Chapter 10: Apex
Space stretched in every direction. No light. No sound. Just the endless dark.
A massive warship moved through it, slow and steady. Its engines gave off a deep hum that seemed to sink into the ship's bones. The body of the ship was black, edges sharp like blades. It looked less like a machine and more like something alive—something hunting.
Faint purple light pulsed through glowing lines that ran across its surface. Smaller ships flew beside it, keeping pace. The purple veins lit them too, casting shadows that danced across metal frames.
Inside, the halls ran long and cold. Steel walls lined with glowing symbols. Thin lines of purple neon lit the paths ahead, leaving shadows that shifted with every step. The air smelled clean, too clean. Like nothing had ever breathed here.
Toward the front, the hall opened into a wide chamber.
The bridge.
One wall was pure glass, stretching from the floor all the way up. Beyond it, only space. Endless and still.
A man stood at the center.
His shoulders squared, boots planted firm. He didn't need to move to command attention. The way he stood said enough. His suit, once fine, now had light creases at the elbows and knees—but it still carried a kind of weight, like it belonged to someone who had seen everything and survived it.
Smoke curled in slow spirals from a lit cigarette between his fingers.
Lines marked his face, carved deep with time. A well-trimmed beard framed his jaw. Strands of gray ran through black, just enough to show the years. Dark glasses hid his eyes, catching the purple glow and sending it back empty.