The Mirror Sovereign drifted silently through the Shattered Nebula, its hull bathed in the iridescent purples and pinks of ionizing gas. Inside, the mood was triumphant, but for Lin Feng, the air felt thick with a different kind of tension.
He sat in the dark of the Observation Deck, watching the holographic feed Lilith had intercepted.
On the screen, the young cat-girl Mina was huddled in a maintenance crawlspace. Her trembling fingers moved over a miniature sub-space transmitter.
"The target has the Void-Core," Mina whispered into the device. "He used a planetary-scale refraction. His mental state is exhausted. He's vulnerable. Send the 'Eclipse' unit to the coordinates I've tagged."
A distorted, cold voice replied through the static: "Good work, Little Kitten. Your sister's life-debt is nearly paid. Stay close to the engine room. When the Eclipse arrives, disable the cooling vents."
The feed cut out.
"So," Lilith purred, stepping out from behind Lin Feng's chair. Her tail flicked with predatory grace. "The Inquisitor has a leash on her. A sister in a dungeon is a powerful motivator."
"She's a child being used by monsters," Lin Feng said, his voice a low growl. "I'm not going to kill her, Lilith. I'm going to use the bait she just laid."
The Eclipse Arrives
Three hours later, space outside the nebula began to fold. Not with the roar of a fleet, but with the silent ripple of a Stealth-Class Assassin Ship.
The Eclipse was a needle-shaped vessel, blacker than the void itself. It carried no crew—only a single pilot: Unit Zero, a cybernetic husks of a Star-Soul warrior, bound to the Inquisitor's will.
As the Eclipse latched onto the Mirror Sovereign's belly like a parasite, Mina reached for the emergency cooling lever in the engine room. Her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Lord Lin... but they'll kill her..."
"They'll kill her anyway, Mina."
The girl froze. Lin Feng stood at the entrance of the engine room, alone. He wasn't wearing his armor, just a simple tunic. He looked tired—vulnerable, just as she had reported.
"Lord Lin! I... I didn't—"
"You did," Lin Feng said softly. "And right now, Unit Zero is cutting through the airlock on Deck 4. He's coming for the Locket, and he's coming for me."
Mina collapsed to her knees, sobbing. "They have my sister... the Inquisitor's 'Blood-Labs'..."
"Then let's go get her," Lin Feng said, reaching out a hand. "But first, we have to deal with the guest you invited."
The Mirror Trap
Unit Zero moved like a shadow. It bypassed the Orc guards and the automated turrets, its phase-shifter allowing it to walk through walls. It reached the Bridge in minutes.
The Bridge was empty, except for Lin Feng, who sat in his command chair with his back to the door.
The assassin didn't hesitate. It lunged, a blade of pure thermal energy extending from its wrist. The blade pierced Lin Feng's back, passing straight through the heart.
But there was no blood.
The "Lin Feng" in the chair shattered like glass.
"You're the third person to fall for that this week," Lin Feng's voice echoed from the speakers. "You'd think the Empire would update its training manuals."
Suddenly, the walls of the Bridge dissolved. Unit Zero wasn't on the Bridge at all. It was inside a Mirror-Box—a room lined with the same refractive alloy as the Locket.
From the ceiling, Kara and four Ares mecha descended, their weapons locked on the assassin.
"This is the 'Eclipse' unit?" Kara snorted, her hydraulic fist sparking. "Looks like a tin can to me. Can I smash it, Boss?"
"Wait," Lin Feng said, walking into the room. He looked at the cybernetic assassin. "Unit Zero, your ship is currently being disassembled by my drones. Your mission has failed. But your memory banks contain the location of the Inquisitor's 'Blood-Labs,' don't they?"
The assassin let out a mechanical screech and tried to self-destruct.
"Locket! Override Protocol!"
The Mirror Locket flared. It didn't copy a ship this time; it mirrored the assassin's own command code. Lin Feng's mind surged into the machine's hardware, wrestling control away from the Inquisitor.
[System Override: 100%]
[Data Extracted: Coordinates for 'The Iron Rose' Research Facility.]
Counter-Attack
Lin Feng turned to the trembling Mina, who was being held by Lilith.
"Mina," he said, his eyes glowing with a cold, violet intensity. "You told the Inquisitor I was vulnerable. You weren't lying. I am exhausted. But a cornered beast is the most dangerous."
He looked at Kara and Vanya.
"The Empire thinks they can send assassins into my home? They think they can hold the families of my crew as leverage?"
Lin Feng pointed to the coordinates glowing on the screen.
"Prepare the NIHIL units. We aren't hiding in the nebula anymore. We're going to 'The Iron Rose.' We're going to burn their labs, rescue the captives, and then we're going to send the Inquisitor his assassin back—in a thousand different pieces."
"Now that," Lilith grinned, her wings unfolding to their full, terrifying span, "is the Master I signed up for."
The Mirror Sovereign let out a low, predatory hum as its engines roared to life. The hunt had officially reversed.