Chapter Seventeen: Tread Softly
Teptromina's wings sprang forward, their tips glowing before firing an array of beams at Goshenite. She leapt forwards as well, diving into the air to avoid the attack. Before reaching the ground again, she hurled her staff at the Primax, quickly summoning another.
The staff just narrowly missed Teptromina, spearing a Scavenger that stood behind him when he dodged. He flew towards Goshenite, his hands and wings alike crackling with energy. Moments before they met, she dove to the side, swinging her staff as hard as she could. The weapon crashed against the side of his head, sending him careening down the hallway. Goshenite prepared to throw her staff again, but she was suddenly grabbed from behind by metallic claws.
The Predator that had been empowered by Zoisite's gem wrapped its tendrils around Goshenite's limbs. She pulled back against them, but was unable to free herself. She was then lifted into the air, the Predator's grip tightening as Teptromina stepped closer.
"This is all futile, you know," said Teptromina. He glared up at Goshenite, his body battle-damaged but nevertheless imposing. "If you have to fight this hard just to save a single wayward outpost from a mere fraction of my forces, how can you hope to save Homeworld from my full might?"
"I've beaten you before," she replied. "I can do it again. Even if you do get stronger each time they rebuild you, you're bound to slip up eventually."
The outpost shook as an impact struck against the shields. Teptromina looked up towards the source of the noise, and chuckled to himself. "And that's where you're wrong. This station has almost fallen. It doesn't matter how many of my troops you destroy, more will be built. Our bodies may break, but we will never fall. But you, and your kin, only need to shatter once to be silenced for good."
Goshenite clenched her fists. "Then it's a good thing I will never shatter!"
Her staff shot out from her gemstone, spearing through the Predator's tendrils. Its grip loosened just enough for Goshenite to tear herself free, using this opportunity to catch Teptromina while his guard was lowered. She grabbed her staff, swinging it around to her front as she ran towards him. Teptromina only had time to charge and fire a single beam from his eye. Goshenite anticipated this, ducking to the side; she followed up by driving her staff into his eye.
The energy from the currently-firing laser now found somewhere else to go in the form of a tear in the optic. As a result, the gash created by the staff exploded, sending Goshenite, the remaining Interlopers, and what was left of Teptromina, flying. Goshenite felt herself collide with a wall, falling to the ground.
Despite her injuries, Goshenite was undeterred. Using her staff to pull herself up, she remembered what Zoisite had told her. Hangar. Lowest level. Whatever was down there had been important enough for Zoisite to point it out specifically. Goshenite slowly limped off in the direction of the stairs. Her limp slowly turned into a walk, and then a run as she regained her fighting spirit.
The outpost continued to shake as the Interlopers pounded against the shields. Goshenite wasn't sure how long they would last, but given the extent of this attack, it couldn't be much longer. Worst case scenario, they would have to take the Xenocide and try and find another outpost elsewhere on the planet. Repairs wouldn't have been finished by this point, but that was a risk they would have to take. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.
On her way to the lower levels, Goshenite ran, quite literally, into Topaz. "Oh! My Goshenite!" she said, surprised to see her. "Is everything going alright up there? When I heard that explosion, I was afraid that-what happened to your hand!?"
"No time!" said Goshenite, continuing to run. Topaz followed after her. "What happened to the others?"
"There were breaches at the southern and eastern entryways, so the troops split up to intercept," Topaz explained. "But whatever you guys did up there really slowed the flow!" Another rumble as the Apexes continued their attack. "...Not like that's doing us any good right now, o' course. Where're Nines and Tens?"
"I don't know, we got separated by the explosion," Goshenite said. "Right now, we need to make it down to the lower hangar, there's something down there that can help us."
A short elevator ride later, and they had arrived.
"Be on the lookout for anything that could help us," Goshenite said, as the two of them stepped out and hurried down the hallway. "I imagine it's going to be something like a communicator, or an emergency beacon, or...uh…"
Goshenite trailed off as the two of them reached the hangar proper. Only a handful of small vessels were scattered on the inside, but, standing tall in the very center of the room, was a Valkyrie. Tall as an Apex and imposing as a Diamond, the whole room seemed to glow from its green hull. Although it was inactive, its two red eyes stared forward as though daring the Interlopers to defile its sanctum.
"...Yeah, I think that might be able to help us," said Topaz.
"Funny," said Goshenite. She strolled towards the massive machine. "I need you to head to the command center. Connect to me once I'm outside, and we'll go from there."
"What, and miss out on riding in a Valkyrie?" said Topaz. "'Cause, I mean, that's a chance not a lot of Gems get, and-"
The elevator behind them exploded. The two of them turned in its direction, expecting to see only the result of a crash or malfunction. Instead, a familiar figure strolled from the wreckage, backlit by the flames.
"You're kidding me!" yelled Goshenite. "I know you can rebuild yourself, but not this quickly!"
"There is more to my creation than mere metal and wires," said Teptromina. His voice had become garbled and staticky, most likely as a consequence of half of his head exploding. Despite his grievous injuries, he trudged forwards. "There is a fighting spirit. A sense of pride that, unlike you renegade servants, is not unwarranted." He lifted his arms, preparing to fire a pair of beams.
"Careful!" Topaz dove in front of Goshenite, the beams colliding against her arms. She was pushed back by the force, but was able to hold out. "Get in the robot, I'll handle this one!" Goshenite hurried towards the Valkyrie.
"Oh, will you?" said Teptromina. "And how do you expect to do that all by your lonesome?"
Topaz responded by drawing her flail from her gemstone. "Like you said: we servants have fighting spirit!"
Teptromina scoffed as he rose into the air. "I said you had pride, not spirit. Unwarranted pride. And, remind me, what is it that comes before a fall?"
"I don't know, why don't you come and show me!" Flail in hand, Topaz ran at Teptromina, as he raced towards her in turn.
Upon reaching the Valkyrie, Goshenite placed a hand on the side of the great machine's boot. A small door slid open, and she stepped inside. The door closed behind her as another elevator raised her up the Valkyrie's leg, through its chest, and finally into its head.
Hope I remember how to do this, Goshenite thought as she hooked herself up to the controls. It's been a while since my last test run in one of these things…
A red light scanned across her body, registering her gem. The receptor pillars hummed to life. Optical hookups nominal. The Gem-machine interface was working at maximum. Synchronization at one hundred percent.
"Go time."
Goshenite raised her hand, and the Valkyrie's hand went up in turn. She took a step forward, and the machine obeyed. Another step, and another, and she was right next to Topaz and Teptromina.
Teptromina bore several more wounds from Topaz's flail, who was looking quite battle-damaged herself. Topaz knew what was coming; she quickly ran to the side. Teptromina, caught unawares, was not so lucky.
An enormous fist crashed through the ground right on top of Teptromina, pounding him into scrap. Goshenite forced the hand deeper, on the off chance that he survived. It was unlikely, but given what she had seen, she couldn't be too sure. When she lifted up the machine's hand, it was apparent that he hadn't.
Topaz was shouting something up at her, but she couldn't make it out. She seemed excited, at least. Goshenite pointed towards the door, further urging Topaz towards the command center; she hoped she got the message.
Right now, though, Goshenite had other things to worry about. The longer she waited, the more damage those Apexes would do. She raised the Valkyrie up to its full height, and walked towards the hangar doors. A brief interface later, and the double doors slowly began to slide open.
The first thing Goshenite saw just beyond the doors, just outside of the shield, was an Apex. It slowly turned to face her, as though confused as who would dare to challenge it.
"Come on, let's see what you've got!" said Goshenite. She ran out the door, the Valkyrie passing cleanly through the shield. She threw the first punch, splintering the metal and shattering the glass of the Apex's head. She tried to throw another one, but the Apex was quicker, pushing the incoming arm to the side and following up with a punch of its own.
Goshenite stumbled as the Apex's fist made contact with the Valkyrie's command bridge, trying to regain both her own balance, as well as that of the robot. Just as the Apex was about to throw another punch, she raised her arm, and caught its fist in her hand before it could hit.
"You want to play that game, then?" Goshenite lifted her other hand, making a gun with her fingers. As the Valkyrie's hand raised in turn, its fingertips began to glow. "Then let's play that game!" She pressed down with her thumb.
A massive bolt of energy shot out from the Valkyrie's fingers, aimed right at the spot where its fist had hit. The Apex's head exploded, raining debris to the ground below. But Goshenite wasn't finished just yet. She reared back, throwing one final punch into the damaged area. Smoke and fire filled the air as what was left of the Apex's head collapsed, as did the Apex itself. The towering bot shook the ground when it fell.
Before Goshenite could get her bearings, something collided with the back of the Valkyrie. Warning lights flashed as the machine shuddered, and Goshenite turned around to face the threat.
Another Apex stood behind her, its weapons extended. And another still stood behind that one, circling around the outpost. Goshenite extended both of her arms as she ran towards them.
The first Apex fired, but Goshenite was prepared. She ducked to the side without slowing down, and returned fire with a volley of blasts. Ten shots from ten fingers rained down on the Apex, stunning it. The second, however, ran out from behind its fellow to confront the incoming Valkyrie.
Both the Apex and the Valkyrie were running as the former threw a punch, making the impact all the more powerful. Goshenite's vessel fell backwards onto the ground. She tried to stand, but the Apex planted its foot atop the fallen Valkyrie. It aimed its cannons, preparing to fire.
One of the Valkyrie's hands grabbed the Apex's leg, while the other raised to point at its face. The Valkyrie fired mere seconds before the Apex could, the bolt of energy sending it staggering back. This, coupled with the shove it gave, caused the Apex to fall onto its back as well. Goshenite raised the Valkyrie up to its feet, ready to deal with her other attacker.
The first Apex was beginning to come to its senses. Goshenite ran forward, leaping towards it and tackling it to the ground. She raised herself up while it was stunned, raining blow upon blow onto its unprotected face. Just when it seemed like she would finish it off, another projectile hit the back of the Valkyrie. The other Apex, still on the ground, had its cannon extended at her.
Goshenite whipped around, firing a solid beam of light across the fallen Apex. The beam traced up the machine's torso, leaving a dim glow behind, before exploding. The Apex's chassis was torn open, though Goshenite suspected it wasn't finished just yet.
The Apex she was currently on top of, her having left it alone for only seconds, shoved her off. She quickly rolled over, both the Valkyrie and the Apex rising to meet the other. Both raised their fists as they prepared to charge at the other…
The steady ping of an incoming transmission sounded out inside the Valkyrie's command bridge. It was automatically patched through: "Horizon Outpost to Valkyrie, come in, Valkyrie. Who is currently operating this vehicle?"
Goshenite turned on her comms. "Horizon Outpost, this is Supreme General Goshenite. I was directed to this Valkyrie by Zoisite, in order to use it to fend off this attack. I-"
The Gem on the other end interrupted. "No time for that, our shields are at two percent! We've got an Apex right in front of the command center, and it's set to tear us apart any second now!"
More bad news, figures. "Just hang on, I'm inbound," Goshenite said. She broke off the fight with the Apex pair, running off towards the command center. She fired a few blasts over her shoulder to make sure they wouldn't do the same.
She rounded the corner to see yet another Apex, pounding away at the shield. The Valkyrie's arms raised to fire, but with one final pound, the shields flickered, before finally disappearing.
"They've broken through!" the Gem in the command center shouted. "Your Brilliance, we have only minutes before the entire outpost is overrun-Hey, you aren't authorized to be in here!" The sound of a small scuffle could be heard over the radio.
Another voice called out. "Hey, My Goshenite, I made it!" said Topaz. "And guess who I ran into!"
The Valkyrie opened fire on the Apex, getting its attention away from the base. "Who?" asked Goshenite.
"Hey, Goshie!" said Nines. "Glad to see you made it out okay!"
"Likewise." Goshenite braced as the Apex opened fire. Once the barrage was over, she ran up to deliver a punch straight into its face. It staggered backwards, but didn't fall until she threw a second punch into its midsection. "Is Tenrit there with you?"
"Yeah, he's here," she said. "He's a bit banged up, but he'll pull through."
"I've made it through worse!" Tenrit replied cheerfully.
Goshenite aimed both the Valkyrie's blasters at the downed Apex. "Good to hear." She unleashed both into its chest. The robot's core erupted, and its red eyes faded to black. It was then that she noticed the ship.
It had been there before, of course, but she thought it would have left by now. Some sort of carrier, resembling a massive dropship, designed for deploying Apexes. The reason it caught her attention was because it was only just now rising up into the atmosphere. And the reason that was worth noting was because it still held two of its Apexes.
"Horizon Outpost, I have eyes on the Apex carrier," Goshenite said. "It seems to be retreating. Thing is, it still has two of its Apexes. What do you make of this?"
Just then, the other two Apexes made their reappearance. The Valkyrie blocked the incoming blasts, and a punch thrown by the more damaged one. She responded with a backhand, stunning it as she turned towards the other.
"I dunno, maybe it's just retreating," said Topaz.
"Move!" More scuffling as the Gem in charge shoved Topaz out of the way. "Your Brilliance, we have a lock on the carrier's course. You aren't going to like these results…"
If Goshenite wasn't concerned before, she was now. "Why? What is it heading?" She dodged a punch from the Apex, retaliating in turn.
"It's on a direct course towards Homeworld.
"What?" That didn't make any sense! "Why is it heading for Homeworld!? The Interlopers have never attempted anything that bold!"
In her moment of distraction, Goshenite was blindsided by the second Apex. It struck the back of the Valkyrie's head, almost causing her to fall from the command bridge. She regained her footing just in time and, in her mounting frustration, launched herself at it. The Valkyrie's hands gripped the Apex's head, and, wearing an expression of rage, Goshenite crushed it into pieces.
"I don't know why, but there's no doubt that's where it's going," the Gem said. "And our comms aren't strong enough to reach Homeworld to warn them!"
Okay. This was bad. But not so bad that they couldn't handle it. "I'm going after it," said Goshenite. Ignoring the other Apex, which seemed to be waiting for her to make the next move, Goshenite tried to activate the Valkyrie's flight drive. However… "What?"
The flight drive was down. But that made no sense-all other systems were operating at eighty percent or more. It was only the flight drive that-no, wait. There had been a breach at the entry shaft. The flight drive had gone offline not long after. And The secondary generator was losing power by the second. Something had forced entry into her vessel, and was making its way to the top.
And then, it was there. The door to the command deck was torn off suddenly, causing Goshenite to cry out in shock. "Your Brilliance! Is something wrong?"
Goshenite turned around to see the Zoisite-Predator staring back at her with its glowing yellow eyes. "There's been a breach!" she replied. The Predator flung itself at her before she could elaborate. She ducked under its tendrils, but was unable to avoid its hand, which clasped around her neck.
"My Goshenite! What's going on up there!?" asked Topaz.
Grabbing both her arms, the Predator's cannon began to shift. Metal panels whirred and clicked, until it was no longer a cannon at the end of its arm, but a drill. A drill that glowed with energy as it began to spin, and was thrust at Goshenite's face.
She held up an arm to block the attack. She grabbed it by the arm, thankfully avoiding the drill itself. She tried to force it back as it inched closer and closer. That was when an idea hit her: the flight engine may be down, but there were still the secondary ships. "Change of plans!" she said, strained. "I can't go, but you can!"
Tired of waiting for her, the Apex ran at her, throwing a punch. Goshenite ducked down, avoiding both this punch and the Predator's drill. She threw a punch herself, which managed to hit both of the Interlopers. Neither was down for good, but they would be down just long enough for her to enact her plan.
"Goshenite? What are you talking about?" asked Nines. Goshenite didn't reply. Instead, she brought her arm down onto a corridor near the command center. A scream came from the other Gem inside.
"What was that!?" she yelled, trying and failing not to sound accusatory.
"You three, inside, now!" Goshenite yelled. "And you can come too, if you want."
"Better than staying here!" she replied. Rapid footsteps could be heard over the comms.
"Goshenite, we can't just leave you here!" said Tenrit. "You won't be able to get back!"
The Predator had recovered, latching itself onto Goshenite's back with its tentacles. It tried to stab her with its drill again, so, making sure to keep her left arm steady, she reached up with her right arm to counter. Worse still, the Apex was unloading blast after blast into the Valkyrie's back. "No time to argue! Get on, now, that's an order!"
"Come on, you heard her!" said Topaz. Three more sets of retreating footsteps could be heard, and then the comms went silent. Struggling against the Predator, and taking more and more damage from the Apex, Goshenite waited until everyone was inside before making her move.
Before long, a notice on her heads-up display alerted her that four people had entered the secondary ship. Immediately, Goshenite threw herself backwards, slamming the Predator into the wall, and slamming against the Apex. She reached up to grab both; lifting both Interlopers up over her head, she threw them both into the distance.
Clenching her hand into a fist, Goshenite pointed it up in the direction the carrier had gone. With the push of a few buttons, she launched the secondary ship: the Valkyrie's fist disengaged, launching skyward. The four of them rose up out of the planet's atmosphere, until the handship was just a green dot in the sky.
"Diamondspeed, you all," said Goshenite. She turned to face the Predator, causing the Valkyrie to turn and face the Apex. "One last heat...shall we begin?"
In Goshenite's mind, both Interlopers seemed to be as one as they charged at her. Likewise, Goshenite herself seemed to become one with the Valkyrie as she met them head-on. She countered their blows, retaliating with a punch from above. She summoned her staff to meet the Predator's tendrils; and though the Valkyrie had no such weapon, Goshenite made sure its hands made contact with the Apex.
Goshenite threw her staff at the Predator. It glanced off its armor, but nonetheless released a spark of yellow energy: it was still drawing power from Zoisite's gemstone. Goshenite braced herself, then sprinted forwards.
She wasn't sure if the Apex and the Predator really did move in tandem, or if it just seemed that way. But what she did know was that she shrugged off their attacks and broke through their defenses. She threw a punch with her left arm: the same that had been severed by Teptromina. The uppercut gave her just enough time to launch her next attack.
She threw her right arm forwards. Both her own hand and that of the Valkyrie broke through metal. Both hands gripped something round, before retreating through the entryway they had made. Goshenite tore Zoisite's gem from the Predator's chest, just as the Valkyrie tore out the Apex's core.
Goshenite bubbled the gem in her hands, then disappeared it back to Homeworld. The Valkyrie dropped the core to the ground. She looked up, staring at both Interlopers.
"Can you hear this, Teptromina? I've shown you what I can do. You may be filled with a fighting spirit as you claim, but you'll find that we Gems have something you lack: when it comes to defending our home, we will never. Give. Up. So come find me again. I'll be waiting."
Goshenite raised both arms over her head. Fist(s) clenched, she brought both down onto the Interlopers before her. Predator and Apex alike crumpled to the ground, both of their eyes fading to black.
Finally, Goshenite was able to breathe a sigh of relief. With all her enemies defeated, it was only now that she saw the heavy damage that the Valkyrie had taken. Power was steadily dropping; she deactivated all power systems, and the Valkyrie dropped down to one knee. With the fighting stopped, only silence rang out.
"Oh, Supreme General!" cried a Peridot, as Goshenite made her way out of the Valkyrie. "Are you okay? What happened to Zoisite?"
"She's fine, she should be back on Homeworld by now," said Goshenite, exhausted. "Homeworld…" She glanced up at the stars, before turning back to the Peridot. "How much longer until the Xenocide is repaired?"
"W-well...with the attack, it might be a while," she answered. "But if we divert our resources, I'm sure we can have it space-worthy in minutes…"
Letting out a sigh, Goshenite leaned up against the side of the Valkyrie's boot. "I'd like to be back on Homeworld as soon as possible, but...I don't want to interrupt your repairs. Do it at your discretion."
The Peridot nodded. "We will, Supreme General. You'll be back on Homeworld before you know it." As she watched the Peridot strolling back towards the outpost, Goshenite silently began to reconsider the archaic nature of the warp pad.
AN: Sorry that this one took a while, school's been a bit rough lately. But given how this chapter turned out, I think the wait was worth it! Do you agree?