An inconspicuous spaceship sped along a spatial path. State-of-the-art teleportation technology allowed it to reach unimaginable speeds. In no time at all it left behind hundreds of millions of lightyears. Yet this was only a drop in the bucket in the face of the vast universe.

An indescribably gorgeous play of lights could be observed from the spaceship’s windows. Those naturally weren’t made out of conventional glass. Only the most precious materials were used in engineering this high-glass vehicle.

Glass made out of Refderium, which had been tempered thousands of times under unimaginable heat. A hull cut out of a single block of Endriaum, which is known for its flexibility despite its firmness.

Even the armor covering the ship’s most important parts is made out of black dragon scales. It is questionable if the owner doesn’t fear the dragon race or if she hopes the dragons would never know.

However, judging from said owner’s nonchalant expression as she helmed the ship it didn’t seem like anything could cause her distress.

Despite her young face, the woman’s eyes radiated the vicissitudes of life. She stood unmoving in the ship’s bridge. It was unclear if she observed the beautifull lights running by her ship or if her eyes stared deeper into the universe.

Her stoic face perfectly worked together with her impressive armor to give her the appearance of a general who was ready to lead millions of troops.

Although the heavy, brown and red armor, might weigh millions of tons, it appeared to hover on it’s wearer’s surprisingly broad shoulders lightly like a coat made from feathers.

The heroic woman’s appearance reflected on the smooth metallic floor. Her fiery red hair resembled flames which wildly burned around her round face. Narrow, slanted eyes sat on top of a slightly longer, sharp nose. Her fiery red mouth radiated danger for all who might have crooked thoughts.

As her eyes tried to penetrate space, the mighty woman unconsciously put her hand towards her left chest.

There, a masterfully engraved insignia could be seen. It depicted a hammer which gave of the feeling of wanting to shatter the universe. Above it a name was placed with great care: Noctbenua.

I won’t disappoint you, master!

It had been two weeks since Noctbenua left planet Hex. Just as planned she travelled on the fastest way towards their families’ base. Although she also had to fullfill the inquisitor’s request, she would simply let a subordinate of hers do this.

The determined woman didn’t have time for distractions. She had to fight a war.

The war which had been at a stalemate for a long time would be fueled by her once more.

While Noctbenua stayed on planet Hex her subordinates naturally weren’t idle. They operated one of the best information networks throughout the universe. Almost nothing could be hidden from the Rortarr family.

Now it would be Noctbenua’s job to make us of this information to spread chaos throughout the universe. Would she be guilty knowing the suffering she would cause?

Of course not. Ever since Noctbenua had seen the light of the world, fighting was all she ever knew. Fighting amongst her race, amongst the alliance, amongst the universe.

War was the natural course of the universe while peace was fleeting as a dream.

Even right now as the large-scale war had reached a stalemate, conflicts existed everywhere. The human kingdoms and empires were competing with each other.

The Malohcras known for their unity had internal struggles. And even the Alliance of Ancient Races, who were backed into a corner couldn’t bury their disagreements.

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This was also Noctbenua’s greatest reliance. Only by sowing discord could the war be big enough to attract everyone’s attention. If she tried to intimidate everyone with her own army, they would quickly be ganged up on and destroyed.

Some races like the pretentious dwarfs might denounce her tactics as dishonorable. But Noctbenua wouldn’t care. If the whole universe ousted you, why would you hesitate to plunge it into chaos?

Thus, while Noctbenua appeared to be motionless, her brain was working at unimaginable speeds. Mountains of information were categorized in a moment. Everything was perfectly saved in her mind.

Thousands of strategies were created and destroyed every minute. Only if she was a hundred percent satisfied with one was it approved and sent to the family.

The millions of years old military strategist, whose name bred fear amongst her enemies, didn’t need to move a muscle to do all this. Her body contained everything that was necessary to fulfill her duty.

While Noctbenua was making plans that would affect billions of lives, her spaceship suddenly broke to a strange, transparent barrier.

Other ships might have rumbled or even received damage. The high quality ship build by the Rortarr family however seemed like it didn’t feel anything. Breaking such barriers appeared to be the most normal thing to it, as if it could do so all day long.

The only passenger on the ship also wasn’t faced in the slightest. Noctbenua stood sill as a statue in the ship’s bridge. She had already experienced the breaking of a spatial barrier too many times to count.

Going through teleportation meant traveling at multiple times the speed of light along spatial paths, from spatial node to spatial node. In order to enter a spatial node its barrier had to be broken, which was nearly impossible without spatial magic.

The inside of a spatial node however, appeared no different from the real universe. No special speeds were achievable here.

The only abnormality happening to those within a spatial node was that they weren’t visible from the outside. Naturally this made special nodes a favorite place for pirates to lay in ambush. The most braindead of those scum of society would even target a high-class spaceship of the Rortarr family.

Just as it happened now.

Noctbenua finally showed some emotions on her flawless face. She slightly raised her eyebrow.

As soon as her spaceship entered the special node the seasoned warrior already perceived a presence lurking around.

Her stern eyes calmly swept the spatial node. Others might be fascinated if they realized that Noctbenua observed the whole spatial node in a few seconds. It spanned a whole light-second after all.

The stern woman’s sharp gaze quickly focused on a specific spot not far from her. A slight distortion of light could be felt there.

Watching this abnormal spot, Noctbenua inwardly had to compliment the other traveler’s technology. In order to hide from her eyes it could already be called slightly advanced.

Naturally the seasoned veteran wouldn’t face anyone without information. She calmy released her perception.

An invisible and intangible wave spread through the entire spatial note. The terrifying abilities of a high level warrior showed their might. Even the tiniest particle in her surroundings entered Noctbenua’s mind.

The easily spotted the dozen ships hidden behind camouflage technology. Their feeble hulls proved no hindrance to her powers. She observed rough pirates of multiple races.

Some were dutifully preparing their ships. Others threw away bottles of booze before trying to find their weapons. Others threw away their weapons before watching the booze left in their hands in bewilderment. A few guarded their cargo and the few slaves they were transporting.

Disgust spread through Noctbenua’s mind. She couldn’t fathom how one wanted to live like this. Dirty, filthy, constantly in danger. Could they really be so delusional to think that they would land the big jackpot? When was life ever so easy?

Suddenly the experienced strategist found something interesting at the flag ship’s bridge. A characteristic smile slowly found its way on her face. Only those closest to her knew that Noctbenua also had a playful side. Since something piqued her interest, the redheaded woman was prepared to unleash it.

With her superior spaceship Noctbenua had many options. Contrary to heavy fleets she had the option to turn around and directly enter the space path again.

She could also fly circles around the opponent’s fleet while mocking them after hacking their communications. She could even leave her spaceship and dismantle their fleet piece by piece with her abilities.

However, she decided to do none of these. Noctbenua simply kept advancing for a few hours as if she hadn’t noticed the pirates waiting in ambush. Her highly active mind watched those unsuspecting idiots as they readied themselves to catch a big fish.

Suddenly the distortion in space vanished.

Judging that they had closed the distance enough, the pirate’s confidence skyrocketed as they revealed themselves.

A monotone voice sounded from behind Noctbenua.

“Master. The pirates are loading a gravitational well. What is our answer?”

Noctbenua calmly turned around. A twinkling flickered past her eyes as she looked onto the face in front of her. It resembled her own to a tee, but sadly it lacked liveliness.

“How can we answer? We have been surprised so suddenly. We will surely be captured by those pirates without resistance.”

A short silence ensued as the android processed those words.

The light in its eyes turned off and it mechanically sat back down on its chair.

“As master commands.”