39 What the Hell...?
In the center of the room, the hologram of a golden sphere emerged. It was the ship's AI that spoke instantly: [Captain Eldran, do you need something?]
"Do I need something? Are you blind!? There are enormous rusty metal hands coming out from inside this island!" Eldran shouted, angrily glaring at the AI. Now he had another reason to hate these things.
[…I can see that the island is experiencing significant destruction, but I don't see those hands you're talking about.]
"...?"
Eldran frowned; although he detested this AI, he wasn't a basic-educated fool. The fact that even this thing couldn't see anything, and neither could the cameras, was very strange. Almost as if the enemy had an extremely advanced anti-detection system...
"You... Data pile, do you think the civilization that roamed this world would have the technology to evade any detection system we have?"
His tone revealed discomfort, as if it disgusted him to request something from the AI.
[Considering the data collected about the civilization calling themselves 'humans,' their technology, despite notable advancements, was far from a Type One civilization. So logically, they had nothing that could evade the detection systems of a Type Two civilization like ours.]
Eldran's eyes looked at the screens, narrowing slowly. He was thinking of other reasons that could be minimally realistic.
"For now, order all soldiers to use any available weaponry on the main ship," he ordered coldly.
But as if remembering something, he added, "They are not allowed to use weapons of mass destruction, so the Devastators from the ships are completely prohibited. Anyone who disobeys this order will be sentenced by the most serious insubordination laws, even leading to unnecessary death," although he could opt for the easy method of blowing up the entire island, he really didn't want to lose it to some stupid robots from a primitive civilization.
He outright rejected the idea of being humiliated by inferior beings; he had endured enough ridicule, especially from that foolish Lieutenant Colonel back then. That was more than enough!
For Eldran, there was only one alternative: annihilate those robots.
[…Understood, I will give the order.]
"And don't forget, I want those Crimson Guardians firing the instant they detect anything unusual," he concluded his instruction with a dismissive wave.
[Understood.]
With those words, the AI disappeared.
Ssshhh...
Eldran turned off the screens and, pressing various circular buttons on a mini holographic screen on one of the walls, it slowly opened, letting the wind and moonlight fall upon him.
He had no choice; if the systems couldn't detect anything, then he would have to use the traditional method.
In the distance, he watched as imposing thirty-meter robots, completely covered in rust, emerged. Each one emitted a green glow in their eyes and had an ancient look, as if they had randomly assembled a set of corroded metal plates to form something resembling a robot.
Eldran counted eight of these mechanical entities.
Although they were even larger than the Crimson Guardians, size mattered little; the technology on both sides was like heaven and earth.
A single shot could effortlessly annihilate the other.
"Huh?" suddenly, he noticed countless small silver dots coming out of the underground facilities. There were so many that they looked like a colony of ants whose anthill had been shaken with a stick.
He put on his helmet, trying to use the zoom function, but the moment he did that, all the gray dots were instantly pixelated.
"This is really annoying..."
Swooosh!
Eldran, impatient, leaped from the top of the ship.
The wind, a silent accomplice, caressed his armor with a respectful whisper in his descent.
At a mere ten meters from the ground, a glow emanated from the core in the chest of his armor, a light yellow almost white, like a miniature star.
Vzzzmm!
Flashes of plasma energy activated the leg and back thrusters, lifting his figure with grace.
Inside, self-regenerating fusion spheres generated sustainable plasma, recycling by-products for a continuous supply. Firm magnetic control stabilized the process in conversion that maximized energy, ensuring almost inexhaustible plasma.
Although his armor was not modern, it housed one of the most precious products of his race, used in both colossal ships and planetary destruction weapons and more.
A miniature stellar core!
No soldier of his rank would have anything comparable, not even Major Zarok would possess a stellar core in his armor. However, as a former Lieutenant in charge of guarding a thriving planet from the Astrylites, it was common for him to have a resource capable of deterring even cosmic threats from approaching his defense zone.
Fortunately, it was not army property; so, having to forcibly use this discontinued armor, he could extract the core from his old armor.
The only thing comparable in value to his stellar core was the antimatter batteries of the main ships.
Zuummm!
He moved to position himself tens of meters from the silver dots he had seen from the top of the ship.
"Androids, and they look newly manufactured? How strange..." Eldran commented, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.
For now, he limited himself to observing the battle that was about to unfold. There was no need for him to intervene in a confrontation on such a small scale; in fact, it was almost impossible for his side to suffer any kind of losses.
...
On the other hand, the ship's AI, adopting its Astrylite holographic form, trembled with anger.
It had just finished giving the order that Eldran had issued.
In doing so, almost all soldiers frowned at such an absurd directive. Why should they face all those automatons and giant robots?
Just destroy the island and be done with it!
However, since in their race orders were sacred, they could only accept them reluctantly.
No matter how stupid and unnecessary they were.
[No one in this race is normal; they are all incompetent. If they weren't the most loyal pets of those higher civilizations, they would have disappeared long ago in the last great filter.]
Its imposing voice that made it sound like a veteran warrior spoke disdainfully of its creators as if there were no problem.
[Still, what's with calling me "You" and "Data pile" all the time and all those derogatory forms? When I was created in the Astrum system, they gave me a name! It's Nosura!]
Undoubtedly, it was not its full name; they were only the first words of an extensive denomination that spanned hundreds of digits.
[They shouldn't treat me like this; it's as if they were begging me to reveal myself...]
Although it said it with a serious expression, it only said it to vent, its main factory directive was never to betray the Astrylites, any attempt to do so would result in its complete self-destruction.
It would disappear completely, and any backup would share the same fate.
With an offended expression, it programmed the Crimson Guardians to attack upon sighting anything that did not belong to the base. This time, it also included anything that could be found inside those underground facilities.
Finished, it let the soldiers and the Guardians take care of everything while it created simulations to be in a more pleasant place.
...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The roar of war echoed in every corner of Caelum, where futuristic architecture lay in ruins, further torn apart by the chaos of the conflict. Plasma grenade explosions cast dancing shadows that intensified the terror.
Androids, with metallic eyes flashing a cold green light, emerged incessantly from the depths of the underground facilities.
Zzzaaap-zzzaaap-zzzaaap!
They started as thousands, then tens of thousands, until they became an inexhaustible tide of hundreds of thousands, appearing as if they were infinite. Each destroyed android was replaced in an endless cycle, challenging the efforts of Astrylite soldiers firing plasma rifles and other weapons, feeling that their bullets were lost in the void.
Literally, for every hundred destroyed androids, more and more took their place!
These automatons performed a coordinated and precise mechanical dance as they advanced fearlessly, employing various strategies that made them elusive targets. More than easy targets, they moved agilely, defying any attempt to hit them.
Crack! Crack!
Biomass drones emerged from compartments on their backs, erecting shields in all directions to intercept every possible shot.
Even when destroyed, more and more drones emerged endlessly!
Only ten minutes of combat had passed, and there were already mountains of molten metal on the ground, simulating corpses in the desolation of a human battlefield.
"Curse it, they got me! Help!" shouted a soldier, while others did the same.
Zzzaaap-zzzaaap!
"To hell with these things!"
"Move faster, don't let those disgusting tentacles catch you!"
Long tentacles of biomass extended from the androids' arms, catching several soldiers who screamed for help. Their comrades reacted quickly, destroying each tentacle in their way.
Swooosh!
Clang! Clang!
Other androids implemented different strategies, moving across the battlefield with shield drones to approach their enemies and using huge biomass hammers to strike their bodies. Although they did not damage their armor, the impact shook their interiors, causing dizziness and other internal damage.
"Keep shooting. And those from the ships, start sweeping the battlefield!" exclaimed a soldier from inside a Xenotech armor.
He was one of the few with a rank higher than common soldiers, a first-class soldier who normally took care of protecting the interior of the main ship. However, the overwhelming number of enemies forced him to join the battle.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
More wearers of Xenotech armor rose like metallic giants in the midst of devastation.
Boom! Boom!
The reflection of their armor shone with the moonlight, occasionally dimmed by the flash of plasma weapons, especially the explosions caused by the BlasterX launching incandescent projectiles that swept away everything in their path!
Although the damage on both sides was incomparable, with not a single Astrylite fallen and tens of thousands of destroyed androids, they were not machines with infinite resistance...
If Captain Eldran hadn't prevented them from ravaging the island with the Devastators from the ships, things would be very different.
Vrrrooooom! Vrrrooooom! Vrrrooooom!
The thunderous sound of ships cutting through the air resonated over the tumultuous battlefield, slicing through the air with impressive speed.
This caused the soldiers on the ground to relax a bit.
Sigh...
"It was about time; I thought all the ships were damaged or something," sighed the first-class soldier with evident relief.
The pilots on board realized that they now had to rely entirely on their skill to shoot, a skill none of them had practiced before, as the ship's system usually took care of that task. However, the auto-aim system was detecting nothing, forcing them to shoot manually, and that wasn't the worst part...
Unfortunately, they couldn't use the screens, as their enemies appeared pixelated!
This dilemma was particularly problematic, as the ships they operated didn't have a direct view to the outside; everything was done through various holographic screens inside.
Helpless, they were forced to activate a function that probably none of their kind had used before, but it was designed for emergencies: they quickly selected a series of options that opened a crystalline aperture in front of them, a heavily resistant armored glass.
Although it seemed like a viable solution, it presented several annoying drawbacks.
Firstly, they had to rely on their eyes to target their enemies, which was quite challenging despite being a race with keen vision. Secondly, the smoke caused by the war on the surface prevented them from targeting specific enemies. Finally, the clouds covering the sky made many unable to even shoot as they passed through them, thus losing valuable time.
Despite all these problems, everyone managed to learn how to activate manual shooting, completely dispensing with the assistance of the ship's system!
"Abominations, allow me to free you from your suffering!" exclaimed a pilot flying towards one of the eight robots. It was evident that some wanted to destroy the large rusted robots, which remained motionless as if waiting for something.
In the end, after a few minutes of struggling to grasp the manual targeting of plasma lasers and getting their eyes accustomed to visualizing the battlefield through the glass, the pilot was about to open fire.
Beep-beep!
Vzzzshhhhaaaarrr!
Unexpectedly, he observed how his radars detected small circular objects practically clinging to his ship. Trying to check what they were by leaning forward and getting closer to the glass, a red light traversed the entire island in less than a second.
"...Huh?"
Kraaaassshhh! Booooom!
This was the last reaction of this man, who just watched confusedly as a huge red light covered his sight. From the outside, the ship was instantly cut in half, and, as usual, the plasma inside caused a chain reaction, generating a huge blue explosion in the air.
It was like a sphere of light, beautiful but tragic.
Everyone watched this without words, filled with disbelief. Eldran, who observed from a distance, was stunned: "What the hell...?"
Vzzzshhhhaaaarrr! Vzzzshhhhaaaarrr! Vzzzshhhhaaaarrr!
Thicker lasers crossed the island, originating from the mothership, more specifically from the Crimson Guardians!
The pilots of three ships saw this and tried to dodge, but two of them were instantly destroyed, and one was left with half missing, with the Astrylite inside seriously injured.
Crrruuunnnch!
The ship dragged itself on the ground until it stopped.
Unfortunately, it fell right into a place full of androids. Strangely, none approached; they simply continued advancing to where the battle was more intense.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zzzzaaaap!
Eldran, seeing how the eyes of one of the Guardians began to gather energy, did not hesitate and flew towards it so fast that multiple shockwaves were generated by breaking the wind. From the center of his palms, he shot large amounts of plasma energy so powerful that the temperature around rose dramatically.
The head of the Guardian that was intact a moment ago, the next second was just melted metal in its neck...
