At central command the alarms had already begun to scream before the first reports even finished transmitting. Long rows of tactical screens lit the command hall in shifting shades of crimson and blue as officers shouted coordinates and sensor feeds flickered wildly trying to keep up with the battle happening beyond the Terrian system's outer edge. The order was immediate and absolute. A battalion of thirty LEX units was launched straight from the orbital defense carriers to intercept the rogue Hound unit and reinforce the two orbitons already engaged—NOIR and the Phantom. Around the orbit there were another fifty Terrian warships already stationed in patrol formations, heavy cruisers, escort frigates and carrier vessels. Every single one of them received the same command within seconds. Intercept the rogue unit. Destroy it at any cost.
Hangars burst open across the fleet as launch rails ignited in blinding lines of fire. LEX units shot out into the void one after another like spears thrown into the darkness. From the fifty ships alone nearly three hundred additional LEX orbitons deployed, their thrusters igniting in synchronized waves as they accelerated toward the battle. In less than two minutes the interception force had grown to three hundred and fifty units, a storm of Terrian machines moving through the stars in tight formations.
But as they approached the combat zone the formation began to falter.
Pilots stared in stunned silence.
What unfolded before them barely resembled a battle.
It looked more like the sky itself had come alive.
Three orbitons tore through the void at speeds that most LEX targeting systems could barely register. One moment they were distant streaks of light. The next they had already crossed kilometers of empty space. Plasma trails twisted like burning ribbons behind them, red, violet and blazing orange cutting across the darkness in violent arcs. For the new recruits watching from inside their cockpits the fight looked less like combat and more like a storm made entirely of light.
Then the storm turned toward them.
The Hound moved first.
The monstrous orbiton twisted its armored body in the void as the Trident ignited again, the three spearheads blazing with violent orange plasma. The weapon screamed through space as Larsen swung it in a wide arc. The energy field surrounding the trident expanded for a split second and carved clean through three approaching Terrian cruisers before their crews could even react.
The ships split apart like paper.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield.
Fragments of burning hulls drifted away as the Hound surged forward through the fire, its newly formed plasma horns blazing and the massive burning tail whipping violently behind it.
The surrounding LEX units finally opened fire.
Hundreds of plasma rifles lit up at once.
A storm of blue bolts filled the void.
But Larsen did not slow down.
The Hound burst straight through the barrage like a predator tearing through rain. Its tail snapped outward in a blinding arc and impaled a LEX unit through the chest, the plasma spike burning through armor as if it were nothing. Larsen jerked the tail violently and flung the ruined machine straight into two others, the impact scattering debris and sparks across the battlefield.
Then the Trident came down again.
One sweep.
Five orbitons vanished in a wave of plasma.
Inside the NOIR cockpit warning alarms screamed around Youri as he watched the slaughter unfold.
"Damn it—"
Youri slammed the thrusters to maximum output. The NOIR erupted forward in a streak of red light, intercepting the Hound just as Larsen prepared another wide swing toward the Terrian fleet. The crimson plasma blade of NOIR collided with the burning trident in a thunderous shockwave that rippled through space itself.
The impact sent both machines spiraling apart.
But Larsen only laughed.
The Hound twisted mid-spin and lunged again instantly, the massive plasma tail snapping forward like a spear aimed straight for NOIR's cockpit.
Youri barely reacted in time.
NOIR rolled sideways as the burning spike grazed its shoulder armor, tearing a huge chunk of plating away in a shower of molten fragments.
Inside the cockpit sparks exploded across the control panels.
Warning messages flooded the screen.
Left arm integrity dropping.Outer armor compromised.Stabilizers failing.
But Youri ignored all of it.
The moment the Hound overextended its strike the NOIR fired its boosters and slammed its blade into the side of the Trident shaft, forcing Larsen back and creating enough distance for the surrounding ships to retreat.
And then the battlefield changed again.
A violet blur tore through the debris field like lightning.
Leonora had seen the damage.
The moment she saw NOIR's armor being ripped apart something inside her snapped.
The Phantom did not slow down.
Its thrusters detonated into violent purple flames as Leonora pushed the machine far past its normal limits. The Phantom vanished from the sensors of most LEX pilots entirely, appearing only as flashes of violet energy ripping across the battlefield.
She slammed into the Hound like a comet.
The Phantom's twin plasma blades struck the Trident in a furious cross slash that sent sparks exploding across the battlefield. The sheer force of Leonora's attack pushed the Hound backward for the first time since the battle began.
Larsen's grin widened.
Finally.
The two monsters launched at each other again.
Their clash shook the battlefield apart.
Phantom's blades carved through space in flashing arcs of violet plasma while the Hound answered with devastating sweeps of the Trident and savage strikes from its burning tail. Each collision produced violent shockwaves that sent nearby LEX units tumbling through space like leaves caught in a hurricane.
Leonora attacked with relentless speed.
Larsen answered with brutal power.
The Phantom darted forward again, slicing across the Hound's shoulder armor and leaving a deep glowing scar across the metal plating.
But Larsen spun instantly.
The Hound's tail whipped around faster than most sensors could register and smashed directly into the Phantom's side.
The impact hurled Leonora's machine across several kilometers of empty space before she managed to stabilize.
She didn't stop.
The Phantom exploded forward again immediately.
Now the two orbitons were nothing but streaks of violet and orange tearing through the battlefield at impossible speeds. They clashed again and again, their weapons colliding in violent bursts of plasma that lit the void brighter than the surrounding stars.
Meanwhile Youri forced the damaged NOIR back into the fight.
Despite the torn armor and failing systems he pushed the orbiton forward again, intercepting the Hound each time Larsen attempted to break away toward the Terrian fleet. Every block cost NOIR another piece of its already shattered armor.
The Trident smashed into NOIR's chest plating once, cracking the armor open and sending shockwaves through the cockpit.
Youri coughed as the impact rattled the entire machine.
But he didn't retreat.
Each time the Hound moved toward the Terrian ships, NOIR appeared in its path again like a crimson wall refusing to fall.
And every time Leonora saw another hit land on NOIR…
The Phantom's attacks became even more savage.
Her orbiton moved like a beast unleashed.
She stopped fighting with controlled strikes.
Now she hunted.
The Phantom tore through the battlefield in violent arcs, striking the Hound again and again with a fury that forced even Larsen to shift entirely into defense.
The void filled with blinding plasma flashes as their weapons collided dozens of times in seconds.
LEX pilots watching the battle could barely breathe.
To them the fight looked like two cosmic monsters tearing reality apart.
Finally Leonora broke through.
The Phantom slipped past a Trident swing and drove one of its blades deep into the Hound's side armor.
The plasma edge carved through metal, sending molten fragments spinning away into space.
For the first time the Hound staggered.
Inside his cockpit Larsen laughed again, a deep excited growl filling the comm channel.
"Now THAT'S a fight."
The Hound's plasma horns flared brighter.
Its tail ignited with even more violent energy.
And the monster lunged forward once more—