Kara stood on the bridge, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the forward display.

Outside the viewport, the wreckage of the dragon's lair drifted in slow, chaotic spirals. The asteroid field glittered with jagged debris and mana-touched ruin, the last echoes of something ancient and violent. Just beyond, the Sovereign hung silent and scarred, its hull blackened, its silhouette imposing even now.

But Kara's attention stayed with the smaller shapes moving near the Driftknight. Two figures in suits. One with a tail that flicked like punctuation.

Akiko and Lila, hunched over the makeshift workbench clamped to the hull.

In the center of it all, the cursed micro-fusion core pulsed faintly blue.

Kara's jaw tightened.

That fox is going to be the death of me.

She wasn't even sure anymore if she meant it literally.

Akiko was a paradox. Reckless, yes, but not careless. Every leap into danger was chosen, deliberate. It was like watching someone run toward a fire not out of panic, but because they were convinced they could bend it.

Sometimes Kara wondered what would've happened if she'd met Akiko ten years ago. Back when she still believed in impossible things.

Her fingers drummed once against her bicep.

"Any movement from the Sovereign?" she asked.

Quinn didn't glance up from his console. "Nothing yet. They're still dead in the water."

Kara looked past him, toward the external feeds. The Sovereign loomed like a corpse pretending to sleep. But she didn't trust it. Not with Ward in command. And definitely not with Haven's interest on the rise.

Beneath the display, a secondary feed showed Akiko crouched over the core, gestures sharp with focus. Lila hovered nearby, tools in hand, keeping pace. The two moved with the kind of rhythm that came from too many near-misses.

"She better keep that mess contained," Kara muttered, and keyed the intercom. "You two better keep that mess contained. I don't want any surprises."

Kara wasn't sure if she meant the core, or the girl crouched beside it.

"Got it, Captain," came Lila's voice. Dry, clipped.

Akiko didn't reply. But Kara saw the flick of her ears in the camera feed.

Always had to do it her way.

And yet, Kara didn't stop watching.

There was a stubborn brilliance in Akiko that pulled at something long-buried. Like a reflection Kara didn't want to admit looked familiar.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

She leaned back, and stared at the stars.

The Sovereign still hadn't moved, but now it had company. A repair vessel, robotic arms unfolding like spider limbs, drones flitting like sparks across its hull. Welding. Patching. Breathing life back into the monster.

It was waking up. And Kara didn't like what that meant.

Her fingers tapped against the chair. The decision to help them had been a mistake. Ward hadn't softened, just sharpened her edge. And Kara had swallowed too much of her own pride to keep the peace.

She sighed. If she had it to do over again... No. She wouldn't. She knew herself too well.

Joran's voice cracked across the comms. "Captain, I've got a bad feeling about this. The Sovereign's repair ship isn't the only thing moving out there. Faint signatures. Possible Haven scouts. Low emissions, but heading this way."

Kara sat forward. "How many?"

"Three, maybe four. Debris is interfering with the signal."

"Scouts," Kara said under her breath. She stood, jaw set. "Keep tracking them. If they close, we move."

"And Akiko?" Joran asked.

Kara looked out the viewport again.

Akiko darted through space like she belonged there. No hesitation, no fear. Whatever she and Lila were building, it mattered to her. Enough to risk everything.

"We'll give her time," Kara said. "But not too much."

The silence on the line said Joran understood.

Kara turned her gaze back to the stars, the pulse of the core, and the streaks of slow-approaching light on the edge of the display.

The window was closing, and Kara had no illusions. When it shut, they'd all be on the line.

Hours later, Kara stood at the Driftknight's tactical station, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the flickering holographic display.

"Frigates Valiant and Endeavor," Joran said, pointing. "Haven patrol ships. Gunships on either side, probably escort pattern. Enough firepower there to ruin our day."

Kara's jaw tensed. "What's their patrol route?"

Joran swept the interface, narrowing his eyes. "Search grid. Starting from the Sovereign's last trajectory, working outward."

She didn't need to ask what that meant.

"They're looking for something," she said.

Out the viewport, she caught a glimpse of movement. Two small figures drifting just off the Driftknight's hull. Akiko and Lila, crouched over their cursed fusion rig, still adjusting clamps and stabilizers like they had all the time in the world.

Kara's gut twisted.

She keyed the comms. "Akiko. Lila. Wrap it up. We've got company."

Akiko's voice came back with infuriating calm. "Company? You didn't tell me we were hosting."

Of course she'd joke.

"I mean Haven," Kara snapped. "Two frigates, two gunships, search grid pattern. They're running blind now, but they won't stay that way. Inside. Now."

Akiko's tone sharpened. "Understood. Securing the rig."

Kara looked to Joran. "ETA to detection range?"

"At current speed?" He tapped the console. "Twenty minutes. Thirty if they're being cautious. But if they catch a blip, they'll close fast."

Kara's fingers tapped a restless rhythm on the console.

They couldn't outrun a Haven frigate without turning stealth into noise. And noise would bring more.

Her mind shifted gears. If Haven had a detector like the Sovereign's, they'd have found the hoard already. And the Sovereign's array was likely slagged by the dragon's tantrum. Perhaps nobody had taken the time to log perfect coordinates in the middle of that storm.

That gave them an edge. A sliver of advantage. But it was vanishing fast. And even if they slipped away clean, this much Haven presence this deep into the belt? It wasn't just about the Driftknight anymore. It was a ripple, a signal. A warning.

Kara thought of Tarek. The colonies. The powder keg they were all dancing on.

She drew a breath, forced it out slow.

"Joran. Keep tracking them. If they get within ten minutes, I want an exit vector. No burn, no trail."

"Copy," he said.

She tapped the comm again. "Akiko. Lila. Double-time it. If Haven gets a whiff of us, we're done here."

Akiko came back quick, tension behind her words. "We're moving as fast as we can, Captain. I'm not planning on getting us caught."

Kara didn't answer. She just watched the patrol ships inch closer on the display, red dots circling tighter like sharks in a shrinking sea.

She leaned back. Murmured under her breath, "That's what worries me."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.