Chapter 12 - Dominance

Six massive warhead-shaped devices powerfully, yet silently forced their way through the inhospitable vacuum of space, maintaining course with total disregard for whatever unfortunate vessel happened to get in their way. Not far behind, and making all six bio-missiles look like miniatures by comparison, lurked the resource vessel "Koirvente". The craft was barely manoeuvrable, though not defenceless in any sense of the word. With a crew compliment of over five hundred thousand, it was easily the largest ship in the fleet.

Just a few hundred million miles away, the Tennysons were ready. They were under instructions not to leave the planet's surface until Ben decided whether or not they would be able to destroy the bio-missiles. In either case, they would still be vulnerable to attack by Arconian forces. Ben himself was positioned in orbit on the far side of Earth. This would supposedly hide his energy signature from any unwanted attention, added the fact that he was piloting the mark seven. Pulled out of the component room at least a day early, it had practically no shields, but with trans-spatial drive and a devastating array of armaments, it was sure to be their best defence. The machine it's self was almost liquid in texture and flawless in design, a familiar symbol engraved on it's roof, and no visible engines. It was truly a unique piece of technology.

"I see them." Ben said into his microphone, breathing heavily. "Right ahead. Massive missile-shaped devices, about six of them I'd say. Heading in for a closer look."

Ben gradually increased the throttle of the mark seven. But no longer in possession of his former expertise during it's construction, he had not anticipated such an instantaneous response. The A.G. abruptly shot forwards. Ben was forced back into his seat as the craft built incredible momentum. By the time he shook himself and engaged breaking thrusters, the mark seven was mid-way entering the upper atmosphere. Hoping desperately that no one had noticed, he pulled out of the re-entry, once again stabilising the vehicle.

"What happened?" Gwen asked over the communication channel. "Are you alright? That didn't sound too good."

"Nothing," Ben replied sheepishly, somewhat embarrassed. "Just a little breaking-in exercise. I'm heading for the missiles now."

The small craft entered stealth and accelerated in the direction of the six weapons. He needed to be sure not to accidentally collide with these immense structures, as they would probably be keeping a keen eye for any sort of resistance.

At the point where he was due to pass through a shield layer, he braced for the immanent shock and disorientation. None came. The mark seven continued to silently drift further into the depths of the weapon. Ben could not shake the feeling that something was very wrong. The stars were no longer visible now, their sharp luminescence drowned by thick frozen clouds of dark vapour. A distant green glow from somewhere at the heart of the weapon, and the dim light of the Omnitrix were all which remained to guide him.

"Dev," Ben said over the com channel. "What powers these things?"

"Nothing too complex," Devoras replied. "Just a standard artificial singularity. They're gamma-leaking, so they're kept right at the core of the weapon, behind several miles of…"

Ben never heard the last of his transmission. Suddenly, the A.G completely powered down. Every system, every indicator, every light was extinguished. Apart from the faint illumination provided by the Omnitrix, he was sitting in complete silence and darkness. He could not see his own hand in front of his face. The distant glow of the weapon was gone. Ben merely waited, expecting something to happen at any moment. Could they have detected him entering the vicinity of their ship, he thought to himself. Could an armed guard be on their way to destroy him at this very moment. After several seconds thought, he decided enough was enough and tried to restore at least some level of power.

The instant Ben moved, he felt a slight rumble to his right, and the mark seven being gently pushed to the left. Something very large, and alive had just brushed past the A.G. He was certain of it. Ben froze, considering any number of possibilities for the creature which had just passed so very close. Surely, it was impossible for it to have seen him. The cloak system was mechanically driven, and it had been running when the power cut out. At the same time, Ben remembered that he was still moving. It couldn't be much further to the centre of the missile by now, and he had no way to slow down. Trying not to think about this unpleasant possibility, he swiftly began trying backup energy sources. With no success, Ben had only one remaining, feasible course of action. He placed his hand on the Omnitrix, turned the faceplate, and activated it…

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Sorry to leave everyone with such an annoyingly short chapter, and a cliff-hanger at that (I promise not to make a habit of it!). I haven't had very long in recent times to update the Nemesis fanfic, as I have been working on the movie version simultaneously. I am also running through the entire novel again, updating and adding many improvements here-and-there.

As always, please review!