Chapter 44: Crushing Escape

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“The moment we remove the Ayas from that console… this entire wreck will fall to pieces.”

“The moment?” Davídrius scoffed, “Bullshit. It’s been standing for this long, there’s no reason one tiny little change will cause the whole thing to instantaneously collapse.”

“You… don’t understand what Gravity Manipulators does, do you,” Christeané replied flatly, “Okay, look, this is a Deathnought wreck. That means it’s built out of literally billions of tons of material. There’s a reason Supercaps are built in space, you know – a structure of this size and mass will actually crush itself instantly in a significant gravity well if the Gravity Manipulators are shut off. It’s a miracle already that the crash didn’t cause a catastrophic chain-failure, so yeah, removing the Ayas will cause instantaneous collapse, if it’s the only power source in this whole damn wreck.”

“Even if it doesn’t, the Orbital Bombardment Shields will go down too,” Kevérin commented, his attention refocused on the console, “And… it looks like the Ayas is powering the comm jammers that are preventing us from contacting the Genesis from within the wreck. Likely by design, to make it harder for anyone other than the Riaxen to extract the Ayas… anyways, the jammers are going down at the same time as the Shields. The Riaxen will know within moments whether or not it was them who got the Ayas, and once they realize it wasn’t, you can bet your ass they’ll obliterate the wreck with a rain of hellfire, whether or not the wreck crushes itself.”

“Okay, okay, I get it, we’re fucked,” Davídrius rolled his eyes, “What’re we supposed to do, then?”

“Well… there’s only one solution, really,” Rebehka commented, “Either we leave Kaoné behind to take the Ayas and she can save herself with her Materiatechnism, or we leave behind Davídrius and Christeané, the Introtechnics…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don’t think so,” Christeané immediately refuted, shaking his head vigorously, “I’m well aware that I can survive being crushed by more mass than you guys, but in no way does that mean I can survive the whole wreck!”

“Oh come on, we’re practically at the very top of the wreck,” Kevérin snorted, “You won’t have even close to the entire wreck on you!”

“And someone has to clear the way if Davídrius gets stuck,” Rebehka pointed out.

“Wait, how would he even keep up with me?” the Superspeed Introtechnic scowled, “Am I supposed to let him ride on my back or some shit?”

“You can carry Siyuakén and Kaoné, why not Christeané?”

“Sure I can carry them – when they aren’t wearing armor. Do you know how much these suits weigh?!”

“But they also augment your lifting strength! And we’re in half Nimalian gravity! You could totally do it.”

“It’s still a ridiculous solution,” Christeané countered, “Kaoné would be more reliable.”

“I don’t know, I’ve never manipulated more than a ton of mass at once…” the Materiatechnic frowned, “Even if I activated my Overdrive again, I don’t know if I could clear the wreck…”

“…This is a problem?” Kievkenalis replied meekly.

“No… no, I think we can do this,” Kevérin refuted after a couple moments of thought, “The jammers will go down once the Ayas is removed, so the Genesis can then just beam out who’s left! All we need to do is make sure they know and are in position to do so.”

“Alright,” Davídrius crossed his arms, “How do we do that?”

“…Kevken, how long does the boost provided by Chaos Assist last?”

“Well, if I use the ‘Extended’ keyword then… maybe, five hours? But all of my other abilities will be significantly weaker during that time…”

“That should be fine, I don’t expect to get into too many fights. Now that we know that it’s Gravity Manipulators that are keeping the wreck intact, we have more freedom to manipulate the bulkheads, provided we don’t move too much matter or accidentally destroy one of the Manipulators…”

“I’m not sure I follow…?” Siyuakén responded confusedly.

“Alright. Here’s what we’re going to do,” Kevérin started, “Davídrius, Christeané, the two of you will stay behind–“

“Why–!?”

“Hold your thoughts until I’m done! That’s an order as squad leader.”

“…Fine, keep goin’.”

“You won’t stay behind without help; before we leave Kevken will use Chaos Assist on you to augment your strengths and crush resistance. The rest of us will follow Kaoné, who will create a path directly down to the ground outside. We’ll then get back to the trucks and get clear of the wreck, where I’ll contact the Genesis and tell them to be prepared to beam you two up the moment the Bombardment Shields and jammers go down. You won’t be able to communicate with us until then, though, so we’ll need to coordinate how long you’ll wait to yank the Ayas. If we only need to move on a straight-line path, then that’s… about twenty-seven kilometers. We can cover that in four hours. We’ll say four and a half to be safe. Everybody understand that?”

“Another four and a half hours…” Davídrius sighed irately, “You know we’ve already been awake for close to eighteen hours, right? And that we haven’t eaten at all in that time, either?”

“Just hold out for five more hours, alright? Once we’re back on the Genesis you can eat and sleep to your heart’s content.”

“That’s a fuckin’ tall order…”

“I still don’t like having to stay behind,” Christeané stated.

“You won’t be within the wreck long enough to be crushed. And if you are, then the boost provided by Chaos Assist will help,” Kevérin explained, “Worst-case scenario, you have to ride Davídrius’s back as he runs out of the ship. We’ll be creating a straight path out; I’m sure you can cover twenty-seven kilometers in no time, right, Davídrius?”

“Well, sure, probably…”

“You’ll be fine,” the Transfer Captain turned back to Christeané, “I’m leaving you both here so you can watch out for each other and don’t lose track of time.”

“But–“

“This also means I’m trusting you with the Ayas.”

“I didn’t know that was a big thing now,” Davídrius deadpanned, “You sure didn’t treat the Teghica or Kotak Ayas with such reverence.”

“Guys…”

“Fine,” Christeané replied flatly, “I don’t like it, but I’ll do it. I’ll stay behind.”

“…I might as well too, then,” Davídrius sighed, “Maybe I can get a nap while we wait…”

“Alright,” Kevérin nodded before turning to the rest of Hero Machina. “Do the rest of you understand what we’re doing?” When each of the four Chaotics nodded in response, he clapped his hands resolutely. “Alright. Let’s do this and get out here! Kevken, do the Assist.”

“Huh? Oh, right. Chaos Extended Assist!”

“Alright. Christeané, Davídrius, wait for four and a half hours, and then pull the Ayas. Set a timer on your HUD and an alarm to be safe. Kaoné, plow a path straight back to the point where we entered the wreck! Let’s move!”

*             *             *

2 Hours Later

“Twelve kilometers to go…”

“We aren’t making bad time,” Kevérin remarked, “In fact we’re going a little faster than I expected.”

“I didn’t expect aspects of my Overdrive to stick around, that’s why,” Kaoné replied as she casually and continuously warped the metal around them into a three-meter-diameter downward-sloping tunnel.

“Wait, what?” Kievkenalis snapped his attention to the Materiatechnic, “What do you mean, stuck around?”

“Well, none of the big parts, just the object-level control. Well, I can do spatial control if I think about it, but my new default is object-level. It’s really useful though, it’s why I can carve this tunnel so quickly.”

“…I still don’t really understand that,” the Chaostechnic muttered, “You were really limited to spatial control? That’s weird.”

“It actually isn’t,” Rebehka refuted, “Most Chaotics are limited by spatial control. …Well, a lot of the more advanced techniques, at least. For example, I can control ice with just a thought, but if I want to do any real Cryotechnics, I have to think and focus on a specific region of space. It’s the same for Siyuakén and Kevérin, I’m sure.”

“She’s right,” Kevérin nodded, “Chaostechnics are the odd ones out, defaulting to target-level attacks. I mean, c’mon, you should know you’re the odd one out already, with all that complicated type business and having to call your attacks.”

“I guess that’s true,” Kievkenalis mused, “…I just never thought about it. I thought everyone’s powers worked by just thinking about objects themselves…”

“Well, you’d be wrong,” Kaoné commented before suddenly stopping, the floor disappearing in front of her. She glanced down at the huge room whose wall she had just burst through, widening her eyes in surprise when she realized that the light from her helmet headlight simply faded into darkness in front of her.

“Can’t even see the other side of the room…” Siyuakén muttered.

“It must be one of the storage compartments,” Kevérin observed, stepping beside Kaoné and looking around himself at the huge, vacant expanse. “The room’s surprisingly empty for that, though…”

“Maybe that’s why the Riaxen haven’t retrieved the Ayas yet,” Rebehka suggested, “They’ve been removing the cargo instead?”

“Maybe, but even then–“

“Shh!” Siyuakén interrupted, her attention directed toward the far right, an area swathed in darkness.

“…What?” Kevérin turned to stare in the same direction, focusing his helmet’s headlight on the area. “…You can’t have heard anything, there’s no atmosphere. Why did you–?”

“Kevken!”

“…Chaos Deflection!” the Chaostechnic exclaimed, just in time to knock away two incoming rockets.

“There’s Riaxen?!” Kevérin scowled, “Why didn’t you say so–!”

“No time!” Siyuakén interrupted, “Kaoné, get us down to the floor!”

“Uh, right!” The Materiatechnic pulled the floor under them out into the room and quickly lowered it to the ground as Kievkenalis exchanged shots with their aggressors. The Materiatechnic then erected a steel shield against the Riaxen as Siyuakén attempted to pinpoint their location and overload their weapons.

“It’s too dark…” the Electrotechnic scowled, “I can’t see them…”

“Chaos Detect,” Kievkenalis muttered, “…a squad of seven. Five hundred meters away… they’re using storage containers as cover.”

“What are we going to do?” Rebehka glanced toward Kevérin, “We can’t fight at that range, not in this environment.”

“Should we just leave?” Kaoné suggested, “I can keep tunneling from here. It might throw Davídrius off, but there’s no real reason for us to fight them…”

“I’m more concerned about how they spotted us,” Kievkenalis stated, “They can’t have heard us enter. And they can’t have seen us either, not in this darkness. They either have a specialized Chaotic on their side, or specialized sensors.”

“It probably isn’t too farfetched to assume they have IR sensors or something similar,” Kevérin replied, “…I’m actually surprised that we don’t, really. But Kaoné’s right, there’s no need to actually engage. Keep tunneling, but connect the tunnel to the one you made into the room, and make the material bulletproof.”

“Well that goes without saying,” Kaoné remarked as she began molding the metal around her into more tunnel wall.

“Wait–!” Kievkenalis suddenly exclaimed, causing Kaoné to pause mid-motion. “An eighth figure just appeared–!”

He was interrupted as an explosion suddenly erupted from the far side of the room, illuminating the entire storage space for a second before everything faded back to black. The rest of Hero Machina recoiled in surprise and confusion while Kievkenalis continued to stare forward, dumbfounded.

“…Kevken?” Kaoné glanced up at him confusedly.

“…They’re all dead,” the Chaostechnic replied slowly, “The explosion happened, and then a couple seconds later… only the eighth person is still alive.”

“…A Superspeed Introtechnic?” Kevérin suggested.

“Must be– they’re running over! They’re–!”

“Right here.”

“Agh–!” Kievkenalis jumped and twirled around on his heel just as a cloaked figure dropped in the middle of Hero Machina and slammed his palm into the Chaostechnic’s chest. The figure then simply stood in place, unmoving, as Kievkenalis uneasily stumbled backwards.

“…You must be a Chaostechnic, if that didn’t work on you.”

“I… I mean, yes, I am,” Kievkenalis muttered in response, his gaze slowly drawn to the blade in the figure’s off-hand.

The figure – male, judging by the pitch of his voice – panned his view down to the rest of Kievkenalis’s armor before turning to inspect the rest of Hero Machina. “…Black Suns Class-Delta Atmosphereless Armor,” he muttered, “So you’re not Riaxen. I thought so. Identify yourselves.”

“Ah… right,” Kevérin spoke up, “Um, we aren’t Black Suns. We’re Nimalians. We’re, uh, we’re Hero Machina, of the Nimalian Systems Defense. I’m the squad leader, Transfer Captain Kevérin Tyrion.”

“Hero Machina?” the man sheathed his blade and lowered his hood, revealing only his heavy-duty helmet. “So it’s the lot of you Bitincher kept bitching about. I don’t know what he felt so intimidated by… at least you’re Nimalian.”

“Um, you’ve heard of us…?”

“I have, and I’m sure you’ve heard of me as well. Sector 2 Master General Sike Regek, at your service.”

Kevérin gaped. “Oh… Oh.”

“We heard that you went down with the Deathnought…” Rebehka commented.

“That’s not completely incorrect,” Regek replied, “Both Commander Jeran and I were stuck on board as the ship crashed. She, unfortunately, died during the crash. I was knocked out for a full twenty-four hours, myself. I was able to raid some of the remaining life-support pockets before I began looking for the Ayas. I assume that’s why you’re here, as well – to find the Ayas? Yet…” He looked up at the hole in the wall and then down to the floor below Kaoné, which she had already deformed slightly. “You’re travelling to the outside of the wreck? Have you found the Ayas?”

“Ye–“

“No, no, we, uh, haven’t.”

The rest of Hero Machina turned toward Siyuakén confusedly.

“We… haven’t?” Kevérin questioned, momentarily switching to a Hero Machina-only communication channel.

“Just, go with me, guys,” Siyuakén responded hurriedly, “I– I have a really bad feeling about this guy. Just… don’t tell him we found the Ayas. Don’t tell that other Black Suns General when we get back, too.”

“…If you say so,” Kevérin muttered as he and the rest of Hero Machina tuned back to the public comm channel. The Transfer Captain exhaled wearily and stated, “We couldn’t find the Ayas, but, uh, while looking around we discovered that the Gravity Manipulators are running out of power. We then, you know, we decided to get out of here as fast as possible. Wouldn’t want to be crushed, you know. Haha.”

“…Right. Understandable. The Manipulators shutting down is indeed a serious issue…” Regek mused, “How much longer do we have?”

“Um… three hours? Tops?”

“And you believe you can escape the wreck in that time?”

“We were making good progress until we were stopped here,” Kievkenalis remarked.

Regek glanced toward the Chaostechnic, his gaze lingering for a few moments before he simply shrugged. “Very well. I hope you don’t mind if tag along, then.”

“Uh, sure, not at all,” Kevérin responded, and then turned to Kaoné. “You heard him… let’s keep going. We can’t waste any more time…”

*             *             *

“…You awake?”

“Damn it, I wouldn’t be if you’d stop asking!”

“So you can’t fall asleep as fast as you can run?” Christeané snorted.

“Just ‘cause I’ve got goddamn Superspeed doesn’t mean everything I do is nigh-instantaneous,” Davídrius replied irately, “You should know that! You’re an Introtechnic yourself!”

“Hey, chill out. I was just trying to start a conversation.”

“You’ve been trying to do that for the past hour and a half. Has it not occurred to you that I perhaps don’t want to participate in a conversation?”

“If that was actually true, you’d shut off your suit’s comms.”

“…Bah. If I did that there’d be no way for you to wake me up if we were suddenly attacked or some shit.”

“But you’re not sleeping.”

“Because you’re keeping me awake!!”

“Wow, you get even more irritable when you’re tired.”

“Damn it, Christeané, is just half an hour of silence too much to ask?!”

“You had half an hour. That was an hour and a half ago, you said so yourself.”

At that moment Davídrius sat up and turned toward the other Introtechnic. With the armored helmets, neither Chaotic could see the face of the other, but Christeané was still easily able to tell that Davídrius was glaring.

“…You’re not usually this much of a pain in the ass,” Davídrius commented bluntly.

“I’m normally a ‘pain in the ass’?”

“Pot, kettle, black, whatever. Look, is something wrong?”

“…”

“If there is, then spit it out. Maybe once you’ve said it out loud you can calm down and leave me alone long enough to take a fuckin’ nap.”

“Well that’s certainly going to motivate me to share all my troubles with you. Man, aren’t I glad I have you to share all my problems with!”

“I’m trying to help.”

“You could try harder, buddy.”

“…Tch,” Davídrius crossed his arms irately, “Does this have to do with the whole wreck-crushing-itself thing?”

“What makes you think that?”

“You sure didn’t like the idea of staying behind. Not to mention how much emphasis you put on the wreck crushing itself. I’ve no doubt it will, but ‘instantaneous’ my ass, it’ll take at least a few seconds. Long enough to escape down Kaoné’s tunnel, I’d bet.”

“You don’t know that. What if you’re too slow?”

“Me? Too slow?”

“Dammit, Davídrius, you know what I meant–“

“So it is about the crushing then! I knew it.”

“…Tch.”

“Well ain’t this a reversal. What’re you so worried about? You’re a Superstrength Introtechnic. If any one of us could survive being crushed by a billion tons of steel it’d be you!”

“There’s no way I’d survive that.”

“Up here, maybe. You’d at least be more likely to survive, if that means anything–“

“It doesn’t. It really doesn’t. Crushed is crushed, that’s that. No two ways about it.”

Davídrius paused for a moment, staring at the other Introtechnic confusedly. “Wait, is this connected to Teghica? How you unlocked your Overdrive so easily?”

“I thought we went over this. I almost died, that was a legitimate Overdrive-unlocking situation.”

“Being crushed is one of your phobias, isn’t it.”

“That’s not–! …Damn it, when did you become so perceptive?”

“I might be ignorant, but I’m not stupid. It’s not like I picked up zero social skills back in Treséd. It’s a shithole, sure, but I still learned shit.”

“…Hmph.”

“So how’d this happen? A Superstrength Introtechnic, scared of being crushed? You’re the most resistant to it!”

“That’s exactly the problem! If anyone else got crushed it’d just be over, but me–“

“You could just lift it off.”

“Not that simple,” Christeané scowled, “…alright, look. Have you heard of the Northern Deepsough Bridge collapse, back in 8020?”

“Treséd has very little contact with the outside world.”

“Well it was all over the news everywhere. Used to be a major bridge over the Deepsough lake before flight became cheap and easy, then it was basically abandoned. No one left to take care of it. Anyways, back when I was 8, my sister had just turned 10, and was about to be inducted into the Chaotic program, you know, like all Chaotics. So my family decided to take a trip around the nation, kinda like a parting gift, or something–“

“And y’all decided to check out the bridge.”

“Yeah. Vehicles were banned from the bridge, but walking was fine, especially since there were so few people. That’s what the officials said, at least.”

“I see where this is going. The bridge collapsed while y’all were on it, didn’t it?”

“Yeah. Luckily no one died, but I got pinned by some of the wreckage against the shore. I was a late-bloomer Chaotic too; at the time I hadn’t yet shown any Chaotic potential. So everyone assumed I had died, either drowned in the lake or crushed by the wreckage. Except I wasn’t. I was on the shore, pinned, saved only because my body suddenly decided it wanted to be a Superstrength Introtechnic.”

“Well… couldn’t you have just lifted the wreckage off?”

“Can you run or kick if your legs are pinned?”

“…Not if there’s enough weight.”

“Exactly. If my arms are pinned by enough weight, then I can’t leverage them. I can’t exert enough force to free myself – I’d be trapped. And that’s exactly what happened back in Deepsough; I was stuck under that wreckage for what seemed like forever before a couple clean-up workers realized I was still alive and managed to free me. It was literally the worst experience in my life.”

“And because of that, you developed a phobia of being crushed.”

“Well… yeah. Basically.”

“…Damn,” Davídrius remarked warily, “…Gotta say, wasn’t expecting that.”

“No one does,” Christeané responded flatly, “But there you go. That’s why my Overdrive unlocked ‘so early’.”

“Ah… uh, sorry for, uh, being so persistent about that…”

“It’s fine, you couldn’t have known.”

“Oh. Okay, then.”

Silence ensued.

“So, uh, you gonna keep pestering me about being awake?”

“Yup.”

“Damn it.”

*             *             *

2 Hours Later

“...And that’s four hours!”

“Alright,” Kevérin nodded contentedly, his hands on the steering wheel as he guided one of the trucks away from the Deathnought wreck. “We made even better time than I expected!”

General Regek glanced back at the wreck from his seat at one of the defunct truck turrets. “That certainly was simpler than I expected,” he remarked, “If what you said is indeed true, then we still have an hour.” He turned to face forward again, his attention directed toward the Transfer Captain. “So, now that we’ve escaped the wreck, how do you intend to escape the planet?”

“That’s the easy part. There’s an Earthian ship waiting in orbit for us. It can beam us up.”

“…Beam, you say?”

“Yeah. ‘Instantaneous Subspace Transfer’, I think is the technical term. You’ll see it in action soon.”

“So you say…” the General muttered, glancing from side to side as several Riaxen armored squads began approaching, “But I have a feeling we may end up sidetracked.”

“No, I’ve got us covered,” Kaoné commented nonchalantly, “Uh… I hope you weren’t too attached to that sword.”

“What do you–?”

“Overdrive: Conflict’s Judge!”

“…Well,” Regek deadpanned as the aforementioned blade fell to pieces, “…that’s certainly an interesting Overdrive.”

“It’ll disable the Riaxen weapons, too. We should be safe for the next ten or so minutes.”

“Is that really enough time?”

“It’s plenty of time,” Kevérin replied nonchalantly, “We just cleared fifteen kilometers. Rebehka, let’s keep driving, just to be safe. In the meantime I’ll contact the Genesis.”

“Got it,” Rebehka nodded.

“Good,” the Transfer Captain nodded back, “Alright, let’s get out of here. Open channel: Genesis. …Transfer Captain Tyrion to Genesis, come in! …Transfer Captain Tyrion to Genesis!...”

Kievkenalis glanced over at Kevérin warily. “Something wrong?”

“…We’re outside the jammers’ range, right?”

“Considering that we’re farther from the wreck than we were when we first beamed in,” Rebehka remarked, “…Yes, yes we should be.”

“…Then we’ve got a problem,” Kevérin replied uneasily, “…I can’t raise the Genesis.”

*             *             *

30 Minutes Later

“It’s about time.”

“Zzzz… eh… wait, what?”

“Wake up,” Christeané shoved Davídrius, knocking the Superspeed Introtechnic out of his makeshift chair. He hit the ground hard before springing back up to his feet, fists clenched and knees bent in a fighting stance.

“What’s goin’ on?! What’s– where are the– …oh,” he slowly lowered his fists as he realized where he was, “…shit, I actually fell asleep?”

“About an hour and a half ago, yeah,” Christeané replied, “Thought I’d let you keep napping. But it’s time to take the Ayas out now.”

“…So it is, so it is,” Davídrius remarked after glancing at his HUD timer. He casually turned to the glass protrusion on the back wall, in which the Ayas sat. “So how are we doin’ this?”

“I break the glass and yank the Ayas out, and then we run for it.”

“We shouldn’t need to run. The whole point of the plan is that the Earthians’ll beam us out once the jammers go down.”

“Yeah, but what if they don’t?”

“…Still, with the crushing…”

“Davídrius, come on. It’s actually a serious concern. I don’t think you’re giving the pure massiveness of Supercapital ships its due recognition.”

“Alright, fine. So we yank the Ayas, wait a second or two to be beamed up and if we aren’t, then… what, you jump on my back and we high-tail it out of here?”

“Yup.”

“Damn it, I hate running with cargo…”

“…’Running with cargo’?”

“Treséd expression. Shut up.”

“You run with those Sword Box things all the time!”

“That’s not even close to having a person on my back. And in full armor, too. You’re fuckin’ heavy.”

“You only have to carry me for the half-minute it takes to exit the ship…”

“That’s a fuckin’ long half-minute. That’s a whole damn thirty seconds. Superspeed Introtechnics usually don’t operate on those kinds of time scales. It won’t take me a whole half-minute anyways, but it’ll still be more than a couple seconds, and that’s tiring, man.”

“…Now you just sound pathetic.”

“Just yank the damn Ayas already.”

“If you say so,” Christeané stepped over to the Ayas casing and stretched. “You ready?”

“Damn it Christeané…”

“Alright, alright. Three… two…” A second later he smashed the casing with his fist and then shoved his hand into the wall, effectively scooping out the Ayas. He tossed it to his other hand and shook away the loose wires and metal pieces that came out with the stone before warily glancing around the environment. “…We haven’t been beamed up…”

“Yeah, but nothing’s happening either–!” Davídrius was interrupted as the entire structure shuddered – and the room they were standing in spontaneously tilted thirty degrees.

“Whoa–!” Christeané barely caught himself against the far wall, but dropped the Ayas in the process. “Shit, Davídrius–!”

“Damn it, you weren’t wrong,” the Superspeed Introtechnic scowled. In the blink of an eye he jumped over to the Ayas, snatched it up off the ground, and then dashed back to Christeané, who quickly jumped on his back. “Oof!” Davídrius scowled, “This is gonna be fun…”

The next second he shoved off with his foot and blasted down the passageway Kaoné had created, just in time to escape the room as the ceiling collapsed.

“Whoa–! Shit!” Christeané whooped as Davídrius sped down the tunnel, “How the fuck can you react while going this fast?!”

“By you shutting up!!” the Tresédian snapped, “Now hold tight!!”

“Whoa–!” Christeané yelped as Davídrius side-stepped to the left to avoid a portion of the wall that had snapped inward. He then flipped over a crumpling patch of steel before hitting the ground and taking off again, bowling through loose debris haphazardly while managing to keep his footing with markedly inhuman reaction speeds.

“Shit,” Davídrius growled, “Hope you don’t throw up easily.”

“Huh–?!” Christeané had no time at all to react before Davídrius leaped forwards, spun halfway around midair to plant his feet against the far wall and launch himself downwards, immediately catching himself on the platform below before blasting off again down the continuing tunnel.

“They said they were gonna make a goddamned straight path!”

“Eh–?”

“Shit!!”

Davídrius quickly put his right foot forward and slammed it into the ground, tearing the floor as he screeched to a quick halt directly in front of a completely blocked passage.

“…Well, fuck,” Christeané muttered, “The path’s blocked.”

“Shit. Shit, shit,” Davídrius scowled, glancing left and right and then backward. “The tunnels behind us are already collapsing. What now?!”

“I don’t– look out!!” Christeané leaped off of Davídrius’s back, planting his feet solidly on the ground before raising his fists just in time to hold up the collapsing ceiling.

“…We’re fucked,” Davídrius muttered as he crawled into the open space Christeané had managed to preserve.

“Ye…ah… I’d… fuckin’ say so,” the Superstrength Introtechnic growled, “This… fuckin’… heavy!... …Huh?”

A sudden flash of light filled the Introtechnics’ visions before fading away, revealing the drab gray of the Genesis bridge instead of the dark Deathnought interior.

“…WE LIVED!” Davídrius leaped into the air excitedly.

“Phew…” Christeané collapsed backwards on his bottom as he disengaged his armor’s shielding and removed the helmet. “…Oh, man! Fresh air!”

“Well, the two of you sure look exhausted,” Kevérin remarked, approaching from the rear of the bridge.

“Well no shit,” Davídrius turned to glare at the Transfer Captain, “We only had to run for our fuckin’ lives because you were half a minute late!”

“That’s a quick turn to hostility,” Rebehka smirked, stepping up next to Kevérin. “Do you have the Ayas?”

“Oh sure, ask about the Ayas before you ask about us…”

“You’re clearly fine.”

“Yeah well you’re clearly… uh… stupid.”

“…Really, Davídrius?”

The Superspeed Introtechnic scowled. “Fuck it,” he tossed the Ayas to Kevérin as he stepped past and began walking toward the bridge exit, “Imma eat a huge fuckin’ lunch and spend the next eighteen hours sleeping. Don’t disturb me or I’ll fuckin’ neuter you.”

Kevérin and Rebehka turned to watch him leave, their expressions a combination of amusement and irritation.

“Actually, though,” Christeané spoke up, drawing their attention back to himself, “What was with the delay? Two seconds later and the both of us would’ve been crushed.”

“We were forced to engage a Riaxen break-off squadron,” Captain Krick explained, stepping forward in between Kevérin and Rebehka, “They drew us away from position. We defeated them, handily, but we weren’t able to return until about ten minutes ago. Luckily, we were just in time to beam up the rest of your group and hear out the Transfer Captain’s plan. I’m sorry we couldn’t pull you out sooner; the jammers didn’t go out as quickly as the orbital shielding, and it took a second to achieve lock on both of you.”

“…Well, better than dead, I guess,” Christeané sighed.

“Better than dead indeed,” Krick smirked, “Now go get washed and rested up, all of you. I’ve a couple more things to take care of with the allied fleet, and then it’s back to Nimalia to report on the situation. A Chaos Ayas, huh… I’m certainly glad we got something valuable from this whole ordeal.”

“Yeah,” Christeané snorted, “Now here’s hoping it was worth it…”

*             *             *

2 Days Later

“General Regek! I’m surprised this is the first I’ve seen of you this whole time!”

“…Greetings, Greant,” Regek replied, turning away from the Genesis’s bridge window to face the large, dark-skinned Citan man. “I didn’t mean to avoid you, of course. I was just spending the time resting up. Taking down a Deathnaught is a tiresome task, after all.”

“And I must commend you for that. I’d never have been able to do that myself!” Greant exclaimed. His expression then turned solemn. “And what of Jeran? Did she truly perish in the wreck?”

Regek paused for a moment before turning back to the bridge window, staring at the star background and the planet of Nimalia below. “…I’m sorry, Greant. There was little I could do.”

“I see, I see…” the Sector 1 General sighed, “That is… unfortunate. We’ve lost a valuable woman, and a valuable leader… and, valuable time.”

“She knew what she was getting into, Greant,” Regek replied, “She already had the leadership transfer documents prepared before embarking on the Tyrnaus operation, in preparation for a situation such as this. She transferred the data to my suit before she passed.”

“…Even in death, she had her wits about her,” Greant smiled forlornly, “That will definitely expedite the process. I’ll need to find a replacement, though…”

“There’ll be no need for that, General. She recommended myself as the next Supreme Commander… not you.”

“…Really,” Greant glanced down at Regek, “…I mean no offense when I say this, Regek, but quite frankly, I’m surprised.”

“As am I,” Regek sighed, “I’d be the first to admit that you’re more qualified for the position than I. It was certainly a surprising turn of events.” He turned around as the bridge door opened, revealing Captain Krick. “…But let us discuss this later. It’s unbecoming to talk of such matters in front of our hosts.”

“Aha! Yes, of course. Couldn’t have said it better myself!”

“I see the two of you are getting along fine,” Krick remarked as he approached the two Black Suns Generals, “Anyways, sorry for the wait. I had a couple things to take care of. If you have nothing left to do here, then I can beam you down to the Nimalian Gateport. They’ll have you back to wherever you need to be in no time, I’m sure.”

“Thank you for allowing us to ride in your ship,” Regek nodded politely, “I’m glad someone as capable as you was sent to investigate Tyrnaus.”

“Ha, I appreciate the compliment, but you ought to be thanking those Nimalians, not me,” Krick smirked, “Anyways, if that’s all…”

“…Actually,” Greant spoke up after eyeing Hero Machina slowly filter onto the bridge, “I wish to speak with the Nimalians for a moment. Regek, you can go on ahead.”

“Very well,” Regek nodded toward Krick, “I’m ready.” Moments later he was replaced with a brief flash of light, and then nothing.

“Nimalians!” Greant called, “Do an old man a favor and come speak to me for a moment!”

“…Oi, oi, this better be good,” Davídrius scowled, walking down the gently sloped bridge aisle.

“It’s certainly worth a few words,” the General commented, waiting until all seven Chaotics had stepped within earshot. He then lowered his voice, muttering, “I know you found the Ayas.”

“…Wha… what? What are you talking about?” Kevérin responded uneasily.

“I know that, for some reason, you decided to hide the Ayas from Regek. And you decided to hide it from me as well, since we’re both Black Suns Generals. That’s not unreasonable. It certainly wasn’t difficult to attempt, given that neither I nor Regek were on the bridge when you returned with the Ayas.”

“…You’re not making any sense,” Siyuakén mumbled.

   

“If there’s anything you need to work on, it’s your capability for subterfuge,” Greant smirked, “I don’t know for what reasons you chose to hide the Ayas from Regek, but know that he is not a stupid man. If he did not see through your lie completely, he at least strongly suspects something is amiss. That, I can guarantee.”

“…Why are you telling us this?” Kevérin crossed his arms.

“Just a friendly warning,” Greant replied cryptically, “I don’t disagree with what you’ve done, though, albeit for different reasons, I’m sure. Anyways, if you ever need help – just throw me a line. Sector 1 will always be willing to assist the Nimalians!”

“But…” Rebehka glanced at Kevérin uneasily before turning back to Greant, “We… didn’t really do anything for you.”

“Nonsense! You rescued Master General Regek, and with him a whole slew of documents and data that are important to the Black Suns!” The General then turned around to look out the bridge window again, his back to Hero Machina. “Besides… I would recommend against turning down help, either now or in the future. I suspect it’s something we will all soon need…” He glanced back over his shoulder at Captain Krick. “Captain! I’m ready to go!”

“Alright. It was nice to meet you, General!”

“Likewise, Earthian! I never expected you to be such a cheery bunch! I hope to one day see you again!” A moment later, Greant disappeared, beamed down to Nimalia below.

“It’s just us, then,” Kaoné commented.

“The fuck did he mean?” Davídrius scowled, “Why’s everyone gotta be so cryptic all the time?”

“We can figure it out later,” Kevérin sighed, “Let’s just get home, already. Between Rossindon and Tyrnaus… I’m exhausted.”

“Speak for yourself,” Christeané snorted.

“…Right,” Kevérin glanced back at Captain Krick, “Uh, Captain, we’re ready to go.”

“Alright–! Wait, wait a moment…” Krick’s attention was suddenly drawn to a nearby console, “…it’s an incoming comm message. From Commander Nikéyin.”

“What? Why’s she calling the ship? We were about to be planetside,” Kevérin frowned.

“Well, let’s see,” Krick commented, and then ordered, “Open the comm line!”

“Opening comm line, sir! …Line open!”

“Commander Nikéyin?” Krick called out.

“Yes, this is she. Chief Captain Krick, correct?”

“That’s correct,” Krick nodded, though the gesture was lost over the audio-only call. “Let’s get straight to the point – why the comm call?”

“Some very significant developments transpired while you were away on the Tyrnaus operation,” Nikéyin replied hurriedly, “And I wanted to make sure you stuck around. This is something we could really use you and your ship’s assistance for.”

“Oh?” Krick crossed his arms warily, “What’s happened?”

“Well, in short…” Nikéyin replied apprehensively, “Four days ago, the Exemplar and Sursum Drakkars launched a full-frontal assault on CSA space.”

“Shit,” Krick scowled, “You don’t mean–“

“Unfortunately, I do. The galaxy has officially fallen into all-out war.”

*               *               *               *               *

==================== End of Chapter 44 ====================

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Data Entry: Drakkars

                The Drakkars are the oldest known race still living today, far older than any of the CSA or Taizen races. They have been around so long that they were present during the age of the Aldredas over a hundred thousand years ago – yet there is no consensus as to why the Drakkars failed to take over the galaxy in the intervening time.

                The Drakkars are amazingly advanced, possessing technology that massively outstrips any of the other galactic races. Most notable of all are their transportation technology: their FTL drives and their troop transport capability. Unlike the rest of the galaxy, the Drakkars’ FTL drives are not limited by Dead Space – the Drakkars can cut right through. Furthermore, their drives are significantly faster, removing any and all need for them to use Transpaces. Additionally, the Drakkars possess beaming technology – they can instantly transport their troops from their ships to the surface of a planet and back, making them a fierce enemy and ridiculously difficult to defend against.

                Their malformed appearance also adds to the fear factor that the Drakkars love to employ. The Drakkars have very skinny bodies and mouthless faces; instead of hair they possess a multitude of downward-flowing headspikes, and on each elbow and both pairs of knees protrude surprisingly sharp spikes, which the Drakkars can and do use in close-quarters combat. Despite the lack of a mouth, the Drakkars are still able to communicate with others by projecting their “voice” into the head of the conversation recipient. Despite being very unsettling, the action causes no mental harm, as no known Drakkars are Psychotechnics. It is unknown how they eat or otherwise obtain nutrition.

                Their advanced technology and distinct appearance are not the primary traits the Drakkars are known for, however – it’s actually their ability to steal an individual’s Ciei, a term for their collective creativity, intelligence, emotions, and imagination. A Drakkar must be able to lay their bare palm on an individual’s head or chest in order to steal their Ciei, and once they do, the theft is virtually instantaneous. The result is leaving behind a husk of an individual (who is still alive and capable of autonomous action, albeit significantly impaired) while granting the Drakkar remarkable insight into the individual’s thought processes and emotions. Ciei theft seems insignificant on first glance, but it has actually brought the Drakkars significant victories – for instance, if they were able to steal the Ciei of an organization’s strategist, they would instantly know everything about how the organization thought and would thus be able to craft incredibly effective strategies against them – not to mention robbing said organization of their strategist’s ability. It is possible to return Ciei to the original owner, but only by killing the Drakkar who stole it – which is oftentimes an exercise in futility, as the Drakkars will quickly follow Ciei theft with killing their target and then fleeing the scene to preserve their new prize. Additionally, it is unknown exactly how Ciei works; it is widely accepted that it is somehow related to Chaos Energy, but Drakkars have been observed to steal Ciei even in Dead Space, leaving the rest of the galaxy completely clueless as to its properties.

                Perhaps the only thing saving the rest of the galaxy from Drakkar domination is the fact that the Drakkars have a strong tendency to fight amongst themselves, conflicts driven by the separation into six factions and the immortal, astonishingly arrogant leaders at the head of each. While regular Drakkars are just as mortal as anyone else – in fact, they’re even easier to kill, as most Drakkars aren’t Chaotics and their armor leaves much to be desired – the Drakkar leaders are straight-up immortal and surprisingly durable. The only beings who are observed to be capable of dealing lasting damage to a faction leader is another faction leader; as such, whenever a leader is spotted on a battlefield, the suggested strategy is always to run away, especially since each leader possesses a special ability that the rest of their faction does not.

                Leading the Exemplar faction is Exdominor, who is the only Drakkar who can steal Ciei from range. He can instantly perform thefts on any individual within twenty meters, making him surprisingly dangerous to engage. The Exemplars hold the most space of all the factions, and Exdominor’s ego is large enough to match.

                Leading the Sursum faction is Surdeus, a Chaos Conduit – meaning he has access to every single Chaos ability. Any battlefield he visits is wrought with destruction, and the only individual observed to be capable of keeping up with him in a fight is Exdominor. The Sursum hold the second most space, and Surdeus’s ego can easily match Exdominor’s. Any conflict within or outside of Drakkar space is usually driven by either the Exemplars or the Sursum.

                Leading the Multis faction is Mulmagnus, a Superspeed Introtechnic capable of hitting Mach 10. He possess much of the short-sightedness of Superspeed Introtechnics as well, but is nonetheless a dangerous combatant.

                Leading the Telum faction is Telregina, whose left arm is replaced with a massive gun that can fire virtually any kind of projectile. She by far the easiest of the leaders to enrage; many a planet has fallen victim to her berserk war “strategies”.

                Leading the Humanus faction is Hualtus, a Transtechnic. Her shape-shifting abilities make her dangerous in subterfuge, though she is rarely spotted on the battlefield – at least, her known forms are rarely spotted on the battlefield.

                Leading the Prolatio faction is Prosusicivious, sharing the unique trait of having a tail with his faction. Unlike the rest of the Prolatio, however, Prosusicivious can extend his tail at will to unknown lengths almost instantly. As with Hualtus, Prosusicivious is rarely seen on the battlefield; in fact, the Prolatio Drakkars are the least commonly spotted faction outside of Drakkar space.