The wave of pure, harmonizing energy from the tracker slammed into the chaotic heart of the Cellucas' gateway. For a moment, there was only a blinding flash of light, a violent collision of opposing forces. Then, the chaotic vortex began to sputter and distort, its swirling colors fracturing and breaking apart.
The colossal structure around it groaned and shuddered, its pulsating flesh and crystalline components vibrating violently. The conduits targeted by Kiaz overloaded, erupting in bursts of raw energy that tore through the alien edifice.
The frenzied chanting of the Cellucas dissolved into shrieks of panic as their gateway began to unravel. The dark tendrils of energy probing the weakened dimensional barriers recoiled and dissipated.
The mutated Cellucas leader roared in agony and disbelief as the stable energy washed over it, disrupting its connection to the chaotic forces. Its crimson glow flickered and died, its movements becoming sluggish and uncoordinated.
"It's working!" Kiaz exclaimed, his voice filled with elation. "The structure is destabilizing!"
But the unraveling was far from controlled. As the harmonizing energy clashed with the chaotic forces, unpredictable surges of power erupted from the collapsing gateway. One such surge slammed into the Nebulan spacecraft, overloading its shields and sending it spiraling out of control.
"We've lost control!" Ziak yelled, fighting to regain command of the ship. Alarms blared throughout the vessel.
Ethan, thrown against the console by the impact, struggled to his feet. He could feel the dimensional energies around them fluctuating wildly, threatening to tear them apart.
"We need to get out of here!" Kiaz urged, his voice strained.
But the chaotic gateway was collapsing inwards, its implosion creating a localized distortion of space-time. Escape seemed impossible.
Just as the swirling vortex threatened to engulf them, Ethan instinctively raised the tracker. Focusing his will, he channeled the stable blue energy, not outwards, but inwards, creating a localized field of temporal stasis around the Nebulan spacecraft.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl within the ship. The chaotic energies raging outside were frozen in place, the imploding gateway a static image of destruction.
"What did you do?" Ziak asked, his voice barely a whisper in the frozen moment.
Ethan, straining with the effort, could feel the immense power of the tracker responding to his will. "I… I'm holding it back. But I can't maintain this for long."
He knew this desperate gambit had bought them precious seconds, but escape still seemed impossible. They were trapped in a bubble of slowed time, surrounded by the unraveling remnants of a dimensional gateway. Their desperate attack had succeeded in destroying the Cellucas' creation, but it might have cost them everything.