The Vortex ship moved like a blade drawn slowly through silk. Black metal swallowed the starlight. Its engines burned in steady rhythm, guiding it past the drifting bones of shattered stone.
Ahead, the warships waited.
Purple light traced their hulls, outlines jagged and cruel. Each one hung still, but not silent—like wolves watching through tall grass. The largest ship sat dead in the center, wide enough to blot out everything behind it.
Inside the cockpit, no one spoke.
Kael leaned closer to the glass. His breath fogged the edge for a second.
"This is insane. You seeing this? Feels like overkill for a second mission."
His voice tried to stay loose. But his knuckles tightened just once.
"I'm not scared. Just saying... this ain't normal."
Max stood over the display, fingers gliding across lines of shifting data.
"Headquarters doesn't know. They couldn't have."
More windows opened. More signals. Too many ships. Too many unknowns.
"This rock must mean something to them. Apex doesn't send this much for show. They're guarding something. And we're not here to fight everyone. We hit hard. Fast. Then we vanish."
Ash's hand dropped to the blade at his hip. His thumb rested near the hilt. He didn't draw. Just stayed there.
"So we cut the head, then run before the body wakes up?"
Max nodded once.
"We're not here to win. Just to break their focus and see what they're hiding."
Kael's grin curled slowly across his face. His fingers tapped against his leg, twitching for motion.
"Works for me. As long as something explodes, I'm good."
He turned.
"You locked the route?"
The ship tilted, gliding into a new course. The path ahead cleared on the screen.
"Always. Don't go wild."
Kael gave a shrug.
"I know how to hold back."
Max didn't answer.
Ash stared at the enemy ships outside. The dark pressed against the glass.
'No turning back now.'
Max exhaled once. His hands gripped the controls. Solid. Ready.
"Brace up."
The lights dimmed. Engines flared.
"We're going in."
Ash shifted his feet, steadying his body. This wasn't the start of the fight. It was already happening.
The engines roared. The ship surged forward like a thrown spear.
Light ripped through space.
Then the enemy moved.
Purple lances of energy screamed toward them. Red missiles trailed smoke as they crossed the void. The first wave passed close—too close. Then came the second.
The Vortex ship rolled, dipped, and twisted. Bursts exploded around it, painting the black with flame and fury. Each detour scraped against death.
Kael's voice broke through, sharp and amused.
"Looks like the quiet approach's over."
Ash stared ahead. His hand stayed on the hilt of his blade.
"We're retreating."
Kael's brow twitched.
"Retreat? Are you insane? You turn now, it's a failed mission."
Ash didn't answer him. His eyes were on Max.
"Turn us back."
Max's hands never stopped moving. The console flickered, warning lights crawling across the screen.
"If we break apart in open space, that's the end. We should aim for solid ground. It's the only chance we've got."
He reached for a latch on the side panel, flipping it open. Inside, small dark devices rested in foam. He tossed one to each of them.
Ash caught his. Cold metal in his palm. No markings or weight on it.
Max pressed his to the back of his head. A low hum filled the air. A mask folded out of light and thin alloy, covering his face with a seamless fit.
"This will keep you breathing."
His voice came through the mask, warped and sharp.
Ash and Kael mirrored him. The masks snapped into place. Ash felt it lock over his mouth and eyes, sealing with a click. The air inside was thin but clean.
Kael moved his jaw, tested the grip. His smirk returned.
"Alright, now can we—"
The ship screamed, a sound too raw and alive to come from metal.
Light burst behind them—white, then red. Fire chewed through the back thrusters.
The craft lurched hard, slamming sideways. Ash's shoulder hit the wall. He tasted blood.
Sparks spat from the ceiling like electric rain. The screen spiderwebbed with cracks.
Alarms wailed—long, broken howls that sounded too much like panic.
Max's hands danced over the controls—too fast, too hard.
"Brace!"
His voice cracked at the end.
Ash gripped the side rail. His knuckles burned. His breath caught.
They were going down. Not in a clean arc. Not a landing. Just a fall.
Outside, the jagged asteroid spun into view. Sharp ridges. Cold shadows.
Below, the miners stopped.
One dropped his pickaxe.
Another point.
The black shape tore through the cloudless sky like a falling god.
"That's them—Vortex."
Voices rose. Fear. Panic.
The ship cut across the air, trailing smoke and fire. It slammed into the rock far ahead. The impact shook the ground. A long scar opened across the surface.
Metal screamed as it dragged. Sparks shot out. The front shattered, then stilled.
Dust rolled over the crater, choking the wind. The ship lay buried, its shape barely visible under smoke and ash.
Everything went still.
Then—
"Well… that could've gone smoother."
Kael's voice broke through the smoke like a knife, flat and cold. His eyes tracked the damage, his mouth twisted in a half-frown. He didn't bother hiding the heat in his chest.
Ash adjusted the seal of his mask, one hand on the edge of the console. The lights flickered above. He didn't blink.
"Yeah. No kidding."
The metal beneath them creaked again. Sparks danced across the shattered dash. Smoke curled thick in the corners. The smell of burned wires clung to the air like rot.
Max stood still, his hand resting on the chair. His eyes were on the fleet above—silent, waiting, full of teeth.
"We're not done yet."
Ash gripped the panel. His boots found the fractured floor.
'This is bad. Real bad.'
He turned to Max, voice low.
"How bad is it?"
Max's fingers moved across broken glass and static screens. His jaw locked as numbers glitched across the display. One glance was enough.
"Shields are gone. Stabilizers are fried. If we take off, we die in the air."
Ash's knuckles tightened.
'So that's it. We're stuck.'
Kael stepped toward the exit hatch. Each step is heavy. Loud. He didn't wait.
"Then we fight."
Max's arm shot out. His hand closed around Kael's wrist, firm. No struggle—just command.
Kael turned fast. His shoulders squared.
"Why? They're not waiting. We hit first, maybe we get the edge."
Max didn't let go.
He stared past him—eyes locked on the flickering pulse on the screen. No words. Just thought grinding like gears behind his silence.
His hand traced the readings. Light. Heat. Gravity. One pattern stood out. Constant. Deep. Not natural.
"There's something on this asteroid. I saw the spike before we dropped. It's not a system error. The signal's pushing through everything."
Ash stepped beside him. His eyes followed the glow on the map. Not moving or fading.
"Apex didn't send fleets just to watch the asteroid pass."
Max nodded slowly.
"They're after that. Whatever it is."
Kael's gaze flicked between them. His mouth pressed into a thin line.
"Then let's take it first."
His fingers flexed once. The tension in his shoulders didn't fade.
Ash looked back at the screen. The signal pulsed again. Like a heartbeat.
"If they're willing to go this far for it… We'd better find it before they do. But still, most importantly, we should find a way out of here. "
Another blast shook the hull. The metal groaned. Red lights blinked across the dashboard. But the shots—they'd slowed.
Kael stood near the ramp, arms folded tight.
"Dammit. They're already here."
Max didn't look up. His hands stayed on the console. The readouts blinked, fractured and unreadable, but his focus didn't waver.
"We still don't know what this asteroid does to the body. I need to scan before we step out."
Kael's eyes narrowed. His voice came sharp, cutting through the heat.
"They're already firing. And you're talking about scans? It's just a rock. Max. A damn rock."
He didn't wait.
Kael moved fast, boots striking hard against the floor. He reached the ramp and stepped into the light.
Outside—the ground looked broken, the surface torn in jagged lines like teeth. Cracks ran across the stone, glowing violet, pulsing like something alive.
Mist coiled over the ground. It didn't drift. It moved. Quiet. A slow creep that curled around Kael's legs.
He paused.
Above, the carrier blocked out the stars. Smaller ships floated beneath it, silent and still. Waiting. Like hunters watching prey that hadn't moved yet.
Max's fingers paused on the controls. His eyes scanned the black sky.
Something didn't fit.
He stood. Walks towards the open entrance. Reached back. Tapped the edge of his neck.
The mask pulled away with a soft click. Air hit his face—cool, dry, and clean.
Kael spun.
"MAX, YOU IDIOT—"
He stopped.
Max was breathing.
No gasping or choking for air. He was just breathing.
Ash turned to Kael, then followed. His fingers tapped the device at his neck. The mask retracted. Air filled his lungs.
Fresh. Almost too clean.
He stepped forward.
"This... doesn't make sense."
The mist slid between his boots.
Max didn't answer. His eyes were on the violet cracks, on the way the light shimmered like it was watching them back.
"An asteroid with an atmosphere," Ash muttered.
Kael pulled off his own mask and tossed it aside.
"This place keeps getting weird."