Six hours later, the asteroid belt filled the viewport.
Gray rocks tumbled through darkness. Some as small as Kay's fist. Others as large as the slums themselves. The Mule drifted between them, engines humming low.
Max gripped the controls. "This is where things get interesting."
"You mean deadly," Ella said.
"Same thing."
Kay watched the compass in his hand. The crystal shard inside glowed brighter with every kilometer. "We're close."
"How close?"
"Maybe twenty minutes."
Max didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the scanner. A red dot appeared. Then another. Then a third.
"Contact," he said quietly. "Three bogies. Fast movers."
Ella leaned over. "Drone signatures. Pirate models. Heavily modified."
"Armed?"
"Laser cannons. Light, but enough to punch holes in our hull."
Kay's jaw tightened. "Can we outrun them?"
Max shook his head. "They're faster. Meaner. And they're coming straight for us."
The drones appeared through the asteroid haze. Black teardrops with gun mounts and red sensor eyes. They spread out, flanking left, right, and center.
"Target lock," Ella said. "They're painting us."
"Evasive maneuvers," Max snapped.
He yanked the controls. The Mule dropped hard. A laser beam sliced through the space where they'd been, burning a bright afterimage into Kay's vision.
"One miss," Max said. "Three more coming."
"Keep moving," Kay said. "I'll try something."
He closed his eyes.
His spatial talent was weak at 0.22. But he didn't need power. He needed precision.
He reached out toward the lead drone.
Space around it was stable—too stable. Kay twisted. Just a fraction. Just enough to tilt its sensor array by half a degree.
The drone's laser fire went wide.
"Good!" Ella shouted. "Again!"
Kay twisted again. This time, he targeted the drone's navigation. He bent the space in front of its left wing.
The drone veered.
Straight into a floating rock.
*Crunch.* Metal and sparks exploded across the viewport. One drone down.
"Two left!" Max said. "They're adapting. Splitting formation."
The remaining drones separated. One dove below the Mule. The other climbed high, coming in from above.
"Crossfire," Ella said. "They've done this before."
Kay opened his eyes. Sweat dripped down his face. His nose was bleeding again.
"I can't get both," he said.
"Then don't," Max said. "Ella, how's that EMP coming?"
"Needs more charge. Thirty seconds."
"We don't have thirty seconds."
The drone from below fired. A laser burst clipped the Mule's port engine. The ship shuddered. Alarms blared.
"Engine damage!" Ella reported. "We're losing power!"
"Patch it!" Max swerved hard, dodging another burst.
Kay looked at the scanner. The two drones were coordinating. One pinned them in place. The other lined up for a killing shot.
He had one move left.
"Max, fly us straight at the upper drone."
"Are you insane?"
"Trust me."
Max cursed but obeyed. The Mule surged upward, straight into the drone's firing arc.
The drone fired.
Kay twisted.
He didn't try to bend the laser. He couldn't. Instead, he bent the space *around* the laser—just enough to shift its angle by a hair.
The beam missed the cockpit by inches. It hit the second drone instead.
The lower drone exploded.
"One left!" Max yelled.
"EMP ready!" Ella held up a clunky device—wires, capacitors, a trigger. "But I need to get close. Ten meters."
"That's suicide!"
"It's the only way!"
Max looked at Kay. Kay nodded.
Max dove.
The remaining drone saw them coming. It fired. Kay twisted again—weaker this time, his energy nearly spent. The laser scorched the hull but didn't penetrate.
Ten meters.
Ella leaned out the side hatch, wind screaming past her face. She threw the EMP.
The device flew through space, spinning end over end. It struck the drone's nose and detonated.
Blue lightning crawled across the drone's frame. Its red eyes flickered. Died.
The drone tumbled away, dead weight.
Ella collapsed back into her seat, breathing hard. "That was... too close."
Max let out a long breath. "You're crazy. All of you."
Kay wiped blood from his nose. "Check the wreckage."
Ella pulled up the scanner. "Debris field behind us. But..." Her voice changed. "I'm picking up markings on the wreckage."
"What kind?"
She zoomed in. Kay's stomach dropped.
The Karl family crest. Stamped on every drone fragment.
"Karl's family owns pirates now?" Max said.
"They own everything else," Kay said quietly. "Why not pirates?"
Ella looked at him. "This means they know we're here. The drones weren't random. They were waiting."
"Which means the relic is close," Kay said. "And Karl's family wants it for themselves."
Max punched the throttle. "Then let's get there first."
The Mule limped deeper into the asteroid belt, engines smoking, hull scorched.
Behind them, the drone fragments drifted in the dark.
And somewhere ahead, the relic waited.
---
**(End of Chapter 5)**