Chapter 11: The Battle
Zill Dreadnought Adjudicator
"Admiral Rahksha, sir! We have ships from Autozam and Fahran advancing in Sector 47!"
Admiral Rahksha stepped onto the bridge, heading for his command chair. "How many ships are there?" he asked.
"We count just over thirty ships in total," said one of the officers. "Sir...the NSX is leading them, along with the Dreamchild from Fahren."
"Very well then, if they want to fight then we'll give it to them," said Rahksha. "Set the fleet into Attack Formation Beta, bring all auxiliary power to our shields."
"Yes, sir!"
He sat down in his command chair, looking ahead at the approaching fleet. This was what he had been waiting for, a chance to clean his claws on the enemy.
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the NSX, Eagle Vision was seated in the command chair with Geo and Zazu in their positions beside him. "Geo, what's the status of the enemy fleet?" he asked.
"They've certainly got numbers on their side, and they seem to be ready for a fight," replied Geo. "But we've got the tools and the talent, so I think we've got this in the bag."
"Of course we do! It's been years since the last time we had a run-in with the Zill," said Zazu, "we've come a long way since then with our technology. They won't stand a chance!"
"Geo, have the FTO on standby just in case," said Eagle. "We need to be ready for anything."
"Understood, FTO is standing by," said Geo. "Hmmm? Hey, we're being hailed by the Dreamchild."
"Put them on screen," said Eagle. "Lady Aska, we read you loud and clear."
"Good to know!" said Lady Aska. "Because I can't wait to punish these Zill bullies for messing with our friends in Cephiro! They're going to learn the hard way you don't mess with my friends!" She laughed her characteristic laugh.
"Yes, a sentiment I likewise share," said Eagle with a chuckle. "Would you like to make the first move perhaps? After all, ladies first."
"Why thank you, sir! You're too kind!" said Lady Aska, already drawing up a creature to summon with her magic.
"Sir, the enemy is locking weapons on us," said Zazu. "Two destroyers are coming in fast!"
"Divert power to the forward shield, and lock weapons on the nearest destroyer," said Eagle.
"Target is locked, weapons loaded!" said Geo.
"Fire away!" commanded Eagle.
Lady Aska's beast fell upon one destroyer, tearing at it like a jungle cat on a prey animal, while the NSX's cannons blasted the second destroyer in half.
"Direct hit, target down!" cheered Zazu. "I told you we got this!"
"Great, kid! Don't get cocky," said Geo. "There's still a lot of Zill out there!"
Lady Aska was laughing at first but became annoyed when a wing of Zill fighters managed to shoot down her summoned creature. "Those Zill brutes! How dare they!" she pouted, working at creating a new beast. "Let's see how they like this!"
"Oh boy... You're bringing out the big one again?" asked Sang Yung.
"Of course! It's always been the best, just like you," she said, shooting him a quick smile.
Next thing anyone knew, a giant version of Sang Yung appeared, advancing towards the Zill fleet. Its arms stretched out, swatting ships like they were flies. Cannon fire tore holes in its large body, but it began to spin around rapidly, deflecting most of the shots.
"Guess even the Zill can't handle that thing!" said Geo, watching from the bridge of the NSX.
"That Lady Aska, she knows how to liven things up," said Eagle.
Back on the Adjudicator Rahksha had been observing the battle thus far. His forces still had the higher ground, but he could see that the enemy was starting to gain momentum. "So Autozam and Fahran have some new tricks up their sleeves," he said. "Well, time to show them how far Zill technology has come over the years. All ships, target the enemy and fire the disruptors!"
On his command, every Zill capital ship began to fire bright blue glowing energy bolts at the Autozam and Fahran ships, with the Adjudicator focusing fire on the NSX and the Dreamchild. The rest of the fleet focused fire on the giant Sang Yung. With each impact, powerful currents ripped through the ships, and low fluctuating whines were heard as every inch of power and energy was somehow sapped right from them! The giant Sang Yung lurched and locked up, its body starting to collapse as whatever power held it together was drained.
"What the hell's going on?" yelled Zazu, watching as his console flickered and blinked out.
"Wait, what's going on? Why isn't the ship moving?" asked Lady Aska, looking around frantically as she tried to maintain focus.
"All ships, fire at will! Tear them to pieces!" laughed Rahksha, leaning forward in his chair. "More prey for the hunt!"
The Zill switched back to their main weapons, cannon fire and warheads slamming full force into the NSX and the Dreamchild, as well as the rest of the fleet. One by one the allied ships began to buckle under the sustained barrage.
"We've lost the helm!" shouted Geo. "Communications are barely functional! The main computer core is offline!"
"Weapons, shields, engines, everything is down!" cried Zazu. "Whatever that weapon was, it completely drained our power!"
The NSX shook violently as weapons fire slammed against it. The Dreamchild wasn't faring much better; it could barely stay mobile, and Lady Aska's summoned creature was being blasted apart by the Zill ships. Giant Sang Yung, her trump card, was beginning to fall backwards as its body began breaking apart.
"No no no, what do I do?" cried Lady Aska, fighting to hold the illusion together with everything she had.
The final barrage of cannon fire struck the giant Sang Yung and it burst apart. Lady Aska cried out and fell to the floor hard.
"Lady Aska, are you alright?" asked Sang Yung, helping her back up.
"I'm... I'm alright, thank you" she replied weakly, "but I can't stop them! They're too strong!"
"Eagle, what do we do? We can't take much more of this!" said Geo.
Eagle shut his eyes, and slowly said, "We have no choice...abandon ship. Order the crew to get to the escape pods."
Geo and Zazu both turned to look at Eagle, then looked at each other as they realized what he was saying. A warning light suddenly began to flash, and a siren began to sound, warning the crew to make their escape. Amidst the shaking and the explosions, it almost sounded the cry of a mortally wounded beast as it struggled for life.
"Go ahead," said Eagle, standing up. "I'll take the FTO and make my escape. Geo, you get to the GTO and do the same. Zazu, we'll regroup in Cephiro."
"Yes, sir," said Zazu, jumping out of his chair and rushing to the escape pods.
As Eagle and Geo were leaving the bridge, he stopped and took one last look around at the ship he had practically called home for so long. "She was a fine ship, Geo, wasn't she?"
"Won't argue with that," said Geo, "but like you said, we have to go!"
Back on the Dreamchild, things were going from bad to worse. The constant bombardment was causing the ship to break apart, and it was only a matter of time before it finally succumbed. Lady Aska was huddled on the floor with Sang Yung, unsure of what to do. Not even her magic could get them out of this one. They needed help, and they needed it fast!
As if one cue, something burst through the hull of the ship, landing in front of them. It was one of the Zill mobile armors, but not just any mobile armor. As they stared in confusion the cockpit opened up, revealing the pilot.
"Come with me if you want to live!" yelled Kefka, holding out a hand.
Not having the time to question it, the two climbed aboard and the cockpit closed up. Kefka launched out of the Dreamchild and sped towards Cephiro, his squad hot on his heels.
"Who... who are you?" Lady Aska finally managed to ask, looking at Kefka.
"I'm a friend," he replied. "A friend of the Magic Knights. I'm bringing you both to Cephiro. Just hang on to something, we're going to be traveling fast!"
Meanwhile, Eagle and Geo had launched and were trying to keep the Zill forces away from the launched pods. As they did so, the NSX began to tilt towards them, as if it were throwing itself between the Zill and the pods, shielding them with its body.
"Look at that, Eagle," said Geo. "Even in her last moments, she's protecting us."
"Indeed she is," said Eagle. "She was as true a soldier of Autozam as either one of us. Come, we must go while we can!"
As they all flew away, the final volley of weapons fire struck both the NSX and the Dreamchild, causing both ships to shatter apart and explode. All around them were the wrecked husks of the rest of the fleet, all shattered by the might of the Zill forces. The Zill fighter pilots, the mobile armor pilots, and the ship crews were all practically cheering. Their first real battle of the invasion, and they had emerged victorious!
"Such is the fate of all enemies of the Zill Imperium," said Rahksha with a sinister chuckle, holding a vial of Zill red wine. "Poor Eagle Vision...I believe he was quite fond of that ship."