After taking in all the personnel, records, and supplies from the observation station—and even capturing a light cruiser—Ari's forces had grown considerably. She made a snap decision to abandon the station and hurried away aboard her escort ship, with the newly captured cruiser in tow.
Worried about the enemy behind them, she didn't retrace their route. Instead, she headed farther into the system.
For one thing, that would hopefully throw the enemy off, confuse them, and buy them some time. For another, it would let them take a look at the place where Canopy Star had once been, and its old orbit.
After all, this journey was practically a pilgrimage for Ari. Now that they had reached the Taiwei System, she would surely feel some regret and disappointment if she couldn't see the place with her own eyes.
But the result was obvious: there was nothing to see!
When their two-ship formation reached Canopy Star's former orbit, they found nothing at all!
Not only had the enormous planet vanished, but even the wreckage of the warships and all the traces of the great battle fought there years ago were gone. The twisted bodies left in the vacuum, metal fragments, shell and missile debris, discarded armor, and wrecks of all kinds of aircraft had all been flung off to who knew where.
In the end, having found no abnormalities or clues, she had no choice but to leave in disappointment. She entered the Taiwei System's asteroid belt from another point, intending to cross it and leave the system before entering the Warp at the nearest Mandeville Point.
If they could avoid running into their pursuers before then, they'd be completely safe. After that, they'd only need to figure out where to go and how to survive and grow stronger amid the