Kallus continued his one-on-one talk with every member of the fleet, covering a wide range of topics tied to the battle ahead. He outlined his expectations clearly, emphasizing the standards he demanded, and touched on matters that the Grand Admirals had no doubt already addressed themselves.
Finally, after two full minutes, he delivered his closing words before ending the transmission.
"After this battle—or even during it—it is inevitable that we will be seen, that we will be known by other powers. By then, we will lose the element of surprise, and many will approach us with far more caution.
"But I believe... it is time. Time for the galaxy to be aware of our presence. Time for them to witness our strength. Let those with ill intentions toward us feel their courage falter as they see our might firsthand.
"From this day forward, we will not simply exist in the shadows—we will blaze our name into the stars themselves. And those who dare to stand against us... will remember that they chose to challenge the Void Fleet."
"May the stars shine your way, Fleeters."
With that, Kallus placed his right hand over his chest and slammed it in a firm salute before cutting off the transmission.
Back on the Obliterator’s command bridge, the Red Empress—who had heard every word of Kallus’s fleet-wide address—remained at her station. She wouldn’t call it a great or deeply inspirational speech, but it had been a solid one. She could tell it had motivated some and bolstered the confidence of others—and that, in her eyes, was enough.
Still, she decided to have a little fun. "That was an absolutely perfect speech, Imperial Commander," she said with a cheeky tone.
Kallus, who knew full well the speech wasn’t perfect but not bad either, immediately caught the teasing in her voice. His mouth twitched slightly before he replied, "Shut up, Red Empress. I know it wasn’t that great, hmph." He pretended to be annoyed, then added, "And will you stop with that ’Imperial Commander’ thing? I don’t like hearing it from your mouth—it’s just too formal."
"No can do," the Red Empress replied, rejecting him outright. "You’ll just have to make do with it, Kallus. I have to be formal during formal occasions." She smirked faintly before adding, "Anyway, it wasn’t a bad speech. Now... what should we do next?"
Her eyes opened a little wider, a subtle signal—Now that your speech is over, shouldn’t you be giving the Grand Admirals the order to move out?
Kallus caught the hint and gave a small nod. "Open the channels with the Grand Admirals. Have them prepared for the jump. Then, instruct the defensive fleet’s space-jump ships to open the seven portals. Their coordinates should match the star systems assigned to each fleet’s mission. Got it?"
"Got it," the Red Empress said.
She immediately opened the channels to the seven Grand Admirals. "Grand Admirals, have your fleets prepared for the jump in three minutes. Be ready for what comes after the jump is complete and you’re on the other side."
No sooner had she finished speaking than seven different voices replied across the channels—Ezra, Elira, Ryn, Kael, Benjamin, Alexander, and the last Grand Admiral, Larkovis.
"Yes, Red Empress," they answered in unison. "We’re well prepared for the jump and finishing final checks. They’ll be done before the time you’ve given."
"Good. Maintain readiness. Stand by for my signal." She cut the line and switched to the defensive fleet’s channel.
"High Admiral Philips, bring your seven jump ships to readiness and open portals on my mark. Coordinates have been transmitted—verify them twice. I want zero errors. Execute quickly."
(High Admiral was a newly created rank, equal in authority to a Grand Admiral, but designated exclusively for the defensive fleet’s command staff.)
Philips’ reply came instantly, crisp and unwavering. "Understood, Red Empress. Initiating sequence now."
"I’ll have it done without any error," he continued.
"Good. I’ll leave that to you then, High Admiral Philips—just remember, no mistakes are allowed, especially at this stage."
With that, the Red Empress closed the channels between the Ragnarok and the other fleets for now. She then turned to Kallus and said, "It’s done. We’re just waiting for the space-jump ships to open the jump portals."
Then, while grumbling, she added, "Ahh, this is so tiring..." (Though she wasn’t tired at all—after all, she was a fragment of Creation and the current AI of Obliterator in name.) "This is the work of the Imperial Command; they should have been the ones handling it." She looked at Kallus with a hint of grievance. "When will it be up and running?"
Kallus ignored her little tantrum and replied, "Good. We just have to wait a few more minutes before everything is in place."
Meanwhile, outside in space, seven massive ring-like structures broke the fleets’ formation for a moment, accelerating to take position directly in front of each of the seven fleets. Each colossal ring measured about 25 kilometers in inner diameter. They were so vast that they seemed to engulf the entirety of the Void Fleet’s ships.
The rings were inscribed with countless runes, all radiating a bluish hue. These colossal constructs were among the most recent and significant magi-tech innovations of the Void Fleet, carrying immense strategic value. With a range of about 2,000 light-years, they utilized quantum tunneling as their method and mana as both medium and energy source to access the quantum tunnel and achieve transit.
Using these, any ship of the Void Fleet could reach any destination—and from there, return to the Sol System or anywhere else—almost instantaneously. The technology was somewhat similar to that employed on the Transformer Prime.
Taking their place at the front of all seven battle fleets, the space-jump devices began to operate. A deep bluish hue started forming at their centers, slowly expanding as the seconds passed. After about two and a half minutes, the bluish light had filled the entire inner area of each space-jump ring, forming what looked like a barrier made of thick, blue water.
Then, a transmission came from High Grand Admiral Philips. The Red Empress accepted the channel, and his voice came through:
"Red Empress, the space gates are ready for use, and they’re set to the coordinates for each fleet’s mission."
The Red Empress glanced at Kallus, who nodded in silent acknowledgment. She gave her order to Philips:
"I can see that. Good job."
She then cut the channel and immediately opened another, this time to the seven Grand Admirals.
"Each of you should prepare to start, but make sure your fleet’s ships are in quantum sync before proceeding. You may initiate the jump at your own discretion."
Quantum sync refers to a quantum-based field that protects a ship’s inner structure from being invaded by stray quantum particles—particles that could cause chaos or even the complete destruction of a vessel during quantum travel. It’s one of the unavoidable negative side effects of quantum tunneling travel, and something the Void Fleet seeks to minimize or, ideally, completely avoid.
Like everything else, quantum travel has two sides: the benefits and the drawbacks. The key lies in how well you overcome those drawbacks at the lowest possible cost.
During quantum sync, each ship generates a specialized charge that counteracts incoming quantum particles, preventing them from penetrating the ship’s hull or damaging any internal structures.
In Battle Fleet One, led by Grand Admiral Ezra Tanno aboard his flagship, the Eclipse Warth, Ezra turned to his left- and right-hand men—Admiral Josh and Admiral Tyon.
"Check if all preparations are complete and that every ship is in quantum sync. It’s time we make our move."
Both admirals nodded and teleported out of the command bridge. The other six fleets were no different, their commanders issuing similar orders.
Soon after, a faint bluish, almost fluid-like barrier shimmered into place around each fleet separately. One by one, their propulsion systems roared to life, and they began accelerating toward the space gates.
In a spearhead formation, the first to enter were the heavy-class destroyers—the Spearhead-class—leading the charge. They were followed by the heavy-class frigates, the Titan-class, and then the battlecruiser BC-211 Barracuda.
Next came the light frigates of the Striker-class, followed by the corvettes—both the Phantom-class and the Iron Fang-class. Behind them came the command ship, the Eclipse Warth, followed by two ships of the same class.
Bringing up the rear were the battle carriers and missile carriers, all moving in sequence toward the space gate.
And just like that, the first battle fleet slid into the shimmering space gate, vanishing into a tunnel of blue light. Seconds later, another gate, not far from the first, flared to life, and the second battle fleet entered in the same formation. They too vanished in the same way. One by one, the other fleets followed, each disappearing into their own gate until only the cool darkness of space remained. To anyone watching, it would seem as if the stars themselves were being swallowed.
Across the command bridge of each flagship, a holo-display marked every departure in its assigned sector.