What are your terms?” Admiral Chen asked with a shaky voice as she rose to her feet.

The Prophet raised an eyebrow.

Chen swallowed and found her composure. “This is not a surrender, but we are willing to discuss the cessation of hostilities,” she said to the Prophet.

This scene no-doubt repeated itself on Progenitor and Butterfly as the White Prophet paused a moment to understand what was going on. He closed his eyes.

“He’s communicating telepathically with the other White Prophets,” Jasper explained.

“Here’s where we see if the Prophets are true in their desire for peace,” Ptolemy said.

Duke’s crew held their breath as they watched the hologram. When the White Prophet opened his eyes, he said, “We shall discuss terms.”

The transmission ended as the Yellow Sun realized they were still broadcasting. The hologram froze with the image of Admiral Chen approaching the White Prophet, her hand extended.

“The fleets are moving away,” Sisi announced, switching the hologram to show surrounding space. The remaining ships of the three fleets moved to separate locations around where Farbind used to be, withdrawing beyond the debris field.

“It appears your ruse worked, Captain,” Ptolemy said.

“Jasper said the Prophets wanted peace. I just had to give them the chance to make it,” Natalya replied, smiling at the Gold Prophet.

Jasper nodded.

“Alright, Ptolemy, where do you keep the wine? And don’t tell me you didn’t pack any because I know you did,” Augustus said with a hearty laugh.

Before Ptolemy could respond, a flash of white light enveloped the command center. When Natalya blinked her vision clear, she saw a woman in a white dress wearing a glowing opal on a silver necklace, flanked by two men in black leather. One held a red saber, the other wielded a pair of red daggers. The leather-clad men cast a predatory glare on Natalya’s crew as their weapons glowed a deadly crimson.

Natalya reached for her pistol, but Jasper put a hand on her shoulder.

“No,” Jasper warned. “They’re here for me. This is a fight we don’t want.”

Natalya felt her hair rise from the bristling energy of Sisi’s welpro and Pul’s shield emitters. Co leveled her blaster and Augustus raised his shotgun. Even Ptolemy drew a tiny pistol from his sleeve, ready to stand with the rest of the crew.

“Stand down,” Natalya commanded.

“Jasper, you seem to have found supporters even here,” the Prophet with the opal necklace said.

“He’s our friend!” Sisi challenged.

“You can’t take him,” Pul added.

“Not even if you ask nicely, though I would appreciate the gesture,” Augustus said.

Co grunted.

“Jasper was fundamental to the cessation of this battle. No doubt you’re hearing reports of war-ending negotiations already taking place on the fleets’ flagships,” Ptolemy explained.

“Your friends defend you. Even after all you’ve done,” the White Prophet said to Jasper.

“We defend him because of what he’s done,” Natalya said. “And because he’s a part of our crew.”

“Very well. Are you aware of his crimes?”

“We are.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“And are you aware that he must be held accountable for these crimes?”

“Not if you’re just going to execute him.”

“Qin’s dead, Natalya,” Jasper explained. “But I’m still wanted by the Prophets. I must go with Bianca to stand before the Sept and defend my actions. If we fight them now—”

“I can blow them up easy,” Co suggested.

“No. We must end this. And without further bloodshed.”

Co scoffed at the notion.

“You can’t arrest him — look what he did! He just ended the war!” Pul said, pointing at the holographic display.

“That is immaterial to the crimes for which he is accused,” Bianca, the White Prophet, countered.

“Bull!”

“I have to go to trial. It’s the only way to free myself,” Jasper reasoned.

“Then we’ll be your defense,” Natalya said. “If you’re going to this Sept, we’re coming with you.”

Even if the Prophets hadn’t told them what was happening, the holographic display would have said it all. The Changyu Confederation, under the leadership of Admiral Chen, agreed to invite Prophet negotiators to lay the groundwork for peace. The Gaozu Hegemony did the same, both governments agreeing that there was nothing left in the Farbind system to fight over. And with their fleets decimated, the prospect of further war grew less inviting.

The loss of Shihuangdi and Qin meant the voice of war, and the secret manipulations toward conquest, had departed the Zhou. Prosper was more than willing to withdraw the remnants of its fleet and allow the Prophets to oversee a mutually satisfactory ceasefire between the colonial governments.

Peace didn’t arrive instantly. War still raged on dozens of planets. But the two combatants had begun negotiations. With the Prophets acting as neutral arbiters, and both sides wary of fighting, the end was in sight.

Prosper still considered the Changyu and Gaozu rebels, colonies to be returned to Prosper control. But they allowed the peace process to occur, and grudgingly allowed the rogue colonies their independence.

Whether the animosity of the three sides would lead to conflict in the future wasn’t her concern. All Natalya wanted to do was end the current war, to make up for the mistakes of her past. She had done that.

The Treaty of Tether was never signed, the leather-bound book destroyed when Natalya jettisoned her quarters. Tether itself was a broken asteroid, shattered by the exploding planet it had orbited. But Natalya didn’t need her signature on a piece of paper to know that what she had done was right.

She allowed the Prophets to take all the credit for the peace. But Natalya had one thing left to do.

Jasper turned over his golden sword to the White Prophet as the two Reds took him into custody. Natalya held his hand as they did, the Red Prophets content with their blades at Jasper’s back.

Another White Prophet appeared in Duke’s command center to help teleport everyone, the blinding white flash filling the room.

“I’m sure you know you’ll have to leave your weapons behind,” Bianca said.

“Co, everyone, disarm,” Natalya ordered.

The crew laid their weapons on the deck. It took Co a considerable amount of time, and a small arsenal soon grew at her feet.

“You don’t have to do this,” Jasper said to Natalya.

“Shut up, Jasper, we’re coming with you,” Natalya replied.

The rest of the crew nodded.

Bianca put her hands on Natalya’s and Jasper’s shoulders. “Prepare yourself,” she said.

Natalya kept her eyes open as a white light enveloped her. When she blinked the stars out of her eyes she saw a yellow sun glowing overhead.

She stared into a blue sky and felt a warm breeze brush past her hair. A second light sparkled like a star in the daylight. With a gasp, Natalya realized it wasn’t a star but a spherical gem that glowed with a white, gold, and red light, the trio of colors blending together.

The sphere capped a massive spire of polished metal. The spire was twice as tall as the Zhou and tapered to a spherical point. It ended at a marble-like base that blended colors of ruby, gold, and pearly-white like the precious metals and stones had been fused together.

This marble base lay at the top of a three-tiered building. Natalya realized she was standing on a wide, white platform on the third level.

Three triangular buildings made up the second level, swirling together with their points in the center. Natalya didn’t have to see them to know the three sections would be white, gold, and red.

Down a wide staircase, the second level met the black foundation. Natalya wasn’t sure if this first level was metal, marble, or obsidian glass. Whatever it was, the base was enormous, a perfect circle too wide to see end to end.

Natalya thought of the Zhou at first, and wondered if this building was bigger, as well as taller, than the Prosper capital building. But even if it wasn’t bigger, this building had one attribute that made it far grander than the Zhou. The city around it was bright, clean, and open.

Buildings of aged stone and brick surrounded the spire-tipped building. The next were iron, then steel, ending with nano-fiber skyscrapers covered in glass. People hurried about in their daily work, but the buildings were too far away for Natalya to see any faces. High, natural stone walls, like the sides of a mountain, encircled the city, just beyond wide swathes of cultivated farmland and grazing cattle. The city appeared to be built on a tall plateau, inside a wide, flat crater with the pinnacle at its center.

The sky looked different than the blue sky of Prosper. It was blue, yes, but as Natalya peered beyond the natural walls she saw that the sky was alive with motion, swirls of indigo mixing with the paler blue. It was as if an ocean of electricity enveloped the shimmering globe.

One thing Natalya knew for sure: this was no city, no planet she recognized.

“Cool!” Sisi exclaimed.

“What wealth!” Ptolemy said in awe.

Co shrugged.

“This is Pinnacle,” Jasper explained, answering Natalya’s unspoken question.