Fifty warships cut through the void like blades, their formation tight, disciplined, and relentless as they advanced toward the Orion region. Their hulls gleamed under distant starlight, engines burning with controlled intensity as they tore through the unstable corridors of space that defined the frontier.
At the head of the fleet stood the command ship of General Charles Vartellis.
A man known not for recklessness—but for precision.
Nothing about this operation was left to chance.
Nothing… except what awaited them.
Inside the command deck, Vartellis stood tall, his hands clasped behind his back as his sharp gaze remained fixed on the forward viewport. Around him, officers moved with calculated urgency, relaying data, adjusting trajectories, and maintaining formation integrity through the volatile gravitational distortions of the Orion region.
"Status," Vartellis spoke, his voice calm, unwavering.
"All ships accounted for," one officer replied. "Maintaining formation despite interference."
Another chimed in, "Splector device is primed and ready for deployment, General."
At that, Vartellis gave a small nod.
"Activate it."
Moments later—
A silent invisible pulse tore through the space.
From the core of the fleet, the newly developed device—the Splector—came to life.
Unlike conventional jamming systems, it did not merely interfere with signals.
It erased them.
A field expanded outward, rippling through space in a controlled wave, distorting and nullifying all forms of data transmission, scanning, and detection within a thirty light-year radius. Sensors went blind. Communications fractured. Automated systems lost cohesion.
For anyone caught within its reach—
The universe simply… stopped speaking.
The fleet pressed forward.
No delays.
No diversions.
Under Vartellis' command, the journey through Orion became a straight line—a path carved with unwavering determination.
Hours passed like minutes.
Minutes felt like seconds.
Until—
"Visual confirmation," an operator announced.
"Planet Seron… directly ahead."
It appeared slowly at first.
A shadow.
Then a shape.
Then a world.
Seron loomed before them, its scarred surface turning slowly beneath the fleet's approach. Storms raged across its atmosphere, lightning dancing across the clouds like veins of fire. Its moons drifted nearby, casting fractured shadows across the battlefield that had yet to begin.
Vartellis' eyes narrowed slightly.
"Begin phase one."
The fleet spread.
Like a net.
Ships broke formation with perfect synchronization, fanning out across orbital vectors as they surrounded the planet in a tightening sphere. Each vessel took its designated position, locking into place with precision.
Escape routes—
Gone.
Orbital lanes—
Sealed.
Seron was Contained.
"All positions secured," came the confirmation.
Vartellis didn't respond immediately.
He simply watched.
Waiting.
Because he knew—
They wouldn't remain hidden for long.
And they didn't.
From the shadows of Seron's moons, movement erupted.
Ships.
Dozens of them.
Dark, fast, and already accelerating.
"They're launching!" an officer shouted.
"Enemy fleet emerging from lunar cover!"
Vartellis' expression didn't change.
"Engage."
And just like that—
The void ignited.
Beams of light tore through space as the first volleys were exchanged. Plasma fire streaked between ships, explosions blooming like violent stars as hulls shattered under direct hits.
Orbitons deployed in waves.
Hundreds of them.
From both sides.
They launched from hangars, engines roaring as they surged into the battlefield. The darkness of space was instantly consumed by motion—machines clashing, weaving, firing, colliding.
To the untrained eye— It was chaos.
To those within it— It was war.
Far from the main engagement—
A separate vessel drifted.
Silent.
Waiting.
Within it stood something far more dangerous than any fleet.
Altopereh.
The monstrous Orbiton remained dormant in its chamber, its towering frame surrounded by reinforced containment structures. Energy readings fluctuated wildly around it, as if its mere presence disrupted the stability of the ship itself.
Inside its cockpit—
Youri floated.
Once again submerged within the abyss.
The endless water stretched around him, dark and infinite.
He drifted.
Still.
Silent.
Time had no meaning here.
Only presence.
Only awareness.
Until—
A sound.
A signal.
A voice breaking through the void.
"New hostile unit detected—designation confirmed… Hound unit deployed."
Youri's eyes opened.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The abyss rippled.
He didn't speak.
Didn't react outwardly.
But inside—
Something shifted.
The memory of that battle.
The destruction.
The pain.
Leonora's broken frame drifting in silence.
His fingers curled slightly.
The water around him trembled.
He knew the plan.
He knew his role.
Wait.
Charge.
Fire.
End it.
But in that moment—
None of it mattered.
Only one thing did.
Him.
Larsen.
The Hound.
Then—
Impact.
A violent explosion tore through the ship.
The chamber shook as alarms blared, red lights flooding the interior. The hull screamed under stress as an external strike breached one of the upper sections.
"Direct hit!" someone shouted over comms.
"Shields compromised!"
The containment field around Altopereh flickered.
Inside the abyss—
The water surged violently.
Youri didn't move.
Didn't panic.
He simply… stood.
"Remain in position!" a voice barked through the comms. "Altopereh is not to be deployed until—"
The transmission cut.
Static.
Silence.
Youri exhaled slowly.
Orders.
Plans.
Commands.
They all meant nothing now.
Not anymore.
The cockpit opened.
In the physical world, mechanical locks disengaged with a violent hiss as Youri forced the override. Sparks flew from the control panel as he tore through the system's restrictions, ignoring every safeguard placed to contain him.
"Duke—stop!" a technician's voice echoed through the chamber. "You're not cleared for deployment!"
Youri didn't respond.
Didn't even look back.
He stepped forward.
Into the machine.
Into the monster.
Connection surged.
Instant.
Violent.
Total.
Altopereh awakened.
The entire ship trembled as the Orbiton powered on, energy flooding through its frame in unstable waves. The restraints holding it in place shattered under the sudden output, metal snapping like brittle bone.
"Containment breach!" alarms screamed.
"Altopereh is active!"
Inside—
The abyss collapsed into fire.
Youri stood at the center of it.
Eyes burning.
Focused.
Gone.
"I told you…" a voice echoed—low, amused.
Altopereh.
"You came back for this."
Youri didn't answer.
Didn't acknowledge it.
His hands moved.
Commands executed.
Thrusters ignited.
With a single, devastating burst—
Altopereh tore through the hull.
The ship split open as the massive unit launched into space, debris scattering behind it as it emerged into the battlefield like a falling god.
Around it—
War raged.
Ships burned.
Orbitons clashed.
The void screamed with destruction.
But Youri saw none of it.
None of it mattered.
Because ahead—
Far beyond the chaos—
He felt it.
The presence.
The signal.
The Hound.
Youri's voice was quiet.
Cold.
Final.
"No one… stands in my way."
And with that—
Altopereh surged forward.
Not as part of the plan.
Not as a weapon of the empire.
But as something far more dangerous.
A force unleashed.
A man with nothing left to lose.
And a target he would not miss.