The first pirate ship died screaming.
Its engines flared erratically as disciplined Imperial fire sheared through improvised plating, tearing the vessel open like rotten cloth.
Debris scattered across the void, glowing briefly before fading into nothing. The remaining Black Maw ships broke formation at once panic masquerading as tactics.
"Too late," Titus muttered.
"Predictable," Leofric said over the comms, his voice calm amid the chaos. "They lack cohesion. Press them."
The Vigilant Flame advanced without hesitation, guns firing in measured cadence. Where the pirates sprayed plasma wildly, the Imperial gunners placed every shot with intent.
The Lion's Gaze mirrored the movement, flanking low and fast, her smaller profile slipping between firing lanes like a blade in practiced hands.
Leonidas stood at the heart of the storm, issuing orders with quiet precision.
"Ezran, mark their reactor signatures. Titus disable, don't destroy. We want that station intact."
"Aye," Titus replied. "I'll be gentle."
Within minutes, the void belonged to them.
Two pirate ships were crippled, drifting and powerless.
A third attempted a blind jump and tore itself apart against unstable spacetime.
The last fled only to be cut down by a single, immaculate salvo from the Vigilant Flame.
Silence returned, broken only by the low hum of engines and the distant crackle of cooling metal.
Leonidas exhaled. "All hands prepare for boarding."
The derelict station loomed closer now.
Emergency lights flickered along its outer ring as docking clamps engaged.
The Lion's Gaze latched on first, followed moments later by Imperial breaching craft.
The airlock blew inward.
Smoke poured out, thick with burnt insulation and fear.
"Move," Leofric commanded.
Imperial troopers surged forward in disciplined waves, white-and-gold armor gleaming even in the dim red glow of emergency lighting.
Leonidas moved with them, not ahead, not behind but alongside his brother.
Blaster fire erupted down the corridor.
Leofric raised his rifle and fired three times. Three pirates fell before they could finish screaming. His movements were efficient, economical, no wasted motion, no hesitation.
Leonidas felt something old settle into his bones.
This rhythm.
This clarity.
A pirate lunged from cover, screaming incoherently. Leonidas pivoted and struck once, hard, crushing the man's throat with the butt of his weapon. Another tried to flank but Ezran dropped him with a clean shot from behind.
They moved deeper into the station, cutting through resistance with frightening ease.
Black Maw fighters were vicious, but undisciplined. They fought like animals defending a lair.
The Lionhart brothers fought like soldiers.
At a junction choked with smoke, a heavy gun emplacement roared to life.
Bolts chewed through the corridor walls, forcing the Imperial line to halt.
"Pinned," a trooper called out.
Leonidas didn't wait.
He and Leofric stepped forward together, backs touching instinctively an old formation, one drilled into them by their father years ago.
Leonidas leaned out and fired, drawing attention. Leofric rolled across the floor, came up on one knee, and put a round straight through the gunner's visor.
Silence followed.
For a brief moment, neither spoke.
Leofric glanced over his shoulder. A faint smile touched his lips. "You're slower than you used to be."
Leonidas snorted. "You still talk too much."
They pressed on.
Bodies littered the approach to the bridge. The closer they came, the more desperate the resistance grew. Pirates fought harder now not for profit, but for survival.
The bridge doors were sealed.
"Breaching charges," Leofric ordered.
The explosion tore the doors inward.
Inside, chaos reigned.
The Black Maw's captain stood at the center of the bridge tall, scarred, eyes wild. He dragged a trembling hostage in front of him, a merchant woman, her face streaked with blood and terror. A pistol was pressed to her head.
"Don't move!" he screamed. "I'll kill her!"
The room froze.
Imperial troopers raised their weapons, then hesitated.
Leonidas did not.
He saw everything at once, the captain's shaking hands, the slight gap beneath the man's arm, the angle of the hostage's shoulder. The flickering lights. The imperfect cover.
An impossible shot.
He took it anyway.
The rifle barked once. The round passed beneath the captain's arm, clipped the edge of his ribcage, and shattered his spine. The man jerked violently, eyes wide with disbelief before he collapsed backward, dead before he hit the floor.
The hostage screamed and then realized she was unharmed.
Imperial troopers surged forward, securing the bridge in seconds.
Leofric stared at the fallen pirate, then slowly turned to his brother.
For the first time since boarding, the mask of the Imperial commander slipped.
"That shot," he said quietly. "You saw it?"
Leonidas lowered his rifle. "I took a gamble."
Leofric let out a breath, half a laugh, half something else. "Emperor preserve us."
Hostages were escorted out. Medics moved in. The station fell silent at last.
Leofric placed a hand on Leonidas' shoulder, grip firm and familiar. "You chose a different path," he said. "But you never stopped being a soldier."
Leonidas met his gaze. "I could not even if I tried brother."
For a moment, amid smoke and ruin, the Empire felt very far away.
And the Lionhart brothers stood whole once more, back to back, as they had always been.