Page 36 of Owned By the Hvrok

He had been found.

It could only mean one thing.

The Orokin—the bastards who hadpaidhim to eliminate Ambassador Erkin—had sold him out. Leaked his location to the Kroll for a higher price. Kyhin had always known the Orokin were honorless profiteers, but he hadn’t expected betrayal this soon—not while he was still within the same galaxy as the trading station.

He clenched one gloved fist on the throttle lever.

No matter.

He had no intention of dying today.

TheLyxaiwasn’t a warship—it was a stealth cruiser, designed for infiltration, extraction, and evasion. Light, fast, and nearly invisible in the right hands. His hands.

He disengaged auto-navigation and took full manual control. The ship responded instantly, humming beneath him like a living thing.

The chase began.

He pushed the ship into a dive, hurtling toward the fractured terrain of a nearby asteroid field. It was a gamble—raw metal and drifting debris could shred them just as easily as a plasma beam—but it was better than open space.

The ship rocked as it twisted between spinning rocks, threading a razor-thin path through the chaos. The Kroll followed, relentless. Adaptive. He could feel them tightening formation behind him like a vice.

He issued a vocal override.

“Divert all power to the hyperdrive. Initiate charge.”

A confirmation tone pulsed in his helm.

The hyperdrive began to warm—its systems drawing energy from every reserve, every auxiliary system, lights dimming around him as the ship channeled everything into escape.

It would only take a few heartbeats.

But it felt likeeternity.

Then…

Impact.

The ship shuddered violently as a plasma beam slammed into the aft hull. Sparks burst from the interface. Alarms screamed.

He gritted his teeth. Rolled the ship to port. Another blast grazed the ventral fins—this one harder, sharper. Shields failed. Warning sigils bloomed across the holo.

Damage sustained.

Too much.

Another hit, and the core might crack.

Come on.

The hyperdrive neared ignition. The charging sequence was seconds from completion.

A final burst of pursuit fire streaked past the cockpit—so close it singed the outer plating.

Then—

The console flashed.

Hyperdrive:READY.

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