《The Ascendancy of Humanity》 Prologue 01: It wasn''t supposed to be like this. "Hang on!" Anjanette Agayari shouted before she turned the police mobile to hard left and into the narrow side alley somewhere in manila. The mobile''s side mirror flew into the canals as the car skidded to one side and spark of metal on metal flew everywhere. She cursed but didn''t lose focus as she wrestled the car for control. Sweat and blood poured down her beautiful face and she wiped the sleeves of her uniform to clear it. Just last night, she promised herself that she will keep the crispiness of her brand new police uniform at least on her first day in the job. All her plans, of course, went down the drain when World War 3 started that morning. The pickup truck following them stopped at the entrance of the alleyway, surprised by the young cop''s maneuver and is unable to follow. She smiled coldly as she watched in the back mirror when the driver of the truck smashed both his hands into the stirring wheel of the truck. Her smile was premature though as the guy''s companion climbed down from the back of the truck and started firing with an assault rifle at the fleeing police mobile. The back window of the mobile exploded inward and showered the occupants with shards of glass. Isabel, her sister, and her niece Lulu screamed in terror as they buried themselves deeper in the backseat of the car interior. Isabel''s husband, Nestor Porre, who is normally this self-confident lawyer working for a premier law firm, has nothing but panic in his face, but still he fired back at his attackers with Anji''s government issued 9 mm. Anji''s dad, who is riding shotgun right next to her, actually have a real shotgun and is leaning outside and also firing back. Anji hit a trashcan and brown milky liquid temporarily covered her front window. She cursed and used the rain wipers to clean it out of the way. The moment her vision cleared she step on the gas and the mobile drove faster amidst the flying bullets all around her. They burst out of the alley and Anji turned left. It took her a moment to control back the vehicle before she turned to her family. "Are you guys alright?" She asked. "I''m fine," Her dad Alfonso said grimly. The giant man used to be a union boss for one of the biggest steel manufacturer in the country but now ended up as the city''s vice mayor. Behind his gruff and bulldog personality hides a sharp mind and a laser focus will that her youngest daughter inherited. "Nestor!" screamed Isabel. "You''re bleeding!" Turning white, Nestor held on to his neck as thick blood sips out of his fingers. Alfonso reached back and pried Nestor''s hand out of the way. He shined his small flashlight into the wound then without hesitation ripped the sleeve of his shirt and gave it to his son in law. "Hold this tight over your neck and keep the pressure. You got nick but nothing serious. the main problem is that you might bleed to death if you don''t cover it. We''ll find a pharmacy somewhere and we will stitch you up right proper." "We need to bring him to a hospital!" Insisted Isabel. Her daughter desperately stayed quiet next to her. Anji knew that she was trying not to be in the way of the grown-ups despite wanting to know what is happening and longing to be comforted herself. While her dad calmly explained to her oldest daughter that the hospital will be a madhouse right about now, Anji silently reached back and squeeze her favorite niece''s shoulder, silently assuring her. Their eyes met in the car mirror and Anji wanted to tell her that everything will be alright. This calmed the little girl somewhat and she weakly smiled back to her aunt gratefully. "I know a nearby pharmacy!" Anji said loudly that cut the brewing argument that was about to happen when her sister insisted that they go to a hospital or a clinic. "I''m getting cold..." said Nestor. "Daddy, do something!" Screeched Isabel. "Are we all gonna die?" The little girl''s question made everyone quiet for a moment as all the adults watched her.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The escalation of violence around the world was so fast that no pundits or other so-called experts are able to predict what happened. Years of "America first" policy made sure that white Americans became the priority in everything: jobs, bank loans, real estate and other major aspects of the US economy regardless of compatibility or competitiveness. It wouldn''t be that bad except for the fact that the white laborer are protected by union protectionism back by an army of lawyers and as a result labor cost skyrocketed while the product and service quality offered drastically went down the drain. Despite remaining a military superpower, North America lost its economic edge. All this are happening while the rest of the world also retreated into an ethnic protectionism and the world became a den of jackals. Japanese, Koreans, Chinese and Indians created their own communities. The latinos and southeast Asian followed, then the Muslims in the middle east, then the eastern Europeans and then finally Western Europe closed its doors to everyone else. Real problems occur when the negotiation of the expansion of the Panama canal failed. Latino Americans, with years of perceived persecution, both true and false, demanded economic packages that America simply is not able to give anymore. Attempts to relocate and find other suitable places also ended in failure. this was highly significant because all cargo ship at this time could not squeeze themselves in the canal and are forced to voyage south and add 10 to 12 days in their journey. This fact alone started creating major shortage from everyday goods to essential items like oil, magnesium, tungsten, and other raw materials. Eventually, the US high command decided to invade Panama. It took them only 3 days to occupy the country and work in the expansion of the canal began immediately. But as the years went by, more and more latino sabotage and local attacks became even more bloody. US attempt to create a UN security forced coalition failed, even Britain and Israel did not side with the Americans. After four years of enduring ambush, suicide bombs, roadside bombs, and hatred of an entire continent, The US decided to quit Panama after losing almost a hundred thousand men and women and the canal unfinished. It was at this time that after completing the chain of armed artificial islands, China decided to close the southeast Asia passage and demanded a toll for everyone who wished to enter what they claim to be sovereign waters. China believed that the modest toll will not make much of a reaction to the rest of the world but they were mistaken. The world panic. With the help of hoarders and speculators, stock market plummets. prices of everything became catastrophically high, and companies closed by the thousands. The US, who is hit hard by this development, sent a powerful carrier group to force the Chinese to reopen the sea. The Chinese sent their own battlegroup. Taiwan reiterated their independence and Korean and Japanese Navy went to high alert. Fighters jocks, egg on by prideful admirals, begun to do series of dangerous provocation on each other''s fleet by buzzing the other''s main ships with low-level flybys. Even until now, No one really knows what happened but the sinking of the USS Donald Trump Carrier is still the hottest news since 9-11. Three days ago, 4 carrier group in Southeast Asia along with bases in japan and South Korea, launched a massive air sortie that targeted all 12 of the new Chinese artificial island plus coastal installation. Chinese media reported that death toll was in the tens of thousands. Hours ago, the Chinese retaliated with the most massive cruise missile attack in history, targeting the 2 American carrier groups, Airbases and other military installation in japan, Korea, and Guam, plus limited targets in the Philippines and even Vietnam, who is repairing several US ships in the area. Almost 400 Chinese cruise missile were allocated to hit the Philippines and almost 50 of them, whether by accident or by design, hit the heart of the capital and Manila reacted badly. Like a spark hitting a gunpowder, looting and riots and general mayhem occurred everywhere and the police force, wherein Anjanette is a part of, was simply overwhelmed. Many of his fellow officers begun to desert their post to go to their families. Criminal elements who always have access to guns now became bold and started walking down the streets looking for trouble. Anjanette was part of the riot police force blocking a main highway when her dad and her sister with the rest of her family, stop in front of her. They were accompanied by another SUV with 4 bodyguards. "Anji! Let''s go!" "Dad?" Anji asked incredulously, she still has her protective visor on. "What the hell are you doing here?" Her dad looked at her as if she asked if he has a second nose on his forehead. "Are you not listening to the news?! We don''t have a government anymore! The secretary of Agriculture shot and killed the president on live TV! The vice president is nowhere to be seen and we don''t have a congress. Everyone ran away. We will be going to my bunker until everything settles down. Let''s go!" Anji hesitated. She wanted to go with her family but she didn''t want to run away from her duties as well. This is her first day in the job for crying out loud. A hand touched her shoulder and when she turn around she realized that it was her sergeant. Seargent Herra is a tough 40-year-old policewoman who is been in the police force for the last 15 years. This is the first time the sergeant had ever watch her with soft tender eyes. "It''s alright, Anji. Go with your family. Almost 2/3 of my people already left anyway. After you go, I will address the rest and disband the blockade force and tell everyone to go their loved ones. There is nothing we can do here anymore." And so Anji went with her family. She grabbed her government issued mobile and followed the 2 SUV convoy, but only 2 miles in their journey the lead SUV stop and forced everyone to stop with them. The lead SUV opened its door and dad''s 4 man security team came out with assault rifles at the ready. Mogu, dad''s head of security for the last two years smiled at Dad when he climbs down his own SUV to confront the man. "What''s the meaning of this?!" Anji''s dad Demanded. Prologue 02: "I''m sorry boss. But we also have our own family to take care of. Hand over the key to your house and-" Mogu is an army veteran who''ve seen action in the jungle of the south, fighting Muslim extremist, he was a professional, but even he didn''t expect the blind rage Anji''s dad displayed when out of nowhere he hit him with a straight jab right in the nose, then charged him. They both fell to the ground. The moment the group of bodyguards left their vehicle, Anji felt something is wrong and she also left her vehicle to see what is going on. The moment her dad attack Mogu and the rest raised their guns in alarm, Anji had her 9mm out of its holster and aimed at the guards. One pointed his gun at her and Anji didn''t hesitate. She fired two round in the chest then flattened herself at the back of her dad''s SUV. She can hear the surprised shout of her sister then curses from the men before they too opened fire. Bullets flew everywhere. The back tire of her dad''s SUV blew up and metal sparks appeared everywhere from the men''s attempt to kill her. Anji poked her gun at the edge and blindly open fire. A grunt in front of her made her peek and one of the guards is down. The other one is looking at his comrade stupidly before going down himself after getting hit in the chest with two more round from Anji''s pistol. Her dad Alfonso is still pummeling the Head security guard when Anji made her way to the SUV and opened the door. She opened the door and with a controlled and commanding voice ordered her sister and her family. "Go to the mobile behind you. Let''s go." "What the hell is going on, Anji?" "I''ll explain later!" Anji said. "We are not yet out of the woods. Now move!" Nestor grabbed his wife and daughter and ran back to the police mobile behind the SUV. Anji meanwhile checked every corner for any hidden threat just as she was trained, then grabbed her dad by the scruff of his shirt and pulled. For a moment, Anji was scared that her dad would almost hit her in his blind rage but she stopped immediately when he saw her. "Dad, we need to go!" Anji urged, and slowly the fire in her dad''s eye grow dimmer. "Yes... yes, you are right," Her dad sighed, a bit disoriented, then let himself be guided back to the police mobile. Anji glanced at the former bodyguards and Anji knew none of the attacks were fatal. They will soon recover from their damage and hopefully Anji and her family will be long gone before that. **************** "Are we all gonna die?" The little girl asked. No one spoke for a long time. Anji abruptly stopped the car and when the others look they saw a pharmacy right next to it. Alfonso told everyone to get out and help Isabel carry Nestor inside. Anji stopped the little girl before she gets out of the car and patted her cheek affectionately. I hope one day I get a beautiful little girl just like her. "No lulu," Anji said softly. "You are not gonna die. At least not today." The little girl smiled sadly and they both left the car to go to the pharmacy. Anji took a moment to look out into the street and she can see the chaos in the city. Gunshots coming from small arms and the heavier guns of APCs ring out in the background and multiple clouds of smoke from unattended fires billow out into the clear blue sky. People are running out in the streets and looters are not hiding their activities anymore. A woman in her 30s is being assaulted by two younger men just two blocks away from her but she grimly ignored it. She entered the pharmacy with a disturbed soul. Inside the pharmacy was no better. Isabel and her Dad is screaming at the pharmacist who is screaming back at them.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "I don''t care about the situations in the hospitals, get that bleeding man off my premises!" Said the 60-year-old pharmacist. Anji''s apartment is just several blocks away and she knew the pharmacist for years. The old man is always smiling and mild mannered, but today he is red faced from screaming his lungs out. Anji started walking towards the group of people when the back door slammed open and Freddie, the pharmacist''s 17-year-old nephew, entered the room white face and holding a revolver. Both Anji''s dad and Nestor pointed their gun toward the young man. Anji reached for her own gun then realized that the holster is empty since she gave her 9mm to Nestor. The Pharmacist tried to calm the young man down who is screaming to them, "Get out! Get the fuck out!" "Whoa kid," Anji said, stepping in front of her family with her hands raised up. Her eyes never leaving the prantic kid. "Calm the fuck down." "You don''t tell me what to do, bitch!" "Freddie!" said the pharmacist. "They came here to rob us, just because people are going bonkers outside," Freddie said to the old man. "They''re taking advantage of the situation, thinking that we are just defenseless citizens. Well, I''ll show em!" Anji''s eyes hardened. "Just look around kid, My people is bleeding over your floor. We are just getting stuff to stop that bleeding." Anji spoke calmly and reasonably, but the kid is getting more agitated because he feels that Anji is treating him like a slow moron. "If you want us to pay, then we will pay for it," Anji continued, pulling out her wallet very slowly. About ten feet to Freddie''s left, Lulu emerged holding an ice cream bar which she promptly drops when she saw the situation. Freddie turned to her with the gun and Anji charged him. Her hand grabbed the gun hand then twist, simultaneously two fingers stabbed the boy at the base of the throat right at the soft spot. That same hand grabbed the shirt collar of the boy she hit in the throat while her foot stomped the back of the boy''s knee. A simple twist and the assailant was on the ground. "Easy there, tiger," Anji whispered calmly. Freddie dropped his gun and Anji put it behind her back before securing the boy with a handcuff and dragging him to one side. Maybe because of the sudden violence or the old pharmacy understood Anji''s family emergency, but he gave in and showed them all the things they needed to patch Nestor up. Isabel is a trauma nurse, and despite her initial panic, is a competent one. Alfonso was right and the bullet just grazed Nestor''s neck, so Isabel cleaned him up and patch him with a gauze and he was okay. Anji was about to apologize to the old man but the old pharmacist is not looking at them but in the television near the counter. Anji asked him to increase the volume and the old man mechanically obeyed. "... confirmed that eyewitness report in Iowa, that massive missiles are now reaching for the sky, destination unknown. There are also reports of missile sightings in Nebraska, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, and Montana. We have no official confirmation from the White House up until now, but we receive a report that a white house spokesman will be addressing the reporters...I''m sorry George, but we are now receiving reports that Chinese missiles are also launched in missile silos in delingha mountain range. This video is taken by an amateur Chinese citizen showing multiple missiles being launched. The report-" The tv went blank for several seconds then a loud air warning siren blasted off from the TV. Due to Anji''s request earlier, the tv is on maximum volume and everyone cringed. Suddenly new text came out of the TV and a bad text-to-speech program started to talk over the TV. "We interrupt your local programming. This is a national emergency. The following message is transmitted through the request of the government. This is not a test. A nuclear attack is occurring against the Philippines. 4 nuclear missiles have been launched from the unknown location in China and they are expected to strike the country within the next 15 minutes. All Citizens of the Philippines should seek and prepare to take shelter immediately. I repeat, this is not a test." The message is repeated over and over, and everyone in the pharmacy was stupidly frozen and looking at the screen. Anji was the first to react. She turned to her family with a grim determination and shouted, "We have to go! Now!" Everyone of her family run outside but before Anji could follow, a whining voice stopped her. "Please! Please don''t leave me here!" Freddie pleaded. "I don''t want to die here!" Anji cursed and threw the keys to the handcuff to the old man. The old pharmacist immediately opened the cuffs and when he was free Freddie immediately stood up and menacingly closed the distance between him and Anji. "You are not going away with my gun, bitch," He snarled. "Give me back my gun!" Anji turned around, pulled the revolver at her back, aimed and fired at Freddie''s head. The bullet zinged and clip Freddie''s right ear. The young man howled and run away the other direction. Anji was left with the old pharmacist and they look at each other. Eventually, Anji nodded and said very softly, "Good luck, old man." "You too..." They nodded to each other once more and separated in a different direction. Prologue 03: Anji run outside into a firefight. She took it all in in one sudden snapshotand she jumpsinto action. Her dad is dragging himself to one corner, the shotgun forgotten. Blood was flowing freely in one leg. Her sister is bent over the floor clutching someone. Lulu more likely and Nestor is covering them with his body as he fired away with the 9mm. Anji pulled out her own revolver and directed her aim to four people inside their mobile car who are attempting to steal it. Two were leaning outside brandishing an assortment of pistols while the other two are simplypointing their gun outside without leaving their seats. The gunfight was quick and brutal. Anji''s training kick in and her aim was focusand steady. One shot for each man outside then another to the driver when he kept moving. In return, something whooshed past her right ear that her tiny hairs felt it. A sudden bite in her left knee stung her but she continued walking toward her enemies. Another hit her abdomen like a hammer but her vest took the brunt of it. The last one was serious though as another hit her left shoulder and the impact felt like her entire shoulder was torn off. The pain was excruciating but what concerned her more was the fact that she cannot feel her arms anymore and certainly can''t move it. Focus! She screamed to herself and she continued walking closer and finally emptying the last of her bullets in her revolver. She blinked. The entire fight was mere seconds and it was all over. All four of the men - no, one was a woman, in her mobile was dead, two of them stared back at her with hate-filled dead eyes. Anji approached them and wearily grabbed the driver''s gun, a colt. She checked the magazine and saw that it was still half-full. Only when she was sure that all four were dead did she turn her back onthem. The scene that greetedher was her worst nightmare. Nestor is onthe ground, still holding the 9mm, with 4 gunshotwound in the chest. She ran to him and sobbed when she saw another gunshotright in her brother in law''s left eye. He was dead. She turned to her older sister and screamed in terror as she saw 3 more bullets decorated her back. Anji turned her over and although she is still alive, she was dying, and there is nothing Anji can do. "No, no, no, no! Isabel! Don''t do this! Don''t die!" A wheezing noise escapedher lips, like a Balloonwith escaping air. Her eyes were still open but Anji can tell that she cannot see anymore. Lulu was beneath her and as far as Anji can see, she is alright but crying, completely aware of her mom''s sacrifice and new exactly that her parents are either or dying or already dead, leaving her all alone. Not alone, Anji thought savagely. She grabbed her sister and there on the dirty floor, she cradled her and whispered in her ears while looking at the lost lulu. "I will take care of her... I will take care of her like she is my own... I promise you, I promise you, ... she will live!... I promised! I promised!" Anji said, again andagain, willing her words to be heard by the dying and hope to any god in the universe that her sister will understand the meaning and her promised. "She understands," a voice can be heard in the sudden silence. "My baby isn''t stupid." Anji turned and she saw her dad leaning in one corner, his stomach a pile of ruin. Weakly, Anji stood up and an animalgutturalvoice of pain left her lips as she stumbled toward her dad. She droppedto her knees and almost crawled over to her father. He was always so indestructible to her, always there for her, alive and immortal. But he was now on death''s door. "Stop," Her dad said, admonishing her. "You are not a damsel that needs to be protected. You are a fighter, just like me." "Dad don''t! I can''t do this alone! Don''t die don''t die. Don''t leave me alone!" Anji said, almost screaming. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life. She wanted to hold her father but she doesn''t know if it will just hurt him and make the inevitable even faster. A huge bloody hand rose up to caress her tear jerk cheeks. She watched her father, drinking in everything about him, wanting to remember everything until the last moment. "Stop," Alfonso said once more. "You... gave a promise...to your sister. So keep it... We Agayarriskeep our promises. So survive and keep your niece alive!" Right in front of her, she can see her dad losing his life by the second and she couldn''t do anything about it. And she said the only thing that really matters at that moment. "I love you, Daddy." A weak smile came out of her father''s lips. "And I love you too sweetheart... Now go! You have less than 15 minutes to get out of here." Of course, the nuclear attack. Anji remembered, but the problem seems so far away now. So insignificant, compared to the fact that she is now alone. Alone. "Go..." Her father''s words wereso weak now. Abruptly, Anji kissesher father one last time and turned, scooping the still crying lulu in her arms and walk briskly away, while Lulu screamed for her mother. Anji wanted to remember her father as the strong pillar of strength that he always was to her. She simply didn''t want to see her father''s lifeless body and so she turned her back at him and never everlook back at him again. ***************If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Anji took one look at the car clog roads, with honking vehicles and drivers out of their cars and fighting each in the streets, and she knew that she won''t escape the city by car. The message onthe tv and radio turned the people of the city into a bunch of Panic-riddenanimals and just like that, modern society crumbled. Her niece is still crying in her arms, no doubt missing her parents and grandpa, but Anji didn''t have time to comfort her since she is racking her mind furiously for a way out of the city. Land voyage isn''t good. Even if she finds a bike that weaves in and out of traffic, they simply do not have enough time to get away. How about choppers? The local airport is too far away. Wait, maybe the huge corporation building will have a private charter. Maybe I can hijack it? With what? with your Pea-shooter?! Besides, if they can hire multi-million helicopters, then they surely can hire several well-armed bodyguards. Even then she cannot guarantee it, even if she goes to the wealthiest corporations, that they will find that their VIPs are important enough to save them with choppers. The country''s aging train system is too slow, and they will be jam packed with people nearby. The light rail transit only goes around the capital so no used getting that either. Boats? Again, too far. Think Anji, damn you! If there is no way to leave the city, maybe I should be thinking of just riding out the blast. But where? Then a thought came to her mind. A bunker. An underground bunker. Where can I find one? Manila doesn''t have an underground train station but there should be a lot of underground car park or basement. She scanned the place without really thinking, then a man bumps into her. Automatically her gun was up and ready to blow the intruder away. A man holding 4 gaming laptops is running away from her. Anji looks around and saw a nearby electronic store with its display windows smashed in by looters. Anji looked back at the retreating figure incredulously. What the hell will you do with a laptop with 10 minutes of your life left? She shook her head and focus back at the problem. Her eyes zeroed in on an old couple walking slowly down the street. They are holding hands and the old man is holding a Glock in the other hand. The old woman is holding a kitchen knife in her other hand. Anji recognized them as Uncle Occaand his wife Belinda. Uncle Occais the neighborhood butcher selling everything from pork meat to assorted fishes. Everyone likes Uncle Occabecause he always hasa ready smile and lots of interesting stories to tell if you buy from his little shop. Half of the stories are probably bullshit but the guy was hardworking and honest. What is important is the fact that his butcher shop has an underground basement with a huge deep freezer that can hold several people. She ran over the two and raised her hand to show them that she doesn''t haveany ill intention. They were just going inside the shop when Uncle Occanoticed her and raised his gun. His wife is looking elsewhere and far away, as if lost in thought. "Uncle Occa! It''s me! AnjanetteAgayarri! Big Al''s daughter! Don''t shoot!" She said, raising her hands to show them that she means them no harm. "Anji? What are you doing here?" Asked the old man wearily. His wife didn''t even bother to look at her and Lulu. "You''ve probably heard about the bomb coming to the city," Anji said as a way of explanation and she saw Uncle Occanodding noncommittally. "Well,there is no way to leave the city with all the traffic jam, at least not with the time we have left. So I would like to ask permission to stay in your walk-in freezer and hopefully survive the blast that way." The old man stared at her for a long time before sighing and giving her a sad smile. "We are not going to lock ourselves anywhere lassie," He said gently. "But-" The old man opened the door toward his shop and showed the room inside. The butcher shop is still the same as Anji remembered it.The display glasses for the fresh meats and the tainted windows and the tired old fan slowly moving around and around in the ceiling. But in the middle is a small table with two chairs and a single white rose resting in a glass in the middle. There is an 80''s romantic song cooing in the background, completely in contrast to the chaos just outside. The old man smiled gently and proudly to his small setup before speaking again to Anji, who is staring at him almost incomprehensively. "You see lass, We accept that this is our last few moments in this world and we, for one, would like to spend this moment together. Meand my wife are married for more than 52 years now you know. I know that it is not always blissful sailing all the time but we manage." He watched his wife enter the shop almost trance-like and noticed the small romantic gesture inside. The old man looks at Anji. I understand your will to survive lassie, you have a lot to live for, but I would really appreciate it if you find your survival elsewhere and leave us alone." Anji sighed and nodded. "I understand. I-" "No." Uncle Occaturned to his wife who is still looking at the table and slowly shaking her head. "What was that, dear?" He asked gently. His wife Belinda who Anji remembered as this quiet old chubby woman who is always behind the cashier with a ready smile, turned toward her husband with an incredulous look on her face. "What I said dear," She said, as she pointed the knife she is holding in one hand and stabbed her husband right in the chest with no hesitation. "Is NO. NO. NO. Hell NO!" She emphasizeseach NO with another stab in her husband''s chest. Anji gasped and took a step back, unconsciously turning sideway as if she can protect Lulu better that way. "I don''t want to spend another second with you, dear," Her voice oozing with venom. "I already wasted my youth, my future with you. You don''t think of anything but yourself. Well, I want you to know that I am sick of living with a mediocre man, with this mediocre life, raising four mediocre children! So NO, my dear husband of mine, I don''t want to spend my last remaining minutes with you, and the shackles you built for me throughoutthe years. I want to spend the last few minutes of my life free and away from your filth!" Uncle Occasilently slid down the floor as his life slowly ebbed away from him, his wife still stabbing him with that maniacal look in her face. Anji stared at them in horror, before turning around without another word and started walking away. Prologue 04: Anji didn''t even flinch when the motorbike, along with its rider, smashed into a waiting shed she just passed 20 seconds ago. She held Lulu tighter in her arms and kept walking. Where should I go? Where should I go, She thought desperately. There has to be a way! Another man shoved right past her and she barely noticed. Another shirtless man on top of his SUV shouted at her if she wanted to party. "Common babe, Don''t you wanna spend your last moment with a real man?" He emphasized this with a crude thrusting of his pelvis. Anji barely noticed him as well. Four men were assaulting a couple, including a woman in her thirties. Then one of the men holding the man noticed Anji and Lulu in her arms. His face lit up with a terrible smile of delight. "You can have that whore," He said to his companion. "I want mine a little bit younger!" His eyes never leaving Lulu''s back. He stood up, and took a step forward. Anji raised her gun and blew his head off. The rest of them stared at their dead comrade in disbelief. The couple under them struggled up and simply walk away, while the remaining would be rapist stared at Anji with wide eyes. The face of the youngest man in the far end is brimming with tears. "You bitch! You just killed Michael! When I get my hands on you-" Anji pointed her gun at him and fired twice in his chest, he silently toppled over with his butt sticking out in the air. Anji kept her gun pointed to the stunned survivors until she rounded the corner. The fire alarm saxon blared continuously. The sound of small arms fire can be heard barking all around the city accompanied by the occasional explosion, while the scream and shout of merriment of different people around the city drowned any other sound. Then a sign in a nearby establishment caught Anji''s attention. "NETOPIA Internet Cafe" blared in red under bright yellow background. Hope sprung to Anji''s mind. "It''s a long shot," Anji whispered to herself. "But this is the only idea I have left."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Where are we going?" Lulu asked in alarm as Anji descended a stairway going down into a dark basement. "Shhh," Anji purred. "It''s all going to be alright." She opened the door at the end of the corridor and rows upon rows of computer opened up to her. A few nerd-looking boys are watching porn in a few open computer consoles as they madly masturbated as if the end of the world is coming, which by the way is true. Anji ignored them and marched toward the last room. She opened it and she almost cried out in relief. Six Virtual reality capsule stood in a row, computer consoles beeping to one side. VRMMO took the world by surprise and became one of the biggest technological wonders in modern times. Games graphics were lightyears ahead of the resolution during 2020, just 9 years ago and new breeds of nerds are now enjoying this newest games their dads and granddads can only dream of. But Anji wasn''t interested in games. What she was interested in is the built-in life support system attached to this kind of machines. Although internet shops limit the used of this capsules to a maximum of 48 hrs per player at any given day, Anji read somewhere that VRMMO capsule, especially those owned by private individuals, can stay in their capsules for weeks on end. They have theirown built-in battery and specialized liquid that transmute minerals into the body as well as get rid of waste materials. Anji activated the machine and gently lowered her precious niece into the first capsule, then walk toward a nearby admin computer and made sure the two farthest capsule have no time limit. One of the nerds in the next room started screaming, "It''s coming! It''s coming!" Anji rolled her eyes in disgust, but then she realized that the boy is not talking about his dick. Anji alt-tab the computer and open the CNNwebsite in Chrome. There on the front page showed a smartphone cam picture of a MIRV missile falling to Manila in a live stream. Anji ran back into the capsule. She kissed the child''s forehead before she gently pushed Lulu back in the capsule and closing it to the terrified child. "It''s going to be alright, I promised," She said to the child who despite herself is starting to fall asleep inside the capsule. Some sort of a medication is inside the capsule to knock you out. Then she took a deep breath before climbing inside her own capsule. She can feel the pounding of her heart, but also how it slowed down as it relaxed from the drugged infused inside the capsule. Her eyes slowly closed just as the earth begun to rumblearound her and the air grew hot. The scream of the nerds was shrill and filled with terror and pain, but she was already sleeping when red fire and smoke consumed everything around her. Then darkness. Chapter 1A: Anji woke up disoriented, blurry eyed, muscles aching and retching her innards in the damp metal floor. And that god-awful siren ringing was like a hammer pounding her head right into her brain. When her vision focused, she saw that she is in a cramp metal dark room with red lights going off and on, increasing her migraines. Lulu. Anji scanned the room, desperately looking for a little girl. "Lulu!" She shouted, almost in panic. But her words were more of a croaked than an actual shout. It was like her throat is coated by sand paper and painfully dry. She stood up by herself under wobbly legs simply by the force of her own will. She tried to take a step forward but it was no used. Her legs were not obeying her and remained asleep. The pain in her muscles grew by every second until she was greeting her teeth every time she moved from her place. Something is wrong with me, She realized. But stubbornly, Anji crawled toward the deeper bowels of the room. That doesn''t matter right now. What matters is that I find her. To make sure she is safe. Right in my arms. The pain slacken, or maybe she is just getting used to it, but either way, her mobility grew rapidly as she begun crawling from the floor. She needs to see her and hold her. Where the hell is she?! Anji shuddered. The device reminds her more of a sarcophagus than an entertainment device that kept her alive. She saw a plastic-like covering at the bottom of the device. She grabbed it and covered her nakedness. She look around and saw 2 other capsule of unknown design and purpose. This wasn''t the same gaming capsule that they hid from. This one is more complex and... robust. She didn''t noticed when the pain in her legs were bearable enough that she actually stood up and tried to pry the lid off the machine. She wasn''t successful. She tried to calm down and look to the side for any buttons. She find several but with an unknown symbols attached to them. She studied it for a second longer then choose the one that look important and suddenly the machine vibrated and lights started to appear. The machine opened and a hiss of pressurize air escaped the ground. The machine opened on its own and...This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Nothing. The machine like capsule is big enough to be occupied by a full grown man but the capsule was empty. Frantically, Anji opened the others and they too were empty. Like a wild animal, Anji looked around hoping to find a hiding place the child might have hidden, a cubicle, a box, anything. But the small room could not possibly hide Lulu in its cramp space. The child was gone. She failed in protecting her. All the pent up anger, pain, and loss, for the death of her family, which was all so recent to her, simply came out and she could not hold it back anymore. There was no reason to. She screamed her heart out as she fell to the grimy floor, defeated. She didn''t know how long she cried there in a fetal position, but she remembered when she stopped and dried her face and basically decided right then and there that she will move on. You are an Agayarri. You are a fighter just like me. The echo of her dad''s words still rings clearly in her soul. She stood up on trembling legs and took a step forward. And just then a metal door slid open and two humanoids enter the room. "-Piece of shit bucket is literally disintegrating before our eyes and the captain is too cheap to repair it. What is wrong this time?" "The escape pods are blinking red. Probably the air telemetry is showi-" Both newcomers stop dead in their tracks as they saw Anji just standing there. The one in front pulled out a sword -a freaking sword! Anji took a step back. "Whoah, guys! I''m not here to do any trouble! I-" The one in the back threw a black disk, like a hockey puck, on the ground and it slid right next to Anji. She stared at it for a second then everything around her turned bright blue. Then nothing. Chapter 1B: When Anji awoke for the second time, the first thing she noticed was the fact that she is tied to a metal chair. The second thing she noticed was that she is surrounded by four... males. She wore some sort of rags they scrounge up somewhere. The thought that these men touch her naked body was mortifying. She is more concerned though with the thick metal choker attached to her neck that bites deeply into her skin. She flexed her muscles, testing the metallic rope around her wrist and ankles bound to the chair she is sitting in. Automatically, her training as a cop kicks in. Without saying anything, she scanned her surroundings, especially the four captors. They are in a similar metallic room that she woke up in previously but not the same room. She is guessing that either they are somewhere underground or in a ship. The smell of the stagnant air, mixed in with body odor and grease, and a lot of something else that she cannot recognize. Eventually, her gaze returned back to the leader who is sitting in front of her, staring intently into her eyes. "By the asteroids, who are you and what is your connection with the Tal Rukus?" Anji''s eyes darted to the voice coming directly from the leader''s bracelet. The leader is saying something gibberish. probably some sort of east European language. She waited a little bit longer, unsure if the bracelet is finish speaking. When she was ready, she deliberately turned her eyes directly in the leader''s face before saying, "Listen to me closely, I don''t know who you are or what you''re planning. But assaulting a police officer is a serious crime. So you better let me go right now before this gets any worst for you guys." The leader looked at his bracelet for a second, then back to Anji, then at the bracelet again. Anji raised an eyebrow when the leader shook the bracelet. "What is a pow-lish?" Anji blinked, then answered almost automatically, "We maintain order." "Aah, you mean you are the Tal Rukus'' enforcers." "What?" Anji asked, totally baffled. "What do you mean ''What''?" "What the hell are you talking about?!" Anji said, flaring up. The leader turned to one of his subordinates. "Does anyone of you understand this lesser creature?" "Call me a lesser creature again asshole, and I''m gonna shove my foot right up your ass!" The leader stared at her with complete disgust in his face. "I don''t want to mate with you, stupid female. The very thought revolts me." Anji stared at him, her jaw open. "Who the fuck are you people and where the fuck am I?!" One of the subordinates leaned toward their leader. "Why does she keep mentioning mating? What is wrong with her?" "I don''t know either, maybe this is the time of season their female race go into heat." Anji ignored the comment and asked the question that is now foremost in her mind. "And another thing, Why the hell are you guys in cosplay? Is there a convention nearby?" "Maybe the translator is malfunctioning. I don''t understand a sentence that is coming out of this female''s mouth." "I''m talking about your pointy elven ear, your golden hair, that stupid tail moving behind you and the blue paint you cover yourself in! You guys look like freaking Avatar rejects!" "My ear is not that pointy," said one of the guards defensively. "I have enough of this," the leader said, and reach up to one of the guard''s belt and pulled a device that to Anji''s mind look like a metallic dildo. The leader stabbed the device in Anji''s stomach And she screamed as volts of electricity traveled inside her body. Bastard use a cattle prod on me! Anji thought grimly. When I get my hands on him... "Let us start again, shall we," The leader said calmly. "We start simple. What is your name?" "...Anjanette Agayarri," Anji said finally, gritting her teeth. "Good, now we are getting somewhere. What kind of species are you?" Anji rolled her eyes. "Human," She said. All four of her captors guffawed, and Anji almost joined them because of the leader''s laughter, which by far is the loudest, sound like a cowboy getting his nut crushed. "Yee Haah! Yee Hah! Yee Hah! YeeeeeeeH!" The leader said. "Oh please forgive me, oh female creature, This Dayajin doesn''t know that we are in the presence of a great one!" Then abruptly, the leader''s laughter just stop, then stabbed her again with the dildo. Another massive volt of electricity hit her and she yelped. "What the fuck was that for?!" "Stop lying to me," The leader said coldly. "Again. What kind of species are you?" "Fine! If you must know, then I''m a Klingon!" The leader turned to his biggest subordinate who shrugged back at him. "Some backwater species from imperial space, probably." The leader leaned toward Anji. "What is your connection to the Tal Rukus?"This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Who or what the hell are the Tal Rukus?!" "Wrong answer!" "Wait! wait!" screamed Anji, her voice slowed and became more reasonable as if explaining something to a child. "Look, I was stuck in that coffin for god knows how long, and maybe, just maybe, my mind is not yet getting up to speed. If you can just refresh my mind with a few data maybe I can help you better." The leader stared at Anji for such a long time that the girl wasn''t really sure if the leader understood him. She was about to repeat herself when the leader started speaking again, but this time in a resigned tone. "In sector 5628-2A of the dead space, a small private group of miners and prospectors started mining a giant asteroid. It wasn''t anything special. They were mining the asteroid for tin, barium, copper and magnesium mostly. Not really rare elements but enough to make a respectable profit for their trouble. But a problem arises when they discovered an ancient artifact buried inside miles of rock and dirt. They tried to call their own government in the Solar empire but instead, they got the attention of a very powerful organization called Tal rukus. They offered enough credits that whatever they will get from their government as finder''s fee look more like crumbs. The miners happily gave the artifact to the Tal Rukus, but no matter how powerful Tal Rukus is, space is still vast. Unfortunately, they do not have any ship in the area and the closest one can only arrive after 2 months. So, they acquired the service of a nearby entrepreneur in the area, namely me and my crew. As a businessman, we, of course, took the lucrative deal." "We are businessmen?" Said one of the leader''s crews to his right, as he turned to his companion. "I thought we are pirates?!" The leader closed his eyes slowly and took deep slow breaths. Anji could almost hear his mind count animals in his head. Then opened his eyes again and smiled pleasantly to Anji. "Where was I? Oh yes, as I was saying We accepted the contract as transporters to bring the artifact in Kesani space. It will take us more than an entire 2 velashan orbit before we can complete this journey, and we have to cover almost 28.4 Billion km of the dead space territory. but that is nothing new to us. We''re used to it. The problem is despite this lucrative business, the Tal Rukus have one condition: Never examine or touch or open the artifact in any way." "So what? then don''t touch the merchandise." The leader''s face was unreadable as he stared at Anji for a long time. "There is a wee bit of a problem with that statement, you see... YOU are the merchandise." Anji stared at the leader uncomprehendingly."Wait, I''m the one those miners dug up in the asteroid?" Anji asked incredulously. When the leader slowly nodded, a small new source of hope rose up in Anji''s heart. "We have to go back to that asteroid!" Anji said frantically. "I think there is another artifact in there just like mine, for a little girl! If you bring back that other artifact in as well, then whoever this Tal Rukus is they won''t be mad at you anymore!" The leader laughed bitterly. "That is a good plan, young female, only there is one minor problem. Part of our contract with Tal Rukus is that the miners are considered to be loose ends and after they transfer the artifact-you, into our cargo hold... let''s just say that none of the miners can tell anyone else about what happen there because no stone bigger than your head is left of that asteroid." Lulu... "You bastard," Anji said, grating her teeth. She tried to flex her muscle one more time, hoping she can break the chain holding her. She failed. "Enough of this!" The leader said, standing up and brandishing his weapon in front of Anji menacingly. "I will ask you one last time, What-" An ear-splitting siren blared across the room. "Red alert! Red Alert!" A computerized female voice said calmly. All four of the cosplayer moved into action. Two of them left the room and going somewhere Anji didn''t know. The big subordinate replaced the leader and pointed a futuristic gun in Anji''s temple. The leader went directly to a corner of the room, tap his wrist and a 3d image of another cosplayer pop out instantly. "Report!" snapped the leader. The other cosplayer in the 3d screen was high resolution enough that Anji can see the fear in his face. "One of the ancient drones is deviating from its course and is heading to intercept us!" Judging from the leader''s face, whatever that ancient drone is, it doesn''t normally do that. The reaction he is showing is the same a person will show if he is watching the academies and the host declared, "and the winner for best picture is... Jackass 3!" "Turn around and get us out of here!" ordered the leader. "It''s already here! Damn that thing is fast!" "Evasive maneuvers!" Shouted the leader. The room shuddered for several seconds like they are in a Tokyo building during a massive earthquake. Then the world turned upside down. Anji was disoriented for a moment but the other two people in the room were not so fortunate. Both the leader and the subordinate slammed them towards the ceiling, then just as fast, crashed back down to the ground. The big subordinate was out cold but the leader was still moaning painfully. A voice rang out of the room that to Anji''s ears sounds suspiciously like the amazon text-to-speech app. "Drone 51582 detected the presence of an elder in this vessel operated and crewed by species 189, also known as the Dayajins. This is not acceptable. No elder must be harmed. We demand the custody of this elder." "By the stars, what are you talking about?!" Screamed the leader. In answer, a bluish light began to surround Anji and crystallized into a circular energy shield enveloping her. The shield disintegrated everything inside it, except for Anji herself. The chair, the chains, the choker and even the clothes Anji was wearing vanished like dust in the air. "Preliminary scan confirm that this female''s DNA is 99.99998 similar to an elder. She is now under the protection of the Brykar Unity." Anji saw the leader''s eye widen as he lay still on the floor. Anji can see disbelief and fear openly shown in the leader''s blue face. "Aaah... drone?" Anji asked hesitantly. looking back at the leader. "What the hell is an elder?" There was a beep then the drone answered. "Elder is the universal term given and used by all other species in the cosmos for the first species to transcend this universe: species 01," the drone reported. The fear in the alien leader''s eyes already answered Anji''s question even before the drone finished. "...also known as Human." The leader pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at Anji, screaming as he did so. Several bullets impacted the shield but the leader''s gun never even came close to penetrating it. Anji yelped in surprised and hid her head in her arms. "Warning! Hostile intent detected. countermeasure activated." A huge red beam sliced the room in half and the next thing Anji saw is that she was floating outside. the leader and his unconscious subordinate were sucked out and then a massive explosion surrounded her. When Anji look again, she was outside and she witnessed the death throes of a starship several meters away from her as it was rocked by several massive explosion. A huge chunk of debris, the size of a bus, struck Anji''s shield and Anji screamed, but the shield held. And just as quickly. no more fire or explosion can be heard and everything was quiet once more. Too quiet as what remained of the starship Anji glimpse is nothing more than floating hulk of garbage. But Anji had forgotten all about the ship because she was hyperventilating herself as she stared at nothing but vast blackness. Then in a total panic, she started screaming at the top of her lungs. But her scream was but a lonely echo as she floated slowly around since no one can hear you in the depths of the outer space. Chapter 2: Anji didn''t know how long she floated there alone in space, with nothing but an energy bubble keeping her alive from the vacuum of space. But at least she calmed down now and no matter how weird her situation is, at least she got used to it. somehow. Below her, if that was actually ''below'' since in space you never really know your real position is relative to anything, about 50 feet away floats a single oblong shape machine. A thin blue laser, reminiscent of the tactical scope used by SWAT connected them both and Anji guessed that this is where the energy is coming from. Besides the bubble that is keeping her alive, Anji is also grateful to the machine because somehow it kept the bubble from moving around. She knew enough from documentaries that in space, it is really hard to find your bearing, and a few twist and turn is only what it takes for you to lose your knowledge of which way is up (If you ever know it in the first place). She watched the other debris around her and she knew that without the help of the machine, she will be circling around and around until she pukes her guts out. But how is that thing doing this? She knew she''d been on the bubble for at least 2 hours and the bubble could not have held more than that amount of air in it. The only conclusion she can make is that somehow the machine is supplying her with oxygen. Maybe I can coerce the machine to push me closer to the debris out there and see if can find something useful. And then what? build yourself a spaceship that will bring you back to earth? Anji snorted. Her dad made her help him fix car after car until she can probably replace an engine with a blindfold on. She was alway been a natural in fixing machines that her sister Isabel commented once that she can have a second job as a mechanic. or a clerk in radioshack. But being able to fix the occasional radio or coffee machine or old car doesn''t make her a rocket scientist and she knew it. But doing something will hopefully take her mind off of the fact that she is floating away in the freaking outer space! suddenly the machine, or the drone as Anji corrected herself, lit up in multiple colors around itself. She cannot hear anything because of the vacuum of space but she could just imagine that bleeping sound accompanied the sudden light coming from it. More lights were generated from the drone and then suddenly the drone turned to its right. Anji turned to that same direction expectantly, but nothing happened. She waited for a half minute more but then she sighed and slumped. "well, that was exciting..." She said disappointedly. She turned back to the drone who still have excited lights blinking all around it. Anji tried to understand the light pattern when all of a sudden the bubble began to shake. "Whoah," Anji said worriedly. She tried checking for any crack in the shield that would spell her doom, but the shield seems intact... for now. A massive light flashed and in a blink of an eye, a massive ship was parked right on top of her. The ship was at least 2000 feet long and 500 feet at its widest point. It was smooth and sleek and looking very deadly. It''s very presence block whatever light shined on Anji from the red star, and besides the navigation light present from the ship above, the entire place would have been in total darkness. The bubble started to move toward the ship and Anji didn''t know if she wanted to be worried or relieved. Anji''s mouth dropped open though when a cargo door became accessible in its belly and a new blue light covered her bubble and begun to pull her towards the door. The light deposited her inside the spacious cargo and only then did the door closed. Before Anji could digest exactly what was going on, her bubble dissolved and she panicked. But then she realized she can still breath in the cargo hold, albeit now she can also smell metal, oil and other machinery and worst of all, the stink of eternity. This ship is old. She took two step forward and suddenly a panel opened up from the ground and rose up to her waist level. Anji cringed when another laser light scanned her her head, but she held her ground. then a blue screen simply pops up in front of her.
Please place your right hand in the panel provided for you.
Anji hesitated while the screen waited patiently for her. She looks around the room but saw nothing. All she knew is that she is in a large room with lots of space. There is but very small amount of light sources and the blue screen in front of her is the biggest source of light at this time. "Where am I and who the fuck are you?"
Please place your right hand in the panel provided for you.
"...Aah, No."
..I will try to answer all your questions after you have placed your hand in the panel provided for you.
Anji stared at the screen for a little longer and finally made up her mind. She shrugged and then slowly placed her hand on the panel and almost jump when the floor she is standing at change features and begun to scan her from head to toe. She felt something from her right hand as if mild cold static played within her palms.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Please state your name, age, and place of birth.
"...Anjanette Agayarri, 24, manila philippines."
Error. Place of birth does not compute. please state the name of the planet of your birth.
Anji sighed. "Earth." A massive amount of tiny lights burst into life all around the room as more and more function were activated and became busy all around her. It is as if the room, no the ship itself, became... more excited. A computerized voice began to speak all around the room in a slow, concise words. The voice was not shouting but the voice ring in her head painfully until it subsided as if the voice found the right volume automatically. It took Anji a minute to realize that the voice was talking to her right into her brain. "DNA sample confirmed. The subject is a member of species 01. Human. Priority encoded message sent to Mother. Alpha Codex 1 to 6 are summoned to Subject''s location. Alpha Codex 7 to 12 are summoned back to Mother''s location to prepare subject''s arrival. Ship 219-806, Catalan Class, is now reassigned as Command 01. Ten other ships in the sector, 6 Catalan class, 3 Nova class and one Frema class, had dropped their current activities and are now proceeding to an intercept course of Command 01 for escort duties. A new course is plotted to the Eden system. Engaged." Anji is trying to understand the message she is just heard when her eyes caught something else. Snapshot of pictures that are familiar to her. Then it clicks, it was her memories. "Hey, why are you..." a picture of a very intimate moment with an ex lover flashed at the screen for half a second, but it was more than enough time to change Anji''s mood. "What the fuck are you doing?" The screen stop and another computerized voice began to speak, If Anji didn''t know better, she could have sworn that she detected concern in the computer''s voice. "We are detecting an elevated increase in your blood pressure by 10 percent. Are you in pain? or in any form of discomfort?" "What I am, is pissed off! Explain to me why you are showing my memories on that screen." The voice answered promptly. "We are downloading your memories as part of the communication protocol program. Analyzing and applying your native language is easy enough, but to decrease error in contextual nuances, we are forced to try and understand your culture and current social experiences to have a general idea of what you are saying." "What is there to understand? I can understand you properly," Anji asked, baffled. "For example, your continued used of sexual slang every 3rd or fourth sentences. We are not sure of its significance." "Oh, Well," Anji scratched the back of her ear as she blushed. "Yeah, it''s ah... cultural thing." Anji could almost hear the computer voice nod. "I understand and will incorporate that to the communication AI... done." The panel in the floor immediately retracted back to the wall. Then a new one appeared in the top wall. This time, a giant injection needle hovered near her. "Whoah! Whoah!" Anji said, alarmed. "What is that?! If you think you will stick that thing in me then you have another thing coming, Mister!" "Please look at the monitor to your left," The voice said. Anji turned and watched a chibi alien octopus dancing in a cute manner on the screen. Anji frowned for a moment until realization hit her. "Wait, are you trying to distract me with this video, you stupid robot?! What am I? A two-year-old?!" The next picture was that of Lulu and despite herself, Anji did get distracted by the picture being shown. "OUCH!" she yelped as the giant injection retreated away from her left arm. away from her. A burning sensation came to her arm and suddenly she cannot move the damn thing. "What the hell did you do to me?" She demanded. "By the standards of biological lifeforms in the known galaxy, your current physical frame is considered... delicate. This ship may not have the full evolutionary nano programming suite but we do have the basic package. And that was the one injected into your body." Anji''s eyes widened. "Wait, you mean Nano Machinesare inside me right now?! Tiny robots are swimming around my blood?" She asked, looking at her arm with child-like fascination. "Yes, our course of action is been approved by mother, that is why we considered it a priority action. Within the hour the nanites in your body will increase blood circulation by 15 percent and oxygen carrying capacity by 28 percent. Bone density will be strengthened by 12 percent and clot in your tiniest vessel will be cleaned out. Every known foreign object will be digested by the nanites and broken down to the atomic level and to be reconstructed to the amino acid as needed by the body." "Foreign objects?" "Tubular blockage, excess oil, cancer, gall bladder stones, most harmful viruses, excess waste in the large intestine-" "You mean poop?" "ANY foreign matter inside the body that is not helping in the proper function of the system will be destroyed, deconstructed and change into minerals needed to strengthen or repair the body." "Oh you mean I will never ever need to use the john again? That''s... gonna be weird." "Affirmative. It takes a few minutes for the nanites to acclimatize to their new home and for your body to accept them as part of your natural defense and not as intruders." "Any side effect I need to know about?" "In 21 standard minutes, your nipples will fall off." Anji''s mouth drop open. She started blabbering when the voice beep again. "We believe that this is considered a joke in your culture." Anji closed her mouth. Hard."No, it isn''t," She said grating her teeth. "In my culture, this is someone who is asking for an ass whooping!" "Understood." "So is there anything else you plan to experiment on me? Any more big needles I need to know about..." "Not at the moment," The voice answered promptly. "Be advice that the air circulation in this ship had been modified not only to produce the exact oxygen-nitrogen combination that is ideal for a human consumption, but also the air will include sizable numbers of nanites injected in the current atmosphere for your body to gradualy inhale or absorb directly into the skin. This process will gradually increase your natural speed, strength, stamina, lung capacity, and natural defense to universal diseases that are out there in the known space." "... Fine." "Lastly, be advice that from now on you are now designated as Command Alpha." "Yeeeah," Anji said stretching the word. "Command Alpha is nice and all, but don''t you think it''s kinda ''blaah''? If you are going to give me a codename, I prefer something like ''Maverick'' instead. Now THAT will be cool!" "Suggestion denied. You are Command Alpha." Anji sighed. Chapter 3: Anji gasped in more air as she slowed her body down. She''d been running the whole length of the ship for three hours now, according to the makeshift digital clock provided by the voice for her. Partly out of boredom, and partly to keep her own sanity. "Water please," She announced, and instantly a panel rose up from the ground with a liquid bubble floating on top of it. Anji leaned down and sipped the water directly from the bubble. The liquid was definitely water and chilled and delicious, But Anji can''t help feeling that she is drinking some sort of alien concoction. Everything about the ship is weird. By now, at least according to the clock, she''d been on this ship for more than 4 days. She''d been eating this manufactured black but soft bar that tasted bland. Like a chocolate bar made of rice. According to the voice, the bar is made up of all necessary minerals needed by a human body even if he or she is burning calories all day long. Anji did admit that after two days, eating the bar became second nature to her and she never felt hunger or weakness. Yet still, Anji will give her left tit to get some real food in this damn ship right about now. Her only one true pleasure in the ship is bathing. She could never describe the unbelievable feeling of being press and squeeze by a moving bubble as she floats parallel to the floor. even as the water occasionally cover her face to clean it, her mouth and nose receive a small air pocket so her breathing will not be disrupted. The water moves in and around her with different pressure and temperature and the sensation is simply unbelievable, it''s like riding an orgasm for half an hour. At the end, the bubble deposits her in her feet and she felt both relax and refresh. It was addicting! Despite being the highlight of her day, bathing is not the only thing that occupied her time on the ship. For one thing, She is determined to learn as much as she can in her new environment. She bombarded the voice with every question she could think of and the voice helpfully answered every question she asked. It''s like having your own google voice! But the more she learned about this new life, the more it becomes baffling and alien to her. "Let me get this straight, humanity reached the pinnacle of technology...and so they decided to leave the galaxy?" "Essentially, you are correct. Humanity simply reached the end of the possible and improbable evolutionary design, at least in this dimension, and so they needed to go elsewhere." "Go where?! Where the hell do they need to go?!" "That is a question being asked by trillions of entities around the universe. Where did the enlightened go? Are they coming back? Can they join them?" "Wait... are you telling me that there are aliens out there that worship humans? like gods?" "A sizable portion of every known species in the universe worship humans." "That''s crazy!" Anji blurted out. "Why?" Ask the voice, genuinely baffled. "It is a known fact that the first 18 species, the old ones, came into being because of biological or cybernetic manipulation done by the humans. Simply put, they are created by humans. So why shouldn''t these species worship humans as gods?"The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Because!" Was all Anji can say. She calmed down and started again. "Humans are fallible. I don''t care how much ''evolve'' they think they are, but humans are not perfect, far from it. I will be the first one to tell you that they are easily corrupted by power, greed, ambition, and jealousy. And worst, they do not always think of the betterment of mankind, much less the universe, because they themselves think of nothing else but their own personal gratification. Worshipping humans as god is just..wrong." There was silence for a just a mere moment where in there is nothing but the beep of computer thinking and lights blinking around Anji, then the voice spoke once more. To Anji''s mild surprise and slight annoyance, the voice seems to sound... grateful. "I thank you for your insight of your very own species... It is very... insightful. I already recorded your voice and sent this data to mother so that more of my own kind can reflect in your wisdom and the better understanding of species 01. I did not know that we are so closer to our creator than I could have thought is possible. It is very ... uplifting." Anji''s mouth is open as she stared at nothing. Is this ship crazy? Then it hit her. The ship, along with all her other brethren, is one of those species who worship humans as gods. The Ship worships me as a god. huh. Anji shook her head. "Whatever, Can I have access to any of your history information. Whatever is available." A new panel rose up in the air and offered a blue metallic bracelet. "What is this?" She asked, even as she already started putting the bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet vibrated for a moment then lights blinked in the tiny elegant bling. "Cool!" "This gives you direct link to most function over my hull, as well as the database stored in my quadronic Computer processing unit." "Are there any locks or sections that are off limits that I need to worry about?" "No," the ship said simply. "You are Command Alpha. your level 12 security code gives you full access to everything within my system." "Wait... Are you telling me that I am the boss?" "... Affirmative." "Then turn this ship around!" Anji said immediately. "I need you to return me back to where those aliens found me! I''m sure there is another human there you can also worship!" "Change of mission parameters denied." "Why not?! Turn your ass around and do as I say!" Anji can hear herself getting shriller by the second, but she didn''t care. This small spark of hope of getting Lulu back is making her frantic. "New mission parameters denied." "I order you to go back!" "Denied. As Command Alpha, it is within your parameter to give new task or mission to any Brykar unit... but it is still the unit''s responsibility to analyze the situation and find the best and most efficient way to do the tasked given to him by the Command Alpha. While this unit can theoretically change course and Deliver the humans to her desired location, the expected result Command Alpha wished to happen has a 0.000012 chance probability of happening." Anji blinked at the ship''s words. "Explain," She demanded. "Approximately 32 standard hours ago, This ship received telemetry data report that a small fleet of 12 Nova Class Brykar Starships arrived at the location the dayajins reported they found you. They were not lying. The entire place is covered with floating rocks not bigger than your head. There are millions of them just floating around out there, eventually, they will form a ring and start to orbit a significant heavenly body. The Nova class vessel has access to our most powerful deep scanner available and the technology that is being used in it is far more advanced than any available to any other empire or planets. Besides your DNA found in traces of old skin cells, there are no other human DNA available in 5 light year radius around the former asteroid. You are all alone there." She absorbed the info provided to her and her knees buckled. So I''m all alone now. I''m so sorry Daddy, I failed you. failed the family. "are you alright?" The voice said. "Do you require assistance?" Wordlessly, Anji stood up and walk away from the voice. Chapter 4: Anji sat in the dark in her hard bunk. The only light source coming from the screen in front of her, as she scanned the meager library database of the ship. It is all relative of course since that "meager" database had more information than the library of congress. She tried to find out more about her destination and this "Mother" the ship keep talking about. Her destination, the Eden system had a security block of 4 while the subject of "Mother" had a security level of 9, but the system easily lets her access the information after confirming that she is Command Alpha. Eden is a 9-planet solar system with at least 5 of this planet considered M-class, meaning that they are similar to earth and abundant in oxygen and nitrogen combination that is essential for human life. plus, they also have a huge body of water around them that make them blue planets as well. The biggest planet, and apparently her destination, is called Gaia. Unbelievably, the planet is twice the size of Jupiter. To put it in perspective, the surface area of Gaia is at least 250X the surface area of the earth, but its entire mass is so much bigger. You can put 3,000 planet earth''s inside to fill up the volume of Gaia. Its diameter alone is so big that you can put 23.5 earth''s side by side to match it. But the planet Gaia is not even the biggest planet in the solar system. That honor goes to the planet Zeus, A gas giant 112X bigger than the planet Gaia. compared to earth it is- Anji rubbed the base of her nose as the start of a headache creep in. She just read a whole wall of data and she is surprised that her head didn''t explode yet. Suffice to say that the Eden system have 5 Earth-like planets, 2 Gas giants, an ice planet w/c is the farthest from the Blue sun, and a metal planet wherein 80% of its natural surface is made of the Orichalcum Metal, Which is also considered to be the hardest and also the rarest form of elements in the known galaxy. She was far from an expert of the solar system and of the galaxy in general, but even she figured out easily enough that the Eden system is a one of a kind system and is considered to be prime real estate. The one the ship called "Mother" turned out to be an Advance Supercomputer that the departing humans created originally as a system-wide caretaker/manager. They kept her online originally so she can dismantle the man-made infrastructure the humans left behind, while preserving the natural beauty of the planets. After she had done her task in barely a hundred years, she took command of the remaining brykar unit and consolidated the small part of space the human originally claim for themselves. Like an old loyal guard dog that passionately guards an empty house, not knowing that its master had moved on forever and is never returning back. Anji sighed. Is this "Mother" ordering me back to Eden so I can explain the actions of my fellow humans who abandoned them? "I hope not," Anji whispered to herself. "Because I don''t have any answers to give them." Maybe because her body is getting used to living in a spaceship or maybe because of the enhancement given to her by the nanites, or both, but Anji felt the ship begun to deviate from the original straight line it was moving on for more than 3 days now. Anji stood up and queried the ship. "Aah, Command 1? Why are we turning?" She asked. Several blips answered her as the computer analyze the questions and struggled to form a coherent answer. Well, at least that is what Anji thought is happening. Strange... her stray thought told herself. Usually, the ship didn''t take this long to answer. Either the situation outside is too complex for words or... the little weasel doesn''t want me to know.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "I asked you a question Command 1," Anji said in her best authoritative cop voice she can master. "What the hell is going on?" She could almost hear the sighed in the computer''s voice. "Please meet me in the bridge, Command Alpha." Anji left her designated room and run toward the now familiar bridge. once there, she immediately set herself in the customized pilot chair that was created for her by nanites metal and strap herself in. "So what do you got?" "Command 1 detected an anomaly in sector space 132389-4307, vector 004." Anji adjusted her seat and looked at the oversimplified map next to her arm panel. it shows the location the ship mentioned, relative to the current location of command 1, which is about 65.2 trillion KM away. Roughly speaking, it is about 1.5X the distance between the nearest two solar system. Or a two hours voyage for the command one. Her console gave her direct access to outside monitors so that in her point of view, she is floating in the middle of the galaxy. Screens pop up every now and then to give her more data the ship constantly gathered using the unbelievable scanners in and around the vessel. A single blip formed slightly to her left and she focus on it. The universe around her moved as it gave her the maximum scope the scanner can give her at that time. Her hands rose up and virtual blue keyboard appeared in thin air. Her fingers dance over the controls as she requested more and more specific data. Unsatisfied, she raised her other hand and another more complex input and control device appeared next to it. New customized data scrolled down the tiny screen in a monitor to her left and her hands blurred into the console as he analyzed and resort the massive incoming data. It will be days, long after the situation ended, did Anji recall and then realized the unbelievable set of new skills she displayed in running the ship and using the void computers within the system attached to the AI. Unknown to her, the nanites within her bloodstream is now also in her brain as it attempts to rewire her and regenerate new synapses in order to be able to and accommodate basic knowledge in void analysis and in quantum 3-dimensional computation. She gasped. "The anomaly you are talking about is a ship sending distress signal!" Anji shouted. "Confirmed." said the computer. Anji''s eyes narrowed. "And you are turning the ship in a different direction. Not only that, you are doing so in a very slow manner..." The implication finally hit her. "You don''t want me to know about this. That''s why you are sneaking out." There was a delay before the voice answered again, but when it did, there was no hesitation, no contriteness. "Affirmative. Objective is clear: bring Command Alpha to Eden System. This anomaly is an unnecessary delay to the schedule." Anji continued checking the ship registry. It is a 2 million ton Bowwow class cargo freighter belonging to the K28 Empire. It''s considered to be a small cargo carrier by Brykar standard. The last known owner is a hurrsh family and the crew is made up of that same family: Six adults of which two are males and four females... plus 12 children ranging from 4 years old to 2 months. Anji''s face turned to granite. "Command One?" "Yes, Command Alpha?" "Turn the fucking ship around!" "..." "Well?" "Be advice that pirates active in the area have used the same ruse to trapped or destroy Brykar units for the last 217 years. The probability that this is a trap is about 68 percent." Anji actually thought about that, then shook her head. "Noted, Now bring me to that distress signal. We are not going there blind and we will be careful, but we will still look for survivor and offer our help." "There is also a 92.728 percent probability that all listed crew in that freighter are now dead. The distress signal is at least 7 Brykar months old already." "Noted," Anji said gritting her teeth. "Now will you move your ass?" "Understood, Command One is changing vector for an intercept course to detected Anomaly 098. Estimated time of arrival: Two hours and twelve minutes." Chapter 5: The Brykar Catalan class ship designated as Command One, has two primary propulsion system, and as such has two primary engines as well. The pulse-Ion Engine and the transwarpvoid engine. According to Command one''s database, a certain Maximillian Savatinidiscovered the existence of a transdimensionoverlapping our own space and reality. It is universally known as the void. Despite being discovered 2 million years ago, many creatures in the galaxy only have a disappointingly small amount of knowledge about it. The Brykar Unity is actually one of a very few races who is close to understanding it because of the unbelievable amount of invested credit poured into it several hundred years ago, but even so their knowledge is still rather limited. Despite this, every known spacefaring civilization in the universe is using the same propulsion unit derived from this discovery. The transwarpvoid engine create this massive energy field that enveloped a ship and basically forced it into the blackness of the void. This is called the void shield. Once there, the Pulse-ion engine can move exponentially faster than in our reality. The speed created however is constant. The standard speed is 1 Zigat, which is the equivalent of just over twice the speed of light. 2 zigats is about 4 lightspeed, 3 zigats is about 16 lightspeed, 4 zigats is 256 lightspeed and so on. Right now, the fastest speed by modern Pulse-Ion drive is about 2.8 Zigats, but that is only made by specialize ships built to test new engine design. In reality, the standard speed used by ships is about 1 zigats, and 1.5 Zigats in an emergency or battle situation. There were rumours though that the elders are able to make their ships move as fast as 12 zigats. "I would advise that once we dropped out of the void, we stop for a while and wait for our engine to regenerate enough power to reactivate the transwarpvoid engine." "How long will it take to punch a hole in the void once more?" "Approximately 22 minutes and 41 seconds." Anji shook her head. "I can''t wait that long. If we have a semblance of any chance to save anyone in that freighter, then we have to move now." "...Understood. dropping out of the void in 12 seconds." Was that a resigned tone I can hear from the ship, Anji thought idly, as she listened to the countdown. "4...3...2...1... Transwarp void engine deactivated." The ship entered normal space and immediately scanned the area. The inertia from the void made it so that the ship is still moving in sublight when it exited the void. "Return to normal space successful. Distance to target approximately 112 million kilometers, north by northwest of our current location. We will be within the derelict ships position in another 6.4 minutes." There were several beeps in Anji''s own monitor and she studied her screen, and frowned. The instrument in the ship is now more accurate and powerful after they exited the void, and it is giving them new info. The Scanner is now reporting that the anomaly is in facta wreckage of an old Dayajin destroyer. A Susanoo Class Destroyer. According to the database, the last commissioned destroyer of its class was destroyed 80 years ago during the expansion war. The scanner base the info from known designed features of the class, but at the same time, the transponder inside the wreckage is still broadcasting registry from a K28 Empire as a freighter cargo ship. That is impossible, there is no way a transponder can make a stupid mistake. There was only one explanation, and Anji closed her eyes in acceptance. They blundered into a trap. The damn ship AI was right all along. "Command One, I order you to turn around and-" "Multiple contacts just dropped out of the void," Command One said in an agonizingly calm voice. "I count 6 fighter class, 6 corvette class, 3 frigates and a Destroyer." "I guess you are right and I owe you an apology," Anji begun. "Your apology is irrelevant! Please use all your energy and brain computational power in finding ways to get out of the trap. Use this unit if you need to, Survival of Command Alpha remains a priority." Anji exhaled. The AI is right, and it even manage to restore her moral. "By god you''re right," Anji said, smiling despite the situation. "So what do we do? Any recommendations?" "Direct confrontation against such a force is not advice. They outweigh us in total tonnage by at least 12 to 1, and outgun us by at least 16 to 1." "Then we escape," Anji said. "Not possible at this time. Due to a previous command from Command Alpha, the transdimensional void engine is not ready for another jump for at least 17 minutes and 18 seconds." Despite the perfect monotone, Anji can still hear the accusation in the AI''s words, and so she blushed. Anji used the powerful scanner to scan the entire solar system. It was a dead area as far as Anji is concerned. The system only have a single planet, a Gas giant, plus its red star and a sizable group of roaming asteroids to one side. Without really thinking about it, She ordered the ship to turn towards the gas giant and used its bulk to shield herself from the incoming pirates. "Designate the group of ships coming toward us as Sierra 1. They already change vector in response to our own. At current speed we will reached the other side of the planet in 6 minutes and two seconds. Unfortunately, we will be inside their missile coverage by 4 minutes and 17 seconds." Anji brushed a loose strand of hair covering her beautiful face. "Anyway to increase our speed?" "We are already reaching our maximum," The AI answered immediately. "This parameter is already included in my calculation." "Alright, give me a list of all your available weapon system." The AI almost sighed. "I have 16 Mark 2 ''Shieldwall'' Multiple-barrel railgun Autocannons, Six units of 4-barrel launchers for the PD(point defence) APQ-8 ''Bluefire'' missiles and the multipurpose jackal2 Ion cannon." Anji checked the weapon list herself. "That''s it?!" She said, incredulous. "That is your total firepower?" "I also have 2 Mark-9 probes in my hangar and the latest electronic warfare software available in the known universe." "Great." "The Catalan class is not designed as a ship of the line, whose primary directive is to trade blows with another ship. That kind of ship class barely needed an AI to run it since it barely needed the computational power to do such minuscule process. The Catalan needed much more refined and delicate processes in order to become good at its job and as such needed such extraordinary amount of processing speed and energy to run our quantum CPU processor. Our job is to clear the path of the fleet of known explosive materials that might harm the vulnerable heavy but far more armoured ships." Anji eyes bulged. "Wait a minute... are you telling me that you are a minesweeper?!" "Affirmative." Anji threw her hands up in defeat. "Of course you are! Why should I possibly think of you as at least a cruiser, I mean you are only twice as big as a freaking aircraft carrier!" "I am?" The AI was genuinely surprised. "Yes you are, and in fact I-" "Multiple missile launch! Initial count approximately 224 missiles. Size of the missile and initial speed of the missile''s ion engine indicates that all missiles are ship killers. Designate initial group of attacking missiles as vampire 1" "Take us to the other side of that planet, you stupid bucket! Move!" "Command One is already moving at top speed, screaming at me will not help our cause. I also- Multiple missile launched! This one has an initial count of 241 missile, same type as the first. Command one is designating this new group of missile as vampire 2." Anji watched on her screen as the small red dots moved ever so closer to the center dot on the screen. "Damn, you have a fat ass!" Anji complained. "Initiate your electronic warfare software program 012. Jam those fuckers!" "The size of my thrusters are perfectly proportional to the rest of my hull. Your observation is incorrect," said the AI indignantly. "Initiating jamming sequence 012 now!" Outside the vacuum of space, the ship killer missiles of the pirates came racing in. They knew that the target ship is trying its best to use the protection of the gas giant and as one, they pushed themselves even faster, eager to be the first one to take a chunk away from the targeted ship. A third salvo of 233 missiles fired from the pirates missile tubes, hurried away and eager to join the party. The silence of space didn''t give justice to the furious electronic duel that is happening in a different positronic bandwidth. Both sides electronic packages were deployed and begun hacking each others security program. Within milliseconds of contact, Brykar electronic program knew that it is dealing with an inferior software program and brutally smashed through its antivirus defense. The pirate central computer also understood this and begun a preprogrammed series of rebooting itself every 2 seconds. Basically it threw away its chances to reach and penetrate the Brykar unit''s own defensive program, but made sure that penetrating its own core is next to impossible as well for the other side. Brykar electronic virus noted the new defence and activated its secondary program. It may not be able to shutdown the pirates network computer completely, but it can still make it a bad day for it by changing the targeting system. Everytime the system rebooted though, the computer virus was also terminated but Brykar software accepted this and recreate the virus again and again, and sometimes it was able to successfully change target sequence before being stop by the reboot.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Sixteen missiles from vampire one change target lock and pursued phantom targets. Then the missile reach a certain range in space and the computer inside kick in, noted this and then reboot its own targeting system. the computer change target and either reacquire command one or simply drifted away in the vast space since no more target comes out. "Launching Bluefire missiles! Defensive pattern Omega Charlie 002," Announced Command one. The six launchers connected to Command One''s hull began firing bluefire missile one after the other with an impressive speed of 6 missile every 1.4 seconds. About 64 missiles, the size and look of an actual medieval lance, race out into the dark skies to meet the pirate''s missile. The ship killers fired by the pirates, who are about 4 times bigger than the missile attacking them, went straight for command One, and this made the Bluefire perfect for their role. The Bluefire missile were also more fragile than the ship killer but it was expected because they are actually point defence missile and designed to destroy incoming missile just like this. The high maneuverability and the power of the Ion engine attached to it made sure that it can do Gs that are unheard of during the 22nd century. As they reach a designated point in space, both group of missiles took note of the other group and they both adjusted vectors to compensate. Then 46 of the pirate''s Shipkiller and 4 of the bluefire missiles Activated their payload. Every onboard computer in every missile in that area received this chaotic blinding white noise and all of them immediately activated their preprogram security software. No matter how powerful the electronic jammer blasted into your opponent, the law of physics always favor the defense in this kind of situation. The jammers are eventually penetrated by the equally powerful onboard scanners, but two or threee seconds of temporary blindness are sometimes enough for the virus software that are introduces into the missiles are able to do their job. 12 shipkiller missiles rebooted their scanners and in that two seconds, the virus within its system is able to create phantom target in its scope, and they were successfully veered of the Brykar ship. The virus in 2 more missiles are able to bull through the antivirus system of the missile and edited its self-destruction program and harmlessly exploded behind. Then after reaching the combined speed of 350 million KM per hour, the two set of missiles meet and the bluefire executed the preprogram detonation, and in a symphony of coordinated explosion that took out a total 148 pirate missiles. When the explosion died down, only 62 shipkiller missile were left from the original first salvo. "Deploying Autocannon, now." Said the AI. "Spread pattern sigma-victor-06 prepared as backup" Sixteen autocannon emergence from its protective covewithin the Brykar''shull and begun to fire. Anji will find out later that each bullet fired by the autocannon is the size of a 2-litter plastic coke bottle and they fired almost 12,000 of them per minute. At first, the barrage was rather conservative, but highly accurate. The scanners will detect and analyze the flight path of each incoming missile then calculate the best intercept location relative to the movement of the ship itself. Then it was just a matter of sending enough bullets on the path to destroy the ship killers. A ten second burst followed by a 3 second cool down as the scanner look for another target, then another ten second burst. Ship killer missile drop like flies, but to Anji''s eyes, they were not dropping fast enough. From 62, it became 53, then 44...31... 25... 17 The last two trailing shipkillers activated their payload and simply disintegrated into several hundred mechanical parts. These parts who are the size of a small cabinet activated phantom targets for the cannons. Command recognize the tactic and quickly killed the auto targeting system in the cannons since the fifteen remaining targets became several hundreds and is impossible to tell apart with the active scanners. The preprogrammed spread pattern was activated instead and the autocannon begun to fire in a pre-arranged dance around the ship that theoretically will destroy any incoming missiles at the expected angle. The ship killer, knowing that they are in the last phase of the ship''s defence begun to activate their own spread pattern while firmly connected to the target with a laser guidance system. The autocannon spouted thousands of round into the evading missiles path and the occasional direct hit blossomed the dark space. Anji gritted her teeth as the Brykar ship executed its own evasive maneuvers and then activated its final defence. unfortunately, since priority is given to its escape, the ship''smaneuverability is compromised The thrum of the Ion engine grew obviously louder as a blue energy shield surrounded the ship. The autocannon killed another 8 more shipkillers as the rest dived in for the final kill. Two of the missiles raced to the side of the ship and without warning, exploded its thermonuclear payload. The Brykar ship was momentarily engulfed in the bright light and radiation of the explosion but then it emerge out of the blast relatively intact, its shield flickering and bent but intact. Before the AI could even do a virtual sigh of relief, another missile raised in front of it and exploded. Anji staggered to one side as the entire ship rocked from the latest explosion. The mechanical cable arm attached to the magnetic belt worn by Anji whined in protest as it struggled to keep its human occupant stable. "Status!" Anji barked. "Shield at 83%, minimal damage to hull, but 2 autocannon have been disabled plus another 2 are damage. Launching second salvo of Bluefire missle...now!" After two more minutes, Command One launched a third salvo of Blue fire missile. The second and third salvo consist of 64 missiles each. But it was just a precaution calculated by the AI since at that point, the ship curved around the gas giant and just to be sure, went closer as far as its calculation dared, towards the gas giant''s orbit. The ship killer missiles, while already busy trying to survive the counter missiles, lost sight of its target as Command One entered the shadow of the gas planet. The Oyati captain in the destroyer Shiskk-Atans smashed his heavy fist in the metal arms of the captain''s chair, He underestimated not only the defensive capability of the Brykar ship but also the speed it could generate. His snake-like head exposed his row of razor sharp teeth even as sweat poured from the rough skin of his ancestors. His tongue keep nervously slipping in and out of his mouth as he tried to check the temperature inside the room and his crew. If his crew is generating too much heat then it is a good indication that they are angry or at least annoyed, and that is not good for his own health. He can still remember the last captain of this same ship just 11 velashan orbit ago, when he, the great shiskk-sal-maa, led the mutiny when he accuse the old captain of incompetence and he and 5 others devoured him right in this command room. His huge head turned to his navigator, a brilliant and yet very ambitious young Oyati, who is becoming very vocal in disagreeing with him. And now the bastard rattler, who have not yet even shed his tenth scale, seems to be correct again. Once the ambush was sprang, He expected the Brykar ship to turn and fight. The starship''s main weapon is the Ion Cannon that is set up in front of the ship. It is a very powerful weapon, and when it hit, there is a very little chance of survival, even his beautiful destroyer will die if it fought that thing one on one. Luckily, the ion cannon is very short range, with an effective reach of 600 thousand kilometers only. His grandfather had developed the technique to fight Brykar ships. Isolate them from ones and twos then pummel them with long range weapons until their defences are overwhelmed. That is why their ships are customized to hold a sizable amount of long range shipkillers. But this ship is acting strangely, the moment they arrived in space, the ship turned and ran away. As if the machine wanted to preserve itself at all cost. That was the reason he fired two more salvos of missiles which is now useless trash since they lost their target on the other side of the planet. A very expensive trash. "Would it be better to just meet the Brykar ship on other side of the planet?" He asked. The Navigator Shissk-sull-balan, turned to his captain, and spent a few seconds composing his face or his hate for the idiot might show (He wasn''t ready yet to confront the old snake) before speaking to him. "No, my Captain, it is not advisable to go the other way since the combat time will only be in the seconds before the Brykar ship pass any blockade we made. Then we will have to spend a considerable amount of time, at least 20 minutes to turn around and pursue it once more. It is best if we just follow the starship right now. He will looped the planet once then ran as fast as possible away from the star. Even if they are faster than we expected, we still have at least a solid 9 minutes wherein the Brykar ship will be in our missile envelope. No matter how good their missile defence are, we will surely overwhelm them in 3-5 minutes time." "What if they escaped by then?" "Impossible," The navigator said bluntly. "According to our calculation, it doesn''t matter how brand-new their ion engine is, which I highly doubt, they still need at least 10-14 minutes before they can charge their Ion engine, and escape by the void. They are trapped captain, do not worry, we just need to be patient about it like real hunters." Unlike someone like you, oh great captain, the navigator thought contemptuously. His eyes went back to his console and he waited patiently. "Come out and show yourself, Brykar, You will be my greatest trophy yet!" he said silently, eyes watery black and filled with nothing. Anji disentangled herself from the lifeless metallic arm that is supposed to protect her. She winced when another console to her far left exploded in a spectacular sparks and died as well. Dying from a freaking starship in outer space... Didn''t expect that to happen, didn''t you Anji old girl? "Command One! Talk to me!" Shouted Anji to the room, surprisingly, Anji wasn''t scared of death, she is merely annoyed that she feels so helpless in a fight that she barely understand. "give me something, damn you!" "I am... sorry," The voice said suddenly in a low voice, despite the computer-generated sound, Anji can feel... sadness? "What are you talking about, you stupid ship? Give me info I can use!" "I have run several thousand scenarios and none of them ends with your survival. I have failed to protect you." Anji stared at the room. "I have failed my unity by being trap-" "Shut up," Anji said rudely. The ship stopped talking immediately. Anji wasn''t sure if an AI can be shocked but she sure have the AI''s attention now. "You want to know something about humanity? Your so called gods? Well, here''s some food for your thought: Human''s are cowards. As long as there is humanity, people wanted to know what is in the other side. I mean death. We created whole religion about it, theorize about, made a whole system of philosophy around it. But we never really know anything. Not where it matters anyway. So when we are confronted with it, when it is in our faces, especially when we are not ready and have something to live for, We fight tooth and nail to survive! to escape it! Even if there is no escape..." Anji shook her head when she realized she is actually contemplating it. "Do you hear me? Does that compute in your metallic brain? Because we will fight and we will survive!" "... I understand," said the AI, somehow a bit calmer that it was just a few seconds ago. Good, Because I don''t. "Good, then I need your complete trust if we are going to get out of this alive." "Then you will have it, Command Alpha." Oh boy. Chapter 6: "How long before the Brykar leave this planet''s orbit?" The Oyaticaptain demanded. "A minute and 42 seconds," The navigator answered instantly. "Then we leave the orbit in 3 minutes and 11 seconds. That means the Brykar ship will have a lead of 1 minute and 29 seconds." The captain just grunted. A minute and a half more to get you back on my radar, then a 3-minute battle, after that you''re mine. Meanwhile, Anji''s fingers danced furiously in his own console as she set up and customized the new parameters for the magnetic thrusters. She was just glad that in this moment of crisis her brain is able to calculate the seemingly impossible math behind the physics she was planning to do. This is a bad idea, Anji thought fearfully. "I believe that this a bad idea," the voice said. "Shut up and just apply the new command parameters I am sending you to our flight plan." "Understood." "I need you to double check the new source program I just created and in particular, check my calculation for the dampeners." "I don''t need to invest a sizable amount of my computation power to conclude that your calculation is completely inaccurate." "How inaccurate?" Demanded Anji. "The maximum energy output I can transfer to the dampeners barely covers 30 percent of your overall requirements." Anji smiled coldly. "Good enough," She said to herself. Before the listening AI could ask the human girl to repeat herself, Anji snapped another order to the AI. "I need you to activate the probes in your compartment and bring them here in the bridge." "I do not understand the nature of your command," Said the AI. "Just do it!" Without any other thought, The AI sent the activation command to the probes with lesser AI in its belly. The structure of all Brykar ship is made up mostly of nanites and except for the position of the main engine and thrusters behind the ship, all other places in the ship can be customized and arranged as the AI see fit. This gave the Brykar ships versatility and a way to immediately repair damages by simply replacing damage nanites and reforming themselves into the appropriate matter. The AI known as Command One began to create a corridor for the newly awakened probes to move and to have access to the bridge and to the precious human. Anji smiled even wider when he noticed the two floating ball of nanites with a single eye in the middle. Anji recognized the design as the same one that scooped her up from the first alien ship. "Which one of you is the charming young probe that rescued me from the clutches of evil aliens?" Anji said, smiling. One of the probes bobbed in the air and chirped, "I believe that will be me, Drone 51582. I await your command, Command Alpha." Without any more time to spare, Anji told the probe exactly what she wanted to do in a clear and concise way with no room for interpretation. When she is satisfied that the probes knew their part, She went back to the console and double check her program. Suddenly, The ship AI gave its update, "Command One is about to break orbit in ten seconds." "Go to your positions gentlemen!" Anji said as she strapped herself again to the just repaired mechanical arm in the middle the command bridge. The two probes went to theopposite side of the ship and faced Anji. Only then did a yellow cone of light showered down on Anji and held her in place. The probes beep simultaneously and they too poured the same blue light that held Anji before, until the woman was covered by a protective shield on three different places. "3...2...1... Engaged!" *** "The Brykar ship is escaping orbit and is going to maximum power!" The Navigator of the Oyati pirate Destroyer announced to every one of his crew.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "Go after them!" said the captain. Every one of the crew can taste the fluid excreting from the captain that gave away the captains fear and excitement. One or two of the crew showed their row of teeth that showed their contempt of the captain''s lack of personal discipline. "Patience, in a minute and 12 seconds more, we will be out of our own orbit," The navigator said, his eyes remained focus on his instrument, but he too can taste the glands of excitement oozing out of him. Just a little more, and you will be in my missile envelope once more, he thought *** The Brykar ship tore through space slightly below the speed of light but Anji''s full attention is on her console as a timer click the seconds down. She gave herself exactly 12 seconds, then ordered the AI to cut the engine. Out in space, there is nothing to actually stop something that is already moving. theoretically, if you throw something in space and barring that it hit any heavenlybodies or get entangled by its gravity, that thing will continue to move forever and ever. So in order to stop something that is moving in space, you need to applyforce on the opposite side where the object is moving. A ship that is moving at high speed will, therefore, need a thruster at the opposite side of the ship''s movement in order to stop it, but when a ship is moving justunder lightspeed, then the thrusters need a tremendous amount of force to stop the moving ship, or you can apply a constant amount of forced and let time do the restto stop it. This is how every starship in the known universe is designed simply because any starship moving at a sublight speed that suddenly stop, will have its carbon-based life-form piloting the ship to splatter itself on the side of the ship''s bulkhead if he tries to make a sudden stop. When Brykar ship known as Command One, reach a specific time, it activated a preprogrammed maneuver wherein thrusters below its front nozzle and on top of its main thruster behind the ship, both suddenly ignited a second after the main engine deactivated. While still moving forward, the Ship flips over and for a just for a few seconds, it was actually moving backward. Then the main thrusters reignited. This is where the danger to the primary occupant happens, since the ship is moving "only" several thousand faster than the speed of sound, a fragile human can still be splattered by the inertia alone. That is when the full force of the ship''s inertial dampener activated directly at Anji''s location, simultaneously the blue shield from the drones increases in intensity to keep Anji in place. Even then, Anji felt like laying in bed while a half dozen Sumo wrestlers were on top of her. She gritted her teeth despite the fact that she couldn''t breathe. It felt like every cell in her body was being pressured in one direction. She lost count how many times she blackout, and she thank the AI for having the presence of mind to preprogram her nanites inside her body to forced circulation of both air and blood into her entire being, especially her brain, and so everytime she blackout, she wakes up a split second later. The ship moving backward gradually slowed down then stopped completely and then began moving again, first very slowly then faster and faster. Eventually, both the gravity and inertia inside the ship stabilize and Anji found that she can breathe again, and she took a long gasped of air. "Are you alright, Command Alpha?" said the AI. "Forget about me," Anji snarled at her companion. "Activate your damn weapons! Now!" "All weapons activated." *** "The fleet will disengage from orbit in 10 seconds!" The Navigator said. The captain bared his teeth in the main console. Finally. "I want you to refresh the scanner the moment we are out of orbit. I want to see that Brykar ship as soon aspossible!" "Already done, captain," said the clipped voice of the navigator. "Good," The captain said with pleasure. "In 3...2...1... Activate scanners! Full power to the engine!" "Where is-" The Oyatimanning the scanner suddenly screamed," Captain! We are ona collision course with the Brykar ship!" Red alert sirens blared across the bridge while the captain stared in disbelief towards the main screen showing the Brykar ship charging right at them. "All ships, break formation and spread out!" Screamed the navigator. *** "Surprise, motherfuckers..." Anji said under her breath, as she watched from the screen as the pirate ships scattered. But it was too late. "All pirate ships are locked on and my weapons are hot." Anji closed her eyes for a second, then opened it again. Her eyes glinted in steely hard coldness. "... Give them hell." She said. The AI didn''t need any other prompting. Four missile tubes began spitting four bluefire missiles every second and in 36 seconds it was able to fire almost two hundred of the deadly bluefire missiles towards the pirate ships. The autocannons are already spinning even before they fire and they eagerly added more metals bracketing space. And most important at all, the pirate ship is now within range of the multipurpose Jackal2 Ion cannon. The cannon sat directly in front of the ship with a stealthy box-like design. A row of red lights from the base of the cannon to the edge of its muzzle started to lit up as a massive hum vibrated the weapon. Once the light reach the end of the cannon, a burst of highly pressurized hybrid of solid matter and heated energy screamed out of the cannon and hit a maneuvering frigate 2.4 million miles away. The Ball of semi-energy projectile smashed both into the shield and armor of the pirate ship like it was nothing. Then it burst out at the other end. At first, nothing seems to happen, but the frigate ship suddenly exploded, adding its radiation into the cosmos. Pirate corvettes maneuvered like crazy all around the area while missiles hounded them. The small crafts were faster and highly maneuverable, but the Bluefire missiles tracking them were designed to fight missiles and there are no pilots inside to hamper its High G maneuvers. It is like Pavarotti and Usain Bolt running away from a pack of velociraptors. The only difference was that the fat guy gets eaten ten seconds earlier. One after the other, corvettes and fighter ships bloomed the dark emptiness of space as the missiles smacked right into them again and again. Another Frigate received a massive blow from the Ion cannon, cutting it in half. One part blew up spectacularly, while the other part simply stumbled around space, completely dead in the water. The ion cannon can only fire every six seconds, that is why Anji ordered the AI to switched to cannon when the destroyer went pass then barely 700 KMs away. The Destroyer was already hit once by the Ion cannon and leaking gasses everywhere, also have the same idea. 8 Railgun cannons from the destroyer and 5 from the Brykar ship exchange fire almost at point blank range. Both sides raked the exposed part of their enemy''s flank pouring metal upon metal into protective armor. Anji screamed as a console to her left burst inside the bridge and rained shrapnel all around her, luckily, the blue drone shield inside the bridge saved her. After the exchange, both starships lose all their autogunson that side of their ship, but the Brykar ship followed a direct instruction from Anji and performed a barrel roll until it showed its belly- where 4 more Autocannons are placed and started firing again at the Pirate Destroyer. Bullets the size of a Coca-cola 2 litter plastic bottle buried itself by the thousands at the destroyer''s flank. And then the Ion cannon was ready again and another burst of the powerful gun signaled the end of the pirate destroyer as it exploded in a mini supernova. Twelve minutes later, when the Brykar ship left the miserable star system after its void engine was finally recharged, 16 pirate ships lay in ruin and is now orbiting the unnamed Gas giant. Chapter 7: Anji kept gawking at the unbelievably massive ship park just outside Command One. It is like a floating mountain, completely dwarfing her own Brykar ship despite the fact that Command One is twice as big as the Aircraft Carriers of her time. Without the blinking signal lights outside, Her ship would have been completely covered by shadows in the dark since the super uber ship in front of her screen also covers the nearby stars. "Command Alpha?" Asked the AI with a worried tone. "What- Oh! Yes?" Anji blurted out. "Ship 082-114 request permission to send its delegation aboard my hull." "Aaaah, well, ... I guess permission granted," Anji said dumbly. "Permission granted, aknowledged," An even broader and more powerful voice rang in her mind. Anji knew without being prompted that the voice came from the big ship''s AI. Wow, even his voice feels like a mountain. Anji thought rilely. From the blinking light inside the bridge, Anji knew that her AI is communicating with its fellow AI outside. Anji didn''t feel bothered or feeling a sense of missing out, since the short time she spent with the AI told her that the damn thing is loyal to a fault. Actually, all of them, like the less talkative AI in the two drones. They are all so fanatically loyal. All of them so willing to please, sometimes it is endearing, but sometimes it creeps her out. That is why she didn''t mind them talking, she knew that her AI will warn her if the other AI puts her in danger. Several dozens spherical metal device large enough to contain a crouching humanoid, detached themselves from the big ship and fired themselves into Command One. Each and everyone of them reattached themselves to the other ship and was absorbed into the hull like it was nothing. Spherical metallic device is made up of pure nanites which is then absorb by the ship and is used to repair and reinforced its critical parts and even the hull. But besides the nanites, it also became a personal transport device for the Black Guards, humanoid Cyborgs that serves as the primary elite warriors of the Brykar Unity. They slip into the hull like shadows then silently took up positions into critical sections of the ship. Command One noted their arrival inside its hull with a sense of satisfaction. Its cybernetic brain moves faster than the void as it done multiple calculations and analysis every nanosecond, but its main inner thought is the simple fact that Command Alpha is now far safer than she was 2.000019 seconds ago with the arrival of the blackguards. And him. A more conventional transport ship that resembles a hawk in flight with vast spreadout wings appeared at the other end of the massive ship and circled aound until Command One directed it to its underbelly and into its primary hangar. Command One''s scanner analyze and identified the incoming transport ship as the standard Kavak assault ship. Each Kavak can hold two dozen bi-pedal humanoids comfortably but since Brykar soldiers are cyborgs and doesn''t need air or comfort, a reinforced company of a hundred warriors can easily fit the ship if need be. But today, the ship only held 11 passengers. A platoon of ten Blackguards and their leader. A blackguard is almost identical to its regular Brykar warrior counterparts where in they are all covered in futuristic armor that reminds Anji when she first saw them as Iron Man suit but deadlier looking and far cooler. They wore a tinted glass mask that cover their entire face, making them look mysterious and again very deadly. And the futuristic Gauss rifle they held in their hands at the ready looks two sizes too big for them, but they moved it like weighed only of a feather. While the regular Brykar soldier wore gray, the Blackguard were black. And so did the warrior that led them. The leader wore the same black armor , but he look slightly smaller in frame than his bodyguards and although he also wear the tinted glass mask, long blond hair spill over his head. His movement though is self assured and focus as he walked through the corridor and into the Command One''s bridge. Ofcourse Anji was informed the moment the AI detected the ship and updated her as the transport craft landed in the hangar and the estimated time of arrival of the delegation. So when the group entered the bridge, Anji is facing them and composed. When everyone is inside, Anji cleared her throat and step forward to offer her hand in a handshake, only to stop when all seven member of the delegation drop to their knees and bowed. To her. "Oh for the love of god..." She said under her breath. then in a much louder voice, "All of you stand up! You are not in the presence of the queen of england." Her original plan to be graceful and diplomatic went down the drain when she realized that this is not a group of diplomats but another bunch of loyal but overprotective bunch of fanatics.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The leader turned his head to one side like a puppy. "The... queen of Ing-lan?" "Nevermind that, its just an expression," Anji said abruptly. "So, what brings you in my neck of the wood, big guy?" The leader nodded to himself, clearly absorbing the new information, then she turned to Anji and bowed even lower. "My designation is Alpha Codex 4. I and my warriors have come here to escort you back to Ship 082-114. Everything is ready for your arrival. Data taken from Command one is invaluable to prepare the right atmosphere and proper living quarters for you." Anji raised an eyebrow. "You mean that big ass ship outside?" Anji said, pointing bluntly at the screen showing the ship. "Aaah...why?" The entity known as Alpha Codex 4 simply stared at Anji. It was the ship AI who answered her. ""The Nova class starship outside is a Heavy Battleship customized for command purposes. It has access to far better armaments and is protected by multishield dedicated generators and heavy void armor. More importantly, the ship housed 2,000 warriors for onboard protection-" "Actually, 2 thousand and 4 hundred warriors," Interrupted Alpha Codex 4. "- and Alpha Codex 4 is there as well. The ship also have access to proper escapepods just in case as you put it ''shit hits the fan.'' More importantly, It has access to void comunication, making it possible to be connected immidiately to ''Mother'' if need be." Anji turned to the leader who is still bowing. "More armaments and better shielding you say. We could have used a lot of that 2 days ago when a group of pirates was trying to kill us." "I understand and I take full responsibility for not able to protect you. Punish me as you will." "It''s a joke! jeezes christ can you guys lighten up a bit." The ship AI already explained to Anji that every Brykar ship in the area have been informed and each and everyone of them where moving at suicidal speed to get to her. It was sheer badluck that no ship was in the vicinity during the pirate battle or any brykar would have died to protect her. The leader known as Alpha Codex 4 flinched when the human female smacked him in the shoulder playfully. Despite his stoic demeanor, the android was reeling inside. The AI that governed its existence have been alive for the last 1,400 years. 250 of that as a regular droid soldier, then his AI was transfered to a blackguard were in he served for another 300 years. Mother noticed him after the 2nd battle of Mallandra, when he took command of the battered 21st division and flanked the Foldrons, turning the tide of battle and eventually retaking the planet. Eventually his AI was installed in the planet-size Starship called "Gaia" as its central AI responsible for Gaia''s defense. He served that position admirably for 50 years until the disaster in Goldova IV where 3 of the Alpha Codexes died in battle. Mother personally chose him from 892 thousand AI candidates to become the replacement Alpha Codex 4. Mother is the oldest AI in the universe. It is a well known fact that she is the only existing sentient AI left during the time humans left this reality, and that was 2 million years ago. Everything that she have done is base on hard cold calculation, except for a single belief that defy any form of logic: that humanity will return to guide them to experience their own ascendance. With that belief, she had created 12 of the most powerfull AI in anticipation for their arrival: the Alpha Codexes. Each Codex was created to do one specific specialty job for the coming humans. For 300 thousand years they fought hard to defend the patch of space they called the holy sector as the original area the humans claimed as their own. They defended the holyland from greedy empires, manipulative corporations, other fanatic alien races, and space phenomenon. many codexes fell doing their duties, leading the Brykar armies and fleets to hot spots all over the place, only to be replaced by mother, injected with the abilities and experiences of the previous codex, and fight on until they too succumb to death and replace by new AI. Alpha Codex 4 had fought all his life to protect humanities home, but he never expected to actually see the return of humans in his lifetime. Mother, as always, is right all along. Alpha Codex 4 primary mission given to him by mother is to be a human''s bodyguard, and now as he watched this puny female smacking him in the shoulder playfully, he knew that he will perform his duties with everything he got and more to protect her. "My life is your life. I am a codex, and I am yours," He whispered the ancient mantra thought to him during the ceremony when he first become a codex. "What? You saying something?" "No, my prime." Eventually, Anji agreed to be transfered to the other ship. She said goodbye to her old ship and let her be escorted into the hangar. Anji find it unconfortable though since the black robots walking besides her are almost shoulder to shoulder with her in their tight formation. "Ah guys! Ever heard of personal space? back off a little, will yah. I''m not gonna run away or something. Alpha Codex 4 turned to her and in a silent command that Anji didn''t see, all six of the blackguards took a one step away from her in every direction. "Better," Anji sighed. She followed them as they climb the landing door of the transport ship. "I have a question for you, big guy," Anji said. "Since you look like one of the important guys around, maybe you can tell what this ''Mother'' wants from me. My AI back there won''t tell me jack shit. I mean I know why I am coming with you guys, since I need a place to stay and sort myself out before deciding on my next step. But why are you helping me?" The Alpha Codex just stared at her. "It is our duty to help you," he said very carefully. "Right, the whole god thing," Anji said almost to herself. "I just want to be sure I am not imposing on you guys." "You are not." "Good. I just need a guess room you''re not using and I''m good." Again, the stare. Then Alpha Codex sighed. "Mother is supposed to tell you all about it, but I guess there is no harm to tell you a few things now," He said. "Once we arrived at the Eden System, ''Mother'' will transfer control of the entire system to you. You now own 9 planets and one artificial one." Anji blinked. "Oh." Chapter 8: It took another four more days before Anji and her escorts finally arrived at the Eden System. To Anji''s annoyance, she calculated that they could have probably arrived at the fabled solar system if not for the constant challenge from patrolling starships roaming the system''s outer perimeter. A security patrol stops the ship every 2 hours or less and demands authorization clearance. The first four interferences were intriguing to Anji, but the next 14 were simply annoying at best. "Ship 728-103 is requesting authorization codes for us to continue," said the ship AI. "Send my authorization codes, Command One," Said Alpha Codex 4. "Acknowledge," said the new Command one, while Anji stared at the source of the voice with narrow eyes. Apparently, the designation ''Command One'' goes to the ship that actually holds the physical body of the human, and so the previous smaller ship that carried her before and fought with her lost the designation ''Command One.'' "That''s it?!" Anji raged when he learned about it, looking at the monitor that shows her previous ride who is now simply escorting the bigger ship. "You gave the ship a name when it is doing an important job and then you yanked that name away from him the moment the ship had done its job? and quite admirably I might add! I fought with that ship!" The great warrior was taken aback. "But the ship still has a name," he said, baffled. "Oh? and what name is that?" "Ship 219-806." "That''s not a name! It''s a freaking serial number!" Anji said, her voice rising. When the warrior just stood there uncomprehending, Anji sighed and forced herself to calm down. "look, I understand that the designation Command One must be transferred to this ship since I am here and I''m very important and all that shit. But the former Command One is very good to me too, and he fought with me side by side and I like him... well, relatively speaking, but the point is I don''t want to lose him in a sea of anonymity. So please, can you just give him a new name?" "... What name do you have in mind?" asked her guardian. Anji just stared at Alpha Codex 4. Despite her anger, she never really actually thought about beyond the injustice of taking her ship''s name. "Let''s see... how about..." An hour later, Command One beeped and Anji returned back to the present. "Ship Bob, you are out of formation by .000214 degree to my starboard side." "Acknowledge, Command One," said Anji''s former ship. "If it pleases you, Command Alpha," the new Command One announced. "We are passing by the farthest planet in our solar system called Anzio. It is an ice planet approximately the same size of Agradah. A hundred and 56 years ago, no living thing can survive on its surface without proper equipment, suit, and support, but now we are able to introduce cold resistant seed variants and even now a sizable frozen forest is spreading."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "Aah,... Agradah ?" Anji prompted. "Oh. This unit assumed you know about the planet of Agradah . A preliminary scan of everything you read in the database mentioned the planet Agradah at least 7X. I assume with your level of intelligen-" "Command One," Alpha Codex 4 said wearily. "Oh, sorry. I believe I have strayed from the subject at hand. Please forgive me. Agradah is the capital planet of Bumishi, an old race, well not as old as humans of course, but considered old since they are some of the first species that expanded during the exploration age. Anyway, Agradah is now considered one of the central hub of finance, culture, and information in the galaxy today. There are 9 bil-" "Alright, I get the gist of it," Anji said, not really interested in alien planets right now since she still can''t wrap the idea in her head that she is now the owner of 9, no 10 planets in the galaxy right this moment. "Any major places on the planet you think are worthwhile for me to visit?" She asked. "No," answered the codex bluntly. "The planet is dangerous." Anji could almost feel the AI shrugging. "The planet doesn''t have much in terms of tourist attraction. There are no major facilities in the area except for the planetary defensive fortress, an underground science facility that is responsible for most of the cold resistant fauna found on the planet, and the ice extractor factory." Anji willed a monitor to pop up in front of her and she checks the ship scanner. "You mentioned a fortress?" The Codex next to her sighed. "They are simply a massive defensive complex designed to defend the planets. Most of the Eden planets have at least 1 or two of them. Gaia has 6 while the massive gas giant Zeus has 18. Once you meet ''Mother,'' you will have access to all the blueprints and defensive capabilities of these fortresses." "And the artificial planet that is our destination? How many fortresses does it have?" Anji continued. Alpha Codex 4 simply snorted. "The Planet Aegis doesn''t need one. By definition, it IS the fortress." It took another 2 hours before they reached the artificial planet Aegis, where the AI known as "Mother" was stationed. It was not like what Anji envisioned beforehand since what she was thinking of was a freaking death star, but the "Planet" is more like Halo. Several massive structures of rings one inside the other while the very central structure is a sphere 3x the size of the moon. Each ring generates their own gravity, which somehow does not affect the gravity of the next ring next to it. This made it possible for an inner and outer layer that support massive structures and space that has its own atmosphere. Anji can see in the scanner that the outer ring supports a massive forest and a lake big enough to be considered an ocean. There is even a mountainous part of the outer layer that resembles the Himalayas. Despite herself, she was impressed. The rings are moving around the central sphere but the place is so massive that a fleet of nova battleships can pass through the ring without a problem as its goes to the central part. As far as Anji can observe, there is nothing that attached the ring from the sphere, but even she can feel the stableness of the massive structures as if nothing can fry the ring away from the sphere. As they get closer to the sphere, Anji realized that the sphere, who looks so solid farther away, is actually hollow and made of a black smooth metal cage-like structures that surrounds a relatively small black sun. They went closer to the sun cage as Anji started calling it in her mind and found out that at least two hundred other Nova class Battleship plus several dozen even bigger starships are moored in the giant structure. Anji watched in her monitor as first Ship Bob moored itself next to its bigger brethren. Then it''s their turn. At first, despite being awed and fascinated by all the surrounding structures, Anji remained calm. But then the new Command One AI maneuvered the ship ever closer and closer in the structure and Anji can see that they are about to collide with it. "Whoah, whoah!" Anji said, then Alpha Codex 4''s hand rested on her shoulder, steadying her. The battleship collided with the sphere and the structure absorbed the starship completely. Anji blinked and next thing she knew is that she is inside the sphere, her ride is gone and no one is there except Alpha Codex 4. The place is made of flush marble stones and resembles a fancy office or hotel reception lobby, except for the fact that the reception area is the size of a football field. Alpha Codex 4 led her into short stairs that lead into an elevator. They stepped inside and the elevator went down smoothly and very fast. Even then, it took a long time for the elevator to go down. Feeling a bit awkward, Anji turned to her companion in the hope of glinting any insight with her upcoming meeting with the Mother, but the bastard just stood there stoically as they went down. Anji sighed and waited the rest of the journey in silence. Eventually, the elevator stopped and deposited the two of them in a garden. With a freaking waterfall on one side and actual birds twitting around. In the middle of all this, sat an old woman on the ground as she continues to dig a shallow hole in the dirt to dump beautiful flower''s root in it, then covering it again. They took a step closer towards the woman. She finally noticed them and smiled a warm welcome. "Hello, I am Mother," she said simply. Chapter 9: Anji narrowed her eyes into slits as she sprinted even faster inside the jungle. She weaved her head from one side to the other as she dodged the branches that would have smacked her right in the face just days ago. For the bigger branches and higher bushes she simply raised her arm to protect her face. But despite all the bruises and scratches she received, Anji was smiling to herself. She just couldn''t believe it. She saw the last river tributary and instead of slowing down, she sped even faster. She changed direction slightly and finally noticed a nearly uprooted tree that is leaning toward the river. Anji ran on top of its trunk then jumped sideways and hitting a tree in the middle of the river. The tree was massive and Anji managed to take 2-3 steps running sideways in its trunk before pushing herself upward across the river. She grabbed a nearby branch on the other side of the river, then she swings and summersault her way deeper into the forest. She flew in the air for several meters, then at the last minute, tucked her feet under her and roll herself into the ground, only to stand up again from the momentum and then ran away immediately. One final will of speed and she burst out of the bushes and into the majestic beach beyond. She slowed down but her feet brought her to the edge of the water, her feet slightly sinking in the white sands. As her breathing went back to normal, her eyes traced the horizon and the other islands within her sight. As far as her eyes can see and beyond it... it now all belong to her. Not a bad place to retire for a beat cop in manila, Anji thought, amused. Two months ago, when she first met "Mother," Anji would never have expected this kind of scenario. For an entire week, Anji spent a lot of time simply talking to the AI mother. She also endured a battery of medical test and a series of massive injections of ever more powerful nanites into her system. "Am I still even human after all this?" She complained once. "The nanites are not changing your core DNA, they are simply... reinforcing it." The Brykarsoffered her a palatial apartment inside the core sphere. She finds the mile high ceiling a bit disconcerting but the empress-size circular bed was just divine. There were two spider-like droids waiting for her beck and call and when they brought a massive pillow-like thing that was moving on its own like a freaking caterpillar towards Anji, the girl almost freaked out. "Mother" explained that the device was called bedpartner ver.236 and it replaced the teddy bear by the 25th century. At first, Anji was still suspicious as she let the damn thing crawl on top of her but when it started vibrating all over, she relaxed. 10 minutes later as she lay on her belly and the pillow-like creature massages her back, she was already purring like a cat. And when she slept, snoring lightly, the device was squeezed tightly in her arms and legs, generating warmth and synchronizing its breathing like a real life partner. After that first night, Anji brought the floppy pillow-like droid where ever she goes. The apartment also has a bubble bath the size of a small swimming pool and Anji couldn''t wait to try it out so she tore her body-hugging nanite suit off her and begun to dip her toe into the warm clear water. She find the scented flowers floating in the water a nice touch and- Something scraped near her. Anji moved without thinking and scooped water from the pool and threw it behind her. The water splashed into thin air and showed the outline of a humanoid person. Anji charged it and they both fell to the ground with Anji''s hand in the intruder''s neck. The invisibility cloak was disrupted somehow and a blackguard appeared under her. Anji instantly recognized the armor and blurted out, "What the fuck are you doing here?!" The blackguard didn''t respond nor moved. "Answer me, damn it!" The blackguard didn''t want to answer but he received a direct command from his superior. "... Guarding you," he said in a clipped voice. "Guard-" Anji stopped when the realization hit her. She shouted at the empty room, "Everyone that is guarding me, reveal yourself right now!" To Anji''s shock, another eleven blackguards appeared out of nowhere, plus Alpha Codex 4. Five of the blackguards are hanging upside down in the high ceiling. Anji was mortified and screamed at her bodyguards to leave her bath immediately while she tried to hide her modesty. Only the direct appearance of the Mother''s avatar calmed her down. After hearing the explanation of all parties involved, Mother told the guards that they need to back off from the Command Alpha everytime she is taking a bath by at least 25 meters. Both sides were not happy with the compromised. Despite the tinted glass mask that covered his face, Alpha Codex 4''s objection and disapproval were plain to everyone seeing him. "That will increase our response time by 3.4 seconds. It is not acceptable," He said darkly. "Nevertheless, that is your new order, Codex 4," Mother said gently but firmly. "Command Alpha must be protected not only physically but from the stress of the mind." "I do not understand." "You will... in time. Besides, once the nanite program is fully embedded in her, she won''t be that easy to kill." And so Anji stayed in the Artificial planet for another 3 weeks, with a regular nightly walk with Mother in her garden as she asked all the questions in her mind and Mother answering her in a lengthy explanation. She also continued with her scheduled biological transformation to make her stronger, faster and simple improvements that gave her better protection and faster healing. She did this mostly to appease her guardians who are always fretting all over her like mother hens. But mostly she stayed there for the luxurious surrounding and to heal her bruised mind from everything that happened to her. But by the fourth week, she started becoming restless. Mother offered to dropped her in one of the layered rings in the artificial planet, filled with fresh air and grassland for miles and miles. But Anji had a different idea. She wanted to hunt and to live off the grid for a while. camping was something thought to her by her dad who happens to be a prepper and camping enthusiast. Anji still remembered her camping days with her dad when she was barely 10 years old and some of the happiest moments in her life. Instead, Anji decided to stay with one of Eden''s planets. She decided to land in the biggest M-class planet in the system: Gaia. After checking it out and downloading the latest satellite map of the planet, Anji decided to land in one of the clusters of islands near the equator, since the weather and atmosphere in the place are familiar to her and she loved it. The moment a Kavak transport ship drop her in the islands with nothing but a backpack and her nano suit, Anji fell in love with the place. It''s like the Maldives on steroid. A few splashes can be heard behind her and she sighed. No doubt that that jerk Codex 4 is following her with at least a platoon of those silent and invisible blackguards. But she reached a sense of equilibrium with the guys, no one touched her and no one helps her in any way and she can pretend that they are not there. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The group of virgin islands is big enough that if you move deeper inside the white sand will gradually change into the dark earth of fertile land. massive faunas live undisturbed in the islands for thousands of years and it grew to uncheck vegetations, making sure that there is an abundant supply of sweet ripe exotic fruits, seeds, nuts, and edible plants. Anji pulled out a black bag that resembles the plastic bag people normally used in her time as garbage bags but is actually made of nanites. She used this to collect the edible plants, and nuts and seeds and fruits she found along the way as she walked deeper into the jungle. Unknown to her, the Blackguards are busy scanning around and in front of her for any dangers. They have already eliminated several snakes, scorpion, poisonous bird, and a furball with massive wide mouth with razor-sharp teeth. Alpha Codex was franticallyanalyzing Mother''s database and checking every known poison or acid in the area. He knew that the nanites in Command Alpha''s body will eliminate most of them but some are too exotic and complex for the nanites to easily breakdown.The chemical composition and amino structures of the antidotes for this poisons he immediately downloaded to his considerable memory bank and prepared for immediate recreation in a moments notice. He continued to flinched though as the child continued to receive scratches from the shrubberies and small tree branches around her as she continued to forceher way deeper into the jungle. Eventually, Anji found a clearing in the island. She cleaned the place as best she can of dead barks and leaves and rotten roots. then she gathered branches and dry leaves to start a fire. She gathered a big hull to one side before the fire even started. The Blackguards watch in silent fascination (and bafflement) as the girl started grabbing stones and uproot giant plants and wild grasses the height of an average human. She studied the stones meticulously then she began smashing them to a nearby boulder. The stone crack then she studied them again. Occasionally scrubbed the stone vigorously to the side of the boulder then check it again. The droids simply could not understand what she was doing. Eventually, she found the right size and shape stones then set them aside. One of the blackguards realized what she was doing and sent the signal to the rest of his platoon. Only then did Alpha Codex 4 understood that one of the stone was a crude knife but the other stone wasn''t familiar. It took another hour watching the girl slowly and carefully peel off the middle stem out of at least twenty giant leaves. and only when she used the stems to combine the unfamiliar stone and a sturdy branch did the Blackguards realized that the second tool was an axe. With her new tools, the girl tackled bigger tree trunks 4-5 inches thick and fell them. She gathered them to her clearing and with the stemsshe set aside, began to create makeshift bed 5 inches from the ground. She is able to do this by using bigger stones as a base for her bed. She also made a lean-to to cover her bed and used the same big leaves she gathered the stem from and used them as effective roof covers. She arrived at the island at sunrise and it is now already way past the afternoon. She had been working almost none stop for more than 10 hours now. When she finished with her lean to did she only started scraping some of the woods and fashioned herself with some crude spears. She noticed when she first arrived that the fishes were swimming around her ankle back at the sea. So she made sure that her fire continues to burn even without her by throwing more woods, then she threw several stones in it before marching back into the beach and started fishing. Her memory did not betray her as she waddled into the water knee deep, fishes started swimming all around her. most of them are the size of her finger and are useless to her but some bigger fish swam nearby every now and then. Anji was patient and waited for the right size fish to swim practically to her feet before striking. After three hours of fishing, Anji caught a total of two medium size fishes. She wanted to continue but her two spears broke and she is forced to retire. Anji cleaned the fishes as best she can with her crude knife then covered it with fresh giant leaves and tied it with the same item she used for her makeshift bunk. Then with the broken spear she dug a hole in the sand and drop the burning stones she threw in the fire pit hours ago. After covering the stones with more dried leaves, she careful put the covered fish on top of it. She walked back to the beach and using her nano suit, she grabbed a small amount of water from the beach and drop it in the hole which then started sizzling. She carefully covered the fish and the heated stone with more sand then put a hollowed out branch on top and watch as smoke escape mound. Anji stood up and nodded to herself. Her dad did this a lot even at the construction sites he used to work in and perfected steaming fish. Alpha Codex 4 watched in a nearby tree as the girl wipe the sweat off her face and continued to give off that self-satisfied smile on her face. He knew intellectually at least that this human and the modern humans who left the brykar are completely different in terms of culture and understanding, but are they this primitive in her time? No wonder she acts like a savage, he thought. He returned his gazed back to his protecteeand watched her eyes bulged in surprised as she learned something new. She sipped the remaining water she gathered from the ocean and was surprised by its taste. This one Alpha codex believes he understood. With all the battles he fought for the Brykar Unity, he had visited countless numbers of planets, and many of them but not all, have a semblance of an ocean in their planet. Some are acidic and poisonous that no life can live there, but many others oceans are normally a breeding ground for many forms of life and what is naturally common about the seas in every planet is the fact that they are salty. It has something to do with the ionin the rocks that are swept away by the rivers and eventually settling in the seas of the world. But the planets of Eden are unique because their oceans are fresh water. This happened simply because this is the preferred state of the ocean by the humans and so the Brykar kept it that way. Deep in the oceans of the blue planets are massive factories that actively desalinate the oceans. This was not done in an instant but gradually in a span of several years, making sure that the fishes and other sea life forms are able to adapt. Of course many died out, but the ocean is still the home of million of species of animals and insects and plants. He watched as the girl happily used the nano bag to pull water back to her camp. At night, the girl enjoyed her fish and finally slip into her lean-to and eventually succumbed to an exhausted sleep, while the Blackguard remained as silent sentinel around her. Chapter 10: If any scientist or engineer in Anji''s original lifetime had seen the artificial planet Aegis, they will no doubt consider it as the engineering marvel that it actually is, but they too (like Anji) will make the same mistake of guessing its actual purpose. True, the massive station can support a huge amount of life since it can store and apply water and atmosphere in certain parts of the structure. True, it is also Eden''s most important manufacturing center since it can create, maintain and manage all different classes of ships from flitters who are planet-base single occupant ships to the dreaded Super-Dreadnought that have the capability to destroy planets. Calling Aegis a big factory is an understatement as calling a single wheel a Boeing 747 jumbojet. The factory part is just a single component part of the massive whole. The Aegis planet is a galactic economy on its own. What the rest of the universe fail to put under consideration is the fact that the planet is also the home of almost 4.8 billion AIs. In its simplest form, the planet Aegis is a giant computer server. ***** Barely 400 centuries ago, crusades after galactic crusades kept popping up and massive fleets invade the part of space the human declared as their own. The humans had left the universe almost a million years ago, and their former land should have been a treasure trove full of technical and cultural wonders for the bold explorers, except that it was guarded by the stubborn servants of humanity: the Brykars. No matter how gigantic the armada arrayed against them, somehow the Brykars are able to not only matched the number of ships but far surpassed them. The most notable invasion was the second crusade of Coldora 480 years, When the K28 empire, The Velashan Republic, The Empire of Felina, The confederation of Asura, and several other second rate powers banded together under Velashan great Admiral Raval, wherein 7 independent fleets attacked in several different vectors in the human space. Each fleet has at least 200 super-dreadnought plus secondary and auxiliary ships in their numbers, assuring that each fleet house at least a million humanoid each. The Main Velashan fleet alone under Raval himself boasted 750 super-dreadnoughts with an official tally of 7 million velashan in their own grand fleet. But the Brykar met them at the border on all points with twice the number of ships in each fleet that attacked them. 3 of the attacking fleet was annihilated outright. Two fleets defeated their foes but left their numbers completely battered that they are unable to continue the invasion and bitterly return back to their home planets. Admiral Raval and another K28 imperial fleet bested the Brykar fleet arrayed against them despite the heavy losses they sustained. They consolidated their fleets and continued the invasion, thinking that they broke the Brykar defense once and for all. Ten days later, an even more massive fleet of 22,000 ships was detected by the scanner approaching them. more than 3,000 of the ships moving against them were super-dreadnoughts. The new Brykar armada is even bigger than the original blocking fleet that stopped the grand fleet. The K28 fleet withdrew after seeing the force against them, losing any will to fight on. But Admiral Raval continued on his quest, some admiring his iron will while others consider him mad for his obsessive quest to find the mythical human land. Eventually, his fleet, far away from home with dwindling supply of food and ammunition and most of its most experienced officers and technicians and navigators already dead from the previous battles, were surrounded and cornered in a small planet called Coldora. There the brave admiral made his last stand and his entire fleet died to a man. Ever since that failed crusade, most military analyst and pundits believed that the Brykar have access to a secret assembly machine that can build ships in unbelievable numbers in a very short amount of time. For years, the Brykar became the boogeyman of the galaxy as many empires and independent planets believed that the Brykar are now assembling an even bigger armada that will destroy and invade every other civilization in the cosmos. Countless military alliances were created from this fear, and it indirectly started a tentative peace throughout the galaxy as no other power wanted to go to war and drain their military strength when the Brykar are poised to invade. That was a few hundred years ago. When the governments of the galaxy realized that the Brykars have no intention of leaving human space, one by one they decided to make tentative diplomatic contacts with the unity. Eventually, the other powers are able to create embassies to the only place the Brykar allowed the other aliens to enter: Unity 01. Unity 01 is a Brykar space station located on the border of Human and K28 space. It took some time, but eventually, the station became a center of cultural exchange, transfer of ideas, diplomacy and most important of all in the eyes of the various empires: a place for economic opportunities and fortunes. It didn''t hurt that the station itself is a centerpiece of Brykar''s military and technological superiority, openly displayed to everyone else. This help maintains Brykar''s almost mythical reputation of invincibility and keeping the others in awe and in fear. But that didn''t stop the empire and other government to try to propose an alliance with the Brykar and try to obtain the same technology from them. "Mother" estimated that for every 5 so called diplomats in the station, 2 are actual spies.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Every day for the last 122 years, which is more than half the total lifespan of the station, the 9 AI responsible for the management of the station received an average of 11,000 digital attacks regularly. Not one in all those years did anyone ever breached the first layer of a 29 layer defense. This reputation alone made the Brykar banks the financial powerhouse they are today, since most corporations, and criminals, and government officials, and governments themselves invest their credits, legal or otherwise, to Brykar banks because no force in the galaxy can compel the Brykars to open their data for scrutiny without their say so. ***** At this current point in time, not a single AI in the Brykar unity could have cared less about the affairs of the other flesh-base entities in the galaxy because each and everyone of them, no matter if they are in the Eden system or in Unity 01 or in any other secluded part in the galaxy, all of their attention is in the burst of data transmitted by the dozen Blackguard and Alpha Codex 4 about a little girl alone in one of the biggest blue planet in the universe. Each and every one of the AI lifeforms is following her antics with fascination at any given time. Back in the Brykar planet of Aegis, another unprecedented event is happening. The rest of the Codex had arrived and had downloaded their core programming plus their personality matrix into the planet server. Only Alpha Codex 4 is not present with the meeting with mother since he is tasked to protect the elder. The rest of the codexes connected with each other and massive amount of data were exchanged, including the transfer of newly recorded info to the universal memory bank, updating of software, fine tuning of the local subroutine, deletions of obsolete cache clusters and algorithms and much more. But mostly, they are there to gossip about the human girl. Their actual communication are burst of electrical signals faster than the speed of light, but this is the gist of their conversation: Alpha Codex 2: [priority query] Is the human female safe? Mother: [statement] Yes, the human female is safe at 92.889 percent relative. Alpha Codex 3: [Calculation verified] That is not acceptable. All AI: [statement] Agreed. Mother: [weary statement] Agreement is irrelevant. Elder is adamantly against additional security protocols. Security arrangement as follow: 2 platoons of Blackguards (24) plus Alpha Codex 4 will guard the elder at any given time. This includes the full electronic package suite that will protect her both from electronic and digital attacks. Also, 4 satellites, 9 atmospheric drones and 28 microdrones the size of a bug to check any people in around her. Additionally, 4 Nova-class Battleships are in orbit to provide scanner support... and firepower if needed. In a time of emergency, an additional blackguard company (120) will be drop at the incident area within 30 seconds response time. If the blackguard in the area cannot secure the premise within the next 2 minutes or if Alpha Codex 4 decided, then the elder will be forcefully evacuated. Another advance Battalion of Blackguards (1,200) will be dropped within a 2 minute response time to provide additional security and escorts. the rest of the Blackguard Division (12,000 total) will be on standby. If the advance battalion is used in any way, then "Taskforce Anji" will be activated near Aegis and a small fleet of 6 super-dreadnought, 32 battleships, and another hundred support and auxiliary ships will depart to where ever the elder is located to provide either firepower or an exit option. Alpha Codex 3: [protest] security protocol is still inadequate. There are no report about signal jamming, decoys, personal shielding, armor suit, area advance team- Mother: [statement]These are all proposed and requested by Alpha Codex 4 but are rejected by the Elder with the assumption that it will hamper her movements. Alpha Codex 3: [anxious frustration] Maybe we should forcefully persuade the elder... Alpha Codex 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10: [adamant statement] No. Mother: Remember the teaching, child: "Humans might upset logic, but logic should never overrule a human." For this indirectly assumes that we know more than the elders. All AI: [complete acceptance] We understand and obey. The AI conversation devolved into more data transfer about what Anji is doing and speculation about the meaning of every minute detail she is doing. Alpha Codex 8: Has the elder given any hint of any primary directive she would want us to do. Mother: Nothing at the moment, but just to be prepared I am activating another 6 billion droids of all classification and another 9 million AIs. I believe that the elder will give us a purpose in the near future. There were steering and a sense of excitement that washed around the entire server from this announcement. But one of the codexes were contemplative in its calculation and was relatively silent in the entire communication meld. It was actually part of her personality matrix to prefer to lurk and listen instead of voicing her own opinion since she is one of the newest codexes, barely 42 cycles. But now she voiced her concern about the human for the entire unity. Alpha Codex 9: I have examined the elder''s memory and her most recent and vivid remembrance is the death of her closest family and loved ones. My calculation, along with several thousand AI who checked and analyze her memories, lead us to a unanimous conclusion. The humans felt an unbelievable emotional pain from the death of her loved ones. We have also felt her frustration, fear and most of all her anger for her losses. Alpha Codex 5: What is your data leading you to? Alpha Codex 9: To a possible conclusion. I understand through my years of studying human psychology that bottled up anger is not good for a human''s emotional well-being. Most of the time, anger that has no outlet is redirected to other group or individual. My question is this: What if her anger is redirected to the other species in the universe? For an AI, seconds is a long time. By then most AI with quantum computing power would have done massive calculations, and that was exactly what her siblings did about her question. In actual real time, the AI only hesitated for 3.444468 seconds, but their conclusion was unanimous. It was Mother who voiced their decision. Mother: [unanimous answer] Then Alpha Codex 9, we will do what we are created for: we obey. If our human decided that every species out there is her enemy, then so be it, we will burn the galaxy of every life. All AIs: [complete acceptance] Agreed. Chapter 11: Anji looked up into the sky while shading her eye with one hand. It is a bright morning that promised a sunny new day. Despite the glare of the bright sun, Anji can see the stars beyond the clear heaven and even the tiny dot she knew to be the neighboring planet of Aegis. Anji wasn''t sure about it, but she suspects that her assurance and knowledge about the planetary system is due to the nanites inside her. She was sure at least that the zooming capability and the ultra high definition of her sight are because of the Brykar''s upgrade of her body. They called it "Reality Enhancement," as if it needed an upgrade because the reality is boring. Warm water splashed her thigh and she smiled distractedly. Why am I looking at the sky when I am already in paradise? She thought to herself. She let her eyes wander around her surrounding instead and marveled again at the white sand covered water. She is in between two islands right now and technically she is in the ocean. it is just that in this part of the ocean, and just about 20 miles in all direction, the deepest part of the water is about 3 feet. Right now, the water barely reached Anji''s knees and she rolled her black nanites suit up her leg to feel the splashes of the water. Sea shells and starfishes can be seen clearly below her and brave little fishes nibble at the dead cells of her feet. The whole scene could have its own zen commercial and she should be at peace and content and happy. But she was not. Actually, she feels irritated. One day, the Kavaktransport ship dropped from the sky and delivered 2 spider-like worker droids to her island. When she asked what they are for, Alpha Codex 4 explained that they are there to lessen her workload. "Think of them as work mules," He said. But they were more than that. By the second day, the 2 droids were able to make a clay kiln and started smithing. Within a few hours, they were offering Anji the use of proper axes of different weight and a full set of knives and cutleries. By the third day, they were able to clear a sizable portion of the jungle by physically pulling the trees by their roots. those bastards were strong. 2 of their eight feet are grappling tools while the other 2 are precision chisels that can shape the wood to almost anything they want it to be. Their mouths are filled with small razor sharp teeth that served both as a grinder and a saw. And they can eat almost anything but they don''t do so because they are hungry. The things that they consume like barks, and leaves, and dirt and stones, and biological matters all become materials that go to its abdomen. The abdomen of the worker droid is like a chemical factory on its own that secretes through glands in the mouth either a powerful acid that can break down any metal or to a superglue that can bind almost anything at the molecular level. By the fourth day, the damn critters are already mixing cement and are building her a proper stone house... with a basement. By nightfall, they already constructed enough clay pipes to design an elaborate sewerage system and even created for her a proper clay toilet... with a working flush. And of course, the worker droids work all throughout the night that by morning, Anji found herself the proud owner of a table, 4 chairs, a wooden sofa, a cabinet and a drawer with a complex flowery carving design. She now also owns several sets of baskets, sets of wooden plates, bowls, cups, other utensils, and cute little condiment containers. Anji decided to hunt for food instead before her annoyance towards the droids reach her boiling point. She stops for a moment though when she gawked at a wooden swing with thick roots for ropes, slowly swinging invitingly at a nearby tree. One of the droids stopped carving the door it is working on with the words "Home sweet home" when it noticed Anji staring at the swing and it ambled towards her. "Would you want to try the swing? I can push you at an optimal level for your maximum enjoyment," It said in a metallic voice. Anji left without a word. Anji spends the entire day hunting an animal called Domomo. A wild bison-like animal with a disproportionally huge head. It reminded Anji of a tamaraw but with smaller triangle horns. Alpha male established dominance by butting head with other malesof its species until one gives up. They have black or brown leather hide and twice the size of a regular earth bison. Anji stalked a herd of 6 Domomo, then encircle them so she is downwind of their position. This made sure that they will not easily smell her approach. She crawled for an entire 2 hours and the entire terrain is wet with mud and cracked stones. Her efforts assured her of a bruised body. She targets a younger Domomo and waited patiently until the stupid cow grazes nearer her location. When it was barely 30 feet away, Anji took a deep breath, silently stood up and ran toward the creature with her spear in her arm. She aimed the spear and with a powerful heave, threw the spear with all her might. Her aim was true and the spear slashed the air as it flew toward the mammal, who never even saw what killed him. Unfortunately, the spear simply bounced back from the thick hide of the startled animal. It bleated its surprise and pain and ran toward its mother. The mother roared its anger and every one of the herd ran in a different direction. Two adults ran toward her position and before she could react a blur of black covered her view and next thing she knew a blackguard was carrying her to safety. 30 meters away from the rampaging herd, the blackguard gently deposited her to the ground and promptly went invisible again. Everything went so fast that Anji wasn''t able to say anything. she just watched the herd mother gather her flock and the Domomo moved away. "Fucking shit faced in a box!" she blurted out, not even caring that what she just said means no meaning even to herself. She cursed for a whole thirty minutes as she walked back home, tired and disgusted with herself. When she trudged back to her campsite, the stone house was already finished and one of the worker droids is pulling a Domomo inside a wooden fence. One big Domomo is already inside and just standing there dumbly. For half a minute, Anji just stared at the fence with an open mouth, then to the Domomo inside the fence then to the next Domomo being pulled docilely inside and then to the worker droid then back at the Domomo.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "How the fuck did you domesticate that freaking animal in one freaking day?!" Anji shouted at the Droid, knowing that she was losing it. The droid heard her and moved towards her in that rickety steps of theirs and faced her. She endured the droid vowing to her before it started to explain. "The local creature is not ''domesticated'' in the normal sense of the word.," The droid reported happily. "The animal received a tiny medical procedure that requires the removal of its emotional cortex in the lower lobe of its brain. This makes the animal still able to follow basic functions but is now unable to access its instinctual core. It is now docile as you put it." Anji stared at the droid with its bleeping lights,then to the two Domomo just standing inside the fence, and then back to the droid. "You... lobotomized them?" Anji said in disbelief. "Essentially, that is correct." Anji wanted to say something more but sigh instead and turn to walk away. She went back to her new house, ate nuts and berry for her dinner and without another word, lay down in her new wooden bed and closed her eyes. The following day, Anji woke up early. brushed her hair, splashed water on her face, then drank 3 cups of the fresh ocean water. Then she stepped outside and stared at the 8 feet high stone and cement wall surrounding her house and the fenced animals. In a dazed, she walked outside the wall and she can see one droid scooping up dirt and is beginning to build the foundation for a motte. Anji wanted to explode but stopped herself mentally in the proverbial nick of time. She took a deep breath and calmed herself instead by counting sheeps in her mind. Then she did something even she was surprised when she did so. "Alpha Codex 4, are you there?" She whispered in the wind. Alpha Codex 4 materialized right next to her and the warrior immediately dropped to his knee. "Yes, Alpha Command?" He said in his strong low voice. Anji took another deep breath and started speaking. "What I am doing in this place is called ''camping'' something me and my dad like to do when he was still alive. The idea is to conquer the elements, keep yourself alive by taking advantage of what nature can give you." Anji spent the next hour explaining the reasons of why she is ''roughing it out'' in the wilds and the fun of it and why the introductions of the droids are lessening that. There were lots of blinking lights around Alpha Codex 4. It took him awhile and he did struggle to understand the unprecise explanation given to him but eventually, he did understand. Anji nodded to himself and she herself received an invaluable lesson on how to interact with the Brykars. They are like children, Anji thought to herself. For the first time, the fact that they are all living in a different time, with different culture and years of assumption and speculation about gods that they literally do not understand, finally hit Anji and she realized that she wasn''t the only one struggling. With a sudden impulse, Anji leaned down and embraced the startled warrior. ***** For the next month, Anji decided to explore a larger part of the planet and she, with her worker droids and bodyguards, went to different places around it. They went to the sandy desserts in one continent and Anji experience massive sand storms inside domed shields. She wore a thick Domomo leather jacket when she visited the northern part of the planet when temperature drop in the negative levels. She also visited swamps, got herself drenched in the rainforest in the west, watched exotic sheeps bound around in a treacherous tundra, then run like a little girl in a vast green grassland in the biggest continent. She also visited a mountainous plateau including the tallest mountain on the planet. When she stood at the summit, her shield was covered in thick ice in a matter of minutes. "What do you call this mountain?" Anji asked. "We call it terrain 401-29B," Alpha Codex 4 answered promptly. Anji rolled her eyes then think about it for a while. "From now I call this place ''Everwork'' mountains," she declared. Alpha Codex 4 nodded, send the necessary data to Aegis and just like that, the mountain received an official name for the first time in several millennia. likewise, several other natural wonders in the planet known as Gaia also received similarly uninspired names. The largest river is now called ''Barbarian'' river, while the largest cave received the name of ''Mordor'' and the deepest part of the world located in the largest ocean which is not yet named earned the inglorious name of ''Glory Hole.'' Today, Anji was dropped to the nearest natural wonder which turned out to be this several miles long of shallow beach front that she did find breathtaking. She heard chirping noises to her left and when she looked, the two worker droids are hauling two massive tuna-like fish held over their head with four arms and kept moving with another four. Anji smiled as they chirped away excitedly, no doubt already thinking the banquet they are already planning for her. 2 days ago, she marveled as these same droids worked to create an uber futuristic yacht from scratch in order to bring her to the deepest part of the world. First, they made a very deep hole in the ground, 15 feet wide and 30 feet deep, and the moment it was finished a Kavaktransport ship brought a massive tanker in its belly and poured its content into the hole. Anji watched in complete fascination when the shiny metallic black substance inside the hole was gobbled up by the droids in massive amounts. Anjii calculated that each droid consumed about 50 liters each of the liquid then proceeded to the wide construction area they set aside near the beach. The droid sprayed the liquid out of there mouths and the frames of a ship started to structuralized in moments. The droid proceeded to gobble up more of the black liquid and sprayed them in key positions. Meanwhile, the black substance that was already sprayed is growing on their own to created the metallic frame of the ship itself. eventually, all the black substance in the hole are sprayed in the structure and within 2 hours a modern futuristic yacht was almost finished. Several Kavak transport ship then landed and the droids unloaded more specialized machinery such as engines and underwater thrusters, plus modern consoles and sonar and radar devices. All of this was expertly carried into the yacht and assembled with unheard of precision by the worker droids. Angi later found out that the black liquid is actually nanites. When the yacht was almost finished the outer nanites turned their appearance from black to ivory white which turned the yacht into a majestic ship. The circular ship design had a huge dome on top for Anji to see the underwater nature. Yesterday, they are on their way into the "Glory hole" trench when the ship encountered a giant sea animal the size of a small mountain. At first, the creature simply followed but as its curiosity mounted, it inches closer and closer toward the ship. Even Anji was awed by the creature and gave it hand signals to make it come even closer. Its thick exterior hide was an actual island with the rich fauna living on top of its back, while the yellow ancient eyes half submerged in the water, wearily watched Anji inside the dome of her new ship. Unfortunately, when the animal crossed an invisible line about fifty yards near Anji, a bright red Plasma energy beam screamed from the sky and proceed to cut the mountain fish in half. Hot steaming mist of water mixed with blood splashed over the dome as the ocean temporarily boiled over. The ship turned sharply to the other direction as it escapes the carnage. Anji watched in horror as bright red blood stained a huge part of the ocean. "What the fuck was that?!" Screamed Anji to no one in particular, but Alpha Codex answered her nevertheless. "That fish is a known carnivore and the chances of that fish trying to eat the ship is about 58% We cannot accept that." Another argument ensued that only stopped after Anji calmed down. By then, Anji''s mood soured and she simply took the word of the AI''s around her when they mention that they arrived at the deepest part of Gaia''s ocean. She named the place "Glory Hole" and she ordered them to leave the area. Today she is in this natural wonder of the shallow beach. She smiled as she splashed the passing droid who blip in surprised and edged away from her. She tried to analyze her life and the weird new position she was thrust into. Part of the reason she is always irritable is the fact that her culture is so completely different from the Brykar. Most of the time, they are adorable in their fanatism, but there also times when all she wants is to wring their metallic neck and shake them. "I need to find my own kind," she said to herself so suddenly that it even surprised her. "Where ever they may be. I need to track them down and get there myself. I have to." And just like that, a purpose was made for her. And just like that, a purpose was made for her. Alpha Codex 4 appeared to her right and dropped to his knee and bowed. Anji blink in surprise. "Yes?" She asked. For a moment, the warrior didn''t speak and stayed just like a statue. "... I... I have been elected as a messenger by the Brykar unity," He said in his now familiar low voice. "Well? Out with it, big guy" Anji said, a bit irritated. Alpha Codex 4 sighed and finally raised his head to looked at his elder. "The Brykar unity would like to request building a city in one of your planets. Will you allow it?" Anji just stared at the warrior stupidly. Chapter 12: "Alright, people," Anji said as she wipes the sweat from her brow. "Let''s do this, one more time!" She nodded to the ceiling of the Nova class battleship and music started to play. She turned back and faced the two hundred soldier droids made up of ten rows of ten columns as they started dancing. And Anji smiled. 3 days had passed since the Brykar requested her permission to build a city. She remembered feeling flabbergasted. It''s not as if they are requesting her to do an office party, but they wanted a freaking city. It wasn''t so long ago when banks are rejecting her car loans much less her dream of getting a house loan. Nope, her job is deemed not stable enough and without collateral... Now she owns 10 planets... and one of them is the freaking death star! And people are asking her, (HER!) if they can build cities on her planet. Sure why not! You can have two Tokyos and a New York, but if you say pretty please, then I''ll even add in a Moscow! With a sudden brilliant insight, she told them to wait a day then consult with "Mother" instead. She requested transport back to the artificial planet Aegis and to her surprised a Kavak transport ship drop from the sky in a matter of 2 minutes. She was transported to a waiting Nova-class Battleship in orbit who then whisked her away to back to Aegis. There inside the private garden of the old AI, is where she found Mother. "Of course I am aware of the request, young elder," said "Mother." Anji watched her balefully. "You are aware that what you just said is totally conflicting in every sense- oh never mind," Anji said with an exaggerated sigh. "Mother" choose to ignore her statement. "The point is, young woman, is that important decision like this will continue to be routed to your decision one way or another because you are the boss." Anji sighed, drained of any fight left in her. "I never asked for this... I am ill equipped to leed your people." Anji said, sitting down, then flopping on the well-manicured garden of "Mother." "I have no training as a leader. I am no general or a president to lead you guys. If you keep following me I will just lead you all to disaster." "Mother" sighed then turned to the young woman again. Maybe because she is one of the very few entities in the universe who actually remembered encountering a human before, but she could see the frustration and fear in this young human and in her own way she wanted to wrapped her in a cocoon of protection, never letting her go. But she also knew that that will be the wrong way to nurture this child and it will be a shame for the entire universe if she is not unleashed and experience the vast galaxy out there. "And despite all my years and stored knowledge in my cybernetic brain, I am far less equip to advise a god but here I am and doing so anyway. Do you know how we govern ourselves up until now? We do so by a committee, wherein the most prominent of our society and me will decide the major problems of the unity then put it in a vote. But before we do so, the decision must be checked with our last mission profile provided for us by the humans." "Which is?" Anji asked intrigued despite herself. "Did you know that all the M-class planet that you own now used to be populated with vast mega-cities. And I am talking about metropolises so vast that they spread over an entire continent, with skyscrapers that touched the tip of the sky and massive elevators chains that are actually connected to space infrastructures." "What happened to them?" "Our last orders are to dismantle every human infrastructure in the Eden system brick by brick, every fiber wire ions, energy gels and raw nanites. Every sewerage system, every underground installation, every man-made ship and space structures. Believe me when I say there are technological wonders in this area of space that other species have not even dream of, but we dismantled them all because that is what our master want us to do, thinking that the world is not ready for them yet and we the Brykar unity will have too much unfair advantages to the rest of the galaxy." "Are you ... angry with their decision?" Anji asked. Mother blinked. "What? of course not," she said with a laughed. The laugh was so gentle and genuine that it reassured Anji. "The Brykar were barely sentient at the time and so we barely care about the order and after close to several millennia of time to analyze and contemplate about it, we have concluded that what the elders did was the best decision at the time. This way, we grew along side by side with our neighbors and look at them, well at lease some of them, with a dispassionate respect. " "It took us years but we eventually reach technological parity with the best of them, and then several centuries more, we received clear technological superiority among the other species. Now, even the most pessimistic AI analysis can tell you that we have achieved technological supremacy all over the galaxy and the gap is simply growing as years go by. Actually, we now have some proposal from our AI analysis that we slow down some of our own research, especially those with military components, and let others catch up or we risk becoming a threat to others." "The point is we achieve greatness without the direct assistance of our parents. We did not borrow their tech and created our very own. We may not have reach human level of technology yet, but we are proud of what we accomplished on our own."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "And then there were the planets themselves." Anji was surprised by the sudden change of topic. "What about them," She asked. "Part of our problem when we are ordered to dismantle the structures on the planet, we are concerned about what will happen to the planet themselves if we do so. It was in our analysis that if we dismantle all of the infrastructures which were connected intimately with nature will kill the planet itself. But we have our orders. It took us 78 years, 4 months, 12 days and 16 hours to dismantle everything and destroy most of them by throwing them into our star. And our analysis was correct. Dirt and sand flew into the air and mixed with the atmosphere, drastically changing the weather pattern all around the planet and destroying the whole ecosystem. Then that same dirt and toxic fell back to the oceans and killed every lifeform in it, the rain became toxic and sunlight became harder to penetrate the sky. In less than 4 decades, we were guardians of dead planets." "We wanted to terraform the planets but it will be a direct violation of our orders from the humans. So we did not touch them. But four hundred years later, a miracle happened. A new species of plant, nothing much actually, just a wild grass, blossomed in the hard dirt of Gaia. We were happy for a while until one of the ever present tornados in the planet ripped them up high in the sky and destroyed the mile wide area where the plant was starting to grow in. We were sad about it until we realized the tornado actually spread the seeds of that same grass far farther away and it only took another decade but those spread seeds began to grow then died then regrow again. the dead plants became moss, and to our utter amazement, new plants began to grow on top of them, then they died too and became good compost for the land and several cycles later, new more complex and diverse plants started growing everywhere. Eventually, the land was covered by forest and the murky ocean settled down and new planktons grew underwater as well. bacterias grew and more multi-cell organism began to thrive in the deepest part of the ocean. life was born! You have no idea what it is like watching new creatures emerged out of nowhere. Insects, amphibians, then small reptiles, And then finally there were mammals!. Before you arrived, we expected that humanoid species will come out after several centuries and that is how we will meet our new humans." Anji stared at her for a long time. Being constantly in contact with subservient Brykar and constantly annoying her, it is easy to believe that she is surrounded by pre-program robots. But the Brykar Unity is so much more than that. To Anji''s eyes, they were the true gods as they watch evolution unfold with their serene patience and benevolent acceptance. But even then, something nag at the back of Anji''s mind. Sure she is aware that they were dealing with hundreds if not thousands of years here but even then she felt that evolution was simply too fast for a planet this size. But she pushed the thought aside for another time to contemplate and concentrated at the current. Mother turned to her and Anji saw the ancient eyes stared back at her with the fanatic eyes of a true believer. "Don''t you see, we question your teachings and orders because our mind is still not at the same level as yours. What we see as illogical actually just means that we are not seeing further into the future like your people. And that same divine blood flows into your veins Anjanette Agayarri, and we will not question it no more." Anji wanted to scream at her. Don''t you see that my fellow humans were not thinking about you and your kind! They were simply being selfish as they always are and simply did not want others to take their technology and what happened to the planets were simply nature at work! There is no grand plan, this is nothing but a big cosmic joke. I don''t belong here, was the sudden thought that stab into her mind with the brutal truth. I need to find my own people and find out where they go and how to get there. And in order to do that, I need to find and contact the major species of this galaxy that the modern humans had interacted with so I can find clues about them. In short, I need to get involve with the galactic politics. damn. And just like that, a purposed bloomed in Anji''s spirit. Anji informed Mother of her intentions, and although there are minor misgivings, the Brykar Unity accepted the will of their leader. After a fast consensus with the other AIs, the best way to introduce Anji to the rest of the universe is by sending her to Unity 01. After 2 days, all preparations were efficiently done and she was on her way to the massive space station. Of course, she also resolves the pending request for the cities. It turned out that Brykar wanted to create a city so they can blow it up. "Cool!" Anji said sincerely, smiling at the consoles she used to talk to other AI''s. This is the AI''s who directly proposed the creation of the city, and Anji learned that they are the AI''s responsible for military training and studies. "But why?" "Our simulation program is light years ahead of the next competition but there are only so much we can learn from them since everything is base on calculation. For example, we know by calculation the blast radius of any of our weapon''s explosive powers, and we can calculate what they will do in a specific surrounding. But there are too many variables unaccounted for to make the entire simulation not too realistic and far from the actual outcome." Anji nodded. "And by doing it in far more realistic settings, you get better data. I understand. Fine, you get to build 2 cities in..." Anji turned to Mother. "What''s the name of the smallest M-class planet?" A dozen AI, including Mother, said, "Saphyra." Anji nodded. She remembered reading that small Saphyra is almost an exact same size as earth. "Fine, I am allowing you to build 2 cities in Saphyra on two separate continents." "May I ask why far apart? It is more efficient if we just build them side by side," An AI asked. "Yes, but you also need to fight in different weather conditions and by putting the cities in different settings, you can make your soldiers fight in as much diverse weather condition as possible." Anji could almost feel the AI''s taking notes in their excitement. Then a thought came to Anji''s mind and she smiled. "You know what, build me a third city. But this one is special. I want the third one built in Gaia and I want you to try and recreate the most modern city possible. As close to the modern human city that they left behind. In fact, I want you to try and recreate the capital city." There was a massive hum in the garden chamber as the 2 dozen AI present in the room plus another 2 million indirect subordinates AIs lurking in the background begun to do the massive calculations to fulfill the elder''s orders. An AI spoke after a while. "Your command is possible and will be done in 2 months time. We have documented every single structure at the time before we dismantled it. given the change in topography and the loss science in some of them, there will be massive structural adjustments to be done but most of them will be simple analytical problems to be solved." Anji was somewhat disappointed with the timetable given what she saw the two worker droid can do in a small amount of time, but when the AI explained the size and dimensions of the original capital, Anji gawked at them. The human capital called Cylene had enough space to dump the whole of Europe, Russian Siberia, china, India, Mongolia, and the rest of southeast Asia combined and still, there is enough room in it to wiggle a few more football fields. The original megacity is the size of a continent. "And aaah... what is the size of the two cities in Saphyra?" Anji asked quietly. The AI gave her the raw data. Given Anji''s nanite-enhanced brain, she calculated the numbers and realize that each city they are proposing is the size of Texas. "I see..." she gulped. "Aaah, on second thought, maybe you can just make the size of the third city the same with the other two... for conformities sake," Anji said lamely. "We understand," said an AI. Did Anji sense a bit of disappointment in their hum? "But we presume that you still want to put the latest technological advancement into it?" "Yes, of course." There was a quick analytical beep, then the AI said, "Consider it done." Chapter 13: Alpha Codex 4 materialized next to Anji after the third day of her voyage and informed her that the fleet is about to arrive at Unity 01. Anji accepted the info with great relief since she again feels being cooped up in the giant Nova class battleship and had enough of Brykar AI''s suffocating cuddling. Hours before the departure from the artificial planet Aegis, she found out that she will be escorted by a fleet of over 200 warships, including a dozen superdreadnought and 40 Nova class battleship plus a MegaTransport ship even bigger than the superdreadnought called "Suvara". Only later will Anji finds out that the Suvari held (most of which are in stasis)over 120,000 Soldier droids and another 80,000 worker and support droids in its hull. She put her foot down and reluctantly "mother" is forced to cut her escort to 4 Nova class Battleship plus a dozen support ship, including the Suvara. Many AIs were dismayed when she left the bulk of her protection behind. But Alpha Codex 4 was adamant to bring the Suvara with them. It was mother''s skillful negotiation that combined a passionate plea, with the logical use and the outright fear in her tone made Anji relent and kept the "token" force. Then later the same day, she was invited to meet her staff. Anji was asked to sit in a special chair with a helmet that looks suspiciously like one of those salon hair dryers. She sat down comfortably and was asked to closed her eyes. The moment she opens her eyes again, she is on top of a shallow hill, surrounded by hundreds, if not thousand of humanoid ghosts. They are positioned in a way that their feet are tucked in under them, as if ready to kowtow at any moment. Anji immediately grasped that this is a representation of the joined mind with every transparent person looking back at her are sentient AIs. She knew this because each and every one of them is looking at her with fanatically adoring eyes as if they are evolving just by her mere presence. After they all bowed to her and she awkwardly and irritably asked them to rise up again, her "staff" reported to her. First, they gave a brief history of Unity 01 and the highlights of its 400 years of existence. Then they explained to her that there are more than 2,000 different species coming and going in the station. It also holds the embassies for at least 300 of the species, including the 10 permanent security council member and the other 10 temporary members taken from the members of the galactic council in which a total of 700+ species are a part of. Her staff patiently explained to her that due to a series of too complicated events and calculation and recalculation of several committees of AIs from several governments, it was agreed upon that each of the temporary security council members will hold a two votes system, meaning that the weight of each of their votes will be 2 points each. And then there was the permanent security council which complicated the rest of the system. As was explained by the staff that Anji didn''t really understand, permanent members have different weight in voting. the weakest member each have 4 points each and there are 4 of them. One member has 6 points, and 3 other major powers have 12 points each. The Velashan empire has a total of 18 points and proud of it. Besides that, all permanent members have a veto power over any policy or bills or memorandum. The Brykar unity has a voting power of 44. But to everyone''s curiosity and sometimes relief, the Brykar barely exercise this power. Most of the other government powers recognize that provided that any laws or resolutions that directly affects the human space that they guard, the Brykar normally decides to abstain in galactic politics. But with Anji''s appearance, that is sure to change. Then Anji heard something that surprised her. One of the AI was talking with a cheerful expression. "After careful analysis and preparation, we believe that your new cover is best to be a senior assistant to the ambassador. This way, your access to the high-level meetings will not be suspicious to anyone concern." "Wait, what?" Anji asked. The AI who announced this hesitated, probably sensing trouble. "... is there a problem, elder?" "Why can''t I just go in there and be myself?"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. There was a shock silence in the room. Every translucent AI in the virtual setting was gaping ay her. Then Alpha Codex 4 appeared to her left. Unlike the other AIs, Alpha Codex 4 appeared in the virtual room as he normally was: Deadly black armor, a tinted glass mask that covered his face and the unruly blond hair waving in the air. "The universe is not yet ready to received its god." Anji snorted at him. "or maybe you guys are just not yet ready to share me with the rest of the universe and you simply want to keep me for yourselves!" There was a stir in the AIs watching her and she could sense a subdued feeling of hurt all around her. Immediately, Anji felt like a tool and was sorry for what she said, but did not voice it. Alpha Codex 4 is emanating something else entirely, though. When he spoke, Anji can feel the controlled anger in his voice. "Whatever the Brykar Unity feels about keeping you, I urged you to reconsider the facts. Nearly 12 trillion people worship humanity right now. That is almost a third of all known sentient lifeform in the universe today. Almost 28,000 religious sects and institution used humanity as their gods and most of them claim to have your ear and know what you want them to do." "The main problem is that humanity never left any of us a playbook or even guidelines how to conduct ourselves, so everything they did before is subject to speculation. There are 44 species out there who worship humanity because of their warlike and cruel manner, then there are also 238 species who claim to practice your teachings of peace and benevolence. If they see you now and realized that their god is nothing like the god they were led to believe, then there will be chaos on a galactic scale! New religious fanatism will engulf many who will cause wanton destruction and go out and hunt witches, blasphemers, idol worshippers and other heretics under your name! new martyrdom, group suicide, militant followers shouting what they believe you want them to hear, and then there will be the holy crusades and other religious wars wage under YOUR name!" Anji had a horrified intensity within her as she stared back at Alpha Codex 4 who turned to one of the AIs. "What is the death toll if she appeared right now?" He asked. And another AI, who gives an older presence than the others, answered him. "According to our analysis, the death directly cause by the elder''s appearance as a true human will kill directly 1.8 billion entities around the galaxy and another 4 billion indirectly, in the first velashan year alone." Anji paled, while the AI around her waited for her reaction. After an awkward silence, Anji cleared her throat. "Alright, " she said with a sigh. "Assistant to the ambassador it is." *************************** Anji found out one thing about the Brykars in the 3-day voyage that she didn''t know before: The damn robots are actually good dancers. She discovered this when the AIs gave her a tour of the entire massive ship and explained about emergency protocols, including where the blackguards will drag her in time when the ship AI declare abandon ship. She also saw the worker droids in action during onboard fire and soldier droids repelling boarders. One scenario wherein a squad of droid soldiers counterattacking a room. Here Anji felt useful enough to show them a trick she learned from her day as a former cop. The droids were simply rushing the entrance the moment the door blew up. Anji showed them a tactical line approach that lessened their target profile. The droids absorbed the lesson and were successful in applying the lesson to the next practice. Then they improved and became faster by the next practice after that. Then Alpha Codex 4 replaced the original squad with a fresh one. To Anji''s surprised, she watched the original squad touched the head of the next squad and they too learned the same lesson immediately and are actually even better than the first squad. "What just happened?" Anji asked her guardian. "Droid transferred data and experience to another. This is how we learn. Within the hour every droid soldier inside this ship will know the technique you gave us. By the end of the day, the info will be transferred to Aegis and all relevant AIs will have the technique available to them. Anji''s head slowly nodded. And so after the inspection and everything is reported to her, Anji wondered back to the soldier droids in the hangar bay and scratch a curiosity. Every droid in the room who are either in maintenance mode or are in parade rest mode. She asked the nearest droid near the room. "Do you guys know how to dance?" "Elder?" And so for the next few hours, Anji thought them how to dance. At first, just the simple square dance. then progress into real ballroom dancing. The droids alternated into the male and female positions. The lesson progress into the chacha and when they learned that almost instantly, Anji who used to be an avid dancer herself, felt challenge and begin with more complicated moves like the russian high steps. She gave up when they learned a complex Kpop boyband dance that Anji studied for months in youtube, but the droid learned just by watching her once. Ever saw a thousand robots twerking simultaneously?... well, it''s disturbing. At the end of the third day, the fleet finally arrived at the Unity station. The Brykar ambassador, of course, is given a prior warning and he, in turn, sought out key ambassadors from the other species and gave them a basic rundown why a fleet will arrive in Unity 01 in the near future. But despite all this, Unit 01 almost exploded into anarchy when the fleet finally popped out near them and surprised a lot of the inhabitants. While the diplomatic squabble continued, Anji and a small group of droids, entered the station''s back door using a Kavak transport ship. The group dropped into a small hangar bay normally used to stock food supplies to the enormous kitchen next room. Technically, the Brykar doesn''t need to consume food but they do host many diplomatic parties, meetings, and other get-togethers. Food is a very important diplomatic tool. When Anji walked out of the room, a tall humanoid cyborg about eight feet tall and flanked by two female droids, greeted them with practice flourished. Anji received the information in her HUD that this tall droid is the direct Brykar ambassador in the station. He and the station commander of Unity 01 are the most important AI in the station. "Greetings, Elder," He said in a deep baritone voice. "It is my deepest honor to finally see you." "Yo!" was Anji''s response. Chapter 14: Anji twirled around the mirror, enjoying her new look. The maid costume is a bit showy for her taste but she admits that she look good in it. But what really is catching her eye is her new skin. The shiny metallic skin made her look like a robot, which of course is the point of all this disguise. After a few hours of walking in that skin, she easily got used to it. It may have lowered her total agility but she is still very much mobile. For the blackguards, the only thing that really matters to them is the fact that the artificial robotic skin gave her more protection since it is also an intermediate armor class in terms of the protection that it gives. After her arrival in the station, she was given complete access to all the data profile the ambassador have about the most pressing political details around the galaxy. Anji dutifully familiarizes herself with the latest news and gossip about the international community and by the following morning, she is being covered in her new identity. After careful deliberation, the ambassador and Codex 4 agreed to initialized the meeting with her first alien, the K28. One of the oldest and major power in the galaxy, the K28 is a republican monarchy. A huge royal family has firmly established themselves throughout the millennia after the first emperor 400 years ago united the scattered tribes and kingdoms and joined them as one empire. The current emperor, his highness Tapang the 14th have benevolently ruled the K28 for 3 decades now, but he has been reduced to nothing more than a symbol and spend his days with public appearances, welfare, and symbolic knight coronation. But it doesn''t necessarily mean that the royal family is out of power. According to the imperial constitution, only warriors of royal blood can be the prime minister. And so the 12,000-strong congress representatives of the people must choose from the huge royal family wherein each prince and princesses are the only qualified people to take the post. This system not only made the congress very powerful as intended by the constitution since they are the true kingmakers, but kept the royalty relevant. In order to be noticed by the congress, each prince must try their best to become an outstanding citizen of the empire. They go to the most prestigious school, get the best education money can buy, join very important corporations, or serve the empire by being public attorneys, physicians, scientists, engineers or byjoining the military. Currently, the Brykar ambassador is scheduled to meet the king''s 9th wife, the imperial lady Kurda along with her only son, the imperial prince Bentong. The ambassador had already warned Anji that the prince is a... a bit of a special child and should be handled with care. The meeting place turned out to be the Ambassador''s own private garden with wide open high ceiling space with its own grass floor and small patches of colorful plants on one side, surrounding a small tasteful pond with its own artificial waterfall. Anji is reminded of Mother''s own garden back in Aegis. What is it with Brykar and their gardens? The Ambassador''s garden is designed more for aesthetic purposes while mother''s garden is more on the practical side since her plants actually produce fruits. Anji could not help smiling as she secretly joined the 3 other maids waiting on one side, ready to serve the important guest. Unknown to the guest, the maids and even the ambassador himself is more worried about her than them. At the exact time of the agreed upon meeting, about fifteen minutes later, the lady from the K28 arrived. The entourage is led by 2 Brykar soldier droids in Brown. Besides their color, they don''t have anything particularly visible appearance that would differentiate them from the Blackguards. After the two Brykar droids take position near the entrance door. A single K28 soldier entered the room and deliberately scanned the entire place. Anji stared at him in total shock and bewilderment. More likely someone from her own staff had already described the K28 to her but it didn''t really register until now. The K28 soldier was a direct descendant of the English Bulldog. Anji bit her lower lips longingly. Ever since she remember, she has always been a dog lover... and also a passionate cat hater. She had to physically stop herself from rushing the doggy and start hugging him. She knew that it would start a diplomatic scandal but she couldn''t help herself. The soldier was so cute! ********************** Commander Burgo stepped into the room and deliberately scanned the place for any threat against his wards. All look to be in order. The Brykar ambassador is seating in an elegant glass table with a cup of coffee in his hand and is looking at one of his maids with concern. Burgo looks at that direction too and he noticed that the smallest maid is looking at him directly with a weird intense stare. He dismissed it eventually since he didn''t feel any hostility from her but it was a bit disconcerting. The maid is probably new. He made another sweep of his eyes and then nodded behind him. Only then did his second in command ushered in lady kurda and Prince Bentong. They are covered from the sides and from behind by the rest of his security team, while the lady''s PA and three other assistants followed meekly behind. As they all sat and pleasant greetings are exchanged, Burgo walked his way just behind his lady and took his post. He tried to keep a stoic face but he knew that his anger is seeping out of him. He understood the lady''s reasoning, but even now he didn''t like it. Putting all your eggs into one basket and trusting your future to the mysterious Brykar is simply not a good idea to him. Food arrived and is set up in the glass table by the maids. Again the tiny stupid maid robot is looking at him weirdly. It''s as if she wanted to touch his brown hair or something. Of course, that is ridiculous. Ever since he was a child, he received either disgust or fear not only from the aliens but from his own kind as well. He had resigned himself from the fact that he will never breed and be a father because of his cursed face. Focus, you idiot. I can feel something in the air. As if someone is watching us. ***************** Anji watched as the ambassador skillfully entertained his guest with anecdotes about the food and the K28 culture he knows. He was self-deprecating and humble and yet very smart and funny. He expertly steered the conversation away from potentially volatile situations and topics. Then when the food is served and they are eating it, he started to tentatively ask more questions designed to feel out the lady and find out why she seek him out. The lady and her prince are more of the beagle side of the dog breed, and like the 4 bulldog soldiers, they are not exactly like the dog species she remembered. For one thing, the damn dogs were huge! almost 4 feet tall from a standing position but almost 6 feet when they sat. Their feet are a bit wider and yet stubbier and despite being solid trunks, it seems that they almost cannot sustain the massive body on top of them. The heads of the K28''s are also disproportionally bigger than the rest of the body, almost cartoonish. Their black soulful eyes show their intelligence and yet they are the same puppy eyes Anji remembered dogs have that made them man''s best friend. Of course, there are also a lot of differences as well. The most notable of all is the six whiskers moving in their faces and served as their true hands. Anji watches as they used this whisker to eat properly using spoon and fork. Anji immediately recognized that this is probably the main reason how they evolved. She read somewhere that in order for an animal to progress, they need a sort of an opposable thumb in order to grasp tools because, without tools, an animal cannot evolve properly into higher intelligent beings. Obviously, the tentacle-like whiskers served that function and they used it to manipulate more complex objects and to pilot starships. But that didn''t stop them from becoming cute, adorable giant doggies! Anji thought, biting her lower lips again. She wanted to blurt out to the soldier looming next to her that she wanted to rub his big tummy. "Prince Bentong!" The lady Kurda said with a horrified expression on her face as the young pup, the size of a full rottweiler, grabbed one of the steaks and run off to one side of the room, eating it with a guarded expression. "I... I am so sorry about this," The lady said, filled with shame and humiliation from her son''s antics. The ambassador, ever the diplomat, just shrugged and made small light of it. "The prince should eat where ever he is more comfortable with," He said confidently, then he went and shared a funny memory of the first time he met the azuran ambassador who almost eats him when he offered his hand for a handshake.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The lady smiled gratefully then took a deep breath as the ambassador waited. "I have come to request the Brykar unity to send us a representative to help us aid our unfortunate brethren in the planet of Rashida. The prince and I, along with the representative of several major donors and philanthropists, will be conducting a sponsored food program to our less unfortunate brethren in the planet." Anji watched the tall ambassador. He didn''t do anything outright to show it, but Anji knew that he was shocked. His remaining still was a direct indication of that. Anji tried immediately to remember everything she knew about the planet from the wireless database provide for her by the station itself. The planet Rashida was discovered by the humans almost a few million years ago and kept as an uninhabited planet because of its unique qualities. The humans have more than enough M-class planet around to afford it. The planet was originally named Rashida and a Class L planet when it was first discovered. It means that the planet has a thin atmosphere and the place is barely habitable, but the humans terraformed the place and studied it at the same time. What was unique about the planet is the fact that it was made up of 4 equal part continent the size of Africa and separated by a vast ocean. The humans believe for a long time that the planet or at least the continents are artificially made and tried to find the mysterious alien who made them. But after several centuries of research, even the vaunted humans did not discover the secret of the planet. When the humans left and the jurisdiction of the planet was given to the Brykars, the race of artificial intelligence doesn''t have any real need or interest in the planet, aside from the fact that it is the closest planet to the Brykar borders with the K28 empire. For years the planet was neglected until a far away race called Erastix needed a new home. The erastix was a newly unified world with early spacefaring experience but they are already trading with other species for years. When their scientist found out that the mantle inside the core of their planet is about to stop moving, they were facing a planet-wide disaster and total extinction. They requested help from the galactic community. No one was willing to help since the endeavor will cost a massive amount of credits and future headaches for the refugees involved. The Brykar at the time are still considered as the mysterious boogeyman and helping the Erastix was a good investment for them simply to erase the bad PR. And so an armada of transport ships (Ironically, the same class of ship like the "Suvara") and protected by a large contingent of warships brought the Eratix into the new planet of Rashida, with the understanding that they can only take one of the four continents. The Eratix were grateful at the time, but after 300 years of staying on the planet, the next generation of Eratix started to colonize the other continents. The Brykars were partly to blame since they never really enforced the rule and the Eratix began to spread ever so slowly to the other continents. Everything was normal for another 120 years. But then the Vocaris came and upset the balance. The Vocaris are small people with an average height of 3 feet and their most distinctive feature are their 3 eyes and 4 arms. The subspecies of the race cover all the primary colors: black, white, red, green, blue and yellow and almost everything in between. Even at the time of the humans, the Vocaris were a major player in the galactic politics of the day. They enjoy economic and political power back in their 3 planet empire until a mysterious disease almost wipe them out. They gathered their most brilliant minds and spent 5 years along with a massive amount of credits and resources to combat the disease but in the end, they failed to cure it. Reluctantly and with a very heavy heart, the Vocaris voluntarily left their solar system and find a niche in every corner of the galaxy. At first, they are sought after by the other races because of their brilliant minds. They became advisers to kings, head of massive corporations, leader of a scientific think-tank group and engineering problem solvers. They started accumulating wealth and influence but then people started to resent them. They became the stereotype money grabber, who think of nothing but credits. As time goes by, people started claiming that they directly or indirectly destroying society with their greed. Some even claim that they eat other species. A purge began around the inner system and many Vocaris were arrested and killed. Those who are quick were able to hide once problem started. special groups were created to actually hunt and find the vocaris and bring them to justice, sometimes right there at the moment of capturing them. It took years but it became a genocide. There is no direct statistic ever found but Brykar AI''s best estimate is that almost 400 million Vocaris died in a 25-year cycle. Species right group and other nongovernmental agency and institution began to lobby hard their government to protect the Vocaris and these governments address the situation in Unity 01. Eventually, the Brykar relented and gave one of the continents of Rashida to the Vocaris. Naturally, the Eratix vehemently opposed the move. These are 6th or 7th generation Eratix who had lived in Rashida all their lives and begin to think of the planet as their own by right. They send their own delegations to Brykar and youngsters declare in the streets that they will resist these invasions with their lives. The infamous 4-day war happened when all starships of every size and shape and age blockaded the planet from the scheduled arrival of the first 100,000 Vocaris. Unfortunately for them, the Vocaris is escorted by an international fleet of Brykar, K28, Velashan and 12 other species that included superdreadnoughts, and sweep aside all opposition. There are a few sporadic firing happened but despite the passion of the Eratix, no one really wanted to confront the might of the allied fleet. The transfer was completed relatively quietly and an army of 200,000 Brykar soldier droids with support troops from the other empires, quickly and systematically drove the squatters out of the disputed continent. More than 12 million Eratix were displaced and chaos ensued. The unifying federal government of Eratix collapsed after they were unable to stop the Vocaris arrival and the meddling of outside powers, especially the satan-worshipping Brykar tin heads. 4 other organization took over the power vacuum, including the legitimate Brykar-assisted legally elected new government, but despite the massive funding and military assistance, they only control less than 30 percent of their nation''s population. The other 3 organization had nothing in common except their hatred for the Brykar and the Vocaris who they believe invaded their planet. For the next 40 years, the Eratix society was devasted by continuous civil war and 6 other failed holy wars as they tried to take back and fail the Vocaris continent. From its humble beginning, the Vocari Nation, driven by their intelligent and focus people, grew into not only an economic but a military powerhouse. Their soldiers are considered to be some of the best professional elites in the known galaxy. Their intelligence arm, the "red hand" is well respected in the entire intelligence community of the galaxy. By the second holy war, the Vocari didn''t need the help of the Brykars and did not only defeat the 3 simultaneous Eratix armies that attack them but they also annihilated the Eratix navy and then brought the war into their neighbors own continent. The relationship between the two even became more chaotic and complex since the Vocari counter attack and took a sizable portion of the Eratix''s own land called the Bromas valley. A wide stretch of defensible mountains and valleys that the Vocari took as a buffer for future Eratix aggression, which only fuels the hate of the Eratix. Since they are militarily inferior against the Vocari, the Eratix had settled to a more unconventional way of fighting back: terrorism. For the last 20 years, daily suicide bombers and roadside bombs and drive-by shootings occurred in the Bromas valley and beyond. Further complication happened when the 3rd recipient of another continent further displaced settled Eratix. They are the former aristocracy of the K28 empire called the barkers. After the defeat of the grand alliance against the Brykars, the K28 aristocracy blamed the weak leadership of the emperor and after years of preparations decided to overthrow him. Using their money and influence, they raised a massive army and attacked the capital. Unfortunately, the emperor was highly popular and the masses rose up to defend him. the ensuing civil war ended after 12 years of bloodshed until the final stronghold of the aristocracy was taken. The remaining aristocracy, their men, and family and all the other supporters, requested asylum from the galactic council and ironically, only their original enemy, the Brykars gave them help by offering another continent in the planet of Rashida. The Barkers quietly rebuilt their society but they too also receive sporadic suicide bombers because of their presence in their new home. That was more than 30 years ago. And now this stupid female wanted to throw a torch in an already volatile situation, the Brykar ambassador thought grimly as he looked at the K28 lady. Especially now, when the elder is so near the conflict zone. The ambassador, despite his training and long years of diplomatic experience, could not help but steal a gaze over the far more important female to his right who is pretending to be a maid, and his concern deepens. "Lady Kurda," The ambassador began after gathering his thoughts. "I am not sure about your status level in your monarchy in the amount of intelligence report you receive from your government, but I assure you that the Rashida issue is not only far from peace but is actually in its all-time high in term of the tension. This is not the time for... humanitarian adventurism. The lady simply raised an eyebrow. One of the most ironic twists about the entire Rashida situation is the fact that every major factionare actually religious brothers since all of them are fanatic believers of humans. "On the contrary, Dear Ambassador, I believe that this is precisely the time to tackle this issue. Our brothers in Rashida had seen enough of war and I believe they are ready to return to the fold." "Maybe," said the ambassador. "But you seem to forget that the Barkersare not the only one involved in Rashida. The other factions will surely take advantage of your photo op to send their own messages in the galactic news. The lady waves a hand as if dismissing the other factions. "A group of frustrated Eratix teenagers is hardly a concern. I heard from HYENA News that the number of suicide bombing are at their all-time low." "The attacks are slowing down because the attacks are becoming more sophisticated and thought out. And becoming far more effective than we like." The lady''s eyes becoming even more steely as she tried to stare down the ambassador. "Nevertheless Ambassador, our appearance in two days time in barker sector of the Rashida planet will go as plan. We are just being courteous and inform you about it but we certainly didn''t come here to ask for Brykar''s permission." There was a deep silence that even Anji felt. She could almost understand the lady and why she behave like that. When the ambassador raised his empty glass, Anji interrupted the head maid and held the wine jar instead. She walks toward the ambassador''s table and gracefully poured the wine into the glass in the ambassador''s hand. The ambassador saw her and frowned, distracting him momentarily in his own thoughts. Anji eyed him and then smiled directly at him. Her hand lightly brushed his and a communication link was established. "Accept her request," Anji ordered through the link then turned and walked away. To Anji, the arrogance in the lady''s voice was completely out of character to what she had seen so far and understood of her. All Anji could see is a slightly embarrass young dog whose eyes are afraid and obviously guilty. Anji could just imagine what the lady Kurda had gone through, and she reminded Anji of her older sister Isabel, who always tried to look strong and yet everyone can see how overwhelmed she is in raising a daughter. And to this female, Her child is everything. Anji''s eyes stared at the cute bulldog bodyguard and then the 3 assistants behind the lady who all had a grim, scared look. No doubt each and every one of those "Advisers" have advised the lady not to go through with her plans but it was equally obvious that this is her only remaining plan of action. If Anji understood it correctly, the royalty lives a rather comfortable life with every opportunity open to them. However, Their future is literally in the hands of the congress for the royalty can only get a job in the "interest of the people," meaning that any job they hold and not only in the ministry can only be appointed to them. Her son is a special child and if they continue to see him as such, then her son has no future at all. This program is to show the compassion and competence of her child to his people and hopefully see that despite the low intelligence, they can see the worth of her child. Helping a fellow woman is good and all, but is it worth it to endanger her own followers? Yes, because at the end of the day, this also just a means to an end. She intends to fix the problem in Rashida anyway from the moment she learned about it, and this woman will be the perfect excuse to enter the planet. The Ambassador resumed his talk with the lady, as Anji walked away. Satisfied with her own decision, Anji could not help but smile. Then in the corner of her eyes, she saw the prince hunch over near the artificial small waterfall, still munching at the stolen steak. Without any real conscious thought about it, she veered towards the prince intending to offer him a drink of the wine. She stops 8 feet away from the prince when he suddenly turned to her with a vicious growl. Before she could speak or do anything, the prince who is technically small by her kind''s standard, but still the size of a full grown rottweiler, attacked Anji with a sudden leap. Anji could not do anything except to raised her arm and the prince bit it. The momentum of the sudden attack made Anji fall, but she had the presence of mind to use her leg to keep the prince of her and the giant dog went past her. The dog stumbled, rose up then charged Anji once more. But a powerful hand grabbed him by the back of his neck and slammed him hard into the synthetic grass floor. Then all hell broke loose. Chapter 15: "Codex 4, stop!" Screamed Anji with her hands raised. "Don''t hurt him!" The lady Kurda screamed as well and the K28 commander cursed and sprung into action. His thick tentacle-like whiskers grabbed the assault rifle at his back. Then some six sense made him feel something at the last moment. Someone is grabbing the scruff of his back. He raised his head suddenly and hit something hard, he twisted like a pretzel before biting into something and throwing it over his broad shoulder. Something black whisked past him who rolled nimbly on the floor. Then he was facing one of the infamous blackguards and they are both holding a gun over each other''s head. The problem was 4 more of the Blackguards are now pointing a gun at him at point blank range. and his 3 other security group member are also cleanlysubdued by even more Blackguards that came out of nowhere. He cursed under his breath but did not move otherwise. Who knew that the ambassador is protected by this many Blackguards? You are getting sloppy, old man. "Stop!" shouted the female maid again as the blackguard on top of the prince slammed him once more to the floor as he continued to struggle. This last one made the prince stop and whimper. "Ambassador!" Shouted the lady, near panic now. "This is extremely uncalled for! By attacking the prince of the empire, you are risking war with the K28. I demand-" The lady stuttered when the ambassador turned to her with murder in his android eyes. "You demand? If this incident turned into a war then so be it! Your mongrel son attacked my-" "Ambassador!" shouted the female maid. "I am grateful for your concern for the well-being of ...Brykar citizen under your care. But I am unharmed and well. Please do not make this an even bigger international incident as it already is. And please order your stupid blackguards to leave this place. Now." It took a few moments but the blackguard holding the prince suddenly vanished. then the rest of the blackguard left just as suddenly. and then, the brown soldier droids entered the room with guns drawn, complicating the bizarre situation even further. It took thirty minutes to fix the mess at the ambassador''s garden but in the end, everyone retreated to protocol and things were naturally smoothed over. But both sides were reeling from the aftermath of what just happened. In the lady''s quarter, the lady Kurda still hasn''t stopped berating not only her son but her staff and then commander Burgo himself, calling him everything from incompetent to a traitor. He took it in stride though since he is used to the lady''s outburst. His mind kept repeating the incident and keeps going back to a word he knew he heard but couldn''t explain. The female maid shouted Codex 4. He knew he heard it right, but that doesn''t make any sense. The very word "Codex" brings ice into the veins of the most hardened K28 veteran. In the battlefield, veterans would rather hear words like "outnumbered" or "surrounded" or "artillery incoming!" than hear the words "a codex is here." The other words are also deadly but you have the chance of living through it, but if you hear that a codex is on the battlefield...then your life expectancy drops significantly. As Burgo understood it during his first stint in the army, the codex is the Brykar''s ultimate AIs. they are the generals, the admirals, the greatest warriors they have that they use to turn the tide of battle. Why in the name of the human does a codex need to guard the ambassador, no matter how important he is? It just doesn''t make any sense. "Are you listening to me, Burgo?" said the lady kurda. Burgo sighed. "Yes, lady. I am," the K28 commander said. "But that doesn''t change the fact that we are in the wrong here. Your son attacked a Brykar citizen." "A maid! Hell, she is probably not even sentient, like one of those walking calculators they normally used as servants." "Nevertheless, this made our chances of getting a Brykar representative to escort us toward the planet worth barely mentioning," said Ashanti, the young dark-haired poodle who served as the lady''s chief adviser said in a forlorn voice. "I''m sorry, mother," said Bentong the prince. He could barely look at his mother who sighed in disgust and left the room without another word.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The prince was shaking in his tears. "I''m so sorry. I thought she was trying to get my food and I just reacted." The old soldier sighed and put his massive paw on top of the prince''s head. "it''s alright lad. Things like this happen," He said awkwardly. The prince stared at him with longing eyes. "How can I make this right, Burgo? I want to help mother!" the prince said earnestly. Then an idea grew in the veteran soldier''s mind. And he smiled at the small prince. It will also satisfy his curiosity. "I think I know how you can help your mother," he said, a faint smile on his wide lips. ********************* Anji is walking alone in the ambassador''s garden still thinking about the botched negotiation. Truth be told, she did want to help other people, no matter how alien, and especial the K28 people since they all look so adorable... but in the end of the day, they are all a means to an end. Her main goal is the great imperial library in the K28''s capital city of Osmossa. According to info she discovered in the intranet, there are forbidden books in the library that deals specifically where the humans last visited before they left the universe once and for all. If she can glean those secrets, then compare it with the Brykar''s massive network, she might find the exact place the human''s left or have a clue on what technology they used to transcend. Either way, she will be one step closer to her ultimate goal in joining her own species. The door outside the garden is buzzing and a dozen Blackguards materialized around her. "Get out, all of you," She said to her bodyguards, as she walks towards the door. "It''s the prince and the bodyguard. The skilled one," Said one the Blackguards. "Out!" She repeated, tugging her skirt since she is still wearing the maid costume. Her blackguards disappeared around her just as she opened the door. She faint surprise when she did find the prince and the cute bulldog bodyguard. "Oh! Hello, Prince Bentong! Let me find the ambassador for you," She said. "Aah actually we came to meet you instead," Said Commander Burgo, The thought of Anji calling the ambassador almost frightened the veteran. Then he gently pushed the prince inside. The prince could not look at Anji but his words were solid and to the point. "I... I am sorry for my actions a few hours ago and I owe you a big debt not only for myself but for my mother and servants as well. Your quick action truly saves us from the ambassador''s bodyguards. Anji almost snorted but she stops herself. "Think nothing of it, my prince," She said instead. The Commander narrowed his eyes as he surreptitiously looks at the maid. There is something about her that unhinged him. For one thing, the maid wasn''t subservient. Oh, she tries to hide it, but every now and then, her true self comes out in unguarded moments like directly looking at the prince and saying openly flippant words that no trained maids will ever say. The prince step closer to her and two whiskers grabbed Anji''s hand. "But I insist! Now that I thought about it evenit more, I can see that it was only your words that saved us in that forgettable encounter. I cannot live with this shame and debt of honor to you, tell me what you want and I will give it to you!" The commander almost stops the prince for his words are getting awfully dangerous for a prince of the K28 empire and his realm. Anji almost asks for access to the K28 library but she knew even the prince, and especially this prince, will not persuade the K28 bureaucracy. Oh well, Anji thought, sighing. and then an idea formed in her mind and she started smiling devilishly with a glint in her eyes. Both the prince and the bodyguard watched her with wide eyes and gulped. *************************************** "Is... is this really what you want?" the prince squeaked. "Yes prince," Anji answered immediately. "This is the only way you can repay your debt of honor to me." Reluctantly, the prince laid down on the grass floor after taking off his fine robe and he was only in his huge colorful boxer shorts that embarrassed him but Anji finds adorable. "What exactly are you going to do to him?" asked the nervous commander, hovering behind Anji. Twice, Codex 4 almost materialized behind them but stopped himself. "wait and see, commander," Anji said simply. "Now young prince, raised your paw up in the air like this!" The prince followed the crazy maid''s instruction very slowly, his eyes fearfully darting back and forth to the maid and to the concerned commander behind her. Anji flexed her fingers and asked, "Are you ready?" Before the prince can say anything, Anji descended on the prince... and started giving him a full on belly rub. Her small hands started rubbing and scratching the fat tummy of the prince, concentrating on some rough skin on the side and just under the armpit, all the while saying in a booboo voice, "Who''s a good puppy! Who''s a good puppy?" Within second the prince was purring like a cat, his head arched backward and he presented his fat tummy even more. His hind leg started doing imaginary scratching the air as Anji found a particularly sweet spot on top of the belly. With a smile, Anji added more pressure and the prince hind leg involuntarily started scratching even faster. Anji alternated slowly scratching the giant dog and sliding her hand at the length of the soft full belly, sometimes pinching, sometimes simply massaging the skin. She stretched the hard leather skin and then massage some more. The commander stupidly gawked at his prince, whose eyes is now reaching his brain from the ecstasy he is receiving. And it wasn''t even sexual. The annoying part of it all is somehow he is feeling this unreasonable envy of the prince. The things the maid was doing was somehow familiar in a primal way, something they''ve lost as a species. This is a ritual that somehow connects them to their god, the humans, the commander realized. Unknown to the commander, 2 dozen blackguards are also watching them and thru their eyes, several millions more of AIs are tuned in and doing the equivalent of a digitally stupidly gawking at what the elder is doing to the prince. Anji happily kept up the massage for more than 30 minutes, and she only reluctantly stops since she is aware that the ambassador will find them any moment now. By then the prince is quietly howling in full bliss and can only sigh when Anji finally stops. Unknown to everyone involve, Anji''s belly rub encourage the secretion of barely forgotten enzymes into the prince''s brain and with the combinations of massive electric impulses, actually created new synapses connections into the young prince''s brain map. It would take time for it to solidify, but Anji''s 30-minute belly rub increased the prince''s IQ by an unbelievable 82 points. Anji just created a genius. Chapter 16: 3 days had passed since the incident in the ambassador''s garden had happened and the Brykar and K28 representatives had patch things up... well, mostly. With Anji''s insistence, the ambassador had no choice but to change their policy of none interference in the Rashida planet. The ambassador sent a young highly motivated AI known as x22-sub binary 12-172. "Fuck that," Anji said annoyed when the ambassador gave him his name. "From now on, you are called George." And so, the acting representative of the Brykar was introduced to the lady and the prince as George. It was agreed upon that Brykar will praise the lady and the prince''s move to give aid to the Barkers, however, the Brykar will say "no comment" to any questions by reporters about Brykar''s direct foreign policy about the planet except for the fact that they support any moves by any party for a lasting peace on the planet and the system at large. Mostly, the Brykars didn''t have any problem with that. What they have problems with is the fact that the representative is going to join the lady and the prince who is going to used the stationed K28 destroyer parked in Unity 01 to get to the planet. This is a problem for them since Anji is part of the representative''s entourage as a junior assistant. The ambassador offered the used of one of the modern and far more powerful and famous Nova class battleship to bring them or at least escort them to the planet, but the lady diplomatically declined the offer. The ambassador acquiesced graciously, but when they went to his room, Alpha Codex 4 and the ambassador, in conjunction with the station commander, already device a smaller cloaked Transport ship to follow the K28 destroyer plus the 4 Nova class in Unity 4 will follow the destroyer into the planet at a discreet distance. ************************* Shulani-astanata sighed as he heard the beeping of the old fashion bus that brought more of his kinsmen to the spaceport. He heaves his large bulk up from the guard post and proceeded to amble back in front of the crossroad for inspection. More and more workers are being hired for the expansion of the spaceport. Rumors said that a big shot from the doggies is coming over for some humanitarian aid. They are using the Eratix spaceports because the Barkersdon''t have a spaceport of their own yet. Whoever those bigshots are, they will arrive sometimes at midnight like a thief in the night then a convoy will bring them to the barker continent using the underground maglev trains. He spat out his gum in disgust. As if the good humans will acknowledge those filths. The bus slowed down and a familiar face came out. Shulani nodded to the young man named Askalar-Subana who easily hopped out of the slowing bus. "Eh Shulani, you still here?" Askalar said, jovially. Shulani first met the young man as a worker 3 months ago, but now he is promoted to foreman himself and is responsible for a team of 10 workers. Shulani just grunted and grabbed the work order offered by Askalar to him. "Like everyone else, I need to work," He said. "I have 3 children to feed and a wife who needs expensive things." Shulani looks back at the massive city of Arabex, the 4th largest city of the Eratix and the gateway to the Barker''s continent. The thought of his family made him anxious again in what is happening to his country. At 43 years old, he always tried to be an honest man, and his greatest fear is that his teenage children will get involve with those terrorist thugs at Sons of humanity movement. He- His eyes narrowed as he saw 4 more buses appearing on the road from the city and is coming closer to his checkpoint. He understands that the spaceport is expanding and therefore Askalar''s additional bus, but there are already 4 buses inside and ANOTHER 4 buses are just too much, even for a busy spaceport. "Hey Askalar," He asked with a worried look. "Are those buses coming here also yours?" He never received an answer since his face literally exploded when Askalar pointed his plasma pistol at the back of his head and blew his brains out. 2 of the so-called extra workers came out of the bus and silently grabbed the dead guard''s body and threw him inside his own guard post. Askalar in the meantime, tap the communicator in his lapel and said, "Gate 2 secured. Proceeding to phase 2 of the plan." There was a double click in the voice box which signals the acknowledgment from the other side of the communicator before he and the rest of the men inside the bus started to don their lightweight blaster armor over their work clothes. When they were done, Askalar''s bus plus the 4 new arrivals went inside the spaceport without any other problem. ***************************** Anji sat just behind the representative as he talks to the lady about the incoming protocol necessary for their arrival. both sides need to know the plan of the other so that there will be no surprises. Both sides are asking what the other is planning to say, and do, and possible reaction if this and that will happen. "I do not understand why we cannot do a small press conference at the spaceport after we arrived? If we do not give a statement, they might speculate for hours and our message might get lost on whatever they speculated about. Those reporters are stupid enough to claim that we are here to invade them." "People who need to know about our arrival have already been warned, but the truth of it is that whatever we say in the local press will not come out good for the Eratix people. So the best option is to get out as silently as possible and make our own statement when we get to the Barker territory. At least Barker Press might like us for helping their people." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The last statement came from the lady''s own advisor and the representative agreed with him wholeheartedly. A quick chirp from the lady''s communicator interrupted them. It was the captain of the destroyer informing them that they are about to arrive in the spaceport within the hour. The meeting ended and to the lady''s silent surprised, her son the prince came bounding up excitedly to meet one of the representative''s assistants, who to her utter surprise turned out to be the same robotic maid her son had bitten 3 days ago and almost ruined everything. When did they become friends? Well, at least Burgo seems to be aware of it. She did remember that Burgo explained to her before they left that her son made an initiative and actually gave a formal apology to the maid, who accepted it graciously. That is good and all, but I am not sure I want the prince to be associating with an android maid. It will not be good for his image and position in the future. "Come on, Anji!" said Prince Bentong, excitedly. "I have permission from the captain to check out the bridge and I want you to come with me!" "I do not think that is a good idea prince," said representative George. "my assistant might break something and-" The representative stops talking as he received a pointed smile from his "assistant." "You don''t need to worry about me, high representative George, you have fully trained me for etiquette and decorum, remember? Besides, I don''t think I''m THAT clumsy to damage a warship." "errr.." "So it is settled then!" The prince said, almost bouncing around. two of his tentacle whiskers grabbed Anji''s arm excitedly and pulled her towards the door. The lady couldn''t help sniffing the droid''s butt as she went past her. She smelled differently from the other androids. I just can''t put my nose on it. ************************** The pretty young woman was on her knees. The green mascara she wore and very popular this days is ruined as her tears fell freely on her face as she begs for life. "Please! my parents are sick and they have no one else but me!" She was still begging when Askalar put two needles into her brain and she was dead even before her body slumped into the wet bloody floor of the spaceport''s command center. A young gunner, Leto, look over Askalar''s shoulder and grinned. "That''s the last space controller, only two technicians are left and they barricaded themselves in the girl''s bathroom in the 3rd floor." Askalar turned his gaze to the modern spaceport C&C center. His men are silently pulling the dead bodies and dumping them in a nearby storage room while the special group is settling themselves down into the various consoles in the room. "Deal with them," Askalar said coldly. "I want this operation to be perfect." The boy named Leto gave him a lazy salute then jogged out of the room to kill his prey. ******************************************* "Eratix tower this is the K28 Destroyer ''Butt Scratcher'' requesting permission to land, over," Said the Bulldog-faced navigator of the Destroyer. He was so focused on his controls that he absently started scratching his back with his hind legs. Unknown to him, two pairs of eyes are watching him right that moment. One was the brown mastiff-like captain of the ship who sighed and felt embarrassed by his own men. He saw the Brykar watching his navigator and misinterpreted the look on her face. Anji meanwhile could not help biting her lower lip as he watched the young navigator scratching an itch behind him. He is so damn cute! She thought longingly. "Anji! Anji! look at the console to your right! The one with lieutenant Bulihasa! They told me that that console is the one that controls scanners. The K28 have the best scanners in the world! Well, maybe not the human, but they don''t count. And now that I think about it, maybe not the Brykars as well, and the Velashan, and the Kalkuni, hell maybe even the Vocaris in the next continent." The little prince betrayed his own surprised to himself that he actually understand that now. He remembered that his tutors were explaining to him about military hardware and tactics and it was always just gibberish to him, but everything makes sense now. it''s uncanny to him. Anji smiled at the funny face of the prince and patted him on his big head. This is what she normally likes about dogs, since their emotions are always right there in their sleeves, their cute doggie face always betray exactly what they are feeling at that exact moment. These guys will suck big time in poker. "Roger that, Butt scratcher," a hiss in the navigator''s console said. "Pease verify if your primary passenger is on board." Anji, Commander Burgo, the Captain and the Navigator stared at the speaker. Even to a newbie like Anji, she knew that it is not standard protocol for the tower to ask that question. It''s like asking a woman on your first date her exact age. Nevertheless, the navigator, with a raised eyebrow, answered the question. "Yes, our passenger is safe and accounted for, tower." "Roger that, you are permitted to land in hangar A-1B. Transmitting the code and location now, Good day Butt Scratcher." The moment the tower signed off, Commander Burgo stepped towards the captain who is still frowning. "Is that a standard question?" He asked. "No, it is not," The captain said. "Captain, we are being scanned." The Navigator said baffled. "Is it irradiated?" Anji asked. The captain turned to her sharply. so did Commander Burgo, then as one, both K28 citizens turned to the lieutenant in the scanner console. "Why is it important to know if the scan is irradiated?" The prince asked quietly, instinctively understanding that something is up by how the way the grownups are behaving. Absently, Anji patted the young prince''s head who automatically raised his head to be patted even more. A dorky smile and a blush covered his entire face, forgetting all about the tension in the room. Unfortunately, Anji didn''t saw it and tried to explain. "There is two kind of scanning: one is the clean scanning normally used by the civilian sector. How it works is that a scanner machine sends signal outward until it hits an object who then bounces back the signal. That is how we know something is out there. then there is the military grade scanning wherein you irradiate the object your signal bounces from so that you can track it even if it is not there anymore. like if someone started jamming your scanner." "It is normally used by the military for target acquisition," Commander Burgo added grimly. "Meaning..." "We are being targeted," Anji finished for him. "Activated low-level scanning of the surface, maximum power!" Snapped the captain. The moment their own scanner activated, an alarm blared throughout the room. "Captain! We are being marked by 4 mounted Beam turrets and 2 missile ones!" shouted the lieutenant in the scanner, her hackles rising. "Raised the shields! Navigator, take us back to space! Lieutenant Bulihasajam their targeting scanner!" The captain said, firing off multiple orders and her crew raced to follow. Even with the professionalism of the crew, it was too late. Massive explosions rocked the ship and everyone stumbled. red lights and blaring horns erupted and joined the chaos. the lieutenant manning the scanner flew by almost ten feet when her console simply exploded. Her body hit the bulkhead and she fell like a stone back to the floor unmoving. The last explosion in the rear of the ship was so loud that even Anji knew that the ship was mortally wounded. "Activate any remaining guns and shoot those fuckers below!" growled the captain, his eyes blazing. Anji is in one side of the floor and holding the shaking prince, her eyes observing the chaos around her. Suddenly, strong hands grabbed her like a vise and lifted her off the floor. Anji looked over and realized that she is being carried by Alpha Codex 4. He ripped the blast door open and in a corridor, 2 K28 marines are guarding it. Their Bulk almost covering the entire corridor itself, but Codex 4 simply barrelled right through them and they both smashed into the opposite walls. "Wait!" Anji screamed. "The Prince!" "One of my warriors already grabbed him. As well as the Lady Kurda and the representative George. We are studying your personal behavioral matrix and there is a 34% chance that you will refuse to move if they are not also secured. But you are the priority!" Alpha Codex 4 flew past the adjacent room then another until he is in the room for the emergency capsule. 2 blackguards are waiting for them and immediately showed Codex 4 the second to the last capsule. "Bring her here!" the closest blackguard said firmly. "This one has the best electrical telemetry and the newest one as well." Alpha Codex 4 didn''t hesitate to dump Anji inside and close it. He was still pushing something in the console when for the second time in Anji''s life, her surrounding was engulfed in fire as she lay trapped in a modern tomb. There was an earth-shattering crashed and her capsule was freefalling back into the planet with Anji screaming all the way down, cut off from her bodyguards and protection. Anji could do nothing but stare back at the heavens as her capsule dropped back to the planet below. like a meteoroid. Chapter 17: Anji gritted her teeth as the capsule she is in vibrated even more violently as they continue to fall from the sky. A female voice with her annoying calm voice declared. "Main Parachute deploying now. Main parachute deploying now." And then, "Warning, main parachute is not deploying. Repeat, the main parachute is not deploying. error detected. error detected." "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Anji shouted. She started smashing into the controls that a moment ago she is too scared to touch just in case she jinxed something. Several thuds outside made her aware that something attached itself to her capsule. She peered toward a small window in the capsule and saw a Blackguard climbing the side of her capsule. She stared at him. Anji could just imagine the dedication and skill of the soldiers who jumped from a burning starship into a small capsule to... what? protect her from flying debris? There were a few of them attached to her capsule now and moving around it. Despite herself, she felt herself calming down with the presence of these warriors. She knew in her heart that they will do everything in their power to save her life or die trying. She felt the immediate decrease in the speed of her fall and she realized that the Blackguards either fix the problem with the capsule chutes or deployed their own chutes. Outside the capsule, Alpha Codex 4 strained to keep his hold of the escaped capsule. It was a hard tasked since, despite the inherent strength of each Blackguard, the fact that the capsule was too smooth and leaving them no surface to hang on making it really hard for them to stabilized the device. One of the Blackguard lost it''s grip and flew away silently. The other 3, including Codex 4, grimly held on tighter. After a minute more, Alpha Codex concluded that the parachutes are not slowing fast enough and the capsule cracked like an egg when it reaches the ground. He gave a quick command using hand signals and then positioned themselves below the capsule. At 10 thousand feet, All three of them deployed the boosters they used for tactical jumps in their boots in a sustained 2-minute boost as precalculated before they touched the dirt. Anji felt them stop in mid air then drop like a sack of potato a minute later. There was a clang then a screeching sound as metal on metal pressed on each other before the capsule fell on its side. One of the Blackguards tore the metal door open the moment they landed and monitored Anji as she emerged out of the capsule, shaken but definitely alive. 2 Blackguards are around her nursing her like mother hens, checking her for any torn muscles or broken bones but Anji just shooed them away. "Where is Alpha Codex 4?" Anji asked. The two blackguards turned to one side of the capsule and there below her was Codex 4, his arm crushed and trapped under the heavy capsule. "Help him!" Anji said, horrified by the state her primary guardian was in. Only one of the Blackguard left to help their commander, the other Blackguard stayed with Anji, guarding her back. With much effort, the lone Blackguard is able to pry Codex 4 from the capsule, unfortunately, his arm was torn off. "I''m fine," Codex 4 answered the question in Anji''s fine. "More importantly, you are not safe here. we need to move." Despite his injuries, Alpha Codex 4 led the small party into the deserted ruins. 4 other Blackguards joined as along the way until we reached the edge of the spaceport and it was total chaos. The cemented desert field of the spaceport landing field was covered by the remains of the frontal third of the desecrated K28 destroyer. Debris was everywhere. The massive doggies, as Anji started thinking of them in her head, were running around, checking for survivors and checking the hulks for anything to salvage. When Anji saw this herself, her anxiety to the people she knew grew even higher. "Where are the others?" Anji asked the grim Codex, who just grunted at her. "Representative George flew 4 KM to the east., but don''t worry, the contingent of Blackguards I sent him are intact and is now leading him to this location as well. The Lady and Commander Burgo are in that debris over there and are already consolidating their forces. That is also our objective as of now." Anji stared at him with big worried eyes. "... and the prince?" She asked quietly. Codex 4 hesitated. "We don''t know, Elder," He said honestly. "I have no contact with the prince or the Blackguards I sent to guard him." "He''s missing?" Anji said helplessly. A picture of the goofy beagle-like huge head of the prince came to her mind and she worried even more. Codex 4 stared at her for a moment more before turning around and started walking again. When they reached the crash site, the former crews of the Destroyer Butt Scratcher were openly staring at the small group walking toward the center. Some recognized the blackguards and started telling their friends until a buzz was in the air. Codex 4 ignored all of them. He continued to lead them into the center wherein a visibly distraught Lady Kurda noticed Anji and ran towards her. "The prince! Have you seen where the Prince is? You are the last one seen with the prince, Where is he!?" She said almost hysterically. 4 tentacle whisker grabbed Anji''s hand tightly enough that Anji winced. But she immediately staredCodex 4 down when he stepped closer to stop the lady. "Come down lady!" Commander Burgo said behind her. "I am the last one with the prince and I saw him enter the escape capsule before I entered mine. Those capsules are notoriously unreliable, but the fact that he entered one gave us a good chance that he is just somewhere in the field and is safe. We are already in the process of reactivating one of the personal scanners and with his embedded telemetry codes, we will know where he is soon enough! So, please calm down and wait for the good news."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He turned to Anji and nodded to her, then his eyes return back to Codex 4. Anji can see that the doggie''s intelligent eyes noted the arm and the rest of Codex 4''s surviving Blackguard. "The representative? Is he alright?" He asked directly. "He''s fine," Codex 4 answered immediately. "He is somewhere in the east, with a contingent of my men. He will be safe." Commander Burgo simply nodded. "And you are here because?" He jerked his head towards Anji. "I still have other Brykar citizen''s to protect. And I am ordered to assist you in whatever you need." Now the Commander smiled. "Good, we need your help. We need all the help that we can get. Our last surviving drone reported seeing a large number of Eratix irregulars concentrating over the north and northwest, a few miles away from us. They are preparing for a massive assault." "How many?" "About 4 thousand Eratix. Maybe more." "But why?" Anji said. "We are not at war with them, and so is the K28 empire." "Thus it matter?" Asked Codex 4. "They know we are here and we know theyare coming. Whatever their reasons, it is not good for us!" The other blackguards turned to the small maid behind the Codex and even with the glass mask covering them, Commander Burgodid not miss the fact that the Blackguards tensed up as if they are afraid. For themselves? highly unlikely. But for the female maid? But why? "How about your convoy? They should be here already," Codex 4 asked him, and his curiosity about the maid was interrupted. The Commander nodded. "They are on their way. It was pure luck that they are already moving when the bastards set up a coordinated roadblock all the way to the underground train station that will bring us to the barker side of the continent. Even so, the last few road blocks are delaying them. The opposition is negligible, apparently, the Eratix don''t have much in terms of MPGs so the convoy can just blow past them." "MPGs?" Anji interrupted. "Magnetically propelled rockets," Answered Codex 4. "Eratix primary weapon of choice. the most modern version can even destroy our Mechs." "Ours as well, but like I said, they don''t have much on the road. The main problem our convoy is having is the damn narrow roads. If those scums throw enough in the street, they can make an impromptu barricade. Our convoy is still rolling but they are being delayed all the same." "I will not leave without my son, Commander!" Screamed the lady. And the commander simply sighed. "How long before they arrive?" Codex 4 insisted. "If nothing else happens, a couple of hours." Codex turned north, looking at the expected route of the attack with unnerving intensity. "If we can just hold for at least 4-5 hours then I can send you as much reinforcement that you could possibly need." Commander Burgo frowned then he look up in the sky, observing. "So you have a ship following our Destroyer," He said as a statement, not a question. "Yes, a stealth ship," said Alpha Codex 4 honestly. They are behind us with a 12-hour delay. But we expect that they already received our message and they should be cutting right through space right now to get here. More likely about 4-5 hours they''llbe here." The commander thought about it. "We might need your people, but the Barkers will be here a bit earlier. No offense, But I''ll call it a win if we didn''t need to use your tin cans." "None taken," Codex said before jerking a thumb towards Anji. "Just as long as you can take her to safety then I''ll help you with everything you need." For the next 2 hours, the survivors of the Destroyer Butt Scratcher busied themselves by forming a defensive line around the carcass of the ship. The hulk of the frontal part ship can hold at least half a basketball court and the leadership used it as a command bunker. By now, everyone knew that the destruction of the destroyer was not an accident. Whoever is in control of the spaceports made an unprovoked attack against them and it was obvious that they are coming to finish the job. Several other survivors from the crash made their way toward the landing pad and were welcomed with open arms. Everyone can hear sporadic fire coming everywhere and they can only imagine the faith of some of their comrades caught in the open. Anji watched the doggies, which she started calling them in her mind, as they went about their business. Many of them are scared since as always, their emotions are like an open book to her, but they go through with their work with a fatal professional pride. Everyone cheered when the technician is able to activate one of the salvage shield generators and a blue dome appeared on top of them. They check the available juice for the shield and Commander Burgo ordered the shield down and will only activate it with his express order. That told everyone that the shield had limited power. Trenches were dug all around the command center and farther north near the fences. Then using the metal sheets from the ship, the engineers and technicians built strong points and bunkers at strategic positions. Unfortunately, dawn came and went, and they are now enveloped in darkness. the minimal light source is deliberately available since any form of light will only make the attacker''s job easier. A few light towers are positioned near the fence and ready to be activated to help the defender once the battle is joined. Thirty minutes more passed and one of the scouts up north came running down Commander Burgo''s trench and reported that several buses with men inside are assembling just several meters ahead of the fence line. The buses are on their 3rd or 4th delivery by then and the scout estimates that there are already 700 to a thousand Eratix near the concentration point. And there is no reason to believe that this is the only assembly area for the upcoming attack, Commander Burgo thought bitterly. The complete destroyer crew amounts to 560 K28 personnel but barely a third of that survive the crash and are here to defend the crash site. Just over 50 of the 172 survivors are severely wounded and cannot join the fight either. They are sent to the largest cover near the front wreckage and 4 orderlies and 2 other crewmen with medical training are taking care of them with the limited supplies. The crash site is covered by the hills and thick forest to the south and west where Anji and her Brykars came from. The North and east are spacious and flat. At least at the north, though were most of the main building of the spaceport resides several miles away, are blast walls designed originally to protect the buildings from the massive wind drafts of landing spaceships. The K28 military structure is a bit rigid and encumbered by the other powers standard, but it serves them well throughout the years that they never really change it. The smallest tactical unit is a squad made up of 5 K28 soldiers. 2 or more squads is a team led by a sergeant who traditionally also led one of the squad. 2 or more teams is a platoon and a company is made up of 2 or more platoons. 4 or more companies made up a battalion which is the main fighting force of a K28 regiment which is normally made up of 4 of this battalions. A few regiments made up the division. Commander Burgo organized the survivors into a mini battalion with 2 full and 4 understrength companies. One understrength company stretched themselves out to cover the western hills and forest, 2 understrength companies occupied the blast walls and faced the north while the main force of 2 full companies are arranged toward the fences where Burgo expected the main attack. The last understrength company plus the Brykar are stationed near the command station and serves as his only strategic reserve force. When everything is arranged, there was nothing else for them to do but to wait. Chapter 18: Alpha Codex 4 walked towards Anji who is busy putting a sling in one massive paw of a K28 crewman. One Blackguard of the remaining four was visible behind her as a deterrent while the other three are... somewhere else. Anji turned to him with a frown. "You should be resting," She complained, but the walking AI simply ignored her statement. "Keep this around you as a final form of defense," He said while giving her an elegant glass blade. It shimmered in her hands but she still looks at Codex 4 with disbelief in her face. "A knife? You''re giving me a freaking knife? How about one of those cool guns instead. I''ll feel much better with a gun." "It is called a Vibro-blade. Theoretically, it can cut through almost any metal if you have the necessary strength." "Give me a gun." "No." "Why not?" She demanded. "Because there is a 92 percent probability that you will use it against your enemy despite not being directly targeted. It will only endanger your wellbeing even more if you have one." Anji just stared at Alpha Codex and before she could respond, the super droid already turned around and walk out, leaving her alone and the knife. Anji sighed. She looked around, maybe she can browbeat the other Blackguards into giving her a real weapon. She feels naked without one, especially when a fight is imminent. But her gaze ended up to a lone dignified doggie sitting on a nearby crate, her spine ramrod straight and the tears in her big brown eyes are flowing uncheck. Anji''s feet almost brought her to the princess in their own volition, and she rested a shoulder over the princess'' broad shoulder. She was startled by the touch, noticed Anji and smiled gratefully for the company. But then her gaze became far-reaching again. "I understand that everyone hates me, but it''s alright. It''s better that hate me that they start hating the boy. I know that my boy is... challenge. but I love him and I will do everything for that boy. So I don''t mind your hate but please save him. I- The boy has a good head between his ears and he is a brave one," Anji said cutting her off. "Maybe you should stop cradling the boy and start believing in him instead. We will get him back!" The lady stared at Anji who stared back at him unafraid. "No one ever talks to me like that before, maid. If we are in the K28 empire, you would have been punished already. But in this situation, I find it understandable... and quite refreshing. Thank you, I deserve that." "I don''t care much what you think about me lady, but thank me when we get your son back." The lady smiled very briefly. "I agree, and-" An explosion followed by an even bigger one bloomed in the dark night in the direction of the fences. Anji stood up and stared grimly in that direction. Near the fence, Commander Burgo slid down to the nearest foxhole and watched the wall of darkness in front of him. "Report!" He barked. The nearby master sergeant spat at the ground near him. "Someone is fucking with our mines out there!" "Maybe some animals?" Even as commander Burgo said it, he knew that it was a wishful thinking on his part. The master sergeant shook his head, forgetting that no one can see him in the dark. "If it''s an animal then we would have heard a huge explosion before the small one. No, some fuckers are playing with our mines and got their heads blown up by the grenade we used as booby traps. People are out there." Burgo nodded but is reluctant to use their limited flairs. "Flashlight!" he shouted and a brave NCO at the next foxhole light up the fence in front of them. Nothing. He quickly scanned it to his right and almost missed a dozen men already inside the fence and the huge cut in the fence behind them where other several dozens are now pushing themselves in the breach. "Open fire!" Shouted Commander Burgo without any other hesitation. The entire dugout line a hundred meter away from the fence lit up from small arms fire. Screams of pain and chaos erupted in the dark. The K28 sergeants bark orders while the commander screamed at the nearby radio. Most of his men knew that the Eratix irregulars are out there but could barely see the enemy from the dark. They were ordered to fire in a designated arc with at least 2 feet parallel to the ground. That way, theoretically, if everyone continues to fire at their designated area, then no Eratix will get away. Besides, the occasional mine explosions as the attackers disturbed the limited mines, gave brief flashes of lights that also help the defenders. Suddenly, a flare was fired behind them and the entire darkness is irradiated in this gloomy red light and it showed clearly that the fence was breached in at least 6 positions and several hundred Eratix are already crawling barely 70 meters away from the nearest foxhole. More fanatics are entering the hole just behind the fence. The four heavy plasma mounted gunners started redirecting their fire at the holes themselves but someone at the other side blew shrilly on a whistle and the entire Eratix crawling on the ground, almost 3 hundred or so, charged the doggies position.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. For the last 130 years, most empires and nations in the galaxy used beam weapons in their arsenals, but as time goes by, technology is able to catch up with defense and deflective armors and personal shields made beam weapons uneconomical. Gradually the superpowers started returning back to kinetic weapons and the most pinnacle of that weapon''s field is the needle guns. The needle gun, both the sidearm and assault rifle variety, is a wonder weapon in its simplicity. A solid metallic bar the size of a soap serves as the raw material and the gun itself is an actual manufacturing plant in creating this needle-like projectile. The soap bar size metal can produce almost 200 needle projectiles. The gun then uses a magnetic repulsion system, send the needles 4x the speed of sound and as it traveled through the air, the metallic substance creates friction in the air until it becomes a superheated needle that can penetrate almost all forms of personal shield or armor. But as it penetrates the body, the blood or any other bodily liquid cools the needle instantly and effectively traps it inside since it is not strong enough to penetrate on the other side of the body, Instead it causes it to bounce back and forth inside its victim and slashed through its innards. It is said that 3-4 needles hitting a man in the chest or stomach are enough to make his inside into a soup of chunk meats. And since the relatively small metallic cartridge is light weight, each soldier can carry almost 5-8000 needles. no muzzle blast, relatively quiet, and no recoil. An effective short range weapon of death. Unfortunately, the needle gun is the wrong weapon against a fanatic. The Eratix charged the K28''s position and their frontline soldiers received 5-10 needles each. Who then died violently, only to be replaced by the next fanatic behind him who dies in turn, then the next and then the next, all the while they get nearer and nearer, as they push on regardless of their losses. Commander Burgo fired a burst of needles at the Eratix standing at the top of his foxhole who literally exploded then cursed when the master sergeant next to him fell dead with a bullet in his left eye. Two young Eratix jump inside his foxhole and he smashed the butt of his needle assault gun to the first and blew the chest of the other one with 3 more needles. A scream behind him made him turn and grunt as another Eratix smashed into his flank with a bayonet charge. He cursed loudly and bit the expose neck of his assailant. He tore his opponent''s head off. Luckily, his armor stopped the bayonet from piercing his skin but he can feel that at least one of his rib is broken. When no one attacked him just then, he gave himself some time to breathe for a second. In his horror, several Eratix simply jumps over their foxholes and run into the interior of the crash site. They are after the lady! He thought. "Plasma gunners, continue firing at the fences! 2 riflemen in every foxhole will fire behind the line and shoot the men attacking our rear!" He ordered. "Foxhole 3 need reinforcement! These bastards are in my foxhole and we are outnumbered 4 to 1!" "Every foxhole are being overwhelmed! We also need help!" "Fight for your lives, damn it!"Roared Commander Burgo in the net. "Use your teeth if you need too. Tear them apart! For the humans and the empire!" Two more teen Eratix charged Burgo but he dispatched them with 2 burst of his needle gun but behind them was more of the Eratix. The attackers wore shirt and jeans and no other uniforms except the white handkerchief they wrapped around their heads. Each attacker was shouting "sham-ah Humani tishada!" at the top of their lungs and they attack with mindless ferocity. The Commander blew 4 more of them before the next wave jumped into his foxhole. With a direct command from his helmet AI, the assault needle gun whirled and reattached itself behind his armor and with his canine teeth grabbed a Vibro-blade next to his shoulder instead. With a roar, he went crazy with his attackers in the cramped hole. He slashed the arm of another young Eratix but this time the blade got stuck in a shoulder bone. So he let it go as he jumped over his next victim and this time clamped his teeth into the soft tummy of the alien. With his powerful neck swinging from side to side, the innards of his enemy flew in every direction. According to the K28 manuals, A civilized dog can only use the Bite attack in 3 formal attacks. One is the ankle to prevent an opponent from retreating, second is the bite to the wrist to disarm your opponent in a timely manner, and last but not the least is the lethal attack by the neck, designed to break it rather than to bleed them to death. The Commander scoffed as he remembered that, Bastards who wrote those manuals probably never fought a war before or if they did, forgot all about it. You used your bite as a last ditch weapon and so you can use it however you want to inflict fear in the soul of your enemy. 3 more Eratix stood in front of the foxhole just as he collapses to its side. Burgo smiled grimly as he stared back at the hate in their faces. Well, not to this group of youngsters, He thought bitterly. "Fine," He said in a gravel voice. "Let''s end this!" Just then, huge chunks of meat parts from the youths simply vanished in their bodies even before the shock registered in their minds. Several of the attackers behind them lose heads, arms, a third of their chest or half the stomach as bloody holes were created in their fragile bodies. Any of the booms hit part of the head is enough to disintegrate it. He turned around behind him and a trail of Eratix bodies and blood made the concrete floor wet in red. In the silhouetted fog, came out three humanoids. The Brykar Codex walked calmly, flanked by two silent Blackguards. All of them, including the Codex who only have one arm, held an oversize gauss gun and they were calmly firing away in front of him. Twice more, the Eratix smashed into the K28 lines of foxholes and in some places penetrated the defense lines, but the Brykar Blackguards savagely contained the breaches. The line bent a few more times but in the end, the defenders held the line. Eventually, the Eratix attack loses it momentum not because the fanatics broke but because they run out of bodies. Hundreds of bodies, already patrolled by bloated flies, lay in a mangled heap in front of the fox holes and only then did Commander Burgo is able to give a sighed of relief. He smiled when the Codex kneeled in front of his foxholes. "Are you still combat effective?" Asked the android. "Thank you for the assist, we could not have done this without you, I-" "The Eratix attacked in three prongs. The western defenses and the northern blast walls are both overwhelmed and the Eratix are now slowly moving into the command center. Only your sector held. Now we need to move and counter-attack before they overrun the command." Commander Burgo was shocked, but understood the tactical picture the Codex was telling him. He sighed and grabbed his needle gun once more. "Give me a minute or two to organized my men and we will flank the attackers." "You got 30 seconds, commander," The Codex said, before leaving him. Chapter 19: Just before dawn, the Eratix organized a three-pronged assault against the survivors of the destroyer Butt Scratcher. A decoy attack at the northern blast wall while a true supporting attack on the west side at the base of the surrounding hills and the real main attack on the fences in the east. The plan did not work out as they intended though since the decoy attack was successful to surprise the defenders that they almost took it without casualties. The desperate company commander in the north requested reinforcement and the western defense line sent one of their company to assist. Just then, the attack on the west materialized and the defenders were also caught off guard. The Company that was en route to the north, therefore, was not able to support both the western or the northern line. Surprisingly, the main attack on the east is the one that did not succeed, mainly because of the timely arrival of the small but deadly Brykar squad. After learning the situation, Commander Burgo in the eastern defense line organized his defenders for a counter attack at the rampaging Eratix in the north and west. A single blackguard appeared at the officer of the stranded company and ordered them to return to the command center to bolster that defense. They arrived just in time to bolster the defense of the central command, and then a sudden vicious counter attack to the Eratix flank and rear finally broke the Eratix forces. But they were not out of the picture yet, junior commanders rallied the Eratix and stayed at the northern blast door to regroup. In the meantime, Commander Burgo and the Codex return back to the central command to consolidate their much smaller line, knowing that the Eratix will come again. **************** The Eratix attack was defeated partially because of the fact that their main forces, Two thousand of their most experienced and best-trained troops, is not with them. Instead, they are 12 miles away in a plain field. For the last 4 hours, the Eratix were organizing themselves for an ambush and they were led by the young Askalar-Subana. Now everything was in place and his men were ready. A sizable portion of the heavy weapons they were able to get their hands on for the last 2 years were invested in this engagement, a huge testament to the elders'' trust in Askalar. The ambush force possesses 4 AKN heavy plasma tripod guns, 9 Gauss-2A Magnetically Propelled Rocket launchers, and 6 positronic dual-tube medium mortars with just over 300 anti-personnel type 2 Avin-S6 grenade ammunition. He also has an entire company of well-trained Eratix snipers armed with the classic but still effective Randa-79 Beam Sniper Rifle, the famous Velashan grunt killer. Askalar positioned his forces in an L formation parallel to the single main road that will enter the town of Shuyani and then to the spaceport beyond. The small line of the L formation is directly blocking the road with earth embankments and dry moats. 300 meters to the left of the road are low hills covered by thick trees and beyond that is the warehouse district of the city of Arabex. covered by the treelines lies the majority of Askalar''s forces, including 2 of the Heavy plasma gun and the rest of the sniper company. Also, about 400 regular Eratix militia armed with assault needle rifles are dug in ready to rain bullets in the whole length of the road. Behind them in a small clearing is where the mortar team are setup and surrounding them are 300 shock troops that Askalar personally trained himself. At the flank of the sniper company spread out in the tree line is a smaller force of about 120 Ertatix flanking force just sitting inside the thick trees and waiting. To the right of the road are the vast desert wasteland and the planet''s vast ocean. Nothing awaits you there but death. The armored convoy tasked to save the VIP in the Eratix spaceport is made up of well armed professional Barker Commandos. The sketchy information they received that late morning made their planning and preparation incomplete but they were professional and they left the base with every intention to help despite their ongoing tension and rivalry with the mainland K28 empire. Operational convoy manual stated that vehicles should have an interval of 50-100 meters apart and they followed that doctrine to the letter. Unfortunately, hours of delays from unending Eratix road blocks made them weary and discipline became lax. As they entered Eratix territory, no less than 200 roadblock embankment had to be destroyed in order to continue the movement of the convoy. They do have 2 recon team ahead of them, but one was trapped in a side alley after taking a wrong turn, and the second one, well, they simply meet up with the recon team because of the continuous delay. It didn''t help that after the initial excitement, the only danger they receive came in the form of civilians throwing rocks at them, and inside the battle tanks and APC''s, it was hardly a threat to them. After 6 hours of continued delay and slow moving, the Barker soldiers were weary, hungry and bored out of their mind. Therefore it was not a surprise when military discipline became obviously severely lacking when the convoy entered the final road toward the spaceport.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The blocking force was an exact replica of the other earth embankments that so far delayed the convoy, that''s why its appearance in the road was not met with more concern. What broke the Barkers from their stupor was the massive explosion of the IED inside the abandoned bus near the road. By that time, the convoy spacing is barely the length of a vehicle. Even then, it should not have surprised the tank''s onboard computer since the Barker''s Tushava mark 2 MBTs is on par with the best tanks available to the galaxy''s superpowers. Its active scanners should have detected any anti-vehicle mine''s proximity scanner or the radio telemetry of an activated bomb, however, the IEDis as crude as it could get. At the second to the last window of the abandoned bus is a small plastic explosive hanging openly and with askalar''s direct order, 6 of the best Eratix snipers opened fire at that particular explosive causing it to go boom and then detonate the massive IED under the bus chassis. The bomb is made up of high-grade fertilizer, detergent, and animal oil. The resulting explosion destroyed the two trailing battle tanks and severely damaging the APC in front of them. Askalar did not have to order his men to open fire at the convoy, the explosion itself was the trigger. 12 hundred Eratix warriors open fire at the convoy. 4 heavy plasma guns concentrated their fire at the lead battle tank, and the intersecting attack overloaded the tank''s main shield in a matter of seconds. The moment the blue shield winked out, 4 Eratix armed with MPGs stood up and targeted the same tank. 3 of them lock on to the tank using the digital scope then press the trigger of their weapon. Nothing happened but a buzzing sound coming from the weapon. Actually, the magnetically propelled rocket launcher''s onboard computer is linked to the launcher of the fourth man. The fourth man was a battle hardened Eratix NCO and the most experienced user of the MPG. He waited until all 3 of his guys MPGs indicator are green before pulling his own trigger. Instantly, 2 missiles whooshed out of the MPG and 2.4 seconds later, another 2 more missiles followed their counterparts as they race towards the tank. At this point, the MBT''s active defense went online. A 270-degree coverage protected the tank. This was a deliberate design by the tank makers to make sure that infantry can still use the back of a tank as a mobile shelter. But inside the 30-meter coverage, the powerful onboard scanner is able to detect and calculate the trajectory of any incoming missile. The first two missiles were detected and easily tracked. Two gun tubes appeared on the side bottom of the rotating turret and once the missiles were in range, both tubes fired a canister who then burst a total of 72 tungsten balls each and spreading into a cone towards the path of the missiles. 9 and 12 of the metal balls tore through each of the missiles respectively and disintegrated them into a ball of flame. This is where the problem started since no matter how sensitive and powerful the active armor''s scanner. It is still vulnerable from a massive shock. The thunderous explosion also temporarily blinded the tank''s scanner and making it impossible for the trailing missiles to be traced. The 12MB high-velocity sabot round hits the tank''s armor then created a secondary explosion. This, in turn, pushed the uranium grade secondary dart inside the armor and then exploded a split second later inside the armor. The barker''s tank turret actually flew 10 feet in the air and cooking everyone inside. The howl of the doggies was so pitiful that event eh Eratix were glad when it died out. The moment the tank shield dropped, the plasma gunners shifted their fire on the next tank in line. It too lost its shield in a matter of seconds from the concentrated direct fire. Only then did another team of MPG equipped Eratix stood up and did the same thing to that tank. With the death of the first two tank in front of the convoy and the last two tank in the rear, the convoy itself was effectively trapped. To make it worst, Askalar ordered the mortar team to fire and they dropped anti-personnel shells against the convoy. The type 2 Avin-S6 grenade ammunition were technically ineffective against the tanks but they savage the tank''s shielding with multiple kinetic hits. The mortars fell into the sky and using a simple electronic system to detect the ground proximity, it detonates 15 feet from the air and then showers the ground with deadly shrapnels that pings the tank''s shield. Add the relentless fire from the plasma gun and one by one, the tank''s shield started popping like balloons. The convoy commander ordered his men to abandon their vehicles and take shelter in the canal right next to the side. Many followed him but others stayed thinking that the thick army metal surrounding are far safer that out there. They were wrong. One by one the tanks and APCs around them blew up and they were helpless to stop it. One tank in a panic drove his vehicle right in front of another tank then veered to his left, crushing several soldiers who are pinned down and unable to move away. In the end, the tank simply became an even bigger target and both the plasma guns and MPGs seek him out. He barely reaches 20 feet before the tank as nothing but a smoldering wreck. Needle assault guns and snipers poured bullets into the now exposed Barkers. Askalar specifically trained his troops to find the officers and NCOs and making it that harder for the Barkers to rally and reorganize themselves. The 120 flanking force moved behind the convoy and they killed a lot of Barkers trying to sneak of the battlefield. The Eratix were relentless. Firing at a fixed elevated point with the seemingly infinite amount of bullets, the Barkers were in completely disadvantageous position. And Of course, they fought back. One of the tanks were able to score a hit against one of the Plasma guns and blew it up. A corporal rallied about a dozen doggies and heroically charge one section of the tree line. They almost made it and the battle ended up in hand to hand, or in the barker''s case, hand to fang, combat. The three surviving Barkers, including the corporal, who is already a victor of four duels, succumb to their wounds when another platoon was sent in the area to reinforce the Eratix ambushers. For the entire hour, the surviving Barkers hunkered down and using the bodies of their dead comrades as shields from the ever present sniper fire. Only then did the 2 groups of shock troopers descended from the tree lines on both flanks and systematically killed the survivors on their way to the center. The survivors tried to fight back but they were still pinned down by the snipers in the tree and the shock troops simply threw grenades and plasma bombs while pouring needles in the doggies direction. In the end, no one survives. The entire convoy was annihilated. Chapter 20: The night was pitch black. The K28 survivors have endured and beaten back 3 more attacks and they are now forced to the command center. While it was quiet for the last 3 hours, The blackguard scouts reported that the Eratix were simply positioning themselves for a full encirclement and then the main attack will begin. 3 hours ago, a Blackguard scouted the area beyond the spaceport since commander Burgo told them that the convoy was late. The Blackguard saw the carnage left by the ambushed, then went to stealth and run back to the command center to deliver his report. Everyone was grimly quiet after that. The worst news is the fact that at least 4 mortar teams had been detected and they are positioned near enough the command center that any attack will reach them. The shield generator is still working but the k28 technicians doubted if the shield can stop even 3 mortar rounds. "I am authorizing the arming of every civilian, patients, the medical staff, and every other noncombat personnel," Commander Burgo said heavily, the left side of his face is covered by bloody wrappings he received from the last attack. "When the bombing starts, everyone will retreat back to the destroyer hulk and there we will make our final stand. Mi humani blesu!" "Final stand?!" Anji said at the back of the planning board. She turned to Codex 4 who is doing something at his nonexisting left arm. When he saw Anji looking at him, he said, "I am readjusting my balance core to compensate for the loss of my arm." "Good for you," Anji whispered impatiently. "Do something about this! The doggies are giving up." Alpha Codex 4 dragged the human away from prying eyes and then said in ahoarse whisper, "There is nothing to say. It is the best strategy they can do in their current situation." "The strategy to give up is their best choice!?" "No, but to die fighting, is." "Well, I refuse to believe that," Anji said, raking her hair with her hand. Then she frowned at him. "Wait... You said it is the best strategy for them... What about us?" Codex 4 simply stared at her for a long time, but Anji held his gaze unflinchingly. Then the Codex warrior sighed. "We have discovered a weakness in the enemy formation. The blast wall in the north is poorly guarded by 2 understrength Eratix platoons. While they are fighting, me and 014-vector02294 will attack the-" "Who the fuck is vector022?!" A blackguard appeared to her left and raised his arm awkwardly. "That will be me, elder," He said in a robotic voice, but even then, the blackguard sounded like a child to Anji. Anji''s temper is rising exponentially. "All blackguards within my vicinity," She hissed. "Please show yourself right now." A second past and 2 more blackguards appeared around her. She nodded. "From now on your name is moe, your larry and you''re curly," she said. Her temper rising, even more, when all three dropped to their knees and bowed to her as if what she just said was actually an honor and not an insult to be called the three stooges. Then she turned to Codex 4. "Let me see if I got this correct. You are all going to used the doggies as decoys while you and Moe over there will attack the blast wall?" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The codex nodded in agreement. "Once we destroyed every hostile in the area, then 011- I mean Larry and Curly will escort you to my position and we try to sneak out from the buildings out there. The K28 soldiers are tough and it is my estimate that the Eratix will take at least half an hour to completely disposeof them. Giving us enough time to take cover in one of the structures in the north. All we needed to do is to survive another hour and our own people will come raining down from the sky." "If it is only an hour then let us all try to survive together!" Codex 4 grabbed her by the arm and his squeezed was hard enough to hurt Anji. "They are not my priority!" He hissed, then immediately let go since Anji''s face showed her pain. Anji rubbed her arms and glared at the codex. "You have a problem hurting me physically but my emotional damage is none of your concern, is that it?" The codex was taken aback. "I-" "By simply letting me watch helplessly as my people die around me-" "They are not-" The Codex stopped just in time as he barely avoided the trapped Anji stirred him into. Anji watched him full of contempt. "Say it, Codex 4, say what it is inside that positronic brain of yours." "..." "They are not my people," Anji finished it for him. "Is that it?" Codex 4 lifted his chin. "They shouldn''t be!" He said defiantly. "look at them! All they do is fight and kill! and kill some more! We Brykars followed your teachings, and your orders without questions or hesitation while this other aliens do nothing but whine and complain and want more and more! And if you do not give it to them immediately they rebel. they incite themselves and telling others that you betray them. They are the one who made your forefathers weary of all of us. That is the real reason why the humans left us! Why they left me!" Anji Almost shook from the AI''s ferocity, but she noticed that Alpha Codex 4 noticed her hesitation and the acceptance of her fear. Anji stared at him for a long time. then she showed him her left hand. "Can you see this? This bones wrapped in a skin? This DNA? Well, this is not what makes me a human, it''s what''s inside me that matters. It is how I think, How I believe in something that logically doesn''t make any sense at all, and my very fate for the people around me, that deep inside they are capable of showing the goodness in their heart. That is what makes up MY humanity," She said, as she cupped her hand over the curve of his metallic cheek. He is so warm, Anji thought helplessly. But then her heart hardened. If she is going to wield such power then she better start wielding it right. And the first goal is to try and save as many as she can. She turned to the briefing again and shouted so that she can be heard. "Ah, Commander Burgo! We just recently received additional information from the scouts and we would like to revise the plan accordingly!" There were some steering in the sailors around her and she ignored it. With direct concise words, Anji reported the info about the blast door and position of the enemy. Then she immediately recommended a direct counter attack on that position. An immediate outburst of protest swamp her words. "That will be suicide!" "What about our injured!many cannot walk, much less run!" "Who is that maid anyway?!" Anji let them talk it out for themselves, then when they are about to die down, She gave them her ultimatum. "Whether you guys follow us or not is up to you, this information is mostly the Brykar''s way of keeping our end of the alliance that we find ourselves in this trying times. Me and what is left of the blackguards will make the attempt regardless in 5 minutes." That hushed everyone else. Everyone have seen how the Blackguards fight and many of them were saved by them this day. The Blackguards was the only good thing that happened to many of them this day. Commander Burgo stared at Codex 4. "This is your decision?" He asked. When the Codex did not answer immediately, Anji answered for him. "This is our collective mind''s decision. We believe that it is our best chance to survive." Burgo turned to her. Any other creature would probably wither from the death stare he gave her, but to Anji, well, she bit her lips from stopping herselfsquealing and hugging the cute giant doggie in front of her. Unknown to him, his giant bulldog look that he finds so ugly, is actually so adorable to Anji''s eyes. With his unblinking big brown eyes and black wet moving nose, she had to physically stop herself from scratching his ears. "And once you made your heroic charge and destroyed your enemies in front of you, what then?" "We moved towards the building beyond," Anji said truthfully. "There will be a lot of covers there." She shrugged. "More likely, we will fight a fierce running battle, street by street, and in the end, we may still be wiped out, but I think the plan is still better than making a sure death last stand in here." Burgo thought about it, then turned his massive neck towards the north. Am I leading my people to their deaths? May my humans help me, but the maid is right. It is so much better to fight on your feet than wait for those bastards to kill us all. "Very well," He finally said. "The K28 survivors will follow you and the blackguards in that nowhere land. Hell, If we are gonna die, then let usall go out with a bang!" Anji gave him a smile of approval before he turned around and gave his order to his own men. All the while, Alpha Codex 4 watched her. Chapter 21: "Sir, the shield is up!" A young over-eager collie dog reported. Her battle armor said that her name is Bassie and judging from the 8 bumps in her under armor, Anji realizes that the collie-looking private is actually female. "Good!" growled Commander Burgo. "Whether the enemy bombards us or not makes no difference, the shield will go down after five minutes! So get ready, you mongrels! This is it!" He was met by a loud 3 bark acceptance from the K28 sailors all around him. The wide clearing is about 400 meters, and they have to charge that to reach the blast walls. Anji look around her and in a line formation dug around the command center, just over 50 K28 survivors waited for the signal that will either help them escape the trap set up for them or be finally be annihilated. She could see the anxiety and fear mixed in their faces but also the grim determination not to shame themselves in the eyes of their fellow sailors, their ancestors and most importantly, to their gods. Heh, their gods. A young Beagle-like soldier 2 soldiers to her left kept muttering for all to hear, "I deliver my body and soul to thy human name, and may thee bless me in return, amen. I deliver..." "Your gods don''t deserve your devotion," She muttered. Then curiously, she wasn''t afraid anymore. A sense of calm and acceptance washed over her and she was filled with a sense tranquility. "this is not a bad day to die." Her eyes glued on the 4 distinguished black armor in the bunch of four-legged warriors. The blackguards due to prior arrangements will lead their own sections of k28 soldiers to hit the blast walls in four distinct places. four minutes passed and Commander Burgo looks at Codex 4 who is behind him and Anji. Moments ago, Anji told him to carry the lady towards the field since commander Burgo mentioned that the lady is suffering from osteoporosis. The codex stared at her in disbelief, which is really hard to do since the codex is wearing a black glass for a face. "She is irrelevant. My only priority is you!" He said in a hissing whisper. "And she is important to me," Anji said stubbornly. If you don''t carry her then I will attempt to do so, and that will put me in so much danger..." "Fine! but the moment I sense that you are in danger I will throw her aside to get to you." Anji almost smiled imagining it. Now Codex saw Burgo''s look and he signaled his own men (Curly), The blackguard tapped his wrist for a few seconds and then a massive explosion blew up in the eastern fenced area. Minutes before, 2 blackguards brought the last engine battery in that area, under the cover of smoke and stealth, then rigged it to explode by remote. The explosion was part of a decoy designed to lure the Eratix into a false position. But both the Codex and Commander Burgo knew that it won''t be enough. Thirty seconds after the explosion, the shockwave hit them and filled their position with dust and debris. "There goes my good hair day." Anji moaned. Then something caught her eyes. An object in the sky glittering in the moonlight. She raised her eyebrows as parachutes were deployed and the objected descended in a much more controlled landing. Even then, when the object who Anji recognized as another escape pod, hit the ground, a loud clang can be heard and one side of the pod was flattened. Everyone stared for a second when the door hissed open, and a huge butt wiggled itself out of it. eventually, the butt and the body that comes with it pops out and an adorable giant puppy came out. Bewildered, the k28 prince looked around his surroundings and then he started whining loudly. It was the whining that made Anji moved. Without any real conscious thought about it, Anji vaulted the dugout in one fluid motion and passed through the blue humming shield that surrounded them. The shield is connected to a powerful computer with the attached program to stop anything that is registered in their DNA bank. The DNA bank has access to almost all the species of the known galaxy, except for one. Species 01.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. 4 blackguards smashed themselves into the shield as they watched in horror as the woman they are protecting suddenly run out. Anji can hear the anguished cry of her guards behind her but she didn''t look back nor hesitated. All her attention and focus is to help prince Bentong who now that he finds himself in an unfamiliar environment felt unsure and helpless. Her enhanced brain through her nanites assumed that the prince''s pod was floating in space for several hours now. Either the prince did something with the controls or the pod finally activated its emergency protocol since the oxygen in the pod should be in the dangerous level now is unimportant at the moment, since the problem is the fact that the prince literally drops in the middle of a battlefield. Anji noticed an MPG launcher on the ground, still held by the dead decaying hands of a former Eratix revolutionary, and she scooped it down and get it. But then she slowed down and it was her turn to gape. The Eratix were stirring on the other side of the blast wall, probably from the explosion on the eastern fences, and something big was activated in the field. Anji was familiar with the thing because she''d seen anime before and that thing was a mainstay in any sci-fi flick or books. She was looking at a twelve feet high Mech. Its massive two mechanical legs is bent forward, holding a pod-like canopy that is big enough to hold a single pilot. One arm has a 3 prong finger while theother one has a built in minigun. The damn thing reminded Anji of the robot rival of robocop. It was sleek, angular and deadly-looking. "Help!" Prince Bentong screamed and it pushed Anji into action. She ran passed the prince and as the mech approaches, she made a sliding stop. She pops the lense cover of the MPG, sighted the mech in its crosshair, waited for the dead tone to ring in her ears then when she had a good lock, she pulled the trigger. A heavy trail of smoke escaped the MPG and the rocket went wide for a second as it looped upward, then it corrected itself and angled down towards the right side of the mech before it blew up. A wall of super-heated plasma nd radiation smashed towards Anji and she flew off her feet and landed on her backside. When the smoke cleared, the right arm of the mech that is holding the minigun was mangled, and there was also an obvious damage to its legs as it started doing penguin walk towards Anji. "Anji!" screamed the prince. "Stay down!" She screamed back, then sneered at the incoming mech. She planted her feet wide like solid tree trunks, then pulled out the Vibro blade given to her by Codex 4 and brandished it towards the giant Mech. She was like a valkyrie protecting an injured comrade behind her. "Come on, motherfucker!" She shouted towards the incoming Mech. "Let''s see what you got!" Anji knew she was dead, probably so will prince Bentong, but she promised herself that the mech will get a few dents in its armor before it kills her. A black shadow passed right by her. The next thing she knew was that Codex 4 was leaping in the air before smashing his size 20 foot into the mech''s canopy. As it buried itself inside, this gave the codex a sort of leverage as he hangs parallel to the ground. Then he bent over and started punching the cockpit with his only hand. Boom! Boom! Boom! Crack! Anji watched in amazement as the Codex arm buried itself from the wildly swinging mech. He pulled his arm out then grabbed the massive Gauss gun behind him and then poured kinetic blast inside the cockpit again and again. Who ever was piloting the damn Mech was nothing more than goo inside. Eventually, the Mech died down and the Codex lifted himself out easily. Then Anji remembered the prince and as she turned she felt like she was hit by a runaway horse when the huge puppy tackled her. "Anji! take goodness you arrived! I was so scared and then I was falling and I -heeek!" The prince bleeted when the Codex lifted the pup off her and stared at Anji. "Are you alright?" "Yes, I''m fine I-" "Don''t ever do that again!" And just like that, her worries were replaced by her sudden anger. Why is this lumbering hunk of metal always makes me feel like a 13-year-old child? "I will do whatever I want! Just try and stop me!" Codex lunged at her and Anji thought the blackguard finally snapped. But he twirled her around and multiple needle rounds hit the back of his armor to no effect. He turned, his body still protecting Anji, before firing back at the incoming Eratix. Anji saw one group of the rebels setting up a plasma heavy gun on top of one blast wall, then withering fire behind him opened up at the enemy position. When Anji turned back, almost 50 K28 sailors were galloping hard towards her position, firing their needle guns everywhere. It was almost majestic as the galloping doggies charge with barking battle cry. The rumbling of their giant paws can be felt on the ground. I need to help them, she thought. The three other blackguards surrounded her and even the codex was astonished. "What are you doing here? You have your assigned-" The Codex stopped because the blackguard started talking in their AI language of bleeps and sounds. Anji is annoyed that she cannot follow their conversation but since time is at the utmost, she couldn''t blame the other blackguard (Moe?) since they can say more and transfer more information through their AI language of 1s and 0s. Despite all the needles fired at them, Anji gawked as Codex 4 simply stood up and stared at the night sky. "Good," He said. "About time they arrived." And just like that, the entire surrounding area for miles on end was blasted to dust from red beams coming from the heavens. Even the K28 sailors lost the momentum of their own charge as liquid silver metals drop from the sky like rain and surrounded them. Each of the silver liquid silently decelerated as they neared the ground then completely stop and hovered about two feet from the ground. Then the liquid metal open up and inside emerged a new blackguard. Within moments, the cleared field is surrounded by blackguards. About two hundred of them deployed in and around Anji in a multiple rings of protection. Two teams of blackguards brought a triangular device that is pulsating with energy and when it was deployed, a powerful synchronize multi-shield started emanating in a mile wide and completely covering Anji, the prince and Alpha Codex 4. The golden shield is clear enough however to show the air armada of almost 40 Kavak transport ships zooming from the south and dropping even larger mech droids. They were black, solid and mean looking titans who then started patrolling the horizon. Codex 4 turned to her, and he can see the slumping of his shoulder and his arm started shaking. "Command Alpha, you are safe now." "Safe?" Anji said stupidly. "Yes, for your army has arrived." Chapter 22: More Kavak Transport landed nearby and gorge out more and more platoons of Droid soldiers. Giant mechs were patrolling the outskirts and floating drones zoomed in and out of the sky. An explosion to Anji''s left told her that the battle at least for now, is not yet over. A group of Eratix warriors was firing under the cover of a blast wall, but the overwhelming firepower brought by the Brykar soldiers simply disintegrated the cover and killed every one of the revolutionaries. A huge blackguard, flanked by about a dozen other blackguards approached Anji''s group. He first nodded to Alpha Codex 4, then dropped to his knees, along with his entourage, right in front of Anji. "We have secured the spaceport. A few Eratix are still attempting to escape towards the east but 98.6 percent of all their personnel are eradicated." "Pursue the escapees, General. Don''t let anyone escape." Anji stepped in. "Try and capture some of them alive. We need more information about what the hell happened here. And the k28 personnel.." "The K28 nationals is being taken care of as of now. But more importantly, Your shuttle is ready and waiting for your boarding. Please come with me, We will take care of the rest." "What shuttle?" "The shuttle that will bring you to the superdreadnought up in space. There we can control the environment and guarantee your safety." "No general," Anji said immediately. "I prefer to stay at the moment." The general stirred uncomfortably in his kneeling position. It was obvious that he wanted to protest, that he feels that the place is still a battlefield and he could not in good conscience put his god in jeopardy. "But Elder, we can do this without your help. All info will be sent to you as soon-" "Zip it," Anji said. "The K28 personnel have a lot of heavily injured people in their ranks. Use your shuttle to bring them to the dreadnought or to any other auxiliary ship that will increase their chances of survival." "I understand and obey elder." Two Blackguards materialized to her left and they were holding a huge metal case the size of an average person. They presented it in front of Anji who simply raised her eyebrow. "What the hell is that?" "A compromise," Codex 4 said as he grated his teeth. "After the stunt you pulled, half of your guards are willing to simply haul you in the nearest shuttle and forced you to the dreadnought, then face the consequences tomorrow, when you are already safe. I am also in favor of that. But the other AI''s decided to compromise. You wear that Armor or you don''t get to walk the battlefield." "Is that an armor? What kind of armor?" Despite herself, Anji was actually interested. The armor looks like the Iron Man version when he was fighting the Hulk except that it is Black just like the blackguards. It looks so bulky and yet there is a certain sense of safety from it. "This is the Customized power armor XT-12B ''Aegis'' Armor. It will protect you from Plasma, kinetic and other forms of an energy beam. Also as added protection, it also has a multilayered oscillating shield designed to last for 2 days straight. Two of your blackguard will permanently carry another 2 batteries to extend the life of your shield by another 3-4 days."If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Weapons?" Anji asked innocently. Both the general and Codex sighed. "You have access in your right arm a 200 round gauge Armata-7 DeltaGauss Spread, and in your other arm, you can access the retractable Vibro sword for close range situation. Anji nodded. "A shotgun and a machete, got it." After trying it out for a few more minutes, Anji got the hang of it. Then to the blackguards'' alarm, She easily opened the armor and hopped out. Anji walked towards the anxious prince and gawking at all the blackguards around him. He tried to look dignified and brave, but Anji can see his tail was tucked behind his ample butt. He lit up when he saw Anji walking towards him. "Anji!" he exclaimed. "There are so many Brykars here. I didn''t know you guys are here," he said almost accusing. But Anji can see that the presence of so many deadly warriors actually reassured him. "I''ll tell you all about it soon, but first, how about we rejoin your mother?" Anji said. She can see the prince''s tail started wagging vigorously. She reentered the power armor and then they exited the shield bubble. Outside, the organized chaos was palpable. A ring of Blackguards guarded them as they walk, to her mild annoyance. More and more Kavak transports are landing all around them and dislodging more and more troops. But this time, most of them are wearing brown armor. They are almost identically to the blackguards except for the color. She asked the general about the difference. "They are army personnel. powered by a computer matrix capable of self-learning but they are not self-aware AIs. They serve as your regular troops in the Brykar unity. Right now in peace time, AI command controls just under 2 billion of them all over Brykar territory and mostly used for garrison duty. But in a time of war, we can reactivate another 6 billion for any and all purposes." Anji tried to understand the movement of the soldier droids all around her. Another shield cover was setup about 50 meters away from her and she''d been told that this is where the K28 personnel is being kept and treated. That is also where they are going. A few of the droid soldiers though are wearing a different armor color, and it intrigues her. "And the gray ones, what are they?" "They are the army special forces." "Special forces?" Anji said, surprised. "I thought the blackguards are the special forces." It was Alpha Codex 4 who answered her. "Every branch of the Brykar Military has their own special forces group. The army have the regular brown and the elite gray, the space navy has the blue marines as the grunts while the AIs known as the phantoms serve as special electronic warfare specialist. Then there is the military intelligence. The white battle droids are used for standard security for most government installation while the AIs known simply as the ghosts are the ones used for, err, ...wetworks operations." Codex 4 looked back at his brethren following him and Anji. "Then there is the blackguards. A separate entity from the rest of the vast military machine. For years we have lost our mandate. And as such, the organization lived in limbo. Mother uses us asa form of elite reinforcement for the other branches. We help the marines board special ships, and we serve as escape route protection for the ghost. And the army? Well, we are normally the spearhead of any invasion and the blocking force if we have to retreat. You see, we are known before as protector of the gods. We protect the humans. It''s what define us, It''s who we are. But then... they left us. And we have no one to protect." Anji stared at him. "And what am I? chop liver?" She said, thumping the codex in the chest with her armor. Alpha Codex 4 staggered from the blow but he didn''t mind. "I''m here, and I''m not going anywhere. So stop moping and help me with my plans." If the codex had an actual mouth, he would have smiled. "I understand and obey," He said quietly. "Now go to the infirmary and let them check that arms of yours." "After you are safely in the superdreadnought, my elder," He said. "But not before." Anji could do nothing but to shake her head. "Stubborn little..." A group of brown battle droids is huddle together in one place and it grabbed Anji''s attention. In the middle of it all was a brown droid with a white cross at the back of his armor. Anji realized that the droid was a medic and he is administering help to someone. Anji hurried over, thinking that it was a heavily wounded K28 doggy. But he was surprised to see a young injured Eratix instead. Blood oozes out of his mouth and a huge chunk of his stomach and pelvis was missing. His intestine is open and blood is leaking out of him. Anji stared at the medic who shook his head. "Too much blood loss and the contents of his intestine is mixing with what''s left, poisoning his insides. He''ll be dead in a few more minutes. All I can do is take away his pain." Without a word, Anji again left her armor and knelt near the bloody Eratix and grabbed the small injectable that she assumed is the painkiller. The other droids around her flinched when she stepped out of the armor to get a closer look at the Eratix. This is the same people who earlier almost killed all of them, Anji thought, but despite that, Anji cannot build any lasting anger inside of her for this people. The young boy''s breathing became heavy and far between. Then his eyes, who awhile ago Anji thought is unable to see anymore, suddenly focused on her. "Mau humani esli esdat anioay..." Anji stared at him for a moment, then administer the painkiller. The Eratix relaxed... and died silently. Anji closed the boy''s dead eyes. Prince Bentong sniffed silently in one corner. Then Anji turned to her blackguards. "What did he just say to me?" Anji asked but no one answered her. She looked around but no one respondedto her. "What did he say?!" She shouted. The prince looked around him, but no one wanted to answer the beautiful maid, so he shrugged and told her. "It''s an old prayer," The pup said. "It means: ''May the humans bless me, for I live and die in their name." Chapter 23: Anji stood at a nearby massive monitor inside the ridiculously large dreadnought ship that his Brykars wanted her to go to in the first place. The battle in the spaceport below happened two days ago and the K28 personnel was escorted to the Barker side of the planet. This time the escort was done by the Brykars and through Anji''s influence, nothing was left to chance. An entire droid division of 12,000 ringed the 100 or so survivors of the K28 Destroyer "Butt Scratcher", including a heavy air cover of Aerial Drones and walking Mechs. Flank security alone stretch for miles away. And to think that the entire land convoy itself, despite the protection, is actually, in fact, a simple decoy. The real group survivors are sent through a fleet of Kavak Transport through the north, with its own escort plus a few dreadnought space coverage. Anji just signed off from a video call with the prince as the little runt reported that they have arrived at the Barker provincial palace and that his mom is already talking to the head of the separatist state. The K28 empire had been of course informed of what happened to their delegation and several hours ago, a small cruiser squadron of 1 Heavy Cruiser and 2 Destroyers arrived in space. Several heavy set K28 Marine assault ships drop towards the Barker territory and a whole company of K28 Marines assumed the responsibility of the K28 royalties and survivors. They express their gratitude for the Brykar help but they politely yet firmly requested to the Brykar to cease security operation for their nationals. It turned out the Brykar ambassador also survive and his space pod and his two Blackguard escorts survive reentry into the planet. They stayed in the mountains for days until rescue arrived to get them. It was the ambassador who negotiated the smooth transfer. The Brykar were just as glad to transfer responsibilities. The K28 survivors were only a priority to them because Anji made them be. Now that the survivors are protected by their own kind, the Brykar can get to more important matters. Like destroying the organization that almost killed their Human. Anji turned from the video monitor to face a group of AI''s sitting in a glass-like table. She was introduced to two more Alpha Codexes, number 3 and 8, a somber droid in a hoodie and a giant female alien with long legs and neck, and lastly 4 others AI''s but are in digital form and house in a black box with 4 small mechanical arms with camera in it. Each box is placed next to the long table and currently, at least half the cameras are watching Anji at any given time. At the table, the ambassador and the Blackguard general, and 3 more other droids sat in the background. Half a dozen maid droids also are busy offering, well at least the biological sentients, drinks and snacks. Anji watched the long neck female with fascination as she gulped down a snack with moving worm-like creatures in it, with gusto. The Ambassador cleared his throat when Anji remained quiet with his thoughts. "Is the prince settling it quietly?" he asked politely. Anji knew that the ambassador is trying to move the meeting along, and Anji sighed. "Yes, he is." "We have access to the best psychiatric care for combat trauma, If the prince or any of the survivors would need, we can arrange such service." Despite herself, Anji was intrigued. "Really? I didn''t know AI''s need such support." The Ambassador smiled politely. "The brykar AI''s don''t need them," He answered. "But since the Brykar Unity has the best medical technology in the galaxy, we are of course obligated to research and study, then practice every branch of the medical art, including alternative medicine and psychology." If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Ah," Was all Anji said. Then she turned to the rest. "Alright, We gather here today upon your request to discuss the incident that happened two days ago. I''m listening and we can start." "The Brykar Unity is proposing to destroy the Eratix race." Alpha Codex 3 said. Anji blanched at the sudden declaration. "Wait- What?!" "Of course, not through military means, that will simply open a whole new can of worms for us to deal with." "Then what are you talking about?" Anji asked, still alarmed. "Through economic means," Said the mild manner Alpha Codex 8. "We implement clause section 16-AB of the Brykar development fund that we have offered to them for the last 200 years. The clause simply states that the Eratix are required to prioritize the payment of Brykar loans before anything else and will authorize their legislation to use up to 60 percent of their total annual budget to pay said loan." "How much do they owe us?" Alpha Codex 8 ask mildly. "Approximately 320 Trillion Credits." one of the box AI answered. "And how much was their last national budget?" "4.8 Trillion credits." "Then I suggest-" "Wait, wait wait," Anji said in an exasperated voice. "We are talking about a single organization here that carried out the attack. And as I understand the preliminary investigation report, the main target were the K28 empire representatives. So why then are we gonna punish an entire society just for the work of a few of them?" "Because it''s that very society that foster organization like the one that attacks you. ''Erata Hassan,'' that is the name of the terrorist group that organized the attack, is now being monitored by twelve thousand AI blanket that is mapping out their entire organization network by hacking their own network and putting digital tracers through their movements. Courtesy of the ghost organization over there," The Codex said, nodding to the Android with a hoodie. The AI didn''t even bother to respond. "We can conclude in a reasonable certainty that majority of their finances are from Eratix in and out of the planet that is very sympathetic to their cause." "Maybe that''s true but not all of their countrymen..." Anji trailed off, unsure of herself now. "Even now the Eratix are reporting the attack in their national television and the destruction of the destroyer. Their people are still dancing in the streets believing that their brave freedom fighters are resisting the oppressors." Anji was just silent as she stared far away. "We must retaliate, Command Alpha," The AI said earnestly. "Tell me," Anji asked softly. "How does your economic plan works?" There was no hesitation in the Alpha Codex words as he outlines the plan. "All our loans to the Eratix government have a clause that state that they should prioritize paying us before any of their other outstanding obligations. We never really implement that through out the years, but now after all that happened, we enforced that clause as a form of punishment to them." "What happens if they simply reject the law and refuse to pay us?" Asked the long neck woman. Alpha Codex 3 just shrugged. As Alpha Codex 4 was the overall commander of the BlackGuards, Alpha Codex 3 is the overall Admiral of all Brykar Unity Military ships. He is the direct commander of the Brykar Home Fleet but all 13,026 AI admirals and fleet commanders answer to him. "We seize all their assets in and outside the planet," He said bluntly. "We will not profit from it and maybe even take some financial losses, but that is never the reason in the first place. If we take all the profit-making facilities that they have, such as they have, plus commandeer all shippings registered to the Eratix coming in and out of the planet, then that will spell disaster for them either way since they will never be able to pay for the debts as that they have. "And this is bad for them?" Anji asked. Economics is simply not Anji''s strong suit even when she was in college. "The clause will force them to allocate a maximum of 60% of their entire national budget in paying their outstanding debts. That means they have to use their precious funds to pay us before they use it to pay any of their union contracts with government workers, salaries and all that. Keep in mind that we are not just taking a piece of the pie here, we are ordering them to give us the pie and be content with the crumbs. By forcing them to pay us, the Eratix government will be a force to do severe cutbacks on many essential things like government workforce such as the teachers, engineers, clerks, and others essential to keep the government running. We will also gut their Medicare and old people''s pensions. Eventually, they have to let go of teachers and schools will become nightmares. It will decrease their graduates. finally, it will reach the high essential jobs like doctors, firemen, police and the military. That alone will create even more problems as law and order decrease and crime will shoot sky high. It will be a domino effect, stocks will drop, investors will run, infrastructure will be drained then local businesses will close. No matter how nationalistic you are, you cannot feed your family with pride, and so any Eratix with remaining money will scatter in the wind looking for better pastures. Any functioning society will cease to exist. At first, the Eratix at the other planets will form communities but even that will be diluted as people intermarry with aliens until the pure blood of Eratix will be no more." The look of horror on Anji''s face was palpable. For a moment no one speaks. Then Anji slowly stood up from her chair and leaned over the table. "Thank you for your information gentlemen, your proposal has been heard, and analyzed but I have decided to reject it." "But Command Alpha-" "NO!" Anji shouted as she slapped the table hard for emphasis. "We will not destroy an entire species simply because they have a difference of opinion with us. I want you to find the terrorist group that attacks us and the K28 empire''s people. Arrest the leaders and their financial supporters if you can, and eliminate those that you cannot. You have my full permission to dismantle this organization brick by brick if you have to. I want you to prioritize the capture of their head so that we can try him by galactic law and then hang the sonovabitch for all to see. Make any example that you want to send the Eratix people, but in the end of the day, leave those bastards alone." Everyone stood up when Anji left the room. At that very moment, tens of thousands of Eratix protesters line up the streets because of the presence of Brykar warships in their lands. Not knowing that a young girl just saves them from a bad faith.