Chapter 37: Determination against fate
At the beginning of the 2nd day of the Valian capital sector siege, the other planets have fallen silent under the cybran fast invasion. Only the capital planet of the Valian continues to resist with their primary forces now deployed to counter the cybrans; deploying from hidden bases across the planet. Grukev decided to assault the remaining Valian position slowly, giving them at least a chance to fight back. With the situation on the ground under the palm of the field marshal, the admirals concentrated their fleets to spread out in the sector while blockading anyone from leaving.
"Naiki, it is best if you get some rest. I will overwatch the situation from here." The Leviathan's commander that has returned from his short break suggested to him to do the same. Naiki ordered teleporting any leviathan's forces to the ground if needed as a backup using any methods available.
"A wise ruler knows when to rest is just as important as knowing where to guide his people, am I right?"
Naiki answers with a short proverb as the commander nods with a smile and leaves the command room while taking the short way back to his room. He uses the walkway while passing by one of the internal dockyards to see the view. Maintenance drones buzz around at high speed while some of the damaged warships docks at their mooring point. Naiki focused his sight on the maintenance control and command room, overlooking the dockyard. The operators work at a moderate pace while keeping track of what to do.
Leaving the scene after the quick view, he returned to his room while returning the salute of near passerby cybrans. In the short calm, Naiki calls his wife to see how she was doing. Immediately he is linked to Vexis and the four regent's comms.
"Darling, bad time to call me right now…" Vexis answers while warping across another weapon platform after destroying it.
"What? Something went wrong?" Naiki inquired without the use of the observation station vision link.
"See for yourself." Vexis directed the optical feed she is wearing. She was outside on top of the same structure as the orbital fortress that Naiki's forces have encountered. Ilya's flagship is seen doing a few long-range strikes with missile barrages to keep the pressure on one of the fortresses.
"Tactical, you are storming the orbital fortresses right?" Naiki asked, Vexis just playfully hums at him while cleaning out the blood on her orbiting swords. She absorbs the direct bullet hail from the point-blank range of the nearby turrets and cuts it clean. Her team approaches in haste to the nerve center of the orbital fortress.
"Layla, stop blowing the main structure of that fortress. I want one of them at least a portion intact! Where is Lenora?" Vexis barked the order to the multi-liked comm.
"That is one delicate order since they are fighting back like crazy." Layla is holding position on one of the orbital fortresses while the rest of her commando squads sweep the section of the structure as fast as they can.
Naiki turns his attention to the Valkyrie regent who takes a different approach, fighting on the planet with the full support of Ilya and Lenora's main forces to create a beachhead. The capital city is aggressively defending the archipelago.
"Orbital fortress secured!" Lenora shouted through the comm while securing the pacified hostile forces on her picked orbital fortress. She planted her swords on the hull structure and rested on top of a container while her forces escorted the captured soldiers.
"Looks like Lena wins. Destroy the other fortresses." Vexis sighed that she lost the race.
"You are making a competition out of this?" Naiki sits on his sofa while watching them after arriving in his room.
"It's a good change of pace…" Vexis just snickered. A large explosion detonated after Ilya's flagship fired her concentrated prism laser on an orbital fortress that she targeted, killing all of the people inside of it.
"That snow leopard does keep her title well…" Vexis makes a fun statement while watching the explosion.
"I am still in comms you know." Ilya harked back at her. Naiki just laughed at the situation.
"At least you are having fun doing it. Just don't do it too often and spare some of the people, or else one of you won't be coming back to me…"
"Okay okay, I get it…How is the situation on your end darling?" Vexis asked while warping straight to Svidana's position with her forces that assaulted the fortress.
"Eh, I've seen worse. They are trying to push us back even with their fleets and inner sector planets have been beaten." Naiki picks a plasma cartridge and absorbed the energy to easily understand its contents.
"Master, you did not go and fight them at the frontlines?" Ilya inquired while pressing orders to launch the autonomous assault bots for deployment.
"Grukev is handling it with his forces and my ADMs. Wanted to give them a chance for fighting back."
"That is different from the Naiki that I know. Are they that easy to be crushed into submission?" Layla splashes some water on her face to freshen up before going to Svidana's position while speaking to him.
"No, they are not. In The Valian tactics are impressive. We wanted to see what they made of if we put them on the edge."
"That is new," Vexis speaks out while marking some hard targets for Ilya.
Lenora's fleets quickly gained altitude to pierce the orbit after she detected something; noting it early to Vexis.
"Darling, I will keep you updated further. We got some obstacles to go through." Vexis says it after seeing two enemy missile battleships emerges from the forest near the capital.
Understanding her situation, he just nods and cuts the comm. With updated intel from Vexis, he relaxes and sleeps on the sofa. The news of one failed technology used on the battlefield hasn't reached the ears of Naiki yet.
On the next day, the situation against Valian intensifies. Grukev personally enters the battle, commanding the charge at their capital planet. It was the exact moment they realized that the Valian people and soldiers did not put fight anymore against them. The soldiers that sees the marching cauterizers' assault bots immediately raised their hands and surrendered.
"Something is wrong, why are they giving up?" Grukev walked in his power armor with some of his veteran soldiers. His question is answered by Naiki after he wakes up.
"Grukev, the death marks have captured their ruler in the underground bunker nearby. Go there first and wait for me." Naiki noted to Grukev and marked the location on his tactical navigator.
"Oh, so that is why… These Valian loved their rulers as much as we do. Ha-ha!" He says it and marched ahead with his personnel squad.
The Cybran forces entered the area and just leave the Valian forces where they are; believing they are not a threat anymore. They, on the other hand; quake in fear of seeing the cauterizes in front of them acting as a safeguard if things escalate again with the megalith IVs towering across the capital center. Out of surprise, the Valian civilians listen to the orders of the Cybran soldiers to safely exits the area of conflict.
Naiki walked to the nearby teleportation station until he was reported of what have occurred. A single division has perished using lightning teleportation technology, turning them to dust. Naiki was stunned by the incident that never has happened before. The dust was being collected under his order for a proper burial back at the home sector. With a straight face, he teleports down using the portal lances.
"Our empire is fading away, even in the face of a superior force; we have to pay the price of our blood. Won't you just agree if we just signed a truce equally?" A white-haired fallen dragon kin speaks out for her subordinates. She is forced to sit down with the death marks soldier's remains in their shadow form in the bunker.
"That is for the emperor to decide, not you since you lost this war against us." Grukev raises the authority of the Cybran empire to her.
"Where were you when our empire needed help to defeat the other empire that threatened us before? We were shattered and no one assisted us even our allies take the opportunity to steal our sectors and resources. And now a second war that our allies started and we are forced to be dragged into it? Because our allies attacked the Asters?" The fallen dragon kin glanced at Grukev with her red irises.
"You have already chosen your move since your fleet attacked the regents' fleet. The verdict is set and we responded on who attacked us first." Grukev stands strong with his evidence since he keeps up to date on the recent news of the frontline of the Cybran empire.
Naiki arrived just in time while the heated conversation continues. Grukev feels his presence and halted his words. Naiki sits on top of one of the command consoles in the bunker as the death marks come out of their shadows.
"Who is this? We don't need another lackey-" The fallen dragon kin's words are cut short by Grukev slamming his cannon stock to the ground hard enough to make the noise ring in the whole bunker. His obvious hatred for the fallen dragon kin made him want to kill him if it wasn't for Naiki holding him back.
"Emperor Naiki Russ of the Imperial Cybran Empire." Naiki makes a quick introduction.
The fallen dragon kin looked at his normal casual clothes. A black shirt with long loose pants.
"This is their emperor? Who looks like a thug…" She says in her thoughts.
"I don't need formal clothing just to see another ruler of a nation since I am comfortable with casual wear, even my people know I like to wear casually rather than formally," Naiki responded with what she just thought of him. She is surprised that he can read her thoughts.
"Name…" He asks with a sharp voice while crossing his leg.
"Xenevis Valian." The fallen dragon kin answered cautiously. Felling the intense energy coming from Naiki she remains on guard.
Their eyes met, and Naiki sees the determination of Xenevis to keep her people from suffering anymore. Xenevis on the other hand see the raging ambitious fire in his dark red irises, which makes her quiver.
"You…are not a normal human…" She accidentally says what's on her mind.
"Correct," He responded.
"You are the ruler of these black red-lined uniformed soldiers?" While assuming it, she looks at the death marks and some of Grukev's power-armored soldiers.
"Two for Two," Naiki amusingly answered.
"Then stop this invasion this instant and leave us be…" She downplayed her terms.
"That dish is not on the menu…" Naiki noted her situation.
"You will either submit to us as a puppet state, be assimilated, die here without your allies or we will glass this planet including its inhabitants." Grukev enters the conversation with a demanding voice.
"No! Enough of this!" one of the armed advisors of Xenevis yelled and raises his plasma rifle to shoot at Naiki. She tries to stop him but the shot is done. Naiki just redirected the plasma and absorbed it in his right palm as the Valian advisors and commanders are taken aback watching he does it with no effort. The slight evil grin from the Cybran emperor is seen by Valian who is present in the bunker. The death marks are phased in front of the shooter and diagonally slashes him in half with his weapon.
The sound of the shot is heard in the active communicator of the now-dead advisor. Groups of the Valian forces take arms again and fight to the end against the Cybrans. Some remain broken-willed and quickly lay in prone to avoid being massacred.
"Hot-blooded upstarts! I will enjoy this and show you how real men murder for fun!" Grukev yelled while sprinting outside with his small elite squad while gunshots and explosions comes closer.
"Some fire still burns in your people; I suggest you control it or put it out." Naiki sharply says to her.
Out of options, Xenevis gritted her teeth and gives the orders to the commanders. A portion of the forces sided with the Cybrans and fights their former brothers and sisters while the others disobeyed the orders and fully sided with the ongoing insurgent. The situation comes out of hand as full chaos envelops the capital megalopolis while the civilians are safely guided further away by the cybrans outside of the ongoing battles.
It was the first sight of the Valian rebelling against their ruler's orders. Xenevis is deeply scarred by her people trying to kill her now as the insurgent forces openly order her demise just to remain free from the Cybrans. She fails and questions what she should have done for her people to survive.
Sighed hard, Naiki stands while stomping his feet first and goes directly to the Valian empress. He yanks at the back of the choker she is wearing and pulls her into standing properly. The others did not stop him out of fright. She choked a little of Naiki's action and briefly gasped for air.
"Stand up, you cannot avoid the fate that has been set to you."
Naiki speaks to her and both exited the bunker. Things falls to silence as they stepped outside. All of the insurgents have been disposed of with the united forces of Valian loyalists and Cybrans.
"It is done," Grukev returned to him with his squad still guarding him and some Valian soldiers.
The Valian soldiers kneeled briefly to their empress. Naiki casually sits on one of the cauterizer's extended legs. Sensing the cloaked warship nearby as a threat, he briefly stands and summons Veles to rip out the ship from hiding. The turrets are already turned in their direction. The quick reaction of the Cybran soldiers suppressed the lone warship and Naiki gives a killing blow just by controlling the flow of energy in the warship's reactor to destroy it using his bare hands that are full of energy sparks.
The explosion is enough to send shockwaves and is quickly mitigated by the Cybran forces. Xenevis sees the true strength of the Cybran Emperor and briefly remains silent from speaking to her soldiers. Veles immediately returns to its dimension and disappeared from the sky. The cauterizer Naiki is sitting on; slowly trotted to Xenevis.
"We will surrender, just spare what is left of my people. Make me your pet, slave, or entertainment; I don't care. Just give them a new life…" She begs him in the earshot of her people.
"Are you Valians agreed to this!?" Naiki shouted to the assembled soldiers.
The first in line lay down their arms again and kneeled to him. Their spirit is already broken and exhausted, the capital planet's rotation suddenly slows as Naiki notices with the sensors of the Leviathan. Something is not right with the planet itself. He looks at the remaining Valian soldiers and citizens of the capital megalopolis who assembled at them. Cybran forces in the megalopolis neatly lined in their standing-by formation.
He briefly materialized his armor and stand in far front of the crowds below the slope of the entrance of the bunker to quickly gained their attention. The people inside the bunker come out at the side of their empress.
"Fate is a cruel ending verdict . . . there are some that are fated to become heroes, some who are fated to become villains, and very few who are destined to become . . . Nothing at all," Naiki starts his speech. His voice is carried out by Grukev fleets who enter the orbit to fully secure the airspace.
"Fate mocks them, pushing them into a desperate measure where each step they take can never be retaken or traced back; as if their pain is a kind of sick entertainment . . . And those who are unfortunate enough to be given that fate will not become a hero or villain . . . They will become more than a monster; Just like me and my empire,"
"The empire that will unite this galaxy even using our blooded hands so that one day all of us will live in peace with no threats. Once we were your enemies before, today you fight side by side together. Once the peace will come, it is up to you and your allies to keep that peace who a lot of people have sacrificed to make it come true."
"Do not waver! Do not let up! This is our answer to the cruel fate that has fallen on us! This is your first step to our unity!"
"For the Imperial Cybran Empire!" Naiki shouted. It was immediately answered with the war cry of the Cybran forces.
At first, the Valians were soaked in the fervor and strong will of the Cybran empire forces. They joined in on the war cry and finally gets a new purpose, unified to protect the galaxy. Naiki isolated some noise with the barrier technology they have used before. He turned to see the Valian empress who finally have a light of hope in the face of her crumbled empire.
"You know; as a venerable fearful empire, there is no point in holding the galaxy by ourselves. What we wanted is a unified galaxy under one nation; as a host, building our strength together to protect what we have achieved including protecting this galaxy." Naiki directly speaks to Xenevis.
"Your empire has fallen countless times; now you see what an empire is without proper allies right now to cover their back, to support them in times of distress. Maybe in the future, while we are in front of other galaxies; our allies will take care of the galaxy we originate from."
"If you insisted to fight us then so be it, but we will remember you in our history as you went down fighting what is right for you. Your nation..."
Xenevis remains silent as she feels it is not his last word and listens to him.
"If you decided to take our hand to rise you up from the ashes, you deserve a spot in our empire's circle."
"So, can I count you as our allies who will protect the peace of this galaxy?" Naiki extended his hand to Xenevis.
She briefly smiled, still watching the zealous Cybran soldiers starting to sing their national anthem. Knowing that the Cybrans are the ones that should rule this galaxy.
"Yes; lead the way, Emperor." She says to him.
Their celebration is short-lived as the planet finally gives up on the torture it has received. Large-scale earthquakes begin to start and all fall into silence. Grukev and Naiki lay out their plans to Xenevis post haste. They coordinated the evacuation of the planet using the Cybran fleets like they have done it before in the simulated events. The Valians watched as Cybran led them to the portal of each warship to enter across the planet and selflessly be the last to board it.
The planet halted its movements as the core of the planet dies, and the atmosphere of the planet begins to dissipate as the cold wave of space hits it. The remaining Cybran forces in their power armor on the planet turn on their adaptive environment measures to fit the current situation and ensure no one is left on the planet before hightailing in themselves.
The 1st armada left the sector while watching the planet fade in distance. Naiki reassured Xenevis that they will be better on a newly terraformed planet for her people Naiki prepared before. She focuses on her people's better future and listens to Naiki's explanation to support one of his regents; directly to the east of the galaxy. The Valian people are warmly greeted by the Cybrans and understand each other quite well since they have a common experience, survival.
On the neighboring sector, Vexis and the regents finally eliminate the last portion of the combined alliance who stole the resources of the Valian Empire after eliminating the threat of the two missile battleships who was frozen into place by Ilya after they killed some of Layla's commandos.
The Cybran empress unleashed what she has learned from the other nine-tailed foxes before and effortlessly pulled the souls of each resisting soldier fighting inside the capital while being able to contain her thirst for souls with the help of Naiki before, making the final fight a one-sided victory. She then scattered the souls in the sea of the dark galaxy without consuming them; gaining the attention of someone who watched the galaxy distance away. The conflict quickly turned into an incident as both sides admitted it was they who caused it and was remembered very well in the future.