Page 166 of Scorching the Alien Empire
Our last gamble. Our final hope.
I can barely tear my eyes from the screen, but I must, navigating the asteroid field at this speed, demands every ounce of my focus.
Then, without warning, a brutal jolt slams through the hull. My fingers tighten around the controls, knuckles whitening as I wrestle against the violent tremors.
Then another.
And another.
The sharp nudges transform into a full-body convulsion, the ship shaking like a caged beast in a titan’s grip. The floor vibrates beneath my boots, alarms screaming over the wail of groaning metal.
“Dracoth!” Princesa’s voice cuts through the chaos, shrill with panic.
What’s happening?
Brilliant swirls of orange aftershock ripple across the void outside, pulsing in expanding rings of fiery light. A chain reaction of explosions detonates in rapid succession, the Elerium-infused blasts igniting the abyss like golden suns going supernova. Their shockwaves smash through the asteroid field, sending shattered rock and obliterated drones hurtling in all directions.
I force the ship into a new course, leveling out the descent, pushing forward toward Argon Six at maximum speed.
Asteroids that should have barred our path instead detonate into clouds of fragmented debris. Fiery meteors spin wildly into the abyss, thrown from the destruction like shattered bones from a fresh kill.
“Princesa, are you well?” My voice is rough, my senses finally catching up with me. I glance over my shoulder.
She stands white-knuckled, fingers digging into the obsidian of my throne. Her pink skin is flushed crimson, eyes wide and unfocused.
“Um...” she breathes, her voice barely above a whisper. “No. Not really, actually,babes. Todd and I need a moment. He’s not used to nearly dying, thanks.”
She’s not the only one.
Even my warriors stumble, some bracing against the walls, others gulping in deep breaths to steady their shaking limbs.
“What a voiding rush!” Drexios exclaims, throwing his head back, sucking in lungfuls of air. “Those Elerium explosions? Oh, so beautiful, oh so deadly.” He lets out a manic laugh, wiping a hand across his forehead. “That was a clever trick, War Chief. Nearly blew us to voiding smithereens, mind you, but hey—you can’t go hunting without spilling blood.”
His laughter rips through the chamber, unhinged and wild.
But I don’t feel relief. Not yet.
My gaze snaps back to the navigational display. Daring to hope. Expecting the worst. The end of the asteroid field is almost gone.
The self-destruction of the Elerium-enriched Shorthair ships obliterated everything in their path—monolithic rocks blasted into fragments, a scatter-shot of destruction tearing through the Seeker drones like claws through flesh.
Even the vast horde pursuing us suffered catastrophic losses. Their once-solid wall of blinking white markers is now concave inward, crushed like a skull beneath my boot.
The Voidbanes behind us remain. Unscathed. Still in pursuit.
And the three closer ones?
I hold my breath, my blazing eyes flickering across the shimmering display. The Voidbane that failed to intercept us is still there, trailing like a starving beast.
But the other two?
I scan the display, searching, searching.
Something feels... off. My instincts whisper of a presence unseen.
Are they gone? Could the explosions have taken them out? A long exhale escapes me, tension oozing from my body like venting plasma.
Then. The ship jerks violently, a sudden impact rattling through the hull, snapping me back to reality. My teeth clench, my breath freezing in my throat.
