“The R’tk’tk, yes.” The Rothian nodded, squinting against the dying light. “That was one memory you stole from me.” Though this figure looked the same biological age as Vreta, the soul pouring into each word felt eons old. “That was near the beginning of an arms race that lasted two centuries by your measure. Looking back, we never stood a chance - it was what the Hegemon was created for.”

The Rothian reached down, stroked the petals of a small mountain flower. “Movement is life for us now, and it should be for you as well. If you stay put when it gets here, well…”

Suddenly, a blinding white pillar of light a mile wide reached through the cloud and connected the planet to the sky. The ground billowed up and exploded with superheated core material for as far as the eye could see. A crack that would’ve shattered any normal eardrum was accompanied by a thundering gale. Vreta and the other Rothian didn’t move. New mountain ranges appeared and disappeared in an instant. An impenetrable pyroclastic flow raced towards them, towering above even the hill they were on.

The Rothian turned to look at Vreta again as the death cloud crashed into them, and everything went black.

Gradually, the blackness of space filled with stars. They were floating in the ether, side by side. One by one, Rothian warships blinked into existence. An entire fleet, coming together in formation. “I’ve learned about this ‘terrible violence’ of which you speak. But the Hegemon is quite indestructible, I assure you.”

In a sight sure to give any Human goosebumps, a portion of the star canvas in front of the fleet went black. A baleful red eye blinked into being. The Rothian beside Vreta waved a hand and a helpful green border appeared. The Hegemon’s tetrahedral shape expanded to hundreds of miles across. Constituent parts hung like a cross section captured in the air, contained within the overall shield structure.

The Hegemon disappeared for a split second, then reappeared inside the Rothian fleet formation. It was so bafflingly large that the duo couldn’t see the whole thing from their viewpoint. The bottom vertex reappeared inside one of the larger craft, making it explode in a blinding corona. Dozens of beams caressed each warship, grouping together into larger columns that dwarfed the return fire. The craft began exploding. Some of the Rothian ships raced off, with the beams following like a leash. In a few minutes, it was done.