Page 165 of Scorching the Alien Empire
The bridge thrums with the rhythmic thunder of plasma cannon barrages, each shot a pulse of destruction ripping through the swarm. My gaze flicks back to the navigational display, tracking the chaos beyond—the millions of drones falling in our wake, the thousands still clinging to us like parasites. And beyond them, the true danger.
Three Voidbanes.
Closing in. Converging.
The dozens more looping around the asteroid field, racing to cut us off.
We’re close. Very close.
“Shields at forty percent,” Corsark reports, tension creeping into his normally steady voice. “Kill them faster, for void’s sake.” He breaks rank for the first time, his patience fraying as he glares at Drexios.
I wrench the ship into a hard bank to port, the hull shuddering under the force of the maneuver. Rocks and plasma slam intothe shields like an unrelenting hailstorm, battering against our defenses. The moment we clear one monolithic asteroid, another lurks ahead, waiting to crush us. My Rush-heightened senses ignite, instinctively mapping new paths through the tumbling debris.
“Is that fear I smell, Corsark?” Drexios sniffs the air with exaggerated flair. “The poignant scent of piss running down your pantaloons?”
Corsark bristles, but Drexios continues, his fingers dancing over the weapons console.
“Ever fired cannons from a ship doing somersaults and cartwheels in the middle of a voiding asteroid field?” He pauses for effect, then grins. “No? Then shut your barking, or I’ll slit your throat.”
I hardly hear them, focusing like an arrohawk on the Voidbanes ahead. Their pulsing markers adjust, reacting to my sudden shift. Two of them will intercept us.
There is no doubt. No escape.
They’ll be waiting. Watching. Fresh goliaths of blackened arcweave, devouring the starlight itself.
In mere moments, my plan—and our fates—will be decided.
“Corsark,” I order, my blood boiling, “on my command, deploy the Enriched ships.” The words roll from my tongue like arcweave, each syllable sharpening the moment. “Target the Voidbanes and the largest asteroids.”
Will it be enough? It has to be.
“At once, War Chieftain,” Corsark moves swiftly, his armored fingers clanking as he rushes to obey.
Beyond the asteroid field, I see them.
An absence of light in the abyss. Voidbanes—monoliths of destruction, one waiting, another racing into position to intercept. My heart hammers against my chest. Rush-infused blood seethes through my veins, molten, relentless, unstoppable.
Outside is utter chaos.
Drifting asteroids tumble through the void, trailing spirals of space dust. Seeker drones swarm like predatory znats, weaving erratically between the debris, their red lenses flickering like malevolent stars. Plasma blasts ignite the abyss in violent bursts of azure, the light bending and refracting across the shimmering white-blue glow of our failing shields. The lingering afterimage of hyperspeed paints the battlefield in kaleidoscopic hues, a storm of movement and destruction.
But through it all, I see only the Voidbanes.
The ship creaks and shudders as I bank over the final colossal asteroid, revealing the silent angular tombstones awaiting to collect our heads. Their plasma cannons already locking onto us. The nozzles hum, glowing an ominous white-blue, their deadly energy illuminating the fractured rocks nearby.
“Now, Corsark!” I bellow, slamming my hands forward on the controls.
The ship plummets like a falling blade dropped from a mountain. A barrage of plasma fire erupts in our wake, white-hot streaks searing through the void, narrowly missing our hull. The ship shudders violently, the sheer force of the maneuver threatening to tear the arcweave plating apart.
For a brief, dizzying moment, the battlefield vanishes.
No Voidbanes. No exit. Only churning rock and drones swirling in a storm of fire and debris.
Already, I’m plotting new nav-points through the chaos, banking sharply to avoid an impending collision.
“Ships launched,” Corsark calls out, his breath ragged.
My eyes flick to the navigational display—dozens of tiny dots scatter from our location, the damaged Shorthair fleet dispersing among the asteroids like znats fleeing a broken nest.
