Seteres
The initial matter injection was only necessary to kickstart the formation of the artificial singularity. It would stabilize and grow by absorbing the planet's matter.
Something he did not have an issue with.
The curvature generators bent the fabric of space. The increase in gravity compressed the atoms into a singular point, breaking the subatomic parts into even smaller quarks and gluons.
His sensor array lit up with enemy signatures. The countdown until stabilization began, and he turned back to fight.
The first one to come through was an infantry unit. He fired first. The white beam struck the robot's head. An intense flash on impact left a molten neck behind. The heat melted the circuits inside, sending the enemy down in one shot.
The second unit suffered the same fate.
Shots to the limbs would be ineffectual, and the chest section carried the power pack. The plasma would breach the containment, leading to an explosion of shrapnel.
More red triangles appeared on his sensor. He dropped the rifle, allowing the pocketed dimension inventory to retrieve it with a flash of green light. His mind accessed the HUD. The panel switched to the rotary gun, and the PDI was activated.
Another flash, and he had a brand new weapon in his hands.
He ran forward, ramming into the synthetic. With his natural speed and strength enhanced by the armor, the robot flew back, chassis caved in. It fell and did not get up.
Outside the distortion field, he pulled the trigger again.
Six barrels rotated to full speed in three seconds. The first beam left the muzzle, followed by exactly one hundred and ninety-nine more. Twelve thousand plasma beams per minute at twenty thousand degrees Celsius and a power source for an hour of nonstop fire meant carnage.
The infantry units ceased to exist since he did not have to worry about collateral. Hundreds of beams chewed through the thick armor of the tanks. The aerial units were the easiest, falling to the middle of the enemy as burning projectiles.
The AI had moved most of the forces in the immediate area to the rupture. The weakness it created was only momentarily. The units on neighboring sectors would overwhelm his position in seconds once they arrived.
By the time they arrived, he would be gone.
His CEs had taken the fight away from the weapon. The remaining three were more than enough to hold the forces that had slipped at bay. The countdown on his HUD showed one minute and thirty-six seconds, while the enemy reinforcements were a little over two minutes away.
He kept sweeping the weapon over the enemy. The white barrels began to glow red with intense heat. A wave of nanobots swarmed out of the weapon's repair compartment for a little extra he had added.
The heat was drained through magnetic tunnels and guided inside where the electromagnetic field generator encapsulated the beams.
The white plasma began to take a blue hue, turning more volatile and heating the barrel quicker, creating a feedback loop. The only limit was the durability of the weapon, and he made his tools to last.
He took some shots. The shield rig reflected the photon beams, offering maximum safety with minimal power usage.
The street quickly filled up with smoldering wrecks, blocking the path. The never-ending stream of dark machinery slowed down while clearing the ruined units.
Something flashed in his sensors, moving too fast. He leaped back just as it crashed down on his position. The shockwave washed over his shield, reducing it to half strength.
The new unit scurried towards him—her, because the shape was definitely feminine by human standards—the sharp ends of all four legs leaving dents on the metal ground.
She fired crimson photon beams from her left palm and an electromagnetic pulse from her right. He swayed to left and right, dodging each shot.
Thirty-two seconds.
She leapt again, trying to catch him in the air. He met the attack head-on. She swung her claws, but he dived low. Catching the back of the rig connecting the legs to her lean, almost human upper body, he stuck a single grenade to her back.
They landed at the same time.
Just as all four of her legs touched the ground and her torso twisted around, the grenade went off. Hot plasma bloomed into a small sun. Her durable outer layer resisted the heat better than even the tanks, but the heat transfer melted her circuits inside.
She exploded, sending half-molten metal shards everywhere.
Twenty seconds.
The formation of a rupture pinged on his sensors, and he made for it, leaving the CEs behind to defend the weapon.
—
Haven
Meltral
RIC Central Base
The constant stream of synthetics ceased for a minute. The artillery continued to pound the area. The lull worried her. The rupture was still open, and the enemy knew what awaited it here. What came next was not one of the bulky, slow units, meant to act as a steady tide of destruction.
It blurred through the shell rain, tanking several hits.
Her breath caught in her throat at the monstrosity. Its alien upper body was feminine, yet the lower body was like a crab with four legs, allowing her to weave between the artillery strikes. It wasn't simply trying to attack but running away.
"Central, new unit, quadruped with an upper, human-adjacent body. It is running northeast; I repeat, it is running northeast," Silene reported while Tomoe tried to keep an eye on it.
It quickly left their sight, and only then did the Rupture close.
"Central, the rupture is closed; I repeat, the rupture is closed. Cease fire immediately."
"Roger that."
Shells continued to strike for a couple more seconds, but it tapered off. Helicopters took off from the airfield in the north, away from the artillery's line of fire.
She listened to the radio, waiting for confirmation on the state of the renegade enemy unit.
"Central, Tel-Alpha, negative strike. It's too damn fast."
"Central, Guardian-1, negative lock, unknown interference."
"Guardian-1, keep tracking. Tel-Alpha, clear the area. Bomber strike inbound on Sector 13, grids four to six."
"Understood, Central, retreating to minimum safe distance."
While the rest of her comrades waited, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, using the cover to keep it hidden.
She pressed the call button, keeping an eye out. "Please tell me it worked," she whispered once the call connected.
"It did. The artificial singularity will take a couple of days to destroy the planet, but it is inevitable," Thairon said.
His words soothed her heart momentarily.
"Great. Because a half-crab, half-humanoid tin can just came out of the rupture before it closed. The air force is chasing it now," she informed. That thing was not only fast, but its small size and extreme maneuverability made it a difficult target.
"Nax has eyes on it. Seems the AI understood its planet was doomed and bailed. If the military can't handle it, SAT strikes are at the ready."
"I don't know how to thank you. I can't believe we survived this without a single loss of life."
"You are welcome."
—
Glassport
He watched the synthetic run for the nearest settlement. The unit it was inhabiting could not hide. Its only chance at survival was to connect to a computer with advanced hardware and offload itself.
With the previous intelligence it gained on the planet, it must have a specific place in mind. The only place it could reasonably target was the AI server on Hetel.
It gave him an idea.
—
Hetel
He teleported into the employee garden of the server facility. Speed was essential. The citizens were already ordered to move to safety since the AI managed to escape from the carpet bombing.
It was rampaging through the abandoned industrial area, minutes away from his location.
He was starting to hate the Outer Sector Revival Project now.
The building was abandoned, but the servers were not shut down. Nax hacked the security, granting him free passage to the server room. He was slow enough to leave no evidence of his existence here, but fast enough to reach his destination before the robot broke through the walls.
He stood at the corner, cloaked, waiting.
The arachniform cut through the edges of the thick steel door with her laser, ramming it at full speed.
The door flew off, dented, and she quickly made for the access ports.
He pounced like a predator, bringing the modified blade down on her head, left arm wrapped around her neck for leverage. The plasma end cut through the metal, creating an opening. The electromagnetic field generator split into two, sliding apart and widening the gap.
The arachniform thrashed. Her upper body turned around, trying to throw him off, while EMP and photon blasts struck his shield.
The nanobots surged out of the opening, latching into her circuits. The relay activated and the synthetic froze as Nax shut down the motor functions. The glow of the visor dimmed as the AI was forcibly extracted into the portable matrix.
"Boss, you might want to run. RIC realized what the tin can was trying. They are about to level this place."
He clicked his tongue, ripping the matrix out.
Thankfully, the AI had created a rather straight path.
—
Glassport
He teleported back to the lab, leaving the military to bomb the facility to the ground.
"I created a standalone system for it," Nax informed him. He stopped whistling and caught the matrix after tossing it up one last time. He handed it to the approaching bot.
"Extract everything, then destroy the AI."
"Aye aye."
—
Meltral
The infantry advanced behind heavy armor, scanning the area for still functional enemy units. Tank units still in good condition were blasted apart to neutralize the armories stored inside.
The artillery had not left much intact beyond, but she knew a mountain of paperwork would be waiting for her.
Still, she would do paperwork for the rest of her life if it meant the world would be safe.
"Attention all forces, this is General Mardon. We did it; it is over."
Her legs shook. She almost fell, stabilizing herself before falling on her knees.
"Yeah!" A private screamed, breaking the silence. The rest followed, and even she found the strength to join the celebrations.
—
Hatsuzumi
Yumiko laid a hand over her heart, breathing out deeply. Three days after the appearance of another rupture with what the media named Black Reapers pouring out, her daughter contacted her.
She did not exactly believe the story the news released about the intelligence behind the machines trying to take over Haven because its world was dying. Only the assurances of her eldest that the machines would not return set her heart at ease.
Tomoe had also mentioned Thairon's involvement in destroying the planet on the other side.
It terrified her to know someone had that much power in their hands, but the young man gave no reason for her to believe he would misuse it.
She continued to watch the news for any further developments in between her work. General Mardon of the RIC held a press conference, starting with what a heroic defense the soldiers of the Intervention Corps had put up.
Then he talked about a new, proven Early Rupture Warning System. It had detected the location and date of the rupture near the RIC Central Base, allowing the corps to be ready.
The name of the benefactor was kept secret per the individual's wishes of anonymity.
She could guess who it was and would call the young man to relay her thanks in the morning.
—
Aurum City
"As such, drinks are on me," Kael announced through the loudspeaker. Celebrating his brother's success by giving out free drinks was all he could do now.
It would burn his pockets, but he would live.
He left the room, picking up two soda bottles. The beachgoers cheered as he showed his face. He raised his hands, giving out high fives and fist bumps.
"Here." He held out a bottle to Skyler.
"I still can't believe he did it," he said, raising his drink.
"Me neither," Kael agreed, bumping his bottle to his brother's.
—
Thermion
Octavian watched his counterparts on the screen.
Neither Oda nor Gaius does any more than blink, the same as him.
"I suppose it would be futile to ask whose nation created this early warning system?" He started the meeting.
"It was not one of ours," Gaius admitted, sipping his coffee.
Oda shook his head. "We were working on it, but no longer with the unveiling of such a precise system."
"I am inclined to believe you two, for the simple fact our scientific research is neck and neck most of the time."
"Then we can close this matter," the chairman said.
"Will either of you not consider my offer?"
"I can see the merit of it. But there simply isn't enough trust between our nations to take that crucial step," the president answered, leaving an open door.
"My reasons are much the same. Not now, but perhaps in the future," Oda added.
Octavian nodded.
"There is one more matter. Alteran Holdings Limited. I heard rather disturbing rumors about their treatment of the workforce."
He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Oda was ever the humanist.
"False, I can assure you," he said. His counterparts were silent, unwilling to take just his word for it. "It was a ploy to force the owner to reveal the insides of his manufacturing plants."
"It did not work then," Oda spoke, his cobalt blue eyes losing their harsh edge.
"It did, actually. He was very forthcoming, even allowing recording devices inside."
Gaius rolled his hand for him to continue, his eyes tired in contrast to Octavian's. "And?"
"They have no hope of recreating the assembly lines with our level of technology."
"You are rather outgoing today," the president said. His fingers combed his short, brown locks back as he ordered for another coffee.
"You two wanted trust, didn't you? Here I am, offering it to you."
Oda smiled, his long, ink-black beard rising ever so slightly. "I appreciate it, King Octavian."
"So do I, especially if you can forward me those videos."
"I am sending them to both of you," he said. Alteran had plenty of manufacturing centers in each nation. Both Oda and Gaius could easily acquire the recordings.
He would keep his son's name out. It would ruin everything otherwise. His counterparts would never believe that Thairon was belligerent to his family at the best of times, and any hopes of peace would be gone.
Closing the meeting after assuring Oda and Gaius that the AI had not managed to finish uploading itself to the server on Hetel and the remains were in the hands of the RIC, he returned to his daily tasks.
Including reaching his third son. He would eat his crown if the boy did not have something to do with that early warning system.