Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 728

Chapter 728

Chapter 728: Disaster for Humanity

Admiral Brown’s hand, risen high over his head, shook ever so slightly . As Terminator rattled and pitched around him, he knew their end had come . He’d always known this was a real possibility, but now that he was faced with it the anguish that filled him was almost petrifying .

Bang! He slapped his hand down on the red button in the center of his desk .

The alarms changed pitch . Its ear-piercing siren resounded through every corner . Outside, the swarm of fighter drones fought to find any gap through which to escape . The Bastions mighty shields collapsed, allowing the alien tentacles to land their blows on the ship’s exterior .  The terrible screech of fractured metal, the rumbling blast of explosions, all of it mingled into a calamitous crescendo of destruction that shook the universe .

A red light began to arise from the depths of Terminator .

Outside the Alien planets paused in their assault . The purple-violet atmospheres around them thickened visibly . Their tentacles no longer struck the Bastion and instead stuck to its mangled surface .

The fighter drones were left to their own devices . Seeing their opportunity, pilots broke from open space .

The alien worlds began to expand and drew closer . The whirlpools of strange power they bore closed . Hugging tight to Terminator, all four spherical bodies shot upward like cannonballs .

Red light painted Terminator’s surface, growing darker by the moment . A frightening sensation radiated from deep within . But just then the enemy stopped, released their tentacles and left Terminator at the mercy of inertia to hurdle up and away .

The whirlpools reemerged, only this time they spat energy instead of consuming it . This caused them to rocket away from one another in opposite directions .

Terminator soared into the distance, until eventually it seemed to freeze in time . Everything seemed to stop as humanity’s mightiest weapon became so dark as to be almost invisible . Then the red intensified, becoming an angry orange that burned from the center of the Bastion, followed by an explosion that threatened to consume the solar system in its ferocity .

Nearly all of the fighter jets that had tried to flee were swallowed up in the blast . There was no roar of fire or burst of air . No sounds – only a sea of burning light .

The alien planets gathered together well outside of the blast radius and sped into the distance .

A Bastions’ self-destruction was inconceivably powerful . Especially Terminator, with its compressed stores of energy, exploded with the force of a dying star – several tens of times stronger than the death of Arachnid .

Four notable Northern planets were in the sector Terminator had been assigned to protect . The North had the most planets and the highest population, and Terminator had been dispatched to keep some part of it safe . Northern officials had been sure that even if an alien planet showed up, Terminator was strong enough to at least keep it tied up long enough for reinforcements to arrive . Besides, Terminator’s main cannon was strong enough to completely destroy an average-sized planet .

Now, from the surface of those four planets, the sky was covered in a burning white glare . Aftershock’s from the blast caused their atmospheres to warp uncomfortably . It continued this way for more than ten minutes, but eventually the burning remains of Terminator darkened . The roar of the explosions followed and shook the worlds of man for a long time after .

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Skyfire, Skyfire Avenue .

“What?!” The Wine Master shot to his feet so fast the table shook . He face was livid . After becoming a Reflection of Heaven and Earth he had been in a fine mood . Then Lan Jue vanished and that put a damper on his honeymoon . However Luo Xianni had reassured him by saying Jue Di had gone to bring him back .

Now, as he stared in shock and alarm at the scarlet message scrolling across the screens, no one knew how to react .

The alien planets had teleported and laid siege to Terminator . After destroying the Bastion they’d taken the four planets in the sector and cut off any means of surveillance .

If the planets were in human space it likely meant Lan Jue and the others were ok . But it also meant the real war for human survival was underway .

Before they had been content to bare their teeth, but now they had struck a crippling blow in allied territory . All told, a billion Northern citizens were lost – the hold-outs and those too ill to leave for Luo and other internal planets .

With how fast the planets could consume a planet, these people…

The Wine Master shut his eyes in the face of the terrible truth . His forlorn voice echoed across the whole of Skyfire Avenue .

“All councilors, we are convening an emergency meeting . Come to the Gothic Winery immediately . ”

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Panic swept through human space as the news of the tragedy got out . By the end of a single day everyone knew war had come . Special sessions of government were called in all the alliances, and every available warship was called to service . The loss of four planets and a billion citizens was the single worst disaster mankind had ever faced . Although they couldn’t know their fate for certain, the history of aggression shown by the aliens assured tragedy .

Humanity’s reckoning had come .

Meanwhile, Lan Jue was steering Zeus-1 back toward home .

The Shattered Starfields were vast . Even though Lan Jue was anxious to get home and learn of the planets’ destination, he couldn’t simply will himself out of the hodge-podge of asteroids and shattered planets . He steered his ship as fast as he dared while pulling up maps of human occupied territory on his secondary screens .

It was the latest maps with updated data after evacuations . It clearly showed where humanity was pulling back, to keep their people close in the event of alien attack .

He poured over the data, searching for the most likely place for the aliens to appear . He knew it was pointless, but perhaps he would have some insight to offer when he got back to Skyfire .

Mankind knew shockingly little about the aliens compared to their foes . They even knew about Bastion positions and capabilities . They had displayed expert control and strategy against Heron and Arachnid . Although Lan Jue had not seen the planets’ fighting abilities with his own eyes, he did not believe humanity could match up . After all, the alien worlds handily defeated three Bastions and humanity only had ten – ten ships that required staggering resources and were spread out to protect billions of people .

In a straight-up fight mankind had a chance . Btu the aliens were determined not to make it a straight-up fight . They’d proven that time and again .

They’d displayed great cunning and intellect, dolling out bitter losses to humanity while protecting themselves from typical human war strategy . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that up to now, humanity was on the losing side .

If he had to guess, they relied on the Violet Prince and Princess to infiltrate human lands and learn about their prey . Considering the powerful psychic abilities of these creatures, and their Nirvana-equivalent strength, learning the secrets of humanity would not be difficult .

Meanwhile humans had no means of learning about their enemy . Lan Jue and Star Division had been the only ones successful in learning anything at all .

The key was in discovering precisely what the enemy’s goal was . Did they pillage the worlds of man simply for their DNA and vital energy, or for some other reason? Perhaps a combination? It was integral that they found out .

“What are you thinking about? Rushing isn’t going to help anything . Safety first, fly carefully . ”

The familiar voice rose from behind him . Lan Jue turned his head to see the Pharmacist at his back, she’d sneaked up at some point while he’d been lost in thought . As a Paragon her powers surpassed his sensitive perception .

He could tell her from her expression that the Pharmacist had calmed . The sadness that had clouded her mind had passed . Behind her eyes now was a burning resolve, something Lan Jue recognized as the will to fight . She’d come out from the depths of her pain strong and ready .

“How are you feeling?” Lan Jue asked with a smile . “Relax, the ship’s fine . We’ve been here so often the ship’s AI can handle navigation . We won’t run into any problems . ”

The Pharmacist nodded . “Good . I’ve come upon something I think will help you . ”

Lan Jue turned his full focus to her . “Something from your husband?”

There was the faintest hint of sadness, which she concealed with a nod of her head .

Lan Jue didn’t press her further and chose only to listen . He knew whatever she had to say would be difficult for her . The fear her love might not return still persisted .

“He told me much through the sword and rune,” she began . “I settled my heart and focused on it while I meditated . Things aren’t exactly as we’d expected, but through my husband’s efforts I might have learned something important . ”