PART 1
Blue lights gathered together in a twister, swirling like a twister until they took the shape of five blue stars in a display of brilliance.
The stars gravitated in close proximity to each other, yet maintained a distance that allowed them to have their own orbiting planets.
Astra made a pinching motion with her fingers.
The hologram reacted to her gesture, revealing a star system of a star with two rocky worlds and a gas giant orbiting around the star.
“Behold, this is the world we've set our sights on for conquest.” Astra declared proudly, her gaze fixated on the second blue-green rocky world.
“It boasts a vast ocean with scattered small landmases.” Astra paused, glancing at Alex with a smile. “Moreover, its gravity and atmosphere are almost identical to your own world, making it an ideal candidate for your new capital.”
Alex stroked his chin thoughtfully, his gaze fixated on the world before him.
“So I won't be leaping twenty meters in the air anytime soon, huh...”
“Ah, but fear not.” Astra interjected, eager to share more information. "You can always activate your brace's combat mode…”
However, Aqua, the one in charge of Alex’s wellbeing, chimed in, ensuring they remained on the safer part of the plan.
“Wait a moment Astra.”
Turning to Alex, she explained the core of their motivations.
“The most important thing is for you, Alex, to understand that a world’s conditions are important to keep your optimal health.” Aqua emphasized, her expression serious. “That's precisely why we selected this world among the four available.”
“Okay, I get it.” Alex responded to Aqua's nagging, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender to reassure her.
“You better do!” Aqua snorted, not one to let things slide easily.
Astra, who now sported an ashamed blush, regained her focus, an awkward smile adorning her face.
“Anyway, we have chosen this world as our first conquest!” She announced, her blush now turning into a determined look.
With a flick of her fingers, the holographic display sprang to life, showcasing the green-blue world they had set their sights on.
The planet spun gracefully, resembling Earth in its rotation, a natural balance maintained by the presence of a blue ice moon.
Alex looked at the holographic display with a small frown, his eyes shining in disappointment.
“I was actually hoping for something more exotic, like fighting a giant whale or bathing in a spring of fresh milk!” Alex with unwavering enthusiasm.
Hearing his outlandish wishes, the women's glances turned deadpan, their eyes reflecting how ridiculous it sounded.
Astra couldn't help but twitch her left eyebrow again, her blue synthetic hand cramping from clenching it too tightly.
“Well, perhaps we should visit the other worlds.” She said, her usually serene tone gaining a sharp edge. “Like the one where women pull out the spine of their cheating lovers with their bare hands... or the desert world where you're likely to die from a single poisonous insect.”
Alex felt a cold chill travel up his back as he saw her scary expression.
He quickly forced a smile and waved his hands crazily.
“No, no, the boring world is definitely the way to go. Please, do continue.”
Astra and her companions exchanged amused glances, a hint of a smile playing on their lips.
“Well, this world is actually not as boring as you think.”
Astra's voice maintained its serene cadence as she rubbed her fingers together.
In response, the holographic display showed tiny orange explosions scattered across the world's once tranquil blue and green surface.
Such explosions were specially centered around the small land-masses scattered throughout the world.
“As you can see, the world is currently embroiled in the midst of a global war.”
Alex looked at the spinning chaotic world with a frown, his tongue sticking out of his mouth in a comedic manner.
The gesture made Astra's eyebrows twitch, but she refrained from voicing her complaints.
“I can’t see why this world is better than the others then.” Alex finally concluded. “I mean, I’m not against being the hero who stopped the war, but it’s weird…”
He looked around the room, studying each woman present, from Aqua to Astra and the others whose names he didn't know.
Their similar bodies making it hard to distinguish one from the other.
“That’s quite easy to explain.” Astra started, waving her hands at the hologram.
It responded by shifting into two beings.
One of the holographic beings was easily recognizable as a man with a middle eastern appearance, dressed in pants and a long-sleeve shirt.
The other, however, was something else, a creature beyond anything Alex had ever imagined
It was a being resembling a dinosaur but mixed with a spider to create a unique disgusting being, at least in his eyes.
“Shit!”
Alex couldn’t help but curse as he noticed its distinct head that resembles a jewel, with eyes shining behind the unusual structure.
His surprise was so immense that he stumbled a step backward, but his new braces helped him regain his balance just in time.
“That’s a nasty race!” He exclaimed, his eyes wide in astonishment.
Astra glanced at him with a serious face.
“They are not only weird looking, they are an invading race that has brought the local race to near extinction.” She explained, gesturing towards the other race whose only distinguishing feature from humans was a triangular lobule in their ears.
“Truly, they are the kind we hate the most.”
Her words sliced through the air like a sharp blade. It was clear she found the dire situations faced by their creators and the local race to be similar.
The other blue-skinned women mirrored her intensity, their gazes cold and determined as they examined the hologram of the repulsive beings.
“So, the plan is to drop into the world and exterminate these invaders, claiming ourselves as heroes!”
Alex declared proudly, a high pitch showing how much he liked the idea of being praised as the savior who brought down the invaders.
“Wait… wait!” A rapid, spirited electronic voice interrupted him. “Stop your nonsense!”
Shoving Astra lightly to the side, a blue skinned woman claimed their attention, her red eyes shining brightly.
“Pyra, you are being disrespectful again!” Astra chided her.
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The now identified Pyra side-glanced at her, blowing air through her mouth in exasperation.
“I know, I know… Spare the lecture to this old woman.” She replied dismissively before shifting her attention to Alex. “That plan of yours is horrible, young king. We need more booms and lasers!”
Pyra’s arms waved in the air, creating waves of holographic explosions.
“Pyra!” Astra protested, but her fiery companion paid her no mind, too caught up in her own excitement.
“We must rain down lasers from orbit, then send some of the boys to finish off the surviving members.”
Pyra’s face illuminated like a fire about to spread only to be whacked in the head by an annoyed Astra.
“What was that for?!” Pyra complained, holding her dizzy head.
Astra's serene demeanor remained intact as she shot a disapproving glance at Pyra. "We've discussed this. Keep your impulses in check."
“Hump!” Astra snorted and turned her gaze to Alex. “As Pyra mentioned, we are ready to start any time. All that's left is for you to activate the operation and deliver a speech once we've eradicated the invaders.”
Alex hummed, looking at the hologram of the invaders, Gemcrabs, according to the label.
He absentmindedly rubbed his shin for a moment, lost in thought before determination flashed in his eyes.
“Alright, then. Let's get to it”
With Alex's declaration, the whole ship seemed to shift, an almost palpable surge of energy coursed through it.
The mechanisms embedded in the ceiling sprang to life with a soft hum, their movement resembling the inner workings of some elaborate clockwork mechanism.
The building clustered on the walls gained a brighter hue, casting a rainbow of colors across the metallic surfaces.
Meanwhile, the flying piranhas began to line up themselves in perfect formation, resembling a squadron of disciplined soldiers on a ceremonial march.
The synthetic women, their expressions a blend of relief and excitement, responded to his answer with cheers that reverberated through the whole starship.
“Fantastic!”
“At last, we can finally begin!”
The only one who seemed not to be feeling elation was Alex as he covered his ears with his hands. A frown distorted his face as he bellowed.
“Oi!” He shouted out in indignation, his lungs almost coming out his mouth. “You should've warned me before you turned my eardrums to mush… dammit!”
The force of his outcry seemed to ripple through the room, and the women, taken aback by his outburst, exchanged amused glances.
Gazing at Alex’s puffed-up red face as he complained, they couldn’t help erupt into an harmonious giggle.
As the echoes of their amusement filled the command center, a thought passed through their minds, almost a collective musing on their situation.
‘It was an excellent decision to trade that harasser of a king for this brave fool.’
PART 2
“Faster!” Pyra whined. “The cockpit is this way!”
She energetically dragged Alex along as she skipped her way across the ship.
“Hold on, hold on! I’m not used to these.”
Alex almost stumbled only to be righted by his braces. His hands moving awkwardly to balance his body properly.
“And why are we sprinting when we're on some kind of conveyor belt?”
Pyra side-glanced at Alex, her cheeks puffing up in annoyance.
“Because they're just so dull! I've been telling them for ages to turn off the gravity. But no, they're too used to it that they won’t hear me! It wouldn't hurt to jetpack our way around!”
Alex involuntarily shuddered at that mention.
Just imagining a highly excited Pyra flying around and leaving a trail of destruction in her wake was terrifying enough.
‘They definitely made the right decision.’
Oblivious to Alex’s inner musings, the excited woman continued to drag him forward with her small but firm hands.
“Come on, slowpoke! They're probably all gathered, ready to enjoy the spectacle firsthand from the cockpit!”
And that was surprising. The Astraliths, as far as he'd observed on their ship, found little use for windows, preferring to watch everything through cameras or using telepathy.
But, there seemed to be an exception, a cockpit in the frontal part of the starship where they gathered to gaze at the celestial bodies.
Fortunately for the young man, after a few minutes of running on the long hallway, they reached their destination.
“Ouch!”
While getting off the conveyor belt thing, Alex barely managed to stop his legs from carrying him forward out of inertia as Pyra released her grip on him.
“My arm is throbbing like crazy.” He grumbled, rubbing his right shoulder and glared at Pyra. “You do realize humans are fragile, right?”
Rolling her eyes, Pyra waved his concern away and pressed forward toward the cockpit.
“Quit whining. We've arrived, finally!”
“Yeah, yeah. Geez, slow down a bit!”
Alex complained, his legs walking automatically.
Only to lose his voice as he looked at the sight that unfolded before his eyes.
An enormous crystal crisscrossed by metal lines expanded everywhere in his sight.
Only by craning his neck upwards was Alex barely able to catch a glimpse of the ship's curved metal ceiling.
The blue skinned women were standing beside the crystal. Their eyes were fixed on the spectacle that lay before them.
“Amazing!”
It was the first time Alex had gazed out at space, his eyes drinking in a view far beyond the confines of his homeworld.
And it was quite a sight, for outside the cockpit, a green-blue world covered their view with its magnificence.
“It’s everything we had hoped for…”
Astra declared with her serene voice, only to be abruptly interrupted as an explosion engulfed one of the largest landmasses in the world below.
Her smooth brow furrowed, her fingers gently touching her lips in contemplation.
“What's happening now? Why has the world fallen into chaos again?” Astra turned to Coolen, her voice gaining a metallic tone. “Their war was supposed to be one of attrition.”
“This…”
Coolen remained calm and had her eyes shine, using telepathy to communicate with the ship's sensors.
“It appears that the Gemcrabs have modified certain members of their species to serve as living bombs.” She paused a second, gathering more information. “These modified beings were then used to devastate the second-largest city on this world.”
Astra's expression shifted into one of determined seriousness.
“Time is of the essence., we are losing subjects as we speak. We can't afford any more delay”
Having made her command, she turned her attention to Alex. “Quickly, my king. It's imperative that you are suited up in your armor immediately!”
Alex stood there, his gaze fixed on the world below, now consumed by raging fires for a second until he regained his wits.
His usual lighthearted expression was replaced by one of focused resolve.
“Okay!” He nodded his head, his voice serious. “Lead the way.”
Astra turned around and walked a few steps, before signaling Alex forward with her head.
“It’s right here.” She stated, her tone holding a hint of disappointment. “We had plans for a more elaborate ceremony, but circumstances dictate otherwise.”
As she spoke, she brought her hands together in a sharp clap.
In response, a hiss sound of an elevator reverberated as a rectangular section of the floor ascended to show a metallic box containing a suit of armor.
The design was simple, but imposing. Crafted from synthetic fabrics to cover the whole body, and adorned with shoulder pauldrons, shinguard reinforcements, and a chestplate amalgamated from plastic and metal.
Alex stepped forward, intending to take the armor when it shifted.
Quickly, it spread open in two halves that enveloped his body before he could react.
“Astra, the armor wants to eat me!”
Alex's voice quivered as he struggled to break free. However, the armor settled on his back, arms and legs.
“Calm down, my King. It's woven with nanites crafted to adapt to your body.” Aqua reassured him, a slight chuckle in her voice. “Its purpose is your protection, not your consumption.”
Alex wiped the sweat from his forehead, his anxiety slowly subsiding.
“You’re really efficient.” HHe admitted, looking at the armguards that now covered his arms. “You had this done in such a short time.”
Aqua closed her eyes, a tiny smile on her face.
“It's my duty to design the attire fit for our king.” She continued, her smile disappearing. “As for the armor's fabrication, that's been Pyra's responsibility for centuries.”
“Hmmph! Yet you guys didn't let me add a stylish cape/jetpack combo.” Pyra complained.
Pyra’s words made Alex imagine himself trying to fly through the air with a jetpack, only to have his cape catch fire along with his hair.
Suppressing a shiver, he attempted to placate Pyra. “Sure, we can dedicate a whole hall to play with jetpacks later on.”
Then, he turned back to the green-blue world.
Trying to appear serious, he adopted a stern face, though a glint of nervousness in his eyes was apparent.
“But for now, my esteemed beauties, it's time for me to deliver a speech for history!”
Astra and the other 13 women exchanged approving glances, fully supportive of Alex's newfound determination.
Meanwhile, Pyra crossed her arms and huffed.
“My floating cape would've been epic.” She grumbled. “Just imagine how majestic it would look.”
Astra:
Astra [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/87614894/c12d6a69bc504b28ac0b73d7457375ec/eyJxIjoxMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/1.jpg?token-time=1695859200&token-hash=T1imVA32N53NNVEo1-aLHTmeS8-vqTXcEn3yW5PEyes%3D]