The True Leader

 

「No!」

Abel screamed. In an instant, countless Familias were wiped out, and Eirene, forced into atmospheric re-entry over Planet Asia, lost balance as her hull overheated.

「Starboard aft section lost. Purging debris from the affected block. We are falling toward Planet Asia. Brace for re-entry shock.」

Eirene’s inorganic voice echoed through the ship. Abel trembled at the word lost.

「If we try to stabilize for orbital descent, we’ll be targeted again! Head for the northern hemisphere! Forget balance—shallow the angle and re-enter!」

Acting on instinct, Abel forced Eirene into re-entry, steering her toward the northern hemisphere’s seas. He worked the panels, recalculating the trajectory with the vanished starboard mass, abandoning deceleration entirely.

Better to strike water than to crash onto land and cause catastrophic casualties. An impact from a mass over 800 meters in length could easily be mistaken for a celestial strike. If so, Okeanos himself might deem Eirene a threat and annihilate her.

Abandoning