The medical chamber had finally become quiet.
Soft blue lights from the healing equipment reflected across the metallic walls, casting faint shadows throughout the room.
Nyxara sat on the edge of the treatment pod.
The wound in her abdomen had almost completely healed. Only a faint scar remained.
Velkar sat nearby, while Kraith paced back and forth like a caged beast.
"I still don't understand."
Kraith suddenly stopped.
"Why didn't you expose him sooner?"
Nyxara raised an eyebrow.
"Expose who?"
"Levi."
Nyxara let out a small laugh.
"I tried."
"Someone was simply more impatient than me."
Velkar immediately turned away, trying not to laugh.
Kraith folded his arms.
"That was an emergency."
"And yet he escaped anyway."
Kraith had no response.
Silence returned to the room.
Eventually, Velkar broke it.
"So what now?"
Nyxara picked up the device she had stolen from HE78.
"We follow them."
Kraith immediately grinned.
"Now you're talking."
Velkar frowned.
"How?"
"We don't even know where they are."
Nyxara looked at the device.
"They'll go for a ship."
"Why are you so sure?"
"Because if I were them, that's exactly what I'd do."
Nobody argued.
Outside the medical wing, the war continued.
Distant explosions echoed through the structure.
Occasional tremors shook the floor beneath their feet.
Nyxara continued.
"If we want to catch them, we need a ship too."
Velkar sighed.
"The deployment bays are heavily guarded."
"Normally, yes."
Kraith smirked.
"But not during a battle."
Nyxara nodded.
"The fighting is pulling soldiers away from key sectors."
"That gives us an opening."
A plan quickly formed.
Not long after, the three of them left the medical wing and moved deeper into the mothership.
They avoided crowded corridors and followed maintenance routes whenever possible.
The closer they got to the deployment sector, the stronger the vibrations became.
Eventually, they reached a dark observation platform overlooking one of the launch bays.
Then they froze.
Voices.
Familiar voices.
"Này, đùa đấy à? Con chip còn lại đâu?"
"I don't know."
"We were supposed to split up. Now we only have one option."
"Then who's opening the gate?"
Nyxara slowly peeked over the edge.
Below them stood Levi's group.
Levi.
Vinh.
Hongco.
Apoloziro.
HE78.
Kraith's hand immediately moved toward his weapon.
But Velkar grabbed his arm.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"There are five of them."
"And only three of us."
Nyxara lowered her voice.
"Not yet."
"We wait."
"Let them do the hard part first."
Kraith reluctantly backed down.
Meanwhile below, Vinh looked toward HE78.
"What are you doing?"
HE78 answered in his usual mechanical tone.
"Locating the main control relay."
"I need to completely sever the launch bay's connection with the mothership."
"If the connection remains active, the ship will never stay under our control."
HE78 disappeared between rows of docked spacecraft.
A few moments later, one of the ships suddenly powered on.
Blue energy flowed across its hull.
Then another.
And another.
The launch bay alarms immediately activated.
"What is he doing?"
Velkar whispered.
Nyxara narrowed her eyes.
"He's creating a distraction."
The unmanned ships accelerated forward.
Without pilots.
Without permission.
Without control from the mothership.
Moments later—
BOOM!!!
The first ship slammed directly into the outer launch gate.
The entire bay shook violently.
Metal screamed.
A second ship followed.
Then a third.
Another explosion erupted.
Cracks spread across the armored launch barrier.
Atmosphere began rushing outward.
Emergency bulkheads attempted to compensate.
Too late.
A massive breach opened toward space.
"Now I see."
Velkar muttered.
"He isn't breaking the gate."
"He's tearing it apart."
Back below, HE78 sprinted toward the ship they had chosen.
He opened an access panel and inserted his chip into the vessel's primary control core.
Golden light spread throughout the ship.
The control systems immediately responded.
Apoloziro narrowed his eyes.
"We're being watched."
Levi looked around but couldn't identify where.
"Forget it."
"We move now."
The ship powered up.
Moments later, it launched through the breach and vanished into the darkness beyond.
Silence filled the observation platform.
Then Velkar suddenly grabbed Nyxara's shoulder.
"Move."
"That wasn't a combat ship."
"What?"
"The one they stole."
"It was a medical transport."
Nyxara's eyes widened.
They immediately rushed toward the remaining vessels.
Several options failed.
Some refused to activate.
Others remained linked to the mothership.
Time passed quickly.
Then finally—
Success.
Velkar inserted the stolen chip into another vessel.
Blue energy surged across the hull.
The ship came alive.
"It's working!"
"Get in!"
The three of them rushed aboard.
At that exact moment—
"INTRUDERS DETECTED!"
A squad of Axian soldiers emerged from the far side of the bay.
Energy fire immediately filled the air.
The ship's engines roared.
Shots struck the surrounding metal.
Sparks exploded everywhere.
But the vessel lifted off just in time.
The launch bay disappeared behind them.
The damaged gate became smaller and smaller.
And then—
They entered open space.
None of them spoke.
None of them moved.
Because beyond the shattered launch bay...
A magnificent sight revealed itself before their eyes.