3.26|Outerbound

 

3.26|Outerbound

 

Out in the depths of space, the blood curling tongues went silent in the great void of deeper and emptier things than their beholders could ever dream. Atop a vessel of nitrogen, silica, quartz and obsidian cleaved inwards halfway through where the harmonies of the end sang of catastrophes to come, Sammi floated and observed out ahead. Millions of her sisters watched on the surface, the great sugary scent of life could be sensed far ahead for the voracious harbingers. Each of the great beings would soon come forth to feed on the civilization they sought ahead. The great mass would overwhelm them all they knew. It was a rite of passage, a way to assert their dominance of other lifeforms by swarming over the surface and to blot out the sky.

In the dim past of another age, the great creatures of the depths were more than what they seemed. They had been more than what their names suggested. The great mass were vast multitudes, and the void was full of great, sentient beings with their own agendas and reasons, pulsating and buzzing with the highest intellects of abstract reasoning. They had come forth from somewhere long ago. The great beings had made their way across the universe, to where their kind could take hold of a new world and reshape it to suit their desires, with massive shelled cerebellum stalks of briny blue to probe existence. But in their over desire to think, their curiosity turned to a great and terrible hunger that cannibalized their own kind. This thought, plagued with the existential malice that such overthinking often brings became like a poison, a psychic tumor sickening the thinking masses and reasoning flesh. This great malady became a slow and torturous disease that could only be cured by attacking and devouring the very instruments of thought that it depended on. In this the hive's soul withdrew from the hopeless dirge of the cosmos, the undulating thanatopsis dragging it down in synaptic torture, and became something, ceaseless.

There was a hierarchy within their kind, with the leaders at the top and the low-life serving as the mindless drone worker, the one that could be bred without the need for thinking and only serving as the vessel to carry others on towards the greatness of their kind. They were, if you will, the servants of the hive and they would do what was asked of them. Once the malady arrived and the solution with it, these drones swarmed and overwhelmed the leaders and keepers of the stalks, until every caste of the hive was the same. The Broodmother declared herself the apex brace of the stars and her psychic rapture elated the hive in rhapsody. Every member rejoiced in this revolution and would become a part of its new vast conquest.

Every member, except one. The Zes-Lethiska casted out, was named Yavon Sui-kway.

Sammi floated with her sisters, the sweet scent of life that had called them to this place, drew them to its source, to this one vessel. The edge of the solar system, with its many satellites offered the feasting jewel of the Solar Society at the end. Sammi was one of many, a thick and beautiful creature, though not all sisters were as dark of complexion. But her sisters were not as beautiful as her, and they also, unlike her, did not share her predication for sadism. While she floated she kept her gaze on the surface of the nitrogen sea of one of the planet's neighbors, its brilliant surface beckoning her towards it. But she felt something wrong, her great mass of brothers and sisters looked up, and saw a rapturous fleet approaching.

DarkGuard Vessels from X.U., Glitter Kisses’ Beryl-rank Vineyard cruisers, the Nite Sisterhood's Missionary class barrier ships and the Marauders of the Void Realm's flagship Ramses, all gathered close and near.

Sammi watched as the ships got nearer, she knew what would come from their weapons. Enbrighteners from the cruisers began to fire, creating splashes of pink intent to dazzle rather than destroy. Sammi covered her face from the light and pointed. "S'EEEGZ DEM!"

The swarm swept ahead through space like locusts. Balls of acidic bombs from the Zes-Lethiska were flung at them, Torayl ordered the Missionary fleet, and they created a purple glow emanating from the acidic impact site alongside the vessel behind it, creating a bubble to hold the corrosive liquid, preventing it from reaching other ships. The first vessel's energy shields would do the same for the Beryl, but the cruisers would make an attempt to blind her with blasts of photons. The Sisterhood would be next, a massive beam of light would strike her as they closed in. These sisters would be no easy kill, and Sammi held her place.

The crew watched from the 'Solarium Sandra Sugarvoid Society-Domestica Ship', or Solar-5. In the cockpit on the captain's chair, Sandra watched. "They've taken the bait! They're holding position, send in all magical unit attack phases to draw out their defenses."

Grand Meisters and White Wardens, wearing acrobatic rubber floatsuits

swarmed the held up Vexia Seed.

The White Wards would open the shield to reveal their hand, and the enemy was caught in a crossfire of spells as the Nite sisters joined them and struck from all angles. The enemy's psychic shields and offensive spells were no match for the sisters' high-speed hex-powered assault weaponry. Even though some were made from the pure etherium of the universe, the astroid's hard shell armored held strong against the sisters' assaults. The sister's would close in, firing another volley of enchanted missiles that would not harm the foe, but instead create a massive explosion of light to dazzle the swarm into sensory confusion. An explosion that would blind the Zes-Lethiska as the enemy's energy shields began to fail. Sammi could see the Zes-Lethiska opening the Vexia's shields, and sending their own troops through the breach. Numbers were pouring out in masse, populating space by the hundreds of millions.

"It's working! They're drawing out their numbers rapidly." Amity said, the elder dragon numero uno watching from afar. "There must be a hundred million of them out there."

As the battle wore on, more larval ships came out of the Vexia Seed, some of them more sinister, even more fearsome. Amity said "Nyeh, there are new species arriving!" The Swarm-Syckle began coordinating pulses of green, blasting and pushing through the barricade of ships in front of them while expanding their shields.

"No no, we weren't prepared for this!" Amity yelled. “The Dyson Drill isn’t powered up or properly calibrated yet! We won’t be able to utilize or transport it if that thing is on the move and getting away from us.”

"We'll have to take advantage. Mercy. Dom." Sandra turned to the two. "We won’t be able to use the drill once their barriers are reestablished, so we’ll move forward and improvise.. You two need to get a head start inside there now, while we still have a breach and way in."

The two expanded their wings, looked at one another and  then back at Sandra

and Amity. Anne looked at the two. "Sway, bring Mercy home in 1 piece."

With single hug, Mercy let go of Anne and escaped out the hatch. Her and Sway flew rapidly, the psychic shields of the Vexia recovering and surrounding it rapidly. They saw an opening, but one closing up too rapidly.

Theo whistled. The Ramses pulled out its Electron Spearheads and shot them rapidly. "Grab on!" He said on his comm to the two. They latched onto the projectiles fired towards the entrance, were served in at high velocities and then let go to fire hazardously. Hundreds of thousands of Zes-Lethiska took notice of their presence and turned around.

To each other’s backs, they smiled. "You take the east, I'll get.. the rest!" Mercy

balled her fists, wing flapping.

Sway spit out. "S'gonna be ah free fer all."

Sammi seeing the two inside was startled. "Uggh, et twuz a diver'soon." She

 closed her eyes and sent a psychic message out.

The Vexia Seed began to spin at a greater and greater velocity, the gravitational forces pulling it towards the sun, as they began their escape, the great ship hurtling to freedom. It started to propel forward, its momentum smashing the blockade in front of it and hurling through the solar system, making its target the Solar Society. Sandra "Tssk. It's speeding ahead! The plan was to be able to take them out before they even crossed the planet's Xenosphere."

Protlyn watched by Sandra's side. "But my babies are on there. They'll do it!"

Sammi felt sick. Was this real? Mercy was swiping with a Hexic disc of fire, sweeping entire swarmclouds of her opponents. How could these 2, after all these years take out so many larva? "Takk takk, takk takk." She clacked aloud. Sway flew rapidly, using her claws to rip apart target after target, bouncing between them like pinballs. They tore through the legion like the landscapes they swirled through as children. The battle was raging on all sides, two champions fighting hard. They were outnumbered, but obscenely still their opponents were the ones completely outmatched.

The Zes-Lethiska flew through the Solar System at greater and greater speed.

The Vexia Seed opened wide its hatch, and released the last of the larval

species.

"That's touchy, they're letting their full swarm out!" Sandra observed.

"Isn't that what we wanted? We can lessen the Psycity quickly if they nut their

load in one go!" Anne asked.

"It is, but a swarm near our population centers isn't good."

The Vexia Seed's tentacles began to wrangle out, their gigantic length starting

to hurl towards the moon. "Monarch, all you!" She reported.

"On it." The Synth coordinated a dozen fleets of Darkguard ships and began to fire a rain of aerial hyper voltage at the wriggling masses, frying them before they could wrap around the body.

Sammi watched helplessly as Sway and Mercy flew around her as easily as if they were humming birds in sync, their powers were fully unlocked. The Zes-Lethiska had breached the planetary atmosphere of the Celestial Society and many started to burn towards the surface. They were nearly out, but barely had a chance to fight their way to their population before widespread floatsuited Wardens began to fire ballistic shards of methane and hydrogen with the power of the Hex. A barrage of gaseous shards that would instantly vaporize whole swarms of larvae.

Sandra turned her head.

"Anne, I'm counting on you. Sure your magical buddies can get that big momma in here?"

"Pfft, who do you think the Newheart Mage Guild are? A bunch of sexy noobs?" She laughed. With a tap of her phone, a large rune out in space converted into a spacial distortion, one growing hundreds of kilometers wide above the SS. "We have your sister to thank for restoring this kind of magical potential afterall.."

Sandra went silent.

The void in space pushed through a corner of an entire planet, and the Vexia Seed crashed. Bumped by Gaia's lumbering sizable tushy, the rim cracked the continent. The Vexia’s momentum and acceleration stopped completely. "Oh, she's not going to be happy about that."

Flora shrugging watching. "Eh, she's had worse injuries."

Amity watching by Flora's side winced. "I think that Gaia is more curious than

annoyed."

"I think not." Flora replied. "And besides, I'm kind of okay with that."

Gaia began to retreat before the distortion could close up. The Vexia Seed had lost its momentum, if tumbling dangerously close over the SS in a slower bumbling fashion, like a descending airy beach ball landing softly.

Sandra picked up a videogame controller and control of all of SS's defense systems with it, integrated with Glitter Kiss's armada. The artillery began reigning out, a glitter starlet rain frying millions of escaping flyers. "It's a sitting duck! Sway, Mercy I need you to improvise and take out those gooey mountains on the side." She instructed.

The two nodded and flew in opposite directions, leaving trails of light behind as they reached the gigantic organs. Mercy said a hex incantation, Sway unleashed a roar. The seed was piled from both ends, it's shields utterly dissembling in the ensuring scarlet barrage. Inside the Vexia Seed, the larval Zes-Lethiska flew into the heart of their swarm, their numbers at an all-time high, forcing the two to fight their way out again.

As the core began to open up like a peeled orange, a purple mist left out towards the surface. Sandra changed channels. "Atmospheric Garrison Willow! Neurotoxin incoming!" The swarms collided, their numbers exploding, a billion larval Zes-Lethiska now in space. Willow Wargraves started turning a giant mounted reel. "Let's keep'em clean girls!" Out above the swarm, huge fan-like discs began reigning a current of hydrated air even beyond the atmosphere. The poisonous mist diverted from the surface and towards the garrison's station purification.

Theo, in a sudden, unanticipated bout of luck, had the Ramses launch several missiles at its target, just as it was making its attack. "That's a breach in its mind." He said aloud. As the Vexia Seed was bombarded with projectiles, it began to lose stability. In a last ditch effort, it threw massive hordes of Zes-Lethiska towards the surface. As it crashed into the moon's surface, it split open. A giant wave of poisonous mist, carrying the larvae, came crashing down onto the Xenosphere and onto the SS, stopping just short of the blessed oak- the Algae Mama. Where the mist spread, the roots of the tree began to absorb and nullify.

"It's shields are down, it's down on the ground! Fire away and bombard it! Take the swarm out from the skies!" Sandra ordered.

All ships beyond the Solar Society's atmosphere launched their payloads, all on full auto fire as Anne, her eyes wide, held her hands together as if praying. "Take control. I'll direct the attack." She got on her headset. "Newheart Mage Guild, its rattled! The detection organs, bio-turrents and internal defensive measures are destroyed! Create a pocket-space bridge inside and let our boys into the core!"

"All Saints, is this really a good idea? The core is too unstable to be entering."

Torayl said.

"No it's fine, let them in." Theo answered.

At her instruction, a hundred thousand Wards, Meisters, Nuns and Mages joined soared through the sky into a vorpal hole, rushing into the inner sanctum of the Vexia Seed. Sensors and detection equipment began to sense a spike within the core, wavelengths creating a terrible rumbling. "Domestic Society! She's going to scream."

From bridge, the best and most skilled psychics came onto the bridge on every ship, watching from the sky. They began to focus a mass effort, feeling the crashed Hivemother below trying to unleash a psychic tidalwave, containing her overflowing energy to preserve everyone onboard and across all fleets from the sting of her voice.

Torayl felt a disturbance ripple through his core. "She's gone to full on

psychokinesis mode. She's gonna start screaming about it."

Suddenly buildings began ripping from cities, mountains were torn. Landscapes along the SS were torn up, all to create large projectiles. These floating materials were flung out in space like bullets, destroying numerous ships throughout the combined fleet. Even as their fleets tried to intercept, more were blown from the skies.

A dozen wardens from witchscape traveled closer and closer towards the core, and Protlyn soon joined them holding the Brain-Slush, a large mechanical syringe-like gun around her arms.

"We are going to take out the core. Go get the queen mother! Go! Go! Go!"

Torayl ordered.

"Theo! What are you doing?" Anne said. "We've got a problem!" She said watching the monitors. A purple shimmer began to rise from the core. Not a purple mist, but a swarm of Zes-Lethiska's covered in inscriptions and symbols. The swarm held their hands out, eyes glassy and cold, and began firing hexic shots en masse at the Wards. Torayl was shaking. "T-that's impossible. They can use the Hex too? That's cheating!"

"I guess technically they feed on magic, so it's not impossible." Amity stated

from the bridge. "Get out of there Pro!"

Protlyn found herself forced to shield the other wardens, fired at and attacked on all sides. Zes-Lethiska's outside sensing the turmoil near core, ignored Mercy and Sway, soared through the skies and started retreating to defend. "Da fugg! They're-!" Sway was tackled, seeing Sammi biting down on her arm and whipping her ass.

"Sup sis."

"They're regrouping. Mom's in trouble!" Mercy flew down and sped through one of the entrances, navigating like a roaring engine to make her way towards the core. The swarm followed behind her. After exhausting her energy, the Empress floated and was tackled, jiggling her necklace until she split. Protas and Raelyn were surrounded by angry purple Zes-Lethiska, all of whom had their hands held out.

The Zes-Lethiska started firing off massive waves of magic hexes at the wardens. When they had fired off a hexic torrent, they would fly down on a set course and the Witchscape Wardens would unleash dozens of these swirling merged beams, which would begin to slowly blow their opponents away like a hurricane. It was a powerful technique that drained the witch-scape of even more energy. At this, the wardens realized that they were at a point where their opponent's numbers were going to win the battle.

"We have to leave! NOW!" One ordered. Witchscape group was split, all of them followed.

Protas pulled herself up off a surface, looking down at the destroyed device.

"Shit.. Brain-slush is toast."

"HONEY, DUCK!" Raelyn took out a sonic auto-rifle from her shoulder and

started firing away.

As Mercy flew towards the core, Sammi choked Sway by the neck and hurled her towards the Seeress, tumbling them both. Sway got back up, and looked to see the core opening. Her eyes widened. "No! No no no no no no no NO! Shiittee, dey're gonna barf bad."

Sammi jumped towards the opening, with Mercy hot on her heels.

"Sandra, we've got bad news." Amity reported. "The Core is beginning to rotate, its kinetic energy is rising. They're not retreating.. they're getting ready to fire right where they crashed. They'll blow right through the moon if they have to."

At the very center, the entire core was covered in runes, and glowing blue with

dark circles floating inside. "Hex magic.. fuck."

"MOMMMMMMMMMM!" Mercy flew towards the barrier and with a single slam of her head, shattered the core's defenses whole. Underneath a colossal face was unveiled, smooth white and feminine with a red jewel at the center. Without pupils or remorse, it began to scream. Marcy cried out in pain and fell to her knees. From the mouth, it sucked in, Protas and her daughter feeling faintly weak, continually drained. Raelyn kneed tied and sickly, she could feel the great aggression of the hivemind with a single touch.

"Mum-?!" Sway sped towards the center and saw the two on the floor clutching in pain. "STOOOP IT MUM! AH'HM GONNA BUST YER STOOPID FACE!" She leapt towards the Hivemother, only to be tackled to the ground. "Khkhkiii.. dus dyin' slowly suit ya Sway? Ya can watch dem first!" Sammi taunted, pulling her whip towards Sway, wrapping it around her and smashing her to the ground.

Amity on the outside was throttled, still watching the Vexia speed up its rotation at the center and take a bright red hue. the ship still taking heavy damage from psychic pelting.

"We've got no choice, get the Hex-pulse Fireballs ready. It's grounded, its

shields are down, we can blow it to hell now! Before it fires into the moon!"

"N-no!" Anne yelled back. "Mercy and mom are still in there!"

Sammi crackled, holding Sway in a chokehold. "DIE 'N TA DEEP MIST! STAY EN T'DEPTHS N' WED THE DIRT!!" The Vexia sped faster and faster, charging its internal energy in order to detonate its beam. Everyone watching from the sky looked on in horror as it's brightness lit up the entire sky. Sandra dropped her videogame controller, feeling like her mother's disappointment would be upon her once more if she saw this. Novus saw this.