Chapter Two: Astra-X Awakens

Wings broke. Leon's consciousness burned as if inside a furnace. He bit through his lip. "Not finished!" Astra-X lifted its right fist inside the beam. Before the fist, the cannon energy bent against the shield, compressed, and reversed, becoming a blinding blue-white core. "Unknown protocol initiated," Astra-X said, and for the first time its ancient voice carried battle hunger. "Star Return." Leon roared, "Give it back!" The light core surged upward. The Void scout ship was pierced by its own cannon fire. Its three-kilometer hull broke in half. The explosion bloomed above the clouds like a second sun over Helios-9. Astra-X lost power and began to fall.