{The Pirate Base}
With Sylas and Sera's help, it didn't take long for the pirates to be wiped out and their corpse dumped in space.
Without wasting time, they beamed the space station aboard and attached it to the Colony Ship—now named Genesis Ark—before moving toward the pirate base.
Thankfully, the cloaking device was strong enough to cover them, though it grew slightly weaker under the strain.
Sera was about to bombard the base when Sylas suddenly paused and ordered Sera to halt the attack.
"Master?" Sera called out in a inquiring tone.
"If you led warriors who handled dirty work for a noble, what would you do?"
"Oh, you think the leader has some valuable information?"
"Yes, and I'm certain of it."
Sera raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure?"
"It's very obvious that the Baron doesn't have full control over the pirates," Sylas replied, staring down at the base. "For one, they didn't fully obey his order of not damaging the station."
"Although they didn't damage it extensively, they weren't trying to avoid damaging it either."
Sera pulled up the space station's status and quickly realized that, while none of the critical systems were damaged, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the structure.
"I see what you mean, but how does that help us?" Sera asked.
"Not in the short term, but in the long run, definitely."
*******
Sylas gripped his Aether sword as his eyes quickly scanned the soldiers stationed at his landing site.
Twenty enemies—not a large force—and surprisingly, none of them seemed to be paying proper attention to their surroundings. Some were smoking, others laughing over a game of dice, their weapons resting idly at their sides.
This played perfectly into Sylas' hands and was disastrous for them.
With a burst of speed, he rushed toward the closest pair of distracted guards.
Before they could react, he appeared behind one of them and drove his sword through his back, killing him instantly.
The second pirate barely had time to turn before Sylas slit his throat in one smooth motion. He fell to the ground without a sound.
Sylas glanced at the remaining enemies. None had noticed yet. Pathetic.
Before moving to his next target, he noted that all the pirates were armed with outdated Aether weapons and armor—older models, weaker than anything used in the current era.
Advancing toward another group, he found them just as unaware.
By the time Sylas had killed his sixth enemy, a trio of patrolling pirates spotted him and instantly opened fire.
Unlike before, he didn't take any chances. He activated his suit's energy shield, deflecting several shots before realizing the shield slightly hindered his movement. Without hesitation, he deactivated it and charged forward, dodging bullets as if it were mere child's play.
Within moments, the three attackers lay dead, but the gunfire had drawn the attention of more pirates.
Several more rushed toward him, but before they could engage, Battle Droids dropped down beside Sylas, opening fire with deadly precision. The entrance to the pirate base was soon littered with bodies.
Seeing that his droids could handle the bulk of the enemies, Sylas sprinted forward, dodging incoming laser fire and eliminating only those directly in his way.
The pirates, in response, diverted all available forces to deal with the droids, ignoring Sylas entirely—choosing to deal with what they believed to be the easier targets.
But they were gravely mistaken.
The Battle Droids Sylas had deployed were manufactured by one of the best imperial droid manufacturers, commissioned by the Emperor for an important mission. Their design far outclassed anything the pirates had seen before.
Sylas would be surprised if the pirates managed to destroy even a few of them, especially since most of the base's defense systems weren't even functioning.
As he neared the base's entrance, several more pirates poured out, weapons raised.
Sylas dashed toward the nearest one and, with a single slash of his Aether sword, sent the man's head flying. Blood splattered through the air.
Not a second later, another soldier raised his rifle in defense—a foolish move.
A standard rifle against an Aether sword? The outcome was inevitable.
Sylas swung his sword in a single, fluid arc. The rifle and the man holding it were reduced to nothing more than severed limbs and bloodied scraps.
The remaining pirates hesitated. Some, realizing their mistake, changed tactics, drawing knives and attempting to engage Sylas in close-quarters combat.
Three of them attacked in unison, their standard-issue military knives aimed at his vitals. Their coordination was better than he expected, but it didn't matter.
He stepped back, then delivered a brutal kick to the stomach of the pirate on his left, sending the man crashing into a pile of metal scraps. Whether he survived or not was irrelevant to Sylas.
Another pirate attempted to block his Aether sword with his knife—a pointless effort.
The moment Aetherius made contact, the knife melted into molten iron, along with the hand holding it. The pirate screamed in agony, but his suffering was short-lived. Sylas slashed across his chest, killing him instantly.
Turning to face the last of the three, Sylas flipped his weapon into a reverse grip and stabbed the man through the stomach. The pirate coughed up blood before crumpling to the ground.
At this point, some of the remaining pirates had begun fleeing—clearly, they weren't as foolish as the rest of their gang.
Only two soldiers remained. The moment they saw Sylas, they fired their rifles in desperation.
But it was useless.
The laser rounds bounced harmlessly off Sylas' sword as he deflected them with ease.
Closing the distance in an instant, he cut them down in two swift slashes, their bodies falling lifelessly to the ground.
With the battlefield now clear, Sylas turned his attention toward the pirate headquarters.