"Apparently the laws of space are quite immutable." You grudgingly admit. You don't want to give Fatima back, but you know how she would feel if you didn't, "Forgive my deception, I'll send over the real Tern now."
"You scum, I should have known! I swear, by the Prophet I will-" You mute his audio feed.
Fatima smiles at you over the comms. You smile back. It's a sad smile on both sides as the Dummy Tern takes off again and the real Tern sails over. She disembarks, and your pilot returns to you while you watch Rashad's howling face and silent threats over vidcomm. Normally making a member of the Holy Militia this angry would be a lot of fun...but right now, it just feels hollow and a little cold. Until recently, you never would have imagined that you could miss razor-tongued Fatima Ahmad of Mars. On the other hand, Rashad did keep his word. Maybe, just maybe, this is the right thing for her. Sometimes, you have to be unhappy for someone else to be happy.
He seems to have calmed down, so you unmute him. Apparently he caught on to the fact that you weren't listening, as he's been glaring at you in silence for the past few minutes, "Are we done here?" You ask.
"For now. I know where your lair is, Bull of Io. Should the Jovian general, although she is an infidel and a degenerate, prove more trustworthy than you, perhaps I will be able to convince her to join me and destroy your wretched little den of sin soon. Inshallah, it will be soon...wait, what is that? What the hell did you do?" His eyes widen, staring at his instruments.
You receive a communication from Oda, "Aniki, something ain't daijobu, we're getting gate readings. Huge ones."
Between your ships, the stars seem to warp, compressing and then stretching as a massive gate opens up and something begins to pull through. A long, bone-white cone of a ship, with a blocky rear, it almost resembles a titanic lance floating between the stars.
There is absolute silence over the comms.