Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Teams of Aegis units poured into the subway tunnel from every direction, their plasma rifles lighting up the darkness as they joined the fray.

From above, Rex spotted the unmistakable glint of missiles streaking through the air, and he grinned as the familiar, hulking shape of the Mauler Juggernaut came into view, positioning itself at the subway entrance.

With a deafening sound, the Juggernaut unleashed a barrage of missiles, each one arcing gracefully through the air before slamming into the horde with explosive force. The impact was cataclysmic, hundreds of zombies were incinerated in a blaze of fire and shrapnel, the blasts carving massive craters in the crowd.

Rex let out a triumphant laugh as he swung his claymore, cutting down another wave of infected.

"Now that's what I call backup!"

Cleo, still surrounded by her orbiting swords, glanced over her shoulder, allowing herself a small, satisfied smile after seeing her creation.

The combined assault was relentless. Between Rex's brute force, Cleo's deadly precision, the disciplined fire of the Aegis squads, and the raw destructive power of the Mauler Juggernaut, the horde didn't stand a chance. One by one, the infected fell, until finally, the relentless waves slowed, then stopped altogether.

As the dust settled and the echoes of battle faded, Rex lowered his claymore, panting slightly, his armor splattered with the remnants of the undead. He turned to Cleo, grinning.

"Well, that was a nice warm-up. Ready to go find our shadowy friend, the Void Crawler?"

Cleo gave a slight nod, wiping a smear of dust from her cheek.

"Lead the way, My Lord. But try not to get us buried alive again."

Rex chuckled, giving her a playful salute.

"No promises, princess."

Together, with Squad 201 and the Juggernaut covering their backs, they ventured deeper into the tunnel, knowing that the real fight was still waiting for them in the shadows ahead.

As they made their way through the pitch-black tunnels of the subway, Rex squinted into the darkness, the silence weighing heavily around them. "

So... isn't there a more effective way to track this thing? Wandering around in the dark isn't exactly my idea of efficient monster-hunting."

"Affirmative,

" Cleo replied, her voice matter-of-fact.

"Until now, there wasn't a way to reliably track the Void Crawler when it shifts between the material and immaterial planes."

She held up her hand, where nanomaterial swirled and reformed into the shape of a small, pristine white bird.

"But I just completed the final adjustments on this. Now there is."

Rex leaned in, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Oh? So this little bird can hunt down and fry the Void Crawler?"

Cleo rolled her eyes, patting the bird gently on its metallic head.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rex. It's a tracker, not a fighter. When it detects the Void Crawler phasing between planes, it'll fly straight to its location."

Rex huffed, crossing his arms. "

Still think a bird that could shoot laser beams from its eyes would be cooler."

Cleo shot him an exasperated look, her lips curling into a pout

. "Then make your own bird,

" she said, quickening her pace to leave him a few steps behind.

Rex watched her go, chuckling under his breath as he caught up.

"Didn't know my expert tactician was so sensitive about her creations."

Meanwhile, back on the ship, the twins lay curled up in the medbay, sharing the same bed under a blanket. The lights were dimmed, and the sterile quiet of the room was a sharp contrast to the chaos in the tunnels below.

Lyra shifted slightly, snuggling closer to her sister, Nyra.

"Sis, what do you think of the guy who rescued us?"

she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Nyra tightened her arms around Lyra, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

"Rex? He's… different."

She paused, searching for the right words.

"I've never seen anyone like him. He's strong, but not just physically… it's like he's got this confidence that makes everything feel safer. Like we're really going to be okay."

Lyra nodded slowly, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, he's a bit silly, though."

Nyra chuckled, a small smile appearing on her face. "

Maybe that's part of why I trust him. He doesn't act like some distant hero. He's… real."

The two sisters fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their thoughts, feeling a glimmer of hope that had long been absent from their lives.

"But… I can't forgive him for what he did to Papa,"

Nyra whispered, her voice tense as she stared into the dimly lit medbay. The memory crept into her mind like a dark shadow, clawing at her thoughts, a terrible scene she couldn't unsee, no matter how hard she tried.

Lyra looked up at her sister; her expression was conflicted.

"Sis… I saw it too. But… Papa was infected. He was gone, Nyra."

"ENOUGH!"

Nyra's voice was sharp, but her tone cracked with barely contained pain. She pulled Lyra closer, gripping her tightly.

"That's enough about this, Lyra. We have bigger things to worry about. If we don't figure out a solution soon... we could die, and then there won't be anyone left to remember Mama and Papa."

Lyra nodded slowly, resting her head against Nyra's shoulder. She spoke softly, almost afraid to voice her thoughts.

"But... do you think they might help us if we told them about... our condition?"

Nyra's face twisted in anger and sadness, a bitterness in her voice as she replied,

"Help us? They'd probably treat us like monsters. An experiment. Like freaks on display."

Her fists clenched at the memory.

"Even the humans... they didn't care about us. They wanted to kill us, just to get rid of us. And when the infection spread... they killed Mama, Lyra. Just for trying to protect us."

A tear slipped down Nyra's cheek, but she quickly brushed it away, refusing to let herself break down. Lyra reached up and pressed her forehead gently against her sister's, her voice steady and reassuring.

"It's okay, sis. Even if... even if they call us freaks, even if they hate us, we'll always have each other."

Nyra's gaze softened, and she hugged her sister tightly, a fierce determination in her eyes.

"Of course we'll stay together. Once we get what we need, we'll be strong again. Strong enough to survive on our own. And then, maybe... we can finally escape from this place."

She glanced around the mall, a slight frown on her face

. "Speaking of which... where are we, anyway?"

Lyra looked around, her eyes lingering on the walls and the steady hum of the medbots moving silently around the room.

"I don't know. Since we got here, it's just been these medic bots. The only one who seemed human was the person who brought us food, but even he didn't talk much."

Nyra's gaze hardened.

"Well, we need to keep our guard up. Just because they haven't hurt us yet doesn't mean they won't."

The two sisters fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts, holding onto each other as the uncertainty of their situation loomed around them. Whatever happened next, they knew they'd face it together.

"Rex! Come see this! the little one picked up something!"

Cleo called, pointing to the small white bird as it took off, its wings glowing faintly in the darkness of the subway.

Rex's eyes lit up.

"Nice work, little one!"

He broke into a run, following the bird as it darted through the winding tunnels of the underground, weaving around rusted pillars and crumbling walls. The eerie quiet of the abandoned subway only amplified the sound of his boots against the concrete, each step echoing off the cold stone.

Finally, the bird came to a stop, landing on a kilometer marker, its tiny form almost lost in the dim light.

"

Cleo, I think your little bird might be bro...ken...."

Rex trailed off, his words catching in his throat as he caught sight of what lay just beyond the marker.

A few meters away, the floor of the tunnel had been ripped open, leaving a massive, jagged hole. The edges of the pit were clawed and uneven, as if something with enormous strength had torn through the earth itself.

A foul stench seeped from the opening with a thick, metallic odor tinged with decay that clawed at the back of his throat. Everything about this hole screamed danger.

Rex activated the communicator in his helmet, his voice tense.

"Squad 201, this is Commander Rex. I need all units to converge on my location immediately. Be ready for combat; this place is about to get ugly."

He glanced up through a gap in the ceiling where the subway had collapsed, revealing a sliver of sky. The sunlight was fading, casting long shadows across the ruined structure as night began to fall.

Somewhere deep within the darkness of the hole, an unearthly growl echoed up from the depths, followed by a chorus of distant, spine-chilling screams.

Rex took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, though his grip on his claymore tightened.

"Cleo, I think I owe you an apology. Turns out your little bird led us straight to our deaths. Worse than a bird with laser eyes, after all,"

he said, attempting a weak grin.

Cleo's lips quirked into a half smile, though her gaze remained fixed on the pit.

"Don't worry, Rex. I wasn't expecting a simple mission,"

she replied, her voice steady.

"Besides, maybe the Void Crawler is just as afraid of us as we are of it."

Rex chuckled, but his eyes never left the shadowed hole. The tension was thick, pressing in from all sides as the last traces of daylight vanished, leaving only the faint glow of the Aegis units' lights as they arrived.

Within moments, the remaining 87 Aegis Sentinels of Squad 201 were in position, standing at attention, their dark forms blending into the shadows of the subway. The air was charged, and every unit prepared for whatever horror might emerge from the depths.

Rex raised his voice, giving his orders without looking away from the pit.

"Alright, Squad 201, listen up. I want a three-line formation surrounding that hole. First two lines on the ground, positioned around the perimeter. Third line on the collapsed rooftop up there."

he said, pointing to the jagged remains of the ceiling.

"Hold your fire until you have a clear shot. Whatever comes out of that pit, don't let it get close."

The Sentinels moved with flawless precision, taking their positions around the hole in concentric circles, plasma rifles trained on the darkness below. The silence was deafening, broken only by the distant, guttural noises echoing up from the depths.

Rex and Cleo exchanged a quick, understanding glance. They were on the brink of something terrible, and they both knew it. He adjusted his stance, Claymore at the ready, his eyes fixed on the darkness within the hole.

Then, from the pit, a new sound emerged, a slow, rhythmic scraping, like claws dragging against stone. The noise grew louder, building in intensity, each scrape sending a chill down their spines.

Rex took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"Here we go..."

he murmured, bracing for the inevitable as the first shadows began to shift in the darkness below.

And then, with a roar that shook the entire tunnel, the Void Crawler emerged.