The first salvo lit Austin’s tools with violet fire. His Kerr core caught the beams, and the isolated banks stored their power. The public grid never felt the hit.
On the Hammer of the Empyrean, the gunnery crews waited for the outer feeder to fail. Instead, its status lights stayed green.
General Sen Rho opened the channel all officers could hear.
“Direct hit, no civilian outage. The target has absorbed the salvo. Stand down and reassess.”
Wu Ji cut him off. “Fire the torpedoes.”
Five thousand launch doors opened across the armada.
Sen stepped closer to the command dais. “Those warheads will cross three occupied stations if he deflects them. Our own escorts are inside the blast pattern.”
“He cannot deflect them all.”
