As I am busily writing and mapping for the Black Blade Publishing adventure I am co-writing with Rob Kuntz, I'll have to make this briefer than usual.
The Primary Characters are realising that their past has caught up with them in many ways: Lord Worm has challenged Tyb to a personal battle to restore his tarnished honour at Tyb's re-absconding his Vae daughters from the Black Citadel. Ashta's refusal to undergo full gene-thereapy to fully awaken her Aelbaan ancestry, as well as her continued operation of the Pearl (escape pod) has antagonised them further. Delver Denab, having managed to escape the miles-long Aelbaan ship in orbit (and in the high Aether) with a half-feral human raised on the ship, barely survived a drone fighter attack and landed on Baroness Averdyn's estate, whereupon the drone dis-integrated and tele-relocated the escape pod the two came down in.
--Meanwhile, travelling at Mach 2.75 across the Storm Ocean towards the Western Isles to fetch Delver, Ashta and Darius drew the concern of the WICE long-range defence network which fired upon them and alerted the Home-Isles of the rapidly encroaching threat. This resulted in Pearl shattering a Glass barrier erected as a safeguard, as well as the deployment of Jump Troopers throughout the metro Yovend area in an attempt to slow the attackers pending the 'heavy gear' being brought to bear.
