Then, from the Minotaur Flagship Jarkon responded. His voice came through the interconnect com—it was a bit fractured, shaky—laced with confusion, frustration, and unmistakable fear.
"We did fight here, Your Grace, the Duke... and it was real. You can tell—from the corpses of my fellow comrades drifting out there..."
He paused, breath catching, then pushed on.
"There's only one possibility. They did salvage everything. Wiped it clean. Left nothing but the dead behind. And though it seems impossible, not with the time they had... maybe they had the equipment. Maybe that's the only way it makes sense."
Duke Flexy heard this and could only nod. There was nothing else to think—nothing his fleet could offer. They had scanned the entire star system. No equipment, no trace. Nothing to explain this bizarre situation.
