Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Carlos wiped a glob of green muck off his shoulder, muttering, "Speak for yourself. That worm tried to digest us."

Cleo’s hologram flickered to life beside them, arms crossed. "Alright, geniuses, any bright ideas on how to take down something that big?"

Rex looked back at the massive worm in the distance, its monstrous form still writhing as the Khryssari swarmed around it like an army guarding their king. He smirked, tapping his helmet. "Yeah, I think I’ve got a plan. But it’s going to take all of us."

Ys rolled her eyes, though a hint of a smile played at her lips. "You better make it good, darling. I’d hate to have to scrape you off that thing’s teeth again."

Rex winked. "Trust me. This time, we’re taking that worm down for good."

After a few tense minutes of regrouping, Rex and his team dropped back into the chaos below. All around, Aegis units and their swarms of drones fought tooth and nail against the relentless Khryssari swarm.

Every second it seemed, they were losing ground, pushed back by the sheer weight of the Khryssari swarm that closed in from every direction.

"Alright, everyone! This is our shot! Stay close and follow me!" Rex shouted, crafting two massive swords from thin air, then sprinting off to the right instead of heading straight for the giant worm at the center of it all.

The Aegis soldiers didn’t hesitate; they fell in line behind him, and so did Ys and Carlos, following Rex’s lead. Around them, the battlefield was a nightmare, since there was an ocean of black and green as far as the eye could see, with Khryssari warriors ripping through fresh allied troops almost as fast as they could land.

The entire scene looked like something straight out of a horror film: smoke, fire, and a hellish green glow pulsing from the Khryssari weapons.

Every time a transport ship touched down, it was instantly swarmed, soldiers barely stepping onto the ground before being pulled into the fray. Flames erupted, explosions rocked the air, and some ships didn’t even make it that far since they were knocked out of the sky by the monstrous skydancers, plummeting down in spirals of fiery wreckage.

But a few transports, either through sheer luck or stubbornness, managed to land and unload, and these soldiers fought with a kind of fierce desperation that only those with no escape could muster. These were the ones Rex was determined to reach.

"Sir! We can’t hold them any longer! There’s just too many!" A young recruit’s voice cracked over the comms, barely audible over the roaring chaos.

"Doesn’t matter how many there are!" His commanding officer barked back, his voice ragged but solid as iron. "We’re not going anywhere, so make every shot count! Keep firing, kid, and—"

A flash of green light burst to their left. The officer turned, just in time to see the young recruit’s face dissolve under a Khryssari bioplasma round. One second, he was there; the next, there was nothing left but a thin plume of ash drifting on the wind.

The officer’s face twisted in rage. "You dirty, overgrown cockroaches!" he snarled, raising his electric rifle and unleashing a storm of gunfire. The shots sprayed wildly, tearing through the K. Warriors ranks, until one of the hulking Khryssari Warriors leaped at him, its fanged maw open in a ghastly grin.

"Oh, you want a piece of me? Come on, then!" He roared, lifting his rifle defiantly, even though he knew it was empty. The creature barreled toward him, a tidal wave of muscle and mandibles, and he braced himself, teeth gritted, ready for whatever came next.

But just as he was about to meet his fate, a shadowy figure of white and gold shot past his vision, slamming into the Khryssari Warrior with enough force to shake the ground. In the blink of an eye, the alien beast was on its back, pinned beneath a blinding blur of steel and golden light.

It was Rex, standing over the fallen creature, blades glinting. He shot the officer a quick grin. "Mind if I crash the party?"

The captain barely had time to process the chaos unfolding around him. Just moments ago, the Khryssari Warriors had been closing in, ready to finish them off... but suddenly, hundreds of golden plasma blasts rained down, ripping through the alien horde like a cosmic storm.

He turned to his left and saw an entire army, clad in white and gold, surging toward the battlefield. The sight was nothing short of breathtaking.

And then, as if things couldn’t get crazier, a swarm of combat drones swooped in, guns blazing. Leading the charge was a figure in gray armor, wielding a massive shield and hammer, striding fearlessly into the Khryssari ranks. The bugs attacks bounced harmlessly off his shimmering energy shield, unable to break through.

"Haha, bring it on, you ugly bUgs!" Carlos shouted, his voice full of manic glee. "I’ve been dying to test out this little toy my sister-in-law built for me!" He tapped a button on his black backpack, and with a loud click, two robotic arms sprang up over his shoulders.

Each arm ended in a minigun, and as soon as they came out, they started to fire, one spitting a hail of golden bullets, the other firing a laser beam that tore through the Khryssari bio-armor with deadly efficiency.

Golden tracer rounds lit up the air, while the laser minigun carved precise, red-hot lines through the enemy ranks. Carlos laughed wildly as he mowed down anything that dared get close.

Meanwhile, the captain watched in awe as the white-armored giant who had saved him earlier strode over, calm and unshakable amidst the carnage. "Hey there," the newcomer said with a grin. "I’m Rex, captain of this squad. We’re looking to rally forces, rescue other teams, and set up a real defense line. How about it? Wanna join us?"

The captain, still wide-eyed but now feeling a surge of hope, gave a firm nod. "Count me in," he replied, reloading his electric rifle. "My team and I are ready to fight by your side."

"That’s the spirit!" Rex said, clapping the captain on the shoulder. "By the way, got any heavy weapons or something fun we can take along?"

The captain scratched his chin, then a glint sparked in his eye. "We’ve got a truck in the cargo hold. The back’s been modified; it’s got an artillery cannon instead of a regular payload."

Rex let out a low whistle. "A truck with a cannon? Now that’s my kind of ride. Alright, tell one of your guys to get it rolling. We’ll take it with us."

The captain grinned and barked orders. "You two! Get that truck fired up and follow us!"

As Rex turned, he felt a familiar weight settle onto his back, followed by the unmistakable sensation of arms and legs wrapping around him. "Darling～," came Ys’s voice in a playful whisper, "so this was your plan all along?"

Though she was invisible, Rex knew her touch instantly. He chuckled, keeping his eyes on the battlefield as she clung to him. "What can I say? I thought a grand entrance might impress you."

With a sigh, Ys tightened her grip around his neck, smirking. "You’re lucky I like grand gestures."

Rex winked. "Then stick around. This is just the opening act."

"S-Sir! Look out! There’s a whole swarm of Skydancers incoming!" One of the new recruits shouted, his voice barely steady.

Rex glanced over his shoulder, then shrugged, completely unfazed. "Relax, kid. Nothing to worry about; they’re not the only ones with air support."

While the others watched nervously as the Skydancers closed in, Rex just pointed a finger up at the dark sky. Moments later, two blindingly bright red laser lines cut through the clouds, searing toward the enemy swarm.

A split second later, the night exploded with a rain of yellow tracer rounds from Cleo’s gunboat. The Skydancers began to plummet from the sky, some in flames, others shattered to pieces. Four sleek wraith fighters dove into the fray, weaving through the chaos, tearing the remaining Skydancers apart with precision shots.

The recruits stood, wide-eyed, watching the aerial carnage as the Skydancer bodies, or what was left of them, began to rain down.

"I know I said not to worry," Rex said with a grin, "but on second thought, you might want to move. Fast. Unless, of course, you feel like getting squashed by falling Skydancer chunks."

The team captain needed no further prompting. "Alright, everyone! Move out!" he barked, and the squad broke into a sprint, dodging the occasional piece of flaming Skydancer debris as Rex led them onward to the next objective.

With that same mix of bravado and tactical genius, Rex continued to sweep across the battlefield, rallying scattered units and pulling together a makeshift army of stragglers. There was something about him, it was maybe a kind of charisma, that made people want to follow him.

Or maybe it was just the sight of his growing battalion cutting through the Khryssari swarm like a blade through water. Either way, they fell in line, fighting with renewed energy under his command.

At the end of the day, it didn’t really matter why they followed him, only that they did. Rex had one goal in mind: gather enough firepower to take down the monstrous worm lurking in the distance. And the bonus that came with it? Just a juicy little motivator.

Up in orbit, General Leena Valrix stood on the bridge of her flagship, watching the space battle unfold. Her sharp eyes never left the data feed from the planetary surface, constantly shifting with updates and statistics on the ground invasion.

"You there," she said, gesturing to the officer beside her, "give me an update on the ground battle. How are our forces holding?"

"Ma’am!" The officer straightened up, saluting sharply. "Thanks to our spy drones, we’re able to monitor most of the surface activity. Initially, the battle proceeded as expected, but... well, something unexpected has happened in the last few hours."

Leena’s eyes narrowed, a hint of curiosity flashing in her gaze. "And what would that be, officer?"

"Well...."