Having survived what was thought to be a suicide mission, it was time for Zander and his crew to head back to MX Hub. A single fist wiping three behemoths off a planet— and with only two dead pilots— was considered a legendary feat. Before he departed, Abrill did her best to warn Zander that he’d likely be summoned to the Assembly.

Zander was indeed summoned, and it was looking like he’d have to leave everyone else behind. It took Lavella interceding to buy enough time for Dreams to finish their upgrade so the whole crew could go. The trip included Lavella and Vakdreak, who also had business with the Assembly.

Assembly Hub was even larger than MX Hub, being one of the two major Hubs. Zander’s tactics and actions were called into question, as well as rumors of him being a heretic to the Antecedents. Friends and foes took sides, but in the end, the Assembly voted to accept his new tactics. However, that didn’t stop the opposition for long.

Zander’s new friendship with a lead pilot from another Assembly ship roped them and his allies from the Assembled Fist into a plan to crush Zander and his ideas. All three ships were given a new mission: to reclaim a lost world, an impossible task that had never been accomplished before. As the small strike fleet was set to leave, Zander got the approval from the captain in charge to lead all combat decisions for the mission.

Zander knew he’d have to break the box more than he already had. A world swarmed by Entoma for years wouldn’t be simple to deal with, but he had options. He made his plans to deal with what they’d likely find. His actions might see him branded as a heretic or a hero, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was completing the mission with as many pilots alive as possible.