A dim red glow pulsed along the ships walls, casting harsh shadows across twisted metal and shattered panels. Sparks rained from broken wires, spinning through the air before fading into the dark. The hum running through the ship's frame came in uneven waves, like the whole place was holding its breath.
Ash dropped first, boots hitting the deck with a sharp clang. His blade was already in hand. He scanned the wreckage, eyes catching every flicker, every movement. The air reeked of burnt metal and melted circuits.
"Alright, we're in. Now we find the controls and get out of here."
Kael landed behind him. Smoke curled from the seams of his suit as he brushed glowing embers off his sleeve.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just hope Max doesn't give another lecture on ship integrity."
Max came last, landing with a low breath. His gaze swept over the corridor—burned walls, loose wires swaying overhead, consoles still sparking. He didn't speak right away.
"You really did a number on this place."
Kael shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"
Max stepped past them, eyes locking onto a damaged terminal. He reached out, fingers moving fast over the panel. Broken data feeds blinked to life, screens glitching with static and error codes.
Then he stopped.
Ash caught it. The stillness.
"What?"
Max didn't answer at first. He pulled up a ship schematic. The cargo bay lit up in red, clamps locked tight around something in the lower hold. Strange readings pulsed beneath the image—sharp, unstable lines that flickered off the scale.
"This transport ship moving a piece of the asteroid."
Ash moved beside him. The screen shifted, showing the ship's underbelly. A large asteroid fragment was held inside, faint veins of energy glowing beneath its surface.
Kael crossed his arms.
"So? We already knew they were after it."
Max zoomed in, pulling up the energy scan. The readings spiked—uneven, wrong.
"This thing isn't just space rock. It's radiating the same strange energy I picked up earlier. Whatever Apex was after—it's in there."
Ash's grip tightened.
"Meaning?"
Max didn't look away from the screen.
"Meaning we're not just stealing a ship. We're stealing a part of the asteroid. I can analyze it, figure out what's the deal with it, and why they're after it."
Kael grinned, slow and sharp.
"So we're making this even worse for them? I like it."
Ash turned toward the cockpit without pause.
"Can you fly this thing?"
Max's hands were already moving.
"Of course I can."
The screen flashed red.
The ship rattled.
Outside, Apex fleetships moved into position. Rows of cannons lined up, their glow reflecting off the hull like distant suns preparing to burn.
Max's eyes flicked to the alert.
"The real question is whether we make it out in one piece."
His AI's voice buzzed through the interface—flat, cold.
"[Multiple hostiles detected. Defenses offline. Evacuation recommended.]"
Max didn't flinch. His fingers blurred across the controls. Engine cores spun to life, light building under the floor as power surged through the systems.
"You don't have to tell me twice."
He hit the command.
The ship groaned, metal twisting as it tore free from the docking clamps. The asteroid chunk dragged behind, the stabilizers straining to hold the weight.
Then—
Fire.
Red beams carved through the void. Explosions lit the sky. The hull screamed as blasts tore across it. Inside, the floor shook. Loose wires snapped from the ceiling like tendons giving out under pressure. Smoke filled the corridor.
Max's hands gripped the controls, knuckles pale. His teeth clenched as the ship rattled again, a warning shot grazing the hull.
"Find something—anything—just slow them down! If we take too many hits, this thing's gonna rip apart!"
Ash scanned what was left of the consoles. Screens flickered with static. Most were cracked or dead. The panels were fried, their edges blackened. Nothing useful.
Kael cracked his knuckles. The sound cut through the tension like a promise.
"I got this."
Before either of them could react, he sprinted toward the broken hull. The breach hissed with leaking air, lights flickering around its edges. Kael leapt through, boots slamming onto the outer plating with a metallic thud.
Max stared.
"Tell me he's not actually—"
Outside, the void spread wide—black, silent, endless.
Kael stood against it.
Then, his fire lit the dark.
Flames burst from his palms, gold and red twisting together. They didn't drift—they charged forward like they had weight, like they had purpose. The first blast slammed into the nearest ship. A bloom of light swallowed the metal hull.
The battlefield broke apart.
Enemy ships staggered, their patterns thrown into chaos.
Kael kept moving. Another blast. Then another. Each one sliced through space, carving a path of light in the shadows. Enemy fire scattered, missing their marks.
Inside, Ash didn't move. He stared at the breach, at the flickers of fire in the void. Each pulse of flame lit Kael's outline—small, distant, but still standing.
The ship rocked again. The battle pressed in. The air filled with the low hum of engines and the distant crackle of fire catching on cold metal.
And Ash stood there, blade in his hand, he was useless.
'He's really out there, And all I can do is stand and do nothing.'
Max pulled the controls hard. The ship lurched into a sharp turn, its frame groaning in protest.
"Kael, don't get yourself killed out there!"
Kael's grin cut through the haze of fire and smoke. A fireball spun in his palm, heat rising like a second sun.
"No promises."
The void burned.
Kael's flames tore through space, streaks of molten light slicing the dark apart. Each blast rippled outward, carving firestorms in the cold vacuum. Apex ships twisted and spun, trying to escape, but the speed of the chase turned the fight into a graveyard.
One vessel banked too late. Flame kissed its side—metal screamed, then split apart. A chain of explosions rolled across its hull, ripping it in half. Another fighter panicked, cutting hard into its own fleet. The impact shattered both, debris scattering like splinters in a storm.
Inside the stolen ship, Max fought the controls. The cockpit jerked under his grip. Screens blinked warnings—engines overheating, stabilizers failing, frame breaking under pressure.
Ash stood near the hull breach. Kael's silhouette moved like a flame given form, his body wrapped in fire, each strike clean, each throw precise.
Ash's fingers curled around his Blade.
'Come on… there has to be something I can do.'
Then the light dimmed.
A shadow rolled over the field.
They turned.
A planet hung ahead, massive and close. Deep swirls of ocean blue churned below, broken by thick clouds spinning in endless storms. Gravity caught them. The ship tilted forward, metal groaning under the shift.
The pull dragged harder.
Max's eyes locked on the readings.
"Hold on!"
The ship dropped, engines roaring as they fought back. It wasn't enough.
Kael spun midair, one last fireball flicking off his fingertips as he dropped through the breach. He landed with a heavy thud, steam curling from his jacket.
"Finally. Was getting bored up there."
Ash stared past him, breath tight in his chest. The sky below twisted, rushing up to meet them.
They weren't flying anymore.
They were falling. The planet's gravity well seized them.