[= Establishing Planetary Link... =]
Draxis Reach
Capital City, Rykka-9, Outer Kordis System
Standard Galactic Date: 2739, Cycle 03
Local Time: 22:55 Port Standard
[= Location Data Logged =]
“Ares, get us airborne… now.”
“Initiating lift-off sequence. Commander, brace for rapid ascent.”
The Valkyrion rumbled as the thrusters roared to life, launching us upward. The cityscape shrank fast beneath us, lights blurring into streaks.
I felt the pull of G-forces, pressing me back, but I kept my eyes locked on the radar.
Red dots. Closing in.
System Alert: Incoming threats detected.
"Three… two… one…”
I hit the EMP trigger.
feeling the Valkyrion jolt as the pulse rippled out.
The ship jolted as the pulse rippled outward—
A split-second of eerie silence—
Then chaos.
Alarms blared across the ship, the console flaring red.
System Alert: Energy shield offline.
Then Ares’s voice crackled in my ear. “Commander, energy shield is offline. Thirty seconds until restoration.”
I looked up.
The sky lit up with burning trails—
Pirate ships diving into the atmosphere, engines blazing, aiming straight for us.
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A shrill alarm blared—
"WARNING. INCOMING PROJECTILES."
"WARNING. INCOMING PROJECTILES."
"WARNING. INCOMING—"
Zara gripped her armrests like they were the only thing keeping her alive.
"We''re dead. We''re dead!"
I ignored her.
"Ares, dodge what you can, I’ll handle the rest."
"Evasive maneuvers engaged. Hold on tight."
The ship veered hard as Ares pulled every trick in the book.
The hum of my Eidolon powers buzzed through me—a controlled pulse thrumming in my bones.
I reached out.
Feeling the shape of every missile.
The first missile? I flicked it off course.
The second? Redirected straight into a nearby Serpent ship.
That was a lucky accident.
The third?
Before I could react, the ship shook violently as Valkyrion’s turrets lit up, auto-tracking systems locking onto incoming fighters.
"Engaging combat mode," Ares reported, his voice smooth, unbothered. "Deploying countermeasures."
Outside, the hull-mounted plasma turrets whirred, spitting blue-hot death into the swarm.
One ship vaporized instantly. Another clipped its wing, spinning wildly before smashing into a third.
But more were coming. Too many.
Warning: Multiple hostiles inbound.
I gritted my teeth. “Ares, fire everything we’ve got.”
"Firing."
Missile pods unloaded, streaks of red spiraling through the black sky.
Four ships exploded on impact, fire and metal raining in every direction.
Still more.
Too many to dodge. Too many for the turrets to handle.
I reached out—felt the third missile, the roar of its thrusters pushing it toward us.
It was already locked on, fighting against me.
I forced it to slow, struggling against the momentum. It pushed back, engines burning, but I dug in, wrenching it mid-air, then shoving it back down its own launch path.
The pilot had a half-second to react.
Too slow.
BOOM.
The explosion ripped through his ship, flames twisting in blues, greens, and reds as metal, fuel, and God-knows-what else ignited.
Another blip disappeared off the radar.
Darkness pulled at the edges of my vision, but I wasn’t out yet.
Ares’s voice crackled through the comms. "Commander, all hostiles have broken pursuit. The remaining ships are returning to orbit. We are clear."
I blinked, my grip still tight on the chair, like I had to keep myself anchored to reality. "Yeah? Well, tell them I had fun."
Zara exhaled, finally relaxing her grip on the armrests. "I don’t think they share the sentiment."
She was still staring at me, still processing whatever the hell she just saw.
I could barely process it myself.
The ship hummed, systems stabilizing, the atmosphere inside feeling lighter now that the threat had passed. Ares ran diagnostics in the background, but I could tell the Valkyrion held up just fine.
Better than me, anyway.
I leaned back, rubbing my eyes. "Ares, set course for Kelthar-3. And wake me when we’re close. I need to… not exist for a bit."
"Understood, Commander."
The ship adjusted course, engines humming into a steady, controlled burn.
I closed my eyes.
The power, the fight, the rush—it was all still buzzing under my skin. But exhaustion was winning now, dragging me under like gravity itself had it out for me.
I barely registered Zara shifting in her seat.
Barely caught the way she glanced at me—not just with shock, but with something else.
Something unreadable.
I didn’t have the energy to figure it out.
The hum of the ship blurred into the background.
Then—
Blackness.