The corrupted mural fragment lit up without warning. One second the family was reviewing logs in their central hub. The next, alerts flooded every screen.
Three Nexus-linked colonies went dark at once. Not offline—frozen. People locked in place, eyes glazed, bodies twitching through private memories turned public.
Sabrina slammed her hand on the console. "It's the plague. The mural piece we sealed. It's spreading through the network."
Elizabeth's voice cut through the chaos. "Purity Front already claimed it. They're broadcasting offers of 'purity serum' to every colony. We move now."
No time for debate. They split. Sabrina took the bustling trade hub of Korran Station. Aiden headed to the remote mining world Veyra-7. Luna and Flora linked into the data-core colony of Helix Prime. Elizabeth stayed on the Echo to coordinate and monitor the whole mess.
