As the fiery figure approached the human fleet, it drew nearest to the heavy battlecruiser where Quaron stood on the bridge. Quaron watched as the entity hovered just beyond the glass, the two locking eyes.
"Someone is breaching our Contemplator array!"
"They're almost through!"
A subordinate shouted to Quaron.
"No, they've already succeeded," came a voice that echoed within the bridge. Though the entity outside had not spoken, Quaron knew it was its voice.
"Before this unpleasant journey began, I thought I'd seen the most deranged individuals in Salanoga, but you pitiful ants surpass even them," the entity remarked. "You're trying to annihilate a force twenty times your size!"
Hearing this discouraging statement, Quaron thought the burning figure was allied with the Swarm. But as he prepared to order an attack, the entity was suddenly ensnared by a tentacle and dragged away.
A Devourer was attempting to consume the fiery being, an act that would soon spell disaster for it and its kin. Though the tentacles outmatched the entity in size a hundredfold, it was effortlessly swallowed whole. But a second later, fire erupted from the creature's mouth, scorching its chitinous armor with streams of flame until it resembled an exploding star. The strange fire, burning even in the vacuum of space, consumed everything within a hundred kilometers.
Emerging from the center of the blaze, the fiery figure reappeared outside Quaron's bridge, resuming their prior conversation.
"Where did you acquire these torpedoes?"
Quaron heard the accusation. The burning entity had come seeking the source of the dimensional energy detected while cleansing Bal. Sensing no certainty of alliance, Quaron chose silence.
Meanwhile, a Talon frigate transported into the orbital shipyard for repairs, catching the entity's attention as it witnessed the vessel's usage of dimensional space. Observing the stylistic differences in the fleet, the entity turned its gaze on the Talon ships, soon singling out the largest. In an instant, it was transported outside the Lord of Talon.
The encrypted communications on the Lord of Talon were useless; within a second, the entity had penetrated them, its voice echoing in Adam's ears.
"Where did you obtain this technology?" it demanded.
Adam, puzzled by the query, questioned the relevance. Was this being an Imperial Inquisitor? Despite the ambiguous nature of the visitor, Adam ordered the ship's weapons trained on the entity.
The fiery figure was increasingly frustrated by each human's refusal to reveal their source. Yet, as these humans wielded dimensional technology, they had surely been touched by the Makers. Having confirmed this, the entity began gathering its energy.
"Target's energy readings are skyrocketing!"
The deputy's report startled Adam.
"Right now, it's equivalent to... two hundred nuclear warheads…"
The deputy was shocked as the entity's power continued to grow.
"Answer me, or die," the burning figure demanded.
Adam remained silent. The entity unleashed attacks on every bio-ship near the Lord of Talon, while continuing to amass energy. Though its patience was limited, the fiery being restrained its wrath, as carelessness here would jeopardize its quest.
Resisting its urge to incinerate every enigmatic human it encountered, the entity reminded itself that it sought the Makers, not vengeance. If these were indeed servants of the Makers, it was bound by an ancient rule forbidding the slaying of another Star God's thralls.
"Tell me, how do I obliterate these vile insects?" it asked.
Adam was stunned. "What did you say?"
"I want to help you kill them," the entity declared. "Earlier, I considered attacking the bio-ships directly in space, but like those teeming on Bal's surface, they're countless. Even I cannot clear them all within mere centuries."
"So… tell me how to end this swiftly!"
Adam sensed a glimmer of goodwill, or at least a common enemy. While unsure of the being's true intentions, he decided collaboration might serve them well for now. Consulting with the Talon homeworld could address any concerns later.
"Very well." Adam pointed. "There—within the cluster of retreating bio-ships, the one at the center. That's their main vessel. Destroy it."
"And that will make them scatter, like their surface kin?"
"I can't guarantee it... but the database suggests as much."
"Fine. If this fails, I'll rip your tongue out."
Half-skeptical, the burning figure prepared to test the plan. It flew to an Imperial frigate, where, with a mere lift of its hands, it stripped the ship's weapons, disassembling and reforging them into a spear.
Adam watched in bewilderment. The spear floated toward the burning entity, who grasped it single-handedly, raising it high.
The entity then hurled the spear toward the Swarm mothership. Like a rocket, it surged forward, flames trailing as it closed the distance in seconds, piercing through intercepting sirens and two Devourers before finally impaling the mothership, the spear shooting out of the star system entirely.
Though the sight was impressive, Adam thought, *Is that it?*
The spear's penetration, albeit stunning, had left a wound no larger than a pinprick. But soon the wounded bio-ships ignited and exploded, the mothership erupting in a fiery disintegration.
With the fall of their mothership, the Swarm fleet and the colony on Bal descended into chaos, bereft of their Norn leader. The human fleet's fortunes had shifted due to the fiery entity's overwhelming power.
"Report this being's presence immediately," Adam ordered, adding that if the creature were hostile to the sector or forbidden by the Talon Overlord, they would prepare for battle at all costs.