The blue supernova of Kael's energy didn't just push the shadows back; it acted like a flare in the dark. The Star-Eater that had tried to swallow him let out a silent, agonizing ripple as its shadowy form began to dissipate under the raw, unrefined "Source Code" of Kael's light.
But he was out of breath. The vacuum was beginning to claw at his throat, and the solar radiation of the Helios star was cooking his tactical suit.
"Kael! Grab her hand!" Valerius roared, his thruster pack flaring as he intercepted a second Star-Eater with a sweep of his kinetic blade.
Kael tumbled through the weightless void, reaching out for the silver-haired girl. As their fingers touched, a shockwave of gold and violet light erupted between them.
[CONNECTION ESTABLISHED] [SYNCING STARBORNS... 10%... 50%... 100%]
Kael didn't just see the girl; he felt her. Five centuries of solitude. Five centuries of keeping the Aurelian Wing hidden in the sun's glare so the Vorthax couldn't find her. Her name was Lyra, and she wasn't just a pilot; she was the ship's heartbeat.
"Wake her," Lyra's voice echoed in his soul. "Sing to her, brother."
Kael didn't know the words, but the Cube on his belt did. It vibrated with a high-pitched, musical tone.
The Aurelian Wing—the massive, serpentine vessel—suddenly twitched. Its scales, which had been a dull, matte grey, began to shift. They flipped over, revealing a polished, mirror-like gold that reflected the sun's fire.
"WHO CALLS THE WING?" Unlike Ignis's deep, gravelly rumble, this voice was melodic, sharp, and terrifyingly fast. It sounded like a thousand harps being played at once.
"It's us!" Kael gasped into the psychic link. "We're the Vanguard! We're here to take you home!"
The gold ship's "eyes"—two massive crystals on the prow—flared with a predatory yellow light.
"THE VANGUARD? IGNIS? THAT OLD RUST-BUCKET IS STILL MOVING?"
"Hey!" Elis's voice broke through the comms as the Celestial Vanguard roared back to life, its engines reigniting to join the fray. "Watch it, Goldie! We just saved your tail!"
The Aurelian Wing didn't respond with words. She responded with action. The gravitational chains holding her to the station snapped like dry twigs. The ship spiraled through the air with a grace Ignis couldn't match, her long, serpentine body coiling around the remaining Star-Eaters.
"I AM AURELIA," the ship sang. "AND I HAVE NOT FED IN FIVE HUNDRED YEARS."
The golden ship opened its maw. Instead of a beam of fire, it emitted a Gravity Well. The Star-Eaters were sucked toward the ship's prow, compressed into tiny spheres of dense shadow, and then utterly consumed by the ship's intake vents.
"She... she's eating the shadows?" Kael watched in horror and awe as he and Lyra were pulled into the Aurelian Wing's opening airlock.
They slammed onto the floor of the bridge. This bridge wasn't industrial like Ignis's; it was made of white marble and flowing gold lines. Lyra collapsed next to Kael, gasping for air as the ship's life support flooded her lungs for the first time in centuries.
"Lyra!" Kael scrambled over to her.
She looked up, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders. Her eyes were no longer glowing; they were a soft, human violet. "The star..." she whispered. "It's so loud."
"We've got you," Kael said, helping her up.
Valerius landed in the airlock a moment later, his armor smoking from the heat. He looked around the golden bridge and grunted. "Aurelia. The Scout of the Seven. I should have known she'd be the one hiding in a sun."
"GENERAL VALERIUS," Aurelia's voice chimed through the bridge speakers. "YOU LOOK OLD. AND THE BOY... HE IS UNFINISHED. TIER 2.2? PATHETIC."
"He's learning!" Elis defended through the cross-ship link.
"We need to go," Lyra said, her voice regaining its strength. She stepped toward the central pedestal—a pool of liquid gold. She dipped her hand in, and the ship hummed in response. "The Vorthax have a 'Black-Site' nearby. They've been monitoring this star. They know the Wing is awake."
"She's right," Elis reported. "I'm picking up warp-signatures. Big ones. Vorthax Carriers."
Kael looked at Lyra, then at the map of the galaxy projected in the air. They now had two of the Seven.
"Lyra," Kael said. "Can you fly this thing?"
A small, mischievous smile played on Lyra's lips. "I don't fly her, Kael. We dance."
The Aurelian Wing banked hard, pulling a maneuver that would have snapped a normal ship in half. With a flash of golden light, she shot away from the dying star, Ignis following close behind in her slipstream.
[NEW PARTY MEMBER JOINED: LYRA (STARBORN PILOT - TIER 4.0)]