Marek stepped closer, his hand hovering over the glyphs, captivated by their pulsing light. "Think about it," he continued, speaking more to himself than the others. "Their experiments rely on brute force, pushing the limits of their subjects without understanding the underlying structure. But this… this is different. It harmonizes the strain, integrates it rather than letting it consume. That's why the creatures here are so… coherent."
Rylan frowned, still clutching his weapon tightly. "Are you saying they're stronger because of this thing?"
"Not just stronger," Marek said, his tone growing more animated. "They're stable. Adaptable. The obelisk must emit some kind of field— maybe something we don't even have words for yet—that keeps the strain in check. Without it, the Dominion's creations are doomed to chaos and self-destruction."
Cassian's jaw tightened as he scanned the chamber, the shadows at the edges seeming to creep closer. "Whatever it does, it's also drawing attention. We need to move before we find out what else it's stabilizing."
Marek hesitated, his fingers brushing against the obelisk's surface. The contact sent a faint ripple of light across the glyphs, as though the structure itself was reacting to him. "If we could understand this," he murmured, "this could be the solution."
"Cassian's voice sharpened with resolve. "Marek, we're taking it with us. Figure out how to detach it—fast."
Marek blinked, stunned by the command. "You can't be serious. Cassian, the power requirements alone—"
"Make it happen," Cassian interrupted, his eyes locking onto Marek's. "Unless you want us to leave empty-handed."
The walls trembled more violently as Marek scrambled to analyze the obelisk's base. His scanner buzzed with frantic updates as he began inputting commands into a portable console. "The stabilization field will collapse once it's removed," Marek warned. "The creatures... they'll go berserk."
"Then we'll deal with them," Cassian said, his grip tightening on his weapon. "I will cover Marek. Rylan, hold the perimeter!"
The team formed a defensive ring as Marek worked, his fingers flying across the console. With a final input, the obelisk shuddered and dimmed, its glyphs flickering before fading completely. A low hum resonated as the structure detached from the floor, hovering slightly above the ground.
"It's portable," Marek said, his voice strained. "we need to move now."
"Marek, stick close." Cassian replied sharply then he turned to address everyone. "If anything moves, shoot first and ask questions never."
"Wait," Marek interjected, his voice strained, "Do you even realize how massive this thing is? It's at least twelve feet tall and probably weighs over a ton. It's only hovering because of its built-in field. If that fails—"
"Then we'll improvise," Cassian cut him off. "Do you have any better ideas?"
"Not unless you want to leave it behind," Marek shot back, clearly frustrated.
"Less talking, more moving," Cassian said, his tone brooking no argument. "If it's not floating, we can drag it. Rylan, lead the way and clear us a path."
Rylan barked a short laugh. "We're all just along for the ride."
The guttural growls from the shadows grew louder, more insistent, as if the labyrinth itself had sensed the theft. Cassian nodded sharply. "Let's get the hell out of here."
Cassian leaned over the command console, his jaw clenched as the Rift's turbulent energy dissipated around his fleet. The five ships of his squadron emerged into open space, battered but intact. Ahead, Erythian League's fleet awaited them—a dozen heavy cruisers flanked by lighter escort ships. No room for negotiations, no time for grandstanding. They had come to claim the obelisk, and Cassian's fleet was their prey.
"Sir, the Erythians are hailing us," Rylan reported, tension lacing his voice.
Cassian's eyes narrowed. "Ignore them. Weapons status?"
"Fully operational, sir, but their firepower exceeds ours by significant margins," Rylan replied. "A direct engagement would result in catastrophic losses."
"Then we don't give them one," Cassian said, his voice cold and precise. "Patch me through to all ships."
The comm officer nodded, and Cassian's voice resonated through the fleet. "This is Chancellor Reyes. We've made it through the Rift, but the fight isn't over. The Erythian League is here. Stick to the plan, and we'll live to see another day."
He cut the channel and turned to Rylan. "Activate the relay beacon. Call in the reinforcements."
Rylan hesitated, his tone edged with unease. "Activating the beacon will compromise our position to the other factions, sir."
"They've already locked our coordinates," Cassian barked. "Do it."
Rylan nodded and keyed in the command. A small probe launched from the lead ship, its signal broadcasting a coded distress call to a hidden task force waiting beyond the rift's edge.
During their two months in the Rift, communication had been impossible, leaving Cassian isolated from his team. Before entering, he had carefully encoded a message detailing the factions they might encounter and their likely positions, sending it to a loyal group of elite ships. Now, as the probe carried his final hope into the void, he could only pray his foresight had been enough.
The Erythian fleet began to advance, their ships forming a wide net to trap Cassian's squadron. Eric, commanding one of the lead ships, spoke up. "Orders, Chancellor?"
Cassian's mind raced. The Erythians had numbers, but their heavier ships were slower. That gave him an edge—but only if he played it perfectly. "Eric, deploy the Panther and the Ajax to execute a flanking maneuver on the port side. Engage the enemy escorts and draw them away from their main formation. Rylan, maintain position with the flagship and prepare to lead the primary group into the asteroid field."
Rylan's eyebrows shot up. "The asteroid field, sir? It's extremely risky."
"Not if we use our tactical advantage," Cassian replied sharply. "The Erythians' heavy cruisers lack maneuverability. Engage evasive flight patterns and exploit the asteroid field to delay their pursuit and gain time for reinforcements."
As Cassian's ships split into two groups, the Erythians cruisers lumbered forward, their escort ships chasing Eric's flanking force. Cassian's group darted into the asteroid field, weaving through the massive rocks with precision. The Erythians followed, their larger vessels struggling to keep up.
"Status on the reinforcements?" Cassian demanded.
"Twenty three minutes out," Rylan replied. "If we make it that long."
"We will," Cassian said grimly.
Cassian's lead ship executed a precision strike with a combination of advanced decoy drones and carefully modulated thrust patterns, designed to manipulate the cruiser's AI algorithms into interpreting a false route of attack. As the cruiser advanced, the ship's crew worked in synchronized precision, deploying reflective flares and micro-probes to create the illusion of multiple targets. The cruiser, its navigation systems overloaded with conflicting data, was lured into a treacherous narrow corridor dense with asteroids.
Cassian watched intently, issuing clipped orders to recalibrate the thrust vectors at each turn, ensuring their bait was as convincing as it was lethal. As the enemy ship reached the bottleneck, Cassian's weapons officer triggered a series of cascading charges embedded in the asteroid walls, collapsing the corridor.
As explosions illuminated the surrounding debris field, Eric's Panther executed a dazzling series of maneuvers. The sleek craft weaved between tumbling asteroids, its thrusters firing in rapid bursts to outpace pursuing enemy ships.
"Trajectory locked," Eric muttered, his voice calm despite the chaos around him. With a precise flick of the controls, he unleashed a volley of kinetic blasts, each one finding its mark with surgical precision. The Erythian escort shattered under the barrage, its fragments scattering into the void.
"Panther to command," Eric radioed in, a slight edge of triumph in his tone. "One down, four to go."
Meanwhile, Rylan's quick thinking showcased his tactical brilliance. Utilizing the gravitational pull of a nearby asteroid, he recalibrated the trajectory of two enemy heavy cruisers with pinpoint accuracy. The first adjustment destabilized their inertial guidance systems, while the second sent them careening toward the asteroid's dense core. The cruisers collided with devastating force, their hulls folding like paper under the sheer impact. The explosion lit the battlefield, leaving the opposing fleet scrambling to regain formation.