[Consortium Heavy Diligence-Class Frigate, Three Par-Secs from the Aerie]
Metal croaked and groaned with violent excitement as the red alarms blared overhead. A dozen Daregen shuffled their way across a long, darkened corridor, failing to mask their fright as they slammed the blast doors behind them with their bare hands. The power of the frigate was failing, having been sabotaged by an unknown variable. Even the two Psion engineers in the group, who were so often relied upon for a situation assessment, looked bewildered.
The command bridge had gone silent.
During proper procedures, such an alarm would be sounded after an enemy or hazard had been revealed. But within the cramped rustic corridors of the heavy frigate, not a soul could say for certain what had occurred. What the crew did know for certain was that every plight of theirs had arrived alongside that peculiar artifact they attempted to scavenge.
Silence filled the empty grave of the frigate, as the remaining Consortium warriors huddled togethor. Without a mission and without a high-ranking slayer such as Yrix, they were rather flat-footed. For them, it was better to be complacent than to brave whatever had caused the blood-curdling screams that still stuck to the hangar bay like a permanent mark of agony.
A floorboard creaked. The entire crew raised their weapons in whatever direction they could presume. These were hardened warriors, some of whom had faced dangers across the galaxy. But they were afraid.
A single light flickered from across the hallway as a blast door suddenly peeled itself open. The crew stared in disbelief. At first, a feeling of relief washed over them.
It was a Daragen.
Having come from the direction of the hangar, the crewmate's presence boded well. At the very least, some other survivors had managed to escape whatever horror had been unleashed. But that was simply what they wanted to beleive.
A valorous Psion called out to the Daregen, determining that its mind was still intact. But that wasn't quite right. Something was inside its skull. And upon further inspection, the Psion shrank in fright.
Within the Daregen was a mind, void of want or fear and filled with an indescribable desire to reach its objective. It was dread. And it was alive.
Another light flickered, this time directly on top of the lone Daregen. Its helmet was badly damaged, with both eye-plates leaking blood profusely. Its hands and arms twitched with morbid excitement.
It was not a Daregen.
Where the creature's eyes once rested sat two bright red pupils, staring down the remaining crewmembers with uncanny, mechanical resolve. It was the machine from the recovered pod. And it was wearing the Consortium's warrior like a suit.
"Ivy." The endoskeleton whispered, sitting happily inside its new flesh.
___________________________
"Out of the frying pan, into the shit."
Lila panted and wheezed, rummaging her way through the crimson foliage as she made a mad dash for safety. The vessel looming overhead boomed with excitement as a loud siren began to herald her doom. If Lila didn't find a way to break the Carrier's line of sight, then its ventral cannons, the likes of which she didn't need the details on, would turn her and her surrounding environment into paste.
Ivy was moving surprisingly quickly. And when combined with Lila's panic, which greatly disrupted her Psionic abilities, it was a difficult chase. She hadn't the slightest clue as to how much time had passed.
But she was running out.
After what felt like an eternity, Lila had tumbled her way downhill until she put a fair bit of distance between herself and the Carrier. She looked to see Ivy, but the heiress had already picked the higher ground, using her Psionic projections to climb her way onto it with a staircase of silver cubes.
Just as she began to feel that she might have a chance to pursue, an ear-shattering malestorm of energy whizzed over her head, evaporating the trees around her. It was no doubt a coilgun of some kind, judging by its absurd speed and lack of visible energy. Lila didn't know how to even feel at that moment. She was lucky, but also quite deaf. If the Carrier could see her over the hills and the trees, then it was no doubt locked onto her position with a scanner of some sort.
Part of her wanted to just give up and let the deafening shockwaves kill her slowly. Perhaps that should have been her fate from the start, back on earth. But in a sudden act of courage, her body picked itself up and darted towards a nearby mountain with blinding speed. She had found her Psionic powers again.
- - - - - - - - - -
A large Psion sat atop the command bridge of the Prudent Revery, its singular eye fixated on the dozens of red holographic screens that illuminated the dark metal chamber. Having sealed the bridge, due to his refusal to underestimate the girls, he patiently awaited his first move. Standing at a head shorter than Yrix, the Psion Shipmaster wore a set of blue and gold armor, its pigmented plating crackling with the energy that emanated from his mind.
His name was Omizen, and he was rather well known for his prudent intellect. Having served under Yrix for nearly a hundred years, he had learned to anticipate the Arch-Flayer and her machinations. And even though her Aerie was relatively new, he took his station there with much care.
"These are Yrix's students." Omizen's voice clicked as his mind reached out to his crew, watching with fervent curiosity as the girls evaded his coilguns. "Fragile. But determined. Nothing short of overwhelming odds will kill them."
Several smaller Psions surrounded Omizen, working frantically on their stations as they tried to track Lila's movements. Even in her depleted state, she was frankly too fast for them. And Yrix had gone out of her way to overtly ban the use of Infernum bombardments.
"Ship-to-ship weaponry won't hit them. Point defense won't reach them." Omizen pointed at a holographic image of Sonera and Lunae. "Not unless we flush them out. Prepare to land ground troops. I want three companies."
The Psion stood up from his chair, using his long, claw-like fingers to interact with a large holographic map. He was humble enough to accept a few survivors. But under no circumstances would he fail to kill even a single one of Yrix's playthings, lest he appear rather incompetent. They were, after all, just girls.
"I want artillery on the mountain, close to the south perimeter. They can't be afforded a proper view of our movements." Omizen squinted with a commanding voice. "We will place our Xenquar at the base of the forest, let them flood it with their bodies. In conjunction with our three companies, they should be out of hiding places by the next sunrise. Till then, keep them tired and hungry."
The Carrier would continue to fire off its coilguns, using its best estimations to harass the girls from a distance. And once the Xenquar, whose ferocity the girls had not yet been punished with, had entered the fray, only then would silence be allowed to creep into the forest. That way, they would be given the most delusional sense of security.
Omizen would have smiled if he had a mouth.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ivy stumbled her way up the rocky cliff, refusing to stop even for a moment. Her feet were already aching something feirce, and her breath was heavy. But for reasons still unknown to her, she refused to change her attire. To dress as a common girl would be an admission she couldn't accept.
"Finally." Ivy collapsed onto an outcrop of stone, sheilded by a thick layer of vines and moss. "Far away from you. All of you."
Much to her amusement, she could see and hear the coilguns of the Carrier in the distance, their relentless judgement still cleaving rock and wood like they were butter. Some part of her smiled at the idea that Lila was down there, already dead in the most unceremonious of manners. But a quick yawn changed her perspective entirely.
"I don't need her," Ivy argued with herself. "I don't even like her. Let's just hope she can't climb."
The heiress continued her journey after a short break, cursing silently at her heels as they scraped against the stone every time she slipped on one of her constructs. But when she finally made it to the top, she couldn't help but smile. The falling red leaves and cool wind were relaxing, and from her position, thanks to her eyesight, she could monitor the Consortium's next move.
"Well, this isn't so bad."
Ivy looked off into the horizon. It was peaceful up there. Lila wasn't up there.
She turned back towards the foliage before something soft and meaty suddenly collided with her. Ivy clutched her temples, shutting one eye as she grunted in pain. Was it the Consortium? Was it Rena who had come to fulfill her promise? Unfortunately for Ivy, it was none of those.
"Not you again!"