Chapter 546: Compensation

Rin turned his gaze away from the retreating Jupiter cruisers and looked at Xavier. "She just destroyed Kylus's ship completely."

"The ship was entirely empty when she blasted it, so no one died," Xavier responded while keeping his eyes locked on the golden platform. "That is absolutely not my matter to get into."

It was definitely Kylus's matter, and he made sure to interfere immediately.

A cheap rental shuttle suddenly shot out of the orbital station's commercial docks and burned its thrusters straight toward the colossal dragon dreadnought.

Kylus piloted the rented craft directly through the floating debris of his ruined dreadnought, his face twisting in absolute agony as a scorched piece of his highly praised captain's chair bounced right off his windshield.

"My… chair…"

He completely ignored the danger and brought the small shuttle to a halt right in front of the glowing light platform where the Empress and her knight still stood.

He slammed his fist onto the comms panel and broadcasted his furious voice across the open frequency for everyone in the sector to hear.

"You destroyed my ship!" Kylus yelled through the external speakers. "Give me one good reason why you blasted my property to pieces, or I swear I will take my revenge on you right now!"

The obsidian knight immediately gripped the hilt of her broadsword to execute the insolent man, but the Empress Xalvoria raised a single hand to stop her vanguard from striking.

Xalvoria looked at the cheap rental shuttle with utter disdain as she addressed the screaming former noble.

"In the entirety of this pathetic dirt pile, your dreadnought was the only vessel equipped with enough firepower to cause actual harm and danger to my ship," Xalvoria stated calmly. "That is exactly why it needed to be destroyed before I initiated my descent."

Kylus slammed his hands against his dashboard while his face turned completely red with fury. "I poured my entire life savings into that dreadnought! I used all my earnings and dedicated my whole life to upgrading every single component of that ship! I need that vessel back right now, otherwise I am going to wage a galactic war against you!"

The obsidian knight drew her broadsword halfway out of its scabbard to silence him permanently, but Xalvoria raised her hand to stop her knight once again.

"According to the ancient texts of the Galactic Law, if a vessel is damaged by another individual outside of an active war or sanctioned battle, the offender must compensate the owner for the total damage," Xalvoria recited while looking down at Kylus with pure disgust.

"However, that mandate only applies if the vessel was occupied at the time of the strike. Since your dreadnought was entirely empty when I fired upon it, I do not have to bother with compensating you according to the law."

She let out an annoyed sigh and crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at the rental shuttle.

"I absolutely despise men, and I especially despise whining men who throw tantrums in my presence," Xalvoria added with a sneer. "I will pay you the full amount for your ruined toy just so you will shut your mouth and leave my sight."

Empress Xalvoria raised a single hand and flicked her fingers toward the cheap rental shuttle. A digitized galactic credit chit materialized from a flash of light and shot directly through the vacuum of space, phasing entirely through the shuttle's completely useless shields to clatter onto Kylus's dashboard.

"There is enough wealth on that drive to purchase a small moon," Xalvoria said with a voice dripping in absolute disdain. "Now take your compensation and get out of my sight before I decide to vaporize you alongside your debris."

Kylus looked down at the glowing chit resting on his console. He had just been handed an astronomical fortune, yet his face remained completely hollow. The money could never replace the sentimental value, the decades of custom upgrades, and the sheer pride he had poured into his ruined dreadnought.

He looked like a completely broken man as he slumped back into the pilot seat and engaged the thrusters to retreat toward the station.

Xalvoria turned her back to the destroyed wreckage and prepared to command the platform back into the dragon dreadnought's open jaws. She suddenly stopped and tilted her head. Her crimson eyes snapped directly toward Xavier's transport shuttle idling near the debris field.

The golden platform changed its trajectory immediately and glided right up to the reinforced viewport of the small craft. Xalvoria stood mere inches from the thick glass, her terrifying gaze locking directly onto Xavier.

He did not flinch or look away, crossing his arms and holding eye contact with the galactic ruler as a heavy silence fell over the cabin. Rin and Klatos held their breath, keeping their hands entirely away from their weapons to avoid provoking the obsidian knight standing right behind the Empress.

A faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched Xalvoria's lips as she stared at Xavier. She did not say a single word. She simply turned around and signaled her knight, and the golden platform immediately retracted into the colossal metal jaws of the dreadnought as the bay doors locked shut behind them.

"See that? I didn't even do anything and she fell for me. That's how handsome I am." Xavier chuckled. "Maybe I should go after her and ask for her number or something."

"I don't think she was looking at you," Rin remarked. "Maybe she was looking at the black covenant jacket you are wearing. It's supposed to be very rare and dangerous, right?"

"Let's go," Xavier commanded while turning his back to the viewport. "Take us to the upper ring where our ship is. We will leave before anything else happens."

Rin pushed the throttle forward and guided the transport shuttle into the station's primary hangar, landing precisely in the designated private bay.

Kylus arrived a few minutes later in his rental craft, dragging his feet down the ramp while clutching the digitized credit chit in his hand like a dead weight.