The Benatar trailed exhaust from its still-damaged engines, darting like a frightened bird along the outskirts of the raging thunderstorm ruins, desperate to escape that terrifying region of dead space.
The atmosphere on the bridge was grim. Though they had escaped the encirclement inside the wreckage, everyone knew the crisis was far from over.
"The jump drive's still cooling down! Force it to start and we'll burn it out!" Rocket stared at the glaring red warnings on the console, his claws drumming impatiently against the panel. "The conventional engines are only running at forty percent, tops! We're sitting ducks with a limp!"
"Shields are down, the weapons don't have enough power, and the cloaking device burned out when we crossed the thunderstorm..." Gamora rapidly took stock, her expression darkening. "We're practically defenseless."
Star-Lord wrestled with the controls, weaving through chaotic energy currents and shattered stellar debris, trying to use the treacherous surroundings to cover their tracks. "At least we lost them, right? That explosion should've given them plenty to deal with!"
Lin Ye stood quietly before the viewport, his eyes half-closed. He pushed [Dimensional Energy Perception] and [Thunder Law Insight] to their limits, scanning the space behind and around them like the most precise radar. Drawing on the Heart of Ten Thousand Jun for that explosive burst had unleashed tremendous power, but it had also placed a considerable strain on him. He needed time to recover.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, lightning flashing in his pupils!
"Something's wrong! We haven't lost them! Something's following us! It's moving incredibly fast!"
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the ship's emergency alarm began to shriek!
"Warning! Ultrafast spatial jump disturbances detected! Multiple targets! Approaching rapidly! Estimated time until visual contact: thirty seconds!" Remy's voice was more urgent than ever.
"What?! Already?!" Star-Lord