"This…is insane…" Rex murmured.
"This is the only way to stop it from leaving," Kane's voice was resolute. "Leah, calculate the feasibility immediately! We need the CME's launch angle, estimated arrival time, and our evacuation window!"
Leah didn't hesitate, devoting all her computing power to it. "Calculating…Need to connect all sensors on the 'Nightingale' to perform a high-precision scan of the surface of star G-173, locating the most unstable active region…"
Time ticked by. The planet below was rapidly collapsing, the light from the grayish-white area growing increasingly blinding, almost covering half the planet! The fluctuations from the crystal consciousness were filled with the urgency and excitement of an imminent emergence.
"Calculation complete!" Leah looked up sharply. "There's a massive, extremely unstable sunspot group in the northern hemisphere of the star, and the magnetic energy accumulation has reached a critical point! Aiming at that region and launching an overload pulse has a 92.7% probability of triggering a massive CME! The ejected material is expected to arrive at the orbit of planet G-173c in…**47 minutes**!"
"Our evacuation window?"
"We must move outside the planet's **shadow cone** and as far away from the ejection path as possible within **38 minutes**! Otherwise, we'll be engulfed by the high-energy particle stream!" Leah quickly pulled up the star map and marked the safe sector.
38 minutes! This meant they had almost no room for error!
"Energy transfer takes time! Overload pulse preparation also takes time!" Leah added, "The entire process will take at least **15 minutes**!"
Lea had less than half a minute left to make a decision.
Kane's gaze swept over Rex and Leah. Rex's scanning eyes were filled with a desperate, resolute glint, and he nodded heavily. Leah's gaze remained resolute, though she knew this plan would be equally fatal to her sophisticated electronic equipment.
There was no turning back.
Kane took a deep breath, and with all his might, issued what might be the last order of his life:
"All ships, listen up!"
"Execute the final contingency plan—**'Corona Verdict'**!"
"Transfer all non-essential system energy to the main guns!"
"Target: Sunspot group at 35 degrees North latitude and 120 degrees East longitude of star G-173!"
"Let us...give this monster a true stellar funeral!"
Kane's command echoed like the tolling bells of final judgment throughout the bridge of the *Nightingale*. There was no hesitation, no doubt, only a burst of almost tragic efficiency.
"Execute the final contingency plan—'Corona Verdict'! Repeat, execute 'Corona Verdict'!" Leah's voice boomed through the ship's intercom, calm and undisturbed, yet the unwavering resolve within it was clearly discernible.
In an instant, the entire spaceship seemed to come alive, or rather, it was heading towards an orderly self-destruction.
The lighting on the bridge and most of the ship instantly switched to a dim red emergency light, leaving only the most critical control consoles illuminated. Gravity in the living quarters was reduced to the minimum required to sustain operations, and the hum of non-essential life support systems noticeably decreased. A low, rumbling sound of energy being rapidly drained emanated from the depths of the ship—the forced shutdown or transfer of energy from all non-core systems.
"Energy transfer procedure initiated. Engine power reduced to 15%, maintaining basic maneuverability. Weapon system energy pools forcibly overloaded…recharge rate 180%…warning, exceeding safety threshold, main gun structure may be damaged…" Leah reported rapidly, her eyes swirling with data like a burning waterfall, monitoring the flow of every joule of energy.