Prologue: A Natural 1
The number 1 is often associated with failure, in the scene of probability and statistics. 1% is undesirable. On any form of polyhedral dice, a roll of 1 is more often than not the bane of many. Having only 1 chance to complete a task tends to push anyone toward massive stress and disarray.
And if Diz knew anything about the multiverse, it was that the collective belief of the living was what dictate the flow of all things, be it karma, phlogiston or the current of the Astral Plane. If those beliefs manifested into the form of a 20 sided dice, he just rolled a 1.
A big, fat, undeniable, undispellable, unresistable, natural 1.
"Tyrant ships at 5 o'clock!" Yelled Javik. The aetherborn swiveled the heavy force ballista toward the nearest Damselfly. Aiming ahead of its path, they let loose the force missile, a clean hole appeared on the Damselfly's hull. "I repeat, Tyrant ships at 5 o'clock!"
From the right side of the ship, a swarm of bug-like ships sailing toward the Astral Wind. Translucent wings shone in an array of color akin to that of a rainbow, launching themselves toward the spelljammer with the speed of over 100 miles per hour. The Damselflies attacked them with ballistas mounted underneath their wings, sending missiles across the vast darkness of the Astral Sea.
Following them, a fleet of three Tyrant colony ships translated in, spiral drill-like hulls pointed at the lone ship, great eyes sending glares at them.
"I got it, Javik, heard you clear the first time!" Diz shouted out from the spelljamming helm. The entire ship pitched toward its left side at his mental command. The elemental groaned at the sudden change of its course. "Kalamar, is the Logic Cannon ready?"
"Still charging!" Answered Kalamar from the lower deck. The lizardman frantically moved from one station to the other, turning dials and punching in coordinates. "A little more to the left, we can't get a clear aim here!"
"Tyrants are accelerating!" Javik urged their crewmate. They turned back to see if Diz's simulacrum was still holding on or not. But it seemed that the snow illusion handled the force ballista quite decently. In a rather quick succession, it swiveled the ballista and let loose the missiles, punching holes into the Damselfly trying to approach the ship. Yet, it helped little in teeming the horde. The Damselflies shot back with their own enchanted ballista, but luckily not enchanted enough to tear the ship's hull apart.
The elemental ring burned brightly as the Astral Wind raced against the fleet of Damselfly and Tyrant ships following its blazing trail.
"Sink that damned spelljammer down to the cold below!" Roared the captain of the Tyrant flagship World Cleanser, Xatanas the hive mother. "I want its hulk floating in the Astral Sea, rotting alongside the Dead Gods! Burn its helm and let its crew die, wailing helplessly for their powers!"
The beholder circuits began to charge their one and only and by far one of the most deadly weapons ever seen in the Wildspace, a beholder's beam charged with the fury of a Hive Mother and about 20 other beholder and beholderkin.
Following in its wake were the other two Tyrant ships of the True Bloodline fleet, also charging their own beholder's beam, sights on the small spelljammer weaving its way out of the swarm of Damselfly.
"Capitan! A little more to the left!"
"How much more to the left do you want us to pitch?!" Diz practically yelled straight into Kalamar's hearing membrane.
The artificer struggled to keep the 'cannon' stable and the sight on the beholder's flagship. "You are the one who designed the damn thing, capitan!" He held tight to the control station of the 'cannon'. "Make something functionable with one man operation next time!"
A 'bling' came from the station. Kalamar looked down. The tuning frequency had been stabilized, and the modrons from the other side were waiting for a signal. "CANNON CHARGED!"
"Beam charged, ready to fire. The Purifier and Burning Zeal are also ready. We are waiting for your command, madam." The beholder helmsman reported.
"Fire. AT. WILLLLL!" Xatanas roared.
"FIRE THE LOGIC CANNON!" Diz bellowed his command.
The three Tyrant ships shot out their beams. Three rays of disintegration beam, for the lack of words, disintegrated all of the Damselflies which couldn't get away fast enough. And from the lower deck of the Astral Wind, part of its hull opened, revealing a massive array of magnifying glass. The darkness around it swirled, light tore the space open, until a yawning portal appeared.
On the other side of the portal, a group of modron worked their wonder. Mathematical input flowed in the cannon's vein, while vials of reason were loaded in. With the signal from the commanding modron, the firing sequence was engaged.
Diz quickly yawned the ship upward, Javik nearly fell from their station. The Astral Wind narrowly dodged two of the disintegration beams, but was hit by the last one. Parts of its tail were gone, reduced to ash. The elemental let out a roar as the beam hit one of the veins, leaking air out of the ship. A spark was all that was needed to set the ship ablaze.
The Tyrant fleet, however, didn't fare that well either. The stream of pure logic, shot through the portal with pinpoint accuracy, blasted away the eye of the World Devourer, and sundered its hull. The fleet was in disarray as they lost communication with the flagship.
Realizing their chance had come, Diz took one of the tuning forks on the helm and hit it against his knee. The fork rang, generating sparks of energy from its prongs.
"Hold on tight, one emergency planeshift coming right up!"
The sound of the tuning fork rippled all across the ship. Soon, a wave washed over the spelljammer, and as the wave strengthened, another portal rippled into existence right in front of it.
"Stop it!" The hive mother, reconnecting her link to the other ship, commanded. "Don't let it get away! Burn it!"
One of the Damselfly managed to get close enough and shot a stream of Greek fire from its tail. The spelljammer quickly caught fire, but not before it exited the Astral Plane, to who knows where.
"Curssssse YOU, Diz! One day, one day I shall have your burned head served on a platinum platter!"