The shock running through the delegates didn't slow the fleet.
Soon, the so-called Blackstar came into view, a black, metal sun hanging in space. The closer they drew, the more its scale pressed on the senses.
One ship after another slipped through Blackstar's entry aperture and ferried everyone inside.
There, at last, they saw Ascension Tech's primary base.
A city lived within the shell of an artificial satellite. At its heart rose the Ascension headquarters tower, a needle of steel and light that set nerves humming.
It was a dreamscape none of them had witnessed. Even the Crystal Palace in Earth's orbit, the playground of the ultra-rich, wasn't a thousandth as breathtaking.
Every representative streamed the scene back to Earth over the Ascension Network, letting the world watch the shock in real time.
Only now did the veil over Ascension Tech and its proper capability lift.
Technologies beyond common understanding showed up again and again. The factions that once felt bold enough to talk about an anti-Ascension alliance had lost that confidence.
What began as a standoff on the edge of war shifted into something more delicate.
Transports kept setting down at the port. Delegates stepped off, traded looks, then followed machine troopers toward the central tower and its conference hall.
Yorinobu Arasaka came in that flow with Adam Smasher at his side, a rare exception.
Most powers sent a single figurehead. Only Arasaka arrived with an extra shadow, and given their ties to Ascension, no one found it strange.
The hall of Ascension was vast, easily seating everyone.
High at the front, on a throne-like main seat, sat Rocky.
He looked down over the assembly. On the tier below him were Ascension's familiar faces: Vik, Jackie, Rebecca, Lucy, and David.
The rest, by Ascension's arrangement, took their places according to clout.
Yorinobu and Adam Smasher sat at the closest table to Rocky.
Whether each faction wanted to attend or had been compelled, the room filled quickly.
The meeting that would steer the world's fate began.
"Everyone here represents a government or a corporation with a real name," Rocky said. "The powers behind you are watching. So are ordinary people.
"So I'll introduce myself again.
"I'm L. A kid off the street who elbowed his way into the world. An ambitious man. A madman who aims to hold the world in his hand.
"I called you here to tell you this: from today on, Ascension Tech calls the shots. We make the rules.
"Your choices are simple. Obey, or be erased."
The words detonated inside the hall and across Earth.
Rocky smiled at the angry stares and added, "If you agree, raise your hand."
The noise didn't die. If anything, the scoffing got louder.
No one planned to roll over for a newcomer. These were people who'd sat on power and capital for a long time. Submitting to another's rule wasn't in their vocabulary.
Then, under everyone's disbelief, Yorinobu Arasaka, front row, slowly raised his hand.
"Arasaka Group agrees," he said. "From now on, Arasaka will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ascension Tech. We'll shut down over eighty percent of our current business lines and hand them to Ascension for takeover."
The room froze.
Arasaka was one of the world's giants. The scale of that pledge didn't need explaining.
People had assumed Arasaka and Ascension were merely allies. This wasn't an alliance. Even ironclad partners didn't gift their entire company to another.
No one felt the shock more than Adam Smasher beside Yorinobu and the Arasaka board members watching from Earth.
"What is Yorinobu doing? He's handing Arasaka to Ascension?"
"He's lost his mind!"
Executives cursed. Only now did they understand his parting words before he left Earth; he'd already guessed how they'd react.
"Yorinobu, this isn't in our interest," Adam said coldly. "Take it back."
By Yorinobu's promotion, Adam now ran all of Arasaka's security as a real power post.
Watching Yorinobu burn the whole group down was something he couldn't accept.
In Adam's comms, the board started barking orders: kill Yorinobu now. If Adam eliminated him and rescinded the decisions in his name, the damage might still be contained.
Those same executives owed their power to Yorinobu, but once fed, power doesn't let you go easily. They weren't following his plan point by point, as instructed.
"The Arasaka Group is mine to command," Yorinobu said evenly, not sparing Adam a glance.
"My orders are absolute. You don't get to question me."
That was enough for Adam. If this were real, he'd end it. Standing right beside Yorinobu, he began to raise his arm to blow him into paste.
He got his hand only partway up before a black blur arrived.
Adam snapped his Sandevistan on.
Even boosted, he still couldn't track the figure.
Steel flashed once. Then everything stopped.
The blur resolved into a young man in a jacket, alloy blade in hand, a confident smile on his face.
As David came to a halt, the result appeared with him: Adam Smasher's mechanical limbs, cleanly severed.