[Sector: "Alpha", subsector N41U1, station: "Watchman-XVII" – 916th Sothis]
Justice... such a contradictory word...
"Prefect-Three! I'm advancing to point D18!!!" — flashing a pair of plasma torches, the silver interceptor raced over the defensive screens of the planetary station.
Under the cover of its indestructible aegis, people commit many deeds... Saving another's life and destroying a fate... Embodying the flame of hope and falling into the abyss of infinity... Sacrifice for the altar of war and the deathbed flash that will shatter the old world... and erect a new one in its place...
"Organize a defensive perimeter, we must buy time for the civilians!!!" — shining with the flame of heavenly azure, dozens of metallic angels rushed after the leader, but ahead of them lay only one thing – death.
"Eight-One, cover the flagship!!! Cover..."
The aegis of seven colors struck the militia fleet, turning metal into plasma and flesh into ash.
A symphony of deathbed cries played across all observable frequencies. Hundreds of imperial legionaries bid farewell to this world in a single instant, their vanguard cruisers were sliced by a light cross, and the assault ships simply disintegrated into atoms.
And only when the roaring stream of pain fell silent, and silence reigned over the battlefield, did the silent stone flower collapse the flaps of its main caliber, observing how the world around it burned.
"Admiral, we can no longer..." — trying to evade the "Lictor" that had locked onto its tail, the interceptor was hit and lost control, crashing into the station's screens like a crystal bird.
The man-made vault was stained crimson.
Bound by nightmare, the civilians fled along streets littered with debris, over ground scorched by guns, over the bodies of the dead and the still-living people... away from the "Watchman-XVII" station, whose skies were shrouded by the shadow of the leviathan – the Isomorphs' mother ship – "Anacharsis."
Myriads of variants, fates, and decisions can lead the world to an irreversible outcome... but they always need one who will take on the role of executor... The role of the first and main figure on the game board, the scale of which is too hard to imagine...
"We will hold line D19 until the last "Galileo" leaves the battlefield!!!" — the voice of the only one who did not falter before the face of the "Jade Plague" echoed across the imperial frequencies.
"OR WE ARE NOT DAMN LEGIONARIES!!!" — The Admiral fearlessly led the flagship through a pleiad of snow-white beams.
The enemy's plasma guns tore the militia starships to shreds every second, until the symphony of horror struck again, this time against one of the arks...
Molten metal mixed with congealed blood, the cargo construct was pierced through, crowning its final seconds with an epitaph of plasma explosion.
The guts of the "Galileo" were torn apart, charred bodies covered in frost, and hastily gathered belongings were carried toward the station's gravitational well. Clothing, rations... and even ordinary toys... the material lost value along with hundreds of thousands of erased names.
"This is meaningless... all of this is meaningless..." — one of the pilots groaned hoarsely, watching as a living stellar shroud expanded ahead.
The colossal wall of emerald fires seemed impregnable, "Anacharsis" surrounded itself with "Lictors" like a beacon in an ocean of storm blades, preparing its main caliber for a new salvo.
"Hold on just a little longer! I believe he will enter the battle any moment... our last chance..." — the imperial Admiral hissed, bringing his flagship to the front line.
The militia prepared to fall along with the station, but behind them all awaited it... the capital ship... a monster created by a mad scientist... a war machine over two kilometers long... And its name... well, why rush?..
Let's start from the beginning instead!.. Looking back, I see my past becoming somewhat different... My dreams seemed fulfilled... aspirations past... and trials overcome... yes... exactly so... they seemed...
Right up to that moment when the universe flared with the flame of a new war... deciding where to move the main figure of its chessboard...
"CRYPTOR'S GAMBIT" — "CHECKMATE WITH KING" —
*
Seeking to claim the prey, the painted needles plunged into the abyss.
The crimson surface rippled and spewed threads of pure gold. The restless mind finally found fragments of idyll... this was it... the scent of spices, the gentle breath of warmth and... the hiss of the thrice-cursed hermetic seal...
[Sector: "Alpha", dreadnought: "Justice" – captain's quarters]
"Agh... well, the door says: "do not enter, will kill"..." — clenching my named eating sticks, I slammed my fist on the table with all my might, nearly upending the plate of noodles, "Who the fuck dared?!.." — after which I turned toward the exit, to...
"Oh... sorry... I... I didn't mean it that way..." — cold sweat broke out on my forehead, for the intruder turned out to be the first officer.
"The bridge urgently requires the captain's presence!" — despite her contorted face, Mako looked irresistible as always: her short, coal-black hair was tied in a ponytail, the black greatcoat with gold trim looked brand new, and the only flaw was the smell of fresh oxidizer.
"Or maybe it's not urgently required?"
The first officer didn't answer, but notes of concern flickered in the icy blue of her gaze.
"Understood... has something serious happened? Just don't get nervous, simply tell me..." — I hid the sticks in my bosom, rising from my settled spot.
"No time for empty chatter. You need to hear it all yourself... And please, don't turn off the connection anymore, I'm tired of constantly recalibrating the hyper-pulse communicators!"
"Alright... lead the way..." — I meekly left the room with the first officer.
The seriousness of the situation was obvious, with each step the metallic clank echoed through the corridor, testing my resolve... and all because of... the gait...
Mako's gait resembles a marine's parade march. The epaulettes with aiguillettes bouncing in rhythm with her movement were especially amusing. A quiet chuckle escaped me on its own.
"Noticed something funny?" — Mako didn't even turn around.
"Well, how to put it..."
"The same as the Captain who blocks the communicator during combat duty? Or the one who then returns, splattering the entire bridge with shit stains and violating two-thirds of the ship's code?"
"Oh, come on, who cares. The cleaning drones are there for that... and besides, I wrote that code... my ship, my..."
"Wait... a second! Whose ship?" — Mako spun around like a sentry on patrol.
"This is OUR ship, not yours! We are all – one team! And everyone performs their role! After all..." — she jabbed a finger into my chest and deliberately trailed off...
Unable to withstand the pressure from such an adorable creature, I stepped forward and tightly hugged my beloved:
"After all, every gear has its place in the mechanism, and as Captain, I am obliged to set an example for others, even when no one is around... Sorry, I'll try not to turn off the communicator, and... everything else too... But only if you stop being mad at me. Okay?"
"Okay..." — the first officer noticeably relaxed and laid her head on my chest.
"But if I see you tracking shit on the bridge one more time... your corpse will be found in the waste incinerator... And it will be in clean boots!"
"Noted. Heh-heh... So, shall we go?"
"Let's just stand a little longer..." — Mako whispered, burying her face in my time-worn jacket.
Blessed silence reigned once more in the ship's halls... but nothing lasts forever...
"Hey, lovebirds, cooing?! Don't want to interrupt you... But! We have Admiral Deimos on the line here, and I'm already fed up drilling into him that the Cap is "en route"..." — the shameless destroyer of the idyll was this dreadnought's chief engineer – Thomas Gabriel.
Speaking purely of appearance, he was a smiling, short-cropped, dark-haired man. Round-lensed glasses perched on his nose, hiding the predatory gaze of gray-burgundy eyes, and his tall, slender figure was clad in a white floor-length coat.
"So I'm heroically buying time here, while the slacker captain drags his ass to the bridge, and he's groping with the first officer where no one can see?!" — feigning surprise, Gabriel adjusted his frames and peered into the flicker of energy conduits on the walls.
"Wha-at, such angry looks?! I give my word, no one will find out why you..."
In a literal instant, Mako pulled away from me and grabbed the scientist by the scruff. He merely grinned demonically, not thinking of resisting.
"Won't find out... if you feel like living to the next cycle..." — roughly shoving the researcher aside, the first officer strode further down the corridor.
Thomas smoothed his coat and cheerfully raised a thumbs-up in the gesture: "All good, Cap!"
Patting my rumbling stomach, I caught up with Mako, and together we headed for the double doors of the elevator platform – one of humanity's most boring inventions.
Stepping into the lift, the first officer pointed to the spot beside her. Responding to her displeasure with a warm smile, I obligingly fulfilled the request.
There was no time left for bickering, we were already badly delayed...