As the Rising closes with the Sword Armada, Darrow notes Roque’s disciplined strategy: twenty autonomous divisions designed for speed and boarding. To exploit Roque’s expectations, Darrow overreaches into apparent madness, assigning Orion to open the battle while he commits the Pax to a suicidal thrust toward the enemy’s heart.

Missiles, countermeasures, and long-range rails turn the void into lethal debris. Mustang drives toward the enemy core as Romulus links with Orion, aiming for engines. Fighters swarm between the fleets as both sides prepare for inevitable boarding actions, with Praetors poised either to seize ships or hold marines in reserve.

Darrow orders a ramming-speed approach on the Colossus and bursts through a chaff corridor as Orion’s dreadnoughts shield his advance. The Pax is punished by concentrated broadsides. Antonia’s Pandora eviscerates Darrow’s torchShips and even pods, forcing Darrow to redirect two dying ships to ram her, one going nuclear harmlessly past. The Pax suffers cascading breaches and engine failures.

Attempting to survive under the guns of Roque’s flagship, Darrow orders fire to carve a protective shadow and launches ripWings, but the ship continues to die around him; helmsman Arnus seizes as the engines shred, and more allied ships vanish. Victra watches Antonia’s butchery in grim silence, tallying debts.

Invited to board, Darrow launches hundreds of leechCraft and decoy suits, but Roque anticipates and detonates low-yield nukes, erasing the assault in transit. With the Pax crippled and sensors failing, Roque hails to demand surrender. Darrow refuses. Roque orders Legate Drusus to launch leechCraft and commands the Cloud Knight to bring him the Reaper, dead or alive but recognizable.