The transition from the hyper-lanes of the Imperial Core to the Dust Sector was like stepping out of a palace and into a graveyard. The space here was thick with "Star-Silt"—fine metallic dust that played havoc with standard sensors and coated ship hulls in a layer of brown grime.
Lin Feng stood on the bridge of the Mirror Sovereign. Beside him, Kara was grumbling as she looked at a flickering holographic projection of their destination: Planet Volaris-4, the "capital" of his new territory.
"Boss, I've seen junk heaps with better structural integrity," Kara said, crossing her massive green arms. "The orbital ring is a series of pressurized tin cans held together by prayer and duct tape. If we try to dock a Dreadnought, the station will probably snap in half."
Lin Feng looked at the "Fortress" his father had died defending. It was a pathetic sight—a spindly, rotating ring of rusted iron orbiting a gray, scarred world. It was meant to house ten thousand miners, but the life support was currently at 40% capacity.
"We aren't docking, Kara," Lin Feng said, his fingers tracing the cold surface of the mirror locket beneath his uniform. "We're replacing."
"Replacing?" Vanya, the Ice Elf, looked up from her tactical console, her silver eyes narrowing. "Lord Captain, even with 500 million credits, a new orbital defense ring takes years to manufacture and tug into position."
"For the Empire, yes," Lin Feng smiled. "For us, it takes ten seconds."
The Grand Projection
Lin Feng ordered the fleet to hold position five hundred kilometers from the station. The thousands of civilian refugees they had rescued from the pirates watched from the observation ports of the transport ships, their faces pressed against the glass.
"Locket," Lin Feng whispered. "System Sync 15%. Activate Macro-Scale Refraction."
[System Acknowledged.]
[Scanning Target: Volaris-4 Orbital Ring...]
[Optimization Protocol: Loading 'Imperial Bastion' Architectural Data...]
[Warning: Soul Energy Consumption High. Commencing Materialization.]
A ripple began in the void. It started as a faint blue shimmer, like a heat haze on a desert road, but it grew until it spanned thousands of kilometers. The "Star-Silt" in the area began to swirl, drawn in by a sudden gravitational localized surge.
Then, the "Mirroring" happened.
The rusted, skeletal ring was suddenly enveloped by a ghost—a translucent, glowing blueprint of a massive, armored space station. It was four times the size of the original, with heavy railgun batteries, shield generators the size of city blocks, and docking bays capable of housing an entire fleet.
CLANG.
The sound shouldn't have traveled through the vacuum, but the sheer release of energy created a psychic shockwave that everyone felt in their marrow. The "ghost" became solid. The rust was replaced by gleaming, mirrored alloy. The flickering lights of the old station were swallowed by the steady, powerful thrum of a Grade-S Fusion Core.
The Steel Reef was born.
A New Command
"By the Ancestors..." Kara breathed, her jaw dropping. She checked her engineering HUD. "The atmosphere levels just stabilized at 100%. Gravity is a perfect 1G. And... are those Mark-IX Point Defense Cannons?"
"Three thousand of them," Lin Feng replied. "Go. Take the engineers. I want every refugee processed, fed, and assigned to a sector. This isn't a graveyard anymore. It's our shipyard."
As Kara and the others scrambled to manage the massive influx of people into the new station, Lilith approached Lin Feng. The Succubus moved with a predatory grace, her clipped wings twitching with excitement.
"Master," she purred, leaning against his command chair. "A massive station attracts massive attention. The 'Mining Guild' in the neighboring sector just sent an encrypted burst. They want to know why a 'Volaris Trash-Heap' is suddenly putting out enough energy to power a small star."
"Let them wonder," Lin Feng said. "Actually, no. Send them a greeting. Tell them the Viscount of the Dust Sector is open for business. We're buying all the raw 'Star-Iron' they can mine. We'll pay in mirrored fuel-rods."
"You're going to crash their economy," Lilith laughed, a dark, melodic sound.
"I'm going to own it," Lin Feng corrected.
The First Threat
The peace lasted exactly six hours.
Vanya's voice cut through the celebratory mood on the bridge. "Lord Captain. Incoming warp signatures. High energy. These aren't pirates."
On the main viewscreen, space tore open. Three ships emerged, painted in the gaudy gold and white of the Imperial Tax Ministry. They were flanked by twelve 'vanguard' frigates.
A holographic transmission forced its way onto Lin Feng's screen. A middle-aged man with a thin mustache and a face like a pinched grape appeared.
"Viscount Lin Feng," the man sneered. "I am Commissioner Harl. It has come to the Emperor's attention that you have come into 'unexplained wealth.' As per the Sovereignty Act, 70% of all newly discovered 'Ancient Relics' or 'Foreign Tech' found in Imperial territory must be surrendered to the Crown."
Harl looked at the massive Steel Reef behind Lin Feng's ship, his eyes filled with naked greed. "You will lower your shields and prepare for boarding. Any resistance will be treated as high treason."
Lin Feng didn't even stand up. He looked at Vanya. "Are the 'Ares' Mecha units ready?"
"Fifty units calibrated and manned by the new recruits, Lord Captain," the Ice Elf replied, her fingers dancing across the weapon controls.
Lin Feng turned back to the hologram. "Commissioner Harl, you're confused. This isn't Imperial territory anymore. The engagement was annulled, my family's titles were mocked, and you left this sector to rot. This is House Volaris space now."
"You dare?!" Harl shrieked. "Frigates! Disable that ship! I want the boy alive for the torture droids!"
The Imperial frigates accelerated, their laser batteries charging.
"Lilith," Lin Feng commanded. "Show the Commissioner why he should have stayed in the Capital."
"With pleasure," the Succubus grinned.
Lin Feng touched his locket.
[Target: Imperial Tax Vanguard...]
[Refraction Level: 50x...]
[Deploying 'Ares' Mirror-Images...]
From the docking bays of the Steel Reef, fifty Mecha-Gods shot out like silver streaks. But as they hit the void, each one shimmered and split. Fifty became a hundred. A hundred became five hundred. A thousand.
A cloud of giant, armored warriors, each wielding a mirrored energy-blade, surrounded the Imperial tax fleet.
Harl's scream was cut short as the transmission died.
In the silence of the bridge, Lin Feng watched the first Imperial frigate vanish in a bloom of fire.
"The Empire wants their 70%?" Lin Feng whispered. "Tell them they can have it. 70% of my debris field."