The Ark pulled away from the Reaver mother ship just as the destabilized core sent violent tremors through the massive vessel. The once-monolithic structure began to crack, sections of its dark hull splitting apart as energy pulses erupted from within. Ethan and his team watched from the bridge, breaths held as the Reaver ship buckled and finally exploded in a blinding flash of light. For a moment, the blackened sky over New York City was illuminated, and the oppressive shadow cast by the Reaver forces lifted.
Cheers erupted across the comms from allied forces below, their morale lifted by the sight of the enemy's destruction. The defeat of the mother ship was a hard-won victory, but it was only one among the many they would have to fight to protect Earth.
