Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 116: Tough ’em Out!

Chapter 116: Tough ’em Out!

"Didn’t I say no one could come in?!" Caesara snapped, her glare locked on the door. But then she stopped cold.

A slow clap broke the tense silence.

Lyra walked in, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Didn’t expect to sneak in and catch such an entertaining scene," she said, her smile eerie, sending an unsettling chill through the room.

Though she was just a level-six, the moment she stepped into the command center, the atmosphere shifted. The air felt thinner, tighter, and Caesara could feel it pressing in on her.

Lyra’s gaze hardened. "Caesara, what were you planning to do to my people?"

Without waiting for an answer, Lyra unleashed a series of light bands that raced toward Caesara.

Caesara yanked Morrison in front of her as a shield, but the bands swerved around him, shooting straight for her back. Forced to act fast, she opened a space portal and slipped through.

In a split second, Morrison was yanked aside by the light bands, landing roughly on the floor.

Lyra moved like a ghost, slipping through Caesara’s portal with ease. As she did, her Schedar armor, formed swiftly around her.

As a level-seven Space Twister, Caesara wasn’t one to back down easily. She tried warping the space around Lyra, attempting to trap her.

The force was so intense that a nearby metal table twisted into a knot. But Lyra, with her psychokinetic abilities, dodged the attack effortlessly.

Powered by her armor, Lyra threw a punch straight at Caesara.

The sheer pressure of the punch made Caesara’s skin prickle. She bent the space in front of her, forcing Lyra’s fist to miss.

Quick to counter, Caesara kicked at her, but the armor absorbed the blow without a dent.

Lyra swung again, her fist narrowly missing Caesara’s leg, but she didn’t stop there. She spun around, the armor on her hand morphing into sharp spikes.

Caesara barely managed to roll out of the way, panic flickering across her face.

She opened another portal to escape, narrowly dodging Lyra’s relentless pursuit.

But before she could find a good opening to strike back, Lyra pressed her hand down, and the air erupted with energy. Thousands of green lights, like tiny meteors, shot down from above.

The attack whistled through the air, sharp and deadly.

From the sidelines, Todd wiped sweat from his brow. When Lyra glanced in his direction, he felt his heart nearly stop, as if her stare could rip his soul right out.

But Lyra’s focus returned to Caesara. Just as she was about to launch another wave of attacks, Caesara raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright! I give up! I was wrong, okay?"

Though Caesara’s body was riddled with a few bloody holes, none of the injuries were serious. A quick session with a medical device would fix her up.

Lyra paused, her gaze still sharp. "Fix the command room first. We’ll deal with the rest later."

She gave Morrison a nod, and he instantly understood. "Boss, you can rest in my room for now."

The room wasn’t far from the command center. Once they got inside, the sound of Lyra’s heavy breathing and faint coughs filled the air.

She was exhausted. If the fight had dragged on even a little longer, Lyra knew her fatigue would’ve become obvious. And that would’ve been a disaster.

Morrison hurried over with a glass of water, but Lyra, fearing she might choke, waved it aside for the moment.

She covered her mouth, fighting to steady her breath, then finally took a small sip.

"What’s happening?" she asked, her face pale, flushes of red showing her strain.

Morrison knew Lyra’s health wasn’t in great shape, but he hadn’t expected her to be this winded after just a few minutes with Caesara.

This kind of weakness couldn’t get out, and Morrison knew it.

"Other caravans have been throwing their weight around. They hired level-seven bodyguards and have been trying to take control of more territory and resources. Caesara used our heavy losses as leverage to demand access to our resources, along with the ship’s activation keys and storage passwords."

"I’ve been doing everything I can to avoid a full-on clash with the major caravans, but now Lieutenant Commander Shedd’s accusing us of damaging the surface with our mining techniques. He’s pushing to get our mining rights revoked. The other caravans are piling on, aiming to squeeze us out."

Lyra understood immediately. Trouble was brewing both inside and out.

Lyra pressed her lips together, deep in thought. After a few moments, she tapped the table and asked, "What did the Mendez and Cohen say?"

Morrison frowned. "The Mendez family doesn’t care much. Lieutenant Commander Whyte has tried to keep things calm, but their numbers are too much. Even the Whyte family can’t be everywhere at once."

Their group had arrived late to the scene compared to the others. Without the queen bee clearing a path for them early on, they would’ve been left with nothing but scraps.

Sure, they made some decent profits, but it also made them a target. With their crew being less than a hundred, up against caravans of three to five hundred, they seemed like easy pickings.

While Morrison was clearly frustrated, Lyra remained calm. "Could be worse," she said.

At least the Mendez family wasn’t fully taking advantage of their position, and Cohen wasn’t sitting on the sidelines, either.

Just then, a call came through from Sean at the mining site. His voice was tense. "The Channing family just rolled up to the small mine we finished surveying. No warning, no talk—they just started drilling!" The sound of arguing rumbled in the background.

Morrison told him to keep cool. "We’ll be there soon," he said before looking to Lyra.

"How far is it?" she asked.

"About three hours by Lev."

Morrison assumed she’d want to head there directly, but Lyra surprised him with a different order. "Reach out to Lieutenant Commander Shedd. Tell them the Channings are stealing our mining site."

By now, Erin should’ve gotten word that Lyra had arrived on Wyrmtrace.

Morrison raised an eyebrow. "Erin Shedd? Are you sure?"

"Yes. Let’s have her mediate this little conflict. Oh, and make sure to record everything."

Even though he wasn’t entirely sure of her strategy, Morrison followed her instructions, sending live footage from the site to Erin. The evidence was clear—they were being targeted.

Erin’s response, however, was as sharp as it was dismissive. "We’re here to protect developers, not babysit squabbles. As long as no one’s hurt, this isn’t our issue," she said, dripping with sarcasm.

Morrison hung up, glancing over at Lyra, who had a slight, knowing smile on her face.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Gather the team. Let’s go," Lyra announced as she stood up, walking toward the command room.

Inside, Caesara had already treated most of the injuries from their earlier fight.

"We’ll settle our stuff later. For now, we’ve got a job to do," Lyra said, her tone firm.

Caesara, looking a bit defiant, opened her mouth to argue, but Lyra cut her off. "Unless, of course, you’d prefer to stay on Wyrmtrace forever."

Caesara’s expression shifted as a chill ran down her spine. "Are you serious?"

"Try me," Lyra replied coolly.

Todd didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly rounded up the rest of the team, and they piled into the Lev, ready to take off.

Wyrmtrace was one of the largest planets they’d ever explored, and even with the Lev’s speed, it took a good twenty-six hours to make half a loop around it. Hauling ore by truck took even longer, which kept their reach limited.

But the Channing family didn’t care about limits—they kept pushing.

As the Lev neared the mining site, the loud rumble of drilling machines filled the air. Massive chunks of rock, freshly unearthed, were scattered everywhere.

Lyra ordered the Lev’s doors to be opened. Wind whipped inside, tossing her hair around wildly.

She stretched out her hand, palm open, and a swirling mass of green energy gathered. In one swift motion, it shot down toward the ground like a barrage of meteors, slamming into the Channing family’s machines and reducing them to scrap metal.

Caesara whistled, impressed. "Not bad."

Lyra smirked. "Don’t forget where we come from," she replied, slipping back into her armor. She grabbed the radio and gave her final order. "No casualties, but destroy everything."