**Part 1: The Aftermath**
The *Orion*'s alarms blared as smoke choked the corridors. Elara stumbled through the wreckage, her crystalline arm flickering like a dying star. Behind her, Kael's pistol lay abandoned, its barrel still warm.
"Elara!" Jun's voice crackled through the comms. "We're losing power. The Zyrath—it's draining the ship!"
She clenched her fist, feeling the Zyrath's hunger gnaw at her veins. *We need fuel,* Mirror's voice echoed. *A conscious mind.*
"No sacrifices," she muttered. "There has to be another way."
Lira appeared, her feather-tongue flicking nervously. "The derelict's core—it's destabilizing. If it collapses, we're all dead."
Elara's spore-lit veins pulsed. "Then we stabilize it."