Good news?

Alex's Phoenix flames surrounded the escape pod in just seconds.

Contrary to what Alex was thinking, the vacuum of space actually helped to speed up the flames, rather than hinder them in some way.

The moment the flames reached the pod, they spread to cover the whole thing in an instant.

The fact they were in a vacuum didn't matter, as the Phoenix flames didn't need other mediums like oxygen to stay alight.

And the defences of the escape pod didn't matter much either, as the high temperature resistant metal still succumbed to the intense heat of the flames after just a few seconds.

When the flames reached the compact engine bay of the escape pod, it suddenly disappeared from its spot, just like it did when Yaron entered warp.

'Looks like it worked.'

Alex dropped the freighter out of warp as well, appearing in the middle of literally nowhere as he turned on the scanners to search for the escape pod.