The emergence of the Emerald Talon felt less like a mechanical launch and more like a rebirth. As the ship rose from the deep loam of Viridian Prime, the sheer scale of the vessel became apparent. It was smaller than the Vanguard but more intricate, its hull covered in "Living Crystalline Armor"—plates of hardened, emerald-colored glass that could shift and grow to repair damage in real-time.
Kahn-Zul, the once-arrogant Jungle King, stood silent as the massive bird-like prow of the ship loomed over the clearing. The air was filled with the scent of fresh rain and ozone.
"She's... she's beautiful," Lyra whispered, her own silver hair pulsing in harmony with the ship's green glow.
"She's starving," Kael corrected. He could feel it through the ground. The purge had removed the Vorthax rot, but the Emerald Talon had been a battery for five centuries. Her systems were running on fumes. "We need to get inside and stabilize the core before she collapses back into the dirt."
Kael, Valerius, and Lyra approached the main boarding ramp, which was a woven lattice of roots and star-metal. As they stepped onto the deck, the interior didn't look like a spaceship. It looked like a cathedral made of glass and wood. There were no metal corridors; instead, the halls were lined with glowing moss that acted as light strips, and the air was filtered through oxygen-rich "Lungs" built into the bulkheads.
"Doc is going to have a heart attack when he sees this," Kael muttered, his Resonance Gauntlet clicking as it adjusted to the ship's unique bio-frequency.
They reached the bridge—a circular platform surrounded by panoramic crystalline windows. In the center, suspended in a pillar of emerald light, was a figure that made them all freeze.
It wasn't a human. It was a Dryad-Class Starborn.
Her body was a fusion of silver Starborn energy and the emerald wood of the ship. She had no legs; her lower body merged directly into the ship's central nervous system. Her skin was a translucent green, and her eyes were two brilliant emerald sparks.
"Who... who are you?" Kael asked, stepping forward.
The figure's head tilted, a creaking sound like a forest in the wind echoing through the room. "I am Sylva," the entity whispered. Her voice wasn't coming from her mouth; it was vibrating through the floorboards. "I am the Pilot. I am the Soul. I am the Talon."
"You're a hybrid," Valerius said, his hand lowering from the hilt of his sword. "The ancient records spoke of the 'Green-Bond'—pilots who gave up their physical bodies to become one with the Sisters."
"The Vorthax... they tried to rewrite me," Sylva said, her form flickering. "They fed me to the roots. I held on. I hid the maps. I waited for the Spark."
She looked at Kael. A thin, vine-like tendril reached out from the pillar and touched his Gauntlet.
"Tier 3.5," Sylva hummed. "A scavenger with a King's heart. The Code is strong in you, User. But my body... my ship... is hollow. The Vorthax did not just poison us; they stole the Emerald Sun-Stone, our primary power source."
"Where did they take it?" Kael asked, his eyes darkening.
"To the Vorthax Orbital Hive-Ship," Sylva replied. A holographic map grew from the mossy floor, showing a massive, terrifying structure orbiting the planet. It looked like a mechanical parasite, its tentacles reaching down toward the atmosphere. "Without the Stone, I cannot fly. I cannot sing. I will die within the hour."
[NEW PARTY MEMBER JOINED: SYLVA (BIO-PILOT)] [URGENT MISSION: RECOVER THE EMERALD SUN-STONE]
"We don't have an hour," Elis's voice broke in over the comms, sounding panicked. "Kael! The Hive-Ship is moving! It's preparing to glass the planet! They'd rather burn the whole jungle than let us have the Talon!"
Kael looked at Valerius and Lyra. The weight of the five hundred rebels in the Vanguard, the safety of the Void-Pocket, and the life of this ancient pilot all rested on his shoulders.
"Doc!" Kael yelled into his comms. "How fast can you weaponize the Vanguard's ventral cannons for a precision strike?"
"Against a Hive-Ship? I need ten minutes and a miracle!" Doc shouted back.
"I'll give you the miracle," Kael said. He looked at Sylva. "Can you give me a temporary boost? If I can reach the Hive-Ship, I can tear the Stone out of their cold, dead hands."
Sylva smiled, a rustling, beautiful sound. "Take my essence, Starborn. Become the forest's wrath."
The emerald pillar exploded. The light didn't blind Kael; it absorbed into him. His violet aura was suddenly rimmed with a fierce, neon green.
[TEMPORARY BUFF: NATURE'S FURY ACTIVATED] [RESONANCE OVERCLOCK: TIER 3.9]
Kael felt like he could lift the entire planet. He turned to Valerius. "Stay with the Talon. Protect Sylva. Lyra, get back to the Wing—I need air support."
"What are you going to do?" Lyra asked.
Kael looked up through the crystalline ceiling at the massive mechanical god in the sky. "I'm going to show them what happens when you try to cage a dragon."
Kael didn't wait for a ship. He stepped out onto the ramp and used his Gravity Manipulation to launch himself like a railgun slug. He shot through the atmosphere, a violet and emerald meteor heading straight for the heart of the Vorthax Hive.