The STF Headquarters hangar thundered with motion. Engines roared. Crates slammed into cargo bays. Officers barked orders into comms, their voices cutting through the chaos. Soldiers sprinted in every direction, checking armor seals, loading plasma rifles, inspecting vehicles, and ships. The Frozen Fang, Ice King's cybernetic warship, dominated the hangar's heart like a sleeping giant ready to wake. Its metal hull gleamed under the floodlights as mechanical arms lowered supplies into its hold. The deck crew moved like clockwork, shouting checklists and powering up systems. Overhead, banners of the Galactic Empire rippled in the draft from the ship's thrusters. Captain One Arm oversaw the operation with folded arms, barking a rare laugh as Red Riot struggled to strap down a crate twice his size.
Azryl moved between stations, calm and controlled as ever, while White Flash zipped between decks faster than most could blink, triple-checking the ship's propulsion systems. And at the center of it all stood Ice King, his presence like a shard of winter in the blazing heat of the hangar lights. He watched his team move with silent pride.
The invasion was hours away, and the STF was alive with purpose again. The hangar's chaos hummed like living machinery, cables thrummed, boots clattered, and the Frozen Fang's engines purred with a low, impatient growl. Ice King stood on the ship's gangway, watching his crew move like a conductor watching an orchestra tune. For a moment, he let himself believe the ship belonged to him again.
A voice cut through the noise like a bolt of thunder. "Ice King! You're with us for the Light fight!" Optimus's shout rolled across the hangar.
He strode into the glare of floodlights, cape snapping, every inch the veteran commander who'd led men through wars that left stars scarred. Ice King's jaw tightened. Around him, faces shifted—soldiers stopped mid-task, White Flash snorted with a laugh, and Red Riot let out a wet chuckle that sounded more like a valve releasing pressure. "You're telling me I can't even man my own ship?" Ice King asked, the words coming out sharp.
It wasn't only pride; the ship had been a refuge, an extension of him. The idea of handing it over bruised something deeper than rank.
Optimus didn't flinch. "I need the best of the best for this fight," he said evenly. "And your name came up."
Ice King's posture shifted. He looked at the Frozen Fang as if making peace with an old lover. "Fine. I'll take the ship out some other time," he said and forced a breath that would pass as resignation.
Optimus pivoted and walked toward the command elevators. Ice King fell into step beside him, the two of them cutting through the organized mayhem toward the meeting room.
White Flash flicked a grin at Ice King and tossed a casual, "See ya on the other side," before vanishing into a corridor.
Red Riot danced a little as he tightened straps on a crate, the grin on his face crude and bright as flame.