Chapter 11: First Strike
The combined forces of the regents and the storm fortress following them from behind leaves the crew of the Leviathan speechless. Some that sees it pondered with the question; is the fortress manned by a few crews or it is directly under the control of the emperor? Naiki cozily levitates on one spot inside of the fortress internal bridge, leaving the ladies to prepare themselves at Ilya's flagship the planet killer battleship ICS Nemesis. As he did not want to be disturbed for the time being and alone inside the massive fortress, Naiki turned off the ship to ship teleporter link as he inspect the ship's power source. He stands properly before warping into the reactor room. Naiki's eyes sharpen due to the surprise of his own creation. It is a crystal monolith surrounded by miniaturized infinite plasma storm inside a transparent sphere chamber; feeding the crystal of energy and into the ship twelve reactors.
"Zero point energy? No, not quite." He says to himself in deep thought until he pauses of a theory. Testing it, he thinks of the ship main source to be turned off for a brief. The plasma storm dissipates and leave the ship in total darkness while the life system runs on backup energy. Naiki quickly image the fortress to be turned on again. With it, the plasma storm generate out of nowhere and continues supplying energy through the crystal. He circles around the sphere while summarizing his conclusion. "So this is where my excess power gone to, it is directed to my dimension; powering you up. Since when I mastered controlling this overpowered energy that I locked away?" Jogging his memories while touching the chamber. Some of the electrical sparks out to him, it did not affect him as it feels like he is connected with a portion of his powers; greeting him back with comfort. The sentinel core world flashed in his memories including the fact that he remains linked to the mainframe via his crown.
He finally remembers it, the core world knowledge is inputted into the mainframe as it slowly burns away the exact lock of this type of power during his cryosleep. He laughed the fact off "So the sentinels silently unlocked my powers without my knowledge and releases it slowly that I did not notice of it before. Bravo…" Naiki says it aloud while thinking the other locked powers he did not want to release of it yet and gets back to admiring the view including keeping alert of the fortress sensors.
ICS Nemesis including the rest of the fleet receives a direct transmission from the storm fortress with a short note of saying 'Move the fleet to into formation, its time…' with the emperor's mark below it. "Wha…already?" Layla says in surprise while recalibrating her combat suit. Ilya nods of the statement, she already delivered the message to Layla and walk off to the ships bridge to take command. "Sweets, gear up lightly; don't forget the body shielding unit and that portable consumables generator. The short war about to start." Layla noted it to Lena. She did not understand why the need to gearing up early as Layla look at her puzzled face. "Our type of warfare is different than others Lena, The main force won't stop when capturing planets. They will leave it for the siege ships to handle the minor ones while we aimed for the big fish, another fleet will remain in the shadow on standby to guard the left out siege ships. A stratagem that the emperor loves to use back in our younger days at the academy, overpowering blitz tactics." This far surpass what Lena have been thinking of the tactics that what her father taught to her before. The two gears up in the regent's personal armory.
Vexis on the other hand is still busy to report the situation to Naiki's guardians. "Protect the inner ring of the empire at all cost; fellow guardians. Don't worry of the regent's territory, they have their own adjutants and lord governors to guard it with their main bulk forces; leave Leviathan here to remain as support for the construction and organizing the fellow people under the regent of the east. The emperor is bringing his new mobile fortress that is double the size of the leviathan to the fray." The last word that Vexis speaks gives the guardians a silent minute of shock. "Very well Vexis, take care of Naiki for us. We remain on standby, if you need our help and we will await your victorious news in return. Spread our empire's banner across that part of the galaxy." The old and wise Shultz says it for the rest of the guardian members. Vexis turns off the projector of the Ilya's meeting room. She finally noticed the order from Naiki.
The mythical arctic fox projected herself to the fortress, she feels it is blocking her from entering the place. Without a moment of thought, she transforms into a dark matter mist and directly goes to the fortress; yet again, her entrance is blocked by its triple shielding systems. Naiki projected his psionic to her. "Hooh, you wish to enter my fortress without my permission? Try as much as you like…" snickering to her while he relaxes on the bridge.
"Darling, let me in. Let me inn!" Vexis says it aloud to him while smacking the shield. Naiki eventually let her in, her dark matter mass directly slams at the bridge; she quickly transforms to her normal self and quickly wraps her hands on Naiki while he is laying down on the hover board. "You think that is funny darling?" She says it while pushing her nose at his with an Intimidating grin. "Funny for me to see my wife struggles to enter one of my creations. Especially since she is in panic mode and stark naked in doing so in front of me." Naiki answers back while briefly grabbing her back bottom. She back away neatly and materialize her clothing; Vexis then nudged hard at Naiki. Both of them forget what have happened with the sudden serious feeling and begins the invasion. The fortress moves out first than the other fleets follow in its wake and warps at the buffer zone.
Knowing that a Draconian patrol squadron of warships on the end of the buffer zone, ICS Storm Fortress rammed them directly as they were just small debris that is grazing at it. Vexis noticed the five impact on the bow of the ship but it did not receive any damage. "God, darling; you are merciless. Next…" Vexis marked the enemy fleet that is docking at one of its military dockyard. Naiki's eyes sharpens to the unseen marked target. The storm fortress fires briefly with its high density sweeping laser turrets to the dark space. Vexis quickly focuses on the targets location that is projecting to the floor of the bridge; the marked targets have disappeared on the huge sectors map layout. She signals the first three siege warships to commence assault while they pass by the first planet. Ilya's fleet begins its motion of flanking, warping to the upper sectors of the draconians that have occupied. "Kill everyone that did not comply with us and spare the one that their will can be bended towards us." Ilya briefed her fleet.
The struggle on Lenora's face can be seen, as if she doesn't know that the Imperial Cybran Empire treats their enemies mercilessly unless they can be reasoned with; especially what the snow leopard just say to her fleet. "Now you know why some of us here called her the ice queen." Layla noted her while patting her back before leaving to the main teleportation room with a stern face; Ilya noticed her doing so to return to her fleet. "You should enter the storm fortress using one of the rooms Lena." She quickly nodded after seeing the snow leopard blue eyes; glaring at her from the main chair of the bridge while speaking to her. Before she barely started walking, Vexis appeared behind her and yanked at the back neck of her uniform. "Hhrk!" blurted out Lena and the both of them warped to Naiki's location. Ilya gives a short chuckle of the situation.
Vexis and Lena arrived at the storm fortress. She quickly pointed out some of the things to Lena. "Help me out making additional path to their capital planet." Vexis says to her. Before they even touch the projected galaxy, Naiki completed the task single handedly while commanding the fortress. "Slow…" He says it with a smug. "Oh really? You want to see who is faster with me devouring the planets that we were supposed to liberate and extend our buffer zone?" She taunted Naiki. Lena remains silent of the quarrel. "Just sit back and enjoy the show. If I am tired, you can take over Vexis." Assured Naiki of his intentions while casually shoots out the laser weapons to the unknown with Vexis eyeing the targets that he have marked. He even wiped out some of the targets for Ilya and Layla's fleet even before they arrive at them. "As if I can control your toys" Vexis says with a scoff while browsing her digital inventory for some of the food that she have packed beforehand.
She toss a cheese slice at Naiki while he is occupied with aligning the weapons for its next set of targets. Instinctively, he catches it and chow it down in quick succession. "Very funny Vexis" He says out of the humor that she tries to pull out. "Payback…" Vexis answers back still in search of her large inventory. Lena remains quiet watching the two of them and the projected part of the universe as the red marks quickly disappeared. The emperor and the empress casually take a joke or two while taking the lives of their enemies mercilessly without asking the Draconian forces to surrender or leave; the image implanted into Lena's memories, making her think that they are the gods of death in disguise. "Emperor, the draconians is known to hide their battle fleet in asteroid bases." Softly spoken to Naiki by Lena. Vexis looks at him as he left those targets on purpose.
"You are giving them a chance eh; or you want them to feel they have a chance against us?" Vexis speak of it while munching down the weird looking fruit. Naiki answers simply with a nod while he glide the fortress path to Lena's home planet. The main fleet peel off to fight the upcoming enemies. With that in motion, Naiki disconnect himself from the ship and sits at the throne. "Well, I'm joining the main fleet to get some fun. Take care of Naiki for me." Vexis winked at Lena and leaves the fortress in her dark matter mist form.
Naiki remains quiet of seeing the scene that the three fleet faring against the Draconians. "Naiki, are you still the same Atlas that I met? Why are you this brutal against the Draconians?" She bravely questions him, breaking the silence. Naiki's did not look at her directly to prevent her from being frightened of his red glowing iris, he focuses on looking the detailed fight of the main fleet with Vexis dark matter powers engulfing the warships already outside of their base before devouring it. "I am. My intention of intervention in this part of the system escalated; after I see your family is being murdered by the country that you're supposed to be fiancé stabbed you just to gain an upper hand of the Dracs. The other one that riles me up is that your country has sacrificed a lot to thwart the Dracs advance, yet no other factions stands at your father's side to help him defend his territories." He pauses from answering her, Naiki look directly at her as their eyes met and continues.
"Even if you have forgiven them they still cannot escape my wrath of what they have done. I personally still feel the warm greeting that your family have given to me even it is not the real me, the strong feeling of your parents accepting me as their own family even I am just an outsider. That same feeling that was lost in me for centuries." Naiki ended those words as her eyes well out; just to remember her family and what his father have said to her, to be with Atlas. Naiki goes directly to her and she is the one that first started hugging him. Naiki caress her forehead to her ear. "I am finally here my emperor, I have kept my promise. Now for my reward…" she quickly grab the chance to kiss him directly as her tears drop down. Her buried feelings finally gush out as she moderately tries to make out with him. Naiki accepted it, she then stopped just by thinking of Vexis is his wife. "Emperor I'm sorry I got carried away, I…" Naiki quickly halted her words by nudging his chin at her forehead. "What, you think that Vexis is angry of this? She is the one that give this chance to you. I know her too well of her methods." She wipes her left cheek at his neck. "But let's keep this at a minimum for now okay?" Rubbing the back of her neck while saying it to her. She eases off and let go of him while he observes Vexis.
Vexis who sees it from afar using her psionic powers; is satisfied of her decisions. "She takes the initiative that I give. Good girl…" Saying to herself while confronting the remaining enemy warships that just launch from their anchor. Out of the dark matter mist that she produce, Vexis changes to her anthro form rather than remaining concealed as the clouds of dark matter. That alone is enough to startle the enemy fleet seeing a living being able to do that with the absence of oxygen and the cold space. The Draconian fleet sets up in a wall formation, she clearly sees that they are guarding a single ship that is making a run for it. "That seems to be an important ship. Might as well as kill them now." With that thought, she throws a dark matter bolt directly to the ship. The fleet engaged the bolt with heavy laser ray weapons; it is a mistake of them doing so. The bolt absorbed the rays and grows larger in size, Vexis snickers as it pierces the ship and splits it into two. "Now, let the wrath of the Imperial Cybran Empire devour you into oblivion!" Her voice echoed directly to who's near her; friend and foe alike. The Crimson Tide arrives at the scene with her fleet undetected far behind Vexis. It fired its arc emitters to the Draconians. The empress amplifies it and redirected the lightning to each targets, making it a one shot kill against the fleet. A red painted triple hulled battleship comes out of anchor of the asteroid base. Lena sees it in the view of the Storm Fortress observation panels. She grits her teeth in anger of seeing the exact vessel that they run away from.
"The same ship that I died from ramming its dual protected bridge. Well, Atlas did; after being pierced by the tail of the commander of the ship and died." Naiki speaks aloud to Lenora. She shudders of hearing and remembering Atlas demise. "Now I will return the favor…" He noted aloud while prompting the fleet to stand down including Vexis that returned to his side; the battleship scanned the heading of the Cybran fleet that destroyed its comrade in arms. "I swear this is going to be painful" Vexis that just have arrived heard what he just have said to himself while the sakhalin fox watches him step off to the front of the bridge. Naiki forcibly break the chain of one of his locked powers. It sends ripples of electrical discharges across the fortress as he grab hold of the wall for support. Lena and Vexis managed to brace from it and directly head to him after it subsides.
"Hell…that is much more painful than falling down to a planet form space." Naiki curses. "What did you do?" Vexis asked Naiki briefly. "Now you are not the only one that can wander off into space without worrying of oxygen and cold." He grinned at Vexis. She shakes her head of his methods. "The battleship is coming here!" Lena noted at Naiki quickly. He gives an evil smile that the shockwave attracted the battleship as they waited for it to arrive like an predator awaiting its prey.