Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"Follow me, don’t get separated!"

"Sir, help! I can’t hold it—it’s on my ship!"

"I don’t want to die! Ahhhh!"

The communications were flooded with panicked screams from the Megacorps fighters. The relentless assault from the Hive Mind forces had broken their ranks. Unlike the scattered Megacorps units, the Hive Mind fighters moved in perfect unison, following the will of their queen without hesitation, even when it meant certain death.

"Hmph, these bugs think they’re superior just because we’re losing a few of our weaker units," sneered the Supreme Commander of the fleet.

"All captains of medium-sized vessels, listen up! Start your warp jumps! Go and support our fighters!" he barked.

In an instant, countless medium-sized ships initiated warp jumps, appearing suddenly in the heart of the battle. As soon as they arrived, they opened fire in every direction, launching missiles and spraying laser fire into the swarming Hive Mind fighters.

"Hah, how adorable! They’re finally thinking," the Hive Queen chuckled. "Let’s show them what real coordination looks like!" She raised her hand, pointing forward, and in a flash, her medium-sized vessels executed warp jumps of their own, diving straight into the fight.

The arrival of the Hive Mind’s reinforcements tilted the scales. Their fleet quickly gained the upper hand, sending the Megacorps’ Supreme Commander into a fit of rage.

"Focus all main weapons on the fighters! Wipe them out, all of them!" he shouted, fists clenched in frustration.

"But sir, our own men are still there! We’ll lose too many if we fire now!" one of his officers protested.

[Bang!]

A gunshot echoed through the command bridge. The officer collapsed.

"Anyone else have an opinion?" the Supreme Commander asked coldly. Silence followed. "Good. Relay my orders. Now."

With his command issued, the large ships turned their massive guns toward the swarm of fighters and medium vessels. The next moment, blinding explosions filled the battlefield, a deadly mix of beauty and destruction. Many of the Hive Mind ships were obliterated, but the Megacorps paid a heavy price too, losing an equal number of their own.

The battle raged on until the largest ships finally moved in, signaling that the true fight had begun. As they neared the front lines, their turrets and close-range weapons unleashed everything they had. The real war was just getting started.

<<To all the billions of viewers watching this live, we thank you for your continued support of our channel. Unfortunately, we must end our broadcast now. The situation has reached its peak, and it’s far too dangerous for our agents to remain on-site. But don’t worry! As soon as the battle concludes, we’ll bring you the final outcome.>>

<<Stay tuned for our next scheduled program!>>

Once the broadcast of the war ended, the intergalactic news network saw its viewership drop back to the usual numbers. Meanwhile, Cleo sat watching the screen with an expression full of anger. Deep down, her rage toward the Khryssari was still raw, as if no time had passed.

She had hoped the Megacorps fleet would wipe the Khryssari out in one swift strike, but it seemed she had set her expectations too high.

She hadn’t thought they would be so useless at commanding a fleet of that size. It was clear to her that the Hive Queen was toying with them. From her own memories, she knew that the fleet they had just witnessed wasn’t even ten percent of the Hive Mind’s full power.

"Trash! All of them! Useless fools!" Cleo’s voice was sharp with frustration.

"Is something wrong, Lady Cleo?" asked Emilia, who had been standing quietly behind her.

"No, it’s nothing, Emi. We’ve spent enough time here at the shipyard. Let’s head to the underground city. I want to check on the assembly factory."

"As you wish, Lady Cleo," Emilia responded with her usual calm.

While Cleo’s ship was being upgraded at the private shipyard, she had given Emilia a hologram projector. It allowed her to appear wherever she wanted, as though making a hologram call. She often used it to communicate with the shipyard owner and other business contacts in the city.

As they moved, they were escorted by four Aegis Units, each registered at Rank 4. No one dared approach them or cause trouble. And even if anyone tried, the Aegis Units were more than enough to deal with any mercenaries or lowlife criminals who might think it was a good idea to mess with a pair of "cute girls."

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, far away from the city, Carlos had joined up with a mercenary team. Their mission was to hunt down a massive, dangerous beast that had been attacking mining facilities in the region.

"Hey, man, are you sure you can tank that thing? Last guy we sent, he had an exoskeleton suit and ended up... well, let’s just say there wasn’t much left of him," said one of the mercs beside Carlos, crouching on top of a water tank as they waited for the beast to appear.

"Yeah, I’m sure. The real question is whether you guys have enough firepower to take it down before I end up like your last guy," Carlos replied with a grin, clearly enjoying the tension.

"Hah! Don’t worry, dude! We’ve got enough rockets here to blow this whole place sky-high!" The merc patted the back of his suit, which was loaded with anti-armor missiles and rocket launchers.

"Wait, shh! Keep quiet," Carlos whispered suddenly. "The beast is here."

Slowly, Carlos edged toward the corner of the tank for a better view. His heart pounded as he laid eyes on the creature. It was enormous, towering at least four meters tall, bipedal with muscular arms and sharp, spiked ridges running down its back. Its claws were long and vicious; they were the kind you definitely didn’t want to feel around your neck.

Carlos, clad in the upgraded gray power armor Cleo had given him, was ready. In his right hand, he gripped a massive shockwave hammer; it was usually a two-handed weapon used to breach ship doors during boarding missions.

Thanks to his new cybernetic arms, though, Carlos could wield it with just one hand. On his left, he held a shield made from the same material as the Aegis Units. It had a small minigun mounted in the center, allowing him to fire while staying protected.

Mounted on his shoulders were two high-performance shield generators, almost as strong as the energy shields on small fighters. All things considered, Carlos was now practically a walking fortress.

The beast growled low in its throat, and the tension in the air thickened. Carlos tightened his grip on the hammer, his pulse steady as the mercs behind him shifted nervously.

"Alright, boys," he said quietly, "let’s give this thing the fight of its life."

As the creature lumbered closer to the water tank, Carlos clenched his jaw, tightened his grip on the hammer, and hit the button to activate its shockwave. The hammer’s head hummed to life, vibrating with raw power.

"Eat this, you ugly bastard!" Carlos shouted, swinging with all his might.

The hammer connected with a sickening crunch, unleashing a thunderous shockwave that cracked the creature’s spiked back. Several of its bony protrusions shattered, and the force was so immense that it sent Carlos flying backward through the air.

The creature howled in agony, a deafening roar that shook the ground as it spun around, its massive arms outstretched. Its wild eyes locked onto Carlos, who was still mid-air from the hammer’s recoil.

Carlos, thrown into the air by his own attack, quickly raised his shield in front of him. With calm precision, he triggered the minigun mounted in the center.

The small barrel spun to life, spraying bullets at the beast as he fell back toward the ground. Just before he hit the surface, the tiny thrusters on his power armor flared to life, slowing his descent and allowing him to land softly, still laying down a barrage of gunfire.

The creature roared again, its eyes burning with rage, and in one powerful leap, it launched itself toward Carlos. The ground trembled as it crashed down, trying to crush him beneath its enormous bulk. But it was stopped in its tracks since the energy shield Carlos had activated absorbed the brunt of the impact, flaring brightly as the beast slammed against it.

"Now!" Carlos barked into his helmet’s comm.

Suddenly, four anti-armor missiles screamed through the air, their trails of smoke cutting across the sky. They slammed into the creature’s back with devastating force. The explosions rocked the battlefield, hurling the beast through the air like a ragdoll. It hit the ground hard, disappearing into a thick cloud of dust and debris.

"Did we get it?" one of the mercs asked nervously over the comms, his voice shaky with adrenaline.

Carlos scanned the dust cloud. "I don’t know. Too much smoke. Stay alert." No sooner had the words left his mouth than a massive boulder came hurtling out of the smoke, crashing into Carlos and sending him flying again, this time into the side of the mining facility.

The impact was brutal. Even with his energy shield, the sheer force knocked the wind out of him, slamming him through a wall of metal and concrete. Groaning, Carlos pushed himself up from the wreckage, shaking off the debris as alarms blared around him.

His HUD flickered, and he saw that the creature was charging at him again with terrifying speed. Carlos raised his shield and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. His eyes darted to the ammo counter on his display, zero. The minigun was out of rounds.

"Crap," he muttered under his breath.

Before he could react, the beast slammed into him once more, its enormous claws raking against his armor. The impact sent them both crashing through the facility, smashing through walls and machinery as they fell, dropping through six floors of the industrial complex.

The sound of their collision echoed through the vast structure, a deafening crash that rattled every wall and sent tremors through the ground. For a moment, everything went still.

The silence was unnerving.