The shuttle struggled through the twisted space, its hull groaning under the strain. Ellara's eyes remained locked on the *Steel Dove*, now ensnared in a web of blue energy. The dimensional rifts writhed like living things — expanding, contracting — each fluctuation forcing the trapped warship's armor to creak under unbearable stress. "*Nameless*, report status on the dimensional anchor," Ellara said, her grip tightening on the armrest until her knuckles turned white. Kirah scanned his data pad rapidly. "Seventy-eight percent complete, but energy consumption is exceeding projections. The Saint Core AI warns that continuing this will temporarily disable our shield systems." Ellara's gaze flicked to the scanner — the life signs aboard the *Steel Dove* were fading. "Tell *Nameless* to continue fabrication. We cannot lose them." Suddenly, the shuttle jolted violently. An alarm shattered the tense silence inside the cabin. "Port engine damaged!" the pilot shouted. "These rifts are interfering with our systems!" Ellara acted instantly. "Switch to manual control. Kirah, prepare to deploy the stabilization beacon — it'll guide the anchor's placement." Kirah worked the controls, sweat beading on his forehead. "Beacon ready, Captain… but…" He hesitated. "According to Holy Empire data, the dimensional anchor generates intense spatial tremors. We need to stay at least 800 kilometers away." Ellara stared at the *Steel Dove*, so close yet so unreachable. Through the comms, faint distress calls from the crew crackled in and out. She took a deep breath. "Calculate minimum safe distance." "Theoretical minimum is two hundred kilometers — but the risk is extremely high—" "That's the plan." Ellara cut him off gently, her voice soft but firm. "Initiate auto-pilot sequence. All personnel, evacuate to escape pods." Kirah shot to his feet. "What about you?" Ellara had already unbuckled, heading toward the rear compartment. "I'll manually control the beacon launcher. Only that way can we ensure precise targeting." "That's too dangerous! Let me go—" "This is an order, Kirah." Ellara turned back and smiled — the same smile she gave when she first welcomed him aboard, a rejected prodigy no other fleet would take. "*Nameless* needs you to operate the anchor." Three minutes later, Ellara stood alone in the shuttle's rear bay. The manual console blinked before her. Through the narrow observation window, she watched the escape pods streak away to safety — one of them waving goodbye from a small viewport was Kirah, shouting something into his comm. "Comm's down, Kirah," she whispered, her fingers dancing over the controls. "But we understand each other just fine." Back on the bridge of *The Nameless*, Kirah stared at the screen. The moment the message **[Dimensional Anchor: Complete]** flashed, he practically slammed the activation key. "Launch!" A brilliant silver beam lanced out from *Nameless*, striking the beacon Ellara had placed. For a heartbeat, everything froze — all the dimensional rifts ceased their movement. Then— **Boom!** An explosion without sound tore through the void. The blue energy netting the *Steel Dove* ripped apart. The warship shuddered violently as it broke free, still crackling with residual lightning-like energy patterns across its hull. "It worked!" Cheers erupted across the bridge, but Kirah's eyes stayed fixed on the disintegrating shuttle. Then the scanner pinged — a pod ejected from the wreckage. A familiar voice came through the channel: "*Nameless*, looks like your calculations were spot-on." Kirah exhaled deeply, closing his eyes for a moment before pushing his glasses up to hide the redness beneath. "You always play by your own rules, Captain." When Ellara was safely retrieved aboard *Nameless*, the *Steel Dove*'s captain personally came to thank her. Ellara simply shook her head. "It was the entire fleet's effort." She glanced at Kirah. "Especially this officer who insisted on calculating every safety margin." Kirah cleared his throat, bringing up a hologram. "Captain, the anchor data is invaluable. I've already begun preliminary analysis — I think we can modify our warp drives to avoid situations like this." Ellara gazed out the viewport at the slowly stabilizing Elam System. "No… we'll come back here. There are too many secrets left behind by the Holy Empire…" Her eyes drifted toward the distant ruins of the high-dimensional fabrication unit. "…and technologies that could reshape the galaxy." The *Steel Dove*'s captain frowned. "But these technologies are dangerous. If they fall into the wrong hands…" "Exactly why we must protect them." Ellara smiled, clapping a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "After all, the Aegleum Fleet excels at turning danger into hope." Every officer in the room straightened instinctively. Kirah pushed his glasses up, quietly adjusting *Nameless*'s course — not toward a safe sector, but deeper into the ruins. More than anyone, he knew that once his captain found a secret, she never walked away. The engines of *The Nameless* roared to life again. The exposed support structures glowed with blue light, as if answering an ancient call from within the system.
