Chapter #20: Battle of Igeon [https://i.imgur.com/9JZJRGC.png]

"Hey. Are you going to sleep all day?" Settled into a bed a bit too small for him, a gentle push awakens Nicholas from his slumber. He stretches, opens his eyes, and notes Sarah standing above him. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Good enough. Last thing I remember was drinking some of that weird purple stuff Tirin gave us. I'm guessing it was alcohol, and I think I drank too much."

"Yeah, you were pretty drunk," Sarah lets out a smirk. "But you fell asleep pretty early."

"I guess I can't complain. At least it was somewhere soft." Nicholas jokes, slowly pushing himself up to a sit. "What about you?"

"I've been having weird dreams lately. Been staying up most of the night. So not that great, honestly, but I'll be fine. I'll just catch up when we're back on the ship," Sarah replies. "So, I was thinking, I want to go out and see what else this place has to offer. Figured we could go for a walk? Heard from one of the Lokken here that there aren't any predators on this planet that would cause us any issue, so it should be safe."

Still hazy with sleep, Nicholas lets out a loud yawn before he pushes himself up to stand so he can get a better stretch. A few bones and joints crack as they move back to normal placements. "Sure. Let's go."

The two make their way out of the room they'd been given to rest and quickly walk through the nearest exit, past the landing pads for Lokken ships, and out into the grassy plains. Once clear of the noisy work and engines from the outpost, they slow a bit, getting near the base of a small cliff. "Interesting how this planet looks a lot like Earth. I'd sort of come to grips with the idea that we'd probably never see a planet like ours again, so to see one so soon..."

"Sounds like you're homesick." Nicholas glances over at Sarah as they walk. "I gotta say, considering how badly you wanted to stay out here, I'm surprised to hear you say that."

"Oh, I haven't changed my mind. I still want to stay. It's just that Earth will always be... familiar, and not because of family, or school. I already have you guys here, so it's not like I'm missing my friends. I just miss the morning sunlight. The summer breeze. You know, just the little things that made life on Earth normal," Sarah responds, fidgeting lightly with her fingers. She's only distracted by a large insect that flits past them, a brilliant red color that reflects the sunlight and leaves a distracting red glow on the ground. "I was hoping that one day I would go back and see how things had changed, you know? See my brother again. It wasn't that I never wanted to return. I just—I can make something of myself here. I mean, if someone like Raven can do it, why can't I?"

"That's fair enough. Although, I don't see you becoming a badass mercenary raiding ships any time soon, but... yeah, I get it. Who wouldn't want to stay out here? We've been exposed to something amazing. Why would anyone want to go back to their old life after this? I guess I can understand where you're coming from," Nicholas smiles over at her. "I just wish we didn't have to part ways."

Several more of the flying insects, in a myriad of colors, flit by in pursuit of the red one that had passed them several seconds ago, leaving a rainbow of colors in the air and on the ground. Nicholas simply keeps his attention on them, distracted.

Sarah watches the insects fly by before she nods in agreement, reaching out to take hold of Nicholas's hand. "We've gotten pretty lucky so far. We've got a spaceship, a super smart alien for a friend, and then this," she lifts both of their hands up showing off their omnitools.

There's a flash of surprise on Nicholas's face before he turns his attention back to her. There are a few moments of silence, with the only sound being the nearby insects buzzing, before he smirks. "Yeah."

She smiles back, her cheeks reddening. She lets go of his hand and reaches up to gently brush some hair out of her face. Before she can say anything else, something catches her attention in the background. Her eyes drift away from him and her facial expression completely changes. She frowns, staring at the sky behind him. "What is going on?"

Turning his head to look back over his shoulder, Nicholas spots the barely visible Lokken capital ships in orbit above the planet, their distant figures firing off brilliant emerald bursts of plasma in the sky. Several of them are visible even from the ground, and they all seem to be firing the same beam of energy towards some point in space. They continue, with minimal pause between them. "Maybe we should head back to base."

"Yeah." Sarah nods in agreement, both of them heading back as quickly as possible to the nearby Lokken installation. Once they enter, it's clear that things have gotten chaotic. Every single Lokken that had been seated and working when they left are now busy and running around with tablets and their own versions of omnitools. Monitors that had previously been blank or off now display diagnostics and the results of what appears to be radar. "This can't be good." Sarah's attention is suddenly distracted from the monitors by the arrival of Tirin, who looks relieved to see them.

"There you are! I was beginning to get worried," Tirin fidgets nervously. "As I'm sure you've noticed, we're under attack. But do not worry, we should be able to handle it. We've detected some Ophio ships in the system. We're sending starships to intercept them as we speak." He looks between the two of them. "But just in case, we're going to be evacuating this installation. Nothing to panic over, though. It's merely a precautionary measure. It's unlikely any of them will get past our defensive line."

A klaxon begins to sound somewhere within the base, the lights overhead switching from white to red. The Lokken seated nearby quickly begin to stand and gather their things. If they weren't nervous before, they are now. "Oh dear. You two should stay here, I need to prepare the security team just in case there's a landing."

"We'll come with you," Nicholas nods at him. "If something lands, we can help take care of it, right?"

"I don't think you understand the threat accurately. The Ophio are  a menace we still do not completely understand. So long as you fully grasp the danger you'll be in if we meet them, I can agree to it," Tirin nods, before he turns to scurry off, heading outside through a different exit than Nicholas and Sarah had entered through. At the front, gathered around the single land vehicle shaped like a turtle shell, are several armored Lokken, each with helmets on and something akin to a rifle in hand. Among them are Ava, Darius, and Sophia, who look up when Sarah and Nicholas arrive.

"Did you two enjoy your walk?" Sophia grins knowingly, rubbing her hands together. "Here I figured you two were going to flake out and leave us to handle this problem all by ourselves."

"Not a chance," Nicholas smirks, ruffling Sophia's hair affectionately once they join the rest of them. "Besides, I doubt we'll have to fight, the Lokken seem like they're prepared for this kind of thing." He turns his head skyward to watch the clouds overhead tinge with varying intensities of green glow as the spacecraft above them continue to fire their weapons.

Tirin laughs nervously. He looks down towards the tablet in his hand. "The Ophio fleet advancing towards Igeon seem to be much larger than the one we encountered before, and reports are coming in. Some of the ships have broken past our defensive line. This is not good. The worst part is some of them are heading in this direction. We only have a few minutes now."

At the news, the Lokken of the security team chat nervously among each other. Worried murmurs regarding family and loved ones become rampant. The murmuring goes from whispering quiet to loud in a matter of seconds. 

"I hope none of you are planning to leave," Tirin frowns. "We knew what we were signing up for when we joined the Stellar Guard. Have you forgotten our values? Our training? Look at yourselves. We are guardsmen. We're not leaving until everyone has evacuated. We have to buy them time to gather our supplies, and retrieve all of our saved data regarding the enemy. Also, don't forget, we have families here." He pockets the tablet and picks up one of the last few rifles that was leaning against the nearby vehicle. He checks it over, ensuring it's ready to fire, before he looks back towards the teenagers. "This is what we feared might happen. A worst case scenario. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to flee. You can board one of our transport ships at the landing docks."

"No," says Nicholas, stepping forward to get closer to Tirin. "We're going help you."

The rest of the group look at Nicholas with growing smiles. They all nod in agreement.

"Alright then," Tirin looks over at the group and then at his rifle, then back at Nicholas. "Will you not need a weapon?"

"We've got the omnitools," Darius lifts his hand, showing off the flexible metallic material currently coating his entire hand. "We can make weapons with them."

Tirin tilts his head a bit. "Ranged weapons?"

"We can make some, yeah," Sophia smiles. "Don't worry about us."

"But what about helmets?" Tirin seems even more concerned now. "If the Ophio get too close, you might be harmed."

Ava clears her throat, closing her eyes and stretching. "Our friend Tah-Kuell says our suits will create helmets if we need them. So don't worry about it. I think we have all the personal bases covered, so let's cover this base, yeah?"

"Smooth," Darius chuckles. "You've been hanging around Nick too long, I think."

Sophia giggles at the two.

Sarah looks around again, frowning. "Where is TK, anyway?"

"He's on board one of the transport ships with the other Lokken helping them prepare to evacuate," Tirin says. "Don't worry. He'll be with us when it's time for us to leave."

"Everyone should prepare themselves for a fight. They're almost here," Tirin warns them. After a moment, he turns back to Nicholas. "Look, I've been meaning to talk to you, but I haven't had the time since I got sidetracked last night. This is as good a time as any."

"Sure. What's on your mind?" Nicholas asks, turning to fully face the short alien.

Tirin levels his rifle towards the ground as a precautionary measure before he looks up at Nicholas. "I spoke with your friend last night, the Grey, and he mentioned that since you were the captain, you were the person to ask, so..." He takes in a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. "Not sure how to say this other than to just ask. May I come with you?"

"On our ship?" Nicholas blinks in surprise. "Why?"

"Let me be honest. I'm very curious to see where your ship leads you to," Tirin whispers lowly, almost desperately, to Nicholas. "And I feel like I can be more useful out there. Day in, day out, we're on constant threat of being wiped out by the Ophio and the Galactic Council does nothing but send more young Lokken to die to guard the border worlds. If I can come with you, maybe I can find some way to stop the Ophio. Perhaps this ship of yours is the answer. I've never been outside Council space. And to have a Grey by my side, well, I feel like I could learn much from the journey. Please. I would be of great help. I know a lot, and skill-wise, I'm a trained Guardsman. Ranged weapons are my specialty."

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"Wow. Well..." Nicholas rubs the back of his head. "... I don't see why not. Just gimme a minute." He looks towards the other teenagers, moving to a more secluded spot near the base and motioning for them to pull together into a huddle so he can speak without the security unit hearing them. "So, Tirin wants to join us on the ship. What do you guys think? The more the merrier? Or would you guys not be comfortable having another alien around?"

"You're the captain," Darius muses. "Sure, why not? I'd be fine with it."

Sarah and Ava nod. Sophia goes wide eyed. "We're going to have another alien with us? Cool!"

"I guess that settles it then." Nicholas grins, turning back around and patting the Lokken on the back. "You're part of the crew now, Tirin."

With a widening smile, Tirin seems elated, the hardened skin near his face turning a different shade of green in his excitement. "Thank you! Ah, but..." His scales return to his usual light blue. "We'll worry about the details later. For now, I need to get my helmet. Excuse me." He pushes past the huddle of teenagers, picking up one of the helmets waiting for him inside the vehicle and putting it over his head. Like the rest of the Lokken who place the black helmets on their heads, they seem to be specially made for them and they hiss as they create an airtight seal. Their visors light up with a holographic interface.

Off in the distance, several white craft slip through the similar white, fluffy clouds overhead. They're mostly nondescript, nearly like clouds themselves; they each have weaponry and thrusters, but they're cobbled together onto some organic vessel in a rudimentary manner. It's almost as if they had been swallowed by a creature and then spat out. Still several feet from the ground, the craft explode into a grey dusty fog that catches the wind and begins to drift away slowly. There's too much of it for it all to catch the wind, and so most of it simply leaves behind enormous piles of spores.

As the spores catch the breeze and drift in the direction of the Lokken's installation, the suits on the teenagers' bodies react, initiating a mechanism that creates helmets for them. Unlike the physical helmets the Lokken wear, the teen's helmets are completely made of hard light, allowing them full visibility in every direction they need to look at while still creating something airtight. From the piles of spores that stick to the ground, humanoid forms begin to come out and crawl. They shakily stand, each holding on to anything they can use as a weapon. From the debris of the explosion, they grab shards of metal and begin swinging it like actual bladed weaponry. Torn pipes from the inorganic leftovers of what was once a craft stick out of their bodies. Some grab rocks and twigs. Anything that can cause damage.

"Alright, here they are! Don't hesitate, just fire!" One of the security officers commands, and the Lokken line up their shots and fire in unison. There's only seven or eight Lokken, including Tirin, but initially that seems to be enough. The plasma they fire cut through the Ophio spawns, several shots enough to force them to explode into more spores. The teenagers, with little more else to fall back on than the sonic cannons they were familiar with, launch their projectiles towards the Ophio along with the Lokken's plasma shots. The impacts are enough to force the Ophio to explode in a single shot, but for each one they destroy, two more rise from the dense pile of spores left behind.

From the sky, several more Ophio ships approach. "Sir, look!" Another of the Lokken draws their attention to the ships, which move to flank their position as they explode. With new, growing targets, and the Ophio's population rapidly increasing, the group split up their attacks as more Ophio rise from the new spore piles. The air, by this point, is thick with the snowy white spores. What was once a pleasant green, grassy field, now seems practically snow white by comparison.

"Just a little bit longer!" Tirin calls out as a few of the transport ships fly overhead to escape the attack, ascending out of the atmosphere in minimal time, out into the battle that rages overhead. An Ophio crawler gets in close towards the group, but Darius fires upon it with his sonic cannon before it can attack one of them, forcing it to explode. "We're almost clear!"

Though even with all of them working together, the Ophio now seem to be too numerous, and moving too quickly. "We're being overrun!" Sarah yells, ducking under a swipe from an Ophio that she destroys a moment later. "We can't destroy them faster than they're coming at us!"

"Just keep shooting!" Nicholas yells, continuing to blast the incoming horde with his cannon without pause.

"We're almost out of ammo, sir!" Another of the Lokken soldiers calls back, the risk he takes while looking away towards Tirin becoming a deadly one. An Ophio appears from the thick, snowy spores surrounding them, almost like a ghost; its blade is long and jagged enough that it's capable of piercing the Lokken with just one powerful jab. The soldier's blood splatters to the ground at Ava's feet, who's visibly shocked by this. The fallen soldier looks up towards the others, but before the blade can even fully leave his corpse as it's pulled, he begins to disintegrate right before their very eyes. Not into ashes, not simply disappearing; instead, into more of the snowy white spores around them.

While the armor of the dead Lokken remains, inorganic and useless to the Ophio, in mere seconds the alien has burst into a million white cottony pollen-like filaments. There's a quietness that settles over the group, before the sound of Tah-Kuell's voice echoes from the teen's suits. "Electricity! Why didn't I think of it before? I'd almost forgotten. This is why the Mowaii use sonic pulses and electricity during sanitizing protocols! They must have already run into the Ophio. Try that!"

In the heat of the moment, Nicholas doesn't even think, he wheels around in place, closing his eyes and focusing. His sonic cannon is replaced with a two-pronged device, which continuously arcs electricity between the two solid prongs. The next Ophio to get close receives a burst of electricity, and with a haunting cry it collapses and burns as if being scorched alive, leaving nothing behind. The other teenagers look at him in awe, and then follow suit, helping to escort the Lokken back towards the installation behind them. Tirin opens the door and the entire group flow back into the installation.

"Quickly, we need to go meet the other ships and evacuate!" Tirin ushers everyone forward as the door behind them closes, just in time for the flood of Ophio to overwhelm the door. Crossing the actual installation takes less than a minute; they escape out the other side, where they're greeted by the sight of empty landing pads.

"Where are the ships?!" One of the Lokken screams, panicking. "They left us. We don't have a way out of here. We're dead!"

"Calm down!" Tirin calls to the others, motioning for them to follow along. "It's alright. We'll think of something. For now, we just have to run! That's our only choice right now!" He takes the lead, bringing the group forward past the empty landing pads and out into the woods. The installation behind them, already covered in a thick layer of spores, plays host to a stampede of Ophio, over the top, around the sides, all running or crawling like ferocious animals. They're fast, and the sheer numbers make it impossible for them to take on.

Far ahead of the group, a Lokken capital ship descends and screams through the clouds, forcing them to stop to observe the spectacle as it crashes, burning, to the distant forest beneath it. The impact forces dirt into the atmosphere and the ground to tremble violently beneath their feet. Yet not long after, another immense craft made of what can only be described as 'flesh' and other organic material enters the atmosphere. It's another Ophio vessel, but this one is much larger than the others. Parts of it are alight with fire, but it trails spores behind it, almost like an airplane dropping water into a forest fire.

Just as the Ophio mothership hums over the installation, it suddenly explodes in a fascinating display of fire and smoke, just like the rest had done before them. With the sheer size of the Ophio ship, all the group can do is watch as spores come hurtling down towards them like a pyroclastic cloud. Heavier than the spores, the Ophio's warriors begin to fall through the pile towards the ground first, in numbers that easily dwarf the ones that were still stampeding towards the group.

"Oh my God..." Ava whispers, defeat obvious on her face. She turns her head to look towards the others, watching Sophia cling to Darius as he watches helplessly.

Nicholas frowns, turning towards Sarah, who doesn't seem to have given up. Sarah continues to fire bolts of electricity that arc towards the incoming Ophio, clearly preferring to go out fighting. Seeing this, Ava nods and joins her.

Suddenly, a rush of heat and a sudden gale pushes the spores and the descending Ophio away as the Caveship splits through the clouds, the heat enough to catch the spores alight. The Caveship unleashes a burst of electricity around itself that crackles noisily and, if not for their helmets, it would have certainly forced their hair to stand on end. The spores, already burning from the heat of the Caveship's rapid reentry, vaporize away in an instant, leaving behind no trail.

Nicholas blinks in surprise, covering his eyes, feeling relief wash over him. He looks up and raises his hands up in the air. "About time!"

Staring straight up at the Caveship, Tirin laughs. "I've never seen anything quite like it." Before he can say anything else, an Ophio crawler lands in front of him, unleashing a swipe so powerful that it nearly destroys half of his helmet. Stunned by the attack, though at least not killed thanks to the armor, Tirin tumbles back and falls to the ground. The Ophio moves to attack again, but Nicholas takes care of it with a single jolt from his electric weapon.

Only the right side of Tirin's face is visible through the gaping hole created in the cracked visor, and he gasps, shocked from the blow. The spores that exit the Ophio warrior begin to circulate and slowly enter through the vulnerability in Tirin's helmet, little bits of white falling on to his cheek and forehead.

Nicholas walks over and grabs him. "Tirin?"

"Oh no," Tirin says, falling to his knees and trying to clean his face. Nicholas frowns and tries to help him get back on his feet, but finds the Lokken too heavy to lift by himself. He turns his gaze towards the others. "Hey, help me get him up!" He calls to them, before turning his attention back to Tirin. "Hang in there, buddy."

Tirin shakes his head and gently pushes Nicholas's chest, though the gesture is weak. "Get out of here." His scales turn a ghostly white. The Lokken's suit collapses as Nicholas holds on to it, Tirin's body converting into the white spores, they float and escape through the hole in the helmet and disperse into the air.

Visibly shaken, Nicholas stands again and quietly stares as the spores fly out of the suit and are swept away by the breeze. "..."

He turns to join the others, just in time for the brilliant blue light of the Caveship to wash over them. In the blink of an eye, their surroundings change as they are beamed out of the surface. This time, they aren't simply dumped inside the craft. One moment they're on the planet, the next, an unrecognizable room within the ship. A dark chamber of sorts. Nicholas collapses to a sitting position, still in shock.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait." Sophia looks around quickly, panic on her face. "Where's T.K?" She rushes over to the nearest door, slamming her fists against it when it fails to open for her. "Go back! Damn it, go back! We can save them!"

There's a gentle crackle of electricity that courses through the room, the spores that had become passengers by clinging to their suits vaporizing before the doors finally open. Sophia rushes out of the room with the other four following close behind. As they enter the ship's cockpit, the screens aboard show off the intense battle that is happening in outer space: the Lokken armada destroying wave after wave of Ophio craft. The Ophio's organic vessels explode one by one as the brilliant green plasma of the Lokken's cannons pierces through them, but it's ultimately pointless, with the spores engulfing the defending ships.

Out of nowhere, the form of Tah-Kuell appears in the room; originally, he'd been sitting, and so he falls over when he is beamed aboard. Any other time it might have been comical to see, but not after what had just transpired. "Oh, sooner than anticipated. I don't even think it's been twenty four hours yet..."

"TK!" Sophia rushes over to him. "You need to turn the ship around! We have to go back!"

"Sophia, you know very well that I don't have that kind of control over the ship. What happened?" Tah-Kuell says, finally pushing his way to a stand.

Overwhelmed with helplessness, Sophia doesn't say another word and simply leaves the cockpit, the door closing behind her as she leaves. Tah-Kuell frowns, quickly realizing that things were much more somber than anticipated. "What happened?" He turns to Nicholas.

"Tirin is dead. And so too are the rest of his people, the ones that weren't able to leave the planet on time." Nicholas explains, looking towards the screens at the front of the ship that show the Lokken battleships still fighting for a fleeting moment as the Caveship turns out of view, leaving the system in a rush. "If we had control, maybe we could've taken them with us. Instead, we're leaving them to die."

Tah-Kuell nods, visibly upset at the news. "I see. I can't imagine why the ship would not care to bring any of them aboard. Perhaps it prioritized you over them."

"I don't see why it would," Darius finally speaks up. "It could have simply picked them up and dropped them off somewhere. But I guess it's not that intelligent. Not like it thinks about those things."

"I bet it considered them liabilities. Or, that's just a guess, anyway," Ava responds with a shrug, trying to be part of the conversation. "But we should go take care of Sophia. I don't think she's handling this very well."

Sarah shakes her head, her arms crossed against her chest. "I don't know what we could've done differently. We killed a bunch of those things. Still, it wasn't enough. We just weren't ready for anything like that."

Ava starts walking towards the door, but turns back. "Yeah. So let's be careful from now on, okay? Those things weren't like anything T.K's people prepared us for. I mean, we fought a giant mantis for god sakes. Nothing about killer fungus monsters."

Nicholas leans his back against the nearest wall and turns to Ava with a defeated look on his face. "We all made it out in one piece. Let's be glad about that. Hopefully we never have to fight those things again."