LOWKEY INTERSTELLER CAPTAIN

Cheno Bo stood at the helm of the training frigate, his breathing steady as the wreckage of enemy ships drifted in the void. The Void Reaper Cannons had obliterated the mercenary fleet in a single, devastating strike—a weapon no Academy vessel should have possessed.

The bridge was silent except for the crackle of damaged systems. The other cadets still hadn’t recovered from what they’d just witnessed.

“Cheno…” Rylas whispered. “What did you just do?”

I took my first step toward power.

But he didn’t say that. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the coordinates flashing on his display—the location of the Void Sovereign Fragment.

“Set course,” he commanded. “We’re not done yet.”

Unveiling the Lost Relic

The ship glided through the debris field, sensors scanning for the fragment’s signature. The Academy’s mission parameters had classified this as a simple retrieval operation. They had no idea what was truly hidden here.

[Void Sovereign Fragment Identified.]

A massive, blackened structure emerged from the shadows of a dead asteroid. Unlike any known battleship design, it bore markings far older than human spacefaring history. Ancient script lined its jagged hull, partially melted from the supernova that had once consumed the Sovereign’s fleet.

Cheno’s breath caught. This wasn’t just debris. This was a part of something legendary.

“Captain, the scans are… strange,” Rylas reported, eyes flicking over his console. “The material isn’t in any known database. It’s resisting full analysis.”

Because it wasn’t from this era.

[Initiating Sovereign Database Scan…]

Cheno’s vision flickered as system data flooded his mind. Schematics, long-forgotten blueprints, power readings from an age when the Sovereign still ruled the void.

[Void Sovereign Designation: Core Reactor Segment.] ] [Status: Damaged, Requires Restoration.]

A core reactor segment. One of the essential pieces of the Sovereign’s power source.

If he could recover and repair it, he could begin rebuilding the Sovereign itself.

But he wasn’t the only one watching.

Xian Ren’s Retaliation

Aboard the observation ship, Xian Ren’s fury burned hotter than a star.

Cheno Bo had survived.

Not only that—he had obliterated the mercenaries, exposing power beyond anything Xian Ren could explain.

His father’s words echoed in his mind. Crush the remnants of the fallen. Let no embers remain.

His fingers curled into a fist. Fine. If a simple ambush wasn’t enough, then he would escalate.

He activated his private communicator. “Deploy the Phantom Battalion. I want that fragment destroyed.”

The response was immediate. “Understood. Target will be eliminated.”

A Test of Will

Cheno’s ship had barely begun the retrieval sequence when the new threat arrived.

[Warning: Multiple Hostiles Approaching.]

A fleet of black warships materialized from subspace, their sleek hulls bearing no insignias. Phantom-class vessels—Xian Ren’s personal strike force.

Cheno’s grip tightened.

He wasn’t leaving without the fragment.

[System Directive: Override Enabled.]

A new window flickered before his eyes, revealing the full scope of his power. The system granted him absolute control over any battleship within its influence.

[Authorization Granted: Override Phantom-Class Battle Systems.]

The enemy ships hesitated mid-flight, their targeting systems flickering. Cheno smirked as he felt their systems submit to his control, weapons deactivating one by one. They were nothing more than puppets now.

Rylas gasped as the hostile fleet came to a dead halt. “What… What’s happening?”

Cheno’s eyes gleamed with newfound authority. “They’re mine now.”

Xian Ren’s forces, once his hunters, were now under his dominion.

“Battle stations!” he ordered. “Hold formation. We fight!”

This wasn’t just survival anymore. This was war.