Eighteen

Amid intermittent, punishing shocks, life aboard the Carryx ship frays. Rickar observes stressed Budon flooding the commons with short-lived nymphs and finds distraction in Vaudai’s tactical display of the system-wide battle. Vaudai predicts the enemy’s defeat and models likely sacrifices and retreats, including the planned self-destruction of a disabled command ship.

Elsewhere, Campar visits Ghati, who is debilitated by despair and sensory deprivation, longing for soil, sky, and the cohesion of a hive. Campar resolves to help with food and water, clinging to small routines as lifelines against a creeping certainty of loss.

In the commons, after securing rations, Campar approaches Rickar about telling Ghati of Dafyd/Alkhor’s supposed plan to resist the Carryx. Rickar bluntly rejects the idea, calling Alkhor a powerless favorite and warning Campar against giving Ghati false hope. Their fraught exchange is interrupted by Vaudai flagging key shifts in the battle.

They watch as many enemy ships disengage or are destroyed. Vaudai explains that lingering field and kinetic attacks still threaten them for a short time, but the worst should soon pass—offering Campar a sliver of relief to carry back to Ghati.

Finally, attention centers on the disabled enemy command ship that, by doctrine, should self-destruct to prevent capture. Time passes without the expected detonation. Vaudai acknowledges the anomaly, leaving Rickar and Campar with a new uncertainty just as the fighting’s overspill ebbs.