"My lord."
The herald's voice broke the deathly silence of the Bridge, dry and strained, trembling despite his desperate efforts to suppress it.
He stood before the control console, his fingers blanching slightly around the edge of his dataslate, yet he dared not turn to look at the figure on the throne.
"The boarding force... confirmed... completely wiped out. Our signal connection with the seventh passage sector aboard the Conqueror was severed entirely seven minutes and forty-seven seconds ago. The last biological signals and combat data transmitted showed an abnormally intense energy burst and the instantaneous disappearance of vital signs on a massive scale."
He paused, swallowing with difficulty before forcing out the final words. "No... no survivors."
Saladin did not answer immediately.
He remained before the enormous curved Observation Window, his back to the entire Bridge, gazing into the black void studded with the light of destruction, and at the distant Conqueror, battered and scarred but still spitting fire.
One hand rested casually on the cold windowsill, his fingers tapping lightly against the metal at intervals, producing a faint, steady clicking.
The air on the Bridge seemed to freeze.
Officers, operators, Tech-Priests... everyone kept their heads down, concentrating on the screens or instruments before them, not daring to make a single unnecessary sound.
Only the low hum of machinery and the faint tremors of distant gunfire served as reminders that they were still at the heart of the battlefield.
A few seconds of silence stretched into an eternity.
"What did they achieve?"
Saladin finally spoke, his voice level, betraying not even a ripple of emotion.
He did not turn, still gazing out the window as though asking about losses on a routine reconnaissance mission.
The herald gave an almost imperceptible shudder.
"Nothing. We received no reports of effective results.