《WarBorn: The Rise of Elias Vance Issue #2》 WarBorn: The Rise of Elias Vance Issue #2 Chapter Two: The Void¡¯s Embrace The stolen Dominion warship drifted through the vast emptiness of space, its fuel reserves critically low, its systems barely holding together. Elias Vance sat in the cockpit, watching the wreckage of Vaylon Prime disappear into the infinite black. His hands were still shaking. His mother¡¯s final scream echoed in his mind. For the first time in his life, he was truly alone. Days passed in solitude. The ship¡¯s rations were minimal, the water reserves rationed to the last drop. Sleep was impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the flames consuming his home, the soulless gaze of General Kael Vance staring through him like he was nothing. Then, the ship''s sensors flared to life. A massive vessel loomed ahead, a monolithic dreadnought painted in midnight steel. This was no Dominion warship. It bore the markings of the Black Maw, a notorious band of spacefaring mercenaries and scavengers. Elias barely had time to react before the ship locked onto him with tractor beams, dragging him into its belly like a predator swallowing prey. When the airlock opened, he was greeted by the stench of oil, sweat, and blood. The Black Maw¡¯s crew stood before him, a horde of battle-scarred warriors, cybernetic raiders, and alien killers. Leading them was their captain, Dregan Korr, a towering brute with a mechanical arm and a scar running from his brow to his jaw. ¡°You¡¯re either real lucky or real stupid, boy,¡± Korr growled, stepping forward. ¡°A Dominion ship flying blind through my sector? You got ten seconds to explain why I shouldn¡¯t space you.¡± Elias knew the odds. He was weaponless, exhausted, and outnumbered. He could beg for his life. He could try to run. But that wasn¡¯t who he was. Instead, he lifted his chin and met Korr¡¯s gaze. ¡°Because I can make you rich.¡± The room fell silent. Korr¡¯s cybernetic eye glowed as he studied him. ¡°Oh? And how¡¯s that?¡± Elias stepped forward. ¡°That ship out there? It¡¯s full of Dominion tech¡ªprototype weapons, encrypted data, access codes to their war fleets. You could scrap it, sell it, or use it. And if you let me live, I can help you unlock every single secret it holds.¡± Korr studied him for a long moment before breaking into a grin. ¡°You got guts, kid. I like that.¡± He turned to his crew. ¡°Patch him up. If he tries anything, gut him and throw him out the airlock.¡± Elias had bought himself time. But surviving among the Black Maw would be another battle entirely. Chapter Three: Baptism in Fire Life aboard the Black Maw was a constant test. Elias was given no special treatment. He was forced to work among the lowest of the crew, shoveling reactor fuel, repairing weapons, and scrubbing the blood from the ship¡¯s floors after each skirmish. Every day was a fight to prove himself. Every moment was a lesson in survival. The Black Maw didn¡¯t just raid Dominion convoys. They took contracts from warlords, smugglers, and crime syndicates across the stars. In their world, the only law was strength. Elias learned fast. He trained under Varra Synn, the ship¡¯s weapons master¡ªa former Dominion assassin who had turned rogue. She taught him how to wield a blade, how to shoot without hesitation, how to kill without remorse. ¡°Hesitation gets you killed,¡± she told him. ¡°If you can¡¯t pull the trigger, you don¡¯t deserve to live.¡± He learned engineering from Jex, a four-armed Sarnathi mechanic who could dismantle a warship in under an hour. ¡°Machines don¡¯t lie, kid. People do.¡± But the most important lessons came from Dregan Korr himself. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°You¡¯re not Dominion. You¡¯re not Exiled,¡± Korr told him one night, after a brutal raid against a Syndicate warship. ¡°You¡¯re something else. You survive, you adapt, you become what the galaxy needs you to be.¡± Elias took those words to heart. By the time a year had passed, he was no longer a boy running from his past. He was a soldier. A fighter. A survivor. But even as he forged his new path, the ghosts of Vaylon Prime never left him. And soon, the past would come for him. Chapter Four: Echoes of the Fallen The Black Maw¡¯s next target was supposed to be routine¡ªa Dominion outpost on the edge of a dying star system. Easy credits. A simple raid. It was anything but. As the Maw descended upon the outpost, the station¡¯s distress signals screamed across the void. But the Dominion forces inside weren¡¯t the usual weak patrols. They were waiting. It was a trap. The Dominion fleet emerged from the nebula like specters of war, their battleships flanking the Black Maw from all sides. Turrets roared. Missile pods locked onto their engines. Panic erupted across the ship. Elias rushed to the bridge, where Dregan Korr stood at the helm, his teeth bared in fury. ¡°They knew we were coming,¡± Korr growled. ¡°Someone sold us out.¡± Elias¡¯s blood ran cold. He turned to the holoscreen¡ªand his heart stopped. Standing at the center of the Dominion command ship was General Kael Vance. His father. Elias felt his body go numb. The last time he had seen that man was through the haze of fire and destruction, the day Vaylon Prime was wiped from existence. Now, Kael Vance was here. And he was hunting him. The Dominion ships opened fire, and the battle erupted. Explosions rocked the ship as the Black Maw fought for survival. Elias took to the gunner seat, blasting Dominion fighters out of the sky, his heart pounding with every kill. But no matter how many ships they destroyed, more took their place. Then came the message. The Dominion fleet broadcasted it across all channels¡ªa chilling, familiar voice. ¡°Elias Vance. You cannot run from your legacy.¡± His father¡¯s voice. Elias¡¯s hands clenched around the controls. He wasn¡¯t running anymore. He would finish this fight. Elias took in a deep breath and as he heard his father chilling voice what happened is he heard a demanding voice and he justs think back to what makes him, him and who he wants to become. As young Elias fought the battle went on for hours and as he fought for hours he couldn''t get the demanding and pounding voice that once led army''s to victory. Hours later the battle continued and he and his father landed on a planet to take a look at their ship and the damage done. They both exit the ship and a few members of the Black maw arrive and it is a four armed mechanical arms and each one of them do something different each one of them is adjusted to different types of fighting styles and capable of punching through walls. As the towering member approaches Elias and his father, Elias grows more worried and scared and Kael is calmly looking at the ship and inspecting it but it is a quiet confidence that he has the battle won. Elias does not share that same confidence and he backs away step by step inch by inch and as the figure towers over Elias at the last moment Kael pulls out a gun and blows the figures head off. As the figure lays there with brain''s all over the ground and Elias is left there in horror and he is thinking to himself what did he sign up for and how do I get out of this. Elias stands there with his jaw on the ground and Kael stand there calmly cleaning his gun and looking at a causality to him and what''s next. Keal continues to stand there and a small wicked smirk forms on his face as he orders Elias to get the parts of the figures he just killed and Elias takes a few hesitant steps and he reaches down very while looking away from the lifeless body. Kael sits in the ship and he put in some coordinates to his next location and then Elias drags back four silver mechanical arms and he drops them on a table on the ship. Kael nods and he says adda boy They both sit down and the coordinates are set in and they fly back home on their ship. They both sit down and two different people are on the ship right now one cold and distant and stuck in his ways of war and one dreaming of a life and wonder is what could be. CHAPTER FIVE The next day Elias is sitting at home and at his home is a nice classy spacious with a touch of a mother hug but faced with the rugged ways of his father. Elias is at home at the breakfast table and no sleep from the night before as he has been thinking about the sight of viciousness he saw the day before with his father''s ways and only thinking of other ways to go about it. As Elias is sitting at the table and his mother is cooking breakfast, Elias storms off from the table and his mother caring voice that is wrapped in elegance says "hey everything alright? You seem a little off this morning every thing alright?" Elias takes a few deep breaths and nods "yes mom" he says while trying to put thought in his mind and trying to get the part of his mind of gruesome violence that he endured yesterday out his mind. Elias takes a few deep breaths and he hears footsteps coming down the staircase he tries to wrap his mind in calmness but the sounds and echoes and visions of what happened the day before comes out and he stands in the same room as his father as he was up all night working on the mechanical arms he collected from the figure of the Black maw he murdered the day before and as they both stand in the same room Elias visions and echos of what happened the day before floods back into his mind. Elias breath picks up and he looks around and goes outside he stands outside and takes in a few deep breaths and he heads further away from the small home and after thirty minutes he continues walking and he approaches a river and there is a kid around his age sitting on a log facing the river, the kid has black hair that looks unkept and wearing black shirt that has holes in it and torn up shoes and pants that are ripped at the bottom and totally different from anything Elias has seen in his life. Elias hesitantly approaches and Elias footsteps through the grass become the only thing making noise other than the sounds of thought of course and then Elias is totally in front of this young individual and he seems to be holding a book and a few pieces of paper in his hand they both look each other up and down for a second and the young individual says hello in a squeaky and innocent voice and Elias raises his hand and says hello my name is Elias Vance and he asks "what is your name?" A small smile forms on the young man''s face and he says his name is Jackson Elias nods and takes a seat next to him. They both gaze out unto the river as the bright sun reflects the river and the sight is beautiful as the trees ruffle with the wind. Elias asks so why are you here in this spot, Jackson takes a look at his notes leading Elias to look as well and they have a moment of brief eye contact before turning to the river again and he says in that innocent voice "see my people the black maws their not so friendly and I feel as if I''ve been accustomed to them based off habits and other things like that you know". Elias nods and usually Elias would have a bad feeling about having an enemy in front of him like this but with Jackson he feels totally safe and secure and like he has made a friend. A moment of silence before Elias speaks and he says "I can relate and my people" he refuses to name his folks because of who his father is. ""See their not so good folks because they wage war and know no other way" A long moment of looking into the distance. Jackson forms his papers in his hand and gives one to Elias it is poetry as Jackson had been finding soalice in it. Elias looks down and one of the notes that catches his eyes is "There''s always room for growth and room for another way of life"