The silence in the void was deafening. The Apex Mech, once a symbol of technological terror, now floated lifelessly, a giant metal scarecrow with a broken arm.
Lord Valerius's flagship, the last ship of his fleet to turn tail, vanished into the swirling blue of a jump corridor, its retreat a final, shameful admission of defeat.
The battle was over. The victory was absolute.
On the bridge of Lord Kaelen's flagship, the young sector lord and his crew stared at their screens, their mouths hanging open. They had just watched a single, unprotected man dismantle a state-of-the-art war machine with what looked like magic.
Kaelen swallowed hard, his mind struggling to catch up with reality. He looked at the image of the Odyssey, floating peacefully in the distance, and then at the small, lone figure of Ryan Stone making his way back to it.
That wasn't just a powerful lord. That was a savior.
