Chapter 22: The First Strike

The dreadnought surged through hyperspace, its ancient engines humming like a slumbering beast awakened once more. The weight of what we were about to do pressed down on me, but there was no room for hesitation.

The Kha’reli had begun to spread their influence across the sector, and if we let them continue, they would become unstoppable.

We had one advantage.

They didn’t know we were coming.

Tor’Vek stood beside me on the bridge, arms crossed over his massive chest. “This will be the first time Narn warriors have fought under a human’s command,” he said. “Do not waste the opportunity, Captain Harper.”

I smirked. “You’re not giving me much room to fail, are you?”

His expression was unreadable. “Failure is a privilege we cannot afford.”

A Silent Graveyard

The ship dropped out of hyperspace on the outer edge of an uncharted system, far from any known trade routes. The Kha’reli outpost we planned to strike was on the second planet, a barren world with an atmosphere barely capable of sustaining life.

But something else drew my attention first.

“Sir,” Ny’Vara said, ears flicking forward. “Sensors are picking up something unusual. A large mass reading just beyond the asteroid field.”

I leaned forward. “Define ‘large’.”

G’Lan’s hands worked swiftly over the console. “It’s metallic, massive ... Captain, I think it’s a fleet.”

My heart pounded. “Show me.”

The holo-display flickered, revealing a massive debris field stretching through the void—a graveyard of ships. But as G’Lan focused the scan, my breath caught in my throat.

They weren’t just wrecks.

Dozens—maybe hundreds—of Narn warships lay in the field, many damaged but intact. An entire lost fleet, hidden for centuries.

Tor’Vek inhaled sharply. His hands clenched at his sides. “This ... this was the fleet of High Commander Va’Roth.” He turned to me, his expression unreadable. “It was lost over a thousand years ago. No one knew what happened to it.”

“Until now,” I said.

The implications were staggering. If these ships could be salvaged, we weren’t just a single dreadnought anymore.

We had a fleet.

Awakening the Giants

We took a shuttle into the graveyard, weaving through the drifting behemoths. The ships were massive, some nearly as large as my own dreadnought. They bore the scars of a battle long past—scorch marks, hull breaches, entire sections torn away.

But as we moved deeper, we found something incredible.

Some ships were still functional.

“These vessels are running on emergency power,” G’Lan said in awe. “Minimal systems active, but life support is holding. If we can reactivate them...”